The Goddesses

1

We came here to escape. Escape our mistakes, our boring selves. Escape the constant feeling of being half-asleep, escape our house--the tedious moan of that garage door, the roof we promised to fix every time it rained. Escape dry heat and coyotes and the roads we knew by heart--we knew where those would take us. In paradise there would be new roads and new routines. Different friends, a different house. A different life. In paradise we would be different.

Chuck had cheated on me with his assistant manager. That was the main reason we left. Her name was Shelly and Shelly was blond and Shelly was everywhere. Every blond woman in San Diego was Shelly until something confirmed it wasn't--wrong car, wrong walk, wrong face. The real Shelly--I never saw her again after the affair, but it was bound to happen at some point. She lived close by.

I probably never would have found out if Shelly hadn't called to confess. She just had to get this off her chest, she said; it was eating her alive. She swore it had only happened that one time. She'd quit the job right afterwards to make sure it would never happen again. She was so so so so sorry and she was crying very hard.

Chuck was sorry, too. He hadn't been thinking clearly. They'd been drinking; one thing had led to another. He actually said, "It's almost like someone else did this, not me. It's hard to explain." I said, "But it was you, Chuck. You did this. After eighteen years, this is what you did."

When the transfer opportunity for Costco Kona came up and Chuck was elected for it, he said, "Maybe Hawaii will remind us why we love each other."

When he said that, it was hard not to imagine Hawaii in the way it's always advertised--a fit couple at sunset under a neon-pink sky--and this was very stupid. I also wondered if it could be us. Later, after the anger passed. Later, after I forgave him. Later, after I could trust him again. If any of that was possible.

The twins were stoked. That's how they said

SWAN HUNTLEY is the author of We Could Be Beautiful. She earned her MFA from Columbia University and has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Ragdale Foundation. She lives in California and Hawaii.

"An addictive fictional saga in which a jilted wife goes to the mat to save her marriage and her morale."
-O Magazine, "10 Titles to Pick Up Now"

"A dazzling story of manipulation, unexpected connections, and answering your heart's true desires, The Goddesses is one of the boldest reading experiences of 2017 (oh, and you'll finish the book with major Hawaii wanderlust)."
-Brit+Co., "7 Thrilling Summer Reads with Fierce Female Leads"

"An engrossing portrait of female friendship, Huntley's sophomore novel explores the risks and rewards of finding an unexpected soul mate. Huntley lets the idyllic Hawaiian setting wash over the reader, the volcanoes and starry skies the perfect background for Nancy's self-discovery. Readers who enjoyed Camille Pagán's Life and Other Near-Death Experiences and the works of Meg Wolitzer will savor the slow burn of this expressive and electric novel."
-Stephanie Turza, Booklist (Starred Review)

"As in her first book, Huntley is a keen social observer, empathetic and biting at once... [A] gripping psychological portrait of a woman at a personal crossroads. A haunting story of betrayal and forgiveness that packs an unexpectedly emotional punch."
-Kirkus

"If Swan Huntley's 2016 bestselling suspenser, We Could Be Beautiful, grabbed you and wouldn't let you go, hold on to The Goddesses, about a woman who has just moved to Hawaii with her family an develops a friendship with a yoga instructor that gets close-and then way too close-for comfort."
-Lisa Shea, Elle

"An engaging account of a middle-aged woman's journey for an identity apart from her family... Readers will be pulled along by the quick-moving story."
-Publishers Weekly

"A woman tries to start over in Kona, Hawaii, with the help of a mysterious yoga teacher."
-Time Magazine

"Hoping to push the reset button on her troubled marriage, Nancy heads to Hawaii with her family. It's idyllic -- until her yoga instructor turns out to be more malevolent than she