"Many people find their jobs unsatisfying and quit, the same as with relationships. You just had the bad luck of having both events converge. Or maybe not. Maybe you took advantage of the vigor needed to leave one to leave the other."
"I know you don't really believe that. But thank you for trying to make me feel better."
He stretched his arm over the table to touch her hand.
"You once said it was unfair to compare my scale of values to anyone else's."
She stared at him, surprised that he remembered her words so clearly.
"I am the first one to blame myself for not liking what I had. So I naturally expect the others to do the same."
"Well, you're wrong. You told me our first night here that you'd wanted to study Journalism because you liked writing, but you hadn't realized the actual work might also imply intruding on people's privacy and other things you didn't take so well."
"Yes."
"And you also told me that you'd met David and he'd made you think he was more willing to commit himself than in time it turned out he really was."
"Aha."
"You're not a failure. You're living! That's what life is made of: experiences, decisions… You remember my friend Tom Mulligan, don't you?"
"Yes, we met at Mrs. Sloan's house."
"Well, he frequently says to me: Jesse, life is a jungle. And now I would like to share that mantra with you. I find it a very useful thought. It helps me realize that I have only a limited amount of responsibility in my little daily disasters, so I better assume that bad things just happen sooner or later, and try to be as relaxed as possible, since that is the only thing that's truly in my power to do."
Kathy considered his words for some seconds.
"It makes sense," she conceded. His speech as well as the physical contact was having a soothing effect on her. "But what if they start making up horrible stories about us? It occurs to me they might even try to accuse me of murdering Mrs. Sloan. After all, I was the only person with her when she passed away. And they are already suggesting a conspiracy…"
"That's not gonna happen. They wouldn't want to be involved in that kind of scandal. No way. Mrs. Martin's just mad at her sister - jealous of her, to be more precise -, ranting and raving. And she's, unfortunately, drawing the others.