“Oh, I have one. Well, a pencil.” Hannah says, which alerts Caroline to the fact that she spoke the words aloud.

Hannah opens her purse and passes Caroline a pencil, also pulling out a notebook and takes a piece of paper out. Caroline raises her eyebrows and accepts the offer. Expedient service. “Thanks.”

Hannah slowly slides her purse down to the floor as she nods, looking like she’s taken this time to gather courage to answer her questions. “We’ve been separated since last year. At the –” she sets her jaw, the edge of it hard. “When I caught him sleeping with Mindy. That’s mostly the cause.” Her words are thoughtful, before she lets out a deep breath and her shoulders slump forward. “I’ve been unhappy for… a long time.”

She says it in a whisper, an anguished secret clawing its way out of her throat. And Caroline watches closely. This is her job. She’s seen this – and worse – a hundred times over, and she knows how to spot any sort of bullshit.

And Hannah isn’t bullshitting. The raw sadness in her eyes hurts and she can feel the sympathy well up in her own chest. She’s never done well seeing a woman in distress.

Still, Hannah sits upright in her chair, a determined look sliding across her face that Caroline finds herself enjoying.

“If you’ve been separated for a year, why haven’t you filed already?” Once again, she probably knows. But she needs the concrete answer.

Hannah’s eyes hold hers, a little crinkle between her brows as it seems like she battles with herself what to say. Before the words pour out moments later, as if the truth wins out over any debate over how to color her response.

“Because he’s fought me every step of the way. About moving out, about working, about Abbie. And he’s made threats about custody and – he’ll win.” The fear in her tone, in her eyes, is so palpable, Caroline can feel her own stomach clench with it. “Because he is a great lawyer and he’s friends with all of these other big lawyers. I’ve been so stuck, because I don’t have that kind of money or the connections and I just – I want to be done with this. Legally.” She places her palms on the table, leaning forward, as if laying all her cards on the table. “I need a lawyer and I know Michael wouldn’t have had nearly as much contempt for you if you weren’t as good as he is.”

“Better,” she corrects, a sly smile sliding over her face. She doesn’t hate where this is going, and she doesn’t have to be buttered up, but, well, she isn’t going to turn it down. “You aren’t wrong. So, it was just super fortunate that I came into your café and reminded you?”