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The next night, Jeffrey feigned illness and went to bed early, switching off the lamp to lie in pitch dark He pretended to be asleep when Ray caed into his pajaht, they dressed in single-breasted black wool tuxedos with handkerchiefs in the pockets Jeffrey sighed over Ray, who continued to look disheveled no htened his jacket

They rode to the theater in a limousine Diana coalesced in the leather seats Ray poured cha their arlasses

At first Jeffrey looked anxious, but soon the bubbly began working He laughed loudly and kept extending his e a second bottle "This is e got a chauffeur for"

Jeffrey was flushed when they arrived Ray stopped to tip the driver while Jeffrey grinned at the crowd of sarettes before the perfor lobby wherechurch, in floral-print dresses and polo shirts and slacks Heads turned at tuxedos

Ray took his arally, down to the usher who took their ticket

Inside the theater, Jeffrey squeezed Ray’s hand as his eyes darted between gold cornices Theyin the shadows between arh his prograe of his seat, staring at the curtain

The theater went dark The audience fell silent as the overture began, brasses taking up a merry beat

"Happy forty-nine," Ray whispered in Jeffrey’s ear Jeffrey batted hi toward the music

Silently, Diana counted years Yes, she’d have been forty-nine, too Her ethereal foran Diana watched Jeffrey’s face instead of the show His enraptured expression wasthan any performance Diana remembered Still tipsy, he leaned in at the dra asping when soainst his are He applauded with all his strength, al hirew overpowering, she flickered into the shadows cast by the actors to watch the show up close It seeht paint on orn sets

Afterward, as Jeffrey and Ray stood outside waiting for the limo to return, their tuxedo jackets draped over their aran to weep Passersby turned to look, without interrupting their strides

Ray took Jeffrey by the shoulders and turned him so they faced each other squarely "What is it?" he asked "Can you tell ht in his throat "I could have been, if I’d been so harder

"The world just wasn’this arms around his husband

The world had made Diana think it was made for her once Seven hundred and fifty million people watched her walk down the aisle in her puff ball ue dress with its romantically ruffled neckline and twenty-five foot train She’d been adorned by lace and sequins, hand-stitched eht before, she’d been crying, too Was the world made for anyone?

She followed them back into the shadows of their room They switched on their bedside lamps and she swam under the bed to respect their privacy

It sounded like love

When the laain, Diana lifted back into the shadowed drapery of their quilt Ray was asleep Jeffrey stared at the ceiling, his eyes dry, his face sallow

"I’

You should be, Diana couldn’t say

"I have a good life A good house Good health A good husband I’m lucky and loved"

You are, Diana couldn’t say

"I’m forty-nine years old"

Diana could not say that she would never be forty-nine years old