Chapter Two

Justin Kiriakis sat at his desk, dumbstruck by what Bo had just told him. Leaning back in his chair, he stared at his cousin, trying to gage what the other man was thinking. For his part, Bo allowed his news to sink in and waited to see if Justin would agree to help him. After several moments of silence, though, Bo rolled his eyes and leaned forward on Justin's desk.

"Look, man, it ain't rocket science. I'm not asking you to negotiate world peace, either. I just wanna know if you can help Hope and me by drawing up our divorce papers."

Justin blinked stupidly before shaking his head a couple of times to get his bearings. "Bo, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to give me a minute to wrap my head around this."

Bo shrugged his shoulders before settling back in his own chair. "Well, fine, but I don't see what's got you so flustered about it."

Justin gasped in shock, his temper starting to fire. "Excuse me, Cousin, but you're the one who turned up at my office at the crack of dawn, telling me that you and your wife are ready to call it quits not three months after you renewed your wedding vows. What's the matter," he asked, his lips curling in a vicious sneer. "Did Carly show up and accidentally trip into your bed again?"

Clenching his fist as his own anger reared its head, Bo opened his mouth to retort, but then he thought better of it. Exhaling slowly to rein in his emotions, he replied instead, "This has nothing to do with Carly. This is about Hope and me, and the decision that we have made to end things. Now, knowing in what high…regard you hold Hope, I came to you because I thought you would work in her best interests, even if you don't give a damn about mine, Cousin. Since that doesn't appear to be the case, I'll take my business elsewhere." He stood and made to leave, but Justin called out to him.

"Bo, wait. Just sit down and give me just a minute, okay?" When Bo had once again taken his seat, Justin continued speaking. "I never said I wouldn't help you. I just, I don't understand what happened. I thought things were going well between you and Hope."

Bo sighed heavily. "We tried, Justin, we did. But it's like I said all along, Hope and I have had problems for years, and we were never able to fully resolve them, no matter what we did. This time, we both realized that there isn't anything left to resolve. We had a long talk last night, and we were honest with one another for the first time in ages. We've been miserable, and what's worse, we've been making our daughter miserable." He then relayed Hope and Ciara's conversation with Justin. Justin, no stranger to those types of conversations with his own boys, was not entirely unsympathetic, and he said as much to Bo.

"So you'll help us, then?" Bo asked hopefully. Justin was silent for a long moment, but then he nodded his head.

"You understand, though, that I'd like to talk with Hope first before I draw up the papers," Justin cautioned.

"That's fine, she'll tell you the same things that I've told you. I would appreciate it if you'd keep this to yourself, at least until the end of the week. When Ciara gets home from Drama Camp on Friday, Hope and I are going to talk with her. Then we'll tell Shawn. We just want our kids to hear this from us, first. Do you understand?"

"Of course, Bo. I'm a father, too, remember?" Justin replied.

"Thanks, man, I appreciate it," Bo stood and offered Justin his hand. "Look, I'd better get to the office, but you can call me if you have any questions."

"Will do, and I'll set something up with Hope as soon as I can. If this is really something you both want, I'll do my best to help you." His cousin promised.

Bo nodded and thanked Justin once more before leaving. As soon as his cousin was gone, Justin dialed Hope's number.

"Hope, hi, it's Justin," he said when she answered.

"Hi, Justin, I thought I might hear from you this morning," she explained while trying to add cream to her coffee. "I take it Bo came to see you?"

A little surprised at the cheery tone of her voice, he responded, "As a matter of fact, he did. He asked me to help you guys with a divorce."

"I know, and listen, I'd love to talk now, but I've got several things at the station to take care of first thing. I don't suppose you're free for lunch?" she asked.

Justin smiled into the phone. "For you, Hope, my calendar is always open. What do you say to Giancarlo's at 11:00? It's a bit early, I know, but it won't be too crowded at that hour."

"Giancarlo's sounds great. I'll see you then." She disconnected the call, slipping her phone into her back jeans pocket.

At precisely 11:00 a.m., Hope entered the quaint, little Italian restaurant known as Giancarlo's. The maître d led her to Justin's table, who rose in greeting and helped her into her seat. Hope thanked him, her wide mouth curved into a welcoming grin.

"Justin, I really can't thank you enough for taking care of this for Bo and me," she explained after taking a sip of her ice water. "He and I both are extremely anxious to get this over with."

"Hope, as I told Bo this morning, I'm more than happy to act as your attorney, but I have to tell you that this is quite a surprise. If you don't mind my asking, what happened? What went wrong?" He regarded her carefully as he awaited her response.

Hope leaned onto her elbows so that she could speak more quietly. She didn't think anyone would be eavesdropping, but an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure, when it came to gossiping Salemites. "I think that life happened, Justin. Bo and I are no strangers to problems, but the truth is, he and I have spent the last few years doing nothing so well as tearing each other to shreds. And I think this last time, when I took Ciara and he fell back in love with Carly, I think that was the proverbial last straw. Too many things have happened, we've hurt one another so deeply that there isn't anything left between us."

"Hope, listen to yourself," Justin advised her. "Yes, you and Bo have experienced your ups and downs, but no matter what, he always comes back to you. He always chooses you. Don't you see? He chose you over Billie Reed, and he chose you over Carly Manning."

But Hope shook her head gently. "Don't you see? Bo might have chosen me, and I, him, but it's all a farce. We've been going through the motions. Even when we renewed our vows, it was because we felt like it was expected of us. We each thought we were doing what it took to make the other person happy, but you can't make another person happy, Justin, not if you aren't happy within yourself. Bo Brady hasn't been able to make me happy in a very long time, and I certainly haven't brought him any joy. We're tired of living a lie, and we both decided last night that we weren't willing to put ourselves and Ciara through that kind of emotional torture and longer."

Justin's protest was interrupted by the waiter. Hope cast a quick eye at the menu and ordered the Shrimp Nicola while Justin requested the Veal Satimbocca. When the waiter was gone, Justin took a healthy sip of his iced tea before he responded to Hope.

"I guess I just find it a little hard to believe that you and Bo are really done," he said at last.

"Well, it's a bit strange, I'll admit," Hope answered with a chuckle. "But at the same time, oh, Justin, I can't remember the last time I felt so excited about the future. I woke up this morning, exhilarated, and last night, after Bo and I hashed everything out, I slept better than I have in months."

Hope's deep, brown eyes were sparkling, and Justin thought that she'd never looked so lovely. Her cheeks were flushed with a healthy glow, and she seemed to radiate serenity. Decision made, he took her left hand – devoid already of her wedding band, he noted – and gave her a friendly squeeze.

"In that case, I'll be happy to help you and Bo." His warm smile crinkled his eyes, and his dimples came out to play. An answering grin bloomed on her face, and she held his hand, warm and comforting in hers, for a moment longer than might have been necessary. The moment was disturbed by the arrival of their lunch. Like two teenagers caught holding hands in class, they pulled away simultaneously, Hope moving so quickly that she nearly knocked over her water glass.

"So, how long do you think it will take you to get the papers drawn?" She asked once she'd righted her glass.

Justin retrieved a single slip of paper from his briefcase. "This is what Bo told me you'd agreed on." He handed the paper to her and recited its contents from memory. As short of a list as it was, it wasn't difficult to do. "You keep the house, you'll share joint custody of Ciara, you each retain your individual assets, and all jointly owned assets, save the house, will be split 50/50. Is that right?"

Hope studied the list for a few moments, nodding her head slowly as she read. "Yes," she said as she passed the list back to Justin. "I'm in full agreement with everything here."

"Okay, then," Justin said, stretching his hand over hers once more to give it a brief squeeze. "I'll have the papers drawn up this afternoon. Maybe you'd like to come by my office this evening and sign them?" He prayed that he didn't sound too eager, but the truth was, he'd been carrying a torch for Hope for longer than he'd care to admit.

Hope responded in the affirmative, gifting Justin with a brilliant smile. "Wait, if Bo and I were to sign the papers tonight, would you be able to file them in the morning?"

"Actually, my assistant can file the papers electronically as soon as you've signed them," Justin explained. "The county's new online filing system works wonders. You'll still have to wait thirty days for a judge to approve the divorce, but with a situation as straight-forward as yours, I can guarantee that once those thirty days have passed, you'll be free to begin your new life."

Hope took her water glass and lifted it towards Justin. They weren't exactly drinking champagne, but iced tea and water would have to suffice. "To new lives, then, and new beginnings."

Justin smiled and clinked his glass against Hope's. "I'll drink to that." They held one another's gaze until Hope gave him that smile again. By the time lunch was finished, and Hope had gone back to the station, Justin made his way back to his office, and for the first time in a long time, he found himself thinking seriously about his own life. Perhaps it was time for him to make some changes, too.