There was, given our relative positions and the salary I was now earning he could never hope to match, no answer he could give that was likely to either convince his newly empowered wife to allow such a return or even provide him with a semblance of manly dignity.
Which had not stopped his continuing attempts to bargain with me on the few occasions I allowed him to interact with me as one adult speaking with another.
Albeit with strict parameters.
“Please, Rhon,” he began, hope again winning out over experience and using the old term of familiarity I’d banned him from, this in the hope it could thaw my inflexible new persona. “I always thought you were happy with me taking the lead. If I came across as overbearing and dictatorial, I truly am sorry. You’ve shown me I’m… I’m…”
I waited.
