Hidden Summit

silly, Paul. I can take him.”
    If Jack’s had been an old Western saloon and Leslie had been wearing six-guns on her hips, her entrance would have blended perfectly. She blew in, loaded for bear. By the time she arrived, there were a couple of men at a table by a window sharing a pitcher, but thankfully that was all. Within a half hour, the dinner crowd would begin to arrive.
    Greg turned to see her enter. He smiled. She scowled and walked up to the bar, but she didn’t sit down.
    “Drink, Les?” Jack asked.
    “No. Greg, I don’t want to discuss anything with you unless you’re here to give me a big check. I want you to go home. And I want you to leave my parents and me alone. ”
    “Leslie, Leslie… Honey, I know this transition is difficult—”
    “Don’t call me honey! It is not a transition and it is not difficult. It’s a divorce and I’ve discovered it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Now, listen to me, please. We’re done. We’re over. You left me! You have a pregnant wife in Grants Pass. You—”
    “Pregnant wife?” Jack repeated. Jack being Jack, he wasn’t far from the conversation.
    “Don’t you have something to do?” Greg asked him.
    “No,” Jack said. “Buddy, you gotta let go....”
    “You don’t understand,” Greg said to Jack. He turned to Leslie. “This doesn’t have to be so adversarial, Leslie. I only want to help because I care about you. I just thought maybe we should talk about this guy you’re seeing because, well…” He reached for her hand, and she snatched it away. “Okay, well, this may be hard to hear, but you’re on the rebound. People can make serious mistakes on the rebound.”
    “I. Am. Not.”
    “It’s not the length of time that’s the deciding factor, Leslie,” he said. “It’s really about the emotional investment. And believe me, I know how hard our divorce was for you.”
    “It’s not hard anymore. I feel like you did me a monumental favor. Now go.”
    “Just tell me who he is, Leslie. Tell me about him. I don’t want to worry about you.”
    “You lost that privilege, Greg. I no longer discuss my personal business with you.”
    He shook his head. “Your bitterness speaks for itself. There must be something about this guy that worries you or you wouldn’t be so defensive.”
    “There’s something about you that worries me. If you come down here one more time I’m going to call Allison and suggest she have you committed.”
    “Seriously,” Jack said. “I’m a little worried about you, too, buddy. You got a bun in the oven up there and you’re still hanging around here, bothering the ex?”
    Greg turned sharply toward Jack. “Can you go find something to do?”
    Jack shrugged. “I could, but this is fascinating. And it’s my bar.” Then he smiled.
    Greg sighed in frustration. He turned back to Leslie. “Let’s get right to it.”
    She rested an elbow on the bar and let her head drop into her hand. She groaned. She swore under her breath.
    “The fact is, whether you realize it or not, you’ve had a blow to your self-esteem, and you’re in no condition to get involved with some guy you don’t really know. I knew when I made the hard choice to leave that I would have to be prepared to help see you through it, and I will, Leslie. Because I care about you. Because even though I don’t love you as my wife, I love you as my best friend and always will.”
    “I am not your best friend. I am not even your casual friend. And my self-esteem has never been healthier.”
    “And so even though it’s reasonable for you to be in denial, I know that losing me destroyed you. It was like hitting bottom for you and I don’t want you to reach out to a man who isn’t good for you. Not when I’m prepared to help you through the crisis. We both know you’ve never had a strong self-image, that you’ve always struggled with your perception of yourself. All I want to do is help. You have more potential than you realize, Leslie. Let me help.”
    She stared at him in dumb wonder for a minute. The irony was—not only did he believe this to be true, there was a time it actually had been. His leaving had shattered her. Every time she’d seen him with the new pretty, smart, accomplished young woman, it had hurt. He thought he was God’s gift to women, and if he left his wife, she must be devastated.
    Oh, how it pissed her off that she had been!
    She turned her back on him and stomped away, charging through the swinging