"And knowing your husband as you do, would he come back for anything less than you make him the happiest he can be? Or would he chain himself to anything on purpose?" There were vast holes in what she knew of her adopted son, but she could still observe people and draw conclusions. One thing was blatantly obvious, even ignoring how Longshot talked about his wife. He regarded Alison with nothing short of total devotion. His eyes never lied around his wife.

"And you are. Small pockets of sadness are fine. It is part of how life turns. Happy all the time means heavily medicated. To understand the highs, you need to see the lows. Not as individuals, but together. You both have had very low spots apart. If this is the lowest you two get, you are very fortunate. Because you are holding onto each other. Because he still talks about taking you and your children out on picnics. He sees his future with you. I don't think he has even imagined it any other way."