Chapter TwelveThe day after his tryst with Valerie, Paul made a point of getting to work earlier than usual. He was hoping that, like some talisman, drowning himself in work would ward off the guilt he felt because of his betrayal of Evelyn. And a betrayal was exactly how he characterized what had happened. Yet, despite not trying to rationalize it the way he was sure his classmate Lloyd would have, for instance, as he sat at his desk, he could almost hear Lloyd whispering in his ear:
'After all, Paul, you had the better of the argument about Rico, but despite that fact, it was Evelyn, not you, who stormed out of the house in a huff. Even so, you had had no intention of even looking at another woman, much less sleeping with anyone. That was Valerie's idea, not yours. And how were you supp
