Page 179 of Full Contact

“What did you say?”

“Yes.”

I rubbed the back of his neck beneath his collar. “Is there anything still unsettled?”

“One new position. I’m taking Carla the workload breakdown next week.”

“Good evidence?”

“I have excellent evidence.” He leaned into my hand. “You haven’t asked what the raise was.”

“Will you still need me to buy dinner?”

“Yes.”

“Then we can discuss it over dinner.”

He kissed me, his mouth cool from the beer, then reached for the tape measure.

“Show me.”

In the bedroom, I opened the closet. The left side was empty except for two dozen wooden hangers. Anna had taken three bags of old clothes to the donation bin that afternoon.

Mark ran his hand along a shelf.

“You’ve been busy.”

“I hadn’t worn some of those shirts in five years.”

“You bought new hangers.”

“They were on sale.”

He glanced at me.

“Okay,” I said. “They weren’t.”

His smile widened.

“We’re still looking at your place Saturday.”

“I know.” He pulled out the tape. “Hold this.”

We measured the closet, then crossed the hall to the spare room. Anna’s glasses lay on the nightstand. Peaches followed us in and climbed onto the bed.

“I want a desk by the window,” I said. “We need a better lamp too. Somewhere either of us could read or work with the door shut.”

Mark checked the space between the bed and the wall. “When Anna isn’t here.”

“When she is, it’s hers. The bed stays and we’ll keep empty drawers for her. We’ll get her approval before we change anything.”

He handed me the end of the tape and backed toward the window. I held it against the baseboard while he crouched to read the measurement.

“Enough room,” he said.

***

Sunlight filled Mark’s living room when I arrived Saturday morning. The lake was azure blue from his windows. White sails dotted the horizon.