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suppressed sneer.
    “Yeah,” she giggled. “It is gorgeous out there, and they have the cutest family of cats living out by the gazebo bar. She was apparently too giddy from fruity drinks to notice my attitude.
    “You were gone a long time,” I asked probingly.
    “Sorry.” She gave me an exaggerated pout. “I know you’re cooped up in here. Are you feeling better?”
    I nodded. I was. At least a little. I’d try some regular food for dinner. I was actually looking forward to it.
    “Good,” she said brightly. “I got us tickets to one of those Hawaiian pig roast and culture shows on the beach for tomorrow night. Took forever. The concierge had to deal with this old couple who needed special accommodations for everything.”
    I nodded again. We were operating in completely different universes. She was talking to me about normal touristy things, but my own mind was wallowing in a morass of depraved sex. How could she talk about a pig roast when we were in the middle of a giant orgy? Or was this all an act? An effort to throw me off the track?
    She was looking at me expectantly. I’d missed something.
    “Sorry, what?”
    “I was just asking if you thought that would be us. You know, the old couple, in fifty years, informing some poor concierge about all our ailments.”
    “I… I dunno.”
    She gave me a queer look. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem a little loopy. And I’m the one who’s been out in the sun drinking Mai Tais. By the way, watch out for the gazebo bar, they mix ‘em strong. Out by the pool is much better.”
    Or maybe out by the pool you didn’t notice because you were too busy flirting.
    “I’ll keep that in mind.”
    She opened her mouth to talk, but then stopped. After a moment, she continued, “Well, I’m going to take a shower and wash off the sun block. Wanna plan dinner in the room? We can just get something small and simple if you’re still not feeling well.”
    She was acting so normal that it brought me out of my funk.
    “I’m sorry. I just missed you.”
    “Awww, that’s so sweet.”
    “Go ahead and shower. I’ll check out the room service options.”

    We had dinner out on the balcony. I was starving. I hadn’t had any real food in over a day. But I decided to take it easy and ordered a simple piece of steamed Mahi Mahi for myself. Claire had the same thing, except seared with a sesame-soy-lime sauce. The smell of her food made my mouth water. My fish seemed bland and tasteless by comparison.
    We’d gotten a bottle of white wine. We probably shouldn’t have. She’d had plenty to drink already, and my stomach was far from a hundred percent. But it was our honeymoon, damn it!
    Claire had changed into a cute little, flowered sundress, blue to match her eyes. She’d gotten a little sun on her cheeks and was looking, frankly, radiant.
    She told me all about her day. She’d roamed across the resort, checking out the pools, the beach, and even the golf course. She described the salt water pool and the sunset cruise that left from the beach. She told me about everything, everything except for the man she’d talked to and flirted with on two separate occasions during the day.
    I sipped my wine as I listened to her. The alcohol hit me and my empty stomach hard. I was buzzed by the time I finished my glass. The more she told me about the resort and touristy options for the week, the more the lacuna in her narrative gnawed at me. She could at least mention the mystery man. Her failure to do so seemed increasingly significant and suspicious.
    She took a bite of her fish and turned to look at the sky, the bright red-orange of the sunset transitioning into the violet of twilight. A breeze kicked up, washing the balcony with the sweet, salty smell of the sea. The palms rustled. A bird cried out as it dipped into the canopy of trees. It was a slice of paradise. And I couldn’t stand it.
    “So, tell me about your boyfriend.”
    She looked at me quizzically. “Huh?”
    I