Epilogue.

The slam of the front door echoed through the empty townhouse. Alex put down her luggage and sighed. She spent more money on that trip than she used to believe people should even have, and it was worth every million. She went to the kitchen to mix a drink.

A full week with Diane. The old Diane, before the money and the fights and the pills. She sipped her G&T wistfully. They fucked and talked and went to the beach and fucked again, and now Alex was back in her big, empty apartment drinking alone. She finished her drink and went upstairs.

As Alex undressed in the bathroom, she took stock of her body. After spending the weekend with a perfect copy of her nubile 20-year-old girlfriend, the sags, wrinkles, and blemishes stood out like open wounds. She sighed and stepped into the shower.

As she was toweling off, Alex checked her phone. It was nearly 1 a.m. and she had no notifications. She put on a simple pair of panties and climbed into bed. After half an hour of watching the ceiling fan spin she finally managed to fall asleep.

In the morning Alex padded downstairs at 6 a.m. and breathed in the scent of fresh coffee. She started to pour herself a mug when Diane walked in.

"That was for me," Diane said icily. Alex didn't point out that there was more than enough for both of them. "How was your retreat?"

"Good." They hadn't seen each other in a week, but Diane was already grating on her nerves.

"I'm glad," Diane lied. "Hopefully you'll be a little nicer to be around."

Alex didn't take the bait. Decades of acrimonious marriage had honed her self-control and she wasn't going to get tripped up over something so unsubtle. "Hopefully," she said noncommittally. Diane grumbled, clearly disappointed. She tried a different angle.

"With how much you spend on those fucking things, you ought to come back a saint," Diane said pointedly as she grabbed her keys and purse

"Do you ever think about our old NYU days?" Alex asked suddenly. She was still picturing the young, beautiful, passionate coed she fell for. "You know, when we used to go to those protests together?"

"No," Diane said coldly, and closed the door behind her.