His explanation horrified her. It had come to that, had it? It was just something that a housewife was supposed to expect? She was supposed to sit down and chat about it and pat him on the head? Poor guy! All that he must have been through! She wasn't going to dignify his protests with a response.

"I'll be spending the night on the couch. Tomorrow I'm going to wire my old friend Eileen. If she'll have me, I'm going to go and stay with her, until I get this all straight in my head."

"Jean… for God's sake, come back here!"

She closed the door behind her and made herself a bed on the couch. She was a little disappointed that Todd didn't follow her. In the most terrible moment of her young life, she needed a warm hug and sympathy. It seemed stupid to look for them from the very person who had hurt her. But who else was there? She had very few friends in the city. Most of them were more Todd's friends than hers. She couldn't expect anything more than token sympathy from any of them.

Eileen was her only hope. They had been schoolgirls together. They hadn't seen each other since Jean's wedding, but they kept in touch by phone and letter. Eileen lived all the way on the other side of the country. Maybe, far from Todd, Jean could learn to forgive him. If she decided to forgive him at all.

Eileen was almost three years older than Jean. She was single, a teacher, an independent woman. Maybe Eileen could tell her what she should do. The blonde lay awake on the couch until, exhausted from her weeping, she fell into a restless sleep.

CHAPTER TWO

Eileen had been spending her summers at her cottage by the lake for three years now. Summers were the best part of the year for the lively petite brunette. It was in the summer that she allowed herself to indulge all her vices and her fantasies. In the fall, she went back to being a very proper and very competent teacher. It was a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde existence. A little dangerous, but very satisfying.