Here’s what I wanted to say: I haven’t been naked in front of anyone other than Kate since I was twenty-two. Also, strange rogue hairs grow on my body. I have the beginnings of man breasts. I don’t have much body hair, although some of my pubic hairs are gray. I could pluck those. And what about sexually transmitted diseases? I can’t bring anything home! Did you read that article online about the recent proliferation of anal warts? But all I could muster was this: “Spoons. Do you sleep in the spoon position?”

Anna laughed, reminding me of the pleasure I got from making her laugh. “Now, Tim, it’s not until May. So put it out of your mind.”

The girls caught up. “Hey, didn’t you hear us?”

“Oh,” I said. “Sorry.”

“You guys must’ve been talking about something important.”

“Not at all.” Anna sighed. “We were just scheduling a playdate.”

KATE

KATE

WHILE WALKING TO TAZZA ON HENRY STREET, I TRIED TO DETERMINE MY REAL reason for having lunch with Anna Brody. Between Philip’s claiming that Anna talked about me all the time and my prurient interest as to whether there was any truth to Claudia’s gossip, I felt torn between the friend I was thought to be and the nasty neighbor I was becoming. I’d invited Anna to lunch out of both guilt and a desire to help her through this hard time. Another part of me was just plain curious about how she would look.

Great. She looked great. And the weight she’d gained made her look healthier. The most surprising change to her appearance was that she’d hacked her hair off at chin level. It looked like she’d done the job herself. Why anyone would cut off hair like hers is beyond me, but I didn’t even have a chance to ask her why, because Anna started talking right away.

First she told me about their trip to the South of France, where she had rented a rustic cabin. “Philip got all fidgety after three days. So it was mostly Sophie and me roughing it. No amenities. No dishwasher. It was the kind of place where you and Tim would stay.”

Yes, but not by choice! It’s the only kind of place we could afford! “So where was Philip?”

“Oh, he was wherever Philip goes. Here, there.”

Anna moved on to the re-redecorating (if that’s a word) of her house. “Philip has given me carte blanche to do whatever it takes.”

“Whatever it takes to what?”

“To make me happy.”

“It seems to be working. You seem happy. Very, actually.”

“I’m redoing everything.”