Don't Ask Me to Reconsider

Don’t Ask Me to Reconsider

A climax has been reached. A character acts on a very tough decision. The position is now public. Why would anyone change their mind? Chances are the decision involved strong, battling emotions, which dragged out for too long. Rethink implies the original considerations were tainted with carelessness, prejudice, or lack of insight. Those factors don’t motivate one to engage in another time of turmoil.

A claim, “Your stubborn,” rarely moves one to be more flexible. A perception that one is reasonable and open to finding the truth has a better change in altering a stand. For a person heavily impacted by emotion, like fear, wisdom recommends avoid anyone who might attempt to appeal to your reasonable nature. If one is confident in their carefully thought-out position, they may accept a reexamination. They would prepare to rebut any challenge, a time of even greater tension. Often strong positions are well considered. It’s not reason that can bring about change, but an appeal to a value, a higher value than the one already chosen.

These factors come to play in my novel, Baggage burdens. Mountaintop tensions rock the lives of Jill, twice when she is a teen, and in Joseph’s life after 27 years of marriage. Jill has mixed feelings about her decision to runaway from home. Rehashing the painful factors that lead her to her position is unthinkable. To her friend, Robin, she changes the subject. Instead she says she needs to find a place to sleep tonight. When Jill decides to runaway before her loving grandmother arrives, Jill uses compassion to avoid her friend, Karen’s attempt, to question Jill’s stand.

In Joseph’s mind, his position to divorce his wife is based on sound reasoning. He forcefully faces his best friends’ reasonable challenges until they appeal to a value that he holds as more important than his comfort level.

Robin guesses something is wrong. After Robin promises to keep Jill’s secret, Jill says, “I’ve run away from home.”

“What happened?” Robin takes her eyes off the road and scans Jill’s body for any sign of injury. She knows about the problems Jill has had with her father.

 “I don’t want to talk about it.” She is afraid that talking about last night may expose that she isn’t very confident about her decision to leave home. ‘All I need is to have Robin trying to convince me to go back.’

Robin pulls into the school parking lot. “Are you sure? We don’t have to go to class.” Robin parks far from any other cars. “I’d like to help you in any way I can.”

Hoping to change the topic, Jill asks if she can store her backpacks in the trunk. Robin quickly agrees but insists that Jill fill her in on the details. Before Robin can ask her anything else, Jill announces that she’s going to attend class.

“You’re kidding!”

“I need a distraction.” Jill lies. By pretending to be working in class, Jill thinks she can hide from Robin’s questions, from anyone’s questions.

“That’s precisely why you both should seek counseling,” persists Thomas.

Shaking his head, Joseph says, “If she doesn’t want to try to make me happy after all these years, counseling isn’t going to change that. The best I could hope for is that she sees our marriage as a job, a job sees doesn’t care to do but must. That’s no marriage.”

“If that is the case, why would Jill have called here three times?” says Rebecca.

“She phoned!” Joseph’s head jerks up.

“Three times,” repeats Rebecca.

“What did you say?”

“Just that we’d give you the message. She didn’t say why she called, just that it was important. I’d say there is a marriage there for you to restore.”

“If you want to,” adds Thomas.

“So will you call her?” Rebecca reaches across the table to hold Joseph’s hand, but he’s out of her reach. He makes no effort to close the distance. Instead he looks to the floor again. His silence prompts further urging from Rebecca. “Joseph?”

Joseph looks at Thomas’s anxious face, then at Rebecca’s. “You don’t know how hard it was for me to make this decision. It’s too late to turn back.”

“For the sake of your children, the ones you say are most important to you. Don’t you think it’s worth a try?”

Rebecca notes Joseph tightening grip on the side of the table. Hoping his resolve is weakening, she advances a revised idea. “You still see Bill from time to time, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you trust him?”

“Yes.”

“You know solving personal relationship problems is what he does. Would you consider letting him try to see if he can bring about a better resolution than leaving? I’ll bet he’d jump at a chance to help the two of you.”

Thomas pats Rebecca’s back. “He’s a person Jill knows and trusts. I’ll bet she’d be willing to talk with him.” They look at each other, confident they’ve found a solution. Turning their attention back to Joseph, they await his response.

Joseph nods, looking down at the floor as if he’s been defeated.

         haiku capsule:                 

thoughtful made-up mind

no re-examination

position firmly held

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