Thereâs that familiar voice, the perky-yet-brilliant young lawyer she remembers. The one who came up with a clever solution to the legal morass her insurance company had to sort out back in New York. The one whoâs now telling her what she already knowsâŚ.
âYeah, it is shitty,â she agrees dryly. âNot gonna lie. Andâ I know itâs not your⌠thing.â She had Googled Whitefeather and Associates, after all. âBut Iâm relieved to hear you say youâre in. I justâŚâ she trails off helplessly, uncertain how to proceed. This is a bridge she thought sheâd never have to cross.
âIâm not actually in West Covina, no,â Anna admits, cradling the phone between her jaw and shoulder as she lights a cigarette. âI live in downtown LA. And I know there are a lot of law firms closer and more well-known, but I justâŚâ want to disappear. Want to pretend this isnât even happening. Want to imagine Iâm in some other world. She winces, pausing to suck on her cigarette.Â
âBut itâs only a twenty-minute drive, a straight shot on the I-10, and I want to go with someone with whom Iâve already established a working relationship,â she exhales at last. âAnd I canât believe youâre out here now! Howâd that happen?â
  âOf course Iâm in!â Rebecca exclaims, more happy now that she knows itâs definitely not her mom the one whoâs calling. After all, sheâs used to DIVORCE, not by herself but sheâs seen what happens when two adults end the marriage: see Silas and Naomi Bunch. âMen are TERRIBLE, so I will help you as much as I can.â Okay, not all men -- Josh Chan is sun, happiness and all great things, but the rest of guys are the worst.Â
  Itâs also weird for Rebecca talking to someone from her past and NOT DISLIKE them -- it happened with Audra, it happened with her mom and all that bunch of relatives and friends from Scarsdale when she attended her cousinâs bar mitzvah. Yeah, she doesnât remember that much about Anna, but she knows she was, at least, cool. However, sheâs not going to ask about juicy details about her divorce, but Rebecca can notice by the phone that sheâs struggling. âOh, LA. That sounds fun, but itâs nice you want to do it with us -- Whitefeather and Associates. Theyâre great people.â
  And then, the question comes out. It was easy to lie everyone in West Covina about her arrival, but Anna doesnât look like the person that believes the whole âI just happened to be here!â thing, so she adds. âWell... You know, I needed a NEW START, and this place was the first that came across my mind.â