evidence, but Addie could hear the distant sound of the TV upstairs.
“I have a question, Justine. If it’s too personal...”
Justine rested her phone in her lap. “I don’t think I have anything too personal left. Go ahead, try me.”
“Were you madly in love with Scott when you decided to marry him?”
She shook her head. “No. We’d been steadies for three years or so. The madly in love part had pretty much settled into mutual respect and affection. It did come back now and then, briefly, when we’d be all over each other like a couple of teenagers, but that in-love part was fleeting. I loved him, though. I always felt pretty secure. Now, looking back, I wonder if he strayed before and was just clever enough to get away with it. Why are you asking me this?”
“Was he your best friend?” Addie asked.
“Sometimes,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Jake,” she said. “I’d be lost without him. I love him, I do. But I just don’t know if it’s the kind of love that has the power of endurance. Know what I mean? What if I tell him I love him and want to be with him forever and it turns out I really just love him as a good friend?”
“What about physical attraction? What about idiosyncrasies that drive you batshit crazy? Like bad breath or he’s a lousy kisser or he doesn’t like anything you like?”
“I can’t think of anything,” she said. “We even watch Downton Abbey together, though he’d probably rather watch something with a gunfight or something.”
“Then why don’t you take him out for a spin?”
“What if it doesn’t go well? What if I discover it’s not okay? That it won’t work?”
“Then you tell him.”
“So, are you in love with Logan?”
“A little bit,” she said. “But at this stage in my life, I’m not looking for another husband, and he knows that. He doesn’t blame me. He’s not looking for another wife—he was married and has been divorced for years. But we both agree we like what we have. It could last.” Justine smiled. “When I found out about Scott and that woman, I thought my world ended. All I wanted was to survive it. I was worried about the house, about losing it, about not being able to feel confident again. Look what happened. The girls are so happy here. My workload is better and more interesting. I know the whole town. They know me. I thought this would be temporary. I love it. I don’t remember even liking this house when I was growing up. It was just a house. I’ll move if it’s too much for you, but...”
“It’s not too much for me,” Addie said. “I just can’t believe you’re happy in this old house and in this old town. You had a mansion before!”
“It was a nice house, but hardly a mansion. It was Scott’s choice, anyway. I want a quieter life than I had with a big, demanding firm. This is a little like coming home.”
Adele laughed. “Justine, you did come home.”
“Here’s the surprise—I find myself, not even a year after my divorce, genuinely happy. Happier than I was. I didn’t know I wasn’t happy before, but I like that no one tells me what we should do, what I should do. Oh, I’m still pissed off. Scott’s a fool and he made some bad choices, but he’s stuck with it. I’m working on making the choices that work for me. And the girls, of course.
“Addie, you should think about Jake. If he’s a good man and you feel good with him, you don’t want him to get away. Trust me, there isn’t a surplus of guys like that. I don’t think you need a guy to be happy, but the right one can flesh out your life. Just make sure he’s going to support what you want to do and not tell you what you should do.”
* * *
December brought out all the Christmas decorations in Half Moon Bay, and the town glittered. Justine helped decorate the front window of the law practice. People were a little friendlier and happier, if possible.