Disappointment courses through my body, a heavy weight cementing me to the spot. Either she didn’t want me to know about the job, or she’s already decided to decline it. Neither possibility suggests that she’s tying herself in knots the way I am. Wondering if we can make us work. Envisioning something more. And sure, it’s not like we’ve made any promises to each other, but we’re friends, right? Considering everything else Solange has shared with me, it’s telling that she never mentioned the possibility of staying in DC.

Rather than admit I didn’t know about the offer, I text Max a thumbs-up and set my phone on the kitchen counter. Seconds later, Melissa Chapman is at my door.

Despite the cheeriness I first heard in my mother’s voice when she was downstairs, the red-rimmed eyes, runny nose, and splotches of pink on her chin and cheeks tell a different story.

“Is everything okay?” I ask as I stand aside to let her in, my gaze moving past her into the hall to confirm that she’s not bringing anyone else along.

“I’m fine,” she says, rolling a duffel bag on wheels behind her.

“Do you need something? A drink? The restroom?”

She repeats herself, louder this time: “I’m fine.”

“So what’s going on?”

She parks her bag in a corner and spins around, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Harvey and I had a fight. The plan was to drive to Massachusetts to meet his kids before heading back to Delaware.”

“And . . . ?” I say, eyeing her shoes. I can’t fucking help it.

She rolls her eyes, then toes them off while she explains. “And it was clear he’d never told them about me. I was angry. He was confused. And when I shouted that it only seemed right that he would mention the woman he was going to be living with to his children, he balked. Apparently, sharing his home with me wasn’t in the plans. It blew up from there, so I asked him to take me to the closest train station, and now I’m here.”

“Why not take a train home to Delaware?”

She swallows before she responds. “I didn’t renew my lease.”

“Because you thought you’d be moving in with Harvey.”

“Yes.”

I don’t know how she can stand it. Every new man who comes into her life is “the one.” She gets all warm and fuzzy, then, when they inevitably disappoint her, it’s as if she’s starting at zero again. As a kid, I watched it happen time and time again. Still, part of me secretly hoped Harvey would be different. “You can stay here, of course. For as long as you need to. And I’ll help you find a new place.”

“Thank you.”

She opens her mouth, then closes it.

“What?”