Unlike Brendan, Deirdre had a heart. She had a soul, too, and none of them were black. It would have been stranger if she had no emotional responses after hearing the truth.

“Tomorrow.” She heaved a long, heavy sigh. “Please accompany me.”

“No problem!” Glenna threw her arms around Deirdre’s and replied gregariously. “You get a good night’s sleep. I’ll drive tomorrow!”

“Okay.”

What Deirdre did not expect was that Brendan would call her first the next morning before she was even on her way to the hospital.

“It’s just me.”

She was stunned for a few seconds. “I… know.”

The weakness in his voice was unmissable. He coughed and choked. “Please drop by the hospital. I’ll be heading back to Neve soon.”

“Oh.”

There was a pause. Then, he said, “Come with me. We’re getting… divorced.”

The call ended.

Deirdre sat on her bed, her mind blank. She thought this was the thing she wanted so much. Even the mere mention was enough to keep her feet dancing. She was the one who had proposed it,