They sat outside listening to old Motown records.
They talked until almost midnight.
Then, the next morning, he asked whether she preferred North Carolina or South Carolina winters.
Diane thought he was making conversation.
By lunch, Malcolm was showing her real-estate listings.
“Real estate?”
“He said maybe someday we could find a place halfway between his daughters and you two.”
My eyebrows rose even though nobody could see me.
“How did you respond?”
“I laughed.”
“And?”
“He didn’t.”
That was the first moment Diane felt uneasy.
Then Malcolm began talking about Thanksgiving.
Christmas.
Whose furniture they would keep if they ever combined households.
Whether Diane would consider selling Robert’s old fishing boat.
Whether she really needed a four-bedroom house “now that she was alone.”
My stomach tightened at that one.
“How long have you known him?”
“Eleven days.”
I closed my eyes.
“What happened tonight?”
“I told him I wanted to move to a hotel tomorrow.”
