A Pact For Life

by Elliot, Graham

“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Cale beamed as he downplayed how much of a problem it actually was becoming.

  “Good, now about the wedding. What do you really want for it?”

  Cale smiled. “Well, for one, darlin', I’d like to be there.”

  “Cale Dawkins, it’s good to have you back in my life.”

  “Glad to be back,” Cale responded as he thought of that canoe sized joint floating him down the city.

  TRIALS

  Amidst the boutiques, salons, and upscale restaurants of Denver's Cherry Creek neighborhood, a round bellied Diana Young waddled through the sunny streets. Per Dr. Lincoln’s instructions, this was her exercise now, walking. In the span of one week, she had gone from an active thirty-three year old to a geriatric mall walker.

  One of the reasons she loved to run so much was due to the trance feeling. That painless, transcendental two - five mile mark where you’re on a higher plane with your thoughts. With walking, this type of trance was impossible to attain.

  Part of it was her own fault. Diana had skipped listening to music, and instead was streaming NPR’s Weekend Edition through her phone in some attempt to have something even more in common with Andrew. With news radio, getting into a trance was impossible. You can't dive into your own thoughts when you actually have to listen.

  The thing is, at that moment, she really needed the trance that running provides. There were issues that needed sorted. Namely, Cale, Andrew, the baby, her job, the house, the wedding, and how each of them had gotten tangled up with one another. Alas, she was too busy listening to straighten it all out.

  After walking for an hour without even breaking a sweat, the program ended and Diana suddenly found herself able to listen to her own mind.

  The Internal Dictation of Diana, Part III:

  I want Andrew. I can’t hurt Cale. I will not cheat on him. WILL NOT, WILL NOT, WILL NOT. I’m stronger than this. But Andrew feels so right. The move is next week, focus on that. But the trial is this Tuesday. Focus on that instead. Alright, the trial… What am I gonna do about the wedding? After she is born, then we can get married. Cale needs to be in her life. And I will need the help. I cannot be a single mother. But Andrew…

  “Hey you!”

  Is it wrong to want my perfect guy? That damn pact... I‘m not a cheater. Never have and never will. I love Cale. He’s not perfect, but neither am I. How can people who love each other cheat? How can they?

  “Hey!”

  Diana stumbled for a second at this shout that was obviously in her direction. Looking around for a familiar, friendly face, it didn’t take her long to find one. It was familiar for sure, but it definitely wasn’t friendly. Sitting at a table outside Starbucks surrounded by three other women was Kristen Finnegan-Felts, Andrew’s soon to be ex-wife.

  Diana walked over to the table with a puzzled look on her face and hesitantly said, “Hello?”

  “Girls, this is the bitch lawyer Andrew hired.”

  The three other women at the table laughed at Kristen’s comment. It was impossible to tell Kristen and the others apart – pink baseball caps with ponytails sticking out the back, black yoga pants, various colored zip-up hoodies, and sunglasses in a three inch horizontal band stretching from ear to ear. Diana meanwhile stood there dumfounded at Kristen’s brashness. One woman calling another woman, let alone a pregnant one, a bitch to her face? Now that takes balls.

  Diana slid her hands inside her jacket pockets and made fists. Her dumbfoundness had suddenly turned into deviousness, and she knew exactly what to do to make Kristen regret ever calling her a bitch.

  “Listen, I want to talk to you about Andrew and the trial.” Diana said while pulling up a chair. “This won’t take much time, and your friends can stay if you want them to.”

  Kristen shrugged and said, “Fine by me.”

  “First off, I’m sorry about how harsh I’ve been over the course of the divorce proceedings. I mean nothing personal by it, it’s just the way I handle those things. Plus, sorry for the language here, but the firm representing you is full of dickless weasels who aren’t interested in winning the case, they just want the attorney fees.”

  Kristen scoffed. She didn’t want to admit Diana was right. “So you’re familiar with them?”

  “They denied me an internship when I was in college. One of their partners hit on me and when I turned him down, it cost me the internship.” With that last line, Diana had won over Kristen’s friends.

  But Kristen still refused to turn. “Maybe you flirted with him during the interview? I’ve seen how you act around Andrew. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you two were dating.”

  Diana looked down at the ground and smiled. She was struggling for a comeback. “It's not that... I mean... women have been the subservient sex for thousands of years.” Neither Kristen nor any of her friends knew what subservient meant, but they were at least in the ballpark with a definition. “I don’t think it’s wrong to use our strengths to get what we want from men. I’m sure you agree.”

  'I'm sure you'd agree' was supposed to be a direct insult toward Kristen, but she took it as a compliment. “You’re right, me and the girls were talking about that earlier. If a woman wants a rich, older man to take her out for a good time without any sex involved, she should be able to without being criticized.”

  “I absolutely agree.” Diana replied.

  Kristen bit the front of her lip in search for the right words. “I’m... I’m sorry about calling you a bitch. It’s just this thing with Andrew. In these meetings, you guys seem to say everything right while we sit across the table and struggle for responses.”

  “It’s alright, I understand.” Diana said as she finally saw an opening for her devious plan. “I need to tell you something, and I’m not acting as Andrew’s lawyer when I say this, but as someone who doesn’t want to see you get screwed by the system. You really should take the settlement offer.”

  One of Kristen’s friends asked, “Kristen, what was the offer?”

  “Umm… $200,000 and the condo on 15th Ave.”

  Diana added, “We had the condo appraised at just under a million dollars.” Conveniently, she left out just how much under a million it really was. “Kristen, if you lose this court case, you’ll get nothing.”

  “Peter says we have a good shot at winning.”

  “Pfft, the only thing Peter wants is to bill you for the court appearance. Your odds aren’t very good, and it actually has nothing to do with your case. These city judges are all older, conservative men. Most of them have been in Andrew’s position before so they are bound to have some sympathy towards a white, professional male going through a divorce.” In one of those ‘made for TV’ type of moves, Diana leaned forward and looked as concerned as she could. “Take the settlement, it's a good deal for you.”

  Another of Kristen’s friends said, “It really doesn’t sound like that bad of a deal, Kristen. You don’t want to end up like Beverly when she got divorced. Having to work sucks.”

  Again, Kristen bit her lip, and from that sight alone, Diana knew she won the case. Even though Kristen would never understand how badly Diana screwed her with the settlement, it still felt good to get her back for the bitch comment.

  Diana stood up and announced to the table, “Well, I better get back to exercising.” She rubbed her stomach and said all matter-of-factly. “Only a few more months to go!”

  “Wait!” Kristen shouted before Diana could leave. “You… you like him, don’t you? You like Andrew?”

  Diana blushed and said, “I like to keep things professional. It’s not appropriate to have personal feelings for a client.”

  “Whew, that’s good news. Since you’ve clarified a few things for me about this divorce, I wanted to save you from wasting your time on him. I know how it must look for you. The smartest people in the room should be drawn to each other, but he would never go for the pregnant thing. Or for that matter, raising someone else’s kid.”

  “Oh?” Di
ana questioned as this comment nearly knocked her over. The bitch comment was rude, but this was downright evil.

  “Andrew will never give himself to anyone because work always comes first. In his life, everything outside his career is a distant second.”

  “Well he does have a pretty important job,” Diana interjected.

  “That’s why it didn’t work out with us. He stopped loving me, and I was so desperate for love that I had the affair. Sleeping alone six days a week was just too much. I wanted to be loved again.”

  Diana nodded and said, “That’s… that’s pretty sad. It sounds like it was tough for both of you.” She pulled out her phone to fake a glance at the time. “I really should get going, my boyfriend and I have to get ready for a new opening in his gallery tonight.”

  “Oh, well, it was good talking to you. Sorry again about calling you a bitch.”

  “Don’t be. If you want to be a good lawyer, you have to be a bitch.”

  After an exchange of waves, Diana was back alone with her thoughts. With each step, the same thought repeated in her head.

  I wanted to be loved again.

  It was Tuesday afternoon, the day and time of the trial for the divorce of Dr. Andrew Finnegan. Only a trial wasn’t taking place. Well, not in the ‘civil law’ type of sense. It was a trial of cocktails, shots, beers, and for Diana, one allotted glass of wine.

  Despite it being in the early afternoon on a weekday, The Edge, a bar next to the courthouse was packed with people. Most of them were partners in Andrew’s cardiology practice, some were partners in Diana’s firm, and the rest were the regulars who had already been at the bar all day.

  Andrew’s partners were there for an almost initiation like gesture. He was now a member of the divorced doctor’s club, a group whose members far outweighed Andrew’s old group, the married doctor’s club. Sadly, there are no perks to being in this club, and even more depressing, the dues, or alimony as they're usually called, are astronomical.

  Diana’s partners were there in celebration of her accomplishment. A divorce settlement for a man at only a twentieth of his net worth was legendary. One of the best performances in her firm’s history.

  A clattering of spoons on glasses started from some of the doctors, and chants of “toast, toast” soon followed. From behind, Andrew was pushed into the middle of a newly formed circle as things quieted down as he raised his glass of beer in the air.

  “Well, I’d like to thank everyone for coming here today. I know we're here to celebrate my divorce, but to be honest, this is one celebration I thought I’d never have. I’m sure many of my colleagues agree that no one wants to get divorced.”

  There was a shout from the crowd, “You haven’t seen my twenty-five year old girlfriend!”

  Andrew chuckled. “I have no idea who just shouted that, and the scary thing is, it could be ten different people I know.” He waited for the crowd’s laughter to die down before continuing. “Like I was saying, no one wants to get divorced. I was in love once, and that ended, but you can’t give up hope. There’s someone out there for everyone, you just have to keep searching. I still believe that. I still believe in love.”

  And with that last line, every single woman from the singles through the ones in trivial relationships began to scheme how they could wind up with Andrew, even if it was only for that night. Naturally, many of these women decided the best way to him would be through copious amounts of alcohol.

  Somewhere in the crowd, another person yelled out, “Here’s to freedom!” and a drink was raised in the air. Andrew nodded, half-heartedly repeated the line, and joined in drinking.

  As soon as he finished the toast, two women rushed forward, grabbed both of his arms, and dragged him up the bar while shouting, “Tequila shots!”

  Along the way there, he passed Diana, who was retelling the story of how she got Kristen to settle to a group of senior level partners. Turning back as he was dragged away, Andrew said in a rush, “Hey Diana, can I talk to you in a little bit?”

  “Sure thing,” Diana called as the two women dragging Andrew away glared at her hard enough to bend spoons.

  After that, Diana struggled to continue her story. Her body and words might have stayed with the settlement tale, but her eyes and thoughts were focused on Andrew at the bar. She watched as he did a shot. Then another. Then a third. Then a hand up in defeat as the girls begged him for one more. As Diana retold the part about being a good lawyer meant being a bitch, Andrew’s fourth shot went down.

  By the time Andrew’s hand went up again, the two women had already called out to the bartender for another round. Diana knew he was too polite, and would likely succumb to alcohol poisoning before turning them down, so she decided to save him. Excusing herself from the circle of senior partners, she walked over to the bar and stepped in the middle of the three. “Andrew, I need to borrow you for a second to sign some forms for me.” Diana looked at two women and assured them, “It won’t take long.”

  Diana carved a path between the crowds, but when she looked back, she saw Andrew struggling to keep up. She slowed down, extended her hand, and he grabbed on for dear life.

  From that point on, it took longer than normal for the two to cut through the bar. Both were responsible for the slow pace because the hand holding was something neither wanted to give up. Up till that moment, it had been nothing but professional handshakes between the two. This was different though. It was a genuine, interlocking, hand in hand, ‘don’t leave me!!!’ hold.

  But it did end. It ended as soon as they got to the gray skied outdoors. Diana led Andrew to a table in the far corner of the patio, which he managed to reach after several stumbles into chairs.

  “Thanks Diana,” Andrew slurred as he did his best to remain cogent. “You really saved me in there. I’m not sure how good it would look to pass out on the floor in the middle of my divorce celebration.”

  “With the way those two girls were ordering shots, I would think your passing out was their plan.” Diana smiled. “We gotta look out for each other, you know?”

  A single snowflake fell on the table. It was a March flake, heavy and wet and a disaster for everyone who wasn’t wearing a waterproof jacket.

  With every minute that passed, the shots were taking that much more of a hold over Andrew’s thoughts. They were bringing his emotions to the surface. A bomb was about to be dropped. “I want to apologize if this ruins everything, but I have a confession to make… I like you.”

  The bomb destroyed any response Diana had. “Wha… what?”

  “I’ve been trying to fight this because I know it’s not right. You’re in a relationship and have a daughter on the way, and I don’t want to mess things up for you, but I have these two voices in my head. It’s the angel on one shoulder, devil on the other, and right now, the devil has a bullhorn while the angel is deaf, mute, and dumb.”

  “That happens to me too,” Diana admitted as she finally had the courage to tell him how she really felt. “I like you too. We match-up so well. I mean, I’ve never had conversations with anyone like I do with you. I keep thinking about…”

  “What a perfect couple we’d be?”

  “Yes! It’s superficial, but for some reason, it matters to me.”

  “Me too. I’m horrible for thinking that way, but shouldn't that mean something?”

  A few more snowflakes fell which Diana noticed but blew right by Andrew. He was a drunk lost in conversation. At that moment, all that mattered to him were Diana’s words and his responses.

  Diana pulled her coat around her tighter, and said, “So what do we do? I don’t want to stop being friends.”

  “I don’t want to ruin things for you. Give me a day or two and we’ll have a rational talk about this.” Forgetting that he just confessed his love for Diana a few minutes earlier, Andrew slurred, “I’ve had too much to drink to make a good decision.”

  More snowflakes fell. The pace of could still be called flurrying33, but at the rate it was goi
ng, it was bound to change to full-on snowing in five minutes time.

  Cold and slowly getting wet, Diana stood up and said, “Let’s go back inside before it really starts to come down. Stick around me in there. I’ll protect you from those women.”

  “Thanks for the offer, Diana, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to handle them now. Although it’s probably a good idea to switch to water for the rest of the night.”

  Back inside, they returned to their respective parties – Andrew skipped the two women in favor of his fraternity of divorced doctors, Diana skipped her partners in favor of Jenny. They tried to keep up with their conversations, they really did, but ultimately, both minds returned to their outdoor confession. Neither knew it at the time, but that confession would take over the rest of their day. It would take over the next day as well. And the next day. And so on until one of two things happened. They had sex or they stopped talking.

  Outside, the flurrying turned to snowing, and the snowing turned to dumping while everyone inside remained blissfully unaware.

  With only a handful of people left, the divorce celebration was coming to an end. The lingerers consisted of a smashed Andrew who could barely see straight, several of his partners who were trying to impress the cocktail waitresses with their knowledge of all things cardiovascular, and a concerned Diana who was only staying to make sure Andrew didn’t pass out and swallow his tongue.

  Andrew left his fraternal circle and approached the bar one final time. He ordered a water and made short work of it. Then ordered one more for good measure. Drinking that was in vain though, tequila doesn’t respect water.

  It was time to go, and Andrew knew it. He approached a group of his colleagues, and said something to the effect of, “I really should be taking off. Thanks for everything guys, it was fun.”

  They responded with slurred goodbyes and one overzealous guy gave a drunk hug34. Back on the ground, Andrew turned toward Diana and said, “Well, I suppose this is it. Thanks for coming, Diana.”

  “If you want, we can wait for a taxi together?”