Without Fail

they’re mixed.”
    “I’m sorry I disagreed with you,” she said. “About the demonstration.”
    “It’s your call,” he said. “Only you can make it.”
    “I had other boyfriends,” she said. “You know, after.”
    He said nothing.
    “And Joe had other girlfriends,” she said. “He wasn’t all that shy, really.”
    “But he left his stuff here.”
    “Does that matter?”
    “I don’t know,” he said. “Got to mean something.”
    “He’s dead, Reacher. Nothing can affect him now.”
    “I know.”
    She was quiet for a second.
    “I’m going to make tea,” she said. “You want some?”
    He shook his head. “I’m going to bed.”
    She stepped into the living room on her way to the kitchen and he walked upstairs. Closed the guest room door quietly behind him and opened up the closet. Stripped off Joe’s suit and put it back on the wire dry-cleaner’s hanger. Hung it on the rail. Took off the tie and rolled it and put it back on the shelf. Took off the shirt and dropped it on the closet floor. He didn’t need to save it. There were four more on the rail, and he didn’t expect to be around longer than four more days. He peeled off the socks and dropped them on top of the shirt. Walked into the bathroom wearing only his boxers.
    He took his time in there and when he came out Froelich was standing in the guest room doorway. Wearing a nightgown. It was white cotton. Longer than a T-shirt, but not a whole lot longer. The hallway light behind her made it transparent. Her hair was tousled. Without shoes she looked smaller. Without makeup she looked younger. She had great legs. A wonderful shape. She looked soft and firm, all at the same time.
    “He broke up with me,” she said. “It was his choice, not mine.”
    “Why?”
    “He met somebody he preferred.”
    “Who?”
    “Doesn’t matter who. Nobody you ever heard of. Just somebody.”
    “Why didn’t you say so?”
    “Denial, I guess,” she said. “Trying to protect myself, maybe. And trying to protect his memory in front of his brother.”
    “He wasn’t nice about it?”
    “Not very.”
    “How did it happen?”
    “He just told me one day.”
    “And walked out?”
    “We weren’t really living together. He spent time here, I spent time there, but we always kept separate places. His stuff is still here because I wouldn’t let him come back to get it. I wouldn’t let him in the door. I was hurt and angry with him.”
    “I guess you would be.”
    She shrugged. The hem of her nightgown rode up an inch on her thigh.
    “No, it was silly of me,” she said. “I mean, it’s not like things like that never happen, is it? It was just a relationship that started and then finished. Hardly unique in human history. Hardly unique in my history. And half the times it was me who did the walking away.”
    “Why are you telling me?”
    “You know why,” she said.
    He nodded. Didn’t speak.
    “So you can start with a blank slate,” she said. “How you react to me can be about you and me, not about you and me and Joe. He took himself out of the picture. It was his choice. So it’s none of his business, even if he was still around.”
    He nodded again.
    “But how blank is your slate?” he asked.
    “He was a great guy,” she said. “I loved him once. But you’re not him. You’re a separate person. I know that. I’m not looking to get him back. I don’t want a ghost.”
    She took one step into the room.
    “That’s good,” he said. “Because I’m not like him. Hardly at all. You need to be real clear about that from the start.”
    “I’m clear about it,” she said. “The start of what?”
    She took another step into the room and then stood still.
    “The start of whatever,” he said. “But the end will turn out the same, you know. You need to be real clear about that, too. I’ll leave, just like he did. I always do.”
    She came closer. They were a yard apart.
    “Soon?” she asked.
    “Maybe,” he said. “Maybe not.”
    “I’ll take my chances,” she said. “Nothing lasts forever.”
    “Doesn’t feel right,” he said.
    She glanced at his face. “What doesn’t?”
    “I’m standing here wearing your ex-lover’s clothes.”
    “Not many of them,” she said. “And it’s a situation that can be easily remedied.”
    He paused.
    “Is it?” he said. “Want to show me how?”
    He stepped forward again and she put her hands on his waist. Slipped her fingers under the elastic waistband of his boxers and