idea what was going on in her sister’s life. The image of Scott kissing Cat stuck like a boulder in her brain and she thought about it all the time, fearful that her sister’s marriage might be in ruins, equally fearful that her sister would look the other way.
The first time Adele called, just three days after she informed Justine of the kiss, her sister merely said she couldn’t talk about it yet because she was still in the fact-gathering stage. Only Justine would call it a fact-gathering mission when it had to do with a cheating husband. A few more days passed, and Justine said she couldn’t talk about it yet because she and Scott were working out possible options. A few days after that, Justine couldn’t talk to Adele about it yet because they hadn’t discussed their situation with their daughters.
“What is your situation?” Adele blurted.
“It’s still a little murky,” Justine said. “It has been established that Scott has had some serious doubts about the state of our marriage, but he is unclear if it can be saved or is doomed to fall prey to the statistics. We have to decide before we tell the girls.”
“Are you sure the girls don’t know?” Adele asked.
“They’re teenagers and very self-centered. All Amber can think about is school getting out for the summer and that she’ll be a senior next year.”
Adele’s nieces had been winter and spring babies, making them slightly older than the average student in their class. They had both finished their SATs, and Amber was making college applications.
“What about your visits to colleges with Amber?” Adele asked.
“Obviously we’ll have a conversation about the changes in our family before we finalize plans, but some things won’t change. My daughters will go to college, however that has to be managed...”
“Justine! Doesn’t anything just throw you? Just knock you out?”
She was silent for a moment before replying, “Wouldn’t we be in trouble if I collapsed right now?”
“What about Scott? Is he upset? Worried? Emotional?”
“He’s very angry with me. For finding him out. It seems the kayak shack bimbo has been grooming him for a takeover.”
“Holy shit!” Adele said with a gasp.
“Say nothing, do nothing, please stay calm. If I don’t handle this well, it’s going to be a full-blown crisis.”
And so Adele, somewhat shaken by the idea of her older sister getting a divorce, just walked every morning, ate a lot of celery and countless chicken breasts, dropped four more pounds, then two pounds, then three pounds. She stripped the varnish off the baseboards and watched a number of videos on reupholstering, wallpapering, refinishing floors, and even remodeling a kitchen. She also called several of the local businesses, including resorts, and asked what positions they were hiring for. After she explained her circumstances, that she was halfway to her master’s degree but had stopped to take care of her ailing parents for eight years, it was usually explained that she would start at an entry-level position for minimum wage until she grew in experience and could be considered for a promotion. She kept phoning and studying the online job sources, hopeful.
“But I was a teaching assistant in the English department at Berkeley!” she would protest.
“Eight years ago,” was the reply.
Then she did something she’d done before, many times. She looked up Professor Hadley Hutchinson on the website of UC Berkeley. He was still there. It was an old picture. He would be over forty now. And still drop-dead handsome.
She sighed deeply and longed for cake.
* * *
Ultimately Scott admitted that he had strayed. That was his description of what had happened. He’d strayed.
“So, do you love her?” Justine asked.
“I don’t know,” he answered, sounding exasperated. “I enjoy talking to her. We have a lot in common. We’re both obsessed with fitness, and you don’t show much interest in that...”
“I work sixty hours a week to pay for your fitness program!”
“Hey, I cover that cost!”
“Yeah, while you didn’t have to make a mortgage payment or save for college or pay for utilities or—Never mind that for now.