Solange needed fresh air, so we’re walking the mile and a half to my condo in Columbia Heights. It’s still eighty degrees and muggy, and she’s wrapped her sweater around her waist; I suppose her definition of fresh air is different from mine.

Along the way, we pass Ben’s Chili Bowl, an iconic DC eatery, on our right.

“Ever been?” I ask her.

She chuckles, but the sound peters out quickly. “I’m Brazilian American. One of their signature dishes is a heaping bowl of beans and meat ladled over white rice. What do you think?”

“I think that was a silly question.”

She smiles in agreement, but my attempt at small talk doesn’t diminish the tension. We continue walking—Solange appearing deep in thought—then turn on Thirteenth Street. The air’s thick and sticky, but there’s a definite chill in the atmosphere—and it’s coming from Solange. Just as I feared, my revelation about Ella isn’t sitting well with her.

We stroll the length of two blocks before I try to draw her out. “You’re judging me. About Ella.”

“Honestly?” She pinches a thumb and forefinger together. “Maybe a teensy bit. And I can admit that I’m being unfair. Just”—she throws up her hands—“make it make sense, please.”

“I’m a planner,” I say as if that’s a sufficient explanation. In my mind, it is. To her, it’s probably a non sequitur. “That’s just how I’m programmed. I like setting goals and achieving them. The structure . . . it helps me stay grounded.”

She nods as we stroll, her gaze trained on the sidewalk ahead of her. “So marriage was one of the goals you set for yourself.”

“Yes. Along with paying off debt, buying a home, making partner at Olney & Henderson, things like that. I get that this may not make sense to you, but I know firsthand how unsettling it can be if the people supposedly in your corner can’t align with your goals. Ella and I just fit. Or we did, I should say. She’s ambitious. Has her own objectives. And said she wanted to support mine. A dinner with a bunch of lawyers at the firm? Ella was all over it. That was her natural habitat. And if she needed to pitch a potential financial backer in a suite at Capital One Arena? I was her person. Fun fact: I can talk about basketball with a bunch of strangers for hours. We complemented each other.”

“Except for that part where she was actually in love with her childhood friend.”