Power and Passion by Kay Tejani

day. But we have to keep in mind that what is
good for us might not be good for every other woman. Anyway, we
could debate the pros and cons of that scenario for the rest of the
day. What's really interesting to me right now is the rise
of the stay-at-home dad in Dubai."
    "No," Sara said, reaching out to take a cake
for herself. She wasn't going to eat, but the chocolate one just
seemed to be calling her name right then. "Is that really a thing
now? I've never heard of it."
    "Well, it's not on the evening news yet. But
I'm coming across more and more women in the business world who
work while their husbands are at home with the kids full time. It's
already pretty prevalent in America—my daughter Erin's husband, for
example. When Erin's maternity leave is over, he'll be staying home
with their daughter. It just makes more sense for them
financially."
    Sara nodded, taking a bite of her cake. She
tried to imagine this scenario in her own future life: still
working at Special Olympics while Pierce stayed home and cared for
their children. Even in her mind she could see the panic on his
face; he would not know what to do with himself if he didn't work.
The thought made Sara laugh a little but alarmed her at the same
time. Is that what their marriage would be like? She did want to
have children. But what if she wanted to keep her job too?
    "Don't look so panicked," Joan told her,
breaking into her thoughts. "Dads are staying home more, but
workplaces are getting more flexible too. Employers understand that
sometimes both parents have to or want to work. Flex time, part
time, working at home—all sorts of options exist. This work culture
will change eventually whether it wants to or not. It won't happen
today or tomorrow, maybe not even by the time you have to make
these decisions yourself. It got this way over thousands of years;
it's going to take a few generations at least to start to get it
sorted out. But don't worry. We're already working on it. There is
a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is in sight."
    Sara let out a long breath. "Thank you,
Joan. Is it obvious that I'm so concerned?"
    "No more than the rest of us," Joan replied.
"We're women. We have to think about these things."
    Sara paused and took a sip of her
steaming-hot tea. She felt very relieved. This was why she had
liked Joan so much the last time they had worked together. Aside
from all the practical things Joan knew—the details Sara had wanted
to pick her brain about that day—she offered a wealth of constant
reassurance, advice, and insight that was truly invaluable to any
younger woman. Joan had been there and done that, as they say, and
she had learned so much along the way. What was more, she always
seemed to want to share this hard-earned wisdom.
    "All right, so let's get down to business
here," Joan said. "Tell me your idea about the gala first. Then
we'll talk about what we can do to improve it."
    Sara laid out the bare bones of her
tentative plan: the fundraising, the activities, the people she
would want to invite. She had so many disparate ideas and no clue
how to draw them all together. "Joan, to be honest," she concluded,
"I'm not even sure what I want to ask you. I just need help
figuring it all out."
    "Okay," Joan said, pulling her chair closer
to the table. She cleared her throat and folded her hands—her
business stance, Sara thought. This had to be what she looked like
when she was brokering a deal. "Here is what we're going to do.
Like I told you on the phone last night, we must start with a
proposal, a business plan of sorts for your idea. We're going to
nail down potential venues, food vendors, DJs and bands, auction
houses that might want to participate—just for the publicity, of
course. The goal here is not to pay for any of it or at least to
get these services at extremely reduced fees. Many companies want
to get involved with fundraisers because it raises their own
image—people see their logo attached to the event and they