“No problem, just … announce yourself sooner next time?” Jessica smiled, feeling a rush of warmth for her friend. She hugged Charlie good-bye at the door. Charlie walked a few steps and picked the apple up off the ground, then handed it back to Jessica.

“I think this belongs to you.” Charlie smiled, then turned to walk away. When she had closed the door, Jessica sighed. The anxiety that had risen while Charlie was in her room had not abated. She leaned back against the door, replaying what had just happened. Why would John want Charlie to remember the last thing he said to her? She tossed the apple a few inches into the air, then let it fall back into her hand.

“He’s testing her,” Jessica said to the empty apartment.

*  *  *

Outside Jessica’s building, Charlie stopped in the parking lot, frustrated. What did he say that was so important? She walked across the baked pavement to her car. Charlie climbed into her car, slamming the door shut with more force than she needed to. She stared petulantly at the steering wheel. They’re lying to me, she thought. I feel like a little kid, with all the grown-ups keeping secrets from me. Deciding for me what I should and shouldn’t know.

She glanced at her watch—the clock in the car was either an hour ahead or an hour behind, and she could never remember which. She had about twenty minutes before she had to meet John. “I can’t show up early,” she said plainly, “then he really won’t believe it’s me.” Trying to shrug off her bad mood, Charlie put the car in gear and pulled out of the lot.

When she got to the restaurant, she could see John through the window, seated at the same table they had sat at last time, all the way in the back. He was staring into space, as if he were deep in thought, or completely zoned out. She followed the hostess to his table, and it was only when she was standing right beside him that he seemed to realize she was there. When he did, he stood hastily. Charlie started to move toward him, but he sat back down, and she quickly sidestepped and did the same.

“Hi,” she said with an awkward smile.

“Hi, Charlie,” he said quietly, then grinned suddenly. “You’re dressed a lot nicer than last time we were here.”

“It probably just seems that way because I’m not covered in dirt and blood this time,” Charlie said lightly.

“Right.” He laughed, but there was a quick instant of appraisal in his eyes. That was a test. The thought sent something cold through the pit of her stomach. She had known it would happen, but knowing did not make it easier to have his eyes, usually so warm, look at her with calculation.