07

Jack and Diane Chapter 5

Milla packs a lot more punch than Alan. It's probably something to do with Simon being a High Court judge. Diane and her paramour were out of the house within the week.

Diane's actions had pretty much told everyone everything they needed to know, especially the kids. They knew Mummy had a new man and didn't want Daddy around. So she was the one breaking up the family. I was the one who fought to get them back. I didn't have to fight too hard, mind you. As Milla said, Diane shouldn't have moved lover-boy in quite so quickly.

She argued that I had nowhere to live, Diane was the petitioner, and could just as easily move in with LB, and that moving him into the family home so quickly was not good for the children's psychological and emotional well-being. She pointed out that I was continuing to pay my share into the joint account, that I had moved out immediately Diane demanded it, and the problems presented by the ownership and location of the property. Like I said, Mr Responsible Citizen.

The judge directed that she move out and I move back in, pending the full hearing. She, (yes, it was a female judge), directed that the children should stay in the family home, but Diane was to have full access. Milla and I had discussed restrictions but Milla suggested we adopt a fairly non-confrontational pose, for the moment.

Once I was back in my home with the children I got them into a new routine as quickly as possible. Essentially there were only two real changes. They went to their grandparents' house until I came home, and their mother was now a visitor. Yes, that's right; she came over most evenings to see them. I stayed out of her way when she was there, and she had to leave so they could do their homework. We alternated Saturdays and Sundays at the weekends.

To begin with, Diane tried to explain herself to me but I was not ready to listen to her. I had made my decision to move on and that is what I was doing.

I wasn't contesting the divorce but that doesn't mean that things went smoothly. It all fell apart over the reason for the divorce and the 'ancillary relief,' as the courts call it, and, of course, the children.

I learnt that there are five reasons for divorce in English law, adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, separation with consent, and separation without consent. The consent bit is where both parties to the divorce agree or disagree to the action. If both parties agree they have to have been separated for two years otherwise it has to be five years.

Our options boiled down to adultery or unreasonable behaviour. Diane couldn't petition on the grounds of her adultery, only I could do that. . So she wanted to cite me using unreasonable behaviour. I wasn't about to let her blame me. Nor was I about to pay her costs. My position was that if she tried to cite me for unreasonable behaviour I would cross petition on the grounds of adultery. A contested case would lead to expense and time.

Ancillary relief is the money side of things. Naturally this also depends on who has custody of the children. English courts generally divide the assets equally. Since I had been the higher earner, and owned more of the assets, I was going to be hit hardest. The family home was also a problem. The mother usually gets custody of the children, but I was not about to roll over on this either. I was damned if I was going to lose contact with them and that happens all too easily.

Camilla proposed that we use this as leverage to get Diane to settle using an arbitrator. I hadn't heard of this but when she explained it to me, I thought it held promise. Broadly, the arbitrator would listen to both sides and any agreements we had in place. If there were any disagreements, over property or custody, for example, they could help sort them out. The big advantage for me was that there is no appeal to an arbitrated settlement. There were other advantages too, such as speed and cost. The main problem would be to get Diane to agree to arbitration. That meant that I might have to give a bit more but I would save on costs. More importantly, not only could I have more say in placement of the children but they could have more say also.

Milla and I thrashed out an outline of a settlement. She stopped me being too dogmatic about things, and included some "loss leaders" as she called them. Things that we would be prepared to bargain away in order to hold on to something else. The next move was to get Diane to agree to arbitration.

Milla engaged David in the plan and he did a bit quite unethical subliminal work on Alan preparing him for our proposal. When Milla put it forward he was not entirely receptive to it but he was obliged to put it to Diane anyway. Naturally she rejected it out of hand. Milla then prepared the paperwork for the court case and started by demanding information about Diane's income. This was followed by a request for information about her parent's financial position and details about their bank accounts, in particular any funds they were concealing on her behalf. Subsequently she asked for information on lover boy Peter's income and business interests. This last was most pertinent because he was a part owner of the gym where they had met.

All of this was forwarded to Alan and when each request was passed to Diane, she simply ignored it. We let things sit for a week and then started to pressurise Alan for the information. In her letter, Milla suggested that the information was being withheld so that funds could be concealed. She suggested that if the information were not forthcoming it would be necessary to request it through the courts. She therefore demanded the addresses of Diane's parents, Peter's address, Peter's partner's names and addresses, and all the relevant details about the gym accounts and the accountants responsible for preparing them. Alan already had everything he had asked for from my side. Milla was absolutely on the ball. If this came to court we smelt of roses while Diane didn't.

Things were not going well for Diane. She had expected to remain in the home with the children and for Jack to settle on her terms. Things didn't happen that way. To begin with, the children became extremely wilful and the atmosphere in the house deteriorated so quickly that Peter stayed in his flat to allow them to settle down. Then Diane was served with the notice to quit and an emergency court hearing.

Suddenly she was out of the house and had nowhere to go but Peter's. She had daily access to the children but Jack had ensured that the terms meant that she could not stay overnight. This was promptly followed by the proposal for arbitration and then the requests for financial information. When she told Peter about the request for information about the business, he told her that his partners would not be forthcoming. Then Alan told her that if the information was not provided voluntarily, then John's solicitor would request it through the courts and anyone withholding it could be held in contempt and may be liable to fines or imprisonment.

The strain told on her. She was comfort eating and then starving herself, her hair lost it's sheen and her skin was either dry or too oily, her weight went up and down and she felt listless all the time. Her libido dropped. She couldn't understand why Jack was doing all this. She had always been able to get him to do what she had wanted. Right from the first kiss.

After the night at the theatre, Jack found Diane to the forefront of his thoughts, more and more. To the extent that he did something he had never done before. He sent flowers and another invitation to Diane's home. From this the romance gained pace. They spent time together like teenagers at the cinema, dancing, walks at the seaside, countryside, woods and hills. It was the fifth date that Diane decided she had better give him a test run in the bedroom.

After an evening of dinner and dancing, where, as usual, Jack, as the driver, had refrained from drinking, they returned to Diane's flat. Diane too had been careful about her drinks. Like Jack she had drunk water with her meal and had only had two glasses of wine towards the end of the evening. She wanted to make sure this evening was one that Jack would remember for the right reasons. She also wanted to make sure she would remember it so she could make the right decision.

This time, she invited him in for a nightcap. When she offered him alcohol there was no need to explain what she intended, and Jack unknowingly acquiesced to her plan. For a short time the arena was the large sofa in the drawing room. As Jack nuzzled Diane's neck and unbuttoned her blouse, she drew back, and, taking his hand, led him to her bed.

Jack treated her as if she was a virgin. As they lay down he caressed her body firmly, kissing her urgently, but as gently as a butterfly. He stroked her hair and neck, drifting his fingers down the length of her body and slowly back again. He kissed her face and neck, softly pinching with his lips. By now Jack had her blouse unbuttoned and freed from the waistband of her skirt, sliding both hands under her back, rolled her on her side and unhooked her bra. His feather touch kisses didn't stop but moved down her neck to her breasts, around the fullness without even brushing her areolas or nipples as they rose in desire. His fingers dragged gently over her flanks, catching and releasing as they moved to her waistband. He unfastened the button and zip, slipping a finger into each side of the waistband, drawing it down, as he did, he caught her briefs and slid her both down her stockinged legs kissing her body as he moved down the bed.

Quickly he removed his own clothes and rejoined her, kissing her parted lips more forcefully this time, as he dragged his fingernails over her flesh. His gentle touch had fired her skin and she sighed in relief as he finally touched her left nipple and his lips tugged at the ache of her right. Jack alternated his fingers and mouth, straying to her lips to trace them with his fingertips or darting probing with his tongue. His teeth, lips, tongue, fingers, tips and nails, traced her eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, neck, shoulders, and breasts. Every time she thought her skin could take no more teasing he would change his touch to release her agony. Then his attention moved lower.

Her belly, flanks and thighs were treated to the same exquisite inquisition, she writhed beneath his touch but every time she tried to press her pleading vulva against him he moved away leaving her mind screeching for his touch. Her back arched, thrusting her hips up and open, burning to be quenched, her hand was reaching downwards when his tongue flicked her clitoris and her vision was showered with starbursts.

She whined as his fingers slide gently into her body and curled into her g spot and his lips and tongue tortured her clitoris to an orgasm like she had never had before. She was beyond control as Jack played that little patch behind her pubic bone with his fingertips and her c spot received the attention of his thumb. With his mouth and other hand Jack ripped open the condom wrapper and unrolled a condom down the length of his cock. He could barely stand the agony of expectation that was coursing through his body. He wanted to make love to this woman like no other before.

As he withdrew his hand he entered Diane's body smoothly and slowly until she engulfed his whole length. Diane's hips bucked as she realised he had at long last filled her body, her orgasm seemed to roll from trough to peak, each one filling and wracking her with feelings and lights and the sound of her blood pounding through her. Jack rotated his hips, driving deeply, pushing up and down against the walls of he vagina, and pressing and rubbing his pubis against her clitoris driving her on until she felt her rush of wetness as Jack's body arced up and back in climax. She felt the pulsing of his erection deep within her and she felt a joy of sharing that she had never felt with any other partner.

They lay linked and entwined in that blurred, unfocussed moment as their bodies bobbed on the ebb of their climax. Diane snuggled into her lover with a smilingly contented sigh. Jack held her in that secure, lovers hold, as his contentment too, lit his face. Both drifted into a deep, easy, refreshing sleep. Diane woke first. She stretched languidly, savouring her sensations of her own body. The sunlight, filtered through the curtains, bathed her bedroom in a warm glow. She lay quietly re-experiencing the previous night. Turning, she looked at the man who had ridden her to a level of sensory experience she had rarely felt before. His tousled hair, relaxed features, and warm light filling the room gave his a very appealing boyish look. Yet the set of his jaw seemed to hint at more than boyishness. Diane had her final answer. This one was not going to be thrown back in.

She slid from the bed, pulled on her kimono dressing gown, dealt with her morning needs, and headed for the kitchen. The breakfast tray was quickly set for two with fresh grapefruit, orange juice, buttered toast, bacon, and tea. On re-entering the bedroom she set the tray to the side and awakened Jack. He stretched, looked around to regain his bearings, looked at Diane and smiled. His smile stoked a hotness in her belly, but this was not the time.

"Breakfast?" She asked, climbing in beside him, with the tray.

"Hmmm," Jack caressed the back of her neck, pulling her close and, closed mouthed, kissing her gently.

"Sorry," he said, "morning breath."

Diane handed him the dish of grapefruit, "This will clean your mouth then we can see where things go," smiling coquettishly.

Breakfast was one of the most companionable meals Diane had shared. Having eaten, Jack excused himself to use the bathroom. Lack of a toothbrush was over come when he found mouthwash and floss on the cabinet. Combined with the old "toothpaste on the finger" trick, Jack felt a little less self-conscious. Diane was sitting up in the bed. Jack started to dress. Diane looked at him and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I'm taking you out for the day," he stated. "I'm nipping home to change for the seaside."

"And who says I want to go out? And what if I don't want to go to the seaside?"

"Tough! We're going!"

"WE?"

"Yes. Get ready. I'll be back in an hour." He bent forward and Diane kissed him passionately. "Eh, make that half an hour," he said.

"I won't be dressed in half an hour," she teased.

"If you aren't we might not get out today."

"Someone has a high opinion of themselves." She laughed.

"Just wait!"

That was the start of a very happy day, and a very short courtship. Diane had decided Jack was going to be her husband and father if her children. He had no say in the matter. To that end, Diane was the perfect girlfriend, and fiancée. Jack never saw that he had been hooked, played, and landed. He simply fell in love with a beautiful woman who knew how to behave and dress on every occasion, who was fun to be with, who was witty and intelligent, and who made him feel he was the centre of her universe.

Diane's view was unclouded by sentiment. She saw a man with a degree of social standing she had never had, a career, not only with a good income, but with prospects of promotion or mobility, capital, a stable family background, and a steady future for herself and her children, the minimum requirements on her shopping list. That he was a very attractive man, adventurous, entertaining, an attentive and accomplished lover, and actually in love with her, were all the factors that would make her life as a married woman pleasant rather than tolerable.

It's not that Diane was a completely unfeeling person. It's just that she wasn't particularly sentimental. She did like the way Jack made her feel, she liked it when he was happy, and she understood the link between them, but she just didn't feel that, for her, it was the most important part of the relationship. Had you asked her about it she wouldn't even have realised that there was something absent from her relationship with Jack.

Now she realised there was something beyond her control. She really didn't understand what it was; she just knew that things were not going her way. And she didn't like it.

Jack and Diane Chapter 06

Diane couldn't quite understand where or how things had slipped from her control. She had worked so hard to ensure that her timetable was met. When she first met Jack, she had other prospects in play, but from the moment she kissed him, she had cooled them. Once she bedded Jack, they were out of the picture entirely, and all her skills were used to elicit his proposal of marriage. Jack had been a loving and attentive husband, but Diane had no intention of spending her whole life tied to one man and his goals.

She had proved her femininity by marrying a good prospect, and producing two children. She had been a dutiful wife supporting her husband in his career, attending the tedious business functions to ensure his promotion, and adhering to Jerry Hall's tenets of being "a maid in the living room, a cook in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom." She had even played the dutiful daughter-in-law, agreeing with Jack's mother most of the time but showing enough character to obtain respect as well. She had looked after Harry and Georgie as the best mother should, helping with homework, teaching them to cook and ride, playing in the garden and at the beach. In fact, to any observer, Jack and Diane had the perfect marriage. And that included Jack.

Nevertheless, Diane regarded her marriage as a hiatus in her life. She had been extremely good at her job and had great prospects herself. She would have a husband to support her through the early years of her children's lives, but once they were old enough, she intended to return to making a career for herself, and enjoying all aspects of her life. Not for her, a life of domesticated decline. Once she had proven her motherliness Diane would forge her own future again. This would be financed from the divorce settlement. Not for nothing did she endure the rubber chicken dinners, and warm champagne and tasteless strawberries of corporate hospitality. Since she was being a dutiful wife, Jack would have to provide the capital for the next phase of her life. His advancement was to her benefit and therefore her duty to herself.

Thus far her lifeplan had gone to schedule. She held Jack in deep affection and high regard. She believed that he loved her and she had done her best to nurture that love. She did not have any feelings, though, that she would call love. The one slight complication had been meeting Peter. With him she felt something that she had never felt before. There was an excitement she had never felt before. Her heart lifted when she saw him, and a sexual frisson ran through her. His entry into her life brought forward her timings.

Did the acceleration of her plans produce the loosening of her control on events or was it something she had not understood about her husband?

After the children were born, Jack's parents had arranged to keep them over a weekend every couple of months. This allowed Jack and Diane to spend some time together. Diane appreciated the break from routine and the opportunity to indulge in an abandonment in the bedroom that wasn't possible with two small children under the same roof.

It was during one of these weekends that they travelled to Devon to look for a holiday home for both weekends and the school holidays. Since they had no mortgage to pay, they decided to invest in a property of their own. Needless to say Diane also had her long term plan in mind. Any such property was jointly owned and would be part of any settlement.

Jack took the Friday off work as time owed. He was no longer on a pay scale where he got overtime, but he worked as each job required, and was permitted time off in lieu of hours worked outside his contract. They arrived in Plymouth to visit the local estate agents for advice on property for sale. Having spent the morning and early part of the afternoon collecting brochures on various properties, they went to a pub overlooking the harbours for lunch. As they entered Diane heard someone declaim loudly and clearly, "Bloody 'ell, its 'armless!"