Free Love In The Time Of Apps by Jay Begler

do?”
    “Well, I am an attorney. I went to Harvard Law School, was third in my class, editor of the law review, clerked for a Supreme Court justice, and then became a hardcore litigator in a large prestigious law firm. I loved the work, billed 3000 hours a year and somehow became the firm’s in house expert on trial procedure and evidence. The only downside is that as an associate your life is entirely devoted to the firm. Your life outside the firm is pretty insignificant and this often impacts on getting involved in a long-term relationship. So, after 10 years of high paid slavery, I was on the cusp of being made a partner, literally minutes away. But it never happened and now I work for a small firmhelping abused women and children and the shelters in which they live.”
    For the first time since they met, Sophie’s mood changed. She was quite serious and somewhat emotional. “These women and their children are often victimized in unspeakable ways by their husbands or boyfriends and the system set up to protect them often doesn’t work at all. They are people who simply fall through the cracks, with no family or support system, government or otherwise. I do whatever I can for them; sometimes even give them my own money.”
    “That’s pretty noble of you. I suppose you took a hit on salary.”
    “From $250,000 to $50,000. But the hours are normal and I feel that I’m really helping these people.”
    “I get the sense that you’re saying this a bit wistfully, that you miss the big firm life.”
    “In a way I do. Sometimes I read about a big case one of my colleagues is now handling and wonder what would have happened if I stayed. But, I couldn’t.”
    From time to time, particularly when he watched movies or plays, Goodwin heard the expression that someone could see the sadness in another person’s eyes. He never had this actual experience until this moment. The sadness in Sophie’s eyes was striking.
    “Are you okay?”
    “Yes. I’m fine.”
    “Want to tell me about it?”
    “Sure. I’m told it’s good for me to talk about it, but not at the bar. Let’s find a table in a quiet spot inside.”
    They moved from the bar to an out of the way table. Sophie began. “My firm was downtown, on lower Broadway a block from Wall Street. We had the top three floors and a magnificent 360 degree view of the city. As usual, I arrived at 6:30 in the morning. Normal working hours do not apply when you are an aspiring associate in a large firm, particularly if you are involved in litigation. I was surprised to find an email from the managing partner in the firm asking, no not asking, inviting, me and three other senior associates for coffee with the firm’s executive committee in the West conference room. When you get thistype of invitation it only means one thing. You are going to be invited to become a partner. It’s an invitation that no one turns down. If, on the other hand, you were going to be laid off, you’d simply get a call from your practice group leader.”
    “I arrived at 8:30 am sharp in the conference room. The other associates had phoned in that they would be there a bit late, but it was business related lateness, so the partners did not seem to mind. The other associates never came. I was checking my watch when we heard the first explosion.”
    It didn’t take any great intellect for Goodwin to realize exactly what Sophie was talking about and Goodwin said with genuine pain in his voice, “Oh, no.”
    “We watched in horror as the second plane hit the South Tower. We didn’t know what to do. One of the secretaries ran into the conference room. The other associates were at a breakfast meeting in Windows on the World, which was on the top floor of the Tower. I later learned that they all died. We watched everything including the collapse of the Towers. I stayed until late in the evening and when I left the building I walked east away from the Towers until I was by the East River. But even there,