She nodded; it felt like she was under a powerful, paralyzing spell. She would microwave his Lean Cuisines, she would put them on a special plate at a special time. If he needed it, she would lace up his running shoes for him. She would strain to hold his feet while he did sit-ups.

He turned back to his meal as if it was some unfinished, unpleasant work. She thought of asking him if he wanted her to take it away, but didn’t know how to offer. She got up and walked slowly back to her table.

“Want to take a walk?” she asked Eric, who was still hunched over his papers. “It’s nice out. Breezy.”

Eric looked at his watch and frowned. “I’ve gotta call Mark soon. You go,” he said, and she had the feeling, again, that she was being indulged and discounted, pushed to the side.

“Should I join you?”

“Nah,” he said. “I’ll fill you in later.”

“Okay,” she said. “Fine. Have fun.”

“You have fun,” Eric said.

She leaned in close. “None of this is fun.”

Avoiding entreating expressions from several tables, Marianne walked quickly outside, letting the door slap closed behind her, and jogged down the path to the beach. Her heart was still thudding angrily by the time she reached the fine white sand. Eric had seemed upset too, his shoulders hunched tightly, his voice clipped and angry. Mark would find them more money, just as he had before, or else they would shut the place down and not have to worry about it. After the day she’d had, Marianne would not exactly mind saying good-bye to the lot of them, these sentimental poets, these apocalyptic whiners.

But hadn’t Eric insisted, last night, I want this to work?

And hadn’t he also touched her shoulder, and held his hand there until she moved away? Hadn’t he said “ah” so sadly when she’d kicked him out, and mentioned how long it had been since they were together?

After an old woman confessed a strange whim, he had built an entire school for her, the school Marianne had joked about for years. It was cruel, what Eric had done, like presenting someone who said “I could eat a horse” with a giant horsemeat steak.