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to go. Lori’s home. Thanks for telling me; you thought that was the right thing to do and I appreciate that.” They were out of things to say, and Luke wanted to get away. If Lori was sick, then maybe she needed him-and that had happened only a few times since they’d been together.
    His mother ended the call with a flurry of declarations-that his father sent his love, how much everyone missed him, and of course the point she never failed to make: everyone was praying for him.
    When he hung up, Luke turned to Lori and studied her for a moment. She was small and well built, and he was used to sharing a bed with her. But he’d never really been attracted to her, not the way he’d been to Reagan.
    She rolled on her side and opened her eyes. “What’d your mother want?”
    “Just an update.”
    For a few seconds Lori looked like she wanted more details, but she let it go. A low moan escaped her, and she reached around and pressed her fist into the small of her back. “My lower vertebrae are killing me. I did a self-assessment and visualization on the way home, but the pain’s still there.”
    Luke wasn’t sure what to say. Couldn’t she talk like a normal 37 s m a I I e y
    girl, just once? As intriguing as he’d found her in the beginning, these days more often than not she came across as a self-righteous, academic snob. Reagan never would’ve been soHe caught himself, stopping the train of thought before it picked up steam. Breathe, Luke … forget about her and just breathe. “How was the seminar?”
    Lori cast him an indifferent glance. “I didn’t go.”
    Luke stared at the woman he was living with. “I thought you took off class to go.” He waved his hands in the air. “It was supposed to be this big deal, remember?”
    “So … I took off class and went to the doctor instead.” She pulled herself up and locked eyes with him. “Is that okay with you?”
    He drew in a steadying breath. “Listen, Lori, if something’s wrong, you should’ve told me. Maybe I could help.”
    “I’m fine, Luke.” She crossed her arms, and for the first time since Luke had known her, she looked young and helpless, more like a little girl than a college coed intent on changing the world. “It was just a doctor’s appointment.”
    “All day?” He wasn’t trying to fight with her, but she didn’t look well. “What is it, the flu? a virus?”
    “Look…” She was mad now. Her eyebrows came together in a sharp V as she stood and stared at him. “It’s my body, okay? I find it offensive that you would even ask.” She gave a sharp breath through her nose and turned toward their bedroom. Near the doorway she tossed him a final look over her shoulder. “And don’t worry. It’s not contagious.”
    Luke watched her go and felt no remorse. He headed for the window once more and stared out. Lately he spent half his time in front of that single sheet of glass, looking at the world outside their apartment, wondering how life had gone mad. What would make a person hijack a plane and fly it into a building full of people?
    That had been the turning point, really. His life would be forever marked by how it was prior to September 11… .
    And how it was now.
    36
    He leaned his bare arm against the cold glass and tried to focus. Back cramps probably meant it was that time of the month for Lori. PMS was hard on her, though she hated to admit it. Some weeks she would wax on about the virtues of menstruation and how it empowered women. Other times she called it a curse, a challenge men knew nothing about.
    Luke always wanted to laugh when she said that, but he didn’t dare. If anyone knew about PMS it was a guy with four sisters. But Lori wasn’t interested in his opinionat least not on anything concerning a woman. He shifted and let his other arm rest against the glass. That had to be it, PMS, and maybe she’d been in for a checkup. Not that a checkup would take all day, but if she didn’t want to tell him where she’d