Stunned, sure. But as soon as the kids went to bed, she would close her bedroom door, watch TV, and not think. She didn’t miss James next to her—not that much. He’d been gone a lot lately anyway. (Doing what? Don’t think about it, Charlotte. Don’t think!) About a month later, James was set up in a larger apartment, and he invited Lu and Beckett to sleep over. And Charlotte was alone in her house overnight for the first time. It was different than being alone in a hotel room on a business trip. Here she was solo with vastness. So many windows. Why didn’t she get all of them covered? James had thought that putting blinds on the windows facing the fenced-in backyard was pointless, but really, people can climb a fence. Peeping Toms, burglars, serial killers—all excellent fence climbers. She went to the kitchen to rustle up some dinner and worried about how best to peel the carrot and drain the tuna fish. Would a watcher judge her for not rinsing the carrot, for the ragged way she cut open the can?
