Then horrified.
Dawson said:
“Ryan.”
“Who is Sophie?”
Ryan sat down.
That frightened me.
“Lena's legal name was Sophia Lena Harper.”
I exhaled.
Not another woman.
Apparently the bar had become low.
He continued.
“She used Lena socially.”
Fine.
I returned to the real question.
“When were you going to tell the children?”
“After we knew what the court would do with Oliver.”
I stared.
“You were using Oliver as the timetable for ending our marriage.”
“No.”
“That is exactly what you just said.”
Ryan began crying.
“I didn't plan for any of this.”
I laughed.
“You bought real estate.”
“That qualifies as planning.”
Dawson looked toward the elevator.
Megan had appeared.
Of course.
She stopped when she saw us.
Her eyes were swollen.
For twenty-two years, I had known that face.
College roommates.
Bridesmaids.
Babies.
Funerals.
Vacations.
She was godmother to my youngest daughter.
Now I looked at her and could not understand how a person could become unfamiliar without changing physically at all.
