"I know," Lauren said. "I helped. Every time I said we should keep things calm for Emma, I was also keeping them calm for me. Calm is a beautiful way to hide."
"Do we end?"
"I don't know yet. I don't want to end in a parking lot of a church. I also don't want to continue just because a dead woman I loved gave us a more generous map than gossip would have. Generosity isn't a chain." She touched his wrist, once, and let go. "I'll go to my apartment. I'll call you tomorrow. Not tonight. Tonight you listen to the cold feet. Tell her I am not putting the phone down anymore. She can quote me."
"She will."
"Good."