I had not even finished the first letter.

I had built an entire catastrophe from names and paper titles.

I looked at the clutch.

Across the table, Christopher caught my eye and smiled.

I smiled back, then hated that I had done it.

When the conversation grew louder, I excused myself and went to the downstairs powder room.

I locked the door.

The room was quiet enough to hear the faint noise of water in the pipes.