Nick’s smile never wavered. I knocked his hand away from me and faced him, trying to keep the alarm from showing on my face. I was in the middle of a nightmare. I thought it couldn’t be real, except that misery and fear and anger were swarming over me like insects, and that feeling was all too familiar. It had been my reality for almost two years. Nick looked healthy, fit, a little heavier than he’d been during our marriage. The new roundness of his face emphasized a boyishness that wouldn’t sit well as he aged. But overall he gave the appearance of a clean-cut, prosperous, conservative guy. Only someone who knew him like I did would be aware of the monster inside. “I want you to leave, Nick.” He gave a bemused laugh, as if my quiet hostility were coming out of left field. “My God, Marie. I haven’t seen you in months, and that’s the first thing you say?”
