“There are eight hundred people in this town. Seven hundred fifty of them probably already know and the other fifty will as soon as they sober up.”

“Of course they know. I’m sure some of your nosy neighbors saw you NASCAR-drive out of there and put two and two together because they probably saw slutbag and Harold going in together earlier.”

“Even if no one saw, Chastity will tell. Just for fun. That’s the way she is.”

“True, but as it filters through the gossip train, the bunch of hypocrites that make up this town will all pretend they don’t know because anything else would be crass or worse, impolite. If you put it in front of their faces, however, then they have to take sides. And I’m guessing that Harold’s accounting business would be the big loser on that one.”

“That’s harsh.”

“You saw another woman’s hoo-ha in your nightie. That’s harsh.”

Marina sighed.

Halcyon narrowed her eyes at Marina. “You’re not thinking of taking him back, are you? Because even if that worm came crawling naked and carrying a solid gold rose in his teeth, I wouldn’t stick around long enough for anything but to kick those new veneers out.”

“No. I’m just mad at myself. I mean, it’s not like I thought our marriage was great but, you know…I guess buying the nightie was too little, too late. I should have done something sooner, but I was so busy with Avery and work and the house, I just couldn’t find the time for anything else.”

“You were busy being responsible and twice as busy as you had to be because you had no help. God knows, Harold has never been able to handle Avery, or cooking, or cleaning, or laundry, or even the smallest home repair. But here’s the thing—you thought things needed a pick-me-up, so you went out and bought a sexy nightie to wear for your husband. Your husband, however, let his hooker girlfriend wear your nightie. Do you see the glaring difference in how the two of you approached the problem?”

“Of course. So why couldn’t he do something like me?”

“Because he’s an idiot. Harold is looking for external solutions to an internal problem. It works in the short term but in the longer term, you only end up digging yourself a bigger hole. Trust me on that one. I have the permanent eyeliner and that disastrous boob tattoo to prove it.”

“I just feel so stupid.”

“Don’t. You were the one trying to do the right thing. God knows, I’d rather be subjected to medieval torture than see Harold naked, but you made those vows and you were doing your best to keep them going. Harold, on the other hand, just picked the easiest warm body he could get a hold of so that he could feel young again.”

Marina frowned. “I never understood how that worked. How does being with someone that young make you feel young? Being around Avery always reminds me of how old I am. Those kids speak an entirely different language. I have no idea what she’s saying half the time, and don’t even get me started on all the shorthand in texts. You’d have to be a code-breaker for the CIA to figure them out.”