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Authors: Whitney Gaskell
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weird, but I was sort of hoping to find a mommy mentor.”
“A what?” Juliet had no idea what Chloe was talking about. She thought again of the pile of depositions waiting for her back at the office and glanced at her watch.
“A mommy mentor,” Chloe repeated. “Someone who’s already been through it. You know, balancing work and family? Someone who could give me some advice and pointers along the way? I thought maybe, you know, you could…”
Juliet stared at Chloe for a moment. Is this chick for real? A mommy mentor?
Finally she cleared her throat and said, “My schedule is a bit full at the moment.”
Chloe blinked at her, and her mouth formed a round pink O. “Oh…I didn’t…I wouldn’t bug you or anything. I didn’t mean to make it sound like some huge, time-consuming thing.”
A little voice in Juliet’s head, one that sounded disturbingly like Grace, piped up. Be nice, Juliet. You’re terrorizing the poor pregnant woman.
“Well…what exactly would you want me to do? I’ve never heard of a—what did you call it?—a mommy mentor before,” Juliet said.
Chloe colored. “It’s just something stupid I made up,” she mumbled. “Forget it.”
“Okay,” Juliet said.
Juliet . It was Grace’s voice again, and it sounded disapproving.
Crap , Juliet thought. Go away, Grace.
“If you really want some advice, I could probably give you some pointers,” Juliet said, somewhat reluctantly.
Chloe perked up. “Really?”
“Sure, why not,” Juliet said, with a resigned shrug. “Although today’s not a great day for me—I’m under the gun at work.”
Chloe looked relieved. “No, I totally understand. Some other day, okay?”
“You’ve got a deal,” Juliet said.
Good girl , Grace’s voice said.
Thanks , Juliet thought dryly. Now get out of my head. You’re creeping me out.
“Shall we get started with the interview?” Chloe asked. She shuffled her papers. “First tell me a little about yourself.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, what do you do for a living? I know you’re an attorney, but what sort of law do you practice?”
“I’m a litigator. I’m an associate with a midsize firm that handles both plaintiff and defense work,” Juliet said.
“How long have you worked there?”
“Seven years. After law school I clerked for a judge on the federal court in Miami for two years. Once I finished my clerkship, I accepted a position with my firm.”
“Is your husband a lawyer too?”
“No, he was a firefighter—”
Chloe interrupted her. “Your husband’s a firefighter? That’s so exciting! Do you get nervous when he’s called in to a big fire?” she exclaimed breathlessly.
Juliet smiled, bemused. Firemen always seemed to have this effect on women.
“He doesn’t work anymore. He stays at home with our girls,” Juliet said.
“Really?” Despite the microphone that was recording the interview, Chloe was furiously scribbling notes on her pad. “That’s interesting. How does that work?”
“How does what work?”
“His staying home. Does he like it? Does he miss work? Is he planning on going back? Does he consider himself a Mr. Mom?” As she rattled off the questions, Chloe seemed to gain some composure and her voice lost its little-girl breathiness. “This is great; it will give a really unique slant to my story.”
Juliet frowned and shook her head. “Honestly, I’m not sure why it’s always such a big deal when the father is the one to stay at home. It just made more sense for us to do it that way. I earn more money than Patrick did, and since I’m hoping to make partner at my law firm, it would have been a setback if I took a long maternity break.” She shrugged. “I’m sure Patrick will go back to work someday. We haven’t really talked about when that will be, though. Maybe once the girls are in school full-time. They go to preschool three mornings a week right now.”
“But is he happy staying at home?”
This was just the
“A what?” Juliet had no idea what Chloe was talking about. She thought again of the pile of depositions waiting for her back at the office and glanced at her watch.
“A mommy mentor,” Chloe repeated. “Someone who’s already been through it. You know, balancing work and family? Someone who could give me some advice and pointers along the way? I thought maybe, you know, you could…”
Juliet stared at Chloe for a moment. Is this chick for real? A mommy mentor?
Finally she cleared her throat and said, “My schedule is a bit full at the moment.”
Chloe blinked at her, and her mouth formed a round pink O. “Oh…I didn’t…I wouldn’t bug you or anything. I didn’t mean to make it sound like some huge, time-consuming thing.”
A little voice in Juliet’s head, one that sounded disturbingly like Grace, piped up. Be nice, Juliet. You’re terrorizing the poor pregnant woman.
“Well…what exactly would you want me to do? I’ve never heard of a—what did you call it?—a mommy mentor before,” Juliet said.
Chloe colored. “It’s just something stupid I made up,” she mumbled. “Forget it.”
“Okay,” Juliet said.
Juliet . It was Grace’s voice again, and it sounded disapproving.
Crap , Juliet thought. Go away, Grace.
“If you really want some advice, I could probably give you some pointers,” Juliet said, somewhat reluctantly.
Chloe perked up. “Really?”
“Sure, why not,” Juliet said, with a resigned shrug. “Although today’s not a great day for me—I’m under the gun at work.”
Chloe looked relieved. “No, I totally understand. Some other day, okay?”
“You’ve got a deal,” Juliet said.
Good girl , Grace’s voice said.
Thanks , Juliet thought dryly. Now get out of my head. You’re creeping me out.
“Shall we get started with the interview?” Chloe asked. She shuffled her papers. “First tell me a little about yourself.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, what do you do for a living? I know you’re an attorney, but what sort of law do you practice?”
“I’m a litigator. I’m an associate with a midsize firm that handles both plaintiff and defense work,” Juliet said.
“How long have you worked there?”
“Seven years. After law school I clerked for a judge on the federal court in Miami for two years. Once I finished my clerkship, I accepted a position with my firm.”
“Is your husband a lawyer too?”
“No, he was a firefighter—”
Chloe interrupted her. “Your husband’s a firefighter? That’s so exciting! Do you get nervous when he’s called in to a big fire?” she exclaimed breathlessly.
Juliet smiled, bemused. Firemen always seemed to have this effect on women.
“He doesn’t work anymore. He stays at home with our girls,” Juliet said.
“Really?” Despite the microphone that was recording the interview, Chloe was furiously scribbling notes on her pad. “That’s interesting. How does that work?”
“How does what work?”
“His staying home. Does he like it? Does he miss work? Is he planning on going back? Does he consider himself a Mr. Mom?” As she rattled off the questions, Chloe seemed to gain some composure and her voice lost its little-girl breathiness. “This is great; it will give a really unique slant to my story.”
Juliet frowned and shook her head. “Honestly, I’m not sure why it’s always such a big deal when the father is the one to stay at home. It just made more sense for us to do it that way. I earn more money than Patrick did, and since I’m hoping to make partner at my law firm, it would have been a setback if I took a long maternity break.” She shrugged. “I’m sure Patrick will go back to work someday. We haven’t really talked about when that will be, though. Maybe once the girls are in school full-time. They go to preschool three mornings a week right now.”
“But is he happy staying at home?”
This was just the
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