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What the hell is in New York?
Why is he talking about New York?
He notes my confusion and pats me on the shoulder again. "It's okay, son. You don't have to play coy. Patricia's best friendworks at the hospital where Daphne is doing her residency." He watches his wife sip her clear drink. "She's from New York, originally. She moved when she was a kid. But they've stayed friends all this time."
That's lovely.
But what the hell does it have to do with me?
No. That's not the important part.
Daphne's residency.
She's been dodging specifics all this time. She's never once said yes, she'll be at UCI.
Because she won't.
She'll be three thousand miles away.
That's why she has three weeks. That's why she didn't fight me about the other details.
Because she wouldn't be in my life whether we divorced or stayed together.
My boss sees the confusion and sadness on my face and decides it's about leaving my job. He keeps his voice soft. A caring mentor who only wants the best for me. "I don't take it personally. Your wife has the opportunity of a lifetime. Of course, you're going to follow her. I would do the same. If you need help finding a job—What am I saying? Of course, you won't need help. You're a fantastic attorney."
I'm good, but I'm not that good. I'm notfind a job in another state, where I'm not licensed in no time flatgood.
He continues, "If you want to do me a favor, a friend of mine runs a firm in Manhattan. They always need top talent. You'd have to start over, but you wouldn't start from zero. You'd be partner in a few years."
Right. I could start over. At a new firm.
I could claw my way up again.
Give up everything I've worked for.
All those years of undergrad, law school, eighty-hour work weeks as an associate.
All for nothing.
"I'm not going to New York." The words fall from my lips without passing through my brain.
Surprise spreads over his face. "You're not going to follow your wife?"
I don't know what to say. I don't know what there is to say.
This is why she's so scared.
This is the thing she's been holding back.
"We haven't worked out the specific details yet," I say. "But Daphne wants to return here when she's finished. Her family is here. Her life is here."
"Of course." He nods. "Long distance is hard, but it goes fast. A few years is nothing in the grand scheme of your entire life."
I nod. I say something about how amazing my wife is. I excuse myself.
I move across the space to Daphne.
She sees it in my eyes immediately, but she doesn't say anything. She follows me through the house, through the front door, all the way to the car.
