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By the ti an affair "Melissa, are you sure you want to ht as they lay in the dark, not touching

"Oh, great" She sighed "Yes, Tom, I want to marry you I said I did, didn’t I? Can you not be an old woman about this?"

He al? If he ended things, he’d lose Charlie, and that was an intolerable thought Maybe it hy she stayed with hiht make snide references to the boys’ club, but her son adored Tom, and for the first time, Charlie had a steady male influence in his life, and Melissa, in one of her nicer ood for her boy

But thosemore and more rare

Then ca so away for the weekend with a friend," she said with a quick glance "You’ll be around, right? Charlie hates staying with ?" he asked "Which friend?"

"Can you not interrogate an, "I think I have a right to knohere you’re going"

She sighed Stopped folding her clothes He couldn’t help notice that her trashiest underas in the suitcase "Look, To time Okay? So don’t ask too many questions, because I just need some space, and I’ll see you Sunday"

"Can I come, Mom?" asked Charlie fro her bag off the bed "I’ll bring you a present, though, okay? Now sed, and the two of them went out on the porch to watch her leave

"Go back inside," she ordered "It’s chilly out here Bye! See you Sunday"

They obeyed "What should we do tonight?" Charlie asked "Can we go to the movies?"

"Yeah, sure, et the paper to check the tiht?"

He went outside, into the little yard, scrubbing his hand across the back of his neck

There she was, four houses down, pulling her suitcase behind her At the intersection sat a blue ot out, opened the door for her, tossed her bag in the back, then got in the driver’s seat, and they were gone

To an affair He’d known it in his heart, but seeing it was the equivalent to a left hook to the kidneys

"He didn’t even come in," came Charlie’s voice Tom turned The boy’s face was pale, his funny little eyebrows knit together

"Who, mate?" he asked, his voice hollow

"My dad"

MELISSA DIDN’T ANSWER her phone, though To her Charlie had seen them and wanted to know very badly why his parents hadn’t taken hi One thing to be a bit of a whore, right? Another to be whoring around with your son’s father and not even bother having the et, asking your fiancé to babysit your kid while you were busy shagging someone else

But when she didn’t co the telly, then bit the bullet and called Janice Kellogg

"Oh, for God’s sake," she said when he told her what Charlie had said "Will she ever learn?"

Ever since she’d first ain, off again, on again, off again, thefor another year, soh to really screw the kid up

"Any idea where she , either"

"I have no idea," Janice said, sounding irritated rather than concerned "Tom, if I could tell you how often this happens We al to you, Walter and I I’h She’s never left for ht and decide they hate each other again Until they decide they can’t live without each other, that is"

Bloody great "Thanks" He hung up and glanced in the living roo Charlie was staring straight ahead The little guy hadn’t saidin the nunity with every call

Melissa never did co to Mitchell DeLuca, and the police report, they’d had a big fight, yelling loudly enough for the people in the next motel room to hear Melissa had a few drinks Took a walk Decided to send Tom a text

Tom, you won’t be

That hen the car hit her, killing her instantly