“It’s also not unusual for someone, man or woman, to leave a satisfactory relationship for one that seems more thrilling only to find it’s loaded with problems. Only time will tell.”
It wasn’t as though this was the first issue of domestic violence Justine had ever heard of, but it was the closest she’d ever come to an actual case. And never in a million years did she think Scott could be caught up in something like that. Scott was too smart and sure of himself for that!
But then she hadn’t expected him to have an affair, either.
It was a quiet morning at the house. Amber wasn’t home from her overnight in San Jose, Olivia was on her laptop with her earbuds in, Addie had gone out for a long walk and had plans to do some shopping later. Justine spent an hour on her own laptop, sitting at the dining table. She read about male victims of spousal abuse and found lots of reading material. Then she applied herself to some laundry and cleaning, perfect activities when she wanted to think.
When she’d taken the job in this little town, she thought the hardest part would probably be seeing her husband and his mistress in blissful happiness living like college kids on the beach, nary a worry in their lives. She never in a million years thought she’d be seeing what she was seeing.
There was a certain amount of cynicism that came with her profession. She had to consider the worst-case scenario to be prepared to represent her company, or, in her new role, her client.
The household was full of activity. Addie came home, showered and changed and went off to San Jose for shopping. Olivia went with her. Amber came home and went straight to her bed for a badly needed nap after her night out.
Justine put on her tennis shoes and went out for a walk. She was wearing tight-fitting jeans with rips in the knees—high fashion these days, she mused. She pulled on an oversize poncho with a cowl neck over her dark long-sleeved shirt. She hadn’t paid any attention to Scott’s habits or schedule since they’d split up. In fact, she made it a point not to know too much about his current life. She didn’t know exactly where he lived, though she knew she could easily find out. But he was done with her; she wanted to be done with him even if that was a difficult emotional space to occupy. Was she curious about him and his new life? Absolutely. It was hard not to be.
She walked to the kayak shack and, as she expected, it was closed. The October weather was cold and the few ocean goers were now often in wet suits. There were no cars there. She knew Cat drove a red BMW SUV, one flashy, pricy vehicle. She knew because Olivia had mentioned it, along with her observation that maybe that meant the kayak shack was doing better than people thought. It was not there.
She braced herself for the possibility of running smack into Cat Brooks, but she was relieved that she didn’t. When she looked inside the shack, she saw Scott working on his laptop at the counter. He quickly closed the computer and looked at her.
“Wow,” she said before even considering stopping herself. He was sporting a nice shiner. “Looks like you didn’t work things out as quickly as you thought you would.”
“It’s none of your business, Justine,” he said angrily.
“Hey, no need to shoot the messenger. I came to see you, for the first time, I might add, because I’m concerned about you. I mean, I hate you, but it looks like maybe you’re in trouble.”
“I’m not in trouble. Everything is fine now.”
“I’m so disappointed in you, Scott. I thought by now you had perfected lying and here you go, bungling it. Clearly everything is not all right. You hooked yourself up with an abusive woman, and she’s beating the tar out of you.”
“It must make you so happy to think I’m in trouble,” he said. “I’m not. We have a very good relationship. One little flare-up doesn’t mean a thing.”