Page 8 of A Better World

“Incredible,” Linda said.

“Overwhelming?” Zach asked.

Linda considered buttering him:This is the town of my dreams! It’s the best place in the world! I’m not freaked out at all!But despite the clown outfit and the greasy personality, he seemed smarter than that. Or maybesmarterwasn’t the word. Cunning. More cunning. “Yes, it’s a fantasy. Perfect in every way. But overwhelming for that reason, too.”

“You understand that we don’t let people tour. Certainly not entire families unless we’re already prepared to make an offer.”

Linda waited, her breath caught in her throat.

“You’re a fine family. The kind we look for, to create a little variety, but not too much variety. Your husband will be offered the position.”

The kids were laughing now, each on one end of a seesaw, threatening to make the other go flying. It was heartening to see them acting so free. Back home, she didn’t let them out. It was school and home and don’t talk to strangers.

“I’m so grateful,” she said.

“Is there anything holding you back?” Zach asked.

“No,” Linda said. “We’re in.”

For the first time, Zach cut the bullshit. She saw it happen on his face, in his demeanor. His posture slackened. His voice became less grand and more like that of someone she’d once met on a nearby barstool, during her wild days. “Seriously, Linda. This town doesn’t work for everyone. We follow Hollow. We believe in community. Acclimation that whole first year can be grueling. If you don’t want to commit to all that, this isn’t for you.”

She could tell him that they had nothing else. She could tell him that compared to outside, this place was a literal paradise and they both knew it. But she kept it short. “We want this. Very much.”

“Wonderful. Interview over. I told you it would be painless!” Zachsaid, clasping her hand between his lotion-soft fingers. “Welcome to Plymouth Valley!”

That weekend in Plymouth Valley was the vacation they’d all needed. They swam in the Omnium River near the old mill and ate like horses. As if their bodies were healing from poison—which, given the particulate content of New York’s air, seemed likely—they slept like the dead. She and Russell had sex for the first time in weeks, and it wasn’t the itch-scratching kind; it wasluscious.

Because their assigned house wasn’t yet ready, they stayed at one of the guesthouses on the farm. After supper, she and Russell went for a walk. The sky went vivid red as the sun set.

“Well?” he asked.

“It’s storybook.”

“They want us in two weeks. I think that’s enough time. Don’t you? We’d need to get here before school starts, anyway.”

“Are we absolutely sure this is the right thing?” she asked.

“Even if we could have our old life back, my job, would you want it, after seeing all this?”

She looked out at the sun, which in that short time had sunk behind the wall, leaving the farm awash in a sullen afterglow. “No.”

For this first time that she could remember, Russell got down on his knees. He was wearing his usual pleated trousers, a button-down shirt. “It’s a house with stairs. It’s fresh air and the best schools, the best everything.”

Of course we’ll move, she wanted to say, and she knew that they would. It was logical. Inevitable, even. But she was thinking of the shadow down in the tunnels; it had felt so knowing and real. She was thinking of Jack, who’d avoided looking at their apartment, under the false assumption that his eyes on the detritus of their messy lives ought to cause them shame.

“I know I haven’t done the things I was supposed to do, partner-wise,” he said. “I’ve left a lot on your shoulders and maybe I should have asked. I should have asked. I know that now… I understandwhy you wanted that divorce when they were little. I get it, now,” he said, like he was forgiving her for something. He was being the bigger person. “But it worked out for the best. You did good with them. The kids. I love you and I want us to survive. I want our family to survive. We need this.”

Russell was not a communicator. She’d been hoping for something,anything, like this, for a long time.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, his hot breath pressing into her groin. “This can be a fresh start. We’ll be different. Better. Like we used to be.”

She wanted to believe these words and was glad he’d said them. They were pretty. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I know I should just be happy about this. I’d be crazy not to be overjoyed, and I am overjoyed. But there’s something about this town that frightens me,” she said, realizing just then that it was true. “I mean, the big house. The free everything? I can live with Hollow. The parties sound like fun and I’m happy to feed some ugly chickens. But doesn’t it feel like there’s a catch, here? Like it’s too good to be true?”

“Itistoo good to be true,” he said. “There’s always a catch.”

“But what is it?”

He looked at the place where the sun had fallen. “I don’t know. They say the first year’s the hardest, but they’ve assured me that so long as I do the job, we’ll pass the review.”

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