“But now you’re dying,” I said, gesturing at the valley below with my eyes. “And another woman in your life”—I pointed at myself—“is not going anywhere.” I lifted my eyebrows, like How ’bout that? Like by breaking the pattern, I’d fixed him. But then Charlie said, “Only because you can’t get out.” “You don’t know that.” I gave Charlie a minute to process. This had been a very productive near-death experience so far.
