Her sister asked the question on Sunday morning.
They were in the kitchen the easy comfortable kind of kitchen that belonged to someone who actually cooked, with herbs on the windowsill and a well-used chopping board and the smell of something warm happening in the oven. Nora was in the garden with her cousin, the two of them engaged in something that involved sticks and a great deal of negotiation.
Julia was sitting at the table with her second coffee watching them through the window.
Her sister put a plate of toast between them and sat down.
"Do you love him?" she asked.
No preamble. No building up to it. Just the question, sitting there between the toast and the coffee like it had every right to be there.
Julia looked at the garden.
At Nora demonstrating something to her cousin
