The Exchange: After The Firm

Lamar smiled and grunted as if to say none. “I don’t know of anyone. It’s virtually impossible with a felony conviction. But I had a spotless record in prison, waited my time, passed the bar exam, got plenty of recommendations, and so on. I was turned down twice, but the third time worked. Now I’m a small-town ham-and-egg lawyer trying to eke out sixty thousand bucks a year. Thankfully, Kay makes more than that so we can afford tuition.” He took a quick bite and said, “I’m tired of talking. How did you go from a beach bum to a partner at Scully?”

Mitch smiled and drank some tea. “The beach bum part didn’t last very long, got bored with it. It was okay for about a month, but then real life sort of returned. We left the islands and hiked around Europe for several months, living out of our backpacks and taking the trains. One day we found ourselves in this picturesque little town in Tuscany. Cortona, not far from Perugia.”

“Never been to Italy.”

“A beautiful town in the mountains. We walked past a small cottage just off the town square and saw a sign in the window. It was for rent, three hundred euros a month. We thought, What the heck. We had so much fun the first month, we signed up for another. The lady who owned the cottage also ran a bed-and-breakfast not far away, and she kept it filled with American and British tourists who wanted cooking lessons. Abby signed up and quickly became consumed with Italian cooking. Me, I was concentrating on the wines. Three months, then four, then five, and we leased the cottage for a year. Abby worked in the kitchen as a sous chef while I puttered around the countryside, trying to imitate a real Italian. We hired a private tutor for language lessons and went all in. After a year we refused to speak English around the house.”

“Meanwhile I was in prison.”

“Are you going to keep blaming me for that?”

Lamar folded the wax paper around the remnants of his wrap and shoved it aside. “No, Mitch. As of today I’m letting go.”

“Thanks. Me too.”

“So how did Scully and Pershing enter the picture?”

“After three years it was time to move on. Both of us wanted a career and a family. We settled in London, and, on a whim, I went to the Scully office there and asked around. A law degree from Harvard opens a lot of doors. They offered a position as an associate and I took it. After two years in London we decided to return to the States. Plus, Abby was pregnant and we wanted to raise the kids here. That’s my story.”

“I like yours better than mine.”

“You seem content.”

“We’re happy and healthy. Nothing else matters.”

Mitch rattled the ice in his empty cup. The wrap and the salad were finished, as was lunch.

Lamar smiled and said, “Several years ago I was in New York, a small business matter for a client. I took a cab down to 110 Broad Street, your building, and I stood outside and looked up at the tower, eighty floors. A spectacular building but only one of a thousand. International headquarters of Scully and Pershing, the largest law firm the world has ever known, but just another name on the crowded directory. I went inside and marveled at the atrium. Banks of elevators. Escalators running in all directions. Baffling modern art that cost a fortune. I sat on a bench and watched the people come and go, the frantic hustling of young well-dressed professionals, half of them on their phones, frowning, talking importantly. All sprinting at a breakneck pace to make the next dollar. I wasn’t looking for you, Mitch, but I was certainly thinking about you. I asked myself: ‘What if he saw me and walked over right now? What would I say? What would he say?’ I had no answer, but I did feel a twinge of pride that you, an old friend, had indeed made the big time. You survived Bendini and you’re now playing on a world stage.”

“I wish I’d seen you sitting there.”

“It’s impossible because no one looks up. No one takes a moment to appreciate the surroundings, the art, the architecture. ‘Rat race’ is the perfect description of it.”

“I’m happy there, Lamar. We have a good life.”

“Then I’m happy for you.”

“If you ever come back to the city, we would love to host you and Kay.”

Lamar smiled and shook his head. “Mitch, my old pal, that’ll never happen.”

Chapter 5

It was almost midnight when Mitch stepped off the elevator and entered his apartment. The return trip was finally over and nothing had gone as scheduled. Delays ruled the evening: boarding, taxiing, taking off, even the cold dinner was served late. It took half an hour to get a cab at LaGuardia, and a wreck on the Queensboro Bridge wasted another forty minutes. His day had begun on time with a quiet breakfast at the Peabody. After that, nothing had gone as planned.

But he was home and little else mattered. The twins had been sleeping for hours. Normally, Abby would have been too, but she was on the sofa reading and waiting. He kissed her and asked, “Why are you still up?”

“Because I want to hear all about your trip.”