Page 119 of Happy Wife

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you. Now, open it.”

Inside the small green rectangular box was an amber pendant encircled in delicate scalloped gold on a thin gold chain. The amber had little flowers that looked yellow etched into the burnt orange gem and on the back I could feel the grooves of the etching.

“Oh my God.” I looked at him. “It’s so beautiful. I love it.”

“It was my mom’s,” he said.

I looked up at him, shocked. I knew his mom had passed away when he was still a kid. All these years later, I was surprised he had anything left of hers.

The second wife doesn’t get many heirlooms.

He took it out of the box and opened the clasp. “It’s not very extravagant. Nothing like the jewelry you see around the club. My mom didn’t care much for opulence. Not that we could have afforded more. But she loved this necklace. She wore it every day.”

I turned on his lap so that he could fasten the chain to my neck.

“My mom would have loved you,” he said, and he looked like he might cry. “You’ve never given a shit about any of this.” He waved at the mansions surrounding us on the lake. “You just want me. I can’t believe I’m so lucky.”

I pulled him in and kissed him, wiping a few small tears away.

“Knock it off, Pal,” Mia called from the water. “Stop making kissy faces and drive the boat.”

He chuckled and gave me another kiss before obliging her.

I touched the pendant, which fell just above my heart, and swelled with a little bit of pride. We had made it through a really shitty time. We were going to be okay. I didn’t know what the future held for me. Maybe we’d have kids, maybe we wouldn’t. Maybe I’d try to go back to work, maybe I wouldn’t. But we were going to be there for each other. We were going to figure it out together.

Chapter47

Twenty days later

I’ve had the first good night’s rest in almost a month, and I wake up ready to go for a run. I text Este as much. Her response comes through as I’m pulling on my shoes.

7:46a.m.

Fuuuuuuck. I thought we were done with running.

7:48a.m.

Fine. Ten minutes.

I laugh as I head down the stairs and out the front door.

The press corps of lawn jockeys have retreated, pulling up stakes and hightailing it to the Halls’s when it was leaked that the police were looking into Fritz. I watch Este make her way across the driveway, and I almost miss Ardell’s cruiser coming down the road.

“For fuck’s sake, what now?”

Este doubles over with her hands on her knees. “Oh, thankchrist, we don’t have to run.”

Ardell gets out of the car and heads toward us.

“Morning, ladies. Sorry if I interrupted your run.”

“I’m not,” Este says as she lifts her arms in a stretch.

“Can I speak to you in private, Nora?”

I look at Este, who is already ambling back to her house. “Call me if he’s hauling you in; otherwise, let’s go to yoga at noon. I’m going back to bed.”