"Where is she now?" asked Anne.

"In Las Vegas with her mother," Louis told her.

"How often do you get to see her?" asked Anne.

"Only in the summer and for a couple of weeks in the winter. Um, would you like to come inside? It would be more comfortable than talking in the car."

"Of course!" They got out of the car and walked the short distance to Louis's front door. He unlocked it and let them inside.

The kitchen was sparsely furnished but clean. It was painted off-white, and a window with frilly white curtains was above the sink. In the center of the room was a plain wooden table with two chairs that were also made of plain wood and painted white. The floor was made of scuffed linoleum tiles, and as Anne got closer to the table, she saw that it was also badly scuffed.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything to offer you but ice water," said Louis.

"Ice water's fine," replied Anne, thinking of the pecan pie he'd just bought for her family.

"I wish I had two glasses that matched." He rummaged in a cabinet and pulled out a dark green plastic cup and a slightly larger one that was light blue.

"That doesn't matter." Anne watched as he filled both cups with ice and water and handed the larger one to her, then sat across from her at the table. "I want to hear about Reese. I had no idea you had a daughter."

"That's because I never told you." He smiled. "She's the most precious thing in the world to me. I don't think I even knew what love was until I saw her for the first time."

"How long have you and her mother been separated?"

"About a year and a half." Louis stared down into his ice water. "She and Axel ran away together."

"Axel?"

"Axel Fersen. He's a Swedish businessman. Marie first met him not long after we were married. I was - " He buried his face in his hands, and she placed a gentle hand on one of his arms. It was a long time before he looked up.

"I was born with a condition that made sexual intercourse impossible. A simple out-patient procedure could have corrected it, but my parents never got it done. I guess they were just too focused on Joseph's needs, on making sure he got into the right schools, where he could get the training my father wanted him to have."

To Anne's surprise, his voice held none of the bitterness she would have expected.

"On our wedding night, I couldn't - " His hands covered his face again.

"That's all right. You don't have to tell me. After all, it's none of my business, really."

He gave her a grateful smile. "It was a couple of years before I'd worked up the courage to have the procedure done. Reese was born nine months after I recovered from the surgery, and for awhile, things were really good between Marie and me. The baby brought us closer together, but it didn't last. Axel came back into her life, and what we had together was suddenly gone."

"I'm so sorry."

"I'd loved her since I was fifteen years old. She was only fourteen when we met, and I thought she was the loveliest creature I'd ever seen. To me, she was a goddess. I never said no to her about anything, not ever. She maxed out all my credit cards, ran up debts with her gambling. In the end, I had to file bankruptcy. I'm just now starting to get back on my feet again."

"Why didn't you get custody of Reese?"

"I could never take her away from her mother, and besides, I'm in no position to take care of a child right now. Axel's family is very wealthy, and she'll be well provided for."

"But he's not her father - you are! It's not fair!"

"Perhaps not."

"Why, of course it isn't! Let me talk to my father. I'm sure he could help you, and there's government agencies that can help as well."

Louis only shook his head.

"I can't believe you're not angrier about all this," said Anne. "I was sure mad as hell when Henry took up with Jane."

"Henry?"

"My ex-husband. We first met about five years ago. At the time, he was - " She paused. Did she really want Louis to know she'd had an affair with a married man? "He and Catalina were still married, but it wasn't happy. They had one daughter, Maria, and she never could have any more children after that. Henry had always wanted a son."

"We met at a dance, and things took off pretty quickly. Catalina fought him tooth and nail over the divorce, but I was determined to have him. I was thrilled when I got pregnant. I thought for sure things were going to go my way then, but I lost the baby only a few weeks after we were finally married. I fell into a really deep depression after that, and then he met Jane."

She swirled her cup to hear the now-mostly-melted ice bump against its sides. Other than that, all was quiet. "I guess I learned my lesson about fooling around with a married man." She heard the quiver in her voice and bit down hard on her lower lip, but the sobs came anyway, in torrents. She felt his arms around her, felt him pull her close, felt the warmth of his chest through the material of his shirt against her wet cheek as he held her until she was all cried out.

A few minutes later, she lifted her head to look into his face and saw that it was creased with worry.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I didn't mean to go all emotional on you."

"That's all right." He smiled. "I think I know how to cheer you up."

Her heart began to beat faster as he got up and walked toward the living room, and she followed him, surprised when he stopped and began to look through his CD collection and selected one. "I've always loved this movie. I guarantee it'll put a smile on your face."

He slipped the CD into the CD player, then sat on the worn sofa and smiled, inviting her to join him. "What's this called?" she asked.

"'Heaven Can Wait.' It's really old, from the 70's, but I love it."

"I don't think I've ever heard of it."

"Sh. Just watch."

She was soon engrossed in the movie, forgetting all about the bedroom scene she'd envisioned instead.