terrible,â said Juanita.
âIâd tell him exactly what he could do with it,â said Pam.
âWell, heâs not going to get it,â said Lee. âIâm going to make sure of that. Thatâs why I went with the Boston lawyer. He says he always goes right for the jugular!â
âAnd I bet he charges Boston prices, too,â said Rachel, who was standing next to Lucy.
âLike the hair-dye commercial says, âIâm worth it,ââ said Lee, defending her choice. âBesides, I have my girlsâ futures to think of, too.â
This was received with another murmur of approval, and Lee paused to take a bite of cake.
Rachel turned to Lucy. âSheâs making a big mistake,â she whispered. âA local lawyer like Bob would try to get them to reconcile, or at least work out an amicable agreement. That would be a lot better for the kids, believe me.â
Lucy nodded in agreement. She tended to think people were often too quick to opt for divorce and didnât consider the consequences, especially for the children. âI donât knowâeven if she gets everything she wants, she isnât going to be able to keep the same lifestyle. Whatever he makes, now itâs got to support two households instead of one.â
âThatâs right,â said Rachel. âExcept for a handful of very wealthy people, divorce is a one-way road to poverty.â
âYoo-hoo,â halloed Sue, sailing through the front door. âSorry Iâm lateâ¦â
âItâs about time you got here,â complained Lucy, who had been wondering if Sue had abandoned her.
âNice shirtâand so subtle, too,â joked Sue, blinking at Lucyâs bright Santa sweatshirt. âI would have been here hours ago except my battery died. So, howâs it going?â
âTouch and go,â said Lucy, with a little shrug. âNo fatalitiesâyet.â
âIâd say youâre doing great,â said Sue. Then, raising her voice, she announced, âNow, listen everybody. I know you canât wait to start grabbing cookies but I want you to meet someone. This is Tucker Whitney, my new assistant at the center.â
Tucker, Lucy saw, could be trouble. She was a strikingly attractive twentysomething. Tall and slender, she had long, naturally blond hair.
âHi, Tucker,â chorused the group, without much enthusiasm. Realizing she was no longer the center of attention, Lee decided to pour herself a second cup of coffee.
âHi, everybody,â said Tucker, smiling broadly. Although she was the youngest person there and didnât know most of the others, she was one of those rare people who are comfortable wherever they go.
She turned to Lucy and indicated the stack of platters and tins in her arms. âWhat should I do with these? I hope I made enough. Sue didnât tell me how many to bring so I have these twelve dozen but if you need more, Iâve got another six dozen in the car.â
âOh, my goodness. You didnât need to do all that,â said Lucy. âYou only needed to bring six dozen.â
âOh, well, you can keep the extras,â said Tucker. âSue told me youâve got four kids.â She looked around at the house, obviously impressed. âYouâre so lucky. Someday I want to have a big family and a house just like this.â
Lucy started to protest politely, but changed her mind. âYouâre right. I am lucky. Thanks for reminding me. Sometimes I take too much for granted.â
âDonât we all,â said Tucker. âNow, I hope everyone likes these cookies. Itâs a new recipe I got from a magazine, and it sounded too good to be true. Theyâre supposed to be low in fat and sugarâ¦â
âThat canât be!â exclaimed Lee, glaring at Tucker from the other side of the table.
âWell, thatâs what it said,â insisted