InSight

you’ve been shoe shopping,” Claire said.
    “Yup. Running shoes. Abby put me to shame this morning.”
    “Really,” Claire said.
    Abby heard the strain in Luke’s voice. Idle chat was not his long suit. Nor hers.
    “Gallant,” Claire said, her tone questioning. “Now I recognize the name. Very pleased to meet you, Doctor. Your name crops up in the paper when you consult with athletes. I’m always impressed.”
    “Thanks. I never issue those press releases. I wish the reporters would leave those guys alone. Most of them are trying to regain their confidence after an injury.”
    “Maybe those writers want everyone to know their sports heroes have as many insecurities as the rest of us.”
    Abby tried to detect any sarcasm in Claire’s voice, but she sounded nice. Why does she have to sound so nice? “It doesn’t seem fair, though, does it?”
    “I think it’s amazing you run,” Claire said. “I can’t imagine. You put the rest of us to shame.”
    “I run with a guide runner. No big deal.”
    “No big deal? Is that what you said? Hardly.” Luke’s voice overflowed with pride. “I’ve a lot of work to catch up.”
    “I guess you helped Luke after his accident.”
    “That’s how we met, but I’m not his therapist. Just a friend.”
    Then, as if a thought struck her, Claire said, “Was it…right after?”
    Before Abby answered, Luke said, “May I speak to you privately, Claire? Excuse us, Abby. I’ll be right back.”
    “Nice meeting you, Claire,” Abby said.
    “Same here,” Claire responded as Luke spirited her away.
    Abby drank her coffee until he returned. Alone. And silent. This time he sat next to her rather than across the table. He kissed her on the cheek.
    “She thought we were having an affair while you were still married, didn’t she?”
    “Yup.”
    “And you set her straight.”
    “Yup.”
    “Is that all?”
    “Yup.”
    “Is she pretty? No, wait. Don’t answer that. It’s too stupid and petty of me to ask, and it doesn’t matter.”
    Luke’s hand curled around hers. “No, it doesn’t.”
    They finished their coffee and browsed the audio tapes. Luke read off the titles of the latest books, and Abby selected a few to purchase. He bought a Lincoln biography. On the way home, neither mentioned Claire. Abby wanted to ask what he said to her but decided it was none of her business. Instead, when they got home, conversation ranged from the state of the world to blind running, accompanied by a pitcher of Luke’s mouthwatering margaritas.
    “Uh-oh,” Abby said. “My doorbell. Three times means Lucy. She has a key.” Abby wasn’t ready for Lucy to meet Luke, but there was nothing she could do about it now.
    “Who’s Lucy?”
    “My mother.”
    “Oh, Jeez.”
    “Don’t worry, she’s not an ordinary mother. One thing, she doesn’t know about the break-ins or the emails or Daisy, and I’d like to keep it that way. Even though I like having her around, she’d be here all the time, which is too much. So don’t say a word. Daisy pulled me back from a car and it hit her in the head. She’s spending a couple of days at the vet’s, okay?”
    “Whatever you say.”
    Lucy barreled through the door talking a blue streak and stopped short when she saw Luke sitting on the sofa.
    “Oh, sorry, honey, I didn’t know you had company.”
    Of course that wasn’t so, since Luke parked his SUV in the driveway. But if Lucy wanted to play it that way, so be it.
    “Lucy, this is Luke McCallister. Luke, my mother, Lucy Gallant.”
    Lucy obviously didn’t connect Luke with the email from a couple of months earlier. “I hope I’m not intruding, but I brought dinner. Fortunately, there’s enough for three.”
    “Great.” Abby assumed Luke didn’t have other plans, because he made no effort to leave. Fine with her. She wanted him to stay.
    “How long have you two known each other, Luke? Abby never tells me anything.”
    When Luke didn’t answer, Abby realized Lucy spoke with her back to him. “He can’t hear you, Lucy. He’s deaf. Talk so he can read your lips.”
    “Oh now I remember—the e-mailer.” She repeated her question by slowly over-pronouncing the words, and loud enough to be heard in Charlotte .
    He laughed. “You don’t have to do anything special, Lucy. Speak naturally. I read lips pretty well. You don’t have to shout either. It makes no difference.”
    “Then how did you know I shouted?”
    With a wink to Abby, he said, “I guessed.”
    “So