Beholden

By R. J. Will

One week after Clare graduated as the valedictorian of her high school senior class, her parents were killed in a horrific car crash. The tragedy set Clare adrift, and she ended up canceling her plans to go to college. Instead, she stayed home and married Henry, her high school sweetheart. The early years of Henry and Clare's marriage, when their two children were growing up, were happy years. Clare suffered from empty-nest syndrome after the kids were grown and gone, but in time she got over it.

Or thought she did.

Now in her mid-50s, her dissatisfaction with being what she called a "stay-at-home wife" was growing. She wanted to be more than that. She wanted to "do something of worth" before she died. The empty-nest syndrome had not disappeared; it had merely morphed into a burning desire to work outside of her home. Henry, who described himself as "old school," was fiercely against the idea, and their marriage started to unravel.

Enter Steve, a classmate of Henry and Clare's who had been a big-city banker before he returned to his hometown to manage the local bank. Steve had a shock of silver hair and a silver tongue to match. He reconnected with Clare and offered her what she considered a dream job - running the food bank he wanted to set up. But there was a catch. Steve made it clear he expected certain favors from Clare.

Let the power struggle begin.