Vince patted his laptop. “I have that information in a file.”
Julie put her arm in his. “We’ve only been here half a day, and already I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Ms. Patrick joined us. “That went nicely,” she said. “I’m glad you were all able to be here.”
“Yes ma’am,” I replied.
On the return trip to the office, Julie talked nonstop from the backseat while Vince and I sat in silence. She repeated several stories told by the lawyers at her table.
“Did you hear anything interesting?” she asked as we pulled into the firm parking lot.
“Just a few comments from Mr. Braddock about the project I’m working on,” Vince said. “Nothing that would interest you.”
“Tami?” Julie asked.
“Mr. Appleby wanted to talk about homeschool education,” I said as Vince parked the car.
“Yeah, it took courage to mention that,” Julie said. “It was way outside the box. What was his reaction?”
“Positive. His family had a private tutor when he lived in Africa as a boy.”
“Cool.”
Julie got out of the car and walked rapidly toward the office. Vince lagged behind, and out of courtesy I stayed with him.
“Did you have offers from other law firms?” he asked as we walked across the parking lot.
“No, I was surprised when I got the letter from Mr. Carpenter.”
“What were you going to do?”
“Work as an eviscerator in a chicken plant.”
“Cutting open the chickens?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“The Latin root of the word.”
I laughed. “Do you type in Latin?”
Vince smiled slightly. “No, but I’d like to learn more about homeschooling from someone who went through it and became academically successful.”
“Why?”
We reached the front of the office. He opened the door for me.
“I like to learn, especially from a person with strong convictions. Maybe we could go to lunch?”
“I’m sure they will have other events on the schedule.”
We reached the hallway. Vince turned toward Mr. Braddock’s office suite.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said.
“You’re welcome.”
I stopped by Mr. Carpenter’s office. His secretary had made copies of the documents in the Folsom divorce file. Even at this early stage of the proceedings, it was thick enough to require a large, expandable folder. Carrying it with both hands, I returned to the library. Julie glanced up when I entered.
“Did Vince ask you out?” she asked.
13
I GAVE HER A STARTLED LOOK.
“Don’t act so innocent,” she responded. “Anyone with half a brain could tell he was interested in you.”
“How?”
“Did he ask you out?” she repeated.
“He mentioned lunch, but I didn’t commit.”
“Yeah.” Julie nodded with satisfaction. “He’s nerdy but nice, and tall enough for you. The chemistry is explosive when two loners get together. I wondered about the scar on his hand. Do you think his whole body is scarred? Usually something like that is the result of a childhood burn. It may explain why he didn’t play any sports.”
“I’ll let you ask him personal questions.”
“Oh, he’ll tell you when he’s ready. Guys like him are waiting for a sympathetic ear to pour out their innermost thoughts and feelings.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Julie sniffed. “My family spends a lot of time psychoanalyzing our relatives and friends. All the best psychiatrists are Jewish. It’s part of our cultural DNA. Some study Freud and get a fancy diploma and charge hundreds of dollars an hour for what the rest of us do for free.”
“Then why aren’t you in medical school?”
“Organic chemistry, and I’m more of a talker than a listener. At least once a week, I want you to tell me to shut up.”
“I don’t tell people to shut up.”
“You will if you want to help me become a better person. Plus, I’m bound to get on your nerves. We’ll both need to regularly vent and clear the air.” Julie pointed at the folder in my hand. “That looks heavy. Drop it on the table and let’s see what’s going on in the dirty corners of the Folsom household.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon dividing our time between Julie’s project and mine. The selfishness and sin that had brought the Folsom family to the place of breakup was depressing. I focused on the financial data. Julie read the file like it was a cheap romance novel.
“I can’t believe what he did to her ownership in this company,” I said as I reviewed the minutes from a corporate meeting. “He bought back her shares at a fraction of their fair market value.”