The Unraveling of Julia

by Lisa Scottoline

They’d met freshman year at Notre Dame, where he was a sports fanatic who took art history on a lark. He

money separated you from everybody else. Maybe

Abruzzo.

Ponte Vecchio.

Uffizi Gallery.

“She was brilliant, too. She read widely, even as a child. It’s

She was completely self-actualized, and it’s a testament to the power of books, if you ask me.”

“She loved the sciences, too, like astronomy and astrology.”

Think of Mary seeing the Angel Gabriel, who tells her she will bear Christ.

Julia watched them, hoping she’d get that lucky someday. She wondered if most people knew how blessed they were in a family. “We

Valerie

She’d been kind to Julia, though she’d avoided showy emotionality. If they lost today, it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Valerie,