Gaits of Heaven

about guessing who will or will not enforce the rule.
    “Hey, good going,” said Kevin. “It’s not everybody she trusts like that.”
    Nonsense. How much trust does it take to sleep on someone’s bed? Besides, what Lady mistrusted was life itself and not particular individuals. Exception: Anita. Lady was frightened of Anita—for good reason.
    “Trauma history there,” Kevin remarked. “You think so?”
    It was a matter that Steve and I had discussed at length. Although environment had undoubtedly played a role in Lady’s fearfulness, both of us thought that it had a strong genetic component as well.
    “Have you been reading Ted’s book?” Caprice asked.
    “No. Just listening to him.”
    “Have you talked to Johanna yet?”
    “That’d be Johanna Green. The ex-wife.”
    “Ted divorced Johanna to marry my mother. Johanna was insulted. She still is. She hated my mother. She believes everything Baby Boy Wyeth tells her.”
    “Your stepbrother.”
    “My mother’s husband’s son. That doesn’t make him my anything.” Her face was expressionless. “We’re not done with Johanna yet. One thing you might notice about her is that she kept Ted’s name. Johanna Green.”
    “Some women do.”
    “Johanna is a feminist linguist. Supposedly. And she took her husband’s name to begin with and then kept it after the divorce?”
    “Your father.”
    It was as if Caprice became a new person. Her eyes brightened, and her face shone. “He didn’t change his name. Before or after.”
    Kevin smiled. “How’d he react to the divorce?”
    Caprice bought time by taking a sip of what must have been cold coffee. “Pragmatically,” she finally said. “You see, Eumie was in therapy with Ted. While she and my father were still married, she went into therapy with Ted. And if you listen to them, they fell madly in love.”
    “And if you don’t listen to them?”
    “Ted slept with his patient. What else? Horrors! He violated the taboo! ” Her emphasis was heavy and cynical. “But they both tried to cover it up, of course. They pretended that she’d just been in supervision with him, but everyone knew that was bullshit. That’s basically why we had to leave.”
    “And your father?”
    “Are you planning a new career?”
    “Hey, not me. It’s mothers they ask about, anyway.“
    “Corny therapist joke. Definition of a Freudian slip. That’s when you mean to say one thing and instead you say a mother. So, my father. Monty took it pretty well. He’s mellow. He takes most things pretty well.” With no prompting, she added, “He lives in Manhattan, but he travels a lot. He’s a consultant. Otherwise, I’d’ve stayed with him.”
    “He was here this past weekend.”
    “Yes. At the Charles Hotel. That’s where he always stays. I had brunch with him on Monday. At the Charles. At Henrietta’s Table.”
    “Did he and your mother see each other? This past weekend?”
    “Not that I know of.”
    “Did he pick you up? Drop you off?”
    “No. I took a cab there and a cab home.”
    “How about Ted and your mother? On Monday.”
    “They both saw a few patients.”
    “On Memorial Day?”
    Caprice shrugged. “They did that. Saw people on holidays sometimes. And Monday night, they went out to dinner. To Rialto. That’s at the Charles, too. That’s why it’s open on Mondays, because it’s in a hotel. I guess they could’ve run into Monty there. You go through the lobby to get to Rialto. You’d have to ask Monty.”
    “Did Wyeth go with them?”
    “No. He was at his computer. He didn’t go out. He never does, except when he goes to Johanna’s.”
    “Did they meet someone at the restaurant? Another couple, maybe?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t think so. If they were going with other people, they didn’t mention it.”
    “What time did they get home?”
    “I don’t know. I was in bed.”
    “Where was the dog all this time?”
    “Eating mail. Chewing on books. Wrecking things. Where he wasn’t was in my room.” She paused. “I took him out to the yard before I went to bed. That was at maybe eight o’clock.”
    “Was the house locked?”
    “My bedroom door was. The house probably wasn’t. I told you when we talked before. Besides, half the world had keys.“
    “There’s an alarm system.”
    “Dolfo jumps on things. Doors. Windows. He kept setting it off, so they quit using it.”
    Although Caprice was showing no signs of strain, I created a break by asking whether anyone wanted more