At 2:00 a.m., My Husband Thought I Was Asleep While He Emptied Our Safe to Run Off With His Mistress. Before Leaving, He Kissed Me and Whispered, “Poor Audrey. You Never Saw This Coming.” Hours Later He Sent a Photo From the Airport. I Replied With Four Words That Made Him Call Me Immediately.

After Ruth left I washed the dishes and stood at the sink longer than the work required.

The house no longer startled me.

That was a kind of ending too.

PART 6

A year after that night, the house was quieter and the company was louder in the right ways.

Meetings ran longer because people were actually reading the numbers.

The press had moved on to other scandals.

Daniel’s name still appeared in legal notices and then, gradually, less often in rooms that had once laughed at his jokes.