Yet each time I imagined paying off our house, Arthur’s smile rose in my mind and made the idea feel shamefully simple.

“Do you think I helped him because I wanted something?” I asked.

Elise looked startled.

“For twelve years you wouldn’t even let him reimburse you for gas.”

“I mean now.

What if everyone thinks I knew?”

“Some people will think that,” she said.

“It doesn’t make it true.”