Chapter 123

• The debauchery would have to wait, at least a short time. Moving day came and went in the blink of an eye. Even with packers and movers, it was stressful enough. The bigger issue was filling the new house and decorating it. Alyssa, our realtor, had an interior decorator who was willing to make things happen for only a small fortune. Navigating between Jess's modern and Kat's more traditional tastes created an interesting juggling act. We had made a great deal of progress while the move was pending, and within a couple of weeks, remarkably, the three of us were largely settled into the new house. What remained seemed like details.
• It was a glorious spring day, and I was sitting by the pool, sipping an easy-drinking rosé from Provence. An equally easy-reading book sat across my lap, and I was hypnotized by the gentle trickle of the waterfall that ringed the far side of the pool. I patted myself on the back for ordering outdoor furniture as soon as we had a contract on the house, so we could maximize our enjoyment of the setup. Jess was at work, and I needed something to keep me busy because it was a big day. Kat was at her divorce mediation. Her lawyer thought it was a coin flip regarding whether they could reach a settlement on the asset division.
• "If I didn't know better, I would say you found a place with a tennis court just to make it easier for me to come over more often," Rita Johnson said. She laid on her stomach in the lounge chair next to me, tennis outfit neatly folded on a side table. Her naked body gleamed in the sun.