He's Nothing but a Man

It had been over five years since my wife of fifth teen years, the once Adelia Lynn Masters a local branch manager for Bank America had asked me for a divorce. Her simple explanation was "I am no longer in love with you." She claimed there was no one else. Adelia said over time we had just drifted apart. I had my doubts but was never ever able to prove anything. I had heard her on her cellphone talking on the phone shortly after that night whispering about the big changes coming into her life. We had agreed to joint custody of our daughters who were at that time fourteen and twelve. During private interviews with professionals both the girls had decided to live with her.

The reason I was recalling it all was because of what US today a newspaper I subscribed to had in it this Thursday Morning. It was an article about the regional Junior Vice President Adelia Lynn Peterson and her husband a Senior Vice President Ronald Peterson attending a New York charity function. Another photo showed that their daughters aged nineteen and seventeen named Amanda and Miranda Peterson dressed to the nines described as up and comers also being in attendance.

It was definitely Adelia! She now had the status and prestige she had always wanted. The article had said she was highly coveted in social networks. Her current husband had at one time had been a person I called a casual friend. We had all met shortly after Adelia had started working together with him at the local branch of the Bank of America. Their daughters were mine but now we're going through life with different last names.

My first thought was to call my trusted assistant Helen Beard into my office, to ask her to verify that my eyes were seeing what I saw. If my vision was correct it would explain why everybody's search for them had been for naught. Helen was also a distant cousin to my wife but was off for the day for personal reasons.

On the day our divorce was to be granted my wife Adelia was a no show. I asked my lawyer to find out why before going ahead without her. The judge had ordered us both to be in attendance so we could testify before him that what was being presented to the court by our lawyers had been approved by both of us. Her lawyer had to admit she had been transferred out of the state. My lawyer asked me if I had given permission to my wife for the children to be moved out of state. I said no. That was when my nightmare really began. Judge Donald McDonalds whole attitude changed in a second.

When the Judge learned that fact he asked if I could go outside and try to call them with my cell phone. I left the courtroom and tried. I learned the numbers I had for all three of them was no longer in service. I checked their Facebook pages with my cellphone and found that I had been unfriended and blocked. I returned to the court and told my lawyer all that I had learned. He passed it on the judge.

The Judge issued a warrant for arrest instantly against my wife charging her with parental kidnapping. He halted the divorce proceeding until she herself appeared in person before him in his court. Her lawyer was furious and tried to appeal to the common decency of the Judge. In an attempt to get him to reconsider her lawyer implied it was not really a big deal. After all, Mr. Masters can verify as to what they agreed to. The judge said yes, he did. He just testified that he did not agree to the kids leaving the state. The lawyer responded by saying that may not be true he could be lying. Your right that's why she should be here. He clarified his order by adding with both their daughters.

The police later informed me during their investigation that her side of the family had claimed she had requested a transfer because I had been sexually abusing my daughters for years. Staff at the local bank of America seemed eager to confirm those same claims. When the police officers asked for proof. Nobody had any it was just what Adelia had repeatedly said. They had just accepted it as the truth because they knew Adelia quite well. Why does it make a difference he nothing but just a man was there answer when they interviewed the ladies of our extended family privately?

Even social services who had interviewed the children said that they had no clue about this new allegation as it was never brought up by either of the girls. In their interviews of them, they had not picked up anything that would have tipped them off. Yet the rumors spread by word of mouth throughout our town thanks to members of Adelia's extended family.

Over the last five years, the Judge and I had stayed connected as a result we had developed a friendship because we both love to fly fish. It did not surprise him to see me drop over that night to see him and his wife after dinner.

"There's a reason I brought the paper with me. There something you have to see." I said seriously.

I then opened the paper to the article and let him see it for himself.

"Son of a bitch." The Judge said. "Ruth can you hand me my cellphone. John, I need you to give me a few minutes please."

"Donald the picture beneath is of my two daughters."

The judge's face went white. "Jesus fucking Christ, for all this time they have been hiding in plain sight."

I went outside and sat at their patio. Ruth joined me carrying us both a beer.

"He's livid. I have never seen him so mad. He's on the phone with the FBI. What did you show him?" Ruth said.

"A picture from today's paper of my missing wife and her new husband. It's the first hint we had in five years that she's is still alive." I replied." The second picture on the page was my daughters with new last names.

"Oh, shit what a mess. That's why he's called the FBI because interstate flight with a kidnapping charge is a federal offense." Ruth said. "Why didn't the bank of America help you find her?"

'They got a legal ruling from a federal judge appeals court in fighting the court order issued by your husband saying that because it was a family matter they did not have to comply." I stated.

"Tell the judge I've gone home because my emotions are getting to me." I said," Tell him he can call me at my office in the morning."

For me, it was a long rough night. Was there more to their relationship back then just friendship? We were already married when she got hired as a financial loans officer in the department he ran. I was just getting my consulting firm off the ground. The question because of my daughter's name changes were they actually his or mine? Did either he or I know what the real truth was? I said to myself slow down because Amanda had already been born when Adelia joined the bank.

The next morning my concerns turned towards Helen. How was she going to handle it all? Over these last five years, her hate for her cousin had grown. I knew she believed me, her actions over the years had proved that to the extreme. Many a time I wanted to take her into my arms and open up and tell her my feelings, but I didn't. She deserved the best a man could give her. With me and with what I was facing that was impossible.

Helen in my eyes was a beautiful woman. Her auburn hair. Her soft smile and warm heart were treasuring values a good man deserved to have. I could and did daydream about her but that is as far as I would go. No man had a right to ask any woman to share the nightmare I was in.

It was a busy day at work the next day, and I was thankful because it kept my mind from other things. It was towards the end of the day when my personal assistant knocked and opened the door.

"John theirs two gentlemen here to see you from the FBI. Shall I let them in?" Helen asked.

"By all means, I've been expecting them," I responded as I stood up.

"How can I help you?" I said as they walked in.

First of all, I'm Mac Holmes and this Douglas Drysdale." Mac said. "We are here to get some background about this whole situation."

I told them how we had met her current husband years ago. I explained that as far as I knew there was no affair at that time. But because of their relationship as it now stood and with my daughter's name changes it raised a lot of questions. I think the only way we could verify what was the truth is by forcing DNA tests to be done on all five of us. I thought that Amanda my oldest had been born before she was hired by the Bank of America but now, I had to wonder if my wife Adelia knew him from before that time period.

I said it was Judge Donald McDonald that had stopped the divorce proceeding after he laid the charges of paternal kidnapping because she by not showing up had ignored his court order. What you're going to need to find out is did she file for divorce in New York and is she legally married to him.

"So, you're telling me that the Judge never granted the divorce," Douglas said.

"That's right, the court records will show that the divorce was not be granted because of her failure to obey his court order to show up in court to verify to him that what was agreed upon was actually being presented to the court," I said. "Judge Donald is a man who can't be swayed or influenced by the stupidity of others. He does that in all of his cases because at one time he had been duped by a crooked lawyer."

"Did you give your wife permission to leave the state with your children?" asked Mac.

"No, we learned from her lawyer that day that she had moved out of state. The judge asked me to try to contact them on my cellphone. When I came back, I told him that their cellphone numbers had been disconnected and that I had been unfriended and blocked from their Facebook pages."

"So, she had moved out of state before the divorce was even final and got married less than a week later." Doug let out.

"That makes clear that everything she did was done deliberately. It was not an accident." Mac said, "That contradicts what we were told she stated in her interview in New York this morning."

"When was the last time you had any contact with your wife," Douglas asked.

"That would be two weekends before our final court hearing when Adelia and our daughters removed the last things they wanted out of our house. Child services had talked to them both and our children had decided that for now, it was best that they should live with their mom. "I explained. "Since then I have not received any legal notice or public notice in our local newspaper, I think we can assume I have not been divorced.

"That means that his signature had to be forged in their adoption papers," Mac said. "We can charge them both with trying to cover up a federal crime."

I asked what adoption papers, but I got no answer.

"Mr. Master could you provide us with your signature.

"Helen type up me a letter on our letterhead that says as per Mr. Mac Homes and Douglas Drysdale of the FBI request. This letter is to verify my compliance with their request for a copy of my signature. I will need you to witness it then photocopy it for our records before providing them the original." I said knowing she was listening to every word.

"Do you still live at 87654 Yale Road East?" Mac asked.

"No, I finally had to get a court order allowing me to sell it," I said. "The police were getting tired of the rumors that a sexual predator was loose in the neighborhood. They helped me get the court order from Judge McDonald to sell it just after I was attacked and hospitalized for the second time. He had frozen all our assets the day she had not shown up in court. I now live outside of town in a house I had built out at Ryder lake. It is a very private setting with five acres of land I had wired with electricity for my own protection because there are still many that believe the lies spread by others."

After they had left, I let Helen know what was going on. She was shocked to learn that her older distant cousin had been found. I saw the hope growing in her eyes along with all the questions. There was still too much not known. As a result, I still had no answers.

"Helen when I leave tonight my cell phone will be shut off. If you are bothered because of my situation use your best judgment. In an emergency call me on my house's phone." I said.

Helen hated her cousin Adelia for destroying a good man's reputation and his personal relationships. John had lost a lot of family and friends because of the rumors she created. She would not have believed that kind of damage could be done by someone if she had not seen it herself. She had often wondered how much did one have to endure before the truth won out. It was hard for her to sit and wait for it to work out.

Human nature because of what she had witnessed had proven beyond a doubt that the lie was always accepted. Most believed that if it wasn't for his company, John would have mostly ended it a long time ago. He had sunk all his free time in his work and as a result, he had tripled his client base by three times or more. Finally, he had started coming out of his protective shell two years ago. That was when her fresh supply of freshly caught trout seemed to die off. What surprised her the most was to this date she had not heard his wife or his children's name once from his lips since the day they left town until today. During that time period, she had hopelessly watched him waste away. He was now a shadow of his former self.

Helen had been fourteen years old when she met John Masters age nineteen for the first time at a family's pre-Christmas party. Adelia had just announced their engagement. Making her the center of attention. She had known instantly that their relationship would not last.

He was a financial planner who was good at raising the money she was a social climber who needed the attention, prestige and the glory. He would always put what was best for the family first. She would always have to be first and as long as she felt she was getting that their relationship would last. She had told Adelia's mother if they had kids they would divorce as soon as they reached their teens. She had nailed it right.

Her own marriage did not last because her husband had died while serving before, she had the chance to become a mother. As a result, when she needed advice she had turned to John. It was John who helped her through those rough times. He stood beside her as she buried her husband and carried her as she mourned. He had become not only her boss but her best friend. She had watched him go through his own living hell these last five years and it helped her realize that he was the one she wanted to grow old with.

Johns biggest problem was no matter what he did he was haunted daily because of the past. As a result, he was stuck in a reality that few could see. One that was controlled by the actions of others. The way Adelia and her children disappeared had caused the rumors to spread like a wildfire. Many now believed that John had killed them to protect his own image. It was believed the reason he had so much security was that their bodies were buried on his property.

For the first time in a long time, I stopped Ruby Tuesdays for supper. I got the unlimited salad bar with a side order of catfish. I had just got back to my seat from my first trip to the salad bar when Adelia's father showed up. Without asking me he pulled out a chair and he sat his big ass down.

"I heard from Adelia this morning," Rodger said.

I said nothing but just kept on eating. I had nothing to say to this asshole. The last time he had spoken to me in public he had threatened to find a way to kill me for sexually abusing his lovely two granddaughters. It was public scenes like that that had magnified my situation causing the rumors to flow.

"Amanda and Miranda are doing well." Rodger Carmichael said softly. "My daughter wants me to find a way to help her find a way to resolve these unsettled issues from the past. Adelia has finally admitted to me that you never touched your children in the way she accused you of. She used that false claim as an excuse to explain her need to disappear from town the way she did. I want to find a way to apologize to you. I also know she has talked to quite a few of the relatives today."

"Spread the word to everyone she talked to that I will believe that they are sincere when they have got a signed statement written out and verified by a notary as to what she said and why," I said. "When they have done that and have come to my office to give it to me, I will believe them. Until then even this conversation is bull shit. Until that's done your all dead in my eyes.'

"Dam that's harsh John!" Rodger said. "but I understand where you're coming from and why?"

"Do you really? I'm just treating you the way you have treated me for the last five years. Dwell on that fact for a while. Now leave me alone and let me eat in peace." I said coldly "remember too many in this town thanks to the extended family's rumors caused by their versions of the truth believe that I should be dead because of something I have never done."

I watched Rodger walk away. Did he really believe that a two-minute chat would solve his daughters' problems? Had he figured he could sit down and with a two minute of conversation wipe five years of hate, hurt and pain away they had promoted? Did they all think that it would be that easy? Was I that stupid in their eyes that they would try to act that nothing happened?

A few minutes later the waitress who had served me came over and sat down.

"Mr. Masters I went to school with your daughters, based on what I just overheard I have to say that neither one of them knew what was going on. That Friday before they disappeared, we were looking forward to seeing each other the following Monday at school. I witnessed the man who just left working with others of your wife's family while they packed up their things after they left." The waitress said. "After hearing what I just did I thought you should know."

"Thank you for honesty it's refreshing to hear. I did not even know that." I replied. "I'm not surprised that I have been lied to about what really was going on for all these years. I usually keep to myself because I got tired of hearing the whispers and the lies, they felt they had to spread about me."

With that said she went back to work when I used my card to pay the ticket, I doubled the total giving her what perhaps would be her best tip of the night.

I had a great weekend fishing in my canoe on the lake. Each day I kept my limit but threw the rest back. One of my favorite meals these days is fresh rainbow trout cooked with flour and butter. Both nights I ate two of them with eggs and toast.

Early Monday morning I was at work working on the first pot of coffee for the day that I had made reading US today. I was a bit disappointed that nothing was being reported but realized that I was hoping for too much too fast. Helen showed up half an hour early. For that to happen the earth had to have moved in a new direction. She was excited about something because she was in an extremely bubbly mood. After pouring a coffee for herself she joined me.

Looking back Adelia and I had got married right after she graduated from grade 12. Amanda had come just over a year later. I spent those first few years flipping houses, by cheap selling high after remodeling. She took courses starting out as a teller at a bank. I worked at learning the financial business from scratch. One of the former owners saw my natural ability and became my mentor. When the partners decided to retire. Masters Consulting was born. They worked part-time for me and helped it grow in leaps and bounds. When Miranda came into the world, I had my whole future planned.

"I heard what you told Rodger Friday," Helen said. "Hell, everybody did. My cellphone was ringing all weekend. I told them all do you blame him. After what the family has done to him. You all made him a walking dead man in this town. I got one question boss why are you requesting notarized statements?"