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A villa outside Lucca. Sounded heavenly. He and Caroline were the ones who ought to be going there.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Italy,” Suzi said. “Ever since I saw Under the Tuscan Sun with Diane Lane. You didn’t tell me about your best friend’s villa, Nance.”

“We can’t afford that kind of trip right now,” Caroline put in.

“Maybe Suzi could earn the money,” Vic suggested, realizing that he was mostly championing the trip because Caroline was against it.

“I’d pay for everything,” Nance said. “Should’ve mentioned that right off. Money isn’t a problem for me, thank the Lord.”

“But why Suzi?” Caroline persisted. “You just met.”

Nance explained that she didn’t have any children and that she herself had been an only child and didn’t have any other living relatives. “I lost my daughter a long time ago,” she said. “Suzi reminds me of her. I’ve never stopped missing her.”

Vic said he was sorry, but Caroline said nothing.

Suzi said, “What about your son? The doctor?”

Nance looked briefly confused, then she smiled. “That’s my stepson,” she said.

Suddenly Caroline turned to Nance, and asked, in an accusatory voice, “How long did you live in Memphis?”

“Since the early fifties.”

“Have you lived anywhere else?”

“Little Rock, when I was a child. After the war I moved up to Memphis with my first husband.”

“So you’ve been married more than once,” Caroline said.

“Twice. Just had the one daughter. But I didn’t get to see her grow up.” Nance set her empty cake plate and fork down on the mosaicked end table and dabbed at her little bowlike mouth.

Caroline handed Vic her empty cake plate, like he was supposed to do something with it. He set it down, too hard, on top of his.

“That spot on your face,” Caroline said. “Has it been there a long time?”

What was with all these random personal questions?

Nance touched her cheek. “It’s a birthmark.”

Now Caroline seemed agitated. She shifted around on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her. Vic could tell that she wanted to get back to her bedroom and shut the door on all of them. Their bedroom had somehow become her bedroom. In the last few years of their marriage, Vic had been eased into the category of people who got in Caroline’s way.

Now it was Nance’s turn to ask Caroline a question. “When did your father live in Memphis?”

“He grew up there. Got his first job there, after medical school.”

“How interesting! And where did you say his job was?”

“I didn’t.”

Why was Caroline being so grudging toward Nance? She was the one who’d insisted on inviting Nance over. It was obvious Nance was lonely and Memphis was something they had in common. Would it hurt to just humor her a little?

“Wilson was a researcher at the medical school,” Vic said.

“I wonder if I ever ran into him,” Nance said. “I went to the free clinic at the medical school. Lived in Lauderdale Courts at the time. Didn’t have much money then.”

There was a loud startled cry and then, with a great flapping, Ava swooped down the hall into the living room. She perched on the ottoman, knee up like a large bird. She wore white cotton socks with her shorts because her feet were always cold. “Where did you say you lived in Memphis?” Ava asked Nance.

“This is my daughter Ava,” Vic said.

“Hello, Ava. Nice to meet you. We were living in Lauderdale Courts. Public housing.”

“Wow,” said Ava. “I can’t believe it.”

“Oh no,” Suzi groaned. “Here we go.”

“Did you ever meet Elvis?” Ava asked Nance. “He lived there in the early fifties.”

“I knew who he was. Didn’t really know him. He used to play his guitar in the courtyard.”

“Oh my God!” Ava jumped and began to pace back and forth, back and forth, the width of the living room, head tilted, twiddling the fingers of one hand, the way she did when she got excited. Vic watched Nance watch Ava curiously, wondering, no doubt, what was up, why a young woman would act this way. The pacing was an Asperger’s thing, and Vic found it charming, because she did it when she was excited and happy. Caroline, however, found it embarrassing.

Sure enough, Caroline told Ava to sit