“She had a responsibility toward you. You shouldn’t have been the one to leave.”

“I needed to.” She watched as a couple walked hand in hand along the shoreline.

“Can I ask you a question?”

What could he ask that she hadn’t already been asked by someone else, probably a stranger? “Yes.”

“I know better than to believe everything I read, but—” He looked at her. “Did he make you happy?”

Once, she would have found that question difficult to answer, but talking it through with him had given her a clarity that had been missing for her over the years.

“He was what I needed,” she said finally. “Were we happy all the time? No. But there were good times.” It was easy to forget those and focus only on the bad. Easy to hold on to anger and hurt. Regret. Too easy, sometimes, to view her marriage through the eyes of others.

Cliff had been far from perfect, but she hadn’t been perfect, either. She’d held part of herself back. She’d been afraid to give freely in case what she gave was rejected, afraid to be open in case that made her vulnerable.

“And now you’re taking care of Ashley. Is that strange? Sorry—” He lifted his hand by way of apology. “None of my business.”

She laughed and he looked at her again.

“What’s funny?”

“You asking me if I’m taking care of Ashley. If anything, she’s the one taking care of me.”

“You mean because she left to protect you?”

“Not just that.” She thought about Ashley teaching her to cook, patiently adjusting the heat to stop Joanna burning everything. She thought about Ashley urging her to try on dresses she wouldn’t have touched had she been by herself. Ashley, offering her dating advice and offering to go with her to see Denise. “She makes me want more from my life. She makes me feel I could have more.”

They sat quietly on the sand, side by side, watching the waves roll in and then retreat. Over and over again.

“You like her.”

“Very much.”

“She’s lucky to have you in her corner. Lucky that you haven’t lost your kindness, despite everything. What are your long-term plans?”

“We haven’t figured that part out yet.” In her head she had. The idea had been simmering for a few days but yesterday she’d been sure. She knew what she wanted. But what did Ashley want? They still hadn’t talked about it. “We’re taking this a day at a time. When she experiences firsthand the media feeding frenzy I attract, she might decide she doesn’t want to be part of it.”

“She didn’t seem to care too much about that. Her feelings and concern were all for you.”

Thinking about Ashley made her realize they’d been gone for too long. “We should get back.” She scrambled to her feet and brushed sand from her legs. “They’ll be wondering where we are.”