I did not learn it from Laney. She would never have told me — Laney only told me things she wanted me to react to in a specific way, and an affair was not something she was ready to be reacted to about. I learned it from her sister Marlene, of all people. Marlene and I had met three times at Laney's events over the years, and I had always liked her, in the distant way you like the quieter sister of a louder friend. I reached out to Marlene in May, ostensibly to catch up. We had two lunches. At the second one, Marlene — with the careful, unhappy face of a woman who had been holding a secret — said, "Can I tell you

something? I don't know who else to tell. Laney is cheating on Brandon. With a guy from her office. His name is Caleb. She told me in March and asked me not to tell Mom. I can't stand carrying it. I don't know what to do." I told Marlene I would not say anything. I told her I would think about how to help. I did not tell her what I was planning. I thanked her for trusting me. I walked back to my car. I sat in the parking lot for twenty minutes. And I knew, then, exactly what I was going to say at Laney's birthday.