“I’m too upset to eat. Why don’t we just go, see how he is?”

“But you love bacon. I’ve seen you eat entire pigs.”

“Not this morning. I’ll get my bag.” Alice left the kitchen for the living room, looking for Bennie’s messenger bag.

“Let me put the eggs away,” Grady called from the kitchen, where suddenly the telephone rang.

“Don’t pick up,” Alice called back. She didn’t need another test. She found the bag and went to the front door. “We have to get going.”

“Okay.”

The phone stopped ringing, but there were clicks that sounded like an old-fashioned answering machine, and Alice stopped, her hand on the knob. Did Bennie have an answering machine? Who still had an old-fashioned answering machine? How had she missed it? In the next second, a woman’s voice started talking, amplified.

“Bennie?” It was Mary DiNunzio. “I got the brief finished for Alice’s restraining order, with Judy’s help. I hope you won’t need it, but it’s good to have. I’ll email you a final tonight. See you tomorrow. Take care, bye.”

Oh no! Alice couldn’t believe her ears. She opened the front door like the call was nothing, but it was the last thing she needed. Now Grady would know that she was back in Bennie’s life. If she kept making little slips, it could give him reason to wonder whether she really was Bennie. Alice told herself to play it cool, but Grady came slowly out of the kitchen, his brow knit and his eyes concerned behind his glasses.

“Does she mean Alice Connelly?” he asked. “Are you getting a restraining order? What’s going on?”

“Nothing, really. You know DiNunzio. She’s overreacting, big-time.”

“What happened?”

“I got a call that Alice quit her job, is all.” Alice reminded herself to stay the course. Until now he had no reason to suspect anything, and she couldn’t let Mary’s phone call ruin everything. “She wanted to get a restraining order, just in case.”

“Why did she quit?”

“I’ll fill you in on the way. Let’s go.” Alice walked out the door, and Grady followed, puzzled.

“Has she threatened you?”

“No, but DiNunzio wanted to have it in place, in case she did.”

“I didn’t even know you two were in contact. Last time I heard, Alice had skipped town, after you were nice enough to prove her not guilty, for free.”

“Can we not talk about this now.” Alice locked the front door, and when she turned around, Grady was frowning. She hurried down the steps and passed him on the sidewalk. “Let’s go, we have to go.”

“You sound like you’re not taking this seriously. Alice is dangerous.”

Thank you. “No, she’s not.”

“She’s a sociopath.”

Flatterer. “Don’t be silly.”

“You always underestimated her. You trust her when you shouldn’t.”

You got that right. “I don’t trust her, not completely.”

“Bennie, why didn’t you tell me about this last night? This is big news, and you didn’t even mention it.”

“I was worried about Bear, and I still am. You drive, okay?” Alice tossed him the keys when they reached the car, and they got inside. She didn’t need all these questions right now. It was just her luck that Grady picked this weekend to hook up with his long-lost love. She flashed on that saying about the best-laid plans.

And I didn’t even get laid.

Mary was losing hope that she and Anthony would find a house, ever. They’d seen four in their price range, but all of them fell short of Curb Appeal! and New Fixtures! and Five Years Young! The one they were about to see was the “reach,” which she realized was code for perfect when she saw the façade of the lovely brick town-house, three stories high, with glossy black shutters and matching window boxes, bright with pink and white snapdragons.

“Welcome, folks, I’m Janine Robinson,” the realtor said, opening the door. She was an older woman, nicely made up, though her linen pantsuit had folded into an accordion. Mary had done her time in linen, and it was time for everybody to agree that linen wasn’t good for anything except irons.

“Hello,” Anthony said, introducing them both, which provoked the typical response from Janine the realtor:

“How long have you two been married?”

“We’re not,” Mary answered, since it was her turn, and Anthony stepped into the entrance hall, his hands linked loosely behind his back.

Janine smiled, toothily. “Oh, are you getting married?”

“No, we are going to live in sin.” Mary’s favorite old-time euphemism was “shacked up,” but only Tony-From-Down-The-Block used that one. Nobody trying to sell you a house ever said you were shacking up, even if you were.

“Are you working with anyone?” Janine asked, which Mary knew was another euphemism, for will-I-be-getting-a-three-percent-commission-or-six?

“No, we don’t have a broker. We’re on our own.”

“Come with me, I’ll show you around, then I’ll let you two wander upstairs.”

“Great, thanks.” Mary stepped into the living room, where something funny happened. She had never lived in any house as nice as this, but it felt instantly like home.

Janine was saying, “Fully renovated living room, new parquet floors, authentic crown molding, southern exposure, everything a young couple could ask for…”

Mary zoned her out. She had memorized the listing, and any idiot could see that the room was flooded with light, unusual for the city, and that its colonial proportions had a historic grace. The window-sills were a foot thick, begging for a window seat or a house cat. She and Mike used to have a cat, but she pressed that thought away.

Janine continued, “Here you see the dining room, also spacious, with windows that overlook this charming courtyard. The brick patio is new, and the plantings are specimen, a miniature cypress and several yew bushes.”

Yew? Yay! Mary peeked into the courtyard, captivated. She could imagine sitting outside, reading in an Adirondacks chair. She’d never had a house with a real backyard. Her parents had had a concrete pad for their trashcans, where her father had once tried to grow a fig tree, required for Italian men of a certain generation.

“The kitchen, over here, has also been fully renovated, all stainless steel, and you can see it’s fitted for a gourmet. Viking Range, Sub-Zero refrigerator, KitchenAid trash compactor, all top-of-the-line.” Janine gestured to the glossy tan countertop. “This, of course, is granite, and all of the plumbing is Perrin & Rowe, which comes directly from London, England.”

Mary stared at the sunshine reflecting on the stainless steel. It was a dream kitchen, plus she could get an excellent tan.

“I’ll let you find your way upstairs. There’s a nursery up there, next to the master.” Janine picked up a fact sheet. “Anthony, take this. Your girlfriend looks too smitten to read it.”

“She is?” Anthony turned with a bemused smile.

“Not yet,” Mary said, to preserve their bargaining position. Her neck blotches alone would drive the price sky-high.

Janine handed them both her business card. “Don’t wait too long on this listing, folks. I had a crowd in here today, even with everybody away. This one won’t be on the market much longer.”

“Thanks,” Mary said, slipping the card into her purse. She and Anthony left the kitchen and went upstairs in silence, as was their custom. Neither wanted to influence the other, and she suspected that the realtors eavesdropped. They went into the master bedroom and closed the door behind them.

“Can you believe this place?” Mary whispered, and Anthony started laughing.

“I know. I don’t need to see the rest.”

“Me, neither!” Mary’s heart leapt with happiness.

“We should go.”

“What?” Mary didn’t understand. “We should buy it!”

“What?” Anthony looked at her like she was nuts. “Do you know how much this place costs?”