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She didn’t want to plague her parents with her probleer Brian always could jerk her chain Always could make her miserable

Maureen waited until Karen was asleep and hoped her mother hen she punched out the button that predialed her parents’ ho three ti Stables"

"Thom?" Dumbfounded, Maureen stared down at the telephone She’d been avoiding hiiveness while all she could think about was revenge Being with Thom made her feel petty and vindictive

"Maureen? This is a pleasant surprise"

"But I didn’t dial your number," she insisted

He chuckled "It seems we’ve had this telephone conversation before You did dial it Otherould I have answered the phone?"

"But--"

"You’ve got me now"

She smiled The sound of his voice worked wonders on her tired, achy ’s on your mind?"

Hoell this oing to fightenough for her to know he’d taken her concerns seriously "Are you sure you’re nota mountain out of a molehill?" he asked

"I wish I were The more I think about it, the more sense it makes Brian hasn’t seen Karen in over a year All at once he’s willing to pay attorney fees and fight like a bullhter spend Christe of heart"

"If that’s the case, one would think he’d pay me the back child support payreed "Go on"

"He phoned Karen when he kneouldn’t be ho breath at the fresh wave of anger and frustration "According to the terms of our settlement, all contact with Karen is to have prior approval from me"

"That seereed to those terms," Maureen said, and knew she sounded defensive

"All right, let’s look past that Brian contacted Karen without prior notice or approval from you"

"Yes" She could hear the panic level rise in her voice "I don’t knohat he said to her I could only hear what Karen said, but it sounded like, oh, I don’t know, like he planned on showing her a wonderful Christmas"

Thom was silent for a time "This worries you?"

"Of course it does Don’t you see? Brian’s the type of man who only thinks about one person, and that’s hiood to Karen, there’s a reason"

"People change, Maureen"

"Not Brian Theto take Karen away fro, the et back at h Karen"

"Why don’t you ask hiested "If you’re that worried, and clearly you are, then call hiht now and ask Wouldn’t you rather deal with the truth than suffer with speculation?"

"Ask Brian?" she repeated It was probably theshe could do "I can’t do that If he isn’t already thinking along those lines, why give him the idea? You don’t knowwould worry me, he’d play up on it and make me as miserable as possible"

"Maureen, you’ve been divorced a long ti?"

"Brian’s remarried"

"Yes, and he has a son, too, but that doesn’ta wife and his son and supposedly Karen"

"I sincerely doubt he’s supporting anyone Wanna bet he’s hos in the paycheck?" She sounded cynical and bitter, but with da out her naiven any ht?"

"About what?" She was stalling, not wanting to adiveness"

"I don’t believe it’s possible, Thoht about it, al how much Brian hurt me and Karen"

"But I do," he countered "I see it in your eyes when you speak of him I look at Karen and wonder how any hter"

Maureen felt tears stinging the backs of her eyes

"Where does it stop, Maureen?"

"What do you mean?"

"You phone the attorney about his He contacts his attorney about you Who suffers in all this?"

Maureen already knew the answer to this She’d faced it that evening "Karen," she said in a s, too, but you need to realize that ive Brian because he deserves it Don’t do it because he’s asking you to pardon his"

Maureen wouldn’t live to see that day "Don’t worry, it’d never happen"