by Ashley Munoz
“I knew that girl wouldn't give you the message, she looked so incapable.” Lisa let out an exaggerated sigh. “I told her to tell you that your wife was looking for you, that you had been trying to contact me for weeks, and I was trying to track you down. I told her to tell you to call me. But then I didn’t hear from you until yesterday evening.”
Wife? My wife…… My fucking wife!? What had she done? I lowered my head into my hands and tried to breathe. Jackson took the hint and started talking.
“Lisa, you aren’t his fucking wife, why would you say that?”
I couldn’t see her face, but I heard a little scoffing sound. “I am his wife. I never signed any divorce papers.”
She finished with a happy little sound as she gulped the wine in front of her. What the hell was going on? I looked up, and Jackson was smiling. I would be too if I wasn’t thinking about Ramsey right now. This was such a mess.
I smiled at Lisa. “I sent you divorce papers six months after you left us. You couldn't be found. I tried to get in touch with you for two years, Lisa. The judge finally granted me the divorce because we didn’t know if you were dead or alive. So yes, we are divorced.”
Her face paled, with a little bit of red coloring her cheeks.
“But… but the kids?” she started stammering.
I was glad she said “kids” instead of their names, if she could even remember them.
I looked up and noticed that Rake was headed towards us.
“Yes, Lisa. Let's chat about the kids.”
I stood up to greet Rake with a hug, because after him helping me with the divorce and me putting his name out there with my business contacts, we had become friends.
Rake took a seat, and I wish I could have taken a picture of Lisa’s expression. Her face was pinched, her lips thin, and her eyes wide. She looked confused or constipated, maybe angry and alone; I wasn’t sure, but it was priceless.
“Rake, what the hell are you doing here?” she whispered, as her face continued to turn red.
He took out a briefcase and opened it, pulling out two sets of papers. Rake was always a bit thinner, not much muscle mass. His hair was a thick dusty-blonde color, shaved on the sides, longer on the top, and he had a softer face, but his blue eyes were like glaciers. He smiled at Lisa as he organized his piles,
“Hello Lisa, it’s nice to see you again.” A moment later, he went into lawyer mode. “I am here, representing Mr. Stenson and his children.”
Lisa sat back and looked pissed. “Our children!” she seethed, and pointed at her chest. “What the hell is going on, Jimmy?”
She threw daggers at me with her eyes, like I would actually care.
I stayed quiet, which is what my lawyer suggested, so he spoke up and answered for me. “We are here today, Ms. Stenson, to have you sign over all your parental rights of the children.”
Rake said it while setting a pen in front of Lisa, like he wasn’t worried about her backlash in any way. “I have here for you a few papers to sign and make this official.”
He started to set a paper in front of her, but she grabbed it and ripped it in half.
She sat taller in her chair and then addressed us. “If you think I am going to give up my rights, then you all are out of your fucking minds. Don't do this, Jimmy. Let's just talk for a bit. Please,” she begged.
I stayed quiet, knowing my lawyer had this well in hand, and I would just make things more difficult for him if I spoke.
But Rake didn't continue, he watched me with hesitation. I shifted in my chair and leaned back. “No. I don't want to talk. There's nothing to discuss. Please sign the papers.” I sounded like a robot, but I didn't want to lose my temper and start name calling or throwing chairs.
Lisa paled and placed her face in her hands. "Do you know how hard it was for me to leave you?" She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. Her makeup was a mess and her entire body was shaking.
"God, Jimmy. It wasn't easy for me to leave, just like it wasn't easy for me to stay. I had to make a decision, and I went with the best one that I could think of to keep our children safe. I knew that if I left, you'd stay, and you'd be the best option out of the two of us."
I broke.
"Why?!" I slammed my hand on the table. "Why did you think I was the better fucking choice, and what kind of mother thinks that and mentally process that shit?"
Lisa looked as though I'd slapped her across the face, but her retort was just as quick.
"The kind that grew up without a mother. The kind that grew up poor and pathetic. The kind that wasn't fucking strong enough to parent them alone," she sobbed. Tears and snot were mingling together on her face like a glistening fountain, and I shook my head in frustration. I didn't want to fight with her or argue why she'd left. If she had come back a year, even two years later, I would have heard her out, but not five years later, and only at the demand of Charles Davis.
"Lisa, I'm not doing this. What we had is over. What you did to the kids is inexcusable," I confirmed with a quiet tone, to hopefully get us back on track. Lisa wiped at her face with her napkin and blinked furiously.
"I'm not signing anything. I'm stronger now, I'm going to fight for them. They're still young, they'll forgive me." She crossed her arms, looking defiant and proud.
Rake took the opportunity to pull out another paper from the pile, but kept it in front of him, then pulled out another, with some things highlighted, and set it in front of her.
“Lisa, I think you will agree to sign over your rights, and here is why. The PI looked into your finances, and it looks like you have done all right for yourself as a dancer over the last few years.
“If you look at the highlighted portions of this page, you can see exactly how much we will be suing you for if you do not sign over your rights.”
Lisa looked pissed, her face was red and blotchy. She grabbed the paper and looked it over. Rake grimaced and quietly said, “Back child support for five years.”
I continued to keep quiet, as did Jackson, both just watching her. She carefully set the paper down in front of her and cleared her throat. “If I do this, then I can never see them again?” She looked to me for an answer, and I nodded my head.
"Correct. This is for good."
She flinched when I said that and looked down at her hands.
The silence was thick, and Jackson looked uncomfortable with the way he kept loosening his tie. Lisa had silent tears running down her face.
“Jimmy,” she whispered. “I couldn't be strong for you, but you're strong now and you don't need me to be. Please give me one last chance. I'm begging you.”
I watched her eyes and hated seeing Jasmine in them. Hated that I was tied to her at all. Hated how gutted she left me all those years ago. I leaned forward and placed my hands out in front of me, like a prayer.
“Lisa, you don't get to walk with someone when they're strong, when you refused to crawl with them while they were weak. At least not in my life. Sign the papers.”
Rake maneuvered the pen so it faced her. She looked murderous now, but she took the cap off the black pen and began signing every highlighted section that Rake pointed out. Once she was done, she leaned forward and fastened me with a glare. “I'm curious, Jimmy. Why not just file for this on your own, without me? I’m sure the court would have allowed it. Why go through all this to contact me?”
She was right, I could have gone through this process without her, I could have filed for a few different things without her. I sat up straight and made sure she was looking at me when I responded.
“Lisa, I wanted this moment because I wanted to be sure you understood that you can never come back. Never. You can never come around my children again. It was an assurance that I needed for myself and for the kids.”
Her eyes darted around the table as she inhaled through her nose, then slowly exhaled as she handed the papers back to Rake. “So, this is it? After this, you won't try to come after me for child support or anything else?”
>
“No, we don’t want anything else from you,” I stated calmly.
Finally, this part was over. Now she could leave, and I could move on with my life. She sighed again, pulled her purse up from the floor, then scooted her chair back and stood to walk away. Just as she was about to leave, she stopped and then looked back at me and said, “For the record, I'm sorry.”
I looked up at her and agreed. “Me too.”
She turned away from me and sauntered out of the restaurant, and out of my life, once and for all.
Rake shuffled his papers, then placed them all back in his briefcase. He let out a long breath that he must have been holding in. “Man, I am glad that went okay. I was worried that she was going to get crazy.” Rake was always worried about a scene.
Jackson laughed, and then stood up. “Yeah, I wasn’t sure how that would go down, but I am glad it's over. I feel like we should get some victory drinks or something, man,” he said, looking over at me. I was standing and buttoning my jacket.
“No thanks, guys, I have to try and repair what damage was done by Lisa with Ramsey. I will catch up with you later. Rake, do you need anything from me?”
He smiled and stood with us. “Not right now. I will get this filed and let you know what comes next.”
I shook his hand and left.
I knew, five years ago, that if I had the opportunity to end things with the MC once and for all, that I would take it. So, after I left, I went to a detective named Franklin Gepsy, who'd been working on taking down Davis and the Brass for a while, and offered him intel. I sat with him for hours, identifying key players for him, illegal drug runs they were a part of, weapons and arm dealings they were involved with, and helped with as much of his case as I could.
I told him that if I was ever approached by Davis again, or I went back, that I would contact him so that he could put together an undercover operation. I brought Jackson in on everything with me from the start, and since Gepsy encouraged our contact regarding the Brass to be anonymous, we developed a code: Meat delivery.
Jackson sent the necessary information to Gepsy, since my phone was hacked. Monday morning, I saw Franklin Gepsy at my bar blending in as a server. Gepsy was a tall bulky man who looked like he might have retired from those old wrestling shows. So, the fact that he had already set up and monitored the entire truck smuggling situation without any suspicion was impressive. He knew that I needed to have my meeting with Lisa first, before he moved in on the evidence he had on the Brass, just in case they decided to pull something over on me and hide her again. So, after the meeting with Lisa, I headed back to the bar to let him know he could end this whenever he was ready. I still couldn't text or call Ramsey, but I planned on finding her and figuring out how to see her, now that Gepsy could move.
I walked through the kitchen doors of my bar and found Rav dicing onions. Rav didn't dice onions, he always had someone else do it because he hated the texture of them. I eyed him suspiciously while moving a little further into the kitchen. His eyes darted up and around the room, like he was nervous. Once he caught sight of me, his shoulders relaxed, and he physically looked relieved. Like he was expecting someone else, but glad I wasn't whoever it was. He stopped his chopping and wiped his blade while watching the room. I looked around as well before I asked, “Rav, what's up?”
Rav glanced at me, then back at the door. He leaned in closer. “Jimmy, Davis assumed you'd pull something after your meeting with Lisa,” he admitted in a near whisper.
“And?” I asked, with a gesture for Rav to continue, not totally sure why he stopped.
“And, I don't know. Just be careful,” Rav finished with a little red in his round cheeks. He swiped a few trays off the counter in front of him and headed into the pantry. Something was wrong. Rav was nervous, but why was he keeping it from me? I needed to see Ramsey and get out of there.
I made my way out of the kitchen and saw Gepsy walking through the restaurant with an apron tied around his waist. He blended in so well that I even momentarily forgot that he was here undercover. I walked towards him and waved him over, we stood in plain sight of everyone. His cover name was Adam, and we spoke quietly.
“Adam, make sure you check the meat freezer when you get a chance, that order is finally in.”
Gepsy's posture was slack. He was a big guy, so I felt awkward giving him any orders, even if they were coded. He didn’t smile, he just nodded his head and was about to take off, but I held up my hand to stop him. I looked around, then focused on him, ensuring he understood my warning about Davis.
“And Adam, will you check to make sure the meat isn’t spoiled? I have heard a few rumors about other restaurants getting spoiled meat on accident. I wouldn’t want us to accidentally serve something that could hurt someone because we didn’t take precautions.”
Franklin watched my eyes, and slowly nodded his head in understanding. “Absolutely, boss. I will make sure and be careful with the order.”
I patted his shoulder as I walked away, hoping it would be that simple. I knew he wouldn’t be careless as he proceeded, but I just wasn’t sure what kind of plans Davis had up his sleeve if he was worried that I would do something. I continued walking to my office, giving a slow look around the restaurant that confirmed for me again Ramsey was nowhere to be seen. I hadn’t seen her or heard anything from her in a few days, even though I had my suspicions about my dad getting a late call the other night.
Now that I knew what Lisa had said to her, I needed to make sure she was okay. My pulse raced at the idea of thing going back to normal with Ramsey, now that this was all behind us. Now that Lisa and the MC would be out of the picture for good, I could give Ramsey the friendship she wanted and when she was ready, a relationship. There wouldn't be any demons from my past that would come to hurt her.
The office was silent, and clean. Clean, like no one had been in it for a week, which was odd, because I knew Ramsey was coming in every day for a few hours before we opened. I looked at the books, which showed she had accessed them last just yesterday. She was probably staying in Belvidere at Sip N Sides to be closer to her mom, and further from me. That thought hurt. I knew she still didn’t fully know what was going on with me; she had her assumptions but not the entire picture. I just hoped that I would have enough time to explain everything to her.
I didn’t want to be around as Gepsy did his job, and some part of me had this deep need to pull everyone who mattered close to me, just to ensure that Davis couldn’t hurt anyone. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and dialed the kids’ school. The perky receptionist picked up on the third ring.
“Hello, Belvidere Elementary, this is Cindy, how may I help you?”
“Hi Cindy, this is Jimmy Stenson. I am planning on pulling my two kids out for the day in about thirty minutes.”
“Okay, Mr. Stenson, I can send their teachers messages, and have them ready for… oh.” Cindy stopped mid-sentence and I waited, assuming that she saw something on her screen or was reading a note on my kids’ account.
When she didn’t continue, I cleared my throat. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, sorry. Yes, it’s fine, it’s just that your daughter was already pulled out of school. It looks like the other authorized person on her file pulled her out earlier today.”
“Oh, okay, I will give my dad a call then.”
She hesitated. “Uh, no, Mr. Stenson, it was the person on the file by the name of Ramsey Bennington who pulled her out.”
Ramsey had pulled Jasmine out of school? That was strange.
“Did she write in a reason for taking Jasmine out?”
“Um, let me check the clipboard.” She paused for a moment before continuing again, “She wrote ‘Ice Cream Date’ under her reason for checking Jasmine out… I’m sorry, Mr. Stenson, did you want to edit the people who are allowed to check your children out?”
Of course, I didn’t, but I did want to know what Ramsey was up to.
“Uh no, that’s okay. Thank you, could you just
have Sammy ready then?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.” I hung up the phone. I wasn’t sure what my feelings were about Ramsey pulling Jasmine out. I wasn’t upset, I was just confused, but somewhere in the deep part of my stomach, it ached with worry. Ramsey would have called me… wouldn’t she? That small kernel of fear began to wind around my heart, tightly. I needed to find Ramsey.
I was ready for this stupid week to be over with already. Tuesday, my mother scared the hell out of me by going into a mini-coma. Or at least, that's what I called it. The doctor had a different explanation of what happened.
"Your mother's body is a complex issue," Doctor Stephens said, while adjusting his glasses. He was a thin man, with dark hair, tinted with streaks of silver. "The failure in her liver is systematically affecting other parts of her body. So, your mother blacked out because there wasn't enough blood flow to her brain."
His hands were splayed open, like he was showing me a book. My mother had woken up early that morning, and was groggy. So, it was left to me to ask questions.
"So, are you saying this will happen again?" I asked, exhausted and emotionally spent.
He looked around the room and lifted his shoulders. "It's hard to say. We just aren't sure what could happen at this point. She's stable for now, so we are sending her home. We aren't recommending hospice, but we do recommend having a nurse come every few days just to check her levels."
We drove home later that day, and I made a call to Mom's regular doctor, who suggested we check with a colleague of his in Chicago. It was a center for specialized cancer treatments. I didn't want to get my hopes up because she wasn't even a candidate for chemo, but he said that as a last resort, we should at least see what other options they might have.
I talked to my grandmother on the phone and told her about the situation. They wanted to pay for Mom to try the treatment center in Chicago, and for a nurse to be at our house daily until we left. I helped set up all the arrangements, and with her trip to Chicago came my own decision to move back there permanently. I knew, at this point, all the treatment she needed would be better coming from the specialists there. I knew Mom wouldn't want to go, but she needed the best shot she could get at survival and staying there only meant the possibility of better help for a longer period of time. She'd eventually agree with me. Besides, Jimmy was married, so nothing was holding me here, except my job, Theo, and the kids, but with their mom back, I would only complicate things.
