Three

"Mom says you're looking awfully thin."

"Don't worry about me, Bonnie," Andrea said. "I'm fine and things are getting better."

Andrea didn't believe it, but there was no need to worry her sister.

After those first six months, Andrea settled into a tolerable routine around the children's schedules. It was easier to put the past behind her. She had not learned anything about the woman that left the note on Jack's grave or if he truly did have an affair, or why he had felt his problems were insurmountable. But Andrea was weary of questions with no answers; the burning necessity to know was fading.

She talked to Joni two or three times a week, mostly on the phone; but Joni had no more success than Andrea's mother did in persuading her to "get out."

As a compromise, Andrea had Joni over for a pot roast dinner one evening. After the meal, Robin and Brian went to Jack's study to watch a movie while Joni and Andrea had coffee in the living room.

"Admit it, this is nicer than going out somewhere, don't you think?" Andrea said, settling down on the sofa with her coffee.

"Well, if we could just get the rest of the world to come to dinner, then maybe you'd have something there," Joni said.

"I wish you would believe me. This is what I want. Robin and Brian are my life now."