Medea looks at her wrist watch and says, "Well, little kitten, I must be going. It was a pleasure seeing you again. We should meet up again soon." She smiles at me like we're old friends and disappears into the wine festival crowd. I sit alone for a while, doing my best to comprehend what I now know.

I walk back to the hotel and open the room door. It's dark inside. I walk to the bed without turning on any lights and plop onto the covers.

The room lights up, and my eyes roll over to Sterling sitting on a chair by a lightswitch. He's only been gone a...