The Bette Davis Club

by Jane Lotter

“But most of all, remember that marriage is about much more than mere carnal desire. It’s about being good to each other. It’s about being kind. It’s about seeking the very best within your own soul and sharing that very best, that goodness, with your partner. Only then will you truly start your new life together. Only then will you truly be married.”

Well, we’re all wounded. Life cuts up everybody.”

“I’ll tell you what the takeaway is,” Charlotte says. “I’m going to fix up Daddy’s office. Turn it into a yoga studio. Breathe in, breathe out.”

“Hey,” he says, holding me, “it’s all right.” “It’s a big fat mess,” I say, wiping my eyes. “Well, yeah. But it’s all right.”

“I said architectural salvage was an oxymoron. But I’ve been thinking about it, and it’s not much different from when someone dies and we look at their picture or reread a letter they wrote. That’s salvage too.

If you think about it, people spend a lot of time trying to hold on to things that are gone.”

Assuming you live through it, the best thing about falling apart is you get to put yourself back together.

After we empty the shop, I’m closing the business. I’m done focusing on the past—my own past anyway. I’m looking to the future.

I no longer believe in telling half-truths. I believe in giving as honest an answer as I can. Because perhaps if people spent more time being honest with each other, especially with children, there would be less unhappiness in the world.