The feminist in Imani woke up at the statement. She wanted to demand that her patient keep her career and force her husband to take on more. But she stopped herself. Her role wasn’t to tell a fellow female how unfair it was that she felt the need to choose between work and family. “Well, what would that look like?” she asked. “Would you be happier?”

Would she be happier? Imani wondered. If she and Philip stopped struggling so hard to hold on to their home and their careers, if they both settled for smaller lives in less expensive hamlets somewhere that didn’t require taking on renters, would that make them happy? Would it solidify their relationship or add more strain?

“So, no, I wouldn’t be happier.”

Imani realized she hadn’t heard her patient’s prior answer. “Well, something has to give,” she said. “So, let’s consider what that could be.”

*  *  *

By the time Imani had finished her counseling session, neither she nor her client were any closer to determining what they should relinquish. But Imani knew the next task on her agenda. Call Melissa’s lawyer.

She scrolled through her photos to the picture of the TKM Advisors letterhead that she’d taken in Melissa’s apartment. Carefully, she input the number into her phone and placed the call. The woman who answered offered a dry, “Taft, Kelner, and Moore” without inquiring how the firm might be of service, implying that they might not want to be. TKM, apparently, did not beg business from cold calls.

Imani recited the introduction that she’d invented the prior night while staring at the ceiling, mind racing with concerns about her new rental arrangement. “Yes. I’m a friend of Melissa Walker. I’m caring for her daughter, Ava, and am hoping to get in touch with the person who might have been representing her and her husband’s affairs.”

The secretary told her to hold. As she listened to a tinny classical song on the line, Imani remembered a conversation she’d had with Melissa at a restaurant playing similar Muzak. They’d been sharing oysters on a sunny summer day. Imani had ducked out between clients to see Melissa on the way back from an audition. As usual, Philip had been at the restaurant, and Nate was off somewhere, no doubt hustling to get some project made. Imani had been complaining about a client leaving her husband.

“She says the spark is gone,” Imani had said.

“She means the lust is gone,” Melissa quipped. “And that’s not love.”

“Well, it’s part of it,” Imani countered. “Love is initial attraction plus shared experiences multiplied by time.”

“You’ve broken it down to a mathematical equation, huh?”