Before they’d even really decided to make the move full-time, the momentum of the house project took over, and they went with it, happy to be going with the current rather than fighting against it. It felt like one day they were looking through design magazines and interviewing architects, and the next thing they knew, they were spending weekends visiting stone warehouses and showrooms. Maja joked that she was using her art degree from Pratt more in working with the architect than she had in ten years of working at the gallery, where she spent most of her time putting together schedules and following up with buyers. And to her surprise, the frequent meetings and showroom visits weren’t a chore. Instead, it was a little like dating again, and the thrill of the money they were spending on faucets and furniture was just as intoxicating as any cocktail on a Manhattan rooftop.

Maja glanced down at her phone, but there was nothing more, either from the police or from her contractor. When they’d called, the police had been vague—vandalism, trespassing, could she come into the station? After she’d spoken with her contractor, she’d called Ted to give him the news. Maja hated bothering him at work with house problems, but this couldn’t wait.

When Ted picked up, his voice was thin and clipped. The markets were down, and rumors were already circulating about small bonuses, or no bonuses. Their conversation had gone much like the one she’d had with the contractor, with Ted taking her role this time. “The police? A party? How bad can it be? Kids did that?”

“We won’t know anything else until we get down there,” Maja pointed out. “I think we should go right away, to see what we’re looking at. Maybe it’s not that bad. I have Yasmine covering for me at the gallery.”

There was a long pause on Ted’s side. “Maja, I hate to ask you this, but can you start down without me? I need a few hours to wrap things up here. I’ll rent a car and meet you there as soon as I can. Unless you’d rather wait and go together?”

Now the pause was Maja’s. “Okay. Fine. Of course.” Ted had been so consumed by work lately that it felt like she was often left to handle everything else. But she was anxious to see what they were dealing with, and she didn’t want to wait. “I’ll take the bus down.”

“Thanks. I’ll call you when I’m on my way. And I’ll get us a room at that inn that we stayed at last time.”

It was only after she hung up that she realized she hadn’t told him about the negative pregnancy test.