"I can hear Agnes saying that, too."
"I know, right? Anyway, I finally get to thedoor, and I'm so cold. I had frostbite or hypothermia, and wasprobably in shock. The door opens, and the guy there, he knows me.Or he used to know me. He kept calling me Liza."
"Liza?"
"Yeah, I went by Liza when I was young. I triedto leave it behind when I went to college. Peter didn’t like it.Plus when I got married, it just didn’t sound that great withZurlo. Anyway, he helped me in. He had to take my clothes offbecause they were literally freezing and covered in ice. Not tomention torn, bloody and muddy. So he stripped me down. And I stillcouldn't place him."
"Um, Elizabeth, this sounds pretty much likethe book, you know."
"I know. This is why I'm so upset. He put me inthe shower to warm me up. I took the longest shower I had had sinceTeddy was born. I figured out who Jack was while I was in theshower. I stayed in there until the hot water ran out. He gave mewarm clothes. They were his, and he had put them in the dryer towarm them up. He made me hot chocolate. We started talking. He wasbeing nicer to me than anyone, especially Peter, had been in awhile. Or ever, now that I think about it. We talked a lot aboutwhat was going on in my life. He said he was shocked at how thinand unhealthy I looked. Dull, he said. That I had lost all myvibrancy. He said I used to be beautiful and full of life, and nowI looked like an empty shell of that. An empty shell in uglyclothes." Elizabeth remembered more as she was telling the story.The details were coming back, sharpening in focus. She hadn't beenable to recall some of the specifics of their conversation untilnow. "We talked for hours. We talked a lot about the sort-ofsuicide attempt. He gave me whiskey to drink. A lot of it, I think.I fell asleep in front of the fire, and slept for, like, twelvehours."
"So, the first night, there was no 'I'm goingto teach you how to live a better life. All you have to do is obeyme' scenario going on?"
"No! Not at all. I've never doneanything like that in mylife."
"According to this guy, you've done it alot."
"But I haven't."
"But he did undress you?"
Elizabeth knew she should be embarrassed by it,but in that moment, it was life and death. She nodded. "My handswere so cold, I couldn't move my fingers."
"So that's how he saw your body. To know aboutyour scars and stretch marks. Or is that fiction?"
"Unfortunately, the stretch marks and saggingbreasts and belly are non-fiction."
"So, that's really what you look like naked,then?"
Elizabeth nodded, "Plus, what makes this abouta million times worse is that he used to be married to NancyBeemer."
"As in Archie Beemer-Super Save n' More-NancyBeemer?"
"The same. I guess he asked her all kinds ofquestions and made her give him access to her Facebook account. Shethought the book was going to be about her. Everyone at school knewabout it."
"Oh my God, I wasn't even thinking about theschool stuff!"
"I haven’t read that far, but I've heard alittle about it."
"You have to read it. Now." Susan picked up thebook and thrust it into Elizabeth's hands, not taking no for ananswer.
Elizabeth curled up on the couch and drainedher beer as she continued to read. A plate of pizza appeared beforeher, and she nibbled on a slice, not having much of an appetite. Atone point, Elizabeth was taking a bite when it occurred to her thatthe pizza must have come from somewhere and that meant either Susanhad gone out or Jayne was home. She looked around, and saw Jaynewas sitting in the easy chair that Susan had used earlier.Elizabeth smiled weakly and gave Jayne a small nod. She went backto reading.
Every page, every paragraph exposed Elizabeth.Her clothing and appearance was described in great detail. Lost inhis words, it took Elizabeth a moment to realize something. It gaveher the chills. She looked up and found herself in the room alone.She got up, carrying the book in her hand, and found Susan andJayne watching TV in the den.
"Can I use the computer? I need to check myFacebook."
"Yeah, sure."
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Jayneinterjected.
Elizabeth nodded. "I need to seesomething."
"I don't think you should." Jaynecautioned.
"Why shouldn't she?" Susan demanded.
Jayne addressed Susan. "When you told me whatwas going on, I looked at Elizabeth's page. Some of the people fromtown have not been kind."
Elizabeth sank down on a nearbychair.
"How bad?" Susan asked.
"Pretty bad. Likecoming-out-of-the-closet-in-a-catholic-high-school bad."
Elizabeth sat there for a minute. What was shegoing to do? "Well, I really need to see something. I'll try not toread them and then I'll close my account."
Jayne nodded, and gave Elizabeth a small smileto show her support.
Susan handed over her laptop, and Elizabethlogged in. Despite Jayne's warning, she was not prepared for whatshe saw. Women from school, ones who Elizabeth had thought werenice.
"Whore."
"You will burn in hell."
"Consider moving and running your business outof another closet, hooker."
"Who was watching your children while you weref$#% ing everyone in sight?"
Elizabeth quickly opened up her photo albumfiles, trying not to let those words burn into her brain. Sheopened up the album from the talent show this past winter. Therewere pictures of Teddy and Sydney, both on stage and off. Therewere a few pictures of Elizabeth with the kids. Peter was always sogood about taking her picture with the kids. She was wearing afuchsia silk-knit wrapped sweater and a long black skirt. In onefull-length picture, you could see she was wearing black boots, anda glimpse of a black bra strap peeked out on her shoulder. Her hairhad grown out, and was in a low ponytail. She had worn a chunkysilver necklace that had a thick mother-of-pearl pendant. It hadbeen a new outfit, and
