A Night Out - Beth and Jeff 35:2:16

Eight days, fourteen hours and six minutes after that night, Beth was handed the Petition to Divorce while at work.

She wasn't surprised, but still, it hammered home what was happening.

Jeff didn't want her anymore. He decided he was better off without her, no matter the cost.

They still hadn't talked, and Jeff had blocked Beth on his phone. She suspected he was staying with Kevin Miller, who had filed the separation for Jeff, but he wasn't the lawyer representing Jeff in the divorce.

Kiera, when she found out what had happened via the work-grapevine about twenty minutes later, frowned.

She was sympathetic, but what had happened showed so much delusion and a lack of intelligence, she couldn't side with Beth.

Ali spent lunch with Beth, trying to lift her spirits, but failed.

++++++

Three weeks, a day, twenty hours, and seven minutes after that night, Beth sat in her lawyers conference room with her representation, awaiting the first meeting with Jeff and his lawyer to discuss the particulars of the divorce.

Jeff only looked at Beth when he had to.

Beth kept trying to get Jeff's attention, and once when Jeff looked like he was about to speak, his lawyer placed his hand on Jeff's arm, and Jeff sank back into silence.

Angry silence.

Jeff's proposal was simple... a fifty-fifty split, they sell the house, and each keeps their vehicles. They walk away after that.

Beth's lawyer wanted Jeff to continue paying for the car, which although it was in Beth's name, he'd been making the majority of the payments.

He wanted maintenance.

He wanted Jeff to keep paying on the house mortgage.

He wanted Jeff to do a number of things.

Then he wanted Jeff to go to counseling with Beth, to "work towards repairing their marriage."

"Not unless a judge orders it," was Jeff's lawyers response. "They make almost the same money. The car is in her name, my client is under no obligation to keep paying for it. You aren't getting any of the other things you've outlined."

"We can petition to..." Beth's lawyer went on, listing his clients options, which amounted to forcing Jeff to talk to Beth.

"Beth, let me outline this..." Jeff's lawyer started.

"Do not talk to my client." Beth's lawyer warned.

"... your lawyer here can file all those things he's just said, and it will take a while for each one to get ruled on. He'll be billing you the entire time. At the end of all that, until a judge orders Jeff to go to counseling with you, past an evaluation, none of that will work."

"You'll bleed money to him, and you'll lose."

"I'm warning you..." stated Beth's lawyer.

"Beyond that, what we've proposed is well within the guidelines in this state. The judge will agree, since you both make the same amount of money, have no kids, and mutual assets will be ordered to be split in any case."

"I suggest you ask another lawyer, rather than this cheap mouthpiece who has probably already taken a huge retainer from you without putting in much work, and see if I'm right."

"Otherwise, we're content to take this right up to the final day and let the judge decide, and trust me, that judge will go along with what we've got here."

The lawyer ended his proclamation by putting his finger on the proposal and tapping it twice.

"Good day," the lawyer stood, nodded to Jeff, and then both walked out of the room.

Beth didn't know what to say or think, while her lawyer gave her a stream of assurances that he had the skill to navigate the system and get Beth what she wanted.

After five minutes of her lawyer giving her his credentials, Beth decided to ask the opinion of someone Ali hadn't recommended.

++++++

One month and seven hours after that night, Beth gave her parents a 'highly-edited' version of why she needed money for a new lawyer.

It turns out the one she'd 'retained' after being assured he worked cheap and could get her what she wanted, had come on to her, and gotten a bit handsy. Beth had no tolerance for anything romantic or sexual, she'd discovered.

Beth's father had sat quietly while the story was spun, and at the end, he'd simply snorted, and given his wife a communicating look.

"Really..." Beth's mother had stated, staring her daughter in the eyes. "... Jeff just... no."

Beth felt lost. She knew what was coming when her mother got that tone.

"You need to tell us the truth. If you expect help, don't start trying to get it by lying." Beth's mother summed.

"Again." Her father had capped with.

At the end, her parents told her they wouldn't help her financially, but she was welcome to move back in... for a while... after the house sold, as long as she pulled her weight and "started nothing bad."

"Again," her father had ended with.

"And don't bring that Ali into this house," mother had finalized. "She's still not welcome here. Twenty years later, that woman is still leading you wrong, and you refuse to realize it. I'm so disappointed in you."

Beth's mother was wrong. She had a very good idea now.

++++++

Ali was feeling her world start to develop fissures around her.

Beth hadn't talked, texted, or called her in more than two weeks, after her meeting with Jeff.

Her husband, Jim, had started asking her "Why?" far too much, when she started steering him in certain ways... and he wouldn't stop. Ali thought he was actively suspicious of her now. She didn't need that.

Work was acting, if a business could 'act,' strangely. Her work-load had decreased, and she was doing more review of policies. She would try and talk about it with her idiot manager, Kiera.

Beth was the most concerning thing right now. They'd been together since they were kids. They'd done everything together. Beth was Ali's faithful rock, and the rock wasn't around anymore. She needed Beth.

++++++

"Beth? How are you doin'?" Ali asked when Beth picked up the phone one month, two days and fourteen hours after that night.

"I'm okay," Beth mumbled.

"... how did it go?" Ali knew Beth would know what she meant.

"It didn't." Beth said regretfully. "The lawyer you sent me to? Did you know he was going to try and talk me into..."

"What?" Ali asked, but she already knew.

"... Did you know he was going to offer to reduce my bill if I slept with him while he represented me?"

"Beth? No!" Ali said, but she had known it was likely he would do something.

Besides, Ali thought it would be good for Beth to get laid.

"I... did you fire him?"

"Yeah... I'm trying to come up with the money for another."

"Can you ask... this sounds weird, considering how old we are... can you ask your parents for help?" Ali asked.

"I already did." Beth had a weird tone in her voice, Ali thought.

"...What?" probed Ali.

"They said no." Beth had some strength in her voice now.

"Oh, no..." Ali sympathized.

"In fact, they told me they'd take me in for a while, after I LOSE my HOUSE..." Beth sound more than a little accusatory, Ali considered.

"Uhm... well, that's good..." Ali supplied.

"Well, yes, it is... nobody else would do that, would they?" Beth asked, heat coming over the phone. "Even someone who helped put me in this situation."

"Beth..."

"Ali, I... I shouldn't have listened to you." Beth admitted, angrily. "You made it sound so good... a little adventure, to let us explore... "But you have to control Jeff, men get out of hand, if you let them" you said..."

Ali remembered saying that.

"You know, only you made it sound good. Like it would work." Beth accused. "Mrs. Kiera thought it was shit, remember? My parents are so disgusted... and I have to move in with them, and deal with their looks, their tone, their anger... they LIKED Jeff!..."

"But me?... I'm so stupid, Ali." Beth went on. "I let you... why?"

Beth sobbed then.

"...Why did you... why did I..."

Ali didn't know how to react. She knew that she'd been the one telling Beth what to do, how to get Jeff moving along, but she felt that somehow Beth had messed up the plan. She didn't know how, but she'd known Jeff as long as Beth had, and she just knew he was the type of man who would give Beth what she needed.

Besides, it had worked with Tadd... too well.

Ali realized that no matter what had happened, her best friend was in pain, and she bore some responsibility for that.

She had to do something about it.

"Beth... what can I do?" is the question she asked to begin.

"Can you go back in time?" Beth spat. "Stop me from listening to you?!"

"... no."

"Then I guess there's nothing you CAN do."

Ali needed to do something. This was wrong. Beth was pulling away from her, and that couldn't happen. She needed Beth. She loved Beth. She had to fix this.

A half-thought occurred.

"Beth, when is your next meeting with Jeff supposed to be?" Ali asked, trying to sound as supportive as she could.

"If I can get a lawyer, I think... why are you asking?" Beth sounded suspicious.

"Uh... I may be able to get you some money?" Ali suggested. "I don't know. I've got... anyway, I may be able to shake some loose. When would you need it by?"

"Two weeks..." Beth responded, seizing on any hope she could.

++++++

Five weeks, six days, eleven hours, and eight minutes after that night, Ali was sitting in her car in a parking lot, hoping to see who she was looking for.

She'd paid four grand for this opportunity.

At first, she wasn't certain, but then she took off her sunglasses and saw who she was looking for, as he walked along the sidewalk with another man, on his way to a meeting with Beth and her lawyer.

The man who hadn't been strong enough to let his wife have some harmless fun. The man his best friend had an unhealthy attachment to. Who maybe held the key to Ali keeping her best friend.

Jeff.

Ali got out of the car, and sprinted to catch up. Coming onto the sidewalk behind the two men, she yelled for Jeff's attention.

"Ali?" Jeff asked, turning to see who had been yelling his name.

"Jeff, I need to talk to you..." Ali said, as she came close.

Jeff peered at Ali suspiciously, remembering all the times she'd made him doubt her value as a friend, and even a human at times.

"What about?" Jeff asked, glancing at his no-nonsense lawyer, who had taken him on as a favor to Kevin Miller.

"What do you think?" asked Ali. "Beth. There's something you don't know."

Jeff continued to peer at Ali, then looked a question at his lawyer.

"We've got about twenty minutes before we sit down. I'll wait at the door for you." His lawyer said. "If this is something that changes things, don't wait until the last second."

With that, he turned and walked off.

"Ok, what's going on?" Jeff asked, his demeanor showing skepticism.

"Jeff, do you really, really want to divorce her?"

"Yeah, I do." Jeff said, not having to think about his response.

"Uhh..." Ali hadn't expected a response exactly like that. "Can we talk about that?"

"What's to discuss?"

Ali had expected some small rant or explanation after that statement, but Jeff apparently wasn't sharing anything like that.

"Well... Beth... this wasn't all her idea, you know..." Ali said, looking a little nervous.

Beth peered at Ali again, his eyes narrowing, and he fixed her with his gaze for several seconds.

"Okay, what does that mean...?" Jeff asked, suspicion in his voice.

"Look, Beth... she loves you. Do you doubt that?" Ali asked, trying to find a way past Jeff's shell.

"I doubt that completely." Jeff answered, again without hesitation.

"Well, you shouldn't. She does." Ali said. "She's miserable. She needs you. She's tearing herself up, over how you reacted."

"What do you know, Ali?" The way Jeff pronounced her name, so laced with suspicion, it made Ali even more uncomfortable.

"Look... if your problem is how she was treating you... I..."

"You coached her..." Jeff said, connecting what he knew of Ali's history, and her influence over Beth.

Ali smiled back sheepishly.

"You told my wife to treat me like that." Jeff half accused, half questioned.

"Well, not exactly like that..."

"Did you tell her to ditch me that night, and sleep with that asshole?"

Ali did some fast mental gymnastics, and came to a unthinking decision about what Jeff should know.

"Jeff, she didn't sleep with him." Ali said. "She just sat and talked. Mostly about you."

Jeff straightened up to his full height, disbelief on his face.

"This was all about... getting you to... show her some more attention..." Ali stumbled over.

"Attention." Jeff didn't ask, stressing the word.

"Yeah," Ali confirmed. "She says you weren't doing all the little things anymore. Little touches and hugs and stuff."

"There's a reason for that." Jeff responded, and said no more.

Ali waited a couple of seconds for Jeff to expound, but he didn't. She decided to jump in a little deeper. For Beth's sake.

"I'm the one who... told her to start cutting you off." Ali admitted.

"Explain that."

"Look, there's a goal to all of it. It's nothing bad, but guys don't see it that way. It apparently got out of hand that night, and it was a mistake and all, but believe me, it wasn't anything bad."

"I don't believe you." Jeff said flatly.

"Ehm... why?" Ali asked, knowing this was probably going to get worse before it got better.

"Because it was, and IS,... bad." Jeff stressed.

Ali wanted to argue, but that wouldn't help Beth right now.

"It just got out of control that night. You weren't ready." Ali protested. "Nothing happened with Bob, and you've lost nothing."

"I lost love, respect, honesty, faith, and desire for Beth." Jeff stated. Again, there was no following explanation.

"Nothing happened that was that bad! Honestly! They didn't do anything! It was all set up to make you jealous, so you'd pay Beth more attention! I swear, if you just..."

While Ali was going on, and gaining steam in her argument, Jeff again peered at her, and after a moment, he held up his hand to get Ali to stop.

"Wait..." Jeff started. "You and Ali work together... with Bob. You all work at the same place."

Ali's mind raced while she realized where Jeff was going with that.

"You helped set that up." Jeff said, his voice going lower. "You helped with that stupid show that I was forced to go through."

"I'm telling you, it's not what you think, and it's nothing bad!" Ali protested again, repeating herself.

"Oh no, it's bad." Jeff affirmed, without hesitating. "It's very bad."

Ali waited, out of habit, for Jeff to expound, but he didn't. He was however, thinking furiously, she could see that.

"Were you behind her cutting me off in the bedroom? All that bullshit?" Jeff asked suddenly.

"I..."

"The bondage? Her doing the humiliation? The turning bitchy? The cuckold idea?"

Ali just looked at Jeff.

"... that's what you... you did that to Tadd, your previous husband, right?" Jeff asked, putting things together. "You cheated on him, and tried to get him to go along with it, right?"

"That's... not how it works." Ali stated.

"You fucking ruined that guy." Jeff accused. "He was a nice guy... I wondered why you were only married a couple of years. Last I heard, he was in therapy and back at his parents."

Ali wanted to protest, but yes, Tadd was still in therapy. And medication. And disability.

"I thought... Beth told me you two fell out of love... but that wasn't it, was it." Jeff said, putting pieces of what he knew of Ali's personality, matching to the reality he knew. "You cheated on him? Right?"

Ali took too long to find words.

"You cheated on him, and tried to get him to... what? Accept it? Support you in it?" Jeff again questioningly accused. "Get him to support you in that shit?"

"It's not like that." Ali said, her mood turning. Jeff was suddenly more perceptive that Ali had given him credit for, and she didn't like it.

"I think it is." Jeff said, his mind racing.

"No, it's not." Ali said, her tone changing. "Nothing I did hurt Tadd. He needed led, yeah, but it was good for us."

"Until it wasn't." Jeff said. "If it ever was."

"Don't be an ass." Ali said. "It was good."

"Not for Tadd, obviously." Jeff defended. "And when it ended, it didn't take you long to move on, did it? What? Like... weren't you married again in about a year?"

Ali shot Jeff a dark look.

"Yeah... you fucked your husband in the head so much, he's a recluse now, doped up, his mom watching him... and you hop-skip-jumped onto the next dick."

"Shut up." Ali said. She didn't even know why Beth wanted this asshole... but she did. And Beth was what mattered here.

"Tell me, did you find hubby number four while pogo-ing from dick to dick?"

"It wasn't like that." Ali said, trying to remember Beth. But she was going to talk to Beth about Jeff being an uptight, egocentric misogynistic asshole that she could do without.

"Bullshit." Jeff fired back. "If it wasn't, then what was it?"

"It's just sex! Okay? It's just sex, it's like swinging..."

"Was Tadd getting some too?" Jeff asked, but his smile wasn't polite.

"He wasn't ready, I'll give you that!" Ali stated her opinion, forcefully. "You men aren't ready for stuff like this, at the beginning. You're all possessive, territorial, when it's our bodies and our happiness! You have to be trained to do it right! You have to be shown!"

"But Tadd didn't do it right!" Ali looked to the side, frowning. "If he'd gone along, eventually, I would have let some woman sleep with him, if she was interested! He would have gotten his!"

"What?" Jeff asked, surprised.

"You men are dogs!" Ali explained, anger in her voice. She didn't like being questioned, by anyone. "You have to be trained, otherwise you lay claim to women, and you don't give them what they need! Women have to take charge!"

"So what if it's about sex! It's your guys' main focus! It's also the best way to train you, and get you to see our viewpoint!"

"Women want variety!" Ali justified. "It doesn't matter the size, shape or how good a dick is, if it's the same dick all the time! The same tongue! The same routine! It all goes blah! Boring!"

"Let a woman take charge, gently, so you men don't get uptight, and eventually it works out great for everyone! No more cheating! No more sneaking around! Everyone is happy! Just let the woman show you how to do it, be strong enough to handle it while you are learning, and stop being assholes!"

Jeff was staring at Ali, not quite sneering.

"That's what I was helping Beth do for you!" Ali fired off. "It was about making you more secure with the idea, while giving Beth what she needs!"

"She's seen women look at you! She knew eventually you would give in to temptation... but if you did it her way, and you understood what your marriage really is, it wouldn't be a problem! There's no cheating if you do this right! Nothing to get upset over, like you are, you tiny-dicked insecure little bitch!"

"You're wrong." Jeff stated, his voice low and deliberate.

"No, I'm not!" Ali spat back, leaning into Jeff. "It works! You getting all butt-hurt over her leaving with another guy is proof! If you'd been ready, it wouldn't have been a problem!"

"She just didn't get you there yet! That's all!" Ali forcibly explained. "You aren't ready to handle a mature relationship! YOU'RE the problem!"

"Says the bitch on hubby number four, before she's... what?... thirty-five?" Jeff justified.

"Fuck you!"

"I wouldn't fuck you with Bea Arthur's dick!" Jeff leaned back at her.

Ali had to blink at that one, which let other parts of her mind have a chance to remind her of her goal.

"Jeff... look... Beth made mistakes." Ali said, stepping back, and trying to get the worthless jackass Beth was unfortunately married to, to see reason. "Take some time... but drop the divorce, think about what was happening... I'll tell you more about what was happening... and go back to her."