hall in a pair of high-heeled shoes.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” called a voice from upstairs that he recognized as Julia’s. “It took my mother years to convince my dad to refinish the floors. She would die if she saw you doing that.”
“Your mother’s already dead,” Dory shouted up in response. Elliot had a sudden memory of one of their first dates, when Dory had cackled at an off-colour joke about puppy mills.
He followed her into the living room to a set of plump flowered sofas. She sat on one, and he sat across from her on the other. Between them on the rug lay a few stuffed animals and other baby toys.
“So you’re a mom now,” he said, after a pause. “By a sperm donor…?”
“How else? A close personal relationship with Zeus?” Dory pushed a lock of her dark bob behind her ear. “It’s someone we know, someone who works for me.” She waved her hand. “He signed everything. It’s all in order.”
“Isn’t that unethical? If he’s your employee, I mean?”
She shrugged. “Probably.” A laugh escaped from them both and, as their eyes met in amusement, it was as though no time had passed. How had he forgotten that it was her very wickedness he had loved? She crossed one leg over the other. “But I wasn’t about to order it off the internet. Kyle is smart, good-looking. Gay. It’s all good.”
“If you say so.” Elliot shifted slightly on the couch. “I hope you’ve been careful about this place.”
“We paid for a fumigation before coming. And a cleaning service.” Dory smoothed the nap of her dress across her knees. “Even though the hospital told Julia they think Keelan probably caught the virus in New York. But how would they know?”
The topic seemed to make her antsy. She stood up and went into the kitchen, her footsteps clacking against the tiles. He watched as she pulled open a cupboard and stared inside. Even in three-inch stilettos, she had to crane her neck to see the top shelf.
“Pop-Tarts or a granola bar?” she offered.
“I guess Keelan didn’t do much cooking.”
Dory shook her head. “Didn’t seem to.” She ripped open a package and slid out a Pop-Tart. “Julia told me we have you to thank for getting us here.” She reached up a hand to remove her mask. “I admit I’m still a little fuzzy on the details.”
Elliot nodded. “I’m just the messenger, really. I made a promise to Keelan.”
Knowing it was hospital protocol to destroy the personal effects of ARAMIS patients, he’d snuck Keelan’s letters to Julia out in his knapsack. Since it wasn’t safe to put them in the mail, he’d sent her digital images of each page. “Did Julia get the photos of his letters? She never wrote back to my email.”
Dory took a bite of the pastry then pulled a face. “Julia has been pretty messed up over everything,” she said, wandering back to the living room. “Especially the letters. Talk about a guilt trip from beyond the grave.” She chewed slowly then swallowed. “Obviously, I know that wasn’t your intention. Or Keelan’s. But somehow even his apology has screwed things up for us.”
Elliot looked away towards an end table and picked up a framed photograph of a pale woman with long dark hair. She had a winsome but vague smile, as though the photographer had captured her in a moment of distraction. Julia’s mother, probably. “Grief can make people behave badly,” he said.
Dory toed a rubber giraffe on the rug. “All these years I told her she didn’t owe him anything.” The toy squeaked as its neck bent in two, then again as Dory released it and the head bounced free. “When people let you down, you have to cut them loose.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“God, Elliot. When will you learn that not everything is about you?” Before he had a chance to respond, Dory strode to the bottom of the stairs. “Jules,” she called. “Come down here already and say hi to your predecessor. It’s the least you could do after stealing me away from him.”
Elliot felt his face getting hot. He didn’t look at Dory but he could almost hear her grinning. She loved to put people on the spot.
Dory sat back down. “So let me give you the lowdown. Julia is Mama and I’m Mommy, and Mama has an elaborate chart for feeding and sleeping that is clearly at odds with reality.”
Julia came downstairs, frowning at a handheld video baby monitor. “I