When I stumbled downstairs to make some coffee, I saw the UPS parcel sitting on the hall table. I took it to the sofa, sat, and opened it. Inside was a small Lalique bowl. The card said, Whitney, this is for your crystal collection. Your secret admirer.
* * * *
Stuart had left my house hurt and angry on Friday evening. I had tried over the weekend and again Monday evening to get him on the phone, but either he wasn’t answering or he wasn’t there. Tuesday at work I decided I needed to do something besides continually hitting the redial button. He could ignore my phone calls, but he wasn’t churlish enough to ignore me if I presented myself at his door.
About six P.M. that evening I grabbed a bottle of merlot from my wine rack and got into the car. I stopped at Pizza Hut and got a large pi
