Jeremy couldn’t know about Maggie: it simply wasn’t an option. “Maggie is our special little secret,” she’d told the boys. “She’s like a magical fairy; if we tell anyone about her she might fly away!”

They nodded solemnly. They promised. They adored Maggie. She was young enough that she was still mostly a kid herself, so she’d get down on the floor with them and pretend to be an elephant, or she’d arm-wrestle Sebastian, always letting him win, or she’d watch The Lego Movie with them and enjoy it every bit as much as they did. “Come with me if you want to not die!” she’d say, and the boys would roll around, laughing, saying with her things like, “We are from Planet Duplo, and we’re here to destroy you.” (Lu didn’t understand any of these references; the first time the boys had seen the movie she’d been answering reader mail on her laptop.) They’d do anything to keep Maggie from flying away.

“They didn’t bother me,” said Lu. “Maybe I’ve grown out of it.” She shot warning looks to both boys.

Jacqui went crazy over this salad, she’d write. Should she come up with a fictional case for Jacqui to be working on? Some of her stay-at-home mom readers relished the details of Jacqui’s professional life; big-time jobs were like porn to them. Office porn.

She didn’t notice that the whole table had gone silent until suddenly they were all staring at her.

“Who’s Maggie?” Jeremy asked.

Instantly, Lu flushed. She glanced at Chase and Sebastian and said innocently, “What?”

Chase hit Sebastian and said, “You weren’t supposed to say. Mommy told us not to tell, you’re an idiot.”

Sebastian began to cry. Jeremy paid no attention to the boys and fixed a cold, clinical gaze on Lu. Was this the gaze he fixed on his patients right before they were put under? How terrifying. “They said that Maggie has been showing them how to bodysurf.”

Lu cleared her throat. “No, no,” she said. “They’re not really bodysurfing, of course. They’re just in the very shallowest water. More like skimboarding, without the boards. It’s not even ankle-deep!” This was the wrong answer, of course. She knew that. It wasn’t about the dangers of the ocean.

“That’s not my question,” said Jeremy slowly. He put down his fork. There was still a piece of chicken on it. She’d cooked the chicken on the grill on the back deck, which was an old Weber, not as good as the Napoleon they had at home. Nevertheless, Lu was happy with how the chicken had come out. She’d done it on skewers, and she’d taken a decent photo. She’d use the photo in tomorrow’s post too.

“She’s our babysitter!” said Sebastian, through his tears. Chase hit him with an elbow. “She has lots of freckles,” Sebastian added.

“She’s a good dancer,” Chase said, reluctantly joining in.

Jeremy said, “I see.” He smiled at Chase and ruffled Sebastian’s hair. “Isn’t that nice.” He took a second helping of salad and chewed the chicken. He didn’t meet Lu’s eye.