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Grabbing the small blanket she had been using to keep her legs warm at the computer, Abby quickly tossed it over her shoulders and stormed out of the house.

As the two men talked, Jake suddenly noticed Abby coming towards them, her feet moving as fast as she could without breaking into a run. Concerned, Jake stood up from his bench at the picnic table, but before he could open his mouth to ask what the matter was, Abby glared at Dick and then turned to Jake with tightly drawn lips.

"What is Dick trying to talk you into?" she demanded, her heart sinking as she gazed into the pale face of her husband. Something serious was happening, and Jake's grave demeanor only made her more concerned.

Before answering her, Jake put a trembling cigarette to his lips and drew in another draft of tobacco.

"Abby, please go back to the house," he asked, exhaling the puff of smoke into the clean March air. "I'll tell you about it, later." His voice was pleading, but there was a firmness to it that made Abby take notice.

"But, Jake..." she resisted.

"Please," he now begged in a low whisper, "go back home. I won't make Dick any promises until we've had a chance to talk."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"You're smoking again," bemoaned Abby. "You only smoke when you're worried."

Suddenly realizing that he was, Jake dropped his cigarette on the sand and stamped it out with his shoe.

"There," he said, trying to force a smile, "I put it out."

Reluctantly, Abby made her way back to the house, stealing a glance over her shoulder at the two men with every few steps she took. What were they up to?

Only when Abby had disappeared inside, did Jake resume his seat at the picnic table.

"Whew!" breathed Jake, as Dick took off his sunglasses and soberly looked at his friend. "She knows me too well. Can you believe it, Dick? All the way from the house, she knew something was going on."

Counting the seconds when Dick would leave, Abby waited by the living room window until her swollen feet began to protest and she finally had to retreat to the sofa. Just when she thought about going back to the window, Abby heard the familiar sound of Jake's footsteps on the front porch. Expectantly, she waited for the door to open, but when it didn't, she went to the window and saw Jake standing on the welcome mat, his troubled face deep in thought.

When Jake finally came inside, he was struggling to smile. When he discovered that Abby had been watching from the window, he realized she probably had seen him hesitate on the porch.

"Dick went home," said Jake, as if she was unable to see for herself that Dick's car was gone. "I told him that he and Sara should have dinner at our house, sometime. We haven't seen them in a few weeks."

"What did he want from you?" she questioned, immediately getting to the point.

With a deep sigh, Jake walked to the couch and Abby sat down beside him. After contemplating the carpet for a few moments, he looked up at her and tried to smile. This time, he failed miserably. His silence seemed to confirm her worst fears.

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