(stereo)typically french

I had lunch with a friend and she told me about a couple she knows, let’s call them Mr. and Mrs. X. Mr. and Mrs. X have been married for about 20 years and during part of this time (if not the entire marriage) Mr. X has had lovers. Mrs. X is aware of this and does not object as long as Mr. X remains discreet and his affairs do not interfere with Mrs. X or the children. A short time before Christmas, Mrs. X called Mr. X’s office and an unfamiliar female voice answered. Mrs. X asked to speak to Mr. X and the woman on the other end asked who was speaking. Mrs. X had an odd feeling and told the mystery voice that she was Mr. X’s wife…she was immediately transferred. When she asked Mr. X about the woman who answered the phone and where his assistant was, he replied that the assistant no longer worked there and the woman who replaced her was someone Mrs. X knew. It turns out that Mr. X's mistress was now working as his assistant. Mrs. X hit the roof and asked Mr. X how his company (based in NY) would respond if she informed them that Mr. X was employing his mistress – who had no training or previous experience as an assistant.

A day or two later, Mrs. X told Mr. X that she had thought about what to get him for Xmas and had settled on the gift of divorce. Mr. X grumbled that he didn’t want a divorce (even though he’s mentioned it a few times in the past), but Mrs. X met with an attorney anyway. The attorney advised Mrs. X that filing for a divorce was not in her best interest financially because even though Mrs. X works part time in a family member’s business and earns a fraction of Mr. X’s salary, the apartment is in her name. This means that if Mrs. X files for divorce, she will have to pay alimony to Mr. X and she’ll be better off if Mr. X files. I suggested to my friend that Mrs. X should find herself a boyfriend and maybe that would push Mr. X to initiate a divorce. It so happens that she already has one and Mr. X knows about him. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried…