The Good Life by Erin McGraw

Author:Erin McGraw
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

She had intended to start accompanying Jack on his walks, but in the end she didn’t have the heart. Jack’s face had taken on a hunted, twitchy quality. Janice didn’t miss his earlier dimness, but she worried about stress. Hearts gave out at this age.

She also put away the idea of a welcome-the-puppy party, even though the notion had charmed her. Spanky was a gregarious thing, given to parading around the living room with a washcloth in his mouth. Janice had already taught him to bark when he wanted a treat. Now, as Jack pointed out, he barked all the time.

But he didn’t bark the afternoon the back doorbell rang—he must have been sleeping, probably with Jack. Janice automatically blocked the kitchen door with her ankle. How quickly the new habits came. Preoccupied with her thoughts, she was startled to see Flinn Merchant on the mat, the shadows of her cheekbones sharp in the late afternoon sun. “Am I disturbing you?”

“Well, sure.” Janice made a half-smile. “No offense.”

“No offense. I’m coming as a friend.”

“That should be interesting.” The hospitable smell of fresh coffee filled the doorway, a fact Janice regretted. Flinn said, “You always have coffee on.”

“Bad habit.”

Flinn shrugged. “What’s wrong with coffee?”

Janice shrugged back, let her in, put out milk and sugar. She couldn’t think of one word to say to this angular woman, her wrists like slim tubes at the ends of her sleeves.

Seated at the kitchen table, Flinn said, “I’m here because I owe you an apology. I said things that I shouldn’t have.”

“Didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“Not every truth needs to be told,” Flinn said.

“And you a lawyer. That’s a hell of an attitude.”

The woman permitted herself a dry smile. “I’m off the clock.” Then she said, “Look, I’ve caused you trouble, and I didn’t mean to do that.”

Janice glanced around the kitchen. “No trouble here.”

“Trouble between you and Jack. I’m not a home wrecker. At least, I don’t want to be.”

“You’re safe,” Janice murmured, making a quick list: Lou would have brought Flinn cookies, Alicia taken her out to lunch. Chloe would have patted her dog. Flinn should be thanking Janice, not apologizing. “Nothing’s been wrecked. You might have done me a favor.”

“You don’t ask for much, if that was a favor,” Flinn said.

Janice couldn’t get herself to stop shrugging. “If you want to stay married, you take what you can get.”

“Do you mind if I tell you something? I used to be in family law. I saw a lot of couples.” Flinn leaned forward, and Janice wondered how often she had produced this frank, confiding smile at contract negotiations. “Nothing is ever final. The rules get reestablished all the time. In the good marriages, people knew that.”

Janice stared at Flinn’s mouth. “Are you telling me I have a good marriage?”

“I didn’t come over here to insult you,” Flinn said.

“But you did come to judge.”

The woman stayed for a glass of water and two more apologies before Janice could get her out of the house with assurances of lunch soon, yes, of course—the ritual Laurel Avenue goodbye.

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