The Divorce Papers: A Novel (17 page)

Thank You

Dear Sophie:

Thank you for a wonderful lunch. I am now indebted to you on two counts. I haven’t had such a good time at lunch since I argued the Loeb case. Your mother is terrific. But then you know that. I hope you had a good time. You were very quiet—or we were very talkative. Have a good weekend. And come in late Monday.

David

Weekend Wrap-Up

Dearest Mags—

What a weekend. First things first: You were spectacular and so was the play. You are the Real Thing. You’re doing what you were meant to do. I’m sure you’ll hear directly from Maman, but she was astounded. She said to me, “You told me Maggie could act, but I didn’t take it in properly. She’s brilliant, like a young Vanessa Redgrave. When she’s onstage, you can’t take your eyes off her.” Verbatim, that’s what she said. Everyone was good—Harry was very happy—but you were sublime. We need a Kenneth Tynan to do your performance justice in print.

And now I backtrack. On Friday, I took Maman and DG to lunch at Porter’s. He had Dover sole (typically chaste); Maman and I, needless to say, went for the double lamb chops. Do you think men like women who like to eat? I think the good ones do. Anyway, if the situation weren’t so charged (as you said, the titans squaring off), I’d have to say that DG was smitten by the old girl. She wasn’t being exactly flirtatious, but she was awfully charming. She even ran her fingers through her hair a couple of times. They hardly paid me any attention, so I watched them like an anthropologist studying middle-aged mating behavior. The thing about my mother is the quality of her attention; nothing in the world is like it. She makes you feel special simply because she is listening to you. I wish I could do that. It must be a French female thing. He had read a lot of her books; she knew my stories about him. They were so pleased with each other and themselves. He said nice things about me and my work, which is a sure way to win Maman over. She is still an exceptionally doting mother, though being French, her dotingness is never gushing; I don’t know how she does it with all four of us, but she does.

She’s probably ruined my brothers for other women—and yet they’re both such good guys. By the way, Luc sends his love and congratulations. He called me this morning; Maman had already reported to him on the play.

I keep thinking about Jake and what he would think of their behavior. (Papa, of course, would have ignored it.) It’s often hard to tell when he’s angry or upset. I kept telling myself that they were just having a good time—and they’re allowed to. I can imagine being married and loving my husband and still liking to flirt with attractive men. You’re the expert on marriage. What do you think? DG’s been married for ages, and his wife, Mary, is the nicest, easiest-going woman I’ve ever met. Some women wouldn’t like their husband to be working so closely with a 30-year-old, but she doesn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, he has had me over for dinner with them and their friends, and she always makes me feel wanted and liked when she drops by the office. I wonder if she’d feel that way about Maman. She may know her man and (rightly?) not see me as any threat. And the truth is, I can’t see him messing around with
someone young enough to be his daughter. Joe told me that Wynch, one of the real estate partners in the firm, left his wife for a woman 20 years younger than he (and a client no less; it was a major scandal but before my time); he said DG couldn’t understand it. “What does he want with that kid?” he said. “Who wants someone who can’t remember what she was doing when she heard that Kennedy had been shot?” I wonder if they realized what they were doing, how they were acting. Did they think my being there made it harmless? Did they go home and think about each other? This is making me uncomfortable. I will now try to stop thinking about it.

And that shouldn’t be too hard because I’ve got other things to think about. All the signs indicate I’m falling for Harry (thinking about him too much and too often). Is that a terrible idea? I love that he’s good at what he does, that he likes to make things happen, that he’s articulate and funny and good-looking and sexy. On that last point, let’s just say he is, as you first described him, very talented. He wants to do Pinter next; he loves those Brits. But not, thank God,
Betrayal
. I can’t take any more adultery. I’m so glad I finished
Anna Karenina
and can now start
War and Peace
. Maman says there’s a real, solid (though, alas, a second) marriage in
W&P
. Levin is too irritating for me to take his marriage to Kitty as any kind of model.

Anyway, Harry’s been so wired the last two nights, nothing and I mean nothing could wind him down. And he was so happy. I like a man who can be happy. My father is capable of enthusiasm but not happiness. (I never seem to be able to get too far from my parents, the default templates of my life.) More to the point, Harry got up very early this morning and wrote me a poem, well, doggerel really. How can something be awful and heart-melting at the same time? Boy, does he have my number.

How are you doing? I know you’ve got six more performances in front of you. How are you holding up? Are you exhausted? I’m going to try to catch Tuesday’s performance.

Work has been overwhelming. I’m getting the hang of divorce (law is law in a lot of ways), but it’s so unnatural for me. I can’t keep focused on the Big Picture, as DG calls it. If I find a statute or a rule that applies, I’m like a terrier with a bone; I want to run with it, even if dropping it would be to everyone’s advantage, including mine. But I can’t go against Joe’s training. DG thinks this experience is good for me, opening me up to new ways of thinking. At least that’s what he said to my mother. Maman defended me—or rather defended crime. Do you think they will have an affair? I couldn’t bear it.

Next week the Management Committee is taking up the matter of Fiona McGregor’s vendetta against me. (That’s how I think of it, though as usual I exaggerate and put myself in the middle of a larger fight.) I can only lose. If she’s vindicated, she’ll rub my nose in it; if she’s reprimanded, she’ll rub my nose in it. I don’t know what I did to rouse her enmity. I keep thinking she’s jealous, but I can’t think of what. She’s great-looking, smart, successful (the youngest person ever made partner in the firm). She’s not married—but then neither am I. There are various theories. Judge Howard says it’s not so much Yale and the clerkship as the firm’s patriarchy which sets the women against each other. Maman says it’s not personal, Fiona’s jealousy, but familial and free-floating, attaching to people who remind her of a young sibling. It doesn’t matter who’s right; neither makes it any easier. I’d prefer it to be personal. Enemies should be earned.

I need to go to bed. I just left Harry’s. I’ve slept maybe 4 hours in the last two nights.

I feel like we haven’t talked in ages.

Love,
Sophie

TRAYNOR, HAND, WYZANSKI

222 CHURCH STREET

NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555

(393) 876-5678

MEMORANDUM

Attorney Work Product

On her way to the airport, Mia Meiklejohn dropped off a letter she’d received from Helen Fincher, Daniel Durkheim’s first wife and the mother of Thomas (Tom) Maxwell Durkheim. She declared it “a complete surprise.” They’d always gotten along, but 3M didn’t know HF was paying any attention. “I always thought of her as belonging to the Mehitabel school of mothering,” she said. “Perhaps I’ve been unfair.” She wondered if she might call HF as a character witness should the case go to trial. “Can you imagine her credibility with the judge? I was, after all, the ‘other woman.’ ”

I’ve been meaning to write now for weeks. Tom told me that you and Daniel are splitting. I’m so sorry. Tom is, as you may imagine, very upset about it. He doesn’t remember life without you, and he’s worried that you and Jane will disappear from his life, the he will lose not only his family life but his family. I’m certainly not giving him one thought this marriage might stick. (I may be spoiled and irresponsible, but I’m not self-deceiving.)

I want to thank you for all you’ve done for and been to Tom over all those, what is it, 18 years. I never worried when he was with you (meaning you, Mia, not you and Dan). Daniel’s level of attentiveness diminishes geometrically as he travels from a hospital, and at the most basic level, I was always grateful to you for seeing that Tom ate breakfast, had clean clothes, crossed the street at the corner, were his seat belt, had a babysitter, and then, you always made him feel a part of a family, and not like a stepchild. He thinks
of Jane as his sister, not his half sister. You did that for him. I grew up with a mother, a father, three stepmothers, two stepfathers, four brothers, two half sisters, two half brothers, and seven stepbrothers and sisters. This was by the time I was 18; we don’t even invite each other to our weddings anymore, at least not after the second.

I’ve told Tom that you won’t give up on him; nor will Jane. You’ve been great and I’m sorry for the pain you’re going through. Things will get better. I hope we’ll always stay in touch.

Who is Stephanie Roth? Tom had dinner with her and Daniel last week. She asked him if he’d been bar mitzvahed. When he said no, she looked at Daniel reproachfully. Oy very. What are we all in for? I thought Daniel reliably went for shiksas. Her voice, apparently, is two octaves above middle C. Tom said she (probably) wasn’t stupid; she only sounded stupid.

Again my thanks.

All the best,

Helen

TRAYNOR, HAND, WYZANSKI

222 CHURCH STREET

NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555

(393) 876-5678

MINUTES OF THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Confidential

The Management Committee of Traynor, Hand, Wyzanski convened at 11 a.m., Thursday, April 15, 1999, in Special Session with David Greaves, Chair, Proctor Hand, Virginia Ladder, and William Frost in attendance. Joseph Salerno was unable to attend. The Committee met to discuss the conduct of a partner, Fiona McGregor, in conjunction with the representation of Maria Meiklejohn in her divorce action. For the purposes of the Special Session, Proctor Hand acted as Chair.

David Greaves presented the grievance against Ms. McGregor. On learning that Anne Sophie Diehl had been assigned to represent Ms. Meiklejohn in her divorce proceedings, Ms. McGregor directly contacted Ms. Meiklejohn by letter, questioning Ms. Diehl’s suitability as her lawyer and offering instead her services or those of the other divorce lawyers in the firm. Ms. Diehl and David Greaves had been assigned to the case at the express request of Ms. Meiklejohn. Ms. Diehl, a criminal lawyer with the firm, had been reluctant to represent Ms. Meiklejohn but had agreed after consultation with Mr. Greaves. On learning of Ms. McGregor’s letter, Mr. Greaves told Ms. McGregor that she had not sufficiently recognized the professional considerations that had prompted the assignment and that, in writing her letter, she had challenged his authority and undermined the firm’s values and reputation. He requested assurances from her that she would not repeat this kind of behavior. Ms. McGregor did not provide those assurances but requested a hearing before the Management Committee. Mr. Greaves stated that he believed personal animus against Ms. Diehl played a part in Ms. McGregor’s conduct.

At 11:30, Ms. McGregor met with the Committee. She outlined the considerations that prompted her letter and that have continued to inform her judgment of what she characterized as an unfortunate and unprofessional decision. She expressed her belief that the use of Ms. Diehl compromised the professional standards and reputation of the firm, and she took the position that the double-billing arrangement that Ms. Diehl and Ms. Meiklejohn had agreed upon to assure the quality and professionalism of Ms. Diehl’s representation would work to the economic disadvantage of the firm. She maintained there was no way the firm could recover the full cost of using a second lawyer and pointed to correspondence in the Durkheim file indicating that Mr. Greaves would write off some of his hours rather than bill Ms. Meiklejohn for the education of Ms. Diehl. After presenting her arguments, Ms. McGregor withdrew. Over the objections of the other members of the Committee, Mr. Greaves also withdrew in order to allow the other Committee members to discuss the matter fully and freely.

After reviewing the letters and other documents in the Durkheim file and the presentations of Mr. Greaves and Ms. McGregor, the Committee voted to approve Mr. Greaves’s decision to assign Ms. Diehl and to reprimand Ms. McGregor for her conduct.

The Committee members instructed Mr. Hand to write a letter to Ms. McGregor explaining in detail the deliberations and conclusions of the Committee.

The Committee adjourned at 12:30 p.m.