Divorced in Danville

by E. M. Sadler

  "So, girls!" I said, with mock seriousness. "Kelly and I were talking, and we think that it might be fun if we moved all of you into the room above the garage."

  "But that's not fair!" John said, with a burst of anger. "I want to share a room with them too."

  "Well John, as much as I would love for you guys all to share a room, the law says that a five-year-old boy is not allowed to share a bedroom with his sisters."

  John and my dad talk a lot about his time as a judge when they buddy around, so I knew he understood the seriousness of the situation when I referred to "the law" in this manner. "However, on the weekends, we can still blow up the mattresses in the family room so that you guys can fall asleep watching movies. Does that sound fair?"

  Thankfully this compromise did the trick, and soon we were able to distract the children by starting our new nighttime routine as a family. Since Kelly was only nursing Mandy in the mornings, this meant that all of the kids were asleep by 9:20 pm and I finally got to have Kelly to myself.

  The best part was that all of our children were heavy sleepers, which meant that even if we got a little too noisy from the wedding night excitement, there was still a good chance that the kids would still sleep on through.

  Meeting Kelly in the hallway after tucking in John, I silently snagged her hand, and we walked into our bedroom for our first night as husband and wife.

  Chapter 53 – Kelly

  Closing the door behind me, I turned to find that instead of undressing in greedy anticipation of what is to come (hehe...pun intended), Dale was instead walking towards his small iHome and selecting something from a playlist.

  "Now Mrs. Wilson, I do believe you owe me a dance," he said as the guitar melody for Orleans' song Dance With Me started to pipe through the speakers.

  "It's our song!" I squealed hoping that my excitement was conveying the complete adoration I had for my beautiful husband.

  Holding me like a unique treasure, we began to sway while Dale started to serenade me. He may not have had the best singing voice, but it was deep, low and more soothing than all of the spa music in the world combined. Plus, with every lyric, I felt that the words sung from his lips were meant to convey a promise.

  Let it lift you off the ground

  Starry eyes and love is all around us

  I can take you where you want to go...

  Sigh! I loved this man so much!

  After the song's last note, Dale and I continued to move and sway not wanting to leave our special moment.

  "I love you, Kelly!" Dale said, before touching his forehead to mine with a sigh.

  "I love you, Dale!"

  That night instead of repeating the frenzied lovemaking of the afternoon, Dale made love to me slowly and methodically. I had never experienced sex like this in my entire life. Sex where every stroke was meant to slowly bond you not only physically, but emotionally as well. It was so sensual that Dale never had to quicken his pace in order to orgasm. Instead, all it took was my core gripping him to send him following me over the edge.

  When we began to emerge from our stupor, I was shocked to see tears in my Dale's eyes.

  "Dale, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

  "Nothing, Kelly. Everything's perfect."

  The next two weeks of our lives were blessed with family, joy, and evenings of lovemaking. The only downside was my relentless work schedule.

  There was more than one evening during that period of time, where Dale had to drop what he was doing and watch all four children so that I could run to a Medicare appointment with clients who had waited until the last possible minute to make changes to their policies for the upcoming year. But instead of complaining, when I arrived home late on those evenings, he would greet me with a smile, kiss me, pull a covered dinner out of the microwave, and chat with me about my day as I consumed my food and the kids played in the family room.

  It was both fascinating and scary to be part of such a strong partnership where both husband and wife worked as a team instead of spending their evenings angry at each other.

  When Saturday the 8th arrived signaling that Open Enrollment was officially over, we both sighed collectively out of the relief of having a clearer schedule. With the extra time now on our hands, Dale and I decided to begin preparing for our upcoming wedding and finish up the renovations to the girl's room.

  Thankfully, Joanie called in her friend Sylvie one day during our Skype conversation who helped us set up the girls' room to utilize our space. Sylvie had just designed a room for a set of twin eight-year-old boys and applied a version of that design for our three girls and directed us on what to purchase.

  Apparently, a store called Hello Jo and Company designed a bed with a corner hutch that consisted of two twin beds meeting at a headboard, with a corner bookcase set up behind each headboard, and extra storage built in underneath. It was the perfect option for our two five-year-old girls, who could not stand to be separated by more than a foot of space.

  Since Katie no longer needed her daybed, it would be placed on the third wall and become Mandy's once she transitioned out of her toddler bed in the next few months. Until that time came, the daybed would remain in Katie's old room, and Mandy's transitional crib would be on the third wall.

  On the fourth wall, we set up three individual matching Hermes dressers that we found at IKEA for each girl and painted them in transitioning shades of pink.

  Though at the moment, none of the girls appeared to be territorial, we wanted to establish personal spaces early on to avoid conflict as they aged. Thankfully, the room also hosted a perfectly square walk-in closet with a previously installed California Closet. This gave each girl their own sides with a small built-in drawer for underwear and accessories in the middle of each section.

  I swear the inventors of the California Closet were lifesavers. Well them and Sylvie's brilliant interior design skills. For $3,200.00 we were able to set up their bedroom in a way that would last the girls until they were teenagers and have enough money left over for each girl to buy a new comforter set.

  Everything was going smoothly until Sunday after church. Since the girls had a scheduled video chat with Geoff, I decided it was finally time to speak with him individually about his upcoming weekend alone with the girls.

  "So, you're really not going to stay overnight with the girls?" Geoff asked, annoyed and acting like I was abandoning my children.

  "Geoff, this isn't something I've sprung on you. It is laid out in detail in our custody agreement that once Mandy is weaned; the weekend visits would be just the girls."

  "What am I supposed to tell the girls if they cry for you? That their mother is too busy with her new ‘freedom' to spend time with her family," he replied using air quotations.

  "Geoff, you know that's a lie, and I hope you love our girls enough not to play them against me like that." It was becoming increasingly difficult to remain calm, and I needed to remain as calm as possible.

  "I'm not playing games, Kelly. You know that I'm right. And if something happens to the girls because you weren't here to help me take care of them, that will be on you," he said using one of his favorite manipulations.

  Unfortunately, during our argument, I hadn't realized that Dale had wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water and inadvertently overheard Geoff using the girls as a means to be cruel to me.

  "Excuse me?" Dale asked loud enough to startle Geoff.

  "Kelly, who the fuck was that?" Geoff asked, utterly shocked that he had been overheard.

  Over the years he had perfected saying nasty things to me out of the earshot of our friends and family. This was why so many of our friends and family assumed that I was to blame when they learned of the divorce.

  "Oh, I'm sorry, I don't think we've officially met, Geoff. My name is Dale, Dale Wilson."

  "Geoff Jenkins," he said curtly. "Kelly, why is Dale with you and the girls today? I thought we had an understanding that you would not have overnight guests."

  I could tell
that Dale was ready to jump in to rescue me, but I needed to take control of the situation and act as my own hero for once in my life. "Geoff, I promised you that I would not have any overnight guests unless I was married, which leads me to the next topic I wanted to discuss with you. Dale and I were married last Wednesday. You no longer have to worry about my morality."

  Bracing for a fight, I was completely caught off guard when Geoff 's face went ashen.

  Voice cracking, Geoff said, "Oh, well I guess congratulations are in order. Kelly, I need to go visit the Lawson's, I'll talk to you later." And then he cut the call.

  "Well I don't know if that went well, or not," I said, confused and bewildered.

  "He probably thought you'd eventually come back to him," Dale said, sympathetically. "But if his little comment about you not coming to overnights is anything to go off of, I'd make sure you're prepared for him to be hurtful when you drop the girls off for his next visit.'

  "Oh, I'm well versed on Geoff, Dale," I said with a sigh that was neither irritated or spiteful. It was a sigh from the slight pain in my heart where Geoff used to reside. "He'll have something nasty to say, but it will only be because he isn't able to handle self-reflection without lashing out."

  I'd have to make sure I told the girls how much I loved them before and after their visits going forward. I couldn't leave any room for doubt.

  Chapter 54 – Dale

  I wanted to defend my wife. I wanted to stop Geoff Jenkins from placing doubt in the minds of all my girls. Saying a small prayer that God would make sure that both Mazie and Mandy knew how much Kelly and I love them, I continued to hug my bride.

  Sighing in resignation, Kelly pulled away and wandered over to her laptop to close it down.

  "I need a distraction," she whispered.

  "Well, I can think of one way to distract you, but unfortunately it's only 2:00 pm and the kids are too wound up to be amused by the TV for 30 minutes."

  Rolling her eyes in playful annoyance, Kelly said, "Always with the sexing, Mr. Wilson. One more month of this behavior and I will have officially had more relations with you than any other man before you."

  I don't think she meant to say the last part out loud.

  She couldn't be serious?

  Wanting to relieve her obvious embarrassment I said grinning cheekily, "So you're saying, if we continue having sex at least two times a day for the next month, I'll be the high scorer."

  Turning towards the sink to grab my water and doing the math quickly in my head, that meant that Kelly had sex less than 100 times before our meeting. That's less than once a month in the seven years they were together physically.

  How many times would I estimate I've had sex?

  "You make me sound like a pinball machine," Kelly declared, trying to banter unsuccessfully.

  "Baby, don't feel upset about your admission. If I were to calculate, I wouldn't be far behind you in experience. I had sex four times with my first college girlfriend, once with my lab partner junior year, and then once a month with Molly till we were married ten years and then once every few months after that till the kids turned three. "

  Shocked at my confession, Kelly asked timidly, "Do you think maybe the reason that first night was so mind-blowing was that we had been so neglected in our marriages?"

  "A part of me wondered that at first, but I know now that's not why. I truly believe that you have always been my soul-mate Kelly Wilson, we were just not ready to meet yet," I said kissing her lightly on the lips.

  As if on cue, our ragamuffin gang of five-year-olds suddenly overtook us, followed by a squealing Mandy in tow.

  Kelly had told me once that Mandy always seemed bored until my kids came into her life. Now, she had constant entertainment from at least one of the children at all times.

  After a quick snack to occupy the rugrats, we decided to spend the rest of the day at the local jump zone. This way, Kelly and I could sit in the parent's section and discuss our upcoming wedding while the kids burned some much-needed energy.

  Within two hours, Kelly and I had our list completed, and we had finally decided on a wedding party. Kelly would have Joanie as her Matron of Honor and Kevin would be my Best Man. If we didn't limit our party, it would have gotten ridiculous considering besides our parents, the Sadlers, and 10-15 close family friends we couldn't have 25% of our guests be attendants.

  With our lists ready, and a plan of action in mind, the following week was quickly filled with wedding appointments and errands. Since Kelly wanted to include them as much as possible, we did many of these with the kids, which was both fun and trying at the same time.

  Monday, after picking up the kids from school and taking them to the park to burn some energy, I met up with my family at the baker's who was so in love with our children, that we ended up walking out with 12 extra cupcakes and a 20% discount.

  Tuesday, Kelly took the girls to pick out dresses, and I took John to get fitted for his first tux. I wanted to say it was a great time filled with male bonding, but John was so upset that the girls were having fun without him that I had to cut our time short. His sensitivity at being left out had been increasing over the last week, especially after the girls moved into their room together.

  I needed to make sure that enrolling him in cub scouts was a priority for this coming Spring. This way he could make some friends apart from his sisters and maybe not feel left out when they unintentionally excluded him.

  Once we arrived home, John's gloominess evaporated as soon as Mazie and Katie presented him with a special badge that Kelly had found at the bridal salon. It read, "Official Ring Bearer," and he became so attached to that little badge, that I caught him tucking it under his pillow when I went in to say goodnight later that evening.

  Wednesday was the day Kelly had scheduled to meet with the florist and our first meeting to go incredibly wrong. Apparently, the florist's husband worked with Geoff, and after making Kelly feel unwelcomed in front of the children, I put a stop to the meeting. By the time we walked out of the shop, I could tell that Kelly felt wholly defeated and knowing that we were under a time crunch, I decided to call in a favor.

  Thankfully, Kelly and I had driven in separate cars, and as we left the shop, a resolution began to formulate in my mind.

  Not wanting to get her hopes up, I asked if she would drive our family home in the van so that I could check the air in her tires on the way home. Wrapped up in her own internal struggle, Kelly quickly agreed with a kiss to my cheek before she took my keys and began to head towards the van.

  "Hey!" I said as she walked away with a little of her usual pep deflated.

  "Yeah?"

  "I love you, Mrs. Wilson."

  Mirroring the smile currently plastered to my face, she said. "I love you, Mr. Wilson," before turning away with a little more vigor.

  With my family safely in route to our home, I quickly dialed my mother from the parking lot before getting back on the road.

  "Dale, this is a pleasant surprise! How are my favorite newlyweds fairing with wedding planning?"

  "That's actually why I called you."

  Chapter 55 – Kelly

  I can't believe the florist was Mary Fitz... married to Tony Fitz... aka Geoff 's work BFF.

  Last I had heard, she was still working for a gardening center up north.

  What a fucking nightmare. And now, we have no florist. She was the ONLY one in town with availability on such short notice around Christmas.

  I could always hit Michael's this weekend when the girls are at Geoff's, and the twins are at Maggie's.

  Fake flowers can be pretty too... if you know how to arrange fake flowers. Which I don't!

  FUUUUCCCKKK!!! This sucked!

  This whole situation was making me sick to my stomach. On top of continued cramping, the stress-induced nausea was making my blood pressure rise.

  It was time to make an appointment with an OB. The problem was that my previous OBGYN was Geoff 's best friend, Jason's wife, Nichole. />
  When Geoff and I had started divorce proceedings, she was my biggest supporter, but I could tell that it was beginning to take a toll on her. Her husband didn't blame me for the divorce, but since Geoff goes over to their house every Saturday, which used to be our group hangout time, we slowly grew apart until finally, I decided to bow out.

  I knew she still loved me, but I didn't want her to feel like she had to choose between us. Thus, after several months of failed lunch attempts, she finally stopped texting me and started spending more time with her sister-in-law instead.

  It was hard at first, but I moved on. Unfortunately, that also left me without an OBGYN.

  After a lot of debate over the past few days, I had finally decided to drop off a wedding invite to her office when I picked up the girls Monday morning from Geoff 's. Maybe, she could fit me into her appointment calendar, and I could let fate decide whether we saw each other or not. If she wasn’t available I had a few days off work next week, which meant that I might even be able to stop by urgent care if she couldn't.

  It was over an hour before Dale arrived home, which was odd considering he should have only needed around ten minutes to check my car's tire pressure.

  Was there something wrong with the car?

  Just as I was picking up my cell phone to check on him, I heard the garage door announcing his arrival and easing some of my anxiety.

  Since the kids were all engrossed in their coloring books, I rushed to greet Dale only to find that he had brought a guest; Mrs. Dalton the kids' kindergarten teacher had her Subaru parked behind Dale's van and was walking into the house through the garage.

  "Mrs. Dalton. What a lovely surprise."

  Looking towards Dale with bewilderment etched on my face, they quickly began to fill me in on how Laura Dalton ended up at our house on a Wednesday evening.