“I needed this time away more than those kids of ours needed it,” Madeline said. “They have their neat little lives, daughter off to college. And here we are. I’m a widow and you’re divorced.” “But we can’t let that keep us down,” Brenda said. “I had my moments of depression, even though I was the one who wanted a divorce. But I got over it.” “How?” Madeline wanted to know. “How did you do it because it’s been almost ten months since my husband died. And I feel strange even thinking about another man.” “You gotta believe you don’t need another man to get on with your life,” Brenda said. “I said you gotta believe that shit—but you don’t have to deny yourself, either.” The women laughed and Madeline said, “I know that’s right.” “Girl, I got on the Internet and joined a dating service and I have met two really nice men,” Brenda said. “Please don’t tell Paul this. He thinks he’s my protector. He bought me the computer and told me to not even think about those dating sites because—how did he put it?—they attract ‘the man who is not interested in nothing but having sex.
