He was so wrapped up in his career that he was seldom around the kids and saw them more as a distraction and a chore. We were definitely not equal par...tners in the marriage, but neither of us had ever been stern or controlling parents. I was the one who kept order around the house though even if Stefan imagined it was him who set the rules.“No, do whatever you want to me, Sir!” I was vulnerable and completely unable to fight back. It would have been futile to make any threats to Stefan.“What if. Sunday night, when we had just arrived in Minneapolis, I got a call in the hotel room from, according to the desk clerk, "Charlize Jones."It was Maria."Charlize Jones?" I asked."Half Charlize Theron, half Catherine Zeta Jones," Mariaexplained."How many women do you know named "Charlize?" I asked her."Wait a few years," she said, "their number will go up. There are probably millions of five-year-olds already."I wasn't much for telephone conversations. Not even romantic ones.Maria was,. Shelived together with a friend, who was on the road a lot. Nor did sheinterest me. Actually she had enough money, but she mainly ran aninternet shop out of boredom. When Mom told me about that I'd hardlylistened."But she knows you; I'm always talking about you. She has severalreturned things, new stuff, which she can't sell any more. She's givingthem to you." And what kind of things are they?" All kinds of things. Look at them later, I'll put them in your room foryou. Well, now be on your way,. "Hi, Renata, I'm Ian Kiernan. We're in the same English class." I know. I've seen you there," she smiled. "You were friends with Debbie Cummings last year." That's right. She's a great gal," I said with a big smile."If that's the case, why did you break up?" she asked, this time without her trademark smile."Her decision, Renata. I think she wanted to experience different boyfriends, but you should ask her, not me. It was her idea. You can ask her about me, too, if you like."She looked at me.