“Hey,” she said.
Then she noticed Noah. “Oh.”
I hurried over.
“Sorry,” I said, taking the phone. “My son must have called you by accident.”
The woman studied me. “Is Eric there?”
“He’s outside. Who’s this?”
“I’m Rachel.”
I couldn’t place the name.
“Do you work with him?”
She hesitated. “Just tell him I called.”
The screen went dark.
For a few seconds, I stood in the kitchen holding the phone while a pancake burned in the pan.
Noah tugged at my sleeve. “Mom, I’ve seen her before.”
“Where, sweetheart?”
“At the house Dad showed me.”
I turned off the stove. “What house?”
“The new one. With the big windows.”
I crouched beside him. “What new one?”
“Dad said we might move. Rachel was there with a measuring thing. She asked if I wanted the bedroom with the big window.”
I felt cold all over.
“When was this?”
“A while ago. We got ice cream afterward.”
