Vanessa didn’t bother hiding her irritation.
“What are you doing here?”
“I brought you a gift.”
I placed the box on the patio table.
“Go ahead. Open it.”
Half the neighborhood was watching.
Vanessa lifted the lid.
Inside was a hammer.
A screwdriver set.
Several kinds of batteries.
Lightbulbs.
A jar opener.
A basic home-repair manual.
And a printed list of local handymen.
Her smile vanished.
“Now you don’t need my husband every time something breaks.”
A nervous laugh moved through the crowd.
Vanessa forced one of her own.
“Oh my God, Claire. You’re being dramatic. I was joking.”
I looked directly at her.
“No, you weren’t. You sat in my kitchen and told me to prepare for divorce because you were going to take my husband.”
The laughter stopped instantly.
Vanessa turned toward Irvin as though she expected him to rescue her.
Instead, he walked
