He parked in front of my place wearing jeans and a button-down silk shirt--a dead giveaway that he was working a corporate job again.

He was almost sheepish when he came inside, explaining why he was in my neck of the woods.

"We had a training out here for my new job. Don't worry, it's only temporary."

We walked to a coffee shop and shared a cookie, like we used to. He seemed happy, if not cautious. He liked being married, he said, though he wasn't sure about the new job.

"What's wrong with it?" I said.

"Nothing, except that it's a job. A regular old job. I'm back in a cubicle, making phone calls and enduring a commute. I said I would never do that again. But I'm married now, and she's just out of grad school and not working yet." He pulled out a business card.

"What's this?"

"It's the company I'm starting on the side. If everything works out I'll be back working at home and running a business from my laptop."

"That sounds nice."

"I can't do this nine-to-five thing knowing that's it. That this is how I'm going to be living my life."