I didn’t go back to the party.
I sat in Vanessa’s kitchen with her until the barbecue was over. Until the neighbors had all gone home. Until Irvin had cleaned the grill and stacked the chairs and bagged up the trash.
He came in through the back door at eight o’clock. He stood in the kitchen doorway with his hands in his pockets.
“Everybody had a nice time,” he said. “Mrs. Kowalski ate two cheeseburgers. Mr. Johnson asked me about the chemistry of charcoal. I think I bored him to death.”
Vanessa laughed. A real laugh. Wet and shaky.
“Irvin,” she said. “I’m sorry. For everything. The notes. The texts. All of it. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Irvin said.
“It’s not okay. I tried to break up your marriage.”
“Well,” Irvin said. “You didn’t. So I guess it’s okay.” He looked at me. “She brought you a pie, Vanessa. Twice. That’s the woman I married. Nobody was ever going to break that.”
