What nearly broke it was the habit of treating questions as disloyalty.

PART 23

The settlement conference for our divorce was scheduled on a gray February morning.

Dennis sat across the table wearing a pale blue shirt and an expression that suggested he’d slept badly.

For once he did not look like the owner of the room.

We negotiated over property, support, retirement accounts, and the division of debts.

His business interests had become difficult to value because of the ongoing restructuring.

Each side had reports, objections, and estimates.