Between your fingers you hold a stone and throw it into flowing water. The effect might not be easy to
see. There will be a small ripple where the stone breaks the surface and then a splash, muffled by the rush
of the surrounding river. That's all.
Throw a stone into a lake. The effect will be not only visible but also far more lasting. The stone will
disrupt the still waters. A circle will form where the stone hit the water, and in a flash that circle will
multiply into another, then another. Before long the ripples caused by one plop will expand until they can
be felt everywhere along the mirrored surface of the water. Only when the circles reach the shore will
they stop and die out.
If a stone hits a river, the river will treat it as yet another commotion in its already tumultuous course.
Nothing unusual. Nothing unmanageable.
If a stone hits a lake, however, the lake will never be the same again.
For forty years Ella Rubinstein's life had consisted of still waters—a predictable sequence of habits,
needs, and preferences. Though it was monotonous and ordinary in many ways, she had not found it
tiresome. During the last twenty years, every wish she had, every person she befriended, and every
decision she made was filtered through her marriage. Her husband, David, was a successful dentist who
worked hard and made a lot of money. She had always known that they did not connect on any deep level,
but connecting emotionally need not be a priority on a married couple's list, she thought, especially for a
man and a woman who had been married for so long. There were more important things than passion and
love in a marriage, such as understanding, affection, compassion, and that most godlike act a person could
perform, forgiveness. Love was secondary to any of these. Unless, that is, one lived in novels or romantic
movies, where the protagonists were always larger than life and their love nothing short of legend.
Ella's children topped her list of priorities. They had a beautiful daughter in college, Jeannette, and
teenage twins, Orly and Avi. Also, they had a twelve-year-old golden retriever, Spirit, who had been
Ella's walking buddy in the mornings and her cheeriest companion ever since he'd been a puppy. Now he
was old, overweight, completely deaf, and almost blind; Spirit's time was coming, but Ella preferred to
think he would go on forever. Then again, that was how she was. She never confronted the death of
anything, be it a habit, a phase, or a marriage, even when the end stood right in front of her, plain and
inevitable.
The Rubinsteins lived in Northampton, Massachusetts, in a large Victorian house that needed some
renovation but still was splendid, with five bedrooms, three baths, shiny hardwood floors, a three-car
garage, French doors, and, best of all, an outdoor Jacuzzi. They had life insurance, car insurance,
retirement plans, college savings plans, joint bank accounts, and, in addition to the house they lived in,
two prestigious apartments: one in Boston, the other in Rhode Island. She and David had worked hard for
all this. A big, busy house with children, elegant furniture, and the wafting scent of homemade pies might
seem a cliché to some people, but to them it was the picture of an ideal life. They had built their marriage
around this shared vision and had attained most, if not all, of their dreams.
On their last Valentine's Day, her husband had given her a heart-shaped diamond pendant and a card
that read,
To my dear Ella,
A woman with a quiet manner, a generous heart, and the patience of a saint. Thank you for accepting me as I am. Thank you for being
my wife.
Yours,
David
Ella had never confessed this to David, but reading his card had felt like reading an obituary. This is what
they will write about me when I die, she had thought. And if they were sincere, they might also add this:
Building her whole life around her husband and children, Ella lacked any survival techniques to
help her cope with life's hardships on her own. She was not the type to throw caution to the wind. Even
changing her daily coffee brand was a major effort.
All of which is why no one, including Ella, could explain what was going on when she filed for
divorce in the fall of 2008 after twenty years of marriage.
But there was a reason: love.
They did not live in the same city. Not even on the same continent. The two of them were not only miles
apart but also as different as day and night. Their lifestyles were so dissimilar that it seemed impossible
for them to bear each other's presence, never mind fall in love. But it happened. And it happened fast, so
fast in fact that Ella had no time to realize what was happening and to be on guard, if one could ever be on
guard against love.
Love came to Ella as suddenly and brusquely as if a stone had been hurled from out of nowhere into the
tranquil pond of her life.