Dragon Lady

Elizabeth Milligan
Writing Assignment for November 5, 2007
On Specifics and Character

Dragon Lady

- Sylvia, her regal profile would have graced a Roman coin with distinction

Houston, Texas - It was near the end of a week day in 1981. I was sitting at my desk, gazing out the window at the cityscape below, when the phone rang. It was my friend, Sylvia. Her voice, usually strong and mellifluous, was weak and wavering. I switched from a speaker phone to a conventional phone. “Elizabeth, Jim just put me on four weeks notice.”

Sylvia worked at Oil Partners, a small independent oil company in Houston that specialized in buying land leases. Her news was simply a sign of the times - the price of crude was $13 a barrel and business was slow, lines for unemployment checks were long. But she was undone and I had never before heard her so distressed.

What could I do?

The nicest restaurant closest to both of us was the Rainbow Lodge, a restaurant that Sylvia had recommended to me once. Since then, I had booked my favorite table there whenever I wanted quiet and elegant comfort.

“Sylvia, meet me at the Rainbow Lodge at 6:30, my treat”

At 6:30, the hostess ushered us to the table in a small windowed alcove overlooking the grounds. A stream cascaded down strategically placed rocks surrounded by plants and trees decorated with strings of colored lights. The interior looked like a great hunting lodge and massive beams hovered high above linen-draped tables. Usually, the clash of the riotous external décor with the high caliber of the service amused me to no end, but my attention was elsewhere this time.

Both Sylvia and I ordered bourbon on the rocks with a splash of water and a twist. After the server brought us our drinks, Sylvia began to talk.

“Jim was not only like a father to me, he was a good friend. He and Helen, his wife, had me over to their place for dinner many times. I guess I could have seen it coming. Times have been hard in the oil business and Jim’s company is small. He held off for as long as his partners let him. I have never seen him as upset as he was when he gave me notice today. He says I can use the company’s resources for as long as I need to find a new job.”

I nodded in empathy. As I studied the candle flame, I noted Sylvia’s hunched shoulders and wet eyes.

“I grew up in Brooklyn. All of my relatives lived nearby. If I fell and scraped my knee anywhere, I knew that relatives lived on that block and I could just go to their door for help … Back then, I wanted a store-bought dress more than anything. My mother made all of my clothes; such fine hand-stitching and finished inseams and hems. When I was thirteen, I was allowed to buy dresses off the rack and I was amazed at how poorly they were made; such sloppy workmanship … I got married when I was seventeen. I had just graduated from high school. Even though my parents had married at the same age, both of them wanted me to wait until I finished college. So, I promised to get my college degree … My husband was very successful and my parents adored him. Daddy started to carve a cradle for his first grandchild.

“After I graduated from Barnard, I worked at Davis Polk in Manhattan …”

“Sorry Sylvia, I know I should know but I don't. What kind of a firm is Davis Polk?”

“…Oh – the biggest law firm in New York. You know, the baby lawyers there called me the Dragon Lady”, she chuckled softly.

I chuckled, too. We ordered dinner and our server took our menus.

“Anyway, I worked there as the head of legal assistants and mentor to new lawyers. At our first few regular meetings, they always tried to impress me with their positions. Very soon, they realized that I knew more than they did about the law and about the firm. Very soon, they realized that except for meetings with me, they would be doing nothing more for the first year at Davis Polk than carrying partners’ briefcases.”

I laughed at the image of Sylvia herding baby lawyers around Davis Polk.

“After ten years, I finally accepted that my husband did not want children. We divorced and I moved to Houston. At Davis Polk, I had worked with a big firm in Houston that always wanted me to head up their staff of legal assistants. The baby lawyers in Houston called me the Dragon Lady, too.”

Smiling, I shook my head slowly and commented, “I think that male lawyers do that when they feel threatened by a competent woman.”

“Anyway, on the plane to Houston, I sobbed like a baby. The man sitting next to me was Jim. He listened to me and bought me drinks. Usually, I did not drink so I felt rather tipsy when the flight ended.

Later, after I had been working at the law firm in Houston for a year, Jim called and offered me a job with his new company, Oil Partners.”

“Uh-hmmm”

“Tonight is the first time I have cried in public since that plane trip from New York. I feel much better now. Thanks, Elizabeth.”

Our dinners arrived and somehow I knew then that Sylvia would never again tell me so many stories about herself.