“If we don’t want to go that far, we could do a hike!” he said. “Old Town Hill? We could bring Bernice.”

Rebecca hesitated. Old Town Hill was close, just over the line in Newbury. Lots of people walked their dogs there. Once, a couple of years ago, she and Gina had run into each other on Old Town Hill, Rebecca with Bernice and Gina with her rescue dog, Sadie. Sadie and Bernice had dipped into the river together (Bernice reluctantly, not being much of a swimmer) and Gina and Rebecca had a long walk together. This was B.P. (before Peter) and B.S.B. (before sleeping bag), but there was nothing to say Gina and Sadie wouldn’t be there again today.

“I’m not sure . . . ,” she said. “Maybe somewhere farther away! For fun. Mount Major?” The chances they’d know anyone hiking Mount Major on a random weekday were slim.

Now it was Daniel’s turn to hesitate. “That’s a drive, though,” he said. “And since we’re getting a later start, the parking might be full. If we stay closer to home, we can get a bite to eat after. We can go to Michael’s and sit on the deck and have a cocktail. Or we can go to the Deck. And sit on the deck.”

“I’m sure they have cocktails in Alton,” said Rebecca.

Something changed in Daniel’s voice at that point—a sort of peevishness set in. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were ashamed of me, Rebecca.” He was attempting a jocular tone but the words stung.

“Of course I’m not ashamed of you,” she said. “Perish the thought.”

How to explain what was really going on? How to tell Daniel that her heart was a road map, crisscrossed with complications, strung through with fault lines? Alexa’s fraught relationship with Morgan. Rebecca’s anger toward Gina, Gina’s connection to Daniel, Rebecca’s ongoing struggles with grief. How to say, I need you to be a refuge, nothing more, nothing less?

She closed her eyes and waited and Daniel said, as she knew he would, “Let’s go to Alton. Mount Major sounds great. We can park on the road.”