Free The Lawyer by Alice Bright Page B

have hated to have gotten married and then, after realizing it wouldn't work, end up being just another couple in my dad's office. That would be terrible to me," he told me. "Terrible."
              "It sounds like she was really wonderful," I commented, thinking of Tim. There were so many times when I missed him, so many times that I wanted to laugh at an inside joke, only to realize that the person who knew the punch line wasn't around.
              "She made me different," Alex admitted. "And I will always be grateful to her for that. She made me realize that there's more to a relationship than just having one night together. It's more important to have a lifetime together. Forever I felt like I had to be a conqueror in dating the same way I want to conquer at work. That's not the case. The person you love shouldn't be something that you devour and then cast aside."
              I leaned my head on Alex's shoulder and thought about what he said. His hands drifted playfully through my hair as we sat together on the sofa. He seemed so different than when I had first met him: still strong, but with a softer side. There was something wonderful about his unashamed honesty, something so perfect about the way that he wasn't afraid to open up to me and to be real. I could take it or leave it, but he was at least giving me that chance.
              "I've only been with one person," I told him. If he was going to give me his number, more or less, than I could at least do the same.
              "I'm sorry about the way your relationship ended. You didn't deserve that, Liz. Nobody deserves that."
              "You don't think it's weird that I don't have more experience?"
              "When the time is right," he smiled, "I'm sure I can teach you everything you need to know."
    ***
                  "What time will Tim be arriving?" My mother's question hung in the air for a moment, dangling in front of me. It had been over a month and I still hadn't told her about the breakup. It wasn't that I was trying to hide information from my parents, but was my dating life something that they really needed to be involved in? Our relationship's crash had been so devastating, so personal, so heartbreaking. I didn't really want to dive into those emotions again. I had been trying for weeks to keep myself in check, but I knew it wouldn't take much for the floodgates to open up.
              "He won't be," I told my mother, waiting for her response. To my surprise, she simply raised an eyebrow and asked about my new job.
              "It's good," I told her honestly. "I love it. My boss is great. He works in an office adjacent to the waiting room. That's where my desk is - the waiting room. We work on a lot of cases together and I do a lot of paperwork. The best part is that it doesn't interfere with my classes. Once school's out for the summer," I added, "I'll be able to work full time if I want to."
              "That sounds quite nice," Mom said, leaning back onto the comfortable sofa. The two of us were lounging around her living room, waiting for the pizza we'd ordered to arrive. It had been awhile since I'd come over and spent time with just my mom. Usually my dad was around too, but he was off on a hunting trip. It was fine, though. It gave us time to be girly and silly and to reconnect with one another.|
              "What about you?" I asked. "How long is Dad going to be gone for?"
              My mother's hesitation caught me off guard, and I knew before she said it. She answered in the same way that I did when questioned about Tim. It was the things that she didn't say that really mattered.
              "He won't be coming back," she finally said. "Your father and I have decided to end our relationship."
              My