It means: your husband concealed a child for three months and your mother-in-law announced it to thirty-two people, and the part of that we would like to discuss is that we had to watch.

Gertrude’s version, meanwhile, propagated exactly as Paige had predicted.

By July, the story in that family was that Hannah had made Logan choose between his son and his marriage.

It was never stated where anybody could challenge it.

It moved sideways, in kitchens, in the form of a sigh.

I decided, on Deborah’s advice, not to fight it, and it is the only piece of her advice I have ever regretted taking.

She said, “You will never win a rumor and you’ll spend a year losing.” She was right, and I still wish I had spent the year.