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afraid so.” His arms enveloped her as his hands slid over her back. “But you know what they recommend….”
    “What’s that?” She felt his fingers sink into her hair as his face moved closer to hers.
    “Show, don’t tell.”
    ****
    Marienne set the teakettle on the stove and turned on the flame. Lynn had called saying she needed girl talk and asking for an emergency play date for Rebecca and Ella. Now Lynn was sitting at the kitchen table, folding her napkin into an accordion. “What kind of tea do you want? Earl grey? Chamomile? English breakfast?”
    “Anything decaf, I’m already tense enough.” She unfolded the napkin and smoothed it with her hand.
    Daniel had taken Ella and Rebecca upstairs to get them settled with a DVD so Lynn and Marienne could talk without their little ears picking up every word.
    Marienne carried a plate of oatmeal cookies to the table and sat down. “What’s got you so upset?”
    Lynn looked as if she might burst into tears. “How did you know when Frank was cheating on you? I hope that’s not a horrible thing to ask.”
    Marienne sighed. “It’s not. And I didn’t. I mean I had suspicions but I didn’t find out for sure until after he’d died.”
    “I’m sorry.” Lynn put her hand on Marienne’s. “Do you not want to talk about this? I’m being too nosy.”
    “No, it’s okay. It seems like a lifetime ago.” More than that. She felt like she’d been with Daniel forever. She took a deep breath. “There were tons of warning signs. He was never home. Always had a reason for working late or staying over in the city. Hardly wanted anything to do with me from the moment I got pregnant. Certainly didn’t want anything to do with Ella when she was a baby.”
    “So you knew but you never said anything?” Lynn nibbled a cookie.
    “I wouldn’t say I knew. I was too busy trying to convince myself that I was paranoid.” Marienne heard the teakettle starting to whistle and got up to get it.
    “So what confirmed it?”
    Marienne carried the kettle to the table, holding two mugs in her other hand. “I was going through his stuff after he died and I found a brand new box of condoms. We hadn’t used condoms in years.”
    “Oh.” Lynn opened her teabag and plopped it into her cup.
    “Then I looked on his computer and found a slew of Instant Messages, all from his mistress, all about sex.”
    “Oh my God.” Lynn’s eyes bugged.
    “Yeah, not my best day.” Marienne passed her the sugar. “But in the end it all worked out. If I hadn’t found out, I might not have let myself get involved with Daniel. Once I knew, it helped me get past the grieving. Not to mention that it was a reality check for what our relationship had really meant. But what’s all this got to do with you and Mitch?”
    “I think he’s up to something.” Her voice got shaky again and she reached for a second cookie.
    Marienne stirred her tea. “Why?”
    “He’s been acting weird. All secretive. So I started snooping, and I found tons of porn.” She lowered her voice on the last word.
    “Don’t worry. The girls can’t hear you. Our bedroom’s on the other end of the house, and Daniel hasn’t even come back down yet.” No sooner did she finish her sentence than she could hear Daniel trotting down the stairs. She heard him walk into his office and turn on his computer. “Okay, he’ll be working, and the girls are watching a movie. Go ahead. And, might I add, lots of men have a porn collection, that doesn’t mean anything.”
    ****
    Daniel wanted a cup of tea. He had tons of reading to do and needed something to keep him awake. Why is it that when it’s the middle of the night I can’t sleep but when it’s midday and I have work to do I can’t keep my eyes open? He opened his office door quietly, he knew Lynn had come over upset about something and he didn’t want to intrude if they were in the middle of a conversation. He listened closely and immediately heard the word ‘porn’.