The only thing on Annie’s stress agenda for now was Katie’s trip, and she was trying to be philosophical about it. She had almost convinced herself by then that she’d be all right, and Paul had solemnly promised to take care of her. They had looked like two innocents to Annie when they left. And she said a little prayer for them on her way home in the cab.

Annie called and talked to Whitney later that afternoon. She had told her about Tom by then, and Whitney was wildly excited about it and wanted her to bring him out to meet them. But her visit to them on New Year’s Eve had brought into sharp focus for Annie how different their lives were. She and Whitney shared history and a lot of years, but for an outsider, and even her, their quiet suburban life in Far Hills was incredibly boring. Their friends all drank too much and talked about their children. Most of them were doctors, and their conversations were about medicine, their latest trip, or their kids. She didn’t want to subject Tom to a painfully dull evening, and Whitney and Fred never came into town for dinner. So they hadn’t met. Whitney was enormously impressed that Annie was dating a well-known TV anchor. Annie didn’t want her making an issue of that if they came out to see her either, and she knew they would. His celebrity was too hard to resist. She could see it whenever they met new people or went to restaurants. He was a star in his own right, and some people reacted to it strangely, by showing off or trying to compete or being passive-aggressive and making rude comments. Tom was always polite about it, but she couldn’t see him enjoying an evening with Whitney and Fred and their friends in New Jersey. The truth was, she didn’t enjoy their circle of friends either, and the New Year’s Eve she had recently spent with them had been one of her worst ever, not to mention the appalling blind date. Tom had saved her from a lifetime of those evenings and men like Bob Graham, and Annie was forever grateful.

Whitney congratulated her on her new-found maturity that she had let Katie go to Tehran with Paul. She said it was going to be a fabulous experience for her, a whole new culture to discover, and she was impressed that Annie was being so reasonable about it.

“I had no other choice. I’m not calm about it. But I realize that you’re right, and I have to let them make their own mistakes. But don’t think for a second that this is easy.” She had had nightmares about it for weeks. But Katie had her BlackBerry, plenty of money, a credit card, and her return ticket home, and Annie had told her to call immediately or send a text if she had a problem. Katie had laughed at her when she said it.

“So what are you and Tom going to do while she’s gone?” Whitney asked. She knew that Katie living at home and not in the dorm this semester had cramped their style a little, but Annie had spent several nights with Tom at his apartment. And Annie suspected correctly that when she wasn’t around, Paul spent the night. They were dating, but if they decided to get married and have kids, it could get extremely complicated. But Kate was only twenty-one, and they weren’t discussing marriage, just a trip. Annie was trying to calm down about it and not get too worked up.

“Tom and I are going to run around the apartment naked while they’re gone,” Annie said with a grin in answer to Whitney’s question. “I have to admit, there comes a point when it’s a little challenging living with your adult kids. It’s awkward with Tom, but I love having her here. I just hope she goes back to school next term.” Annie was still upset about her job at the tattoo parlor, but she was trying to be less vocal about it. Tom had tempered her a little. She felt more relaxed about everything now that she was sharing life with him. She had another adult to talk to, and his perspective on most subjects was sensible, although he’d never had children and didn’t fully understand her bond to them and how close it was. But on the more practical issues, he was a big help. And with Katie gone for two weeks, they’d have the place to themselves.

Ted hadn’t come home for the night since the stabbing incident, although Annie had met him for lunch. He seemed to be doing all right, given the circumstances, although Annie thought he seemed nervous and very stressed. He was still upset about the baby. And despite Pattie’s constant pressure, he hadn’t agreed to marry her before August. She said it would be humiliating to get married when she was so pregnant, but Ted wouldn’t relent on that. August was the best he was willing to do, no matter how much she cried and whined about it. He felt pressured enough as it was, and he still thought it was wrong for them to have the baby. He wasn’t prepared to take that on, but he had agreed to step up to the plate. He was being very good to her and had taken over all the household chores for her. And he was honest with Annie that he was behind in his studying and was worried about his midterms. Even an unmerited gift of Pattie’s A couldn’t pull up his GPA.

And Liz had said something to Annie about a new man in her life, but she hadn’t said who. She was being mysterious about it, and Annie didn’t push. She assumed it was one of her typical guys, a photographer or model or someone she had met through work.

“I thought you said you were taking a break,” Annie reminded her, and Liz laughed.

“I am … I was … I don’t know … this is very new. It’s nothing yet. He lives in Rome, and I’ve only seen him a few times. I met him in Paris over New Year’s, and he was here on business a few weeks ago. We had lunch and dinner, but it probably can’t go anywhere. He hardly ever comes to New York, and I only go to Rome a couple of times a year.” A relationship with Alessandro wasn’t a very realistic hope, but he was calling her several times a day, and Liz had wonderful conversations with him, about serious subjects. He had promised to come to see her in Paris the next time she was there.

“Geography isn’t insurmountable, you know,” Annie reminded her, “for the right guy. If it ever got serious, maybe you could get a job at Italian Vogue.”

“That’s what he says,” Liz said thoughtfully, “but we’re a long way from there. I haven’t even slept with him yet. I didn’t want to get carried away with a guy I might never see again.” But she had to admit to herself, if not to Annie, that it had been hard to resist. He had kissed her when they walked through Central Park, and she nearly melted in his arms, and there had been a serious makeout session on her couch that night, but they had both managed to restrain themselves, and Liz was glad she had.

“It doesn’t sound very likely that you won’t see him again,” Annie commented with a smile. She’d never heard Liz sound like this about any man. But the men she had always gone out with were boys. Alessandro was a man. And she didn’t sound frightened this time. For the first time in her life, Liz was willing to risk her heart. Annie was happy for her, and relieved. Liz deserved a good man, and not the flakes she’d been going out with for years. And she wished Ted would find a nice girl too. That certainly wasn’t the case for the moment.

Ted had gone to a basketball game at NYU with one of his roommates on a Friday night, on a weekend when Pattie’s kids were with their father, and she had complained that she wanted Ted home with her. She said she had a headache, but he’d been gently insistent that he needed a break. He never saw his friends anymore, and she had insisted he be with her constantly ever since she told him she was pregnant. But for once he told her he was going out, and said he’d stay at his own apartment afterward, since he’d probably have too much to drink, and she didn’t like that either. He needed a little room to spread his wings.

But he didn’t drink as much as he thought he would at the game, their team lost, and he felt guilty on his way home, so he left his roommate and went back to Pattie’s apartment to surprise her. She was lying on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, watching a romantic comedy, and she was thrilled to see him when he walked through the door with his key.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with pleasure. She still looked the same. She hadn’t started to gain weight yet, but she was only two and a half months pregnant, and she was a tall, full-bodied woman and carried it well.

“I missed you,” he said simply, and smiled at her. In part it was true. He was used to her now. But he also knew that she’d find some way to punish him the next day for going to the game with his friends. She had none of her own. She was completely dependent on Ted for all her entertainment, emotional sustenance, and distraction. She never wanted to spend five minutes away from him, so it was easier to just go back to her apartment than listen to her complain about it later.

“Did you eat dinner?” she asked him as she lay on the couch. She wasn’t much of a cook, but she kept him fed. They lived mostly on pizza and Chinese takeout, which he paid for, and once in a blue moon she cooked. There was a bucket of KFC in the kitchen, and he helped himself to a piece.

“I had a hot dog and nachos at the game,” he said, and then finished a piece of chicken, cracked open a beer, and decided to go to the bathroom first. He closed the door and turned on the light and then stared at what he saw in the bowl. He didn’t understand it. It didn’t belong there, and there was no one in the apartment but her. It looked like an injured mouse, but it was a bloody tampon, and there was blood in the bowl. She had forgotten to flush. And she clearly wasn’t having a miscarriage or distressed about it. She was laughing loudly at the film she had seen a dozen times before, and she smiled as he came out of the bathroom.

His head was reeling, but he said nothing to her. He walked into the kitchen and stared out the window, trying to understand what he’d seen and what it meant. It didn’t seem possible that she would do that to him. But what if she had? What if it was all a lie and a hoax? His whole body was trembling as he stood there, and he had to know. He grabbed his coat, strode to the door, and said something vague to Pattie about being back in a few minutes.