Anne-Marie De Ruvo is Brenda's first interview for the book she is writing about four single moms supporting each other. I originally created the interview to help me define my characters but then added the interviewer as a major character along with the interview. Day Care Moms can be bought thru on-line bookstores in e-book format or paperback. I'll introduce the other three moms over the next week or so.

Anne-Marie de Ruvo

Anne-Marie De Ruvo will be my first interviewee for the book that I’m writing for a woman I think is named Irena Lazlo. I’ve searched the Internet for info from what Barbara told me and found Lazlo has supported women’s causes since her divorce and big, big settlement. I agree with her causes. I could be wrong, but I’m a pretty good researcher and she’s been quoted in many articles on how important it is for women to support each other in big and little things. I wonder why she wants to stay anonymous. I guess at $50,000 she can.

When I call Anne-Marie, she is hesitant to meet. “I am worried about custody of my twins,” she says.

I suggest changing her name in the manuscript. Maybe I’ll change all their names and even the location. It’s too early in the project to make those decisions.

“I am not sure that will work. My future ex knows the other women. He will know it is me.” Her French accent is very light and very sexy. In our entire conversation she never uses a contraction.

We go back and forth. I can’t imagine the book will have a large readership. I tell her that. She agrees.

We meet at her office at Brandeis University in Waltham. It’s a pretty campus. Seeing all the students makes me feel a lot older than my 50 years. Was I ever that young? Was I ever married? Did I ever work as a waitress to support my writing? Yup. Still, all those experiences feel like lives belonging to someone else.

Anne-Marie is attractive. Her dark hair is cut into a Dutch Boy. I think of the French singer Mireille Mathieu. She wears slacks and a sweater and doesn’t have an extra ounce of fat. Around her neck she has tied a scarf in a way I couldn't figure out. So French. Part of me hopes she has some cellulite.

Her office is tiny, barely room for the desk and two chairs. A bookcase takes up one wall. There are no windows. One word to describe it? Claustrophobic, but it doesn’t seem to bother Anne-Marie.

She offers me an espresso made from a machine tucked between books on the third shelf. I accept so I can watch her. I hope the act of making me a cup will relax her.

I take out my recorder and put it on her desk.

“I do not know,” she says.

“It’s to help me get your story right.”

She nods and I press the record button.

Me: Anne-Marie, you moved from France to Massachusetts. Why?

AMdR: My husband is the CEO of his company. He… they wanted an American presence. He set up a Boston office. He went to Harvard Business School for an MBA and loved the area. Boston is lovely, n’est pas?

Me: I love it, too. Was the transition hard for you?

AMdR: Not really. My father was a French diplomat. We had several overseas postings in Japan, Australia, Belgium and South Africa. Going into a new culture was not that difficult. I found a job teaching French literature at Brandeis. It is my passion. (She lowers her eyes). I am even am on a tenure track.

Me: You have two children?

AMdR: Twin girls, almost four. My husband thought I should be a femme de foyer, a stay-at-home mom, after they were born. I worked too hard to get my diploma at the Sorbonne to do that. I have, a what do you say, a vocation.

Me: Congratulations on the tenure track. I’ve heard they’re hard to get.

AMdR: They are. I need to do research and publish, and that is part of the work I adore as well as working with the kids. But there is something else. I hate being dependent. The idea of asking Jean-Marc for money to buy him a present is just, how do you say, degrading. It was almost impossible for him to see that it was not just working I wanted. You do understand?

Me: Yet you asked your husband for a divorce.

AMdR: I did. Jean-Marc was a good husband in that he provided for us well. We had a McMansion in Reading. He never was nasty. It was just... just... It was like I was part of the furniture. My wants, my needs, my loves didn't matter. Maybe because he is part of the aristocracy, although he is the second son. Lucas, his older brother, will inherit everything.

Me: But that isn't the reason to ask...

AMdR: For a divorce? No. I'm not very proud of it, but I fell in love with an Irish prof. We talk about everything that Jean-Marc has no interest in. There is a problem, though.

Me: And that is?

AMdR: He is married. It was over a year ago, he asked me to marry him. We would break up with our spouses. I asked for a divorce the same day, but Jean-Marc wanted to work things out and I did try. When we separated, Jean-Marc moved back to Paris and put someone else in charge in the Boston office. However, Liam still hasn't spoken to Allison. She is his wife.

Me: (I nod.)

AMdR: I am also afraid if Jean-Marc finds out I'm having an affair with a married man, he will want custody of the girls. I know the French are supposed to understand these things, but he is very possessive. He is always pressuring me to return to Paris. He hates the idea of being the first male to divorce in his family ever. He complains that the girls are not getting enough French, even though I only speak to them in French when we are alone. In a group it has to be English.

Me: Are you worried that Liam won't leave his wife?

AMdR: (Plays with the left end of her scarf). Sometimes. (She glances at her watch.) I would love to talk more, but I will be late picking up the twins. (She kisses me on each cheek, puts on her coat and holds the door as I leave.)