At the end of August, Remy turned forty, a birthday he would’ve rather no one made that big a deal about. Though Lane knew it, he still treated Remy to a night out. They shared a lovely meal at a steakhouse downtown, then met Kate and Braden for gelato at a little Italian cafe in the West End. By the time they returned to Remy’s apartment, both men were pleasantly buzzed from the wine and the food and each other. As Remy fumbled to get the key in the lock, he noticed a FedEx envelope tucked in between the door and its jamb. “Hey, look. A birthday present,” he said.
Lane plucked the envelope from Remy’s fingers. “It’s from Shelly. What’d she send you?”
Wrestling to unlock the door, Remy told him, “Open it and see.”
Inside the apartment, Lane tore open the envelope and pulled out the shea
