Two days later, my phone rang.
“Ally? This is Jake Mansfield. I need to talk to you.”
What could I say? “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jake.” I wasn’t prepared for this call. “I’m sorry I disrupted your marriage. I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t disrupt our marriage, Ally. I don’t expect her to be celibate when I’m at sea for a year at a time. I knew there’d be someone.”
I couldn’t answer him.
“She misses you, Ally, and I’d feel a lot better if I knew who she was with.”
It sounded so workable. I took a very deep breath. “I can’t, Jake. I got too involved in this. I have to stay away from her.”
“Do you love her?”
That was it. “Please don’t ask me to answer that,” I mumbled. That’s when the tears started.
“You do, don’t you?” he asked.
I couldn’t answer.
“What’s your address? We ne
