Monday, January 23, 2012

Talking to the Ex

Stevie thought it seemed ridiculous for ex-husband, Jon, to get a motel room in Redding when he and the kids would be leaving early the next day for their vacation. So Stevie had offered him the sofa bed in the living room for the night. Jon's initial hesitancy revealed his own sense of awkwardness, but he finally accepted, saying thanks by treating the family to dinner out at the Burger Barn.

After bringing Jon up to date on everything the kids were doing, Stevie expected the conversation to fall off to an uncomfortable silence but it didn't. Jon said, "Tell me about your involvement with Daniel Bellardi." The change of topic surprised Stevie for two reasons. Judging from their limited discussions about North California politics to date, she did not think Jon was interested in hearing about her fascination with Daniel Bellardi. Rather, Stevie assumed that Jon regarded her as something of an idealistic right-wing fanatic for moving up here. Also surprising was the fact that Jon seemed as genuinely interested in listening now as he had been when asking about her work.

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