As she turned the key in her car, Lily clicked on her cell phone. No missed calls. She checked her reflection in the rearview mirror: she had that sex-stung look, but it was nothing she couldn’t cover with lip gloss and enthusiasm. She could say she went on a walk after work. She could say she witnessed an accident. She pulled the car out of the motel’s parking lot. It would only be six weeks, she thought, turning up the radio to block out every thought that followed.

“I’m home!” she said as she hung her keys on the ring next to Silas’s. “Babe?”

“Back here!”

Lily dropped her bag and coat in the front hall and walked through the house to the kitchen. Silas was bent over the stove, a knife in hand.

“Welcome home!” he said, not looking back. He was carving meat, being cautious around the bones.

“Are they home?”

“Sean is in his room. He said he was doing his homework, but I’m pretty sure he snuck the PlayStation in there again. I haven’t been able to bust him yet; you know how careful you have to be with lamb,” Silas answered, throwing a dish towel over his shoulder. Lily leaned against the island in their kitchen.

The air smelled like rosemary and long-simmered wine. Lily smelled like Gavin. The two scents mixed as she spoke.

“Mickey still at camp?”

“She should be back any minute.”

She thought about going up to Silas and sticking out her finger for a taste of his sauce, the way she used to. Pushing her face under his arm until he lifted it and made room for her.

“Any word on the house sitter?” she asked instead.

“Amanda can do it,” Silas answered. He shook a spice jar over the saucepan.

“The whole time? Six weeks is a long time for a teenager.”

“Lil, she’s just going to water the plants and get the mail. I think she can handle it.” He put down the jar and grabbed another one.

Lily looked around the kitchen. “We need to clean this place before we go.”

“We still have two weeks,” Silas said. “We’ll get it done.”

The New Hampshire Harrison home. Silas had grown up spending his summers there, and, ever since she was sixteen, Lily had spent hers there too. It was old and made lonely sounds at night, but it was beautiful. The kids loved it.

“Dinner will be ready in thirty. Wanna go ground your son while you’re waiting?” Silas asked. Lily looked up the stairs toward Sean’s room and shook her head.

“I’m going to take a quick shower first; I worked out after work.”