Unexpected Benefits

My boss called me the other night as I was blundering around Long Beach in the dark looking for an address.

'I can't talk right now,' I said. 'I'm late for a dinner party.'

'Okay,' he said. 'But I'm calling to tell you I'm giving you a raise.'

'I guess I have a few minutes,' I replied.

It turns out he was rewarding me with a generous unasked-for raise because I had recently agreed to take on additional responsibilities and hours. One of my new jobs is to watch 'Nancy Grace' on CNN every night, and there's not enough money in the world to compensate me for that, but still it was a nice gesture.

'And I'm looking forward to seeing you and Mr. A at the firm retreat at the end of September,' Boss Man added.

So I was forced to explain yet again that 'Mr. A' no longer exists. I gave him a brief synopsis - Secret Life, freak out, suicide threat, weapon removal, disappearance. He expressed his regrets, and I went to the dinner party.

Imagine my surprise when I opened my paycheck - Boss Man had increased the raise by 50 percent. The only possible explanation is that he was sympathetic about my Dear Husband turning out to be a cheater whore.

So hurray for me - along with a broken heart, a divorce, and boundless humiliation, I got a sympathy bonus. It doesn't have to all be bad. But I still have to watch Nancy Grace.