Meant To Be by Karen Stivali

men found her attractive. Aside from the obvious, which was that she was beautiful, she exuded confidence. What Marienne didn’t see was any softness. Daniel was kind-hearted and thoughtful, yet she saw no hint of sentimentality in Justine. She wondered if perhaps Daniel brought out her gentler qualities when they were alone.
    Justine made notes on a small pad as they wandered through the shops. She said she wanted to make sure she’d examined all her options before she made her selections.
    Marienne picked up a handmade change purse at one store, and a set of pewter cheese knives with inlaid stone handles at another. She found a shirt she liked, a rich plum colored v-neck with delicate beadwork along the cuffs of the sleeves. She held it up and looked in the mirror, then hung it back on the rack.
    “You should get that.” Justine stopped her. “It’s you.”
    “Really? It’s not too much?”
    “You can totally pull off that look, it’s a great color for you, and you’ve definitely got the boobs to make the v-neck work. Trust me.”
    Marienne shrugged, but bought the shirt, feeling flattered by Justine’s statements. Women like Justine didn’t usually compliment her. It felt good that she had.
    They stopped for lunch at a restaurant with tables that overlooked the river. Justine ordered a Cobb salad, dressing on the side, no croutons then began rereading her notes.
    “What did you order?” Justine asked when she finished perusing her list.
    “The Italian panini. I’m in the mood for something cheesy and melty. Besides I like saying the word panini .”
    “I try to eat as little bread as possible, and I already had that muffin today.” Justine returned the notepad to her purse. “So, how long have you and Frank been together?” She appeared eager to chat.
    “Almost four years. We’ll be married two years in January.”
    “January? That’s an uncommon month to get married.” Justine took a sip of her unsweetened iced tea.
    “I was still in grad school, so that was when I had time off from classes.”
    “How did you two meet?”
    “Frank was good friends with my college roommate’s boyfriend. They were at Wharton together.” Marienne had the distinct impression that Justine was hoping for more details, but she wasn’t certain how much she wanted to share. “What about you and Daniel?”
    “We met our junior year. Everyone was talking about him because he was on the cover of The Village Voice.”
    “He was?”
    “Yep. When I saw the photo, I decided I had to meet him. He was totally freaked out by all the attention he was getting, and none of the girls who were following him around were getting anywhere with him, so I found out his schedule and arranged to bump into him. Accidentally on purpose.” A wicked grin tugged at her lips. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, right?”
    Marienne nodded, unsure what to make of Justine’s confession.
    Justine lowered her voice. “He was totally worth the effort. He’s fucking fantastic in bed.”
    Marienne laughed. All she could hear in her head was Daniel saying, “I got better.” Apparently he was right.
    Justine took Marienne’s laughter as encouragement. “Seriously, I slept with a lot of guys, and most of them didn’t know what the hell they were doing. Daniel’s another story. He’s very intuitive, and he’s got some serious skills. I just wish he’d be more aggressive sometimes.” She frowned. “He’s too sensitive. I don’t always want to make love, sometimes I just want to fuck, you know?”
    The waiter walked up to the table, carrying their food. Justine looked at him with the most innocent smile imaginable. She sat back so he could place her plate in front of her.
    Marienne had to make a conscious effort to keep her jaw from dropping. She hadn’t expected Justine to make more than small talk and here she was telling her the intimate details of her marital life. Not that she wasn’t interested, but it was bizarre.