Chapter 1

Joanna reviewed the resume in her office as the law student waited nervously across from her. The prospective summer intern was 24 years old and sat upright with perfect posture. The girl had a genuine curiosity and eagerness which Joanna found refreshing.

“Everything looks good here,” Joanna said. “You have a good amount of work experience for someone your age. You seem ambitious and highly motivated; I like that.”

Kelly gave a sigh of relief and smiled. “Thank you. I’ve always had a lot of energy. My mother used to joke that I worked harder than most of her coworkers.”

“I can see that. Looks like you’ve done everything from retail to office work. Even a bit of nonprofit.”

“Yeah. I knew early on that I wanted to be a lawyer, and I heard that having a lot of work experience helps with getting into law school and then getting a job afterwards.”

Joanna nodded. “That’s absolutely right. The field of law is extremely competitive, especially in the city. That brings me to my next question; why do you want to intern at a family law firm?”

“Well, I can certainly understand that family law deals with a lot of personal hardships that people have. But nonetheless, it’s something which has to be done. If the next generation of lawyers won’t step up and show interest in it, then who will? Plus your office is near the BART station, so it’s convenient for me to go home after.”

They both smiled at the last line.

“Those are some fairly compelling reasons, Kelly,” the lawyer replied jokingly. “Especially about my office being so close to BART. God forbid you have to walk a few blocks in heels, right?”

“You’ve read my mind,” Kelly winked.

That night. Joanna stayed up late reviewing her notes on the final applicants the way she normally did. As usual, she checked the various social media websites for any additional information she could find.

She quickly flipped through Facebook for the profiles of people who wanted to work for her. Whoever landed the paid internship would be trusted with a lot of confidential information, so due diligence was a must. Sometimes she’d be success in finding their pages, sometimes not.

Before long she found Kelly’s Facebook page. There was no privacy setting and Joanna was able to look at all of the pictures. She was impressed by the young woman. Each picture showed Kelly in a positive light. Kelly loved to smile and she loved to be happy. Kelly loved her parents and she wasn’t afraid to show it to the world.

Joanna continued to flip through the young woman’s profile and she remained impressed. She loved Kelly’s exuberance and lust for life. Deep down, a part of Joanna felt envious over the seemingly perfect life that Kelly had. She also couldn’t help but notice how pretty Kelly looked.

Unlike previous years, this decision was fairly easy. She picked up the phone to call her new intern.

“Hello,” Kelly answered.

“Hi Kelly, it’s Joanna. I interviewed you today for the internship position.”

“Of course I remember,” she replied happily. “I’m glad to hear from you so soon. Was there anything else you needed to know?”

“Well, are you still interested in the summer internship position?”

“I’m very interested. I’d love to have my first legal internship with you.”

“Good, because after careful consideration of all the applicants, I’ve decided to give you the spot. Congratulations Kelly.”

“Oh wow!” Kelly replied happily. “Thank you so much Joanna. Or do I have to call you Ms. Wald from now on”

“Joanna is fine. We’ll be working closely on a lot of issues so we may as well skip the formalities.”

“Makes sense. I honestly wasn’t expecting this because of how many students at my school are also applying to work for you. Some have a lot of legal experience. So this is great news.”

Joanna felt touched by the girl’s authenticity. “I’m glad you’re so excited. Experience means a lot, but it’s not everything. I chose you because of your energy and enthusiasm. I’ve been a lawyer for a long time and this line of work needs more women like you.”

“Yes, women like you,” she replied. “People with great attitudes deserve a shortcut to the top. Believe me, the legal profession has enough sleazy people.”

“That really means a lot,” Kelly said in a heartfelt tone. “Thank you. It’s so encouraging hearing that from an accomplished woman like you. I know it’s a lot of work but I promise I won’t let you down.”

“You’ll do fine. Speaking of which, I made this decision earlier than I expected, and the internship doesn’t officially start until two weeks. Feel like starting early?”

“You bet!” Kelly stated enthusiastically. “How does Monday sound?”

“Monday sounds great. 9 am. I’ll have everything prepared for you by then and you should feel right at home in my office.”

“You’re not going to regret this. See you then.”

“Definitely. Goodnight Kelly.”

Joanna ended the call, but her computer was still on Kelly’s Facebook profile pictures. The girl was beautiful. She was exuberant and full of life. There was something precious about her that reached out and grabbed Joanna’s attention.

Friday. The two women sat in Joanna’s office after an exhausting morning in court. A heat wave had hit the city as predicted, so a good break time was definitely in need.

“What did you think of your first courtroom experience,” Joanna asked as they drank soda together. “Was it everything you expected it to be?”

“It was overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time, if that makes sense. It felt like a huge honor sitting near you. I actually felt like a real lawyer. But at the same time, everything felt so clinical. It’s definitely not as exciting as how it looks on tv, but a fun experience overall. I hope to be back.”

Joanna smiled, “You’re right about that. I agree. It’s a novelty at first, but it wears off and you get used to being in a courtroom.”

“Do you get used to dealing with family law?” the intern asked. “The divorce cases I mean, does it ever get easier to deal with?”

Joanna faint nodded. “Honestly, it does. When you work in this field long enough, you start becoming immune to certain things. You become callous. But then again, you never really get used to seeing certain aspects.”

“Some parts are difficult for me, emotionally speaking. That only makes me want to advocate harder, I hope.”

“That’s because you’re human. That’s what I like most about you, and that’s why I hired you. A lot of practicing lawyers are only motivated by money. They forget that people’s lives are in the mix.”

“So what’s your reason?” Kelly asked with a mild suggestiveness.

“You don’t have a ring on your finger, which means you aren’t married. From what I can see, you spend all your time working, which means you don’t have a boyfriend either. Obviously that means you’re single. So what’s your reason for working all the time?”

Joanna paused for a moment. “None of the above, I suppose. I’ve always been a workaholic. I’m a perfectionist who’s never satisfied. And I did I mention that I work too much?”

“Now that makes sense. Being a workaholic has turned out well for you, since you’re always featured in the local media. Isn’t that the goal of every lawyer?”

Joanna laughed, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“What about you?” Joanna asked. “Have you ever been in love with a man before?”

“I’ve been in love before. But not with a man,” she smiled.

“I was in love with a woman before,” Kelly replied.

Joanna partially froze and was unsure how to react.

“Oh… That’s interesting. There’s obviously a lot of gay couples in this city, and I have some gay friends, so you don’t have to worry about me judging you, assuming that was a fear of yours.”

“If I was worried about you judging me, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

Joanna snapped out of her awkward mode. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that. You know what I meant. I love gay people.”

They both smiled and cringed at Joanna’s horrible attempt at having a human moment.

“I’m not gay,” Kelly stated. “At least I don’t think I am. It was just something that happened. None of my friends know about it. My parents definitely don’t know about it either.”

“Your parents sound as conservative as mine.”

“Probably. They’d be livid if they ever found out that the ‘boyfriend’ I was telling them about was actually a girlfriend. You’re the only person I’ve told. I don’t know. I feel comfortable talking to you.”

“Thanks, I’m glad you’ve told me this,” Joanna smiled. “It’s always better to have someone to confide in.”

“Especially since I’m a chatterbox. It was tough holding that in and not having someone to tell.”

“Now you’ve made me curious about this whole thing. Mind telling me how it happened?”

“No worries,” Kelly smiled. “We’re just having a conversation here.”

“That sounds about right,” she replied.

“It happened during my final year of college. In my Literature class, we were split into groups to do presentations on different topics. One of the girls in my group was Anne. Both of us desperately wanted an A in the class to keep our gpa’s high, so we both worked really really hard. We talked a lot outside of class and became friends pretty fast.”

“That’s actually a common way for a romance to begin. It happens in the workplace all the time.”

“I can see why. We used to meet at the campus cafe to discuss our project, but the conversations always turned to our personal lives instead. It felt like we were the only people in the world who understood each other. We eventually discovered that we had another thing in common…”

Kelly paused mid-sentence, waiting for her boss to figure it out.

“Both of you were curious,” Joanna answered. “Was it what you expected?”

She smiled, “Even better. Her touch was soft and tender. It didn’t hurt that Anne was one of the hottest chicks student on campus. All the other boys used to drool whenever she walked by. If they only knew…”

Joanna laughed. “It’s always the ones you least expect. I’ll admit, I’ve dated men who turned out to be gay. I was always stunned finding out.”

“I know, right? When I moved to San Francisco, it was weird seeing how people were so proud of being gay. But then again, I guess I almost fall into that category since I secretly dated Anne for a year.”

“That sounds like a powerful experience. Dealing with these types of situation and growing from them is what makes a woman become a woman.”

“Exactly,” Kelly said with a nod. “So… what about you? Have you ever thought about being with another lady before? It’s a common fantasy.”

“No, I haven’t,” she replied, hoping that Kelly wouldn’t notice the fib.

“Oh, well I guess that puts you in the minority of women who haven’t thought about being with other women.”

Joanna forced a smile. “I guess so. I don’t find anything wrong with it, or anything you’ve told me. I think it’s great that you found someone to love, and someone who loved you back. Thank you for sharing your story with me.”

“I’m glad I could tell someone and feel accepted. I’m so used to sharing my thoughts and feelings with my friends and my mother and my sister. Keeping this to myself was like torture. It was a burden I carried around because I felt like I wasn’t able to be myself. But I feel comfortable around you. Thank you.”

The two women looked into each other’s eyes before standing up for a hug.

The rest of Joanna’s day was spent thinking about her conversation with Kelly. Before she went to bed that night, she logged on to Facebook to view Kelly’s profile once again.