The loudspeaker announced my number barely 10 minutes after I arrived for my appointment. “R718? R718 report to booth number four.” Even though I am a few years away from retirement, I was at my local Social Security office on a fact-finding expedition. I needed to prepare for the lawsuit my ex-husband threatened to launch because he was reaching “a reasonable retirement age” and wanted to end his alimony obligation to me. I was married for 30 years when I filed for divorce at the age of 53.