Point Hope by Kristen James Page A

was, there was so much food in the kitchen it was nearly flowing off the counter.
    Maybe she needed to do something creative. Trey had left several new pieces of driftwood on the patio in case she wanted to carve them. Rosette went outside and picked one up, wondering when he had left them there. Recently, because he cared again? Or a while ago, out of habit? This second guessing everything was wearing her down. With an annoyed sigh, she retreated back inside. She loved to paint, too, and thought about pulling out her acrylics when someone knocked. “Hello?” Angel called as she came in.
    Rosette stepped out of the kitchen, happy to hear another voice. “I just tried calling you! Want some tea?”
    Just the sight of her friend with her dark, caring eyes made Rosette want to burst into tears.
    “Sure, tea sounds great. I saw your call, but I was almost parked outside by then.” She followed Rosette into the kitchen. “Tea” didn’t just mean a tea bag. Rosette pulled out her tea collection, and they considered which two flavors of loose leaf tea to mix. Angel chose cranberry rose and orange spice.
    “Are you doing okay?” Angel asked, watching Rosette fill the kettle and put it on the stove.
    “Kinda,” Rosette said, staring at the stove. “Would people hate me if I got a divorce?”
    “Hate you?” Angel sounded disgusted at the idea. “You mean your kids? There are lots of kids that go through this and still turn out to be great people. I know it’s not the best situation…”
    “You don’t have to be polite, Angel. I need to know. I’m not talking about other people and other kids. I’m talking about mine. I’m so torn. I don’t know what I’m doing, or what Trey and I are doing by pretending things are the same.” She stopped and took a deep, long breath. Angel put an arm around her.
    “Do you know what you want?” Angel asked. Rosette raised an eyebrow while Angel continued, “Are you miserable in your marriage and wanting out? Or, maybe the better question is, do you feel you’re unhealthy staying in your marriage?”
    “I don’t know that I’m miserable.” Rosette took stock of her life. “Things have been so-so. It’s not like he beats me, drinks too much, or even puts me down. I’ve just been having these thoughts…”
    “About?”
    The teapot started to whistle. She yanked it up to stop the noise. “About being single. What would it be like to flirt with someone again? To have someone who wants to take me out and romance me?” She poured the water as she spoke. Angel took a minute answering. There wasn’t a need to rush, really; sometimes they preferred to let a few minutes go by without words.
    “I think like that at times too. But that doesn’t mean I’d ever actually want to leave Mitch.”
    Rosette wondered if even happy wives fantasized about some stranger romancing them. She glanced at Angel and realized she couldn’t imagine her best friend with a different man. Mitch was a hard-core outdoorsman who hunted every open season, up in the coastal mountains or over in Eastern Oregon. He hunted with a rifle and sometimes a bow, and even brought a mountain bike along so he could reach the most remote places. Angle and Rosette often called him Crocodile Dundee or The Crocodile Hunter after Steve Irwin. Mitch didn’t have the Australian accent, but he did have the boisterous, entertaining personality and attracted others with his crazy stories. He and Angel were a perfect fit together—and happy. They were happy, weren’t they? They had just one kid, a daughter, and said that’s all they wanted. Rosette had always assumed Angel had everything she needed.
    Rosette guessed people who knew her probably thought the same. It’d been “Trey and Rosette” for twelve years now, counting from when they were dating.
    “I didn’t think about it before,” Angel said, “But Trey’s been different since he was wounded. It wasn’t such a big change that I worried about him, but