Read The Stranger for Free Online

paperback of some debut literary novel by a Pakistani woman sat on Corinne’s night table. A copy of
Real Simple
magazine with folded pages for bookmarks lay next to it. There was an extra set of reading glasses. The prescription was pretty light, and Corinne didn’t like wearing them in public. The clock radio was also a charging dock for her iPhone. Adam and Corinne had similar tastes in music. Springsteen was a favorite. They’d seen a dozen live shows. Adam always lost it at some point, getting so caught up in the music that he lost control. Corinne focused and concentrated. She stood and she might move a little, but mostly her eyes were on the stage.
    Adam, meanwhile, danced around like an idiot.
    He headed into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Corinne used some newfangled sonic boom electric toothbrush that looked like something from NASA. Adam stayed old-school. A box of L’Oréal sat out. He could still get a whiff of the chemical smell from the hair dye. Corinne had probably touched up the gray before heading down to Atlantic City. The gray seemed to come in one long strand at a time. For a while, she would pull them out and study them. Then she’d frown, hold up the hair, and say, “It has the texture and color of steel wool.”
    His mobile rang. He checked the caller ID, but he already knew who it was. He spit out the toothpaste, quickly rinsed, and picked it up.
    â€œHey,” he said.
    â€œAdam?”
    It was, of course, Corinne.
    â€œYep.”
    â€œI called before,” she said. He could hear the slight panic in her voice. “Why didn’t you answer?”
    â€œThomas was driving. I wanted to focus.”
    â€œOh.”
    In the background, he could hear music and laughter. She was probably still at the bar with her colleagues.
    â€œSo how did it go tonight?” she asked.
    â€œFine. He’s on the team.”
    â€œHow was Bob?”
    â€œWhat do you mean, how was Bob? He was a buffoon. As always.”
    â€œYou have to be nice to him, Adam.”
    â€œNo, I don’t.”
    â€œHe wants to move Ryan to middie so he doesn’t compete with Bob Junior. Don’t give him an excuse.”
    â€œCorinne?”
    â€œYeah?”
    â€œIt’s late and I got a big day tomorrow. Can we talk tomorrow?”
    Someone in the background—a male someone—broke into guffaws of laughter.
    â€œEverything okay?” she asked.
    â€œFine,” he said before he hung up.
    He rinsed off the toothbrush and washed his face. Two years ago, when Thomas was fourteen and Ryan ten, Corinne had gotten pregnant. It had been a surprise. Adam had some issues with a low sperm count as he got older, so their birth control had been closest to the silent-prayer method. This was, of course, irresponsible on their part. At the time, he and Corinne had never discussed the factthat they wouldn’t have more children. It just seemed—up to that point anyway—to be an unspoken agreement between them.
    Adam caught his reflection in the mirror. The voice in the back of his head was starting up again. He quietly padded back down the hall. He brought up the web browser and searched for
DNA test
. The first one was sold at Walgreens. He was about to hit the order button and then thought better of it. Someone might open the box. He’d pick it up tomorrow.
    Adam headed back to his room and sat on the bed. Corinne’s scent, still a powerful pheromone after all these years, lingered, or maybe that was just his imagination working overtime.
    The stranger’s voice came back to him.
    â€œYou didn’t have to stay with her.”
    Adam laid his head on the pillow, blinked up at the ceiling, and just let the gentle sounds of his still home overwhelm him.

Chapter 5
    A dam woke up at 7:00 A.M . Ryan was waiting by the bedroom door. “Dad . . . ?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œCan you check the e-mail and see if Coach Baime sent