Page 73 of The Amendment

“What happened?”

“There was this whole thing with her husband, er, ex-husband. They had a rough patch, then a divorce. Nowthey’re closer than ever and traveling the world together.”

“That seems…healthy.”

“Surprisingly, they’re probably the healthiest couple I know.”

“Are you including yourself in that?”

I glanced at her, then looked away, refusing to answer.

After a moment, she went on. “You must miss her.”

“Every day.” My voice broke as I said it, and I swiped my cheek against my shoulder.

“When did you see her last?”

“It’s been like seven or eight months, I guess.” I tried to do the mental math.

“Was she the person you used to talk to when you and Pete had problems?”

I nodded.

“Who do you talk to now?”

“You?” It was a question, rather than a definitive answer.

She pursed her lips. “Maybe you should go see her. Tell her what’s going on.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because!” I exploded. Why was she forcing the issue? “Because she deserves to be happy for once without my problems interfering.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t think you’re interfering.”

“Of course she doesn’t. Because that’s not who she is. But I can’t do that to her. I made this mess. It’s my fault. I have to fix it now.”

“And how are you going to do that?”

“I haven’t decided.” I took a sip of the tea I’d brought with me.

“Have you tried to talk to Pete? To tell him you’re unhappy?”

“You don’t understand…”

“I’m trying to.”

“He’s not the kind of person you can just leave. The things we’ve done to each other, with each other—”

“Thefencing?” she asked, a lilt in her voice that told me she knew we weren’t actually talking about fencing when we’d brought it up.

“Among other things…”

“You just need to talk to each other. Maybe the two of you want the same things without realizing it. Maybe you’re so busy protecting each other that you can’t see the truth right in front of you.”

“And what truth would that be?”

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