Chapter 4

“Hmmm. Well, I’m the only child of two salt-of-the-earth working-class parents. I was a smart kid, bookish and shy. I knew the value of hard work, and my parents encouraged me in school. I did well. I was pretty much of a nerd. The quiet girl everyone liked, but no one really knew. I was okay with that.”

“How did you meet your husband?”

“In Sunday school when we were kids. We started dating in high school, church youth group things at first. We really liked each other, and that turned into puppy love. As we got older, we started to realize how serious we felt about each other, and we got married the summer after our high school graduation. We spent the first four years of our life together in college, living in the married-student apartments off-campus.”

“That’s romantic,” I said.

“It was, I guess. Anyway, after college, he got a very good job, so he supported me while I worked on my master’s degree. We were doing okay, so we decided to start a family. Two kids later, I was lucky enough to get a job where I can actually use my skills.”

“You got up to speed on those books faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. I’ve been doing this work almost as long as you’ve been alive.”

“Thank you, Don. You’re going to have to give me some time to study things, though, before I can give you an accurate idea of where the bad smell of that place is coming from.”

“Of course.”

She sat back in her chair. “This is nice,” she sighed.

“This place?”

“No,” she laughed softly. “I meant relaxing with dinner and a drink. I don’t do this enough.”

“How often do you take time for yourself?”

“I work at least fifty hours a week. I have two kids. I mow the yard for exercise and to get a little sun. I might do some web-surfing if I can’t sleep at night, but time for me ended in high school.”

“Don’t you and Tim do anything together as a couple? A date night, a weekend away?” I asked.

“No, not really. We were going to go on a married couples’ retreat with the church a couple of summers ago, but the kids got sick.”

“Isn’t there anything you do for fun?” I asked.

“Fun? Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve been in a place that serves alcohol in about five years. It’s probably the first time I’ve been out of the house alone for something other than work, the hairdresser, or the grocery store since I did my Christmas shopping last fall.”

“I used to be like that,” I said. “Worked all the time, trying to build my career. I never took time to play, or to really even build any relationships. It didn’t make sense to try, since I was always on the road. When I landed this job with the divorce practice, I built a little house, but I never found anyone I wanted to share it with.”