75. A Woman Has Needs

Wally asked Anita how her daughter Heather was doing. Heather had always been a dutiful, loving daughter. She got married about 10 years ago, at the age of 23. It was the first marriage for her and her husband Ben. They had two kids. Everything seemed fine, even though Heather was the only one working. Ben had gotten laid off two years ago. He was still looking for work.They were fortunate because Heather’s grandma loved her to death. She had bought a house for Heather as a wedding gift, so Ben and Heather had no mortgage to pay. Not one penny. Grandma asked only that Heather call her twice a month. Recently, grandma had asked Anita what was wrong with Heather. Anita said she didn’t understand—nothing was wrong. “Then why hasn’t she called?” grandma asked. Anita said she would talk to Heather.She left several messages, but Heather didn’t call back. Anita drove over to the house. Ben was home, taking care of the kids.“Where’s Heather?” Anita asked.“She went to the beach,” Ben told her.“Without you and the kids?” Ben was reluctant to talk, but he did. Heather had started smoking again. Even worse, she had found a boyfriend. She had met this guy at work, and things got out of hand. Ben didn’t know what to do. If he filed for divorce, he might be out on the street with two kids to support. If he didn’t get a divorce, he had to live with the humiliation of being supported by a wife who was cheating on him.Anita was astounded at her daughter’s selfish actions. She drove home and called her mom. Grandma said that hopefully it was just a phase that Heather was going through. She told Anita to make sure to remind Heather to call.