After the call ended, Marcy sat at the kitchen table staring at her coffee.
“You’re wondering whether Dustin knew,” I said.
“Yes.”
“What would it change?”
She looked surprised.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s worth thinking about.”
She considered it.
“If he knew, then I was wrong about him.”
“And if he didn’t?”
“Then I was wrong about why everything was happening.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“You’re trying to turn new information into a verdict about yourself.”
She stared.
“Whether Dustin knew about the money doesn’t change what happened between you two. It doesn’t change what you need now.”
She looked toward the window.
“I keep thinking if I understand everything, I’ll know how to feel.”
Ellen sat beside her.
“Feelings rarely wait for paperwork.”
Marcy smiled faintly.
That afternoon she asked us to drive her back to her apartment.
