Chapter Ten
Tony watched his wife bustle about the kitchen. She had a dozen trays of hors d'oeuvres lining the counters of the freshly remodeled room. Melanie was a wizard when it came to cooking, and she usually breezed through such preparations; but it was clear to him that things were not going as smoothly as normal. Can I help? he asked. They were still a half hour away from their guests arriving. Yes, you can get out of my way, Melanie said, pushing past her husband on the way to the other side of the room. No cause to be snippy, Tony said. Please don't start. I'm still pissed at you for not telling me you invited ten more people. Mel, with all the trouble you were going through, it's hardly a change at all, he said. You don't think so, well I
