“A job’s a job,” she said, more than a little defensively.
The new Marianne continued to smile, leaning back in her chair, shrugging out of her raincoat.
“I wouldn’t know about that sort of thing,” she said, smugly, an uncharacteristic arrogance. “I’m pretty much left to my own devices nowadays.”
Uncharacteristic of whom, Deanna asked herself. Uncharacteristic of the old Marianne, certainly, the girl she had known at school, but this other Marianne was new territory, and she had no idea the things that might have changed her, that might have informed her personality in the many years in which they had been apart.
Nervously, she placed her thumb against the band of the ring, turning it slightly. Instantly, Marianne’s eyes were drawn to the motion, widening slightly as she caught sight o
