Page 109 of After Anna

“Boo-hoo, bitch. Call me after gestation.”

“She was hurt, but she tried to cover it up.”

“She’s too young to hide her emotions. She’ll learn.”

“Kath, I have to admit, when I met her, she lookedsodamn young. I didn’t think he was like that.”

“Oh please. Men love young things. It’s fresh eggs. They can smell them.”

“She even asked to see my engagement ring.”

“Did you stick it in her face?”

“No. She called me later, to say it was nice to meet me. The temp had given her my cell number because she was a rep.” Maggie thoughtback to how happy she and Noah had been, in the beginning. They’d gotten engaged only six months after they had met. She’d known it was right, or at least she’d thought it was. “Marriage is a funny thing, isn’t it?”

“I smell philosophy.”

“You don’t know what’s going to happen in a marriage. In your life. You have to be able to deal with it.”

“Quite true.” Kathy pumped her arms.

“Like with Anna coming. I would’ve guessed Noah would be great.”

“I said, you just have to give it time.”

“That’s the thing, everything is happening so fast. He said the house is in an uproar, and he’s right.”

“It’s not the worst thing for him to take a week off right now. It’ll give the house time to settle.”

“I hope so, especially for Caleb. I’ll give him extra attention this week, and we have the barbecue Saturday night. You guys are coming, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it. What do you want me to bring, the Ina Garten corn salad?”

“Yes, you make that great.”

“You have to make those deviled eggs I love. Kick it old-school.”

“That’s me.” Maggie felt a rush of comfort, having a friend she knew so well that she knew her best dishes. Girlfriends were a blessing.

“And don’t worry about Noah in Miami.”

“I can’t help it. If Jordan’s there, she’ll seek him out.”

“So what? He wouldn’t cheat on you.”

“She’s younger and thinner.”

“He loves you, silly.”

“Right, I keep forgetting,” Maggie shot back.

Chapter Fifty-three

Noah, After

TRIAL, DAY 4

Noah stiffened at the enlarged black-and-white photo of Anna in death, which showed her face, neck, and bare shoulders. Her eyes were fixed open, gruesomely, since the sclera around the irises was black with blood. Her skin had a gray pallor, contrasting with the dark bruises encircling her neck like a lethal choker. Linda, Thomas, and the courtroom clerk were working through the details of admitting and labeling the photo, which took a horribly long time, whether inadvertently or on purpose.