Chapter Six
Chuck took the boys back to their grandparents late Sunday afternoon. The boys were subdued about the end of their weekend and knew that it would do no good to ask him to come home. They didn't perk up until they were out of the car at their grandparent's house.
While they played William came out to talk to Chuck. He was distressed and wanted some answers. Obviously his daughter was giving him the runaround about what the hell had happened to her good marriage. He instinctively knew that Bev had done something very wrong to drive Chuck out of the house. He figured it was Bev's fault because Chuck would not even give him a simple explanation except to tell him to talk to Bev. Bev's explanations were a pack of lies as she was not able to keep any of her stories straight. They were contradictory and when this was pointed out she became very defensive and left the house.
"Chuck, I know that Bev has done something to cause this whole problem. She is my daughter but I don't believe I have any blinders on concerning her. Gayle is very upset that she might have been hauled off to jail for helping Bev out and violating the protection order that we knew nothing about. We were blindsided by this whole visitation thing but I understand it now. This is really the only way to get Jeff and Jon to you and back again without violating the order. The 1000 foot rule seems to be excessive but I believe you must feel that you have good reason for this."
He paused for a moment. "We just want to know the unvarnished truth about this whole fiasco so that we can support each of you as needed and keep from violating any agreement that you two have. So, please, come inside and tell us the whole story. You know we respect and love you like a son so we will try to be objective as possible."
Chuck was very reluctant to tell his story again. His rectum had finally stopped hurting and he was not pooping any blood anymore. He was finally sleeping again and sometimes when thinking about Bev was not even thinking of extreme retribution scenarios. He was in an apartment and didn't have to run the gamut of well meaning hotel employees anymore. He was still thinking about taking a few days off to decide what to do about his marriage.
He took a deep breath and then nodded his assent. He wanted a few more close friends and relatives in his corner if divorce became absolutely necessary. William and Gayle might be the best ones as they were the closest.
He held up his hand to William. "When is Bev scheduled to come and pick up the kids?"
"She should be here about 9:00 so the boys can get a good night's sleep."
Chuck checked his watch. "It is 5:00 now. Do you think she could come over sooner and bring Darcy and her attorney with her? Darcy could keep the boys occupied or even take them home while we get Bev to tell us the whole story from her standpoint. There are a lot of questions that I have that have not been answered and we could all hear the complete story at that time."
William pulled out his phone and called his daughter immediately. He turned away and spoke quickly and emphatically with Bev about how she needed to get to the house as soon as possible and to bring Darcy with her. By the time he got off the phone she also knew that Chuck was going to be there and the whole story would have to come out.
Chuck then called Thomas Wilkes and discussed how the protection order would hamper their meeting. Thomas said he would come to the house also and would act as a representative so that the order would not be violated. He said he could be there by 6:00 and Chuck should not be in the house until he was present in case Bev got there earlier. She could not then claim that she was set up to go to jail for violating the order. He was not pleased when he found out that Gayle and Bev had conspired Friday to get Chuck to sit down and talk then. He ended the conversation by stating Bev should have gone to jail that night after blatantly ignoring the order.
Chuck agreed and ended the call. He let William know that his attorney would be joining them and He would leave until Thomas was present. William was disappointed but understood that certain proprieties needed to be met. He had hoped to have a quiet conversation with his son-in-law and get to the bottom of this whole mess but this could do the same thing but would not be quiet. He went inside and let Gayle know what was coming up. She made sure the Kuerig was clean and ready to go. They would need a lot of coffee before this was done.
Thomas was as good as his word. He arrived at 6:00 and Chuck came back about 10 minutes later. Thomas was introduced to William and Gayle and accepted a hot cup of coffee. Bev and Darcy arrived before a second cup could be consumed.
Thomas took the lead and laid out the requirements of the meeting. He let everyone know that he was a court representative and would be recording the whole meeting. If there were any recriminations later then the recording would help to resolve the issues. He also told Bev that the protection order was suspended for the evening while he was present and, unless she did something physical towards Chuck, she would not get into any trouble with law enforcement. He made sure that his comments were also being recorded.
Bev nodded her head showing her understanding. Of course she didn't want to be there at all. It dawned on her that she and Darcy were sitting alone on one side of the dining room table and her parents, her husband and his attorney were all on the other side. It didn't make her or Darcy feel very comfortable. She took Darcy's hand under the table and squeezed. Darcy looked like she might either get up and run or pass out.
Thomas continued his version of how the meeting was to be conducted. He admonished each person to let the one speaking be not interrupted. He knew this would be hard if Bev tried to make out that Chuck was in any way responsible for what happened a week ago. He also reminded everyone that two young innocent boys were present in the next room and any yelling would upset them for no reason. Bev and Chuck nodded and agreed to try and keep civil.