Caught 155

They say that talk is cheap, but not talking can be so very expensive.

There is no sex in this story.

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If you had asked me four years ago if I'd be sitting here today preparing for divorce, I'd have told you that you were crazy. She was my life, my love, and my best friend. She was perfect. Yeah, she had a bit of a temper, but she was a redhead, and it came with the territory. No matter what else, I knew that we were made to be together. We would build a life together. Four years ago I took those vows "...in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, forsaking all others, 'till death do us part." Little did I know.

Who was it that first said, "You can't fix crazy!"? I don't know. I've been wracking by brain over that one for days, but I can't remember. I just know it's true.

I was sitting with my lawyer, James Bennett. He said to call him Jimmy, but this isn't the time for that. Jimmy is a guy you have a beer with. Your lawyer is James.

"So, James, do you still have no idea why I'm in this great big pile of shit?"

"Not a one, Bob. Normally by this point the other side is all too happy to brag and threaten. They like to think they can soften us up and then move in for the kill the first time we sit down, but so far all I know is she's charging infidelity."

"That's nuts, James. I've never cheated on Rebecca."

"Look, Bob, I have to ask you. If you cheated, regardless of whether you think she could have anything on you or not, now is the time to tell me. I can't help you if I don't know."

I leaned forward across his desk. "Read my lips, James. I... Never... Cheated!"

"Okay, that's good enough for me. Maybe this is all just a big misunderstanding, and we can get it all cleared up."

"Screw that! You saw the pictures. You saw what she did. There's no going back."

"Bob, she was distraught. She did something stupid. With counseling, maybe you two can put it back together."

"Fuck that! I was faithful. I don't care what her reason is." After a moment of thought and a chance to calm down, I added, "I tell you what. You get me a divorce and then in a year or two or maybe five, I might be in a more forgiving mood."

His smile told me that he understood. This wasn't his first divorce case.

About this time his secretary knocked on the door. She entered briefly from his outer office and said, "They're here."

"Thanks, Margaret. Send them in."

James and I made our way to the big table on the other side of his office. He stood briefly by the door and shook the hand of opposing council, but I followed the orders he had given me and remained silent.

Rebecca's lawyer extended his hand to me, but I turned away and took my seat. I wanted nothing to do with either my soon-to-be ex-wife or her viper. I suppose it wasn't his first time, so with no further unnecessary civility he simply walked to the other side of the table, held the chair for his client, and sat.

They filed, so this was their meeting. Rebecca's lawyer started with a wholly unnecessary platitude. "It's unfortunate that we find ourselves here today, but I'm sure that James has told you, Mister Jackson, that it's best we just do what we need to do without the unproductive outbursts that can make this whole business unpleasant."

One minute into the meeting and already I was struggling to follow James' direction. Did he just say that he didn't want this to be "unpleasant"? I was ready to blow my top, but James could read me, and I saw in his eyes the reminder to keep my mouth shut, so I did. This is what I was paying him for. I took a deep breath and practiced what little detachment I could generate.

Rebecca's lawyer continued, "I'm sure you've had time to go over the divorce petition. I think that my client is being more than reasonable under the circumstances."

Was he trying to bait me? Was he trying to get me to react?

James saw his opportunity and took it. "Exactly what are the circumstances, Henry? We see claims, but no specifics."

Rebecca's lawyer was definitely baiting me now. "Come now, James. Has your client cheating on his wife with so many different women that he wants to know which one he was caught with?"

If this asshole kept baiting me like this, I was going to need a gag and a seatbelt to keep me quiet and in my chair.

"Henry, my client assures me he has not cheated on his wife. If you have any real evidence that he did, now is the time to produce it."

It felt good that at least my lawyer believed me. I'd been telling Rebecca this every chance I got, not that I was given many chances since she threw me out of the house.

"Very well, James, but I need to ask a small favor of you. My client has been too distraught to look at the photographs herself. I'd consider it a personal favor if you didn't handle them carelessly. Let's all agree to spare her at least what little pain we can?" With that, he passed a sealed envelope across the table.

James opened it and examined the photographs. Someone must have had a field day with their cell phone. There were photographs of me having lunch with a woman about my age. We were sitting at a table for two, huddled together in conversation. There were several pictures with me holding her hands, others with my arm around her, some with her head on my shoulder, and in two I was kissing the top of her head and then resting my cheek on her head. I remembered the afternoon well. We never did finish lunch. Not long after those photographs were taken, we walked across the street to her hotel where we spent several hours in her room.

After a suitable time for the photographs to have their full impact, Rebecca's lawyer resumed. "Now I will admit there are not photographs where your client is caught in flagrante, but I think we can both agree they didn't spend the afternoon in a hotel room playing cards."

"Henry, that is an understatement. This isn't evidence of infidelity. This is evidence of lunch!"

As they talked, I examined the photographs and my rage built. I was ready to kill someone, and I wasn't feeling overly particular who that would be. I finally nudged James and whispered in his ear. He jerked and his head jerked around to look at me so quickly that if he had not jumped back, he would have head butted me. I nodded to affirm my words and sat back.

I watched James as he gathered his thoughts. Then leaning forward he said, "Mrs. Jackson, is it true that you have not seen these photographs?"

She nodded without a word and with tears running down her cheeks.

Her lawyer was not going to be doubted. "James, I told you that she has not seen them!"

James continued. "And just out of curiosity, Mrs. Jackson, how did you come into possession of these photographs?"

Again, her lawyer answered for her. "A friend spotted her husband with the other woman and felt it was her duty as a friend to photograph his behavior with the other woman."

I had no doubt who this other woman was. Becky's best friend was a queen bitch named Julia. Julia knew all things about men and was always eager to tell anyone who would listen that all men were scum. Her husband had cheated on two years earlier and his bad deeds tarred all men in her mind. You might think that four years of marriage and two years before that would buy me a little trust, but it appears that Rebecca had more faith in Julia than in me.

James looked at Rebecca. "Mrs. Jackson, do you know your husband's family?"

"Well of course she does, James! Where are you going with this?"

"And have you met his parents, aunts and uncles, his brothers, and his cousins?"

Rebecca only nodded.

"Mrs. Jackson, I am sorry to put you through this, but I must ask you to look at these photographs."

Now her lawyer was becoming rather irate. "James, there is no call for this. My client is very distraught over her husband's infidelity. There is no reason to force her to look at his acts of betrayal!"

"I'm sorry, Henry, but I really must insist. We can do it here, or we can do it in court."

Her lawyer was practically seething. He finally took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Rebecca, but if they insist on being difficult about this, there is little we can do about it. Just take a quick look and then we can satisfy his heartlessness."

Her lawyer was really laying it on thick. I couldn't help but think he was hoping to get into her pants when this was done.

Rebecca was crying at this point, but I felt remarkably little.

James leaned forward and placed the photographs in front of my soon-to-be ex-wife, one by one, each lined up along the one before it.

After looking to her lawyer for support, she finally turned to the images before her, and her whimpering quickly tapered off until she was silent and confused. "I don't understand. What are these?"

"These are the photographic evidence that you say demonstrate your husband's infidelity." James said it almost with sympathy, but not quite.

She was shaking her head. "No. I don't understand."

"Can you tell us who the woman is in the photographs, Mrs. Jackson?"

"It's... it's Bob's cousin, Suzanne. What is he doing having an affair with his cousin?" She seemed more confused than accusatory.

James turned to me, and it was finally my turn to speak. "She called me at work and asked me to meet her. She told me that she caught Ben cheating on her. She was a basket case as you might imagine. I tried to comfort her at the restaurant, but she just fell apart. I knew she was going to start bawling at any minute, so I got the food to go and walked across the street with her. We got a hotel room just so she could have a good cry in private and we could talk. I wasn't having an affair with my cousin."

As confused as she seemed to be, her lawyer was set back on his heels. "I... I mean... Well... I suppose this changes everything, doesn't it?" Turning to Rebecca, he asked, "Are you sure this is your husband's cousin?" The bastard saw his paycheck slipping from between his fingers and was trying to salvage the divorce if he could.

Rebecca just nodded.

"Well, I suppose this has all been just an unfortunate misunderstanding." He was preparing to leave.

"Not so fast, Henry." I could tell that James was following my wishes, but I still sensed some reluctance on his part. He looked at me and I nodded for him to continue.

"Mrs. Jackson, we have some other photographs to show you." Placing the first in front of her, he said, "Do you recognize the people in this photograph?"

Rebecca's demeanor changed noticeably as relief gave way to apprehension. "Yes."

"And who are the people in the photograph?"

"That's me and that's my friend Julia."

"And who are the two men with you?"

Rebecca looked down at her hands. "I don't remember."

"Mrs. Jackson, are you telling me that you don't recognize two men that you work with every day?"

Rebecca just shrugged as if she could make it all go away if she denied everything. She couldn't.

"And here you are dancing with one of those men. Of course, you're just dancing and there's nothing wrong with that, although when I was a teenager the good sisters used to tell us to leave space between us for the Holy Spirit. I don't see much space there, but maybe that's just the angle of the photograph."

Rebecca was growing increasingly nervous now.

"In this photograph you are kissing the same man. It doesn't look like the sort of friendly peck that you might give a friend. To be honest, it looks rather passionate." James pulled another photograph from the stack. "And here you are, still dancing, with your partner's hands squeezing your... your... well, let's say your bottom, shall we?"

Rebecca was turning on the water works at this point.

"Do you remember when these pictures were taken, Mrs. Jackson?" James got no response, so he simply continued. "And here you are walking out of the club, you and your friend and then Julia with her friend. Do you remember where you went after you left?"

Rebecca was crying hard now.

"My investigator followed the four of you to your friend Julia's house. For future reference, Mrs. Jackson, when you are committing adultery, you really should close the curtains all the way." As he said it, he laid down a series of photographs that were shot through the bedroom window at Julia's.

"This is outrageous! None of this is admissible in court!" It seems that Henry was finally aware of where we were going.

James responded in a calm voice, "No, but we're not alleging adultery. We are suing under irreconcilable differences. We just wanted your client to understand why." With that, he passed the paperwork across the table and sat back in his chair to let the truth sink in.

The simple truth is that when I was abruptly kicked from my home, I was a basket case. It took several weeks for me to get my feet under me, but once I did, I grew suspicious. Rebecca hadn't been cheating on me before, but it didn't take long for that snake Julia to convince her that payback came in the form of a willing dick. I knew I could forgive her gullibility and quick temper, but she jumped into bed with another man too quickly for me to forget. I felt if I forgave her this time, I would be looking at a lifetime of regret and I wasn't prepared for that.

It's true that I came home that night without telling her about Suzanne, but in my defense, I was just too exhausted from the whole ordeal. My cousin was more like a sister to me. She was the sister that I never had. I'd have told Rebecca the next night, but Julia got to her first and then all hell broke out. It turned out that Julia had shown her just one photograph shot from behind. I was clearly recognizable, but Suzanne was not. I came home to a wife yelling accusations and throwing things. I tried to talk to her, but the police arrived shortly after the fireworks started and then they ordered me from my own house. Damn cops! Everything went to hell after that.

All that happened a bit less than a year ago. The divorce is final, and I got the papers today. Nobody wins in a divorce. You have to be a heartless bastard to think that anyone wins when all your dreams are destroyed and the future you are building is burned to the ground.

So here I sit. I used to visit this bar often enough back when I was single. It seemed the right place to come now that I'm single again. I'm drinking a cheap beer when I hear a voice behind me say, "Buy a girl a drink?"

I know the voice and don't turn around. "Having a bad day?"

"Yeah. The worst day."

"Oh?"

"I did something stupid, and I lost everything that was important to me, the only thing that was important to me."

"Must have been incredibly stupid!" I didn't have much mercy in me.

"You could say that. I listened to one person I shouldn't have and didn't listen to the one person I should have."

I nodded still staring at my drink. "Yeah, that sounds pretty stupid."

I look at the bartender. "The lady would like a white wine."

Who knows? Maybe it's a start or maybe it's just the end. Only time will tell. I suppose I owe it to myself to find out.

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I know that some readers will complain that the story isn't finished, but who wants to read a story about the struggles of two people trying to rebuild a broken marriage? There's a lot of pain in that. Maybe it will come to me in time, but it seems to me that the confrontation was the real story here.