Author's note:
I've read many stories that seem to end at a divorce. I often wondered what happened during that waiting period before the divorce was final. Here is what happened between Jerry and April.
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Here is the end of chapter one:
At the motel I looked away without saying a word and shut the door. I had no idea what went on after I left. I drove home and tried to get some sleep. I got up in the morning and had some spam and eggs with toast. Around noon April came home and the first thing she said was "I'm sorry. I had to much to drink and you know how I get."
I looked at her and said, "I want a divorce." I spent the last twelve years of my life living with you because I love you but, still I did once have sex with Sarah. I regretted it and spent the last twelve years trying to make it up to you. When it came to sex you wanted nothing to do with me but I find you taking on two guys at once. When was the last time we had oral sex?"
"We already sleep in separate beds. I'll start looking for an apartment tomorrow. Until I find a place, I'm sure we can get along. You don't need to do anything for me. I want you to know that I really have always loved you but I can't forgive you just like you couldn't forgive me. Tell the kids whatever you want."
"Jerry, this is the first time,,,"
"I don't want to hear it. I don't know if I could believe you anymore. Seeing you with those men was the worst day of my life. It's something I'll never forget."
I found a one-bedroom apartment three days later. I talked to a lawyer and started a divorce stating irreconcilable differences. Time will tell how the rest of my life goes.
Chapter 2:
For the last three days April tried to talk to me. I told her I didn't want to talk about it. I had seen her cheating with my own two eyes and that was enough. I wouldn't believe her claim of only once anyway. It sure didn't look like her first time.
She kept trying to tell me that she had never done that before but I would keep cutting her off. I told her I don't care if it's the first time or the fiftieth time, I saw her and that we were through.
At the lawyers meeting we had to set up some rules for during this separation until our divorce was final. April wanted alimony even though she worked. She had started working in the department store when the kids started high school. She worked her way up to assistant manager in the women's clothing department. We agreed to me giving her two hundred a week for five years; unless she got remarried.
We had a lot of assets, we owned our house and had two cars. Her car was newer and had payments. My truck was older but paid for. We both had IRA's and twenty-five thousand in our saving account. Despite the fact that we lived in a fifty-fifty state, the lawyers argued over the assets for over a month. Still we ended up dividing the assets fifty-fifty. She wanted the home so she had to pay me forty thousand dollars for my half of the house; also ten thousand for my half of the contents.
She didn't like the idea of being back in debt but she wanted to keep our house and most of our furnishings. I took one of the bedroom suits, my computer and stereo plus my own personal belongings.
Our kids weren't surprised by our divorce; they all said they knew we didn't have a loving relationship. I couldn't tell them that their mother cheated on me. It would just hurt them and they already had to deal with the divorce. I knew their mother told them about my indiscretion many years ago but they knew better than to bring it up. They were just happy that we remained a family while they grew up.
I felt a lot better being out on my own. I missed April not being around and it really bothered me that she cheated on me the way she did. I had to wonder if she had really been cheating on me for years. I kept thinking how stupid I was to stay with her but I did it mostly for the kids.
I know April wanted to stay together and why wouldn't she want that? She had her cake and was eating it to until she got caught. I keep thinking what a fool I was for staying married. Was I to blind to see what she was doing? My parents loved her and I know she liked them. Her parents seemed to like me also. I guess we had put on a good front.
After I moved out April called me a few times a week. She kept telling me she wanted to talk. I kept telling her the same thing, that I know what she did but I didn't want to talk about it. A few times she told me that it was the first time it ever happened and she was sorry about it. I told her I didn't believe her and usually hung up.
Truth be known, I did want to know if it was the only time that she had cheated on me. I didn't believe her but I really wanted to know.
I still went out once in a while with my friends, but it wasn't the same. Some of them were married to April's friends and were always asking questions on what happened to our marriage? I didn't want to tell anyone she cheated on me. It was hard to hold in because everyone thought we had a good marriage.
I did have a best friend, Bob who was divorced. We had known each other since childhood. We attended the same high school and I was the best man at his wedding. He was married seven years and caught his wife cheating on him and got a divorce. He since then got remarried a few years later and has a nice wife and two kids. He also has a daughter from his first marriage. His second wife and April were friendly but didn't hang around together.
Bob and I were both on the same bowling team and one night after our game we went into the bar and I drank a little too much and told him my story and why I was getting divorced. I was happy to get it off my chest. Bob promised to keep it a secret and not even tell his wife.
About every two days I got a call from April. She wanted to discuss just about everything. One time it was about insurance, another time about a car repair, plumbing, cutting the grass and even changing a light bulb. I told her she wanted the house and that she had to deal with it. I did help her with a few things during the separation and before
the final decree was done. It would be six months before we would be divorced.
When she had a repair that I could do I would stop by the house when she wasn't there and fix it. Usually, it was the kids calling me and telling me about the problem. I wouldn't go when April was home. She wanted to know if we could still be friends and I told her that I would be cordial with her but not friends and that was for the kids and grand-kids' sake. I told her repeatedly I literately had no trust in her any more.
About a month after I moved out, I was on a downer and went to the bar to drink my problems away and who do I see there? Marge, the woman who was with my wife that awful night. I went up to her and asked her if we could talk.
"Jerry, I don't know if that's a good idea. If April finds out she will be awfully pissed that I talked to you."