“My goodness.”
Belle burst into tears.
Diane immediately moved toward her.
“What happened?”
Corbin answered.
“Tessa put something in the pool.”
Diane’s face turned toward me.
“You did what?”
“A harmless diagnostic marker.”
“You experimented on a guest?”
“No.”
I picked up the tanning bottle.
“I ran my private pool through a residue test after finding an unknown cosmetic product on my deck.”
“She’s glowing.”
“She is stained.”
“That’s semantics.”
“In my profession, distinctions matter.”
Diane looked at Corbin.
“I told you this laboratory obsession would eventually go too far.”
I almost admired the efficiency.
Within ninety seconds, the story had become about my instability.
Not Belle’s swimsuit.
Not the tanning bottle.
Not why Corbin’s employee was relaxing beside my pool in the middle of a workday.
Walter entered through the gate several minutes later, looking apologetic before anyone had even spoken to him.
Diane pointed toward Belle.
“Look at what Tessa did.”
Walter looked.
Then wisely said nothing.
I poured myself iced water.
Diane continued.
“Belle came here for a professional discussion.”
“With tanning oil?”
“She was invited to swim.”
I looked at her.
“By whom?”
Diane hesitated.
Then said, “Me.”
That surprised even Corbin.
I saw it.
One small glance.
“Interesting,” I said.
Diane lifted her chin.
“We were discussing a charity event.”
“At my house.”
“Yes.”
“Without telling me.”
“You were working.”
That sentence contained the entire family’s opinion of me.
Tessa is always working.
Tessa does not notice.
Tessa cares more about her laboratory than ordinary life.
Tessa will not object because she is probably thinking about molecules.
Corbin suddenly became calm.
Too calm.
“This isn’t working anymore.”
I turned toward him.
“Our marriage.”
Belle looked down.
Diane folded her arms.
Walter stared at the pool.
Corbin continued.
“I’m filing for divorce.”
There are announcements you imagine will feel louder when they finally arrive.
This one did not.
I looked at my husband of six years.
“All right.”
His confidence flickered.
“That’s all?”
“What would improve the situation?”
“You’re seriously not going to say anything?”
“You already made your decision.”
He exhaled sharply.
“Fine.”
Then came the part he had apparently been saving.
“I’ll stay here until we sort the house.”
I took another drink of water.
“No.”
Corbin blinked.
“What?”