Chapter 12: Hello, Wife

By six o'clock, eighty chairs were full and a camera on a tripod stood at the end of the center aisle.

Neil had arrived at half past five in a charcoal suit with his sleeves down.

Shelby had arrived beside him in a champagne dress, with her hair pinned up and her gold ring on her right hand.

She found me at the side of the stage and kissed both my cheeks.

"You came," she said. "I'm so proud of you for coming."

"I'm on the program," I said.

"You are." She squeezed my arm. "Be brave tonight, Beth. Whatever happens, I'm here."

Neil did not look at me.

He kept one hand on the small of her back.

Behind the house, in a bedroom whose window faced the lawn, a tall man in a dark suit stood very still behind a curtain.

I knew, because I had looked up as I climbed the porch steps, and the curtain had moved once.

The chair stepped up to the microphone and welcomed the donors.

She thanked the council members, the bank president, and the television crew.

She read the total raised, and eighty people clapped.

Then she said, "And now, the woman who actually designed this house."

I climbed the steps to the stage and took the microphone.

My legs were steady.