The Golden Couple(112)
Miles Davis’s trumpet sings to me while I cry.
Grief isn’t linear. It isn’t logical. There’s no structure or civility to it; it grabs you when you least expect it and digs in its nails until you succumb.
So I give in to it, until the final notes fade away.
Then I get to my feet again.
I look around the room, imagining it not as it was, but as it will be: with a guest bed in one corner, and a pretty rug on the floor, and a potted tree by the window. Or maybe I’ll transform it into an exercise room, with a yoga mat and treadmill and wall-mounted TV.
The space has so many possibilities.
I walk back out again, this time leaving the door wide open.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
From Greer and Sarah:
Our thanks always goes first and foremost to our brilliant editor and publisher, Jennifer Enderlin, who helped to launch this book by conjuring the delicious title and to land it with her incisive, spot-on edits. Our publicist, Katie Bassel, whose enthusiasm for us and our books lifts us up.
The amazing team beside these two women nurtures our novels through the publication process with meticulous care, boundless energy, and limitless creativity. We are so lucky to have them working on behalf of our books. Thank you to Robert Allen, Jeff Dodes, Marta Fleming, Olga Grlic, Tracey Guest, Brant Janeway, Sara LaCotti, Sallie Lotz, Kim Ludlam, Erica Martirano, Kerry Nordling, Erik Platt, Gisela Ramos, Sally Richardson, Mary Beth Roche, Lisa Senz, Michael Storrings, Tom Thompson, and Dori Weintraub.
At William Morris Endeavor: we are incredibly grateful to our agent, Margaret Riley King, and her assistant, Sophie Cudd, who were our early readers. Their thoughtful contributions made this a better book. We are beyond appreciative for Sylvie Rabineau and Hillary Zaitz Michael, who champion us and our books in Hollywood, and to Jack Beloff and Victoria Nunez. We also send our deep thanks to Tracy Fisher at WME, and to Holly Bario at Amblin.
Our gratitude to all of our foreign publishers who have shared our work around the globe, especially Wayne Brookes at Pan Macmillan UK whose exuberant emails always make us laugh. And thanks to Julianna Haubner for helping us navigate social media (because of you, we now understand the difference between “stories” and “posts”).
And last but never least, a bundle of gratitude to our readers. We love connecting with you, so please find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Please visit our websites: greerhendricks.com and sarahpekkanen.com.
From Greer:
Sarah, what a journey this one has been. The Golden Couple was written entirely during a pandemic and despite not having our usual systems in place (Google Hangouts, hotel visits, solo writing spaces), we did it! Thank you for … well, everything.
I am incredibly grateful for my friends both inside and outside the publishing industry. Extra appreciation goes to Marla Goodman, Alison Strong, Megan De Valle, and Vicki Foley, who did double duty as early readers. Thank you also to Karen Gordon, Gillian Blake, and my Nantucket Book Group. Special thanks to my family of origin, Elaine, Mark, and Robert Kessel. A super shout-out to my mom, who read the first draft and offered keen psychological insights. Huge gratitude to my father for his wise counsel on the pharmaceutical sections. And to my brother, our 4:00 p.m. “walk and talks” always enlighten and lift my spirits.
Since I began writing, I have worked alongside two noisy dogs, but during the creation of this book I had additional company! Paige and Alex, my greatest creations, thanks for the love and the laughter. And finally to John, “my happily ever after”— your love, support, and encouragement make it all better.
From Sarah:
Greer, from cutting short our book tour and completely changing up our work process, this has been a year unlike any other! We not only got through it, but produced a novel to be proud of, and I’m so grateful for that—and for our many years of partnership.
One of my favorite perks of being a writer is the connection it creates with fellow book lovers. Two of the women I’ve met along the way turned first into friends, then early readers of The Golden Couple. Thank you, Napheesa Collier and Stacey Kruml, for your insights and assistance (especially Stacey’s last-minute reconnaissance trip to the Wharf, bringing me along via FaceTime!). And to Jamie Desjardins, who always lets me know if the new manuscript is creepy enough to keep her up at night.
My gratitude to Rachel Baker, for the weekly porch sits and heart-to-hearts that helped keep me sane during lockdown. To Isobel Aarons, for weighing in on everything from the addition of Romeo the pit bull to the big twists in these pages. And to Kathy Nolan, for the tech support and website fixes. I would also like to acknowledge the enduring influence of one of my first and favorite editors, the late, great Al Eisele.
I’m lucky to have a therapist in the family for many reasons, and credit my sister-in-law Tammi Pekkanen for ensuring certain details about Avery’s mindset and methodology didn’t strain credulity. My love to my parents, John and Lynn; my brothers, Ben and Robert; and to Saadia, Sophia, and little Billy.
Roger Aarons, you are my rock. You read every single draft of this manuscript, in between giving me neck rubs, cooking delicious meals, and sharing nonstop laughter (and nonstop home renovations, but I’d rather think about the laughter).
To my sons, Jackson, Will, and Dylan: thank you for putting up with a mom who paces the house, conversing with imaginary people and dreaming up creative ways to commit murder. I could never write kinder, funnier, or smarter characters than you three.