Page 87 of The Holy Grail
Amused at the overplay, Jules told Monroe, “It’s not as glamorous as being a lawyer—” she broke off as Malcom gave a quick snort, then quickly camouflaged it by clearing his throat, “—but I do love it.”
“What do you love about it?” Monroe asked, as Yvonne returned with his new drink.
“Numbers don’t lie. They’re black and white—or rather, black and red—and finding that sweet spot for a business, where costs are minimized and profits maximized for a healthy margin never gets old. I’ve brought more than one small business back from the brink, and it’s ... exhilarating.”
“It certainly sounds rewarding,” Beverly said.
“It is, and I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else. My dad always told me if I loved my job, I’d never work a day in my life, and he was right. It’s important to love your job, because if you don’t, you won’t find fulfillment.”
Monroe looked at Jules over his glass. “What does your dad do for a living?”
“He was a mechanic. He retired last year and now spends his time restoring classic cars.”
“And your mother?”
“She’s a retired school teacher.”
Jules could tell Monroe was less than impressed with those resumes, when he said, “Both admirable professions,” while trying to sound magnanimous, but mainly coming off as condescending.
As the dinner progressed to the next course, he began asking more personal questions. Some of them, which bordered ontoopersonal, might have made the average person shy away or get offended, but Jules took them in stride, answering them with blunt-force honesty.
“So, you’ve never been married?” Monroe asked.
“No.”
“That’s a bit unusual. You’re what? Thirty-five? Thirty-six years old?”
“I just turned thirty-seven. And I don’t know if it’s unusual or not to be unmarried at this age. I only know I’m not … and I’m fine with that.”
It was obvious Monroe didn’t know what to do with her response, and there was a pause before he asked, “You don’t want to be married?”
“I didn’t say that. I said I was fine with currently not being married, since being married has never been a life goal for me, in and of itself.”
“But marriage brings stability and—”
“Not according to the national divorce rate.”
“The national divorce rate is likely high due to people not taking their vows seriously and putting in the effort to keep their marriage intact,” Monroe said, with a quick glance in Malcom’s direction.
“Not every marriage is worth saving,” she countered, finding Monroe’s attitude quite hypocritical, given he was twice divorced; self-awareness was obviously not one of his stronger qualities.
Monroe decided to shift gears a little. “Are your parents still married?”
“Yes. Forty-five happy years and counting.”
“I’m surprised you don’t want that for yourself.”
Jules’ response was delayed for a moment as she watched Monroe hold his empty glass out to Yvonne again, who came over and took it. Before going into the kitchen, however, she looked at Beverly, who gave a subtle head shake, which Jules took to mean Monroe was to be cut off. “My parents have an amazing marriage, but what works for them probably wouldn’t work for me, so no, I don’t want that for myself.”
“So, you have no plans to get married and settle down,” Monroe mused with obvious disapproval, sending another quick glance at Malcom, as if to say,Why are you even wasting your time with this woman?“Does that mean you’re not planning on having any children?”
Jules took a bite of her perfectly cooked salmon before answering. “Well, as you know, marriage isn’t a requirement for having children anymore,” she told him, noting he’d all but abandoned his own dinner, which was a shame since it was delicious. “But that being said, no, children are not in my plans.”
“How can you be so sure? You’re still relatively young.”
The ‘relatively’ was likely meant to annoy her, but it bounced right off. “Thank you, but at thirty-seven, I don’t see myself wanting to have children the older I get.”
Monroe frowned. “How do your parents feel about that?”
