She put her hand over the mouthpiece of the old-fashioned phone and whispered to the agent, "Do you need to listen in on this private conversation?"

The agent was trying hard not to smile. He put the headset down and walked away. She pulled the chair out and sat down at the desk facing the wall.

"All right, I’m back," she announced as she picked up a ballpoint pen and began to click it open and shut.

"Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Stop being evasive. Did you go to bed with him yet? I heard he’s gorgeous."

Laurant laughed. "Michelle, you shouldn’t be asking questions like that."

"I’m your dearest friend, aren’t I?"

"Yes, but-"

"And I’m worried about you. You need sex, Laurant. It’s good for your complexion."

Laurant began to scribble on the notepad. "What’s wrong with my complexion?"

"Nothing sex wouldn’t help. It will bring color to your cheeks."

"I’ll use blush."

Michelle let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. "You aren’t going to tell me, are you?"

"No, I’m not."

"Is he really just a friend of your brother’s?"

Laurant bowed her head. She felt horrible about lying to her best friend, but she knew that when this was over and she could finally tell Michelle the truth, she would understand.

"No, he isn’t just a friend." She turned in the chair to look at Nick. He was standing in the front hallway with the other agent and nodding at something the man was telling him. His expression was somber until he caught her staring at him. Then he smiled.

She turned back to the wall. "The oddest thing happened, Michelle," she whispered.

"What?"

"I fell in love."

Michelle was immediately skeptical. "No, you didn’t. You actually allowed yourself to fall in love? I don’t believe you."

"It’s true."

"Honest? It happened awfully fast, didn’t it?"

"I know," she replied. She picked up the pen again and began to draw.

"He must be something else to get through all your defenses. I can’t wait to meet him."

"You will, and I know you’ll like him."

"I can’t believe this. He must have knocked you over to get your attention. You fell hard, didn’t you?"

"I guess I did."

"This is mind-blowing," Michelle exclaimed.

"It’s not that shocking," she said defensively.

"Puh-lease."

Laurant laughed. Michelle always put her in a good mood. She was so dramatic and very open in her feelings and attitudes, whereas Laurant kept everything close to her heart. Michelle was the only friend since high school whom she had ever confided in.

"I know what goes on in that warped head of yours. You’re always trying to figure out what’s wrong with the guy, and you’re always playing it safe. Just because you got burned once-"

"Twice," she corrected.

"I don’t count the college guy," Michelle said. "Everyone gets her heart broken in college at least once. I’m only counting the creep from Chicago."

"He was a creep," Laurant agreed.

"And just because you misjudged him, you concluded all men were scum. Except my Christopher. You never thought he was scum."

"Of course I didn’t. I love Christopher." She sighed. "I do too. He’s so sweet and wonderful."

"So is Nick."

"Don’t mess this one up, Laurant. Go with your feelings this time."

"What do you mean, don’t mess this one up?"

"With your history…"

"What history?"

"Don’t go all irate on me. I’m simply telling it like it is. You don’t have a very good record with men around here. Want me to go through the list of men you’ve rejected?"

"I didn’t love any of those men."

"You never let yourself get to know any of them long enough to find out if there was a future or not."

"I wasn’t interested."

"Obviously. Everyone in town was so certain that Steve Brenner would be able to get through that thick shell of yours. I heard he was telling people he wanted to marry you."

"That’s what I heard. I don’t even like the man, and I certainly never encouraged him. He gives me the creeps."

"I like him, and so does Christopher. Steve is charming and funny and witty. Everyone likes him but you."

"Bessie Jean Vanderman and her sister don’t like him."

"Please. They don’t like anyone."

Laurant laughed. "That’s not true."

"Yes, it is. They dislike the Catholics because they’re too pushy, and I just heard that Viola thinks Rabbi Spears is running a crooked bingo game."

"You’re kidding."

"Would I make that up?"

"Tell me something. How did you find out so quickly that Nick was with me?"

"The hotline. While Bessie Jean was standing out front, her sister snuck back inside, called my mother, and she told me. We all know how Viola loves to embellish. She said you were getting engaged, but mother and I didn’t believe her. Do you think you will marry Nicholas one day, or is it too soon to ask that question?"

"You just asked me if we slept together," she reminded her.

"No, I asked you if you had sex."

"Actually, Viola wasn’t embellishing. I am going to marry him."

Michelle shrieked again. "Why didn’t you tell me right away. You’re serious? You’re really… I can’t believe this. It’s happening too fast for my little brain to take in. Have you set a date yet?"

"No," she admitted. "But Nick wants to get married real soon."

"Oh, God, this is so romantic. Wait until I tell Christopher. You’re my maid of honor," she said then.

"So?"

The hint wasn’t subtle. "Will you be my maid of honor?" Michelle paused to shout the news to her parents. Both of them had to take a turn on the phone congratulating Laurant, and by the time Michelle was back, ten more minutes had passed.

"Yes, I’ll be your maid of honor. I’m honored that you asked me. Oh, that reminds me. I called you to tell you your dress is ready. You can pick it up tomorrow. Try it on one more time, okay? I don’t want any screwups on the day of my wedding."

"All right. Anything else?"

"The picnic," she said. "I expect to meet Nick then."

"What picnic?"

"What do you mean, what picnic? The abbot’s throwing a big thank-you party at the lake for everyone who worked so hard on the renovations."

"When was this decided?"

"Oh, that’s right. You were out of town. It was in the Sunday bulletin, but you were in Kansas City. Oh, my God, I forgot to ask. The news about Nick turned me into a blithering idiot I suppose. It was so… un-you… that it was all I could think about. I forgot to ask. Is your brother all right?"

"Yes, he’s fine. He got a clean bill of health this time."

"Then no chemo?"

"No chemo."

Michelle sounded relieved. "Thank goodness. Is he back home yet?"

"No, he and a friend are going to drive my car back as soon as the repairs are done. The transmission was slipping."

"You need to buy a new car."

"I will, one of these days."

"When you can afford it, right?"

"Right."

Laurant suddenly dropped the pen. She hadn’t been paying attention as she scribbled on the pad, but now she saw what she had done. There were hearts all over the paper, broken hearts. She ripped the paper from the pad and began to tear it up.

"Father Tom still doesn’t know all the money’s gone, does he?"

She glanced over her shoulder to see if Nick and the other man were still in the hallway, but they were gone.

Even though she was alone in the room, she still lowered her voice when she answered, "No, Tommy doesn’t know the money’s gone. You and Christopher are the only ones I’ve told."

"Heaven help you if Tommy finds out. Put yourself in his place. He assigned his interest in the trust to you when he entered the seminary, thinking that your grandfather’s estate would be secure and that you would be set for life. How is he going to feel when he finds out those slimy lawyers were stealing every cent in the trust by charging exorbitant fees," Michelle railed. The more she talked about the injustice, the angrier her voice became. "Millions of dollars in fees," she reminded Laurant. "They should rot in jail. What they did to you was criminal."