Avery could see that Michael was in no mood to mess around. “Fine,” she said, and she ran upstairs, her small footsteps light and quick.

Deedee pulled two Coronas out of the fridge. Deedee was short and skinny as a rail, with olive skin, small black eyes, and long, dark hair that had turned silver only in the front, where it hung to the sides of her face. She looked cool, Michael thought, wearing her Yoko Ono circle eyeglasses, leather necklaces, and big rings made with natural stones. She also had a sexy way of moving, crossing her legs, tossing her hair back, sucking on a cigarette when she was drunk. He could see why Shelby was into her. If Deedee were straight, and if she weren’t his ex-wife’s partner, Michael would be into her, too.

“Can you take a look at the toilet in 2B when you get a chance? It’s leaking. The flange or something is the wrong size.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Deedee reached across the table and playfully tousled his hair and sang a few bars from “Handy Man.”

When Shelby and Deedee asked Michael to move in with them, they said he could be the caretaker. He lived for free, fixing the occasional leaking faucet and cracked window and working on the gardens. He ran the bed-and-breakfast when Shelby and Deedee went on vacation. It was an unconventional arrangement, but it made sharing custody a hell of a lot easier. Deedee and Shelby encouraged Michael to go out more, meet someone, but he was perfectly happy to spend his time with Avery, and with the women. It was hard to explain to people, him living with his ex and her girlfriend. All that mattered was that it worked.

“Where’s Shel?”

“Client.”

“It’s late for a client,” Michael said. He winked at Deedee. “You know what happens when she works late.”

“You know I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

They were both Shelby’s former “clients” at the day spa where she worked as a massage therapist. Michael was referred to her by his chiropractor, who said massage would help get rid of the constant pain in his lower back. Shelby was five years older than Michael. When she found out she was pregnant a few months after they’d started dating, they were both excited about having a kid, although their relationship had already settled into a platonic friendship. Michael wasn’t upset when he heard about Deedee. He couldn’t deny that Deedee and Shelby were together in a way he and Shelby never were.

Deedee said, “What’s up, Michael?”

“Nothing.”

“Nah, something’s up. You’ve got a look in your eye. There’s a bug in your rug. A crab in your crotch. A tick in your prick.”