“No? Close enough. Anyway, Lainie hated to tell them to stop calling, but she realized there weren’t enough hours to have these conversations and get anything else done. So one night she was joking with one of the guys that she was going to have to start charging him ’cause he was taking up so much of her free time, and before she knew what was what, he told her he’d give her a credit card number. That’s how it got started. Soon enough she realized she didn’t want to listen to callers, she wanted to be the organizer. So she asked me to take calls, along with a few other women she trusted. Lainie talks to the new ones a while, figures out what they need, then figures out which one of us will be good for them. They call her when they want to talk, and if we can take the call right then, we call them back.”
“And charge.”
“I keep track of how long we talk, yes, and they pay Lainie and she pays me. Do you get paid for the work you do?”
“Not from you, I don’t.”
“Well, you will, soon as you do some.”
“I’ve got a man coming over next week to give an estimate on your repairs. And by the way, I can’t afford him for myself.”
“I’m supposed to feel grateful I won’t be cleaning up after leaks and breathing gas fumes?”
“I don’t smell gas.”
“That’s because I shut off the valve every time I’m done using the stove. And your man will tell you there’s nothing wrong with the line. We had the gas company out here. It’s the stove needs replacing. The insides are all corroded.”
“Oh.”
Wanda wondered what would happen if she sat up. Before she could try, Tracy got to her feet. “Do you want tea or something? Do you have anything you can take for an upset stomach?”
“It’s not like you to be all helpful.”
“Look, I’m trying, okay? Maybe it doesn’t come naturally, but even I can make tea and open a bottle of pills.”
“What are you doing here, anyway?” Wanda swung her legs around and pushed herself gently upright. The nausea did not return.
“I figured I owed you an apology. For the way I acted at the park.”
Wanda didn’t know what to say to that, just like she wouldn’t know what to say on Judgment Day.
“Do you want that tea or not?” Tracy asked after a long pause.
“There’s some bags in the cabinet beside the microwave. Just put one in a cup of water and stick it in until it boils.”
“I can manage.”
Wanda remained upright until Tracy came back, but once she had the tea, she reclined against the arm of the sofa, where she could rest her elbows and steady her shaking hands. She took a sip, then another, and decided that was going to be it for a while. Her stomach was still rolling, but with gentler waves. Tracy left again and came back with a wet washcloth.
“You can wipe your face if you need to.”
Wanda set her cup on the coffee table and took the cloth, but she was suspicious. “You’re being awful nice.”
“It’s not the first time in my life.”
“Well, I guess that’s good to hear.”
Tracy took a seat across from the sofa. “I know this really isn’t any of my business, but I’m curious. Does your husband know what you’re doing? Does he mind?”
“Kenny?” Wanda managed something like a laugh. “Kenny don’t know a darned thing about me anymore.”
“I see him walking a lot.”
“He comes home, then he lights out of here fast as he can go. But it leaves lots of time to make my calls and make some money to sock away for whenever I divorce him.”
“Wouldn’t you rather have him? I mean, more than the time and money?”
“That’s personal.”
“It’s kind of a personal night, don’t you think?”
Wanda thought it was probably a question worth answering. “I’d rather have the old Kenny,” she said at last. “But not this one. This one’s not worth the minerals in his body.”
“I’m sorry. I was in a bad marriage, too. Only I wasn’t smart enough to figure it out.”
“This isn’t that hard. I’m married to a stranger.”
“What happened? To change him, I mean? Another woman? The bottle?”
“He killed a man.”
Tracy went silent. Wanda didn’t know why she was talking about this, and especially why she was talking about it to this woman. Maybe she was as lonely as the old