“Go on, get out of here, all of you,” Sam said, a sob catching in her throat as she pushed the little group toward the front door.

When the door closed with a final click, sobs tore at her throat. She cried until she was exhausted.

Finally, Sam was able to drag herself to her feet. She squared her shoulders and marched down the hall to her bedroom. From here on in, her life was going to be whatever she made it.

It was a time of new beginnings.

The days and weeks crawled by for Sam, who seemed unable to make any kinds of concrete decisions. She looked at properties that would be suitable for opening her own offices, but at the end of the day couldn’t bring herself to sign a lease on any of them. She spent a lot of time reading the old postcards the Rainford “wives” sent her from time to time. Slick and Hawkins sent cards from Hawaii with pictures of girls in grass skirts. One from Zoe in particular caught her eye. She’d partied up a storm for three full weeks. A few days before she left she met a handsome Greek. She was going to go back to Mykonos on her next vacation to meet up with Peter Nicoli. She’d added a p.s. that read, you wouldn’t believe how much he acts like our old “ex-husband.”

Sam’s days were uneventful. She cooked, cleaned her condo, walked Alpha, shopped for knickknacks, and sat on her front stoop talking to her neighbors. At night she lulled herself to sleep with too much wine.

By the time the end of August arrived, Sam was convinced that if she was going to stay in the Washington area, she needed to buy a cabin in the mountains in order to get out of the city’s oppressive heat and humidity. She thought of the trips she’d have to make to look at different properties, the paperwork involved. Maybe next year, she told herself as she walked to her mailbox, hoping for a card or letter from one of her friends. Most days there was nothing but flyers addressed to Occupant, or a bill.

On a bright autumn day at the end of September, Sam looked at Alpha, who seemed listless to her. He hadn’t eaten the night before either, and that morning he didn’t want to go for their two-mile walk. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She’d known this day was going to come and thought she was prepared for it, but she wasn’t. She dropped to her knees. “You want to go home, don’t you? You want to see Pappy again. Okay, let me get my stuff together, and I’ll take you back to the mountain.” The wolf-dog’s ears perked up as he followed Sam while she filled a backpack.