MARTY AND GABY walked back along the icy driveway to the house. Marty tried to take her arm, but she pulled away.

I’m tired of touching people and being touched by people, Gaby was thinking. All the kissing and hugging and squeezing and hand-holding. Maybe I was born to end up alone. Maybe I should cancel the wedding right now.

She and Marty walked into the kitchen. He was smart enough not to intrude on her thoughts, to just be there. Stacey Lee was scraping dishes, rinsing wineglasses, and then putting them into heavy plastic cartons.

“We’ll help,” Gaby volunteered.

“No need. I just have to get these rinsed off. One of the indentured servants from the store will pick them up tomorrow to wash.”

Gaby smiled. “Total efficiency. I love it.” So she and Marty headed off to the living room.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Gaby said. Then she went on, “Oh, everything. Marty, I have to ask you something, and you have to be honest.”

“Shoot. I’m always honest with you.”

“Okay. Well. You knew Peter better than anyone else. You were practically twins. So, I need to ask you this question. Am I doing the right thing?”

Marty thought about it before he said anything. “I can’t answer that. Only you can answer that.”

“Okay. Fair enough.”

Marty realized that his response had disappointed her. That wasn’t what he’d wanted to do.

“No, Gaby, I won’t give you an answer. But I will give you an opinion. And here it is: No! No! No! Peter would definitely not mind. He’d be happy. Peter would be happy, because getting married is going to make you happy. And he loved to make you happy more than anything else in his life.”

Gaby’s eyes instantly filled with tears.

“Thank you, Marty.”

“Remember, it wasn’t an answer. It was an opinion.”

Suddenly she felt the need to hug him. “Do you mind terribly…the way I’m doing this? Making it ladies’ choice?”

Marty looked into her eyes. “No. I don’t mind at all. Do you know why? Because I love to make you happy too.”