Charlotte, part 2

I'll open this up with one question. What do all of the following have in common?

-John F. Kennedy, Jr (moment of silence because that man was SO good-looking)
-Hillary Clinton
-California Gov. Jerry Brown
-New York Gov. George Pataki's daughter
-Dean of Stanford Law Kathleen Sullivan
-California Gov. Pete Wilson

Answer: they all failed their bar exams at least once.

Kate woke up really early on Wednesday and started pacing the floor like crazy. The bar exam results from Delaware came out that day, and she was desperately trying to find out if she passed or not. Kate's VERY smart and a HUGE overachiever. She was NINTH in her law school class, never got below a B in law school, interned for the Delaware Supreme Court, all kinds of smart. But she was worried sick, and even went on a run to let some stress out. She couldn't even check it herself, she was so scared, so she had her ex-boyfriend check and call her with the results. Finally, the phone rang...

I thought he was joking. But no, she alarmingly didn't pass. Of course, she started crying. I'd be crying even if I passed. In the long run, no, it didn't matter if she passed, because she'll still have to take the North Carolina Bar as well, and she definitely wanted to leave Delaware behind. But as the rest of you overachievers know, it just SUCKS when you try and work really hard at something, then it doesn't work out. I took Kate out for a drink and shopping at the Mall, then we headed for Lynchburg. I sent my Lynchburg friends a text message that basically said "hi, Kate didn't pass the bar and she can't sit at home in Lynchburg - what are you going to do to help with this???"

Needless to say, they're great in a pinch. My friend Chris and, of all people, my ex-boyfriend, (he's a friend of Kate's as well), came out with us and helped drown sorrows. Jack Daniels' stock undoubtedly soared the next day. We had a great time (well, the hangover hurt a bit) and I'm very thankful my friends were there to help in making her feel better.

It'll be a great chapter in her biography.