I must learn to control myself. But it’s so foreign to my nature! I always used to be spontaneous and completely open: serene, too. Whereas now my heart is filled with anxiety and bitterness. When he opened a magazine directly after leaving the table, I thought, He wouldn’t do that at Noëllie’s. And I couldn’t help it—I burst out, “You wouldn’t do that at Noéllie’s!”

His eyes flashed. “I just wanted to glance at an article,” he said evenly. “Don’t bristle like that over trifles.”

“It’s not my fault. Everything makes me bristle.”