A Woman in Search Of...

Wendy calmed herself and let go of her fists, pushing her chin length, auburn hair behind her ears. She struggled to get the words out. “I recently separated from my husband, Scott, and it was hurtful and difficult. I’m not sure how to move forward. The one thing I know I want to do is find a new job. For six years, I’ve been manager of the Women’s Clothing Department at Hammond’s Department Store, but I’m bored with it.”

“I’m sorry about the separation. What bores you about your job?”

“The constant repetition of what I do. Since I’m starting my life over, I’d like to find work that I will be happy with and will move my life in a new direction.”

“Before we go into that, please explain why you are separated from your husband.”

Wendy grunted and gritted her teeth. “We were together for two years before we got married eight months ago. Six months ago, Scott found a new job and within a few months, it literally became his life. There was no time for us. We used to travel, go out with friends, and spend time together. When he was home, he didn’t want to do anything, just watch TV and complain about so many things I did, like the food I made, my hair style,” Wendy blurted out in anger. She closed her eyes and calmed herself. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell out like that.”

“It’s okay.”

“I tried to make improvements, really I did, but it didn’t matter. Things kept upsetting him.” Tears fell down her checks. Dr. Lewis took some tissues to her. Wendy looked up at the nice-looking woman with deep brown eyes and long blond hair and thanked her. The doctor sat down and waited.

After wiping away the tears Wendy continued. “I considered it might have been my being overweight that made him lose interest, but he never said anything about my weight. I put up with the loneliness for a long time because I kept thinking things might change, but they didn’t. I talked to him about marriage counseling, but he adamantly opposed it. I couldn’t take the rejection anymore.”