The Lies That Bind

Set in New York City in 2001, the story follows Cecily Gardner, a 28-year-old reporter at The New York Mercury who is originally from Pewaukee, Wisconsin. One night in May, a week after breaking up with her longtime boyfriend Matthew, Cecily goes alone to a dive bar in the East Village, resisting the urge to call him. A tall, dark-haired stranger stops her from dialing, and the two share drinks and comfortable silence for hours without exchanging names. After last call, he walks Cecily home. She impulsively invites him inside, and they fall asleep in her bed, fully clothed, without so much as a kiss.

The next morning, they trade names: He is Grant Smith, 30, from Buffalo. Over breakfast at a diner, they bond over books, politics, and literature. Before they part, Cecily gives Grant her phone number but does not get his. Her best friend since first grade, Scottie, who is gay but still closeted to his parents, is skeptical but intrigued.

Grant calls midweek, admitting he has been thinking about her constantly. He reveals he is a stock trader planning a sabbatical and a trip to London with his twin brother but remains vague about the details. He asks Cecily on a surprise road trip for Memorial Day weekend and drives her to a log cabin near Great Sacandaga Lake in the Adirondacks. Over wine by the fire, he shares his family history: His father was killed in a roadside accident when he and his twin brother Byron were six, and his mother later died of familial ALS, a hereditary form of Lou Gehrig's disease, at age 39. Grant does not carry the gene, but Byron does and has been diagnosed with the disease. Their London trip is for a clinical trial. That night, they share their first kiss, and Grant tells Cecily he loves her. She says it back.

Before Grant's departure, Cecily meets Matthew in Bryant Park at his request. He confesses he still loves her and wants another chance. Cecily tells him she has moved on, and he storms off. On their last night together, Cecily and Grant cross the Brooklyn Bridge under the stars and watch the sunrise illuminate the World Trade Center skyline.

Over the summer, Grant and Cecily exchange emails. He writes about Byron's deteriorating health, and she shares details of her work and fiction writing. Grant invites her to visit London for her July birthday, and she and Scottie book flights.

In London, Scottie grows suspicious during a pub lunch with Grant and Ethan, Grant's college friend from Stanford. Grant introduces Cecily only as his "friend" and is evasive about details from his past. Later, Grant calls Cecily in distress: While they were at lunch, Byron attempted suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. Grant got him to the hospital in time. That night, Grant and Cecily make love for the first time. The next morning at the hospital, Byron is confrontational and bitter. Grant tells Byron that he and Cecily are "just friends" (109), a remark that wounds Cecily deeply, and she flees in tears. Grant soon tells Cecily he and Byron are leaving for Jerusalem and Venice, the two places Byron wants to see before he dies. Cecily tells Grant to put his brother first, effectively putting their relationship on hold.

Grant arrives at Cecily's apartment after 1 A.M. on September 11, having returned from Europe the previous evening. They make love. He leaves around 4 A.M. Hours later, Scottie calls to tell Cecily to turn on the television. She watches in horror as hijacked planes strike the Twin Towers, which eventually collapse. She tries repeatedly to reach Grant but cannot get through. She joins her colleague and close friend Jasmine Baker, a fellow reporter, downtown to cover the aftermath. Days pass with no word from Grant. Then, at a candlelight vigil in Washington Square Park, Cecily sees a MISSING flyer bearing his photograph. Jasmine calls the number on the flyer, and the woman who answers is Amy Smith, Grant's wife.

Cecily is shattered. She visits Amy at her brownstone in Park Slope, posing as a reporter covering 9/11 victims. Amy reveals that she and Grant married in 1997 after knowing each other since childhood and that he worked on the 75th floor of the South Tower. Cecily cannot bring herself to reveal her relationship with Grant to the grieving widow.

Cecily reconnects with Matthew, who represents comfort and stability. He proposes, and after initial hesitation, she accepts. She then discovers she is pregnant but cannot determine whether Matthew or Grant is the father. She decides not to tell Matthew about the uncertainty. Meanwhile, Cecily develops an unlikely friendship with Amy, who helps plan the wedding using her contacts as a personal stylist. Cecily learns the families are deeply intertwined: Grant's father died while helping Amy's father change a flat tire, and Amy grew up in the same building as Matthew's family.

Haunted by unanswered questions, Cecily emails Byron at an address Amy provided. She receives compassionate replies explaining that Grant's marriage was failing and that he genuinely loved her. These emails bring some peace, though she does not yet know their true author.

Driven by a vivid dream, Cecily drives to the Adirondack cabin and discovers Grant alive. He explains that after leaving her apartment on September 11, he went to his South Tower office, discovered he faced prosecution for insider trading, then picked up Byron and drove to the cabin. They heard the attacks on the radio. Byron died days later, and Grant realized the attacks allowed him to disappear, escaping his failing marriage and federal charges. He admits he wrote the emails impersonating Byron. Cecily, furious, tells him she is pregnant and flees.

Back in New York, Cecily confesses everything to Matthew: her relationship with Grant, Grant's survival, and the paternity uncertainty. Matthew is devastated and demands a paternity test. She then reveals the affair to Amy, who admits she had already suspected after finding Grant's Venice postcard in Cecily's apartment. Cecily ends the friendship.

In a letter to Matthew, Cecily agrees the wedding should be on hold and questions whether their love is strong enough. She flies home to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving and tells her family the full story. In a final conversation with Matthew, she articulates her core frustration: His love comes with conditions, and she wants love that is unconditional. She removes her engagement ring. Matthew asks her to keep it as a promise. She places it on her right hand, gives notice at the paper, and moves home on December 11, exactly three months after 9/11.

Five months later, Grant appears at Cecily's parents' house. He has met with Amy to discuss divorce and is surrendering to the FBI, explaining that the insider trading was motivated by the need to fund Byron's medical care. After their daughter Alice is born, a paternity test confirms Grant is the father. Grant serves 11 months in federal prison. Upon release, he moves to Wisconsin, takes a job with the ALS Association, and gradually rebuilds Cecily's trust.

In September 2006, Cecily returns to New York and sits at the same stool in the East Village bar where they met. Grant joins her, slides a gold ring set with moonstone, Alice's birthstone, across the bar, and tells her it belongs on her left hand. He orders two shots of Goldschläger, echoing their first night. For the first time, Cecily's head and her heart tell her the same thing.