“Do you think he’s having an affair?” Addie asked, grabbing one of the cookies and taking a big bite.
“I suppose it’s possible, but honestly I doubt it. Scott is very critical of men who step out on their wives. But believe me, I’ll conduct a thorough interview. It’s one of my particular skills.” Then she smiled. Weakly.
“Where was he supposed to be last night?”
“A bowling tournament. He’s in two leagues. I guess there’s been some lying. I will find out how much.”
Adele wasn’t buying that smile. “You can talk to me, you know.”
“Thank you, honey. That’s very sweet. I’m sure we’ll work this out quickly. And I won’t tell him where I got the information.”
Justine spoke as if Adele couldn’t possibly be experienced enough to help her through this, to be a confidante.
“I suspect he was in Half Moon Bay because she lives there and he never thought he’d see me,” Adele said. “I hardly leave the house.”
“You’re going to have to change that, Addie. It’s not good for you.”
“Yeah,” she said, noting how quickly the subject changed to her. “I’ll get right on that.”
Chapter Three
There was a vase containing a cheerful spring bouquet sitting on the breakfast bar. Scott had given it to Justine two days ago, a day after their weekly counseling session. “For you, Juss,” he said. “I’m a very lucky man. I will always love you.”
Had he told her about the flowers? About the declaration of love? Because according to Adele, who couldn’t lie if her life depended on it, he’d been devouring the lips of another woman the next day, last night. Some woman named Cat Brooks who owned a kayak rental shack.
How was this possible? Justine had practically grown up with Scott. They’d met during their freshman year at Berkeley when they were mere children, just beginning to make their way into a future. They dated, fell in love, broke up a couple of times, but always came back to each other. By the time they were sophomores, they were exclusive. Right after graduation, they got engaged, though neither of them had two nickels to rub together. College costs, loans, very little help from their parents and only low-paying part-time jobs between them did not leave enough money for a wedding. The diamond in Justine’s engagement ring could barely be seen with the naked eye, it was so small.
They lived together while they were in pursuit of decent jobs. Justine began teaching as a substitute, but before a year passed she’d acquired a permanent post teaching high school algebra. It took Scott longer to land a job in sales with a sporting goods manufacturer, but it seemed a good fit for someone as gregarious as Scott. By the time they were twenty-four, they could afford a modest but classy wedding with Adele as their flower girl.
At twenty-five Justine took the LSAT. She did better than just very well; she scored at the highest end of the scale. She’d always been a good test taker. Her biggest cheerleader was Scott. At twenty-six she began law school at Stanford, this not quite middle class janitor’s daughter from Half Moon Bay. And she graduated from Stanford with honors. Scott had been so proud of her. But he also said he’d expected it.
When had he stopped being proud of her?
Through the years, through law school and two difficult pregnancies and a high-stress job in the legal department for a major software manufacturer, she’d always thought she and Scott were happy together. She was with her company through their first public offering, a killer project that yielded a handsome bonus and a big pile of stock options, setting her and Scott up for a tidy investment portfolio. From the time her little girls were four and five until now, even with the industry’s ups and downs, she’d managed an excellent income.
And Scott had claimed to be a very satisfied house husband.
Now, after all of that, he was saying she hadn’t been emotionally available?
Scott did contribute to the family income with a little part-time work on and off for the last seventeen years, but the days of his pursuit of