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have helped to go up to Gran’s place and walk in the woods together. We must do that soon. There, we might heal. We could be what we have always been.
    And thinking so, her shoulders eased; she had not realized before how rigid they were. She looked out into the distant space where twilight had turned now to full night, cobalt-blue except where Japanese paper lanterns drew their small gold circles on the darkness. How good it would be to stretch out and drowse beneath the trees! It was a long time since she had felt so sweet an urge. A curious peace had touched her, a country peace.
    Andrew was laughing. It was so long, too,since she had heard him laugh. It was so long since she herself had seen anything in the world to laugh at. Had her behavior helped to drag him farther down? Yes, probably, it had.
    The woman next to him must have told a joke because all the men were laughing. She was a pretty woman, but flashy, not Andrew’s type, with that heavy makeup and that dress. Not that she had ever worried about other women—for they were
married
, she and Andrew, really married.
    But I have been very ill, she thought. I have certainly given no care to how I look. I need to revive, to come back to life and open my arms to Andrew.
    Tonight I will break down the barrier. Tonight.
    A little wind rose now, swishing through the leaves, and she pulled her shawl around her shoulders. Pale yellow wool and softly fringed, it gave her a sense of femininity and grace that she had not felt for too long. The sudden warmth within her was more than a warmth of the body; it was a lifting, a release.
    And wanting to give him a look or a touch that would say,
Darling, it’s going to be all right
again, I’m sorry it’s been so long but really, really something’s just happened to me and—
    She was stopped by a long wail from Andrew’s neighbor.
    “My God, do you know what I’ve done? I’ve lost my best bracelet! And it wasn’t insured. Oh, I’m sick.”
    From all sides came advice and commiseration, while people searched in the grass and under the table.
    “Where did you last see it? Think.”
    “Are you sure you wore it tonight? Sometimes we think we had something on, and didn’t.”
    “How did you enter the clubhouse?”
    “I parked the car myself in the far lot and walked up through the front door and the dining room.”
    “That’s easy enough. Start at the car and retrace the whole way.”
    “I’ll go with you,” offered Andrew. “We’ll begin right here in the dining room. It has to be somewhere.”
    “Oh, how sweet of you! Two pairs of eyes should surely find it.”
    The men returned to their conversations. Thewomen talked about children, those learning to walk and those applying at colleges. And Cynthia, listening, was not devastated. It hurt, but not quite as deeply as such talk had been hurting. She was mending.…
    Twenty minutes went by. A few people were preparing to leave.
    “Baby-sitters, you know.”
    “Have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow.”
    “Where can your husband have gone?” Ken asked.
    “I’m wondering where myself,” she replied.
    “Well, they went in that way,” somebody said doubtfully.
    Cynthia went inside to look. There were only some youngsters dancing the macarena. From the front steps she had a clear view of the parking lots. That woman’s red dress would be visible.… She went back to the table. Fear, even as she knew how unreasonable it was, began to throb through her chest. He might have fallen somewhere or been suddenly taken ill. You never knew. The world was filled with unanticipateddangers. Who could be more aware of that than she was?
    More time went by. One of the men walked to the edge of the golf course, calling a long, drawn-out “Andrew …”
    Silly of him. What would anyone be doing out there?
    “It’s a puzzle,” Ken said.
    Jane moved restlessly. She had children at home, and there was an hour’s drive ahead.
    “It’s fine for the people who live