over to me and got close to my ear. She smelled like strawberries and sweat. Love it. “What if it’s somebody who knows what we did?”
“Nobody knows what we did,” I said. “Just answer the door.”
Ruby grabbed her towel, dabbed at her skin, went over to the door, and asked, “Who is it?”
“Hi! It’s Rhonda Jennings, your downstairs neighbor.”
Rhonda’s high-pitched voice was cheery and warm. Even so, Ruby turned to me, still looking unsure, so I motioned for her to open the door. Clearly, one of us had grown more accustomed to our new identities.
Rhonda Jennings entered our apartment with a bright smile and a fine-smelling pie. My kind of neighbor. She was sweet-faced, with shoulder-length, straight blond hair and an athletic build—not a runner’s body, but maybe a onetime field hockey player’s. Her cornflower-blue eyes surveyed our place, while her expression suggested a sort of sheepish embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t come up to greet you sooner,” Rhonda said. “I’ve been crazy busy at work and . . . and I have more excuses ready but figured pie forgives all.”
“Oh, thank you so much,” Ruby said as she brought the pie over to the kitchen island. She went to grab some plates. “I hope you’ll stay and have some with us.”
Rhonda again got that sheepish look on her face. “Actually, I have to run out. My boyfriend is taking me out to dinner.”
“You made us a pie on date night?” Ruby said. “That’s incredibly nice of you.”
“It was actually a frozen pie I bought a few weeks ago but forgot to bring up to you. I just defrosted it.”
A moment of silence ensued. Then Ruby laughed delightedly, and Rhonda joined in. “Frozen pie is my favorite kind,” Ruby said. “I’m sorry. I should introduce myself. I’m—”
Here, my breath caught. I was sure my wife was going to say, “Ruby Dawes,” but instead she surprised me by saying, “Tanya Uretsky. And this is my husband, Elliot.”
We all shook hands. Rhonda took notice of Ruby’s yoga mat.
“Are you good at yoga?” she asked.
“Not bad,” Ruby said. “I’ve been practicing it for a few years now. Why? Do you do yoga?”
“No, but I’ve been wanting to try it for a while now. I’m getting married—well, after I get engaged, but it’s going to happen—and I heard yoga is great for getting in wedding dress shape.”
“The best,” Ruby said. “And congratulations on the engagement. That’s wonderful.”
“Well, he hasn’t proposed yet, but I helped pick out the ring.”
Ruby held up her finger, showing Rhonda the impossibly small diamond ring I bought her. “I picked this out, too,” she said. “I have my romantic side, but I knew my husband has an even bigger ‘I’d buy a ring we couldn’t afford’ side.”
She was right, of course. Thank goodness I had Ruby to keep me in check.
Rhonda smiled. “It sounds like Matthew and Elliot would get along great.”
Who’s Elliot? I was thinking. Then I got it.
“I’m in school, studying acupuncture, and Elliot works from home. We’re here a lot. Come up anytime and I’ll show you some yoga poses that will help you get started.”
“That would be great,” Rhonda said. “I really wish I could stay. You guys seem really cool. Most of the people living here keep to themselves.”
“We’ve noticed,” Ruby said, chuckling.
I’m thinking, It’s just like the last place we lived. Ruby was still attending school, but we had stopped inviting friends over to our place for obvious reasons. We were essentially alone on an island of our own creation.
“Well, look, I have to run, but it was really nice to meet you. I’m sorry again that it took so long to send the welcome wagon.”
Ruby already had a spoonful of pie in her mouth. “Great to meet you, too,” she said, her words garbled from the pie. She swallowed, pointing to the aluminum pie plate. “Honestly, this is the best frozen pie I’ve ever had,” she said.
Rhonda laughed. “You guys are great. Dinner at my place next week. Deal?”
“Deal,” Ruby said.
We took turns shaking hands good-bye, and then Rhonda was gone.
“See, it’s not so bad here, after all,” I said. “You’ve already made a friend.”
“Honey, real friends know your real name.”
Later that night, Ruby and I were lying in bed. Ginger, tucked firmly between us, purred with the intensity of a revving engine. Ruby was reading from one of her textbooks, a meaty tome titled Alternative Medicine Best Practices, and I was watching the Bruins at low volume. I used a wireless video