It seemed that this one time it hadn't taken forever to get Bobby's car from the garage. His distinctive black convertible was parked in front of the building—in plain view of the building staff and every neighbor who might be in the lobby. So everyone would know that he was in it, and there was someone in the front seat with him. A passenger they'd know because she showed up every morning at seven o'clock to start her day as Carrie's nanny. And not only was she sitting in the front seat, but Bobby was kissing her as if she were the last woman on earth and he didn't give a damn who saw them. Rose put down the phone. She turned and walked back through the apartment to her bedroom with Bobby's pill bottle in her hand. She walked past the four-poster bed she had shared with her husband for the past twelve years, and she dropped the bottle on the floor where she'd found it.

He must have those pills with him at all times, his doctor had said. She looked down at the little bottle, barely visible in the deep carpet. Those pills probably saved his life, the emergency room doctor had said. All she had to do was bend over and pick up the bottle. She started to reach for it. Maybe she could get it to Bobby if he hadn't driven off yet… If he was still too busy kissing Sandy to start the car … At that thought, Rose straightened up and left the bottle on the floor.

Then she ran. She ran to the front entrance of the apartment, called out over her shoulder to the maid to take care of Carrie when she woke up, and ran for the elevator. She ran across the lobby, not giving the doorman a chance to ask if she wanted a cab. She ran through the streets to her mother's apartment. People stared at her as she passed them; an elegantly dressed showstopper of a woman with red hair and beautiful green eyes, running as fast as she could.

Chapter 36 - New York 2008

“MOTHER LIVED WITH that secret for thirty-four years,” Carrie said softly.

Lu nodded. “She told me that in that moment when she decided to leave the bottle where it was, it was like she was turning back the clock. The pills were back where they'd fallen, and she'd never seen them. Then later, when she was a little more rational, she thought Bobby would realize he didn't have his medicine and he'd come back to the city. She said she wanted him to know that he still needed her to pack for him.”

“But my father had a heart attack, and died.”