Shannon got that one. She had been just as shocked as her friend and she didn’t have to live with Eric. She supposed a case could be made for everyone having the right to follow his or her dreams, but in a marriage, shouldn’t both parties get a vote? That was what had been so stunning about Eric’s decision. He hadn’t mentioned it or negotiated or anything. He’d simply walked away from his job and told his wife after the fact.
“While I don’t recommend this for every situation,” Pam said slowly, “have you considered smothering him with a pillow?”
Nicole managed a soft laugh. “Not my style.”
“Mine, either,” Pam admitted. “I’m more direct. But it’s an option.”
Shannon grinned. “This from a woman who carefully dresses her dog so she won’t be cold? You talk tough, but on the inside, you’re a marshmallow.”
“Don’t tell,” Pam said, glancing around, as if afraid they would be overheard. “I have a reputation to protect.” She touched Nicole’s hand. “All jokes aside, I know this is difficult for you. You want to shake some sense into him and right now you can’t. Hang in there. You two love each other. That’ll get you through.”
“I hope so,” Nicole said. “I know he’s a good guy.”
“He is. Marriage is like life. Just when you think you have it figured out, it changes. When I stopped working, I felt guilty that John was carrying the whole financial load. But we talked about it and he finally convinced me he liked having me home. I take care of things there and he handles bringing in the money.”
A world she couldn’t imagine, Shannon admitted, if only to herself. It was as if Pam was from another planet. Or another era. Shannon knew there were plenty of stay-at-home moms. The difference was she didn’t know any of them. Not as friends. The mothers she knew were like Nicole—always scrambling to keep up.
Although now that she thought about it, there were a couple of friends who had left their jobs and become stay-athome mothers. Only once that had happened, Shannon had lost touch with them. Or maybe they’d lost touch with her.
“There are always rough patches,” Pam said. “But if you remember why you’re together, then you’ll get through it.”
ISBN-13: 9781460334577
UNTIL WE TOUCH
Copyright © 2014 by Susan Macias Redmond
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