She adds more salt to the pile of fries, clearly trying to busy herself.
“Oh, come on. You work at a titty bar or something? You can tell me.”
Whatever she’s doing, it’s worse than a titty bar, that much is evident by the look on her face.
“Are you pushing drugs?” I ask in a harsh whisper.
Her eyes light in shock. “No!”
“Then what the hell is going on with you?”
“I-I was disbarred.”
“Disbarred? Is that your fancy way of telling me you’re excluded from something…or…that you were an actual lawyer?”
She exhales, her shoulders slumping. “Once upon a time, I made something of myself, and now…well, I’m nothing.”
“First, you’re far from nothing. You’re Lori’s mother, and a good friend, even after nearly a decade of no communication. Second, when the hell did you become a lawyer?”
“After you went away to Hollywood, I didn’t have many other friends. I kinda stuck my nose in books. That led to me getting a degree, then more education, all kinds of accolades, ANOTHER degree, and a passing of a Bar Exam.”
“That’s amazing. Oh my God—I’m so proud of you. You must think me an idiot.”
“Except, I am disbarred.”
Oh, yeah—that.
“How?”
“Remember how I told you Lori’s father happened four assholes ago?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, her father was a judge. That alone is an issue. Anyway, I should have recused myself from a case, but doing so would let people know something was up.”
“Why was it so important to keep secret?”
“Well, he was going through a bitter divorce. They had already separated and were living separate lives, but it reeked of scandal, so we kept it on the DL. The wife knew something was up, so she hired a private investigator to get a better payout during their eventual divorce proceedings. It was bad.”
“How long had you been seeing him?”
“Three years. They had been separated for four. I just…never thought something bad would happen. Lori was a year old when shit went down. In fact, the whole reason he pushed for the divorce was so he could marry me, and we could be a family. But then, both our lives went to hell. He’s gone now.”
“That fucking loser!”
“I work as a telephone and email consultant for legal matters, but it doesn’t pay nearly as much. I have enough in savings to tide me over a while longer, but I just feel so defeated.”
“Has there been anyone else significant in your life?”
“A few losers, and one man with a heart of gold.”
“Oh?”
“It’s...difficult. He doesn’t think he’s good enough for me.”
My phone vibrates, alerting me to a message, and Irene looks down at it.
“So, you are dating Alistair Whent!”
