II

6

      Patty had a large home with domestic help and all the
appointments of a successful man's wife.  It did not match
the overstated opulence of the Carpenter family, but
considering where she had started and where she was, Patty
was quite pleased with herself, even a little bored.
     Strut always read the Indianapolis Star at breakfast,
and she would glance through it after he left.  She usually
concentrated on the society page and the advertisements.  On
this day she took a deep breath at the paper's lead item
under the banner headline of LOCAL DOCTOR AND WIFE VICTIM OF
TERRORIST.  The article went on to say that Doctor Carpenter
and his wife along with a prominent New York surgeon, Doctor
Choen and his wife, were victims of a terrorist shooting
near a synagogue in Paris.  Strange, Patty thought, she
should have known if the Carpenters were Jewish.  The
article went said that the Carpenter's only survivor was his
son Doctor Robert Carpenter, who had been the active member
of his father's medical practice since Doctor Carpenter had
semi-retired to work on a research project with Doctor
Cohen.  There was no other mention of any other family.
     About a month later Doctor Carpenter's office girl laid
a new file on this desk.
     "This lady was quite insistent that we work her in as a
new patient.  She is very well recommended by her
gynecologist.  She said that she wanted to have a second
opinion of a diagnosis about her lack of energy.  Probably
another bored house wife."
     "Well, it all makes the world go around, especially
ours.  Show her in."
     "Hello Robert.  I wasn't sure if I should see you, but
I felt I could trust you somehow.  I am really concerned
about my health.  I was sorry to hear about your parents."
     After Doctor Carpenter's staff had completed their part
of the initial exam, Doctor Carpenter finished his final
exam with a nurse in attendance.
     "Everything seems to be all right Patty.  I should have
all the tests in a few days.  Nurse, please book Mrs. Strut
for a conference as the last appointment next Tuesday."
     As Patty finished dressing, he said, "There won't be
any more tests then.  I'll just go over the results of
everything.  As far as I can tell, you are a very healthy
lady.  Perhaps you have some personal problems that are
resulting in your constant tired feelings.  The body reacts
to the mind more than we think.  We can discuss that better
after I have all the results in."
     "Thank you doctor.  I'm sure you will be able to
discover whatever the problem is.  I'll see you Tuesday
then."
     Robert missed his usual Wednesday afternoon golf the
following week.  He soon withdrew from the foursome.
     For many, Christmas is the most difficult time of the
year.  For Strut, this Christmas was especially stressful.
On Christmas Eve twelve years of marriage ended.  He and
Patty had a good ten years, but then she re-involved herself
with her former boy friend.  Although Strut had given Patty
a good life, she still had a build in desire to have the
life she imagined possible with Robert.
     Five years prior to that Christmas Eve, Roberts, now
the senior partner of the firm, determined that all firm
parties must be family affairs.  The Christmas Eve party
then had started affairs with the non-legal entanglements of
the secretarial pool and the legal minds and bodies of the
firm.  Strut disliked social events where attendance was
required, but he was resigned to go this year as usual.  As
he and Patty were about to leave, she suddenly announced
that she wanted a divorce.  She was in love with Doctor
Carpenter.  She pronounced the word doctor the way some
people pronounced the word God.  Strut was shaken, but not
really surprised.   It had been coming for many months.
Strangely, he wondered why she didn't say Robert or Bob.
Perhaps she said, "Oh doctor!" when they were in bed.  This
immediately brought to mind a porno film of the same name he
had seen in college.  The mental picture of Patty in bed
with another man was no longer painful. That passed some
time ago.  Why was his mind wondering like this?  Was he
avoiding reality?  Didn't he love Patty?  He had no one
else, nor really considered anyone else.
     They both agreed to put on a good face for the party.
Patty had chosen this moment to tell Strut to avoid a long
scene.  She was sure that John's boring commitment to the
firm would cut short any discussion.
     December had been cold and damp, but not enough snow to
cover the ground thus far.  There were predictions of snow
for that evening.  As Strut drove toward the center of the
city, his headlights begin to bring large clusters of snow
flakes to life.  He watched them change from puffy white too
clear water as they touched the windshield.  He suddenly
realized he was feeling a sense of relief, numbness, but
real relief.  All of that strain from the last two years was
over.  He noted that he was more irritated with going to the
party than having Patty tell him what he had really know for
months.  Patty said that she would be very generous.  She
did not want the house, just a fair cash settlement, and a
few personal items.  She wanted a quick and uncontested
divorce.  Strut was sure that the few personal items would
include a car and anything else she fancied.  He thought
about that big expensive house that she had to have a few
years back, with all the trimmings, and all of the show-off
entertaining that she did, which he disliked.  He could
afford it, and had actually accepted it as part of life, but
suddenly he didn't have to any more.
     Strut begin to think about his law career.  He had
always liked work, but too much of his time was now devoted
to dealing with uninteresting clients or even more tiresome
bureaucrats over regulations that he understood better than
they did.  The snow was coming down harder and harder, it no
longer melted on contact with the car.
     Patty looked at him and said, "Why are you smiling? 
Are you so happy to be rid of me?"
     "Of course not.  I just appreciate you helping me
through tonight."
     Strut thought that he was not really happy to be rid of
her, they had had very good years, but he was happy not to
have the aggravation of the past months.  A quick clean cut
is less painful than a slow tear.  He also realized that he
was happy he had made another decision. He was leaving the
law firm.  He didn't know what he was going to do, but he
knew he was leaving the firm, and he was getting rid of that
phony house.
     They drove into the shelter of the underground garage
of the bank building that housed the firm's law offices.  It
was early evening, and most of the other office parties had
long since broken up.  Roberts had always insisted that
their party begin at six thirty, and end by eight thirty.
There had been rumbles from the staff with children, but
everyone was well in step with this strange procedure by
now.  It was the eighth sin not to attend the party.  Some
felt that Roberts made it the first.  Roberts was not that
bad of a person to work for, he was just a stickler for
tradition, even if they were his own traditions that were
established by accident.
     During Strut's first and second year in law school he,
Roberts and Jacques du Mount were the best of friends.  The
friendship had not faded with the years, nor with the normal
stress of working together.  Jacques had returned to his
native France, but they had all remained in close contact
over the years.
     Du Mount was a special student in business
administration from France.  His father was an industrialist
in France.  He felt that his only son should see what
America was all about.  He sent him to the unlikely location
of Bloomington, Indiana, to see the real meat of America not
just the urban fast moving New York semi-international
atmosphere.
     Strut opened the car door to let Patty out.  Their
formal attire looked a little incongruous as they walked in
the stark gray concrete garage.  Ira Silverstein and his
wife were approaching the elevator at the same time. Ira was
the latest, but fastest rising partner in the firm.  He was
an untiring worker and had a very quick mind.  He understood
the advantages of good research and consistently came up
with well-prepared briefs for his clients' position. 
Roberts had one nagging problem with him.  His billings of
time spent for clients were quite out of line.  Roberts was
constantly having to defend the amount of time that Ira
would bill clients for.  Ira would explain how he would get
ideas in the middle of the night, get up and work on them. 
Of course when he made notes of the ideas, he also made sure
he included the time that he spent on such nocturnal
endeavors.  It was the office joke to speculate who would be
billed every time Ira went to the toilet.  Patty did not
like Ira's wife.
     Patty claimed that Judith was always throwing up to her
how she had this and that, and that a cultivated person
should only do certain things and must have certain items to
be civilized.  Strut noticed that Patty was just like her
when they were together and played the game of I have a
bigger diamond this year. What do you have?
     Going up in the elevator, Patty and Judith exchanged
sweet cat like compliments.  Ira and Strut speculated on how
deep the snow would be by the time the buffet was over.  The
elevator hissed to a stop on the fourteenth floor.  The
foursome stepped into the newly decorated offices that
occupied the entire floor.  Roberts and his wife, Betty,
were in the reception area.  The reception area was about
twenty feet square.  There were comfortable chair and table
groupings around the walls of the room.  A large circular
desk in the center was the command post for the
receptionist.  Tonight it was the buffet table.  A chief and
a bar man replaced the receptionist.
     Roberts cut an elegant figure.  He was tall and slender
with dark waving hair sprinkled with a touch of gray. 
Roberts loved the law and considered being an attorney was a
noble calling.  He spent most of his time cultivating
clients, and upgrading the class of the firm.  He was
practical enough to make sure that this evolution did not
hurt the economic well being of the firm.  His real goal
would be a prestigious appointment to the federal bench.  He
was active in politics only on what he considered the higher
level fringes.
     Strut knew him at a much more human level than the
image that he presented to the world and even to himself. 
He had seen him let lose when the two of them made a trip to
visit their old friend in France a few years back.
     Years ago Roberts had served in a U.S. government
administrative post in Paris for a short time.  Next to his
law firm, Strut believed he loved the image of being a
Frenchman more than anything.  It was something that could
never be.  In fact Strut felt he did not have the real image
of a Frenchman, but that of an ex-patriot living an
uninhibited life in Paris.
     Robert's wife, Betty, was a very striking woman to
Strut.  She was also tall with flaxen hair done in a long
braid that fell over her left shoulder ending at the tip of
her full breast.  She was one of those women that looked
very good with very little makeup, surprising enough she
knew it.  She had full lips and a charming way of talking to
you that was not really sensuous, but made you feel that she
was very sympathetic to you.  She complemented Roberts in
her elegance.  Roberts had married her shortly after her
father's death.  Her father had a larger and more successful
firm than his father.  She had been raised in the life of a
legal family, and made a natural merger with Roberts.  Strut
was sure that they both loved each other, but neither
realized the hidden passion in the other.
     Patty and Judith removed their furs, trying to look
very casual about it, while at the same time making sure
that they were admired by all.  Betty shook Strut's hand and
said, "I haven't seen Patty look so happy in months.  It is
so good to see how she is glowing.  I hope next year will be
a good one for you."
     Strut raised his eyebrow and said, "I am sure it will
be a change from this one.  Happy Christmas to you, Betty."
     Betty looked rather curious, but said nothing.  Roberts
smiled slyly at Strut as he said, "John, I have two special
Christmas surprises for you.  Come into my office for a
moment."
     Strut and Roberts made it a policy never to exchange
presents.  Strut was a little set back, especially knowing
that right after Christmas, he was going to tell him about
Patty, and his decision to leave the firm.  Roberts put his
hand on Strut's shoulder and guided him to his office in the
corner of the building.  In modern high-rise glass encased
square office blocks, such as this one, the corner offices
with double glass walls are the prizes for the top
executives.  There was nothing modern in Robert's office
beside the telephone.  He was an amateur collector of
antiques.  His own desk chair was the only concession to
comfort in the room.  Everything else was stiff and formal
or looked as if were too delicate to use.
     Roberts opened his door and, to Strut's surprise,
                      

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