“Wow, that should’ve come in handy.”

“It’ll be gone before Christmas at the rate I’m spending it.”

“So—do you have any entrepreneurial ideas?”

“A few.”

“Tell me.”

Why she have to put me on the spot like this? Shit. I don’t know, but I hear myself say, “I wouldn’t mind starting my own catering business, ’cause I’m a good cook and I know all kinds of rich people from the routes my carriers deliver to, and a lot of ’em been knowing me for years, when I used to do the same routes. That would be one.”

“Do you know much about this business?”

“I could learn. My sister does something like this out in California.”

“Perhaps you could ask her for advice?”

“No. I wouldn’t wanna do that.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t wanna get into that right now.”

“Okay. Any other ideas?”

“I can sew. I was thinking of maybe doing some upholstering or making drapes, or maybe learning how to do interior decorating, or refinishing furniture, I don’t know.”

“These all sound like great ideas. And fun, creative things to do. A lot of successful people in these areas.”

“Yeah, I just want one that’s gon’ be the most profitable.”

She looks up at me like I just said the wrong thing. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says. “Money is really important to you, then?”

“Ain’t it to you?”

“Yes. But I’m more curious as to how vital it is. I mean, would you choose to do something you didn’t feel passionate about because it made you more money, versus something you felt passionate about that didn’t make quite as much?”

“I can learn to like a lotta things. I been at the post office for eighteen years and it’s just starting to get on my nerves. I just need a bigger payoff.”

“Okay,” she says, in a sing-song voice.

She’s getting on my nerves. We ain’t solved nothing in all this time, and I thought I’d be able to walk outta here with some solutions. “What about my husband? What should I do about him?”

“Oh, Charlotte. I can’t answer a question like that for you.”

“Why not?”

“First of all, I don’t tell my patients what to do, I try to ask questions so that you discover the best way to resolve a situation, and sometimes that requires more than one session. I mean, you have a history with this man. There are so many issues that come into play, and we haven’t even begun to discuss them yet. Would you like to start there next time?”

“I guess so. But just tell me. Based on what you do know, do you or do you not think I should divorce him?”

She picks up her yellow pencil and then puts it back down, real slow. “I can’t answer that question, Charlotte, and it would be totally unprofessional for me to even try. Let’s talk about this further next time. When can you come back to see me?”