Chapter 72

• With my back to the stone wall, I'm seated on the broad edge of the fountain in the courtyard as dusk falls. I'm drinking my third glass of champagne, and each one is getting progressively more astringent. This was meant to be the celebratory beverage, but instead, it's become my misery's salve.
• This was the house we had purchased three weeks prior. Following my proposal and her suggestion that we were buying the house, I made the owner an offer so large that he had to ask me five times if I was serious.
• Yes, I do have a heart attack on my hands. Both the furniture and the property are mine. As it is, I sent an email.