ran into Adam and the kids at the pumpkin patch and he asked us to join him for lunch. It’s entirely innocent.”
“Right.”
“Not “right.” God, Charlie. It is possible for divorced people to remain friends, you know.”
“I know. It’s just that . . . how come you never were before? ”
“What do you mean? We’ve always been friendly.”
“You mean, always been friendly since you completely hated each other when you were going through the divorce? ”
“Well, yes. Obviously, I mean since then.”
“Okay, it’s true—once you got past the anger you have been friends.” Charlie frowns. “But something’s changed.”
She’s right. Something has. There is a new-found ease between them, an acceptance, both of their divorce and of their right to lead separate lives, and also of the fact that they are both the parents of two children they love, and are standing by their decision to co-parent.
And because of that, there isn’t a negative charge anymore. No anger. No hurt. No pain. Just the ability to finally be friends.
“Nothing’s changed.” Kit smiles. “We’re just in a good place. I think we’ve both truly moved on.”
“Really? ” Charlie’s eyes grow wide. “I’d say the exact opposite. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that seeing you two together, today, seems . . . I don’t know . . . right, I guess. Maybe I shouldn’t say that, but it’s true.”
“Oh Charlie. Of course you can say that, and I totally understand why you feel that. You and Keith were our best friends, and it’s bound to feel great when the four of us get together. And time has a tendency to wipe out all the bad so you just remember the good. Honestly, sometimes I have a hard time remembering what was bad. But, Charlie, remember how lonely I was? Remember how we grew apart? How we ended up barely speaking to each other? ”
“I do.” Charlie nods as she answers. “I just wonder if you maybe didn’t try hard enough to make it work. If maybe Adam had been willing to make changes, get another job, find something closer to home, maybe it could have worked, because seeing how well you two get on now just makes me sad.”
“It makes me sad too, but the thing is that Adam wasn’t willing. He loves his job too much, is too defined by being a successful finance guy to ever give it up. I never cared about that stuff, and that was the biggest problem. That Adam cared too much.”
“Well, given the way the world is going, he may not have a choice. I thought Keith’s career was going fantastically, and then—poof! The world changed. After Lehman and AIG went down, Keith was really worried, and now they’ve just fired seventy-five percent of the department.”
“That’s terrible! Is Keith’s job okay? Why didn’t you say something before? ”
“It is terrible, but we’re hoping that Keith is going to be okay. The worst thing is losing the stock. I know everyone says that you just have to leave alone whatever stock is left and that although it may take years, it will come back again, but we’re literally watching our savings dwindle away to nothing.”
Kit doesn’t know what to say. She thinks of Charlie’s large, beautiful house, her large, beautiful life. Everything you are supposed to have living on Connecticut’s Gold Coast, Charlie has.
It is everything Kit used to have too, but Kit has learned to live without all the accoutrements, and is happier without.
She wonders if Charlie could do the same thing. Live in a small cottage, drive a third-hand Volvo wagon—nothing smart or sexy about it. Shop cautiously and sparingly in the sales, learn the price of milk, of eggs, and learn which grocery stores are cheaper, cutting out the coupons in the free magazines, remembering to bring them with her every time she needs groceries.
Charlie drives the obligatory black Range Rover, and Keith a BMW, 5 series. She shops at Rakers, the designer store in town, without thinking about it.
Kit knows that Charlie doesn’t really care about all this, not deep down, but the problem with living in Highfield is that there are plenty of women who do care, and while Kit suspects Charlie would be perfectly happy living as Kit does, she would be judged by others if she had to give up these things, would be found wanting.
Already, since the collapse of Wall Street, everyone at the yoga center is talking about it.