Alice answered on the second ring. ‘Emma, I’ve been so worried about you. Why didn’t you answer my calls?’
‘I didn’t want to disturb you; you might have been busy,’ Emma responded rather more tartly than she had intended, but the implications were evident in her voice. ‘She with you now?’ she asked.
‘No, no, I promise. And Emma, I’m sorry. Truly. Truly sorry.’
‘Why don’t I believe you?’ Emma said as she remembered Alice’s response when Emma had suggested they get married.
‘Marriage, that’s just an outdated bourgeois concept, designed by the church to keep us down, keep us under their thumb. The same with monogamy.’
‘Why should I believe you?’ she asked again.
‘Because it’s the truth, I swear that … she isn’t here. Has not been since … well, you know. Honestly, babe, I am sorry, reall
