She reached for the cigarettes again and giggled. “I smoke too much when I’m nervous. I was young and didn’t want to be tied down. I’ve grown up now and made a few changes in my life.”

“Why would you be nervous?” he asked.

“God, Graham . . .” she fumed.

“No, just plain old Graham Harrison. I might have Daddy’s office now, but I don’t claim being a god,” he said.

“You might as well be one the way you’re sittin’ there all pompous, looking down on me.” She got up and paced from one end of the room to the other. She looked a little taller than he remembered in those high-heeled shoes.

“That’s you and your guilt, not me,” he shot back.

“What do you want? For me to apologize, cry, and say that leaving was a big mistake?” Rita rounded the end of the desk and kicked off her shoes.

“No, I just want you to do what you’ve been doing. Choices have consequences, Rita. You chose to leave and not look back. Now you have to live with that decision. Like my grandpa used to say, ‘Sometimes it’s too late to do what you should’ve been doin’ all along.’ Anything else you want to talk about?” Graham asked.

“I hated being a wife and a mother, but most of all I hated being a daughter-in-law, but now we don’t have to worry about that, do we, darlin’?” Using her foot, she pushed his chair back enough so that she could hop up on the desk right in front of him. She leaned forward, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him.

He didn’t feel anything except the need to brush his teeth. It was like licking the bottom of an ashtray, and was that whiskey he tasted on her breath?

“Your old daddy looked at me like I was trash, but honey, we can start all over now and be a family. The girls are at an age when they need a mother,” she whispered seductively.

He pushed the chair back and stood up. “The girls have always needed a mother.”

“Then let’s put the past behind us and concentrate on the future. After the girls come with me to the wedding, I’ll file for divorce,” she said.

“Whoa!” He held up both palms. “There is no future for us, Rita. I don’t make the same mistakes twice. And I won’t ever hear you put down my folks again. They were there when you weren’t.”