Their expressions did not reflect what she was feeling inside.“Bet you didn’t expect us, huh, Jackie?”“No,” she said as politely as she could, but her heart had fallen to her feet. Only yesterday she’d had to deal with Terri, and in the hours that had passed since then, she hadn’t stepped outside her door, afraid of what the other people in Chandler were saying about her and William.Now there were seven people standing at her door, old friends of Charley’s, old drinking buddies of his. Men and women who had once been part of her life but who were no longer.As she looked at them, laughing, holding up bottles of wine, wanting to stay up all night to celebrate, she realized how much she had changed during her time in Chandler. In Chandler, if someone saw your light on at three A.M., they’d call you the next day, usually at six A.M., to ask what was wrong with you.“Come in,” she said, smiling, holding the door open wide. Once they were inside, she went to the kitchen, knowing they would be hungry and that later probably at least two of them would need cash.“Jackie, come in here and tell us what you’ve been doing these last two years.
