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dawg? How’s Rachel?”
    Joshua felt his gut clench. “She’s okay. We’re gearing up for the holidays, you know?”
    “What was that look for?”
    “What look?” Joshua made his facial expression as blank as possible.
    “When I said her name, you looked like you were in pain—like I’d punched you in the belly or something.”
    Joshua couldn’t fool Eddie. They had been friends for too long. Eddie had probably read him as easily as he read the programming code that he loved to study.
    “I don’t know how to put this,” Joshua said. “But do you ever get the feeling that you never truly know someone?”
    “All the time. Ariel shocks the hell outta me with something at least once a week.” Eddie grinned with evident satisfaction. “Welcome to married life—finally.”
    In a recent discussion about marriage, Joshua had told Eddie that he didn’t understand why people claimed that marriage was such hard work, that his own marriage to Rachel was pain-free, a joy. Eddie had told Joshua to wait until the honeymoon was over.
    “I know, you think I’ve been living in some wedded-bliss dream world for the past six months—and maybe I have,” Joshua said. “But I think this is something different.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Joshua pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m going to tell you, Eddie. This stays between me and you.”
    “ ‘Course, dawg.”
    “I think Rachel’s got some secrets. About her past. Stuff she’s never told me about and doesn’t want to tell me about.”
    “Don’t we all?” Eddie shrugged. “Damn, I thought you were gonna say something serious.”
    “This is serious to me. It all started when she had a nightmare last night. She was fighting some guy in her dream. When I asked her about it this morning, she said she didn’t remember any of it, had no idea who she might’ve been struggling with.”
    “Maybe she doesn’t. Do you always remember your dreams? I sure don’t.”
    “I know but . . .” Joshua sighed. “I thought she was lying, that’s all.”
    “She could’ve been. She might not have wanted to talk about it, ‘cause it would dredge up bad memories.”
    “I guess so.”
    “All I know is, everyone has secrets, some of ‘em good, some of ‘em bad,” Eddie said. “You haven’t told Rachel everything about yourself, right?”
    “I’ve told her the most important stuff about me.”
    “All of it?” Eddie’s gaze was keen. “Every deep, dark secret?”
    “I don’t have any deep, dark secrets.”
    “Maybe you don’t. But some folks do, dawg. Some people have been through some rough shit in their lives—shit they don’t want to tell anyone, including a spouse. You’ve gotta respect that.”
    “You think I’m overreacting?”
    “Nah, I think you’re just starting to learn what being married is all about. You can’t sweat every little detail about your wife. She’s not gonna be perfect, just like you aren’t perfect. But you’ve gotta love her anyway for who she is, overall.”
    “Makes a lot of sense,” Joshua said. “I guess I’ll let it go.”
    “Rachel’s a great woman. You two have a good thing going. You’ll hit a rough patch every now and then, like most married folk do . . . but there’s no sense in rocking the boat without having a damn good reason.”
    “Let’s hope I never have a reason, then,” Joshua said.
    “Nah, man,” Eddie said sagely, shaking his head. “You’re gonna have a reason one day, trust me. But you better hope that when you have one, that boat doesn’t sink.”
     
    * * *
     
    After lunch, Joshua was walking through the underground parking garage, going back to his car, when he remembered his promise to Rachel to call the restaurant group to whom he had submitted the proposal last week.
    Matter of fact, call them this morning. Between eleven and one would be a good time, I think. I have a good feeling about it.
    It was half past twelve. Joshua climbed