Addie thought of it as calm, sometimes too calm. Maybe a little old-fashioned and stifling. When she was young, she couldn’t wait to knock the dust from that little old town off her shoes, to get out and enjoy the freedom of college in a bigger city. Now that she’d been held hostage there for eight years, she was nearly phobic about leaving.
But leave she would, if only for the day. She wasn’t going to let Justine down, even though it appeared Justine would let her down. They might not be the closest of sisters but if Adele had one shining trait, she was fiercely loyal. She thought she was more loyal to Justine than Justine was to her, but that was okay. She believed that what goes around comes around and she’d invest now, hope for good things to follow.
Plus there was Amber and Olivia, and Addie loved them.
Adele called Justine first thing in the morning. “I know we just talked yesterday but I need to see you, in person, alone, as soon as possible. I’ll drive to San Jose if necessary, but it would be better if you came here. I don’t want to try to talk to you with the girls or Scott around. It’s a very private matter.”
“What’s bothering you, Addie?” Justine asked.
Of course Justine would think it was Adele who had the problem, that it was something she was embarrassed to share or have anyone overhear. “We have to talk. It’s urgent. Please decide where we should do it.”
Justine sighed into the phone. It was clear she couldn’t imagine Addie having a truly urgent issue of any kind.
“I have a lot to do today. Are you sure this can’t wait?”
“I’m afraid it can’t. Do you want to meet somewhere or what?”
“Can you come to me? Scott’s playing golf and won’t be home until after two. Amber and Olivia are both busy with friends, and I expect they’ll be gone all day. If you come to me, at least I can get a few things done in the time I would have spent driving.”
“Okay,” Adele said in a shaky breath. She hated the freeway. And left turns. And other cars. She hadn’t driven to San Jose, forty miles away, in years and she recalled it as traumatic. In fact, she hadn’t driven out of Half Moon Bay in a couple of years. She was used to getting teased about it.
“Wow,” Justine said. “This must be important.”
“It is.”
Adele thought about the one time Justine had really come through for her—when she was brokenhearted, pregnant and alone. Justine was supportive and nonjudgmental.
“These things happen, kiddo,” she’d said. “But you’re doing the right thing. Adoption is a good option.”
“If I can make myself go through with it,” Adele had said. “I feel him moving and I want to hold him.”
“Of course you do. And women do raise their children without fathers all the time. But if you’re serious about that, there are legal ways to make the father responsible. He can pay support. Just think about it. I can help.”
But that option had been taken away from her when the baby didn’t survive. It was Justine who showered her with sympathy, paid for the mortuary and cemetery costs, held her while she cried and encouraged her to grieve, get counseling and try to move on. For that compassion, Adele would be forever grateful.
She did love and admire Justine. She was also quite jealous, an emotion she fought constantly. It was just that until she saw Scott misbehaving, she thought Justine had everything, beautiful home, perfect daughters, happy marriage, great career. She had been so lost in thought that she was almost surprised when she pulled up to her older sister’s house. She had managed the drive without incident.
She looked up and admired the place. It wasn’t an estate or anything, but it was so much larger than the house they grew up in, plus it was relatively new—about fifteen years old. The kitchen was spacious, the great room was grand and welcoming and overlooked a small but beautiful pool and meticulously groomed yard. There were five bedrooms and as many baths, and the third port in the garage was stacked with sporting gear—skis, paddleboards, kayaks, golf clubs, et cetera. Justine and the girls also had skis and bikes and paddleboards, but the gear was by and large Scott’s.
Now she wasn’t sure what Justine was up against. Did Justine know her husband was unfaithful?
Justine opened the front door to greet her with a frown. “Oh jeez, you’re pale. Come in. You know, now that you’re officially off the caretaking job, you might want to broaden your territory. Do more driving, go farther, get your confidence back, put yourself out there.”
“I will,” Adele said, as she had been saying to herself for more than a couple of months.
“Let’s go sit on the patio,” Justine said. “I made a fresh pot of coffee and I have some cookies.”
“I was going to give up cookies,” Adele said. “Maybe I’ll start tomorrow.”
Adele sat at the patio table and let Justine serve the coffee, which seemed like the last thing she needed. She was jittery enough, and not from the drive on the crowded California freeway. Even on Sunday morning it was like bumper cars, but she’d managed it just fine.
“You going to spit it out?” Justine asked. “So we can spend what time we have figuring it out, whatever it is?”
“Scott is cheating on you,” Addie blurted. “I saw him.”
Justine jerked in dubious surprise, her chin lowering as did her brow. She frowned. “You saw him having sex?”
“No. I—”
“You’d better be specific. And very sure of what you’re saying because this is serious.”
“Oh, I know it is. I went for a pizza with Jake Bronski last night. Maggio’s. Do you even remember it?”
Justine nodded gravely.
“Eight booths in the dining room. We went in the back door because Jake knows everyone there. We had just gotten a glass of wine when I noticed the couple two booths ahead and to the left. They were sitting side by side facing the front, maybe watching the front entry. They probably thought they were alone since we snuck in the back. They were kissing. Kissing like they couldn’t stop. Like they really needed a room.”
Justine was quiet for a long moment. “Kissing?”
“Powerful, desperate, crazy kissing. Like in the movies kissing. Mouths open, devour—”
Justine held up a hand to stop her. “Was there any evidence of an affair? Or was it just kissing?”
“Seriously? Just?” Addie laughed, though not in humor. “I never thought to follow them. You have a provision for movie-star kissing in the marriage contract?”
“Okay, thanks for telling me,” Justine said, as if she couldn’t bear to hear any more. “I can take it from here. And if you think of anything else...”
“I know who she is. Well, Jake knows who she is. The woman who owns that kayak rental shack near the ocean, down the bike path past the beach bar. Her name is Cat Brooks. She’s not very pretty.”
Justine seemed to wince ever so slightly. “Thanks.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. But I know how this will turn out. Scott is caught kissing outside of our marriage and we’re going to fight about it, quietly so the girls don’t hear, then he’s going to grovel, beg for forgiveness, make a lot of promises about his perfect future behavior, then things will be tense for a while and he’ll invest a lot in flowers and maybe a little jewelry and then it will be over. It will pass.”
“It sounds like you’ve been down this road before...”
“Except for the getting caught part. He’s never been caught before, but we’ve had the discussion...”
“Why? He must have done something if you talked about it?”
“There were a few times I wondered if he was lying to me about where he’d been. You know—the timing was just off or his story would change. And he couldn’t be reached... Didn’t answer his phone. There was some texting with this woman or that—but I didn’t see anything real damning. Still... It’s not like I have a lot of time to chase him around, but if the girls can’t reach him and call me... Don’t worry about this. We’ll get it straightened out.”
“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.