Alexis saw Duane at the gym.

He sat down next to her.

"How's the necessity defense coming?" he asked. "The necessity of moving cars off train tracks?"

"Not bad," Alexis said. "I think we really have something there. I emailed the D.A. about it, but so far no response. Which means they can't think of one."

"Good for you."

"Good for me," she said. "Thanks for talking about it, anyway. It helps to talk about your issues."

"Legal and personal."

"I saw Sarah here the other day," Alexis said. "I talked to her a little while."

"Age difference comes up over and over again, wherever I turn. My daughters now. They said it doesn't bother them. But they talked about it. Now I don't have just Humphrey Bogart for an example. I have Paul McCartney, too."

Alexis laughed. "Yet you need to forget all about it and just deal with the relationship. On its own terms."

"Your advice did not steer me wrong before, counsel. It's that it's tough to forget about when it's the first thing on everyone's mind."

"It will be when it's new to someone. The girls had to deal with it, but they did and they are past it, at least, some. Everyone else will go through that stage too. Sarah is right, you will not trust her no matter who she is or how old she is until you are past your wife cheating on you. Deal with that."

"OK, but how?"

"I'm not sure. But you avoid it by using this up front issue."

"My problem, hesitation, whatever, is really from something else."

"Yes."

"Like the usual divorced person, I can blame the ex-wife."

"Yes," Alexis laughed. "Or your feelings about the ex-wife. Or about yourself, and the effect the ex-wife had on them."

"Allison and I were too young to even know that we have this fundamental difference. Philosophical. Towards life. Even so, I think I could have lived with it. She was always claiming I did not compromise. I still think I did."

"Now you're thinking. Not just saying 'my marriage ended because my wife had an affair.' Now you're getting the reason for the affair."

"I didn't compromise with the IRS once, not soon enough to avoid them seizing my assets," he said. "Allison thinks – thought – you compromise to avoid a fight. I've been a lawyer too many years for that. Or the longer I was a lawyer, the harder that got. You can't, or you always lose. You have to be willing to fight sometime. Pick your battles, she says. So I chose them, they weren't totally just automatic rebellion. Then it was that I chose too many."

"Allison just did not like the upheaval."

"Yes, but you've got that or just craven appeasement."

"I know what you mean."

"Yeah, maybe lawyers should just marry each other. Let's dump Jerry and Sarah and go to Tahiti."

Alexis laughed. "No, I get it. Jerry's not going to let me leverage his restaurant over a case. We understand each other. I really think Sarah understands. She's younger than Allison but she still understands you better. It must be the different life experience they each had. From what she said, she understands how you are willing to take a risk. I think she put that in a positive light."

"Sarah is smarter," Duane said. "I don't think anyone would dispute that. When I was that age, I was not that smart."

"Which may be why a man her age is not right for her," Alexis said. "The superficial rules don't always apply. From talking to her, I think she needs somebody who is willing to take a chance that might be bigger than what many people can tolerate. I remember being a young professional. The guys her age are too afraid they'll feel inferior to her. They probably go out of their way to hurt her."

"Ha," Duane said. "Maybe. Maybe. I remember colleagues at Baldwin, women lawyers, who had it rough. Others didn't, though. The ones that married other lawyers did best, in general. I see your point. I hope it doesn't affect Valerie too much. I guess it will. Maybe the younger generation is less sexist about the guy being taller and older and smarter and richer and a better ball player."

"What about Yvonne, aren't you worried about her too?"

"No, I wonder why. She's not a professional? Whoever gets involved with Yvonne is the one who's going to catch hell, not Yvonne."

Alexis smiled. "Any new songs referring to her old man?"

"Not yet, but now they met at the party and I think I will hear every new song on pins and needles."

Alexis laughed.

"She has that line in Insomnia about being put three millions dollars in debt. Which refers to some of my earlier situations."

"Oh, no!"

"It goes, You spent my wages on a losing bet, you got me three millions dollars in debt. Then the gossip mill got that information straight to Sarah. You know this town."

"How did that happen?"

"One of the nurses was a friend of Valerie's and back then they were in the house when Allison yelled at me about it. Yvonne started singing it in the hallway. I remember going out and snapping at her to shut up. And of course, she didn't, and years later, she threw it into one of those hashes she calls song lyrics."

"The friend – Quinn Connor? Valerie was her maid of honor."

"Yes. Though now her last name is something else."

"My assistant is her new husband."

"Zander Smith?"

"Zander Kanishchev."

"I don't blame him for using Smith."

"Me neither."

"They got on the subject because somehow Quinn started explaining how Allison's husband dated another nurse. That's two coincidences. That the moron dated them both and that Sarah happened to be with those two nurses. Somehow that led to Quinn remembering the incident from years ago and now Sarah knows.

"Oh, boy. But my guess is that Sarah didn't go running from you because of that old story."

"Yeah, good guess. She even let me have a little space to complain about Allison."

"See?" Alexis grinned.