All the Right Mistakes

by Laura Jamison

  CARMEN

  “We need to cut her off once and for all,” said Carmen sharply to Elizabeth. “A group of five has always been too many anyway. We should have done this years ago.”

  “I kind of feel the same way,” said Elizabeth, “but part of me thinks it might be better to take the high road. Don’t you think?”

  “Really, like I did with Mark? Look where that got me. At least I’m finally ready to move on.”

  “Of course you are!” replied Elizabeth kindly. “That asshole didn’t deserve you. Not for a second.”

  “I appreciate that, but I don’t want to be angry with him. I just want my fair share of the money, and I want to start a new life. But this isn’t about me—it’s about her.”

  “Carmen, I think we need to move on. It doesn’t matter what she thinks. It actually doesn’t matter what any of us think. Your own opinion about your life is the only one that matters, right?”

  “But Elizabeth, she exposed you at work.”

  “Yes, that was bad, but it’s also fixable. It’s not enough to ruin a lifelong friendship over.”

  “You always take her side, you know. You two stick together every time,” Carmen accused.

  “Okay, that’s not fair, and you know it.”

  “Maybe not,” Carmen conceded. “Look, I get what you’re saying about the high road, but you were always too much of an apologist for her Elizabeth. On Friday we need to have a serious group discussion about how we’re going to handle this situation.”

  “All right, I’ll play.” Elizabeth sighed. “But let’s be reasonable. How would she feel if she knew we were all getting together and talking about her behind her back?”

  Carmen laughed incredulously. “You’re kidding, right?”

  MARTHA

  Heather was dead to her. Period.

  But Martha still had the rest of her friends. And she was going to hold on tight because Milwaukee was going to be her home. She had decided that she wanted to live in Whitefish Bay near Elizabeth and send her boys to the public schools there; Robert owed her that at least. She had called Sara on the off chance that she might want to go see some available houses.

  The whole situation with Heather made Martha want to improve her relationship with Sara and Elizabeth, too, and now she had the time to do it. Sara almost always said no to requests for get-togethers due to her distance and never-ending to-do list, but this time Martha was pleasantly surprised because she had said yes—and on a Thursday to boot! Martha had arranged to pick her up at the train station downtown.

  Sara was one of the first passengers off the train. She gave Martha a big hug.

  “A day off! I really needed this—thanks so much for calling! My life is crazy, and I really could use a friend to talk to.” But then Sara paused and looked stricken. “Shit. I’m sorry. You probably don’t need to hear about my problems after what you went through. How are you feeling?”

  “Actually, I feel really good for the first time in a long time,” replied Martha with a smile. “But let’s not talk about me. Please. That would be so nice. Let’s spend the whole day on Sara and houses.”

  “Okay, you asked for it.” And with that, Sara grabbed Martha’s hand and pulled her out the terminal door.

  SARA

  They were on their third house on Lake Drive when Sara decided to tell Martha everything. Scott’s job elimination. Her job offer. The money.

  Sara knew Martha was exceedingly uncomfortable talking about money, but she also knew Martha was really her only choice. Carmen and Elizabeth would tell her to stay put in her current job and then try to offer her a loan or some other financial help while Scott got back on his feet. That was not what she wanted. She owed it to herself and her family to weigh the pros and cons of the COO’s offer. She needed to talk it out with someone who would give it to her straight and help her arrive at the right decision. And whatever she and Scott did, she didn’t want it to involve taking financial assistance from her friends. Martha’s WASPy upbringing would never allow her to loan money to friends. So Martha it was.

  They were inspecting a beautiful home done in an Italian Renaissance style while the realtor waited downstairs.

  “Martha, something happened at work,” Sara began casually.

  “Oh, yeah, what’s that?” said Martha distractedly as she systematically inspected the large master bathroom, turning on the water and peeking under the sink.

  “I got a job offer,” replied Sara.

  Martha straightened up immediately and turned to Sara. “Wait, I thought your general counsel plans to be there at least five more years.”

  “He does. The offer isn’t really for a legal job. Remember that budgeting project I told you about? Well, it actually went pretty well. I think the COO was really surprised at what I came up with. Anyway, he wants to promote me to VP and have me basically implement a bunch of my ideas.”

  “So you wouldn’t be practicing law then?” Martha pressed as they walked out of the bathroom into the master bedroom. Martha paused to run her hand along the beautifully carved bannister that ran along the upstairs hall.

  “Well, technically no. But I would be making twice my salary.”

  “Yes, but won’t that take you off the track to be a general counsel someday?” Martha asked as she opened the closet door in the master suite to peek inside.

  “I don’t know, maybe. I guess it might. But maybe it’s a plus?” Sara knew she wasn’t selling Martha on the idea. She wasn’t even selling herself.

  “Well, I don’t think you should ever take a new job just because it pays more.”

  An awkward silence passed as the pair walked out of the master bedroom and toward the rest of the rooms on the second floor.

  “What if your husband just got laid off?” said Sara quietly. “Would that fact change your mind?”

  Martha stopped and turned to face Sara. “What? When did that happen?”

  “It literally just happened. Nobody knows, and I’m still processing it. I really thought his job was rock solid. They gave him severance through the end of the year, so we aren’t in trouble yet. But we will be soon if he can’t find something else quickly.”

  “Scott will land somewhere,” Martha assured her. “Everyone in his industry must know he’s terrific.”

  “I don’t think so, Martha. He told me he’s thinking about his options, but he said that a bunch of companies have outsourced the bulk of their IT to India or wherever. Nobody’s hiring, no matter how good you are. There are just too many people out there looking at the same jobs. Scott might be out of luck. He’s talking about getting a temporary job until he finds something permanent, but it wouldn’t be stable. Our family can’t handle that. We kind of live paycheck to paycheck as it is.”

  “You do not,” chided Martha. “Please don’t tell me an attorney and an IT professional can’t make ends meet.”

  “Of course we can, I mean, at a really baseline level. And look, I know we are blessed compared to what others have. We are not going to starve, obviously. But you know what I mean. We’re on track for retirement and college and everything. But what’s left after the mortgage, the savings, and all the kid expenses is really pitiful. We have to think long and hard about even a long weekend trip.”

  “My dear, you did choose to have four children,” Martha reminded her in her best physician’s tone.

  “I get that. But I never thought it would be like this. I’m an attorney. Money is not supposed to be my problem.”

  “It won’t be if you take the new job, right?”

  “It’s definitely much more than Scott and I made together.”

  “Well, sounds like you know what you want to do. So go do it.”

  “I want that kind of high-level work and authority, and everything that goes along with it, but there is a big downside. Apparently I have to do some significant travel to India and maybe other places too.”

  “I agree, that’s a big downside. India’s beautiful, but you have a baby
at home. Do you really think Scott can handle that? There is always another way. I’m sure you can find things to cut.”

  “Well, I think Scott will have a decent amount of time on his hands for the foreseeable future, so yes, he can do it. And I don’t want to downsize or move to a bigger house in a crappy school district. We had the kids, and we owe them the best shot we can give.”

  “All right. But I hope you are considering that it will make it tough for him to look for work when he has four kids on his hands. And what about you? Can you stand not being the one to take your baby to the pediatrician? Or be there for the band concert? Or watch the big game?”

  “I don’t know,” said Sara quietly. “I guess we are going to find out. I made a dinner reservation to talk to Scott tonight.”

  The girls’ phones buzzed simultaneously. They had a group text from Carmen: Get a babysitter for Friday night. We are going out.

  “She is really pissed about the book,” Sara said with a laugh. “She’s kind of being a drama queen. It wasn’t all that bad.”

  “What planet are you on?” Martha snapped back, surprising Sara. “You get that she was working on the promotional plan for her book when she skipped Lucy’s funeral, right?”

  “Oh, I guess I hadn’t thought about that,” said Sara quietly. “I’m sorry. Martha, she’s our oldest friend. I get that she went all mean girl on us, but I think we need to find a way to forgive her, right?”

  “Yeah, no, we really don’t, and I can’t believe you think so.”

  “I’m so sorry . . .” replied Sara, surprised by Martha’s anger.

  “We are done talking about this,” said Martha coldly. “Anyway, save it for Friday, like Carmen said.”

  Sara knew better than to say any more. Maybe they could vent on Friday and move on. They had to figure this out. They had been friends too long to just call it quits.

  Anyway, Heather was not her top priority now. She had to settle things with Scott.

  She headed back home to get ready for her dinner date with Scott. She went to the effort of dressing up for the occasion, and Scott reciprocated. Just a few hours later, they were seated at a quiet corner table, Sara in her favorite little black dress and Scott in his sport coat and bow tie.

  Sara had picked a neighborhood spot known for its intimate and quiet ambiance.

  Sara and Scott spent the first couple of courses talking about anything other than work. Sara knew that they had to start the probable fight, but she didn’t want to ruin the evening. But there was a job to do, as there always was for them.

  Sara launched the first missile.

  “Scott, I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and I think I should take it.”

  Scott looked up from his entrée and took a deep breath, looking sad and already a bit defeated. “Okay, but what about the travel?”

  “I know, the travel will be hard, but I thought maybe you could pick up more at home since you have more time now.”

  A beat of silence passed between them.

  Scott shifted uncomfortably in his seat and responded, “I don’t think now’s the time to worry about the house and kid stuff. Let’s figure out our job situation and work from there.”

  “But the house and kid stuff is part of the job situation!” Sara argued, a little too stridently.

  “Sara, I don’t agree, but I don’t think we need to go down that road tonight. Let’s be practical. For now, I agree you should take the new job. But I’m not just walking away from the work world after what happened. This will be a temporary thing.”

  “Oh, I understand that, honey. I just thought that maybe you could do more stuff at home now when I’m ramping up in the new job, and then we could hire help when you go back full-time.”

  “Sara, lay off. Please. The stuff that needs to get done will get done, even if you get busier. And, for the record, I’m not exactly a slouch now. I’m already doing a lot. At least fifty percent.”

  “Scott, honey, you are not even within spitting distance of fifty percent.”

  “And here we go again.”

  “Scott, if me taking this job is going to work, you have to understand the kind of things that quietly happen every day that you give me absolutely no credit for.”

  “Like vacuuming when the floor is not dirty? Or folding the socks in pairs, just because that’s the way you like it? Or going to two grocery stores because you have to have particular brands that taste the same as the other ones? Or, my favorite, throwing away my important shit because it looks ugly sitting on the table? Yeah, I’m not counting any of that toward your percentage. And if you want me to take over a bunch of stuff, we are doing it my way.”

  Sara was quiet. The truth was she wanted to do a lot of the stuff herself, especially the kid-related things, and do it her way. But she wasn’t going to have time for a while. And she wasn’t sure Scott would find another job anytime soon, so he might be in charge at home for a while, and that was something she didn’t want to say out loud. His ego was bruised enough as it was. So instead she said, “Of course, I am totally fine with that.”

  “Sure you are,” said Scott, still a little testy.

  “Let’s not fight, please,” Sara pleaded. “You’re right. This will be temporary, so it’s not worth making a big deal over. However you want to get things done in the next few months while I’m figuring out my new job will be fine by me. But can I at least make a list with all the things that I usually do? And maybe some notes on process?”

  “Uh-huh,” said Scott with clear annoyance.

  “Awesome! I’ll make a spreadsheet in Google Drive with the to-dos, and you can just make a note of whether you are doing it and when it’s done or whatever. And I’ll do the same for the things I do.”

  “So I’m like your employee then?”

  “No, this will just be a tool to help us keep on track.”

  Scott exhaled deeply and said, “Fine, let’s give it a try. But Sara, you are treading on thin ice.”

  Sara ignored that and continued, “Great! Because if I take the job, the COO wants me to go to India in December. I’ll get the sheet started right away.”

  HEATHER

  From Heather Hall’s Twitter

  Heather Hall @therealheatherhall · September 5

  Register your book club at FLASH.com and receive a free Four BIG Mistakes Conversation Guide #Makeplansnotmistakes

  ELIZABETH

  I really need to do something about my karma, thought Elizabeth. In addition to having to deal with the whole “I’m not pregnant” fiasco, she was now stuck in her first-Friday-of-the-month general partner meeting. Today, they were discussing compensation practices. Being a partner wasn’t as fun as she had imagined. What was the old law school saying? Oh yes, law school is a pie-eating contest, and the prize for winning is pie.

  The group was seated around a pristine oval conference table in the new client center on the top floor.

  The first item on the agenda was whether they would raise first year salaries another 10K to match New York. Everyone liked this idea because they fancied their firm as a national competitor to the big Manhattan firms. In the end, though, their fundamental midwestern thriftiness won out, and they decided not to match. Blake is not going to be happy about that one, Elizabeth thought with some satisfaction.

  They ran through the rest of the agenda fairly quickly. As Elizabeth left the conference room, Joe pulled her aside.

  “Hey, Elizabeth, do you have a second? Just wanted to give you a heads-up. The management committee has made its decision about department chair. Look, I’m sorry. They went with Kenny. Grey just loves him. We will find something else for you.”

  Elizabeth couldn’t find the words. Fucking Facebook. Fucking Heather. The wrong little bit of information at the wrong time. Kenny hadn’t lied about her, had he? He had repeated what was basically a public fact, at least for the day he needed to inflict a fatal blow to Elizabeth.

  And she was extremely disappointed in Joe and
the Old Man. Why hadn’t they gone to bat for her?

  She was trying to take the high road, she was. But now Heather had caused her to get screwed at work. And, if she were being completely honest with herself, she couldn’t put Heather’s cruel words about Mistake Number Four out of her mind:

  So you haven’t opted out. You haven’t ramped off. You have given it your all at work and effectively managed life’s hiccups. Good for you! But, perhaps, in all your effort, you are making the last of the big mistakes. Like my friend “E,” you might have ignored or conveniently “forgotten” about the fertility cliff at age thirty-five.

  That’s right, ladies. Thirty-five.

  I know you had to get through school and get established. And find a man (or a partner).

  And perform at work. Look, I know that it’s tough because our peak fertility years correspond with the same time many of us are up for promotion.

  Too bad.

  The bottom line is that the work world is never going to change. It’s up to us to change. To take charge of our fertility and not make Mistake #4. I want you to sit down and make a business plan. Yes, right NOW, before it’s too late. Calculate how many children you want, and work backwards.

  Tick tock, ladies.

  Never forget—fortunes get spent and buildings crumble, but DNA is FOREVER.

  Elizabeth needed to talk to Carmen and tell her what had happened. And admit that Carmen might have been right. The high road wasn’t too effective. And there should be consequences for Heather.

  She pulled out her cell and started dialing.

  CARMEN

  “How’s the high road treating you?” Carmen asked as she answered her cell.

  “Shit, actually,” replied Elizabeth, before proceeding to tell Carmen what had happened at work.

  “So you’ll be on my side tonight then,” said Carmen. “Good. That should make it unanimous.”