“Claudia is going to freak out.” Though it was Edie who’d gotten pregnant and dumped, Claudia was the one who was most outraged by Ridley’s behavior. Edie was so besotted she would have done anything to get him back, but Claudia saw the whole thing for what it was: a vain, careless man playing with a pretty toy, who just happened to be a human being. Edie had been surprised when Claudia got friendly with Ridley’s son, Chad, but Claudia assured her Chad hated his dad as much as they did. We make fun of him, she remembers Claudia telling her over the phone that dark first year at Vassar when her roommate was a virgin from Arizona and she couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone why she was so depressed. For months, Edie pumped Claudia for information: Is he dating anyone? Does he seem happy? You’d tell me if he mentioned me, right? Would Chad tell you? Claudia was the only person she could be so utterly pathetic with. Her sister’s disgust was aimed at Ridley, not Edie. What had Edie done wrong but fall in love with a charming man? How could she help it? After a little while, Edie got there, too. She’d made a mistake; she’d been young. Jesus, she was still young. And Claudia was even younger. It was stupid and irresponsible to get drunk and lose her phone, but hey, she hadn’t gotten pregnant with a married man’s baby! She didn’t deserve Edie’s snarky texts. Edie looked at Lydia and thought, Claudia deserves to hold her niece. “I hope she calls back soon.”

But she didn’t. Edie kept her phone next to her all that day and night, and nothing came in from her sister. When she called, Claudia’s line went straight to voice mail. Edie scrolled to the app store and reinstalled Instagram, having to reset her forgotten password. Up rolled the lives. A guy she met at one of her dad’s industry events five years ago posted an image of a coffee cup and a laptop. #mindonmymoney. A full-length mirror selfie by a woman who used to model with her mom. #fashionmatters. One of Claudia’s friends lying on the deck of a boat. Blue sky, bikini, face tilted to the sun. #yachtlife. But nothing from Claudia since the night Edie went into labor.

The bra with the nipple-holes and the hospital-grade pump arrived. Nathan put the plastic pieces together and Edie fitted it all on her lumpy, wet-sand breasts. They flipped the switch and the sucking began, pulling milk that fell drip drip drip into the bottles attached.

“How does it feel?” asked Nathan.

She looked down. “It’s kind of a relief. Like popping a zit.”