Wally asked Anita how her daughter Heather was doing. Heather had always been
a dutiful, loving daughter. She got married about 10 years ago, at the age of
23. It was the first marriage for her and her husband Ben. They had two kids.
Everything seemed fine, even though Heather was the only one working. Ben had
gotten laid off two years ago. He was still looking for work.

They were fortunate because Heather’s grandma loved her to death. She had
bought a house for Heather as a wedding gift, so Ben and Heather had no mortgage to pay. Not one penny. Grandma asked only that Heather call her twice a month.
Recently, grandma had asked Anita what was wrong with Heather. Anita said she
didn’t understand—nothing was wrong. “Then why hasn’t she called?” grandma
asked. Anita said she would talk to Heather.

She left several messages, but Heather didn’t call back. Anita drove over to

the house. Ben was home, taking care of the kids.

“Where’s Heather?” Anita asked.

“She went to the beach,” Ben told her.

“Without you and the kids?” Ben was reluctant to talk, but he did. Heather

had started smoking again. Even worse, she had found a boyfriend. She had met
this guy at work, and things got out of hand. Ben didn’t know what to do. If he
filed for divorce, he might be out on the street with two kids to support. If he
didn’t get a divorce, he had to live with the humiliation of being supported by
a wife who was cheating on him.

Anita was astounded at her daughter’s selfish actions. She drove home and

called her mom. Grandma said that hopefully it was just a phase that Heather was
going through. She told Anita to make sure to remind Heather to call.