Page 32 of Dreaming of You

"It all comes down to money and possessions," she said with a sigh.

"Not just material things," he argued. "There's also pride and self-respect, mutual understanding, finding a way to keep a family working together in a divorced world."

She was surprised by his passionate, somewhat emotional words. It really wasn't just about money for him. He cared about his work, about the people he served. "All that is important," she conceded. "Although, I think the kids suffer no matter what."

"I can't stop that. But I can try to ease the pain."

"If the parties are willing to compromise. The couple outside your office tonight didn't seem able to do anything but argue. Do they have children?"

"A fifteen-year-old daughter. I'm trying to get them to put her first, but they're caught up in anger and bitterness. Hopefully, that will start to fade at some point."

"I doubt that will happen any time soon." She paused, as the waiter opened a bottle of wine and poured a sample taste.

"You go ahead," Barrett told her.

"I'm sure you're more of a wine connoisseur than I am."

"I trust your judgment."

"Okay." She tasted the wine and nodded to the waiter. "It's lovely."

The waiter poured them two glasses and then left them alone.

"What happened in your marriage?" she asked, not sure Barrett would answer. "If you don’t mind me asking."

He hesitated, then shrugged. "It's not a secret. Vanessa wanted the big wedding, but once all the hoopla was over, she didn't know what to do with herself. She also apparently didn't realize that while I was part of the Fox family, I wasn't interested in living their life. I didn't care about the country club, the golf games or tennis matches. I didn't want to go to social events every weekend. I didn't want every conversation to be about who was cheating on who or who had the most money."

"And you didn't realize that's what she wanted before you got married? Was she the only one who made incorrect assumptions?"

He tipped his head at her point. "No, of course not. We both saw what we wanted to see, and we didn't ask too many questions or look past the wedding."

"Did Vanessa work?"

"Yes. She worked for an interior designer, who handled a lot of rich and celebrity clients. The job put her in the world she wanted to be in, but also again required me to be in that world with her."

"Why didn't you want to be a part of it?" she asked curiously. "You grew up in that environment. And there are a lot of perks. I'm not going to feel sorry for you because you had to play tennis at the country club."

He smiled. "Fair enough. And you shouldn't feel sorry for me. I was fortunate to have everything I needed. But life isn't just about material things. It took me awhile to realize that."

"How long were you together before you got married?"

"About a year and a half."

"That's not very long."

"I wasn't thinking straight."

"She was that pretty?"

"She was—is—quite beautiful," he admitted. "But the pretty was only on the outside. Once we started planning our wedding, I began to see another side to her. She would have meltdowns over menu choices and flower arrangements. Nothing was good enough or special enough or unique enough. She was obsessed. She lived and breathed the wedding plans. And her planner cheered her on at every turn. It was more, more, more."

"The wedding planner was trying to give her what she wanted."

"But not what I wanted."

"Did you tell anyone what you wanted?" she challenged. "Communication is a two-way street. I always talk to the grooms, and I make a point of speaking to them when their brides are not around, so that I can make sure the day works for them, too. However, most men tend to leave the decisions up to the woman. Sometimes you get what you get because you don't speak up."

"I should have spoken up more," he conceded.

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