I stood tall in front of the mirror in my room, studying my reflection. I passed a hand across the homespun dress and sighed. This one will do for the evening. Clara had slept off early. The Bergers’ lights were on. They surely were waiting for my arrival.

     I neared the nightstand and glanced at the clock. Exactly six. I wasn’t late. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I bent down and placed my phone in the drawer, then walked out of the room.

     A little while later, I stood on their front porch, knocking on the door. Amy appeared in a gray knee-length dress, a warm smile plastered on her face.

     “Hi, Elodie. I’m glad you could make it. Come on in,” she said, her voice full of glee.

     She opened the door wider, and I walked into the big foyer, a glow from the overhead bulb illuminating the place.

      She stepped in front of me and guided me into the dining room.

     Alec was already seated on a chair, scrolling through his phone. He glanced up at me with a warm smile. “It’s nice to have you here, Elodie.”

     I smiled back. “I’m glad you invited me over.”

     “There,” Amy said, pointing to an empty chair, “have a seat.”

     “Thanks.” I walked to the appointed chair and sat in front of a neatly arranged table of chinawares.

     “I’ll be right back,” Amy said, disappearing into the kitchen.
 
     “Sure,” I said and scanned the dining room. It was similar to mine. Hardwood floor, antique furniture, and a single bulb hanging on the ceiling. No portrait. I hadn’t seen one in the living room either.

     Alec glanced at me. “I found some lockets online. Stuck between which ones to pick. Could you help?”

     “All right.”

     He rose from his chair and neared me. On his phone screen, I stared at three lockets. I scrutinized them. In addition to clothes, I dealt with jewelry as well, so it was easy to pick one from the three.

     I fingered the middle locket, the silver one. “This one will do. It’ll match with her leather.”

     “I also thought the same. Thanks.” He went over to the seat and sat slowly.

     “Don’t mention.”

     Amy returned with a saucepan and scooped the food onto my plate, then proceeded to Alec’s table and finally fetched some for herself.

     “Let me grab the wine,” Alec said and stood, stepping into the kitchen.

     While she set the saucepan on the side table, I looked up at her. “Can I ask you something?”

     She grinned. “Anything.”

     I glanced back momentarily, hoping to hear Alec bouncing out of the kitchen, but I could still hear rustling. He’ll take a while there.

     “How did you get the bruises on your neck?” I whispered, pointing to my neck.

     Instinctively, she pulled up the turtleneck of her blouse.

     When Tom started hitting me and leaving bruises, I tried to conceal them too. I didn’t want anyone to find out Tom was physically abusing me then. Was it out of shame? Fear? Or both? I still had no idea.

     Her fingers trembled at the mention of the bruises. She blinked rapidly, and I noticed her pupils dilating. She was scared, but of who? Alec? Surely she didn’t think he could hurt her with me in the house.
    
     “I-I... I fell and brushed my neck...” She finally trailed off.

     I was wondering when she was going to trail away. She wasn’t a good liar. “Against what?” I said calmly.

     She didn’t reply. She couldn’t.

     Was my hunch correct? Well, there was only one way to find out. I knew I was crossing my boundaries and it was none of my business, but if Amy was in trouble and couldn’t reach out for support, I would want to help her. Most victims of domestic abuse usually told themselves things would get better until they escalated. At least I did. Partly the reason I stayed.

     My voice was low and soft when I asked, “Has Alec ever been violent toward you?”

     Her face went pale like all the blood in her system had been drained. It spoke volumes of words to me. As she moved her lips, we heard footsteps behind us. She meekly walked to her seat and sat across from her husband.

     Alec rejoined us with a bottle of Bordeaux and three wineglasses. He passed one to me and the other to his wife whose cheeks were blanched.

     Just when I thought they had the perfect marriage. I was learning a lot about the Bergers. Now I knew Alec might be abusing Amy. He’d had an abusive father before, so it was easy for him to turn into one himself. Abusers weren’t created overnight, and I was sure Alec wasn’t. I was also curious about his past relationship. What was he like? Did his partners feel safe around him?

     My mind drifted to Tom. My husband was no different from Alec. If I wasn’t mistaken, then Tom had been abused before at some point in his life, or worse watched someone get abused. His mother? Perhaps. Possibly the reason he didn’t talk about his Dad often. And that would explain his infatuation with his mother. The Bergers were a striking resemblance to Tom and me. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. I had been there before. I knew how it felt. I had to help Amy. My mind couldn’t stop telling me.

     Maybe that was why we crossed paths. But if she knew the kind of man Alec was, why did she marry him? My guess was, she didn’t know. As usual, he fell in love with this charming man and thought he could be her perfect husband.

     I peered at her as she scooped the food into her mouth. Her eyes penetrated mine. I could almost hear her cries. She didn’t feel safe around Alec—that was certain.

     We ate in complete silence. The only sound was the clacks of spoons hitting against ceramic plates. The tension in the room could swallow an insect.

     Finally, I cleared my throat. “What do you do for a living, Amy?”

     She went for the glass of water and sipped. As she prepared to speak, Alec said, “My wife doesn’t work.”

     My eyes would’ve widened if I hadn’t been fast to conceal my surprise. I thought that very much earlier when she visited me at my house.

     “I asked her to quit her job,” he added.

     “Why would you do that? You don’t want her to work?”

     I cast Amy a look. She wasn’t enjoying the conversation any more than I did. It was best I dropped it.

     “No... not at all. I love her too much I can’t afford to have her work for someone else, and I don’t want to hire her as my secretary.” He looked up at Amy and grinned. In reciprocation, she smiled back.

     I pressed on, managing a smile. “What was your job before you quit?”

     “I was a curator for a museum in New Hampshire.” There was pride in her voice when she spoke.

     I intuited something disturbing. She didn’t quit her job on her own accord. Someone forced her. I wasn’t sure she was asked nicely to quit her job. My eyes moved swiftly to Alec who seemed unperturbed by the conversation.

     “Wow! And you quit that just to become...” My voice trailed away.

     “Curating for the museum was hectic for both her and our relationship. It took her away on trips to different countries. Sometimes, she’s gone for months,” Alec said.

     “And I didn’t like being away for so long. Quitting was best,” Amy murmured.

     “Well,” I sighed, “I’ve got a feeling it wasn’t your best decision. I’m sure you wanted to continue. It sounds like a fun job.”

     Alec giggled. “Trust me, Elodie. It isn’t.”

     The tension mounted, and I thought I detected a subliminal message from Amy.

     Please, Elodie. Stop it.
    
     So I stopped. Everything didn’t feel right. He sounded just like a controlling freak, exactly like Tom when he asked me to shut down my boutique. The Bergers weren’t only interesting. They were puzzling too. Was this a contract marriage, or Amy didn’t have control over her life? A lot did happen behind closed doors.

     I sipped from my glass, keeping a close eye on Amy, studying her.

     I almost spilt out the water when Alec said, “What work does your husband do?”

     Smart. I would give him that. He’d switched the conversation onto me to avoid talking about himself. He’s afraid. Something terrible was happening here, but I still couldn’t detect it, especially when Amy was shutting me out. Was she being abused?

     “He’s a businessman. He travels a lot,” I lied. If I gave him any hint of Tom’s identity, I might be digging my grave.

     “I’m guessing you’re bored in the house. That’s why you wanted to get away,” he said, refilling my glass.

     “You’re right.” I swung my eyes to Amy, swirling the dark liquid. “The house gets very lonely sometimes.”

     “Well, that’s something you and Amy have in common. Sometimes I get international calls and I’m gone for a week. Isn’t that right, honey?”

     She looked up at him and grinned. “Yes. I might have to come along with you one time.”

     “I’d love to have you around,” he said happily.

     I watched their exchange in complete silence. My lips tightened. What was happening? I had no idea now. Glancing at my watch, I looked at the time. “I should get going. It’s late.”

     “Yeah. Sure. Let me escort you to the door,” Amy said and rose from the chair.

     “See you later, Elodie,” Alec called out.

     “Later.”
   
     We walked side by side to the entrance. A gust of wind blew across the porch. Amy shivered.

     “Thank you for coming, Elodie. I truly appreciate it.”

     “Don’t mention.”

     “We should do this again some other time,” she said.

     “I don’t know how long I’ll be staying, but yeah, sure. We should.” I smiled at her. “Your food was delicious by the way. I definitely should come for a recipe.”

     She chuckled. “I’m flattered.”

     I stood, waiting. When she didn’t make the move, I asked again, “Has Alec ever been violent toward you?”

     She scoffed. “Of course not. Why would you think that? She looked briefly at me and snapped her fingers. “Is it because of the bruises?” She waved me away, and I caught a glimpse of a scar on her wrist in the glint of the front light. “It’s nothing.”

     I knew she wouldn’t open up to me. If she didn’t need my help, I didn’t see a reason to offer it. Besides, even if she was being abused, what could I do? Tell her to run away like I did?

     “I’ll see you later, Amy. Have a good night.”

     “Good night.”

     I climbed down the short staircase to the house and walked across the road to my front porch. Minutes later, I was tying the straps on my nightgown.

     I crossed the room to the window and stood, staring at the view of the Bergers’ house. Suddenly a hand yanked the curtain open. Amy appeared in a pink nightgown. She stared into my eyes, and I looked back at her. I sensed she wanted to tell me something. Instead, she closed the curtain and I watched a silhouetted Amy vanish into the room till the light went off.

     Maybe I was imagining things, and Amy wasn’t in trouble. The bruises on her neck, she got them from tripping. And Alec wasn’t as bad as I had thought. But as much as I wanted to believe it, I knew something was off about those newlyweds.

     This is none of my business, I thought and closed the curtain.