The knife came down hard on the board as Kelly chopped at onions that brought even more tears. She mulled over the best way to start the conversation with Daniel when he got home. Long ago they could have talked for hours without an agenda. Now she needed to script how to even begin.

She looked up through the tears to see Daniel looking at her, his head cocked, his brow unknotted. “What’s the matter?”

Kelly put down the knife and dissolved. Daniel leaped forward and wrapped her in his arms.

After a few moments, Kelly stepped back and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“What for? Obviously something’s wrong.”

The mess of her day flooded out of her. “I’m being cut out of my job by my own company, and I don’t think I can take any more.” The sobs racked her. “And Milly needs me . . . and I can’t keep lying like that . . . and with Gramps going . . .” Her hurricane of emotions dragged in every other sadness of life into her storm of tears.

“Let’s talk about one thing at a time. What do you mean being cut out by your own company?”

Kelly stepped back from the counter. “A new bunch of reps who look like they’ve stepped off the catwalk are now my competition. One young woman visited my clients today and tried to sweep them out from underneath me.” Her voice hardened as her anger flickered back to life.

“Can you complain about it? Isn’t there some kind of process for making sure your company doesn’t do that?”

Kelly laughed through the stinging tears. “I did complain. All Arnold did was tell me to compete harder.”

“You said you can’t keep lying like that. What did you mean?”

“There are rumors that Mendacium has serious side effects—giving young children untreatable splitting migraines, among other things. Gascon said today he’d address them, but he didn’t, and I have to tell doctors that our product is fine.”

Milly walked into the kitchen with her phone raised in front of her face and a slight smile.

Kelly glanced back at Daniel in time to see his brow furrow. Please, Daniel, not now.

“Can you confront them at work and ask for some evidence so you can be honest with your clients?”

Kelly felt the disconnection with a jolt. Just listen to me. “If I do that I’ll lose my job . . . which won’t be a bad thing, necessarily.”

Kelly felt Daniel tense. Their usual sticking point, the barnacled reef on which conversations foundered. Milly thumbed in her earbuds and disappeared up the stairs.

“Can you hang on for another month or two?”

Kelly stood back from Daniel and wiped her eyes. “Why is it taking so long?”

Daniel snorted. “It just is.”