Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Jory: Yes. I have a backyard that any Disney princess would be right at home in. Any of them could call the woodland creatures that live in harmony in my yard to make a dress, help clean a cottage, or join them in song. I have a chipmunk that lives under my back deck—more than one now—micro bunnies, regular-size bunnies, many, many songbirds, squirrels, and at the moment, a gopher that we’re going to have to rehome if he doesn’t leave my oregano alone. Nothing bad ever happens in my backyard, and everyone lives together in peace. Other people have possums and groundhogs—we had one, but it was captured and rehomed—moles, and even coyotes. I don’t have that. I have bliss and harmony.
Sam: That’s because you never kill anything back there
Jory: Of course not! Kill a bunny?!
Sam: I bet you there’s mice in the yard, and the first one that comes in the house––
Jory: No mouse will come in. We have a cat, for heaven’s sake. They’re not suicidal.
Sam: I’m dreading the day some hawk swoops down and snags one of your bunnies.
Jory: Sam!
Sam: It’s going to happen, and then I’m gonna have to install a wire dome or something to make sure nothing gets snatched again, or motion sensors, or God knows what.
Jory: We’ll cross that bridge when it happens.
Sam: Oh, I have no doubt.
DEAR JORY:
Any advice on how to keep the flame alive in your marriage through time and adversity?
Jory: I truly in my heart-of-hearts think that communication is the absolute best way to keep a marriage alive and well. If you tell someone you love them every day and they know it and believe it and you talk about your goals, and their goals, and what you want your life to be together, I think everything will work out. The problem is that day-to-day life is hard. We get bogged down with work, we spread ourselves thin with caring for children and demands of family and the house and bills and everything else so that it’s hard to keep connected to the person we love. Add on to that the outside world of politics, global concerns, the environment, and simple things like remembering to change the oil in your car and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But if you take time to make certain that your life partner knows that they are your touchstone, the flame of love will burn bright.
Sam: Uh-huh.
Jory: Sam!
Sam: How many times do I have to say sex?
Jory: Oh dear God.
Sam: You have to have a physical connection to go with the mental one. It’s why people get divorced and marry people who are younger.
Jory: Sam—
Sam: So they can have sex.
Jory: Not everyone who gets divorced marries someone younger.
Sam: Men do.
Jory: Not all men! Gross generalizations are NOT helpful.
Sam: I’m just telling you that along with all that communication you’re advocating for, you need hugging and kissing and lots of time in the sack.
Jory: This is why nature is what prevails in the whole nature-vs.-nurture debate.
Sam: What are you talking about?
Jory: Your parents are both romantics. Your father and mother are amazing communicators. They talk all the time and––
Sam: Oh God, you’re going to make me say this.
Jory: What are you—
Sam: My parents have a crapton of sex.
Jory: Sam!
Sam: They do. They screw like bunnies. You saw my father in the hospital, leering at her, that’s, like, a thing with them. They’ve always been like that.
Jory: Why do you look like you’re gonna barf?
Sam: Because I’m gonna barf! Ugh, God. Horrible. But so yeah…I’m just like my old man. So yeah, talking, always, being interested, keeping tabs, making plans to travel when you both retire—all that is good. But don’t forget to hit the sheets as often as humanly possible.
Jory: You’re advocating for sex as the best way to keep the flame alive in a marriage.
Sam: Yes.
Jory: That’s so—
Sam: And date night. Always. No matter what.
Jory: Well, I have to say, date night is nice.
Sam: Hah! See? I’m great at this.
Jory: Moving on…
DEAR JORY:
After the Valentine’s Day incident, have you had any other contact or get-togethers with Miro and Ian? Does Hannah ask about them, since she has met them a couple of times in interesting circumstances?
Jory: My husband, as a rule, does not like to mix his business and personal life. If he had his way, I would never meet anyone he works with. I suspect that he prefers if his men have this ridiculous idea of who he really is and––
Sam: My subordinates would look at me differently if they saw me with my family. It’s why I don’t like to mix them. I don’t think it’s good for morale, and I think it messes with the dynamic of what’s personal and what’s business. Not everyone can separate the two.
Jory: You just don’t want them to know what a softie you are.