“You’re more, I don’t know, subdued than usual.”
“I’m fine. I just can’t believe it’s over between you and Roman. The papers have been signed. You’re actually divorced.”
“Onward and upward, baby.”
“Sounds positive. I’d be devastated.” Dana chose her words carefully. She already suspected her sister was masking her pain. “It’s okay if you want to feel sad.”
“This week isn’t about being sad. It’s about being free.”
“I didn’t realize Roman was holding you prisoner.”
“It’s not that. Look, I know this is a big change, and not just for me. But, believe me, it’s for the best.”
“Roman’s a good man, better than most. I hope you realize that.”
“I never said he wasn’t.” Anise stirred her Bloody Mary with vigor. “And why does everyone assumeI’mthe one who called things off?”
“Because you were.”
“Yeah, well, there were reasons. Dana, Roman may look good on paper. He has a nice job, he’s responsible, people like him. Deep down, I still love him, I do. But, in our case, love wasn’t enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let me rephrase that.Iwasn’t enough.” Anise sighed. “He cheated.”
“What?” Dana had to shut her gaping mouth. “You never said anything!”
“I know. I just don’t like admitting it out loud.”
Dana grabbed her sister’s hand. “I never would have guessed. I’m so sorry. Who was it?”
“A former co-worker.” She rolled her eyes. “Honestly. How predictable is that? I think I would have been more impressed to find out he’d been giving it to the woman who delivers our mail. Anyway, may they be very happy together.”
“I’ll kill him.”
“No, you won’t. Believe me, it’s not worth you going to jail.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
Anise’s mouth quirked into a semi-smile. “If you’re going to waste away in a cell, let it be over something more important than Roman’s straying dick.”
“This is awful.” Dana nodded toward Jessica and Bea. “I guess you’ll have to tell them at some point.”
“They already know.”
“What? You told them but you didn’t tell your own sister?”
“I know. I’m sorry, but when everything was going down, I was so tired and they were there with me in LA. I just wanted to vent to someone local. And besides…never mind.”
“Tell me.”
“You’re my sister and I love you, but you know as well as I do we don’t always look at things the same way.”
She wasn’t wrong. Dana waited for her to continue.
“If I’d told you the real reason, you would have dropped everything and grabbed the first flight out of McCarran. You would have fussed and worried and treated me with kid gloves. You might be younger than I am, but you’ve always been the nurturer, the babysitter. You would have made me sit in a room with Roman and tell him how he hurt my feelings and that’s not what I wanted. So I made you believe it was sort of my idea.”
Dana tried to keep the defensiveness out of her voice. “I would have supported you however you needed it.”
