“Molls, I’ve been devastated all morning, but my hands are tied. It would be completely unethical for me to share that information. And I would love to represent Dezzie, but Rob got to me first. We’ve been working together on the nonprofit, so he thought I’d take the case. But obviously I would never represent him against Dez, so I said no. Unfortunately, the fact that he consulted me means I can’t represent her either.”
He’s being so patient and reasonable that I want to throw the phone at the wall.
“Why can’t you make an exception?” I shout. “You’ve known Dezzie for decades. She’s my best friend.”
He sighs. It sounds awfully long-suffering. Like I am the problem here.
“Like I said, it’s unethical. I feel terrible, but there’s nothing I can do to change that.”
I have no words.
Oh, wait. I do: “You’re fucking over my friend.”
“No, I’m not,” he says, in his firmest lawyer voice. “She’s my friend, too. And I’ve given her the names of the best people in Chicago. She’s going to be in very good hands, whoever she chooses.”
I don’t say anything. This does not deserve a response.
“Molls, I have a client waiting. I’ll call you in an hour, okay?”
“Yeah. Fine. Whatever.”
I hang up the phone before he can say goodbye and call Dezzie back.
“Hi,” I say. “I’m really sorry but I can’t get him to change his mind. He says it’s a matter of ethics and he’s being completely intransigent.”
“It’s fine,” she says. “I understand.”
She might, but I don’t. He’s a senior partner at his firm. He can’t bend the rules one time? If not for her, then for me?
“Molly,” Dezzie says. “Really, it’s fine. He was nice and super apologetic.”
I force myself to take a deep breath.
This is not about me and Seth.
This is not about my dad.
I’m just having an emotional reaction on behalf of my friend that I will no doubt have to apologize for later.
“How are you feeling?” I ask Dezzie. “Have you called the other lawyers?”
“Not yet.”
“You should do it right away, before people leave the office for Thanksgiving. Get to them before Rob does.”
“I know. I will in a minute. I just feel completely discombobulated.”
“Have you talked to Alyssa?”
“No. I feel like she’s going to say I told you so.”
“God, Dez, no. Alyssa would never do that. Besides, she didn’t predict this.”
But Seth did.
In our bet.
The thought gives me chills.
“I know Alyssa thought I should leave him,” Dezzie says. “She basically implied it when we took the kids to Six Flags last month. And she was right.”
“Well, she’ll certainly wish she’d been wrong.”
Dez puffs out a breath. “Honestly, I’m just glad I found out before I got pregnant.”
“Yeah. Bullet dodged.”
“Huge bullet.” She pauses. “You are so smart, you know that?”
I’m taken aback. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve never given a real fuck about men. Never arranged your life around romance bullshit. I used to think you were pathologically cynical, but now I think you’re a genius. Rejecting all these toxic institutions.”
It’s not great to be called pathologically cynical by someone who has known you since elementary school, but I try not to get tripped up.
“What toxic institutions?” I ask, though I suspect I know.
“Marriage. Love. ’Til death do us part bullshit.”
