Same Old Truths (The Reluctant Avenger)

by Delora Dennis

  “Dave, wait.”

  With a disgusted sigh, Dave stopped and turned around to face his ex-wife. The deadness in his eyes stalled Kay in her tracks and she could feel herself shrink like a wool sweater in a hot dryer.

  “Look, Kay. I already told you I don’t have your co-pay.”

  In that moment, all her rehearsals abandoned her.

  “No…no. Uh, I just wanted to talk…uh, to see if we could…I mean, I think we need to talk.”

  She knew she sounded like a blithering idiot.

  “I really don’t have time right now. Sandy is waiting for me.”

  “I didn’t mean right now. I was hoping we could set up a time to get together,” Kay said. She was trying to ignore the sting of his intolerant demeanor.

  He stood there staring at her without any response. After a couple of uncomfortable moments he turned up his palm, raised his eyebrows and said, “Well?” throwing Kay even more off kilter.

  “Well, I just thought it might be time to revisit our agreement to see if we can make it more workable for the two of us,” she breathlessly got out.

  Dave was slowly going from cold to angry. ”What the hell are you talking about?”

  “C’mon Dave. Please don’t play stupid. You know I’m talking about the agreement we made when you cut my child support.”

  Dave’s dead eyes suddenly sparked to life with angry fire. “Listen, I never forced you to take that cut. As I recall, you were more than willing to accept it.” Then he let out a snide little snort and said, “Sandy said sooner or later you were going to throw that in my face”

  Invoking the name of Sandy was a surefire sign she had hit a nerve.

  “I’m not trying to throw anything in your face. I’m trying to work with you so things will be easier for everyone, all the way around. That includes Sandy.”

  His look of contempt was burning a hole through Kay’s brain.

  “Easier? That’s a laugh! I should have known you were going to try to take advantage of me now that I’m back. When are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours I’m no longer your dutiful husband and you can’t just pick up the phone anytime you have some stupid errand you’re too lazy to do yourself?”

  Kay stood there dumbstruck, sliced to pieces. None of this had gone the way she’s imagined. The look on her face must have been pretty alarming because Dave suddenly softened and in a much quieter tone said, “That didn’t come out right.” He let out a big sigh and continued, “It’s just that I’m under a lot of pressure at work and they’re not paying me what I’m used to.”

  His explanation was missing an apology, but Kay knew that was as close as he would ever get. Nevertheless, the issue of meeting to discuss their failing agreement was still unresolved, and under the circumstances, Kay thought, badly needed.

  “Look, Dave. If you’re under that much pressure from work, wouldn’t it help to see where we can make some mutually-helpful changes?”

  “I don’t know. I guess. I gotta go. I’ll try to call you this week and we can talk about it.”

  Squirming to get away from Kay, Dave made a quick escape to the safety of his truck. Neither of them said goodbye.

  Kay turned and with great difficulty, willed her wooden legs to move toward the front door. Thankfully, it was closed. She hoped the girls hadn’t heard any of the nasty exchange. Long before they were born, she and Dave had promised each other they wouldn’t put their kids through the gut-twisting discomfort they had both experienced as kids during parental battles. It was hard enough for the girls to navigate through difficulties of having divorced parents without having to witness them being at each other’s throats.

  As soon as she saw Kay walk in the room, Mariah ran up and grabbed her in a big bear hug. “I’m so glad to be home.” The little girl’s delight radiated into Kay.

  The two waddled awkwardly over to the couch, Mariah refusing to break her hold on her mother. Kay could feel herself return to normal at the sound of Mariah’s cheerful chatter.

  Sitting on the couch, holding hands, Mariah regaled her mother with details of her busy weekend:

  A trip to the park to play catch (”Little Dave always misses and it takes forever for him to go get the ball.”),

  Dave’s mom’s house (”Grandma said I look more like her every time she sees me.”)

  A Chinese buffet (”I hate those fortune cookies. I think they make ‘em with rotten rice.”)

  and the mall (”You should see the big screen TV Dad bought. And he paid for it with a bunch of twenty dollar bills.”)

  Cory, who had been quietly sitting at the table, doing homework, snapped her head up when she heard the last of Mariah’s pronouncements and mockingly said, “Oh, I’m so sure. Where do you come up with this crap?”

  “Stay out of this, please,” Kay said to Cory. Then to Mariah, “Tell me again…about the mall.”

  Mariah looked at Cory, then back at Kay. With the cheeriness gone from her voice, Mariah reluctantly repeated,

  “Dad bought a big screen TV.”

  Kay let that sink in for a moment. “And you say he paid for it with $20 bills?” Kay asked.

  With eyes wide and chin quivering, Mariah slowly nodded her head.

  Kay’s head was swimming and she felt the urge to scream. But not wanting to create a scary scene, she simply got up from the couch and calmly headed for the stairs.

  “She’s stupid, Mom,” Cory said in a desperate attempt to soften the blow. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

  “It’s ok, Honey,” Kay said, patting Cory on the shoulder as she passed. “I just need to get something from my bedroom.”

  As she climbed the stairs she could hear Cory scolding her little sister in hushed tones. “Way to go, Stupid. Why did you have to tell her that?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I was just telling her what we did this weekend.”

  As Kay closed the door to her bedroom, she could hear Mariah softy crying. She knew she should have walked back down to reassure and comfort her, but in her borderline-hysterical condition, it was well-beyond her capabilities. She walked around the foot of the bed and stood staring out the floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over her driveway. She could see everything and nothing. Continuous cyclones of thoughts stormed through her head, and yet her mind was a blank. The pain in her body was unbearable, but she was numb.

  She sat down hard on the bed, pulling her arms in tightly to her sides until she could feel her elbows squeezing her ribs. Her breath was coming fast and hard, causing the tip of her nose to tingle.

  Why can’t I cry? I need to cry. Kay stayed in her contracted position, waiting for the tears which refused to come.

  The phone rang and Kay jumped.

  Oh, God. That can’t be Dave already.

  The phone was two feet away resting on the night stand; she knew she was in no condition to answer it. It stopped ringing. Cory’s muffled voice wafted up the stairwell, followed by quick footsteps. She gently tapped on the door and softly called out to Kay. “Mom, it’s Aunt Les. Do you want me to tell her you can’t talk right now?”

  Leslie’s timing was a godsend. “That’s ok, Baby. I’ll take it.” Kay dove for the receiver. “Hey, Les. How’s it going?” the distraught woman said, trying to sound breezy.

  “You can knock off the act. Cory’s already told me something bad went down with that sonofabitch father of hers. Are you ok?”

  Even though Leslie sounded harsh, Kay could feel the love and support behind her words. Hearing her sister’s voice was all it took to release the backlog of humiliation, frustration, anger, confusion and hurt heaped on her by Dave’s betrayal. It felt good to let go.

  Leslie stayed silent through the two or three minutes of Kay’s hard sobbing. Then the crying slowed and quieted, giving Leslie a comfortable opening to start the conversation. “So, what did Asshole do this time?”

  Kay knew she was asking for an “I told you so,” but launched, anyway, into the a
ccount of how Dave, once again, got her to trust him, then dropped her on her head. By the time her story reached the $7 copay and the big screen TV-climax, she was crying hard again, this time mourning how she had betrayed herself and the girls.

  “How could I be so stupid? I should have laughed in his face when he offered me that ridiculous proposal,” Kay choked out through sobs.

  “Yup. It was pretty stupid,” Leslie agreed. “But don’t beat yourself up. You were just giving him the benefit of the doubt - which, of course, he didn’t deserve. But, hey. That’s who you are. You’re a nice person. And he’s who he is - an asshole.”

  Kay was glad her sister had chosen to sum up the situation so succinctly and not to delve any deeper into Kay’s possible unresolved feelings for Dave - an uncomfortable reality Leslie attempted to get Kay to admit to from time to time.

  “I don’t know what to do, Les. I feel so helpless,” Kay lamented to her sister.

  “Are you kidding me?” Leslie shouted at Kay. “Weren’t you the one who told me how you threatened Sandy to take Dave back to court if she didn’t ease up on Mariah? Seems to me, given the circumstances, it’s time to make good on that threat.”

  Of course. Kay had forgotten she could still play the legal card. Thinking about that time when she had shown some backbone made her feel better. She wasn’t helpless. Yes. A call to her lawyer was definitely in order. Suddenly, the bleak, hollow feeling that had invaded Kay’s core was beginning to evaporate and she felt the glimmer of renewed hope.

  “You’re absolutely right,” Kay said, slowly letting herself relax into a lounging position across the bed. “That’s just what I’m going to do. Dave’s used up his last chance to keep this charade going. I’m officially putting a stop to his game.”

  “Yeah, you are,” Leslie encouraged. “Hey, listen. Remember my friend, Rebecca? The one I told you about who’s just gone through a nasty divorce?”

  “I remember,” Kay said.

  “Well, she had a lawyer who was a real barracuda. I could ask Rebecca for her number,” Leslie offered.

  “Her? The lawyer’s female?” Kay asked. She was intrigued with the idea of having a woman represent her.

  “Yeah. Her name is Judith Something-or-Other. All I know is Rebecca was very happy with the job this gal did for her.”

  “It sounds good. How soon do you think you can get the number?” Kay was already anxious to talk to Judith Something-or-Other.“I’ll call her as soon as we hang up.” Then Leslie’s mood turned serious. “Please tell me you’re not going to chicken out after you’ve had a chance to sleep on it.”

  Kay knew exactly where her sister was coming from and didn’t let the comment bother her.

  “There’s no going back, Les. I’ve reached my booger moment.”

  This was a reference to a private code the sisters shared to describe turning-point situations.

  The “booger moment,” as it had come to be known, was the result of an, otherwise, great relationship ruined when Leslie accidentally caught her sweet, gorgeous boyfriend eating a freshly-harvested booger. For Leslie, there was no going back…or forward, for that matter.

  Well, Kay was going to go forward so she could go back - back to the order and structure of the original court order, when life was stable, secure and peaceful.

  The sisters ended their call with Leslie promising to call back as soon as she had the information Kay needed.

  Kay let out a deep, cleansing sigh before getting up and going to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. She wanted to rid herself of any remaining traces of her leftover breakdown. She was glad she could return to the girls with a sincere smile on her face and lightness of spirit. Then, for the briefest of moments, she wondered if her old friend, Denial, might be responsible for her lifted mood.

  No. She needn’t have worried. Things really had changed. And she knew this because, as gut-wrenching as it was, she had finally let go of the need to rely on Denial’s false security. Reality was her new ally, and she’d allow it to guide her through whatever was to come. She headed downstairs with a spring in her step. “Hey girls!” she called. “Whadda you want for dinner?

  11

  Manning vs. Noland

  I never thought I’d be back here again.

  Kay waited for the elevator to take her to the fourth floor hearing room marveling at how much things had changed in seven years. The near strip-search and x-ray scan they subjected visitors to in the lobby was clear evidence of the intense emotion and combustible energy coursing through these “halls of family justice.” It was a strange system that asked perfect strangers to make life-changing decisions about other perfect strangers.

  Where’s King Solomon when you need him? Now there’s a guy who knew how to settle a custody dispute.

  Kay was both dreading and looking forward to seeing Dave. She chided herself as she wrestled with her conflicting emotions. Bringing this legal action against him meant she was going to alienate him even more than he already was. But what choice did she have? He had reneged on his part of the bargain. All she was asking for was a return to the trouble-free days when the original court order was in place.

  I don’t see how he can think I’m being unreasonable. After all, a deal is a deal.

  What was truly unreasonable was the fact that this guy had, once again, made a major fool out of her and here she was, secretly hoping he’d notice how attractive she looked in her best suit - the one she wore when she worked funerals alongside Ed. It was a gorgeous taupe-colored, wool gabardine design with a slim skirt and short, belted jacket that accentuated her small waist. Combined with her best black sling-back pumps, the skirt made her average legs look long and sexy. And as if knowing the importance of today’s hearing, Kay’s hair had mercifully decided to cooperate.

  On her best day, Sandy never looked this good.

  Once again, Kay’s emotions swung back in the direction of confident and sassy. But that ended the moment Dave’s attorney shoved his arm between the closing elevator doors, forcing them open so he could ride up to the fourth floor too. She tried to make herself invisible, inching behind other passengers until she was wedged into one of the back corners of the car.

  Seeing Bill McCaffree again after all these years transported Kay right back to the horror that was the first divorce hearing. Not that it was especially heated or nasty. It was just so surreal. The last thing she ever imagined was facing off against her best friend - the man she loved and the father of her children, in a court of law. Enduring the pain and humiliation of a legal proceeding brought about by Dave’s public petition to have her officially removed from her own life was a true test of what one person could bear.

  Given the fact Dave had come out on the losing end (financially, anyway) of the divorce, Kay was surprised he had, once again, retained the services of Mr. McCaffree. The attorney’s dispassionate approach to lawyering left Kay with the impression he had seen it all, was bored, and merely going through the motions. Even the nasty barbs and blustering objections hurled at Kay and her attorney during the divorce hearing seemed like part of a well-worn script he’d been working from for a very long time.

  Bill was short and squat, and the wrinkled, ill-fitting business suit he wore made him appear almost square. Like so many bald men Kay knew, he compensated for his receding hairline with a thick mustache and goatee which made him look like a younger Burl Ives.

  After they reached their destination, Kay hung back, making sure there was plenty of distance between them as they got off the elevator. She walked slowly through the short corridor that led to the open double doors of the hearing room waiting area. A tall, horseshoe-shaped receptionist desk was located on one side of the room, with the opposite side containing a neat, L-shaped placement of chairs against the wall. A sumptuous, matching ottoman sat in front of every third chair.

  How nice of the courts to give people a place to put their feet up while they wait for a judge to garnishee their wages.

&nb
sp; Mr. McCaffree, standing on the far side of the receptionist desk, had just checked in with the woman behind the desk when he looked up and caught Kay’s eye. He smiled and said good morning as if they were old acquaintances. Kay couldn’t bring herself to return the smile, but acknowledged his greeting with a polite head nod. She knew what awaited her behind the doors of the hearing room, and niceties would definitely not be observed.

  Kay took a seat where she could see the elevator. She looked at her watch. 9:52. Where was Judith?

  Retaining the services of Judith Klein, experienced family law attorney, had been one of Leslie’s better suggestions. Not only was Kay more comfortable with a female attorney, but Judith’s reassuring, non-judgmental assessment of Kay’s case, left Kay feeling confident they’d be able to get everything back on track with a minimum of problems.

  Once again the elevator doors slid open. It wasn’t Judith, but Dave who stepped out, looking dashing in tan slacks, navy blue blazer, and light blue shirt. He wasn’t wearing a tie and the top two buttons of his shirt were open in a casual, “which way is the bar?” kind of way. The moment Kay saw him her breath reflexively sucked in.

  She sat up a little straighter in her chair and put an open, friendly expression on her face. He stopped and scanned the room, spotted Kay, but disavowed her presence with a quick skip of his gaze over to where his lawyer was sitting, briefcase open on an ottoman, shuffling through a stack of papers. He glided right past her with an air of indifferent dismissal. Just as quickly as it had rushed in, Kay could feel the air rush out of her body like a punctured balloon. But he must have changed his mind about acknowledging her, because he made a quick u-turn and headed straight for her. The look on his face was one she wasn’t familiar with. She sat frozen in her chair, not knowing what to expect.

  He stopped in front of her and bent his head down. For a nanosecond Kay thought he was going to kiss her on the cheek but it was only to deliver his message into her ear.

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” he said in a whispered hiss. “You know, Sandy said you didn’t want us to be happy and it looks like my wife is right.”