Tina: Did he ever try to see Mary or Paris during that time?

Harriett: I knew she was in Phoenix and I never made travel arrangements to that city in the entire 45 years which I work for the firm. And to the best of my knowledge, Melvin never made his own travel arrangements.  Even if he picked up a woman along the way, he would call me to make the reservations for a hotel room or dinner or what have you. And he knew that I knew when he had company or not. That was the one thing he never tried to hide from me was his philandering. It was just who he was.

Bette: Was there anyone which Dad got serious about after Maxine?

Harriett: Not to my knowledge. He never dated any woman more than about 6 weeks except for Catherine and Maxine. And I believe that when he found out she was alive, he literally still considered himself married. Married but separated. Strange as that seems. After all these years, they were apart, I believe he loved her until his drew his last breath. I think that in some ways he was still very much connected to her even though their relationship just ended abruptly and completely. I think he always held out hope that one day, she would return to him.

Bette:  Do you think he understood why she had to leave?

Harriett:  Intellectually he did, but emotionally?  No. She was the love of his life, the mother of his children and he never gave up on the hope that she might return to him. That is why he kept working long after his normal retirement date. If it hadn’t been for his illness, he would probably have been working until his dying day.  The firm forced him to give up being managing partner but they did not force him to stay away from his work or give up his office. His role as attorney was diminished over the years. He became more the face of firm attending social functions and glad handing the business community. Any work that came in was handed off to younger more able attorneys. He accepted his role with the firm with grace and dignity. He never argued about wisdom of him being less active in his work. I believe the firm also reduced his compensation commensurate with the work he was producing. But by then he was a very wealthy man and that did not matter much to him. After, Maxine died (in air quotes), Melvin ceased to be as flamboyant in his spending as he had been earlier. He drove the same car for 10 years, when in his early life, he had a new car every other year. I know, because he would always give me his old one when he bought a new one. Once you were in school, he would only refurbish his wardrobe every other year. He cut back on the number of suits he purchased from ten per year to five. And from five pairs of shoes to two pairs. He did less personal travel and linked on personal trips to business ones. He reduced his household personnel to only one housekeeper when you were in high school, I believe. He watched his investments more closely and he started to dispose of what he called the dogs and invested in more productive assets. And he mentored young attorneys within the firm. He was well liked in the firm, in the community and well known in the civil rights community.