Madison stomped over to her, still staring at the ground, and Alice pulled her close and hugged her.

“We’re going to work this out,” said Alice quietly into her hair. “You, your dad, and me are going to sit on the beach, eat ice creams, and work out whatever the problem is.”

Madison gave a tiny gasp of surprise and burst into tears.

Elisabeth’s Homework for Jeremy He keeps saying, “Turn the television off.”

And I keep saying, “Not yet.”

He turned it off himself a while ago, and as soon as he did, I screamed over and over, as if he was hurting me.

A tiny bit dramatic. I will feel embarrassed later.

But it did hurt me. That loud buzzing silence after the TV was switched off was actually painful to my eardrums.

He was probably worried the neighbors would call the police. After all, he looks exactly like the sort of man you expect to see dragged away in handcuffs for domestic violence. So he shrugged and turned it back on.

I am watching Oprah now. She’s talking about an exciting new diet. The audience is excited. I’m excited, J. I might try it. I’m taking notes.

They sat on the harbor-side beach at Manly, near the ferry stop, in the same spot where they’d had coffee that early morning after they drove Madison through the night when she was a baby.

They even had the same blue-and-white-checked picnic rug. It was in the boot of Nick’s car. The blue wasn’t as bright as it was in Alice’s memory, but her palms remembered its nubbly feel.

“Where did we get this rug?” asked Alice as they sat down.

“I don’t know,” said Nick. He sounded defensive. “You can have it if you want. I didn’t realize it was in my car.”

Oh, for heaven’s sake. She hadn’t meant she wanted it. It was yet another glimpse of how stupid their lives had become. Would she really have wanted to make a point about who got the picnic rug?

Madison plonked herself down and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, chin down, lank hair falling down on either side of her face. (Alice itched to snip it off. She would look so much prettier with short hair. Actually that could be the perfect “punishment”! You cut her hair, kid, so I’m going to cut yours.)

After her tears in the schoolyard, Madison hadn’t said a word. Nick had driven in his shiny car, and he’d spent a lot of time talking on his hands-free mobile. He laughed. He listened. He gave short, sharp instructions. He said, “Let me think about it.” He said, “Well, that’s a disaster,” while glancing over his shoulder to switch lanes. He said, “Well done. That’s great news.” He was such a boss.

“Do you enjoy work at the moment?” Alice asked him at one point in between calls.

Nick glanced over at her. “Yes,” he said, after a few seconds. “I love it.”

“That’s great,” said Alice, happy for him.

Nick raised an eyebrow. “You really think so?”

“Of course,” said Alice. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Nothing,” said Nick, and Alice could sense Madison listening carefully from the backseat.

Nick had turned his phone off now and had left his jacket and tie in the car. Now he was taking off his shoes and socks. Alice looked at his bare feet digging into the sand. His feet were as familiar as her own. How could she not be with someone forever when even their feet—his huge, not especially attractive feet, with their long hairy toes—felt like home?

“Beautiful,” said Nick, gesturing at the smooth, hard, yellow sand, the huge turquoise sky, the ferry chugging its way across the harbor to the city. “Beautiful.” He said it in the same satisfied tone that he would use to describe a good meal at a restaurant, as if the weather and the beach had been prepared especially for him, and presented on a plate, and yes, thank you, it was all up to his high standards and there would be a generous tip as a result. It was so typical Nick. He held up his face to the sun and closed his eyes.

Alice took off her own boots (beautiful—her taste was impeccable, if she did say so herself) and pulled off her socks.

“They’re Tom’s soccer socks,” said Madison, looking up from her knees.

“I was in a rush,” said Alice.

Madison gave her a look. “And that scarf you’re wearing is from Olivia’s dress-up box.”

“I know, but it’s so beautiful.” Alice lifted up the gauzy material.

Madison gave her an inscrutable look and lowered her chin again.

Nick opened his eyes. “Well, Madison—”

“You promised ice creams,” said Madison, glaring at Alice, as if this was to be yet another in a long line of broken promises.

“That’s right, I did,” said Alice.

Nick sighed. “I’ll go.” He put his shoes back on and looked down at Madison. “Don’t you be telling your brother and sister that you got ice cream on the beach, will you? Or next thing, we’ll have all the Love children suspended from school.”

Madison giggled. “Okay.”

As Nick walked off, Madison said, “I don’t want to say what happened in front of Daddy.”

It must be girl stuff. “All right. Just tell me.”

Madison dropped her chin back to her knees and said in a muffled voice, “Chloe said that you and Mr. Gordon had—”

Alice didn’t catch the last word.

“Pardon?” she said.

“Sex!” Madison choked out. “She said that you and Mr. Gordon probably did sex in his office. Like, a hundred times.”