1. Carol and Ron have been married for 6 years and are experiencing a great deal of marital strain. Although they have always had conflict, it seems to have worsened in the last few months. When they were newlyweds, they used to share everything. Now, they barely seem to talk. Just the other day, Carol got a promotion and work and when she told Ron, he smiled briefly before reminding Carol that she was going to have to work longer hours and that she had mentioned before that her new boss could be a bit of a jerk.

Carol is thinking of leaving Ron. After all, she has a great job and her own resources, so she is not dependent on him. However, she hesitates because Ron shows flashes of kindness. If she asks or tells Ron to do something for her, he almost always does it. Although she has become less interested in sex, occasionally Ron will act warmly toward her, which makes her more willing to have sex. And sometimes if she holds out long enough, he will even make one of his amazing dinners for her.

Ron is also struggling with thoughts about leaving Carol. He finds that he is always 'on edge' around her and whenever she does something annoying - which is often - he can't help but lash out. He used to be patient and early in their marriage, he used to count to ten silently to himself and not get too upset. Now, he just sulks and would rather not deal with Carol's irritating behavior, and he often daydreams of getting to know Julie, the girl who works in the cubicle down the hall.

1. Ron knows that Carol has been talking a lot about her new boss. She used to think he was a jerk, now she can't stop talking about him. Ron doesn't really see what the fuss is about - the guy's not that good looking and if wasn't for his status, Carol probably wouldn't think twice. Ron is also annoyed at his own hypocrisy. Why is it ok for him to think of Julie, but whenever he thinks of Carol wrapped up in bed with her boss, he gets all nervous and sweaty and feels sick to his stomach?

While Carol and Ron are thinking of separating, they both wonder if they will be better off. They know lots of couples who have gotten divorced and are now more miserable than when they were married. Although they don't share this with each other, they both doubt that they will be able to find a new partner soon and think that divorce will be too difficult for them to deal with.