“I’m considering my options.”
“You’ve been considering your options for three years.”
“I’m a careful shopper.”
She would shake her head and smile.
I loved that smile.
Not because it made me feel like a hero.
Not because I had rescued her from an unhappy marriage.
I hadn’t.
Karen had rescued herself.
I had simply been fortunate enough to know her while she was finding her way back.
Michael married Natalie.
Their relationship, which had once seemed worth the destruction of his marriage, proved far less perfect than he had imagined. They separated less than a year later.
I heard about it through Daniel.
I won’t pretend I felt sorry for Michael.
But neither Karen nor I celebrated his unhappiness.
When someone asked her whether she felt vindicated, she answered simply, “I hope he learns to be honest with the people he loves.”
Then she returned to work.
That was the difference between Karen and the person Michael had expected her to remain.
