is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. —John F. Kennedy A new civil war was brewing in America. Not between north and south. Not between conservatives and liberals. Not even between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. The unwitting opponents of this contention were Julie and me. Avoidance was our main line of defense, as if the other had just eaten a three-course meal of Ebola, herpes, and anthrax and washed it down with a leprosy cocktail. Though surrounded by the smoke of our detonated emotional bombs, Julie and I somehow managed to keep our spat between us. Our strained cordial front left the others totally unaware of the angst simmering barely beneath the surface. To Julie’s credit she kept her word and gave me help when I needed it, albeit grudgingly and in deathly silence. However, if I dared enter a room and she was alone in it, she would promptly gather her things and leave.
