"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Marsha said. "Is Olivia still in Boston?"

"Yep. In fact, right now, I think she's sending me a photo on our new cell phone."

"Oh." There was a brief pause. "Are you still coming out today?"

In another move signaling familyhood, Matt and Olivia were closing on a house not far from Marsha and the boys. The house was located in Livingston, the town where Bernie and Matt grew up.

Matt had questioned the wisdom of returning. People had long memories. No matter how many years passed, he would always be the subject of whispers and innuendo. On the one hand, Matt was long past caring about that petty stuff. On the other, he worried about Olivia and about his upcoming child. The curse of the father visited upon the son and all that.

But Olivia understood the risks. This was what she wanted.

More than that, the somewhat high-strung Marsha had- he wondered what euphemism to use here- issues. There had been a brief breakdown a year after Bernie's sudden death. Marsha had "gone to rest"- another euphemism- for two weeks while Matt moved in and took care of the boys. Marsha was fine now- that was what everyone said- but Matt still liked the idea of staying close.

Today was the physical inspection of the new house. "I should be out in a little while. Why, what's up?"

"Could you stop by?"

"Stop by your place?"

"Yes."

"Sure."

"If it's a bad time…"

"No, of course not."

Marsha was a beautiful woman with an oval face that sometimes looked sad-sack, and a nervous upward glance as if making sure the black cloud was in place. That was a physical thing, of course, no more a true reflection on her personality than being short or scarred.

"Everything all right?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's no big deal. It's just… Could you take the kids for a couple of hours? I got a school thing and Kyra's going to be out tonight."