Reconcilable Differences: A 'Having It All' Novel (10 page)

“Oh, I should know that about you.” D’arcy’s smoky hazel
eyes were glazed with unshed tears. “But I also know, I’ve been pretty hard on
you, babe. I can see how my demands are responsible for pushing you away.” She
offered a quavering smile.

“Brilliant. I’m so excited. We’re getting to the heart of
the matter, here, you two. I think it’s plain to see what we need to work on is
trust. Are you with me?” She queried them with her eyes, searching for
consensus. She recapped her observations. Closing her folder, Kate sat up
straight and rummaged in her bag for a moment, giving her clients a moment to
gather themselves together.

“Okay. We’re done for today. Do you think you’re prepared
to begin next week with a plan of action? I think we’re ready to move on to
talking about the future.” When they both tore their eyes away from each other
and looked up at her, blinking their confusion, she answered their implicit
question. Sharon was scowling again. Simon, in contrast, leaned back with his face
open and amused. She wondered, not for the first time, what he found so damn
humorous about the whole process. At least now she understood how skeptical he
was about her work. “In mediation, we collectively draft an agreement that lays
out each party’s wants and commits to actions in the future. It’s an important
step on the road to reconciliation.” Her smile of reassurance was met with
blank stares. “I’m assuming that’s what you want out of this?”

“Don’t you think moving to an agreement without more discussion
would be a bit hasty, considering the morning?” asked Simon, his eyes
skeptical.

“I agree. It seems a rather tenuous leap of faith,” said
Sharon.

Stay calm.
They didn’t understand her methods. “Not at all. Trust me, I’ve been through
this a hundred times.” Or fifty, anyway. “This is all part of how this process
should unfold,” she said. “I’ll explain in detail next week, but suffice it to
say, I want to send you away with very specific goals. It won’t be so easy to
slip back into troubled waters if you have an action plan made up of wants,
needs, and a commitment to changes in behavior that you can then go home and
apply. The work’s not over yet.” She laughed softly at their bewilderment.
“Last thing,” she stood up, and passed around cards. “Next week, we’ll try out
a new meeting space. Here’s the address. It’s a bit unconventional, but I think
we’ll be more comfortable there. I hope that’s not too inconvenient for you
Sharon.” She smiled tightly, but there was venom in her heart. She’d be only
too pleased if Sharon couldn’t attend.

Now the conflict was diffused, the atmosphere was
lighthearted as everyone stood to leave. Eli offered to take D'arcy for a ride
on his bike around Stanley Park in the sunshine. When she hesitated, he picked
up his helmet and said, “I’ve got a spare. C’m’on, cher.” He pulled on her arm,
a most alluring smile in his sparkling, dark eyes. How could D'arcy resist? He
plucked a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket and tucked it between his
lips, grinning. D'arcy smiled back, shook her head, and yanked the cigarette
out again, tossing it aside.

“Hey!” he complained.

Before they left the boardroom, Kate pulled D'arcy to one
side, and said under her breath, “Get some sleep this week, hey?” giving her
arm an affectionate squeeze. Simon, Sharon and Kate stood and watched as Eli
and D'arcy left, and there were smirks of approval as they saw Eli twine his
fingers between D’arcy’s.

“Hmmph. I never would have guessed it,” said Sharon.
“Well, good day you two. Until next week, then,” and she followed them out. At
the last minute, she turned back. “Oh, Simon. Will we see you on Saturday
night, then?”

“Erm. I … probably, yes.”

“Good. Good. I’ll see you there.”

Kate felt a twinge of annoyance. What could Simon and
Sharon could be doing
together
on the weekend. They seemed an unlikely pairing. But then she recalled that
Sharon was a friend of Simon’s wife. Undoubtedly, they moved in the same social
circle. It was nothing to her, in any case. His private life was none of her
business. Certainly she wasn’t envious. Not a bit.

As usual, Kate sat down again to make her case notes
after everyone else left. Simon caught her eye on his way out. She couldn’t
help herself. “By the way, Simon. Although I’m certain your actions were
well-intentioned, in future I’d appreciate if you’d check with me if you want a
break-out session with your client instead of dashing from the room. I’m quite
accustomed to dealing with my clients outbursts, you know.”

He stared silently, his face passive. If he was angry she
couldn’t tell. “Alright.” After a moment, he nodded slowly and left, leaving
her with the memory of his perplexed expression.

Dazzling
afternoon sun blinded Kate
as she stepped out onto the street and, squinting, stopped to fish her
sunglasses out of her bag. Remembering her tea with Simon, she smiled to
herself and thought how pleasant it would be to sit outside again. This was
likely the last bit of sunshine she would see before next spring. She would
treat herself to a nice restaurant lunch and take her mind off of both her
temperamental clients and their interfering, exasperating barristers.
I know just the spot
.

Two blocks over, she approached Luigi’s, but was dismayed
to find a cluster of people in the doorway with similar intentions. She’d have
a long wait for a table. She paused on the sidewalk, glancing at her watch and
surveying the crowd. A flash of movement caught her eye, and glancing over, she
was amazed to see Simon sitting alone at a small table outside, waving a menu
in the air. She strolled over, her stomach tightening, feeling awkward after
their parting words.

 “Hey, this isn’t an Asian restaurant. What are you
doing here?” She forced a laugh.

He smirked, a knowing light shining in his blue eyes.
“Were you trying to avoid me by choosing Italian?” He twirled a glass of red
wine, the only ornament on the plastic covered red and white checked
tablecloth.

She feared her hot face exposed her distress. “Don’t be
ridiculous. I’ve been here before, the food’s excellent.”

“Join me,” he invited. “You’ll have quite a wait
otherwise. It seems I got here just in time.”

What?
She hesitated, biting her lip. “Sure.” She shrugged, stepping around the
barrier. “You’re not expecting anyone?”

“Only you,” he smiled, as she pulled out a chair and
perched across from him. “Here,” he handed the menu to her, “I’ve already
decided.”

“Oh, I think I know what I’ll order already, unless there
are specials to tempt me,” she replied, flipping open the menu to glance at the
fresh sheet. “Hmm. I’ll stick with the pesto.”

“Good choice. You know he grows his own organic basil… ”
A young waiter sidled through the crowded patio smiling at them.

“
Buon giorno,
signore
. You have company.” He took their orders, Simon ordering the
pesto too. The young man grinned at Simon. “
Signorina
,”
he bowed his head slightly and met her eye with a mischievous grin.

“That looks awfully good,” said Kate, eyeing Simon’s
wine, “I think I’ll have one, too,” she told the waiter before he turned away.
“I don’t know where they find young Italians to wait tables here in Vancouver,
but it sure helps the ambiance.”

Simon chuckled. “Octavio was born here, over near the
Drive, though his parents and grandparents immigrated. I think he gets better
tips with the accent.”

She laughed. Waiting for the food, they reviewed the
morning. “Sorry if I didn’t follow protocol,” he said, his sincerity
unmistakable. “I just reacted when I saw Eli losing it. I didn’t want him to
say something he couldn’t take back. I was trying to help.”

Kate dropped her eyes, acknowledging his apology. “What
did you say to him, anyway?”

       Simon’s mouth
twisted to the side, and his eyes dropped. “Er. Guy stuff. Confidential.”

Whatever it was, he seemed to have a way with Eli and she
said so, her resentment evaporating in response to his bashful smile.

“I’m a lot more comfortable one-on-one with my clients
than in the public arena of a courtroom,” Simon explained. “Too introverted, I
guess.”

“That reminds, me,” Kate sipped her wine, “Is that what
happened to criminal law? You used to be so fervent about that. I figured by
now you’d be…” she hesitated. Perhaps this was not a diplomatic line of
questioning. “I don’t know… ” She waved a hand in the air, tossing the question
away, and reached for a piece of bread instead.

He laughed. “It’s okay. Some days I wonder what happened
to my dreams, too.” He pulled apart some bread and nibbled at it thoughtfully.
“It’s complicated I guess. I did work in criminal law for a while, until I
passed the bar and then a bit longer.” He hesitated, and added softly. “I was
still with Rachel then, before Maddie was born. We were both very driven.”

She glanced up quickly. “Sharon mentioned. You’re divorced?”
She knew it was none of her business, but some part of her couldn’t help
digging for details.

“No, not yet. Separated two years. My wife’s a lawyer,
too, and a very good one. She didn’t slow down when our daughter was born, so I
had to.” He shrugged and offered a skewed smile to Kate, and she saw that it
was full of sadness. “I made the shift to business law first. But I really
didn’t fit in, anyway. Sometimes… ” he looked up at the canopy of trees that
cast filigreed shadows across the table, ruffling in the gentle breeze, “
…sometimes things just don’t turn out the way you expect them to.”

Kate nodded.
You
can say that again
. But she didn’t want to interrupt his wistful
rambling. She urged him to continue with her eyes alone, sipping her wine.

Simon sighed. “Then I found corporate law just too
tedious to bear. I don’t really have a mind for business, so I shifted into
divorce and personal services a couple years ago. It may not have the panache
or the upside potential, but it’s easier, that’s certain, with more regular
hours. But that’s not the only reason I made the changes. Just being around all
those ruthless, greedy people made me feel sick. Someone was always trying to
take advantage of someone else. I couldn’t bury myself in that world day after
day.
Not
… ” he added,
“…that I don’t see ruthlessness and greed in divorce law.” He laughed. “It
wasn’t the thrill I expected it to be in my idealistic youth,” he threw a
lopsided grin at her, making light of it.

“So, do you see much of your daughter?” Kate asked.

Simon tossed his head back and exploded with laughter.
“Every day.” In response to her puzzled expression, he chortled, reaching out
to pat the back of her hand. Rather than feeling reassurance, his touch sent a
frisson of excitement though her. He sobered and said, “When Rachel and I
separated two years ago, Maddie stayed with me. Though we haven’t moved forward
on the divorce settlement much,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “I want
full custody of Madison. Rachel never had time for her in the first place, so
she isn’t involved much these days. But she’s holding out for shared custody
anyway, just to aggravate me. I think.”

It took Kate a moment to process what he was saying. As
the realization dawned, she opened her mouth, hesitated and then said, “Are you
telling me your daughter lives with you full time?”

“I am. Rachel travels a lot. She just plain works more
than I do. It makes sense. That’s why I bought the house.” He smiled and
shrugged. “I always did most of the parenting anyhow. Maddie’s my little girl,
so I couldn’t have parted with her, even part time.” He studied his glass,
twirling it around and around.

Kate’s heart swelled with compassion. She could hardly
imagine Simon as a father, let alone a single parent. What a disconcerting
notion to try to integrate into her image of him. She really had no idea who he
was, but she liked this new Simon too much, far too much for her own good.

“You must be very close,” Kate said. “I mean, don’t the
courts usually… ” she stopped, and looked askance, embarrassed. “Never mind.
I’m sorry.”

“No, no. It’s okay.” Simon raised his brows, his eyes
guarded. “It is much less common, definitely. Though it’s not unheard of. I
basically raised her. And Rachel would offer no opposition to Maddie living full
time with me… at least so she says, most days. When she’s feeling cooperative.”
His laugh was taught and brittle, and he pressed his lips into a thin resolute
line. “That’s why we’re still married. I see a lot of kids go home with their
mothers, even when they shouldn’t. I’m not ready to test the courts archaic
views. I don’t want Maddie to lose her mother, but I’m determined that she not
lose her father.”

What a heart-wrenching dilemma. What kind of mother
wouldn’t
want custody of her
little girl? Kate wondered if that was the main reason he wasn’t divorced, or
whether he still harbored hopes of reconciliation with Rachel. She was curious
about Simon’s wife, and the impact this must have had on his career, but
couldn’t pry any further. “So. Now that you’re a divorce lawyer, are you
enjoying it? Have you worked with a mediator before?”

Simon tensed, his eyes unfocussed. Several moments
passed.

“Simon?”

“What? I’m sorry, you asked about… divorce law?”

She smiled and nodded, studying him through narrowed eyes,
hiding her mouth behind a delicate dabbing of her napkin.

“Um. Do I like it? Well. Yes and no. I’m very good at it,
perhaps because I’m in the middle of it myself. I seem to have a talent for
moving the really volatile cases forward. I think it’s because I avoid being
inflammatory, unlike many attorneys.” He paused. “I encourage my clients to
separate the emotional battles from the legal ones.”

Just then, the waiter brought their pasta, and it was a
few minutes before they could resume. Kate tucked into her lunch and let him
continue.

“You eat like you really mean it,” he laughed.

She looked up, surprised. “It’s pasta,” she said in her
defense.

He lifted his wine and took a sip. “I guess I can’t bear
to see people ripping each other apart. People aren’t all that happy to destroy
each other once the court case begins. Everyone suffers, especially the kids.
They all walk away damaged.”

“I would have a hard time with that too,” she
sympathized, her eyes cast down as she rearranged her napkin. She felt a strong
affinity with his views, and liked that he was comfortable talking about the
things that mattered to her.

“I guess I’m old-fashioned, or sentimental, or … ”

“Idealistic?” she suggested, meeting his eyes.

He grunted. Understanding sparked between them. “Mmm.
Perhaps that’s it. I like to see families whole.”

Kate nodded again. “And mediation? Have you had any
experience with it?”

His face crumpled, his cheeks flushing, and she wondered
if he would finally confess that he thought it was a bunch of baloney, like
Sharon did. “Clients of mine have gone to mediation, mostly over child custody
issues, but I haven’t been involved.” He hesitated. “The only time I’ve
experienced mediation, I was the… client.” He dipped his chin and grimaced.

“O-oh?”

He cleared his throat and took a sip of wine. “We… Rachel
and I tried… about a year… it wasn’t very…He let out an exasperated sigh,
grimacing, and still she just looked at him. “Um. I… uh… I walked out. The… it
seemed to me the mediator was quite… not objective. I found the process very
frustrating.” He stabbed his fork into his linguini, avoiding her gaze.

“Oh. I see.” She’d had clients abandon sessions before.
But she would have pegged him as calmer, more rational than that.

He looked up. “You doubt me?”

She was perplexed. She knew it wasn’t impossible that
some mediators took sides, despite their training. It was a shame, and gave
them all a bad name. “I’m sorry.” She placed a forkful of pesto into her mouth
and chewed. “It shouldn’t be that way.”

After another moment he said, “Have you been very
successful helping clients reconcile?”

“Pretty successful. You can’t help everyone.” She
hesitated. “Are you… still hoping to reconcile with Rachel?”

       “No.” Simon’s eyes
flashed. “I’m not sure I was then, either. I just felt I had to give it a try.
Rachel never wanted to stay with us. But I guess I had a hard time letting go
of Maddie’s mother.”

“Some people really shouldn’t be together.” Kate
concentrated on her food. “But though I work on other kinds of cases… no even
when I do, I always try to bring families together again. Even if couples end
up going through with divorce, they tend to do it more amicably. But my
philosophy is therapeutic, and I’ve built my reputation on my success in
reconciliation.” Kate pondered the case study she planned to present at the
awards ceremony in January. It was going well, so far, and she no longer
worried about Simon making her work more difficult. In fact, it felt like he
was on her side.

“That’s right. There are other… philosophies then?”

“Oh, yes. But of course there are mediators working in a
wide array of settings — corporate, union, government… ” she trailed off. “They
have different objectives. The relationship is usually an important factor,
though, if not paramount.”

“Do you do only divorce mediation?”

“No. Family mediation, and some community work. You’d be
surprised at the things people fight about. Child custody, of course. Family
businesses. Abuse. Property. Wills and estates. That’s a popular one.” She
laughed.

“That would interest me,” Simon leaned forward, earnest.
“It’s an extension of what I’m doing now, with a different aim - more
positive.”

“Perhaps you should think of shifting into mediation.
Many mediators are lawyers, you know.

Simon made a wry face. “That
would
be ironic.”

They talked about the business of mediation for a while
longer.

“You mentioned you got into mediation through crisis
counseling. How did that happen, if I’m not prying?” Simon ate his lunch,
waiting for her answer.

Her chest tightened, and she dipped her chin, swallowing.
“Well. You are. But… it’s okay.” Kate hesitated. She could share without making
the connection with him, with them. “I discovered crisis counseling the hard
way. It really made a big difference in my life when I was at a low point.
Afterwards, I volunteered. After a few months, I realized that, not only did it
make me feel wonderful to help others that way, but, I had a real talent for
it.”