Of Great Worth
By Anne Ferrell Tata
Anyone looking in from the outside would think that Avery and her friends had nothing to complain about. They were prosperous and active in their communities. They lived in nice homes and drove nice cars. They were married to successful men. So, why was one a closet alcoholic, and the others all struggling so to find real happiness?
Vulnerable, Avery decides to retreat from the relative safety of Virginia Beach to New York City to commiserate with her best friend Lexie, a single supermodel living the glamorous Manhattan single life.
As often happens when we are vulnerable, trouble appears. This time it’s in the form of a wealthy and charming business owner and friend of Lexie’s who is immediately drawn to Avery in every way. He begins a romantic onslaught that she finds hard to resist. His personal magnetism, his private jet, and all the trappings of wealth begin to pull her away from her husband and two beloved children.
Her choice? To take the train home to her husband and figure out how to fix the formidable issues that they face. Or, to take the plane, and fly away with Giovanni La’Rocca, taking her baggage with her to an unknown destination.
Will she stay and fight to save her family? Or, will she run away?
It would probably be no stretch to say that every marriage goes through some rough spots, long spells where the fireworks are quiet, and the fire seems to have gone out. These treks through the valleys can be dangerous times for couples. In a world where many have given up on the institution of marriage entirely and half end in divorce, it would be safe to say that many are not successfully navigating through the troubled times and arriving safely to the other side.
Avery Fletcher found herself in just such a place, deep in the valley. Her husband, Richard, was a busy attorney who worked long hours and justified his emotional absence that she felt every evening when he returned home from his exceedingly long and grueling days at the office. Gone were the heady romantic days when he would send flowers and call a few times a day just to say that he was thinking about her. These days, she felt put upon and ignored, and the joy of being married to Richard was long gone.
Her weekly lunch meetings with her 3 close female friends, The Committee, were no help. She appreciated their friendship, but sometimes their cynicism left her cold. They were friends, but she was still hesitant to tell this group that there was definitely something wrong in her marriage to Richard, and that she even found herself daydreaming about escape, and worse.