Excerpt
pages 23-24

Kate opened her arms and Lily moved into them. This wasn't the first time they'd shared tears and faced problems. "Let me help."

Lily nodded. "Don't tell George. Not yet."

"I won't, but I think you're wrong. If it were him, you'd want to know wouldn't you?"

"If it were him, I'd know."

Neither said anything for several moments. Kate had never been a wife or mother but she sensed the feelings Lily had right now. Some women were the caregivers of the world, knowing instinctively when and where the hurt lay.

There was no sound inside the warm kitchen except the soft pelting of rain against the windows. Lily turned to Kate and said, "You know, you were wrong before when you said you always told me everything. You didn't."

"I did, too."

"No, you didn't."

"When didn't I tell you everything?"

"After graduation when there was talk that you'd go away to the convent."

They stood a foot apart and stared at each other. "I started that rumor to look important. I was mad at you for spending so much time with George." Kate waited expectantly for Lily's reaction.

Suddenly they were both laughing. "You dope," Lily choked. "George never took your place in my life. That love was different."

"I know," Kate said. "But I was a dope then."

The laughter melted the emotinal ice. It would be okay now. This was women's business. Together they'd handle the crisis.