The Fifth Season Read Online Free PDF

to settle down.
    The affair lasted six months, ending only when distance finally took its toll during a prolonged separation. Fieldmann accepted a position as bureau chief in Rio, and although he had asked Mary Jo to accompany him, the invitation did not come with a ring. Had he proposed, she would have willingly sacrificed her career and followed Eric to South America.
    Instead, she declined, deeply distressed that their relationship would end, bitter when he left, without a promise that he might return.
    She became introspective and moody. Depressed, Mary Jo often stressed herself beyond acceptable limits and her work suffered, the symptoms easily recognized by friends and workplace associates. Sometimes she would phone Eric at home in Rio just to hear his voice, wishing that their conversations might occasionally lead to something more meaningful than the light-hearted banter which invariably dominated their exchanges. Once, when she identified a woman’s voice answering, Mary Jo had hung up, startled and embarrassed. The realization that she had become an intruder into her former lover’s life prevented Mary Jo from calling again.
    When Eric sent cards on her birthdays and at Christmas, she reciprocated, but after a time, even these communications slowed, trickling to an occasional, hurriedly-scribbled note, until finally ceasing altogether as both moved on with their lives. Then, without understanding why, Mary Jo had taken up smoking.
    Her chief-of-staff watched Mary Jo with increasing concern, as her performance at work failed to achieve the same high standards she had produced in the past. He took Mary Jo aside and warned her to pull herself together or risk losing her position and the respect of others in the industry. The ultimatum was sufficient to galvanize Mary Jo back into action, heeding the chief ’s sound advice. The quality of her work improved, and she threw herself back into her profession with renewed vigor. The change was significant, even startling. Her confidence returned once she managed to put her personal problems into perspective, and behind her. Soon, Mary Jo was back in the air, covering North American events with even greater energy and dedication than before.
    Alone, while resting in her apartment at the end of a long tiring day, Mary Jo often questioned her independent nature and the sacrifices she had made. Fortunately, these rare journeys into the murky world of self-pity quickly passed. She came to terms with what had happened, accepting that the final choice not to proceed to Rio, had really been hers. Jaundiced, but not hardened by the experience, Mary Jo promised to be more careful in her future relationships.
    Throughout the following two years, she spent most of her life on flights jetting to destinations even her chief-of-staff had difficulty spelling. Bosnia, Chechnya, and many of the former Soviet satellites whose names were a linguistic nightmare, were all reported in depth, her skillful coverage recognized as amongst the finest journalistic efforts in that year.
    Her knowledge of peoples and cultures grew, but only partially satisfying her insatiable appetite for more. Mary Jo’s coverage of the brutal Central African slaughters earned her a Pulitzer nomination, although she was greatly disappointed not to be awarded the prize.
    Occasionally there were moments of doubt when she wondered how life might have been, had she followed Eric to South America, but these moments of lapse and self-indulgence were easily dismissed when Mary Jo reminded herself of the fulfilling experiences she continued to enjoy, due to the choices she had made. The satisfaction of knowing that she still had control over her own life, brittle as it sometimes seemed, spurred her forward. Her confidence returned, and she ceased smoking, determined not to fall into that trap again.
    The following Spring, her life suddenly took a new and promising turn.
    She was offered a senior