Childless: A Novel by James Dobson, Kurt Bruner Page B

just got a bit tongue-tied around me. ‘Smitten beyond words,’ he used to say. I thought it was sweet.”
    “That’s what I mean. He uses words like smitten . Who says things like that? I bet he still calls you my lady .”
    “Not anymore. I insisted he cut the noble-gentleman shtick.”
    “Good.”
    A brief silence passed between them.
    “I remember what else you said,” Julia reflected aloud. “You said I should find someone less religious.”
    Another nod. “I still think he needs to ease up a bit in that arena. You’ll end up like Angie. Mark my words, the elegant Julia Davidson—”
    “Simmons!”
    “Sorry. The elegant Julia Simmons will become infamous for wearing frumpy sweat suits while pushing a double stroller through the neighborhood.”
    Julia winced at the reminder of a caricature her sister still couldn’t shake. A caricature Julia herself had helped embed in the popular imagination throughout her award-winning career with RAP Media Syndicate.
    “I seem to recall you also saying marital sex would put me to sleep.” She turned toward Maria. “Trust me. You got that one wrong too.”
    They shared another sly smile.
    “How are Kevin and Angie anyway?” Maria asked. “She looked so adorable at the wedding in her maternity bridesmaid’s dress.”
    “I’ll let you know next week. I’m flying out tomorrow afternoon with Troy to see them. Kevin has an important presentation he wants Troy to attend.”
    Maria lifted a single brow. “Really? You’re going to DC?”
    “Troy said he thinks it’s time to release myself from self-imposed exile.”
    “Wow.”
    “I think I’m ready,” Julia said.
    “You don’t sound convinced.”
    “I’m ready,” she said. “I guess I’m just a bit apprehensive going back to the place where I nearly destroyed my best friend’s marriage and ruined Kevin’s political career.”
    “You didn’t destroy or ruin anything,” Maria objected. “You simply did your job.”
    It was the same thing Julia had told herself a hundred times before. She hadn’t known her editor would play fast and loose with the Breeders story or that the pictures of Kevin with another woman had been staged. Still, she felt guilty about the wave of journalistic success the story had propelled.
    “A job you quit, by the way,” Maria continued. “You made it very clear you disapproved of what happened.”
    Julia accepted the reminder with a thin smile.
    “Angie and Kevin are fine. You shouldn’t worry.”
    “I know. I just wish—”
    “Hush,” Maria interrupted. “It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
    Julia did her best to agree. “How’s work?” she asked to change the subject.
    “Oh, you know. Every other day we get another prediction of ruin.”
    “I thought things were turning around.”
    “Like I said, every other day.”
    “I’m sorry.” Julia empathized with her sister’s growing sense of insecurity. “Still looking for something better?”
    “Who isn’t?”
    The question prompted Julia to make a mental note: Finish the story on unemployment . She had pitched a unique angle: a year-in-review feature that would connect the dots between twelve months of layoff and closure announcements and the dramatic spike in anxiety-induced depression. Nearly everyone who still had a job worried about losing it. When would the next shoe drop? Would there be another market crash? What if the government made another cut to the unemployment fund? Every news syndicate included a regular feature speculating about how the economy would change in the wake of what the Wall Street Journal now labeled The Meltdown of 2042 . Every economist had a different viewpoint. None seemed to have a clue.
    Julia had recently warmed to Troy’s opinion. The crash had occurred after revised revenue projections confirmed the economy was chasing fertility rates over a steep cliff. The ratio of dependent seniors to younger workers was simply unsustainable. The pyramid had flipped, leaving too few