The Divorce Papers: A Novel by Susan Rieger Read Free Book Online

what you want out of this
    533  divorce?
    534  A. I will need support for a while, but I don’t want to take
    535  him to the cleaners. I don’t have bag-lady fears, at least not
    536  acute ones. After all, I’ve got the Bruce Meiklejohn safety
    537  net. My wishes are personal, not financial. I want to come
    538  out of this with my ego intact. And I’d like it if Daniel’s took
    539  a beating. I don’t want anything really bad to happen to
    540  him. No fatal diseases, no malpractice cases, no accusations
    541  of scientific fraud. He is, after all, my daughter’s father. But
    542  I don’t want anything good to ever happen to him either.
    543  I want nothing to happen to him. I want him to die of
    544  disappointment, after a long, lonely, cheerless life that ends
    545  with bedsores and tubes up the nose, in a nursing home.
    546  Q. You have thought about it. Your husband seems to want
    547  to move quickly. Will you be able to do that?
    548  A. I don’t know. He’s got a mean temper. He blows up easily
    549  and horribly if he feels thwarted in any way. He thinks he’s
    550  always right, and when people disagree with him, he invariably
    551  regards them as stupid or envious or malignant. He was
    552  arrogant when I met him, but tolerably so; then, it seemed to
    553  me he just knew how good he was. Now, he’s too important to
    554  take out the garbage, or telephone when he’s going to be late,
    555  or remember my birthday. I think the Freeman Prize did it.
    556  He was the youngest recipient ever. That’s a long answer. I just
    557  don’t know how awful he’ll be. Of course, I can be awful back.
    558  I’ve learned how to do that. God, I hope Jane survives us.
    559  Q. Do you have any questions for me?
    560  A. Could you tell me about Narragansett divorce law?
    561  What next?
    562  Q. Let’s fill out the Divorce Work Sheet: Summary
    563  Biographies. Then I’ll tell you what I know about the law and
    564  show you a copy of our retainer agreement. I’ll also set up an
    565  appointment right now for next week for you to meet with
    566  Fiona McGregor.
    567  A. I was dreading this unnecessarily. Thank you. Thank
    568  you so much. Is it really true you’ve never done this before?
    569  You’re a natural.
    570  [Note to Hannah: I set up an appointment with Fiona for
    571  Tuesday, March 23, at 10 a.m.]
    572  [End of Transcript]

TRAYNOR, HAND, WYZANSKI
    222 CHURCH STREET
    NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555
    (393) 876-5678
    Divorce Work Sheet: Summary Biography
    Attorney Work Product
From:
Sophie Diehl
To:
Files
RE:
Matter of Durkheim
Date:
March 17, 1999
    Maria Meiklejohn Durkheim: Wife
    Date of Birth:
    July 14, 1957, Age 41
    Marriages and Divorces:
    Daniel Durkheim, married June 21, 1982
    Children:
    Jane Mather Durkheim, born April 23, 1988
    Education:
B.A.
University of Chicago 1979
M.Phil.
Mather University 1995
Ph.D.
Mather University, expected 2001
    Employment History:
    Femina
Magazine
     Assistant to the Features Editor, June 1979 to June 1981
$ 19,000
     Assistant Features Editor, July 1981 to July 1983
$ 28,000
     Features Editor, July 1983 to October 1988
$ 42,000
    Monk’s House (Publishing Company)
     Editor, Nonfiction, October 1988 to July 1991
$ 47,000
     Freelance Editor, August 1991 to August 1992
$ 23,000
    Mather University
     Teaching Assistant in English, August 1993 to August 1995
$ 4,000
     Writing Tutor, English Instructor, August 1995 to present
$ 14,000

TRAYNOR, HAND, WYZANSKI
    222 CHURCH STREET
    NEW SALEM, NARRAGANSETT 06555
    (393) 876-5678
    Divorce Work Sheet: Summary Biography
    Attorney Work Product
From:
Sophie Diehl
To:
Files
RE:
Matter of Durkheim
Date:
March 17, 1999
    Daniel Edward Durkheim: Husband
    Date of Birth:
    March 14, 1947, Age 52
    Marriages and Divorces:
    Helen Maxwell Fincher, married December 7, 1974, divorced June 7, 1982
    Maria