“I know what it’s like to meet a wonderful new man. Someone you could spend your life with. It can happen for you too.”
     Katherine shook her head skeptically but then looked at Frieda closely. “What are you talking about?”
     “I’m saying that there’s not just one man in your life for you. For anyone. That you can move on and find someone else.”
     “OK, I thought you were telling me that you’ve met someone else.” At Frieda’s silence, Katherine added, “Someone new. Other than Douglas.”
     “Well, I didn’t come here to talk about this, but maybe it’ll help you…” Frieda took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. “When I was a teenager I used to think I would never get married.  Before I met Douglas I was bracing myself to live single my whole life.  And when I met Douglas, I thought it was the wildest fluke, that somehow I had managed to find the one man in the world that I could spend the rest of my life with.”  She paused.  “But that’s just not true.  Last year, “ she said slowly, “I met someone else that I feel really strongly about.”
     Katherine studied Frieda. “So you met someone last year, and told him you were married, but if you weren’t with Douglas, you’d like to get to know him?”
     “Yes and no. Of course he knows that I’m married, and that I love Douglas, but now I know that it’s possible to feel deep love for more than one person.  And that there are lots of wonderful men out there.  It’s just a matter of meeting them.”
     “But you’re not seeing this man, are you?”
     Frieda blinked her eyes. “Of course I am. Our relationship is important to me.”
     “Are you telling me that you’re having an affair with someone?”
     “The word affair sounds so sordid. It’s not a cheap sexual affair. It’s a relationship that’s valuable to both of us.”
     “What about Douglas?”
     “This doesn’t threaten my relationship with Douglas.”
     “How can it not?”
     “I’m married to Douglas. He knows that I’m committed to him and the children. They’re my family. I’ll never give them up. But I have feelings for Michael, too, that are just as strong as for Douglas, but in a different way. It would be wrong to deny these strong feelings for Michael.”
     Katherine was stunned into silence for a moment. “But you have little kids! You don’t have time for another man in your life.”
     “I didn’t ask for this to happen! But you don’t just refuse something this significant because it’s a little difficult.”
     “Who is this — Michael?”
     “He runs a small business in the city.  He’s divorced.  No children.”
     “How did you meet him?”
     “At that clinic where I registered for part-time home care work, remember?  He’s a volunteer with aged men.  Visits with them once a week.  He’s a really great guy.”
     “And when do you see him?”
     “When Douglas can look after the children. Michael accepts that we can’t spend a lot of  time together. But I was able to spend last weekend with him. ”
     “What did you tell Douglas?”
     Frieda looked shocked.  “The truth! I have to tell Douglas the truth.”
     Katherine rubbed her forehead.  “You’re having an affair and Douglas knows and approves.”
     “Not an affair.  Another relationship.  And Douglas understands. He knows how it is.”
     “He does? What do you mean?”
     “The same thing happened to him, years ago. Before the children were born. He met somebody who was really important to him. And I knew that he had to be able to honour his feelings for this other woman.  And after a while, that relationship came to an end.”
     “How on earth could you handle him seeing another woman?”
     “Well, to be honest, it was hard at times, but he was always honest with me, and that felt much better than if he had been deceiving me. I always knew where he was, and when he might be back. It was just part of our marriage. To be able to work that out.”
     A tiny hammer began striking the corner of Katherine’s right eye.  “It sounds like an open marriage.”
     “Well, we’re not promiscous.”  Frieda knocked her glass and some ginger ale spilled onto the table.  She reached for a paper napkin and dabbed it up.  “It’s only happened once to both of us, and our marriage is strong enough to give us the freedom to explore our feelings for other people, when we feel it’s important.  But we were talking about you, not me. I was trying to show you that Rick’s not the only man for you.”
     “This is a lot to take in at once.”  Katherine took a big gulp of her ginger ale.

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