SATISH
Mére’s back provided the perfect excuse for Satish to go home after Jenn and Rafe’s service. And if that wasn’t excuse enough, he spent half an hour on the drive down the Peninsula fabricating lies about the Porsche. The mechanic needed Satish’s okay on a part. Lies were wasted on AnnaSophia. She spoke in monosyllables for eighty-five of the ninety-minute trip. She did drop the bombshell that Alexandra was coming for a home visit the next afternoon.
“What do Magnus and Anastaysa think about that?”
“I told them this morning. Before you came. We’ve not had much time ...”
“You want to grab takeout—so you don’t have to cook and can talk to them?”
“We have tons of leftovers from all your mother’s meals.”
After that, not much to say. Except goodbye. He parked her SUV, got in his rental, and headed home, refusing to think about how let down he felt.