standing there in tears was not part of it.
“He told me you knew,” she said.
“Knew about what?”
Carl snapped,
“Sheila.”
She turned on him.
“No. You don’t get to do that.”
Then she faced me.
“He told me you two had been separated for months. He said you were still living together because of the house and because your youngest was in college.”
I looked at Carl.
“We slept in the same bed Thursday.”
His face flushed.
Sheila stared at him.
“You told me you slept in the guest room.”
He said nothing.
And suddenly I understood her earlier reaction.
She had believed she was laughing at a bitter joke from a man whose marriage had already ended.
That didn’t make her laughter kind.
But it did mean Carl had lied to her too.
Then one of his coworkers, Megan, approached me.
“Laura, there’s something else.”
Carl immediately
