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RE: March Madness - The Crumpled Letter Part Four
Aha, this is contemporary, after all - "watching something on the Discovery Channel." I love Michael and his insight that maybe Deirdre is anxious about not being needed as much once Doris heads onto the path to recovery. And that even if Michael did know something, he'd never betray Bill's confidence, not even to his own wife. This guy is a keeper. I hope you won't let him morph into a bad guy. :) And who doesn't need a good friend like Deirdre? I love her!
I'm thinking, Deirdre's role will become more defined as the story takes shape and that she is more in need of support than Doris. They just don't know that yet.
And I agree, I want to keep Michael as a good guy. I'm not above making Bill likeable too. But that's not likely for a while yet. Lol!
I love the idea of the shift: Deirdre enjoyed playing the wise, happy wife, who has her act together, who has the marvelous Michael. (And I'm so glad you have no intention of dethroning Michael.) Not until Doris is shattered and broken, then busy rebuilding herself, does Deirdre realize the role she'd been playing for years. She might even experience a crisis of wondering if she's happy in her role of wife to this good husband. Doris would see her through it and show her that Deirdre's happiness is with Michael, and that's good, but if, heaven forbid, she were to lose Michael (death, divorce, whatever), she would be able to move on, because that's what people do. Shut down and give up or MOVE FORWARD.
I also like the idea that Bill is just a regular guy, kinda selfish and not able to honor his "until death us do part" wedding vows, but this does not make him a villain. He is a product of the society he grew up in. Most men are a lot like Bill. He's not evil; he's just not epic, heroic, committed, loyal.
And that's the sad thing: the divorce rate is 50% or so, indicating a lack of fidelity and determination, persistence and long-term effort. So easy to give up and walk away. {But you can keep the house. It's the least I can do, after discarding you like an old rug.}
Now I'm eager to see how Deirdre comes to see that Doris wasn't always the dependent one in their long friendship; when Doris stops depending on Deirdre, it is in itself like a little divorce. The daily phone calls of Doris needing to be cheered up or affirmed -- Doris is cheerful these days; Doris is transformed, liberated; she's the one bursting with good news and fun stories, and Deirdre is the one who by contrast is stuck in the rut of a happy marriage. (A good place to be "stuck," but even a happy wife may need to be "liberated" from her usual roles.)
And here is the beauty of it: this doesn't require 1600 words a day to convey. This can be as long or as short as the story requires.
Daughters says Camut's "The Stranger" is the perfect length for a book. Short. You don't need thousands of words if you have that gift of a poet to select just the right words and let them do the work. :)
I’m convinced. 😉.
And please thank your daughter on my behalf. I’m touched that you not only shared my story but that you have both got so involved with it. It is simply amazing to me.
She just said "Awww"to that. Earlier, when her dad/my husband came home, she was telling him about the 66-yr-old wife discarded like an old rug for a 40-something woman who's sprinted ahead to the finish line with her gold medallion (her husband). I was impressed that Mariel remembered so many details. Waking up in sunshine. That's high tribute indeed if you made an impression on my daughter!