Summary

After leaving the clinic, Christa moved into D’s apartment in Brooklyn and started going out with Cara’s old boyfriends. She thought she’d learn more about Cara through them. Cara’s emails told a story about them. The most common phrase was “don’t mention this to my wife.” Christa felt she wasn’t cheating on D, she was doing research. D seemed to understand or at least tolerated her activities.

Many of Cara’s male friends expressed their regret that they hadn’t helped her in some way. Christa could relate to them on that point. Christa’s relationship with D had started as an affair but had grown into one with true feelings. He was twenty years older than Christa; some people took him for her father. His age was a barrier for her in...