Time is the Ultimate Revenge

"That's good enough for me," I said firmly. "Let's get started." It suddenly felt good to have someone on my side and to be finally fighting back.

For the next three hours, we went through all of the paperwork I had brought, discussed what I could expect, and finally was asked what I really wanted out of all this.

"Obviously, I would prefer that none of this had ever happened. But that's not possible, so I want to come out with the house, half of the assets, my retirement intact, no alimony, and no child support."

"You might want to curb your expectations," Tom said solemnly, "but I'll fight to get all of that for you. Are you looking for full custody?"

I shook my head and then clarified. "I mean, if Jenny doesn't want the kids, then I definitely want them. But I know she loves them and will probably fight for full custody. I feel that joint custody would be fair."

"Well, I'm going, to be honest with you," Tom said with a scowl. "You need to prepare yourself for the possibility that she will probably get primary custody. With Mr. Colson's wealth and the probability that he intends to marry your wife once she's divorced, she can be a stay-at-home mom. Unless you planned to remarry and could show that your wife is a stay-at-home mom, I think the best you can hope for is liberal visitation rights. But knowing what a prick Colson is, they'll probably fight you on that."

"This really sucks," I said with venom. "I didn't do anything wrong, yet I'm the one that's going to get screwed."

"As far as your children, that's probably a fair assessment. However, on the plus side, if your wife marries Brad, you won't have to pay alimony. But on the minus side, you'd still be required to pay child support."

"I'll gladly pay child support as long as I get to see my kids."

The final part of the meeting was Tom talking to Mark and Glenda with me out of the room. I don't know what they all talked about specifically, but Tom seemed pleased when he came out with the children.

"You must be some kind of dad," Tom said as he pulled me aside, "because your kids really love you. Unfortunately, they seem to love their mother as well. But not as much as you."

I left Tom Watson's office feeling better about my finances but worried sick about how much time I'd be allowed with my kids. Tom told me he would draft the divorce and a petition to grant me temporary custody of the kids. We planned to serve my wife shortly after she arrived back from her "business trip."

Eight days after DD day

Jenny called that morning and asked if we could talk. I said sure and made arrangements for the kids to be elsewhere. This appeared to be going as Tom had predicted. I no longer had any illusions about Jenny wanting to reconcile. Even though it tore me up, there was no way to put that genie back in the bottle. Our marriage was over, and Jenny was trading up.

I wasn't surprised when she rang the bell. Tom had told me to expect something like that. Still, I made her wait and ring the bell two more times. When I finally opened the door, it was a struggle to keep my emotions in check. I didn't say a word; I just turned and went back to the kitchen and grabbed a beer.

When I sat down, Jenny asked where the kids were, and I almost snapped. Instead, I said calmly, "So, now you're concerned about them?"

"I guess I deserve that," she quickly tried to placate me. "But I truly believed that it would have been very ugly and dangerous for us to meet after the way I left you on New Year's Eve. I apologize for that. Originally, we didn't plan for me to leave you that night. I was going to tell you on New Year's Day, but Brad didn't want to wait anymore. Also, the trip came up because Brad had a problem at one of his plants. He convinced me that it would be better to let you cool off. And Brad was absolutely right. I was unsure at first, but after that trip, I realize he's, my soulmate."

"Isn't it amazing that your soulmate turned out to be uber-rich," my voice dripped with sarcasm. "I assume that you're here to talk about our divorce. So, let's get to it, so you can stop wasting my time. I have something much more important to do than talk to you. I have to take a shit."

Anger flashed in Jenny's eyes. "You don't have to be crude and insulting."

"I don't give a fuck what you think."

Jenny was mad now. She wasn't used to people talking to her like I had. "I don't have to sit here and be insulted."

"Then leave," I said as I got up and headed for the backyard. I didn't really want Jenny to leave. However, considering my state of mind, that might be the best thing. But apparently, my attitude had unnerved her, and she lost her bluster.

"No, I think we need to get this discussion out of the way." Then she fumbled in her purse and pulled out an envelope, pushing it across the table. I opened it and began reading. Again, Tom had been spot on. The terms Jenny offered were quite generous until I got to the last paragraph. At that point, I almost lunged across the table to rip Jenny's throat out.

I threw the papers back in her face. "You can tell Brad Colson to take this proposal and shove it up his ass. I will never consent to him adopting my children. And to offer me a hundred thousand dollars to go along with it is beyond contemptible."

"Mike, Brad, and I can offer the children a much better life than you can."

"Fuck you, Jenny! And fuck your shithead of a soulmate!"

"Mike, this will be the best for the kids," she started, ignoring my insults. "I'll be a stay-at-home mom, and they'll have the opportunity to attend the best schools. They'll live in a better house and have the opportunity to travel. These are things that you can't provide. But if it will help, Brad is willing to pay you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to allow the adoption."

"Jenny, not only are you a total slut, but you're a moron to boot. What part of fuck you and fuck your soulmate don't you understand?"

"I'm sure that Brad would up his offer to five hundred thousand dollars," Jenny said quickly. "That's probably more money than you'll have at one time in your life. We barely made ends meet with your paycheck. And keep in mind that Brad is your employer, and your job could be gone in a heartbeat."

"Even if he offered a hundred million dollars, I wouldn't agree," I was right on the edge of doing something stupid and had to calm down. I wanted to throw Jenny out the front door, but that would have ruined Tom's well-laid-out plan. I glanced at my watch and then turned back to Jenny. "I've had time to reflect on our marriage, and it isn't pretty what I realized. You may think you have a golden pussy, but you don't. We had a pretty good marriage for a while, but for the last year, you've been a shitty wife, a shitty mother, and an all-around shitty person. And we did more than make ends meet, but you always spent way more than you needed because you had to have the best of everything. I don't need Brad's crumbs. And if Brad's planning on firing me, I'll have to take it up with the EEOC. Right now, the court has given me custody of the children because of your abandonment."

"I didn't abandon my children," she said angrily. Then the front doorbell rang.

"That will be for you," I said with a smile as I headed to answer it.

I opened the door and found a deputy sheriff standing there. I stepped aside and let him see Jenny, who was standing slightly behind and to my side.

He nodded and asked, "Are you, Jenny Wilson?"

After she showed him her driver's license, he handed me an envelope and told her she'd been served. I smirked as she read the divorce petition, and then she fled in tears. God, that felt so good.             

"She just left, and she's been served," I told Tom on my cellphone.

"You behaved yourself, I hope?" Tom asked.

"It was hard, but I behaved myself. However, Jenny left here crying after being served," I admitted. "I don't know what that was all about. You were pretty much right on the mark about what they would offer. However, they did throw in one kicker that almost caused me to lose it. It seems that Brad Colson wants to adopt my children. He can't do that, can he?"

"That's a wrinkle that I didn't see coming," Tom admitted. "As to whether they can strip you of your parental rights, that would be extremely difficult unless they can demonstrate that you are a totally unfit parent. So, you will have to be extremely careful about how you behave around your wife and Brad. Also, try to stay with other people who can be your witnesses if necessary. I wouldn't put it past that bastard Brad to fabricate a story and have his witnesses swear to it. I know you're a good dad, but just be conscious that they may try to twist even the most innocent events to paint you in the worst light. Now that I know their game plan, we'll prepare ourselves."

"Tom, does it ever get any easier?" I asked as the pain of Jenny leaving me crashed down once again.

"Yes, it does," Tom responded immediately. "And if you're honest with yourself, you'll admit that you aren't nearly as devastated today as you were the night your wife left you. However, there will be good days and bad days for quite some time. And I want to warn you that we'll probably lose some of the skirmishes with Brad and Jenny as we go forward. But each time we lose, we'll regroup and find new ways to fight back. As they said in the sixties, keep the faith, baby."

During the week I had taken off from work, I had done all of the financial preparations Tom had advised me to do. I had opened new accounts for myself and transferred half of everything into them. I had set up for the twins to go into after-school care. Their school ran a program where kids could stay until five-thirty. It was perfect because I worked from 7 am until 3:30 pm. That gave me plenty of time to get home, do some chores and still get the kids in plenty of time. The week also gave me time to work out a schedule with the kids. Jenny ran the house very loosely, especially when the kids were supposed to go to bed. However, I had to establish a more disciplined routine if it was going to work for me. I had them bathed, teeth brushed, and in bed by 8 pm. At first, they objected, but when I promised to read two stories instead of one, they looked forward to bedtime.

My time with my kids was a lifesaver for me. We became even closer, and surprisingly, they didn't ask too often about their mommy. But one time, Mark did ask if his mom was ever coming back. I didn't want to hurt my kids, but I wasn't going to lie to them either. I told them the whole truth. Their mother had found a new man she liked better than me and wanted to live with him. In fact, she wanted him to be their new daddy. Both kids started to cry, and then I felt terrible. Maybe I had said too much, so I quickly assured them that no matter what, I was always going to be their daddy. That calmed them and earned me two fierce hugs.

When Saturday morning arrived, it was time to take the kids to their riding lessons. Even though their mom hadn't seen them in over a week, Mark and Glenda were thrilled because they were going to Miss Darla's. The riding lessons had been my idea that Jenny opposed. Like many little girls, Glenda loved horses and wanted to learn to ride. Mark just went along because he didn't want to be left out. However, Mark quickly became a much better rider than his sister.

Darla Lampson owned a horse farm that also offered riding lessons. She was an excellent riding instructor, and the kids loved her. She was a cheerful soul who had a pretty face but was ten or fifteen pounds overweight. However, she had a warm smile and an infectious laugh. I liked her from the first time we met. Jenny teased me and told me that I liked her because she laughed at all my corny jokes, which was true. Still, Darla was easy to like.

"Where's Mrs. Wilson?" Darla asked as I stood by the corral fence.

"Mrs. Wilson and I are getting a divorce," I said flatly.

"I'm sorry," Darla said quickly, "I didn't mean to intrude."

"No, it's alright," I said to reassure her. "It is what it is. I just hope we can keep the kids in these riding lessons. Right now, I have the kids, but my lawyer tells me that the courts will probably give her primary custody with me having visitation rights. I'm going to fight for joint custody, but it isn't looking too good."

"Why is that?"

"Well, once the divorce is finalized, Jenny will marry her rich lover. Then she'll be a stay-at-home mom while I have to hire babysitters. And the kicker is that I work for that wife stealing shit Brad. So, as if things weren't bad enough, I expect to be unemployed shortly when he starts to put the screws to me."

"That wouldn't be Brad Colson, would it?" Darla said as her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, do you know him?"

"I never met him personally, but I've had the misfortune to meet his lawyers. His property backs up to the ranch, and he wanted two acres of my land and didn't want to pay for it. And all he wanted it for was to create a bigger buffer between his property and mine. The only thing he did was plant dozens of trees and bushes. Hell, if he'd have asked me, I would have done it. But Mr. Colson doesn't believe in asking; he believes in just taking what he wants. Anyway, his lawyers filed one motion after another, and I couldn't afford to fight him. Besides, the land was mostly marsh, and I didn't use it. After five months of legal battles, I got to thinking that I wasting my money fighting to keep land I didn't use. So, I finally agreed that if he paid my attorney's bill, I'd quitclaim the two acres to him. In the final analysis, my real estate taxes went down slightly. Still, the whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth for Brad Colson. I hope that I'm around when he gets his comeuppance."

"Yeah, I'm right there with you. Brad's a real piece of shit. But my soon-to-be ex-wife has picked him to tie her star to. And I'd also like to be there when not only Brad but my wife gets hers," I said, hoping that Brad would dump her sooner rather than later.

"What are you going to do if Mr. Colson fires you?" Darla asked.

"I've already started on a new career. I'm a CPA, but I work as an accountant for Mr. Colson. I've always done taxes and accounting on the side for extra money. Recently, I've expanded that work and have landed three small businesses that want me to do their books and taxes for them. It isn't enough to survive on yet, but I'm banking any money I can from my regular job and my side business to help me when I get fired. Right now, I'm working out of my house, but I'm sure I'll have to put that up for sale once the divorce is finalized. Then I'll have to find an apartment, which won't be suitable to build a business."

"Well, if you can do my accounting work for what I'm paying now," Darla said softly, "I'd be happy to let you have my business."

"I can't ask you to do that," I protested. "If your accountant is doing a good job, there is no reason to change."

"I wouldn't know whether they're doing a good job or not," Darla chuckled. "They were the accountants for the ranch when my dad died and willed the property to me. It's one of the larger accounting firms in town, Minter, Smith, and Zeller. They handle my payroll, quarterly, and year-end taxes, and I pay them $2000 monthly and about $5500 for my federal taxes. I don't know anybody at the firm, and the one time I called with a question, it took weeks for them to get back to me."

I quickly glanced at Glenda and Mark and found them happily jumping their horses over a foot-high rail with an instructor running beside them. Then I turned back to Darla. "Okay, if you're sure, I'll take a quick look at your books right now. If I can do the work for the same amount, I'll add you to my enormous list of clients."

Darla laughed and took me into her office. Then she pulled out the current year's accounting books, which were being kept manually, and last year's federal tax return. I quickly determined that what Minter, Smith, and Zeller were charging was outrageous.

"I can't do it for what they're charging," I told Darla with a smirk. "I couldn't in good conscience charge you more than $750 a month and $2000 for the federal tax returns."

"No," Darla protested, "I'd be willing to pay you the same."

"No, that's not how I operate. In my opinion, your current accountants are ripping you off. It's probably that you're too small an account for them, and they don't care if you leave. I will only take you on as a client if I can charge you a fair rate."

"Wow, I didn't expect that," Darla said with gratitude. "That will really help me out. Ever since I took over the ranch three years ago, it's been a struggle. Saving $1250 a month will really help a lot. Thank you. Oh, and it goes without saying that there will be no charge for Glenda and Mark's lessons from now on."

"I can't ask you to do that," I protested in vain.

"You didn't ask," Darla smiled. "I'm telling you."

Getting Darla's ranch as a client was a big help, but the divorce was just beginning to heat up. It was going to be a long and ugly road. Besides, despite what Tom had said about it getting better, it hadn't. It seemed that every week there was a picture of Brad and Jenny in the social section of the paper. It was so unfair that Jenny's life seemed perfect, and mine was in the toilet. And added to that was the frustration that I couldn't come up with any way to get back at either of them. I was lonely and miserable.

Two weeks to eight weeks after DD day

My day started great when I got a call that Harvey's Hardware wanted me to do their accounting. But after that, the day nose-dived into a shit hole. When I arrived at work, I was informed that I had been terminated. I wasn't surprised and part of me was relieved. It had been exceedingly awkward since the New Year's Eve party. While no one said anything to my face, conversations seemed to suddenly stop when I entered a room. Still, losing my job was depressing. Brad was still pulling all the strings.

Tom already had the paperwork waiting to file with the EEOC for a wrongful termination lawsuit. However, he had told me that it would be a long hard fight that could take years. But Tom sent out a news release on my battle with Brad, which I heard pissed my former boss off to no end.

The day got even worse when Tom called me a few hours later to tell me that the judge had signed an order giving Jenny joint custody starting that evening. I was devastated until Tom explained that it wasn't all bad. The kids would remain in the house, but Jenny could also live there. Realizing how uncomfortable it would be, she chose not to avail herself of that right. Instead, she would pick the kids up each day after school and make me pick them up at night. It was a nightmare for me as I had to watch Jenny and Brad each evening when I picked Glenda and Mark up. And Jenny usually made sure I saw how happy she was. She would give Brad a hug, or a kiss, or say something loving. It left me totally depressed and worse, the kids were totally confused. I didn't think things could get any worse, but I was wrong.

As soon as Jenny had joint custody, her lawyers began filing motions to change their primary residence to Brad's house. The basis of their appeal was that I had denied Jenny visitation. They also alleged I was trying to turn the children against her.

Upon learning this, Tom immediately filed a complaint with the court, stating that I had never denied Jenny any visitation rights. In fact, he suggested that the judge interview the children as they talked to their mother most nights. One question the children always asked was, "When are you coming to visit us, mommy?"

Fortunately, the judge ruled that the children would stay where they were for the moment. However, he made no mention of the accusations leveled against me. This lack of response troubled Tom as he felt the judge wasn't paying close attention to this divorce case. But, as he pointed out, in fairness to the judge, he was juggling thirty or forty cases at any given time.