This is a short story about one woman. While there are other characters, they are ancillary to her story. These secondary characters have issues that are not resolved within this story. If this is not acceptable to you, read no further. Also, this is fiction.
I have long known that my spelling is atrocious and I rely on Microsoft Word. For a review of grammar and punctuation, I use
Grammarly
.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the story.
Jeanne was forty and after sixteen years of marriage, she was returning to work. Her twin girls were fourteen now and with the full-time housekeeper made possible by her husband's income; she decided to return to her profession. Six weeks ago, she had been hired by an up-and-coming new firm that was in the process of relocating to more spacious and luxurious offices. She was delighted with her new job. During the interview process, she met the partners of the firm, three males and one female, and was impressed by their enthusiasm, cordiality, and professionalism. The partners were similarly impressed by her personality, credentials, professional demeanor, and what they rightly interpreted as her strong work ethic. Her immediate counterparts were a coterie of five women, three of them married each of them a few years younger than herself, and two recent college graduates.
Since the firm was moving to new quarters, their time was divided between carrying on the day-to-day business of the firm and packing its records for the move. Jeanne decided to forgo bringing in her family photos and personal effects until they were safely ensconced in their new offices. So, her workmates came to know about her and her family through their conversations during lunches together and after a few after-work cocktail hours.
Jeanne became fast friends with her new colleagues: Nell, Meg, Alice, Susan and Emily. As the name of the firm was Windsor & Associates, Nell, Meg, and Alice referred to themselves as 'the Merry Wives of Windsor' and welcomed Jeanne into their group as they had previously welcomed the two young and unmarried women, Susan and Emily. They learned that Jeanne was happily married to Philip, a partner with the architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill. They were able to deduce that Philip had a high six-figure income and that Jeanne's return to accounting was not out of financial necessity. It was after a few drinks on one particular occasion that they surmised that Jeanne absolutely adored her husband.
On that occasion, Jeanne smiled as she recounted "I came to work at Skidmore in the accounting department working with foreign accounts, recording the repatriation of profits and currency translations for tax purposes. I was straight out of college with virtually no experience. I was there about six months when I noticed this man, Philip, who kept coming around and asking me about accounting." Her memory of the events and the three glasses of wine-induced a slight giggle.
She continued "His questions were totally inane. It was obvious that he knew nothing about accounting. It was also obvious that he was smitten with me but he was incredibly shy, too shy to ask me out."
Laughing, Meg asked "And you have two kids? How did that happen?"
Jeanne replied smiling, "Oh the usual way."
All the girls laughed heartily as Jeanne continued "After about three more months, he finally summoned the nerve to ask me out. Our first date was dinner at an expensive restaurant followed by the symphony. What I noticed, even from the start was that he was a perfect gentleman, very poised. He opened doors and held my chair for me, things that men don't do anymore. Our first two dates ended with a soft kiss on the cheek. Then on the third date, he held out his hand and with his fingers under my chin he lifted my head and kissed me. It was so gentle and lingering."
Jeanne warmly remembered that kiss and the sense of being safe and protected that enveloped her. While she certainly felt aroused, the greater sense touched her heart the same way she felt when her father held her - a sense that this man would never hurt her, never disappoint her, and would give his all for her.
Jeanne continued "As the kiss ended, I slowly opened my eyes. I clearly remember thinking 'This is the man I am going to marry'. Later, I chided myself for being so silly in thinking that on only our third date. But it was a hell of a kiss!"
More laughter came from her friends as she recounted more of her life: her idyllic childhood; her upbringing in a liberal Catholic family; her dreams of a 'Prince Charming'. She shared a joke that Philip made shortly before they were married, "Philip said that Catholic girls make the best wives because before marriage, sex is a sin but afterward, it's a sacrament. And what good little Catholic girl wouldn't want to receive the sacrament three times a night!!" Jeanne and her friends roared with laughter.
"Philip has given me so much, a wonderful sense of being adored as well as what I would call a storybook romance. He's very romantic. Even after all these years, he brings me flowers on a whim. And, when he tells me I'm beautiful, it's because he really believes it. And I gave him something in return, confidence. He was so painfully shy when I met him. He told me that after he won my heart, he felt invincible - that he could do anything. That confidence helped his career immeasurably. Everyone always recognized his genius but it was only after he gained that confidence that he was noticed. I am overjoyed that I have had such a positive influence in his life."
From other conversations in their times together, the girls were able to conclude that Phillip was Jeanne's first and only lover. The younger girls thought it was a generational thing and a product of a Catholic background. The 'merry wives' thought it odd. Jeanne didn't appear to be repressed and was certainly not a moralizing zealot. It seemed inconceivable to them that a woman as bright, beautiful, and charming as Jeanne would have limited her sexual experience to a single partner.
At one lunch with the two younger women, Susan who recently became engaged asked Jeanne "You have been married for sixteen years, what do you think makes a successful marriage?"
Jeanne replied "Love of course as well as trust and respect. But also, a willingness to compromise..."
Emily interrupted "Everyone says what a great accountant you are and how valuable you are to the firm. We all love working with you. Everyone knows you'll make partner, probably within a year. Do you regret putting your career on hold to be a housewife and mother? Is that a compromise you made, to let your husband's career advance while yours was interrupted? Did your husband give you a choice?"
Jeanne responded "It was my choice entirely. When I told Philip of my decision to stay at home after the children were born, he said he would support whatever decision I made on going back to work. I realize that this decision is not one that's available to all or even most women. We are very privileged. The opportunities we have are made possible because of our income and our families. My father is a physician, and Philip's is an architect. We were both raised in upper-middle-class homes. We both graduated college without incurring any debt and our families are there if we ever need help. And Philip's career was well on its way when we decided to have children. I wouldn't call it a compromise, it's what I wanted. And as time went on, I found it more fulfilling to be with my girls rather than return to work. I'm sure a lot of women feel differently - and that's their right. I think a woman can have a career and be a good mother as well and I would never presume to criticize another woman's choice."
Jeanne continued "By compromise, I mean when there's a choice and each of you has different ideas. The best example was our honeymoon."
Susan interrupted, "This should be good!!!"
"Oh, it was!!" Jeanne said as they all laughed together. "Philip is an architect and his idea was that we would honeymoon in Paris with its museums, art, Baroque architecture, the whole
fin de siècle
feeling...I wanted to go to Hawaii. I'd been to Europe with my parents and I really wanted to see Hawaii. So, we compromised."
"So, where did you go?"
The answer "Hawaii" prompted more, almost riotous laughter.
Jeanne continued "It probably wasn't fair but we were discussing it one day at my apartment and I told Philip to wait while I changed clothes. In the bedroom, I changed into a cocktail dress, the quintessential little black dress I just bought. When I came back into the room, I told Philip 'This is the sort of thing I'll wear if we go to Paris' and I saw him smile appreciatively. Without any further discussion, I turned and went back into the bedroom and changed into the tiny and I do mean 'tiny' little bikini I bought the same day. I went back into the room where Philip was, he was reading some magazine when I announced 'This is what I'll wear if we go to Hawaii'. I can still see the look of surprise on his face and his jaw dropping to the floor! He never stood a chance!!!"
When the laughter finally died down, Jeanne explained that there are times when you have to give up something for the person you love. "The question you have to ask yourself before you get married is 'Is this something I am willing to do and what are the limits.' Marriage also has its opportunity costs. That's the cost of giving up other opportunities to have what you are choosing to have now. I was just over twenty-two when I took the job at Skidmore. I had my undergraduate and master's degrees and my CPA.
I had a good salary, independence, and different and better choices than when I was in college. For one thing, dating was a different world. A college date was a movie and an inexpensive meal. In the working world the men, even the younger ones, were more established and certainly had more money and, generally but not always, better judgment. A date in the working world meant tickets to a play or concert, meals at expensive restaurants, and nightclubs, and sometimes an invitation to a weekend away in some exotic location."
