'I'm sorry, Rick. Mom wasn't available and I had to meet this client.'
'I have clients too and a position to maintain in my firm. I'm trying to make partner and that's not going to happen if I get a reputation as someone who can't be relied on.'
'For Christ's sake, Rick. How many times have I asked you to do this?
She's your daughter, too. Donovan understands you have a child. These things happen.'
Kathy rushed into the kitchen and they stopped arguing.
'This is the picture, Mom,' Kathy said, thrusting forward a large piece of drawing paper. Betsy scrutinized the picture while Kathy looked up at her expectantly. She was adorable in her tiny jeans and striped, long-sleeve shirt.
'Why Kathy Tannenbaum,' Betsy said, holding the picture at arm's length,
'this is the most fantastic picture of an elephant I have ever seen.'
'It's a cow, Mom.'
'A cow with a trunk?'
'That's the tail.'
'Oh. You're sure it's not an elephant?'
'Stop teasing,' Kathy said seriously.
Betsy laughed and returned the picture with a hug and kiss. 'You are the greatest artist since Leonardo da Vinci. Greater even. Now let me get dinner ready.'
Kathy ran back to her room. Betsy put a frying pan on the stove and took out a tomato and some lettuce for a salad.
'Who is this big client?' Rick asked.
Betsy didn't want to tell Rick, especially since Darius wanted his visit kept secret. But she felt she owed Rick the information.
'This is very confidential. Will you promise not to breathe a word if I tell you?'
'Sure.'
'Martin Darius retained me, tonight,' she said, breaking into a huge grin.
'Martin Darius?' Rick answered incredulously.
'Why would he hire you? Parish, Marquette and Reeves handles his legal work.'
'Apparently he thinks I'm also capable of representing him,' Betsy answered, trying not to show how much Rick's reaction hurt her.
'You don't have a business practice.'
'I don't think it's a business matter.'
'Then what is it?'
'He didn't say.'
'What's Darius like?' like? Betsy thought about the question. What was Darius like?' Betsy answered just as Kathy hurtled back into the kitchen. 'He likes to be mysterious and he wants you to know how powerful he is.'
'What are you cooking, Mom?'
'Roast, little girl,' Betsy said, picking up Kathy and nibbling her neck until she squealed. 'Now, buzz off or I'll never get dinner ready.'
Betsy lowered Kathy to the floor. 'Do you want to stay for dinner?' she asked Rick. He looked uncomfortable and checked his watch. 'Thanks, but I've got to get back to the office.'
'All right. Thanks, again, for picking up Kathy. I do know how busy you are and I appreciate the help.'
'Yeah, well… Sorry I jumped down your throat.
'It's just… 'I know,' Betsy said.
Rick looked like he was going to say something but went to the closet instead and got his raincoat.
'Good luck with Darius,' Rick told her as he was leaving. Betsy shut the door behind him. She had heard the hint of jealousy in his voice and regretted telling Rick about her client. She should have known better than to say anything that would let him know how well she was doing.
'But it takes time to make a raft, even when one is as industrious and untiring as the Tin Woodman, and when night came the work was not done.
So they found a cozy place under the trees where they slept well until the morning; and Dorothy dreamed of the Emerald City, and of the good Wizard of Oz, who would soon send her back to her own home again.'
'And now,' Betsy said, closing the book and laying it beside Kathy's bed, 'it's time for my little wizard to hit the hay.'
'Can't you read one more chapter?' Kathy begged.
'No, I cannot read another chapter,' Betsy said, giving Kathy a hug. 'I already read you one more than you were entitled to. Enough is enough.'
'You're mean, Mommy,' Kathy said, with a smile Betsy could not see because her cheek was against Kathy's baby-soft hair.
'That's tough. You're stuck with the world's meanest mommy and there's nothing you can do about it.' Betsy kissed Kathy's forehead, then sat up. 'Now get to bed. I'll see you in the morning.'
'Night, mom. 'Kathy rolled onto her side and wrestled Oliver, an i oversized, stuffed skunk, into position against her chest.
'Night, hon.'
Betsy closed the door of Kathy's room behind her and went into the kitchen to wash the dishes. Although she would never admit it to her feminist friends, Betsy loved washing dishes. It was perfect therapy. A lawyer's day was littered with stressful situations and insoluble problems. Washing dishes was a finite task that Betsy could do perfectly every time she tried. Instant gratification from a job well done, over and over again. And Betsy needed Some instant gratification after being with Rick.
She knew why he was so angry. Rick had been a superstar in law school and Donovan, Chastain and Mills had lured him to their two hundred-lawyer sweatshop with a large salary and glowing promises of a fast track to a partnership. The firm had worked him like a dog, constantly holding the partnership just out of reach. When he was passed over last year, just as her career was starting to take off, it had been a crushing blow to his ego.
Their ten-year-old marriage had not been able to withstand the strain.
Two months ago, when Rick told her he was leaving, Betsy was stunned.
She knew they had problems, but she'd never imagined that he would walk out. Betsy had searched her memory for a clue to Rick's jealousy. Had he changed or was he always so self-centered? Betsy had trouble believing that Rick's love was too fragile to withstand her success, but she was not willing to give up her career to appease his ego. Why should she?
The way she saw it, it was a matter of Rick accepting her as an equal.
If he couldn't do that then she could never stay married to him. If he loved her, it should not be such a hard thing to do. She was proud of his achievements.
Why couldn't he be proud of hers?
Betsy poured herself a glass of milk and turned off the light. The kitchen joined the rest of the house in soothing darkness. Betsy carried her glass to the kitchen table and slumped into a chair. She took a sip and gazed sleepily out the window. Many of the houses in the neighborhood were dark. A streetlight cast a pale glow over a corner of the front yard. It was so quiet with Rick gone and Kathy asleep. No traffic sounds outside, no television on. None of the little noises people make shuffling around a house.
Betsy had handled enough divorces to know that many estranged husbands would never have done what Rick had done for her tonight. He had done it for Kathy, because he loved her. And Kathy loved Rick. The separation was very hard on their daughter. There were times, like now, when the house was quiet and Betsy was alone, that she missed Rick. She was not certain she loved him anymore, but she remembered bow good it had been.
Sleeping alone was the hardest thing. She missed the lovemaking, but she missed the cuddling and the pillow talk more. Sometimes she thought they might get back together. Tonight, before Rick left, she was certain that there was something be wanted to tell her. What was he about to say? And if he said he wanted her back, what would she say? After all, he was the one who had walked out on ten years of marriage, a child, their life together.
They were a family and Rick's actions told her that meant nothing to him.
The night Rick walked out, alone in bed, when she Couldn't cry anymore, Betsy had rolled on her side and
