“The old woman is starting to suspect something,” Oscar’s voice said.

And Richard — my husband, the man who had slept beside me for years — laughed, and said, easily, “She’s just a nosy old hag.

My wife signs whatever I put in front of her.

As soon as I liquidate the house and collect the insurance, I’m gone.”

And then Oscar asked the question, and Richard gave the answer that told me everything about the world I had been living in without knowing it.

“What if the mother speaks up?” Oscar said.