Will sighed deeply and turned, still not quite meeting Connor’s eyes. “I do not have a thing for Jess,” he said as if he’d repeated it a thousand times for his own benefit.
Connor chuckled. “You need a lot more practice lying to pull that off, my friend. So, have you ever done anything about it? Have you asked her out?”
“Jess has made her opinion of me perfectly clear,” Will said. “You heard her tonight. She’s terrified I’ll put her under some shrink microscope, dissect every word she says and turn her into a case study or something.”
“Is that what you want to do?” Connor asked.
“Have you looked at your sister?” Will asked, his tone incredulous. “Is that the first thing that would come to your mind?”
Connor felt it was his brotherly duty to swallow the laugh that was bubbling up. “Hey, that’s my sister!” he protested. “Watch it.”
Will sighed. “I’m just saying, I do not think of Jess as a case study.”
“Then tell her that.”
“Don’t you think I have?” Will held up a hand.
“Enough. Let’s talk about you and Heather. How’s that going?”
“It’s not,” Connor admitted. “And it won’t as long as I refuse to cave in and marry her. I just don’t see why it’s not enough that I love her and want her and our son to live with me. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve offered her a lifetime commitment.”
“And of course she disagrees,” Will guessed.
“Of course, though for the life of me I don’t get it.”
“Maybe because she sees the obvious loophole. You could change your mind tomorrow and kick them right back out.”
“I could do the same thing if we were married,” Connor argued. “People do it all the time.”
“But if they have to untangle all the legal ramifications, sometimes it makes them stop and think twice about it,” Will said. “They can’t just show the other person to the door.”
Connor regarded him with disbelief. “Oh, no? Do you know how many of the people who come to me have really tried to work things out? Maybe ten percent. Most of them bail at the first sign of trouble.”
“Come on,” Will protested. “That can’t be right. They probably don’t tell you all the details about what they’ve tried to do to resolve the issues in their marriage. By the time they see you, they’re ready to take that next step.”
“I actually ask how long they’ve felt their marriage was in trouble and what they’ve done to make things better,” Connor said.
“And?”
“For way too many of them, divorce is the first option, not the last.”
Will looked troubled by his response. “That’s sad.”
“I agree,” Connor said. “Despite my own beliefs and what everyone in my family thinks about my opinions on the subject, I even encourage clients to seek counseling. After all, I know what it’s like to be a child caught up with parents who are divorcing. I don’t wish that on anyone. But almost no one takes me up on the idea. They just want the marriage to end. Maybe I should insist, but I don’t.”
He eyed Will curiously. “What about you, though? Do you do much marriage counseling?”
“Some,” Will said. “But often it’s only one side who seeks help and the other refuses to participate. When that happens, divorce is pretty much inevitable.”
“Well, there you go,” Connor said triumphantly. “You see it, too. Marriage is pointless, when it too often will end with heartbreak.”
Will shook his head. “Sorry, pal. I just don’t see it that way. I think it’s the only step to take when two people really love each other.”
“It’s a ring and a piece of paper,” Connor argued.
“They’re symbolic of much more,” Will insisted. “They represent commitment and security and feelings that are worth nurturing for a lifetime.”
“Or until they’re not,” Connor corrected cynically. He sighed. “This is depressing. Let’s talk about something else.”
“But this is the conversation that matters,” Will said, giving him a penetrating look. “Come on, Connor. You know it is. Your future with Heather and your son is at stake. She’s already left you. Unless you meet her halfway, one of these days she’ll meet somebody else, and it will be too late for you.”
“Meeting her halfway is one thing,” Connor said. “She wants me to give in.”
“I suppose in this situation, there is no halfway,” Will admitted. “But mark my words, stick to your guns and she will move on. Can you live with that?”
Connor didn’t want to think about it. “Careful, or I’ll refuse to hang out with you, too. Jess isn’t the only one who doesn’t want to spend an evening being psychoanalyzed.”
Will backed off at once. “In the interest of hanging on to that invitation to dinner tomorrow, I won’t say another word about love and marriage. How about the Orioles? Think they have a chance this season?”
Connor grinned. “It’s early in the season. I’m always optimistic now. I went to Camden Yards for the home opener. The firm has season tickets for box seats. We’ll have to get Mack, Kevin, Trace and Jake together one of these days and go to a game.”
“Sounds great,” Will said. “Do you ever regret not trying for a career in pro baseball? You were good enough.”
Connor shook his head. “No I wasn’t. I might have pulled off a season or two in the minor leagues, but I couldn’t see wasting the time. I decided to get my law degree and start a career that would last a lifetime.”
“It’s interesting that you chose matrimonial law,” Will began, only to have Connor cut him off with a look.
“There you go again, analyzing,” Connor said.
“What can I say? It’s what I do. Some people actually view it as friendly input, rather than a threat.”
Connor scowled at his choice of words. “I do not view your insights as a threat.”
“Really? Not even when they challenge your nice, tidy view of your world?”
Connor forced a grin, because any other response would be too telling. “Nope.
