Dragon had a ratty garage where he repaired motorcycles and sometimes cars. He didn’t need a lot of money to live but it was a mystery to me how he got enough money. I suspected that he might have some business deals going on that I didn’t really want to know about. He agreed to store my motorcycle for a nominal fee. I had to carry the insurance but he would supply the space. We put my bike in the back behind some junk and put a tarp over it. No one could find it. It would be secure as long as Dragon’s garage didn’t burn down.
In normal circumstances a guy in my position would need to get a lawyer. I really didn’t see a need for one since I had signed a prenuptial agreement before our marriage. The agreement basically said that I wouldn’t get any of the Woodward money. Mama Woodward made sure that none of the Woodward money went outside the family and she didn’t consider me part of the family. She had made this point clear on numerous occasions. So they were going to do whatever they were going to do and I wasn’t going to change any of it no matter what kind of a lawyer I hired. They had powerful attorneys to protect their interests. I might as well conserve my money. I didn’t care about the money but the situation irritated me. Just thinking about it was putting me in a bad mood.
I decided to go down to the kitchen and have a snack. Then I would raid Woody and Lorraine’s liquor cabinet and have a Manhattan after which I would go to bed and get ready for an exciting day at work in a warren of cubicals. God, could life get any more depressing? Not easily. Of course, I had the lawyer meeting to look forward to.
I opened the refrigerator and looked around. I found some Jarlsberg cheese, my favorite cheese. In a cupboard I found some crackers. I found some black olives in the refrigerator to round out my snack.
Lorraine walked in and asked if I wanted company. I was almost finished with my snack. I told her I was headed for their liquor cabinet and I would love her company. I fixed a Manhattan for myself and a vodka martini for her. She had drunk vodka martinis as long as I had known her. She had a green olive in her martini. I had two cherries in my Manhattan. No orange slice. You have to plan ahead for an orange slice.
It was an awkward conversation. She knew what I was facing and she felt bad for me. I asked her about their kids just to have a different kind of conversation but it only reminded me of my kids. I remembered Lorraine and Woody’s kids from when I lived with them during college. When we finished our drinks, I headed to my room.
I had received a notice to be at Kat’s lawyer’s office the next afternoon. That would be her next move. I would find out the details of our divorce. It wasn’t going to be boring and I wondered what kinds of conditions they were going to impose. I knew I wasn’t going to get any money and I didn’t want any. I was hoping to keep my personal possessions. The biggest deal would be what visitation rights I would have with the kids.
The kids always suffer the most in these situations. I hoped they had thought about this and had come up with something that would help the kids through this tough time in their lives. And help me, too. Since I knew I wouldn’t be living with them, visitations would be crucial to me.
After meeting with Kat and her lawyer I was going to have to find a more permanent place to live. This homelessness was no good. I needed to have a place of my own. I couldn’t abide living in a room.
The next step was meeting her lawyer.
Chapter 15
Meeting the Lawyer
I was instructed to be at the attorney’s office at exactly 3 p.m. Don’t be late. I pulled into the parking lot a couple of minutes before 3 p.m. And walked into the reception area at exactly 3 p.m.
I had never been there before. The receptionist was a young lady who I guessed enjoyed the power of telling you to wait. You always have to wait for the big, important lawyer.
She took me to a conference room and told me that the lawyer and my soon-to-be ex-wife would be right in. I had spotted Kat’s car in the parking lot so I knew she was in the building. I also had spotted a red Beemer that I was willing to bet was Mr. Lawyer’s car. I waited. I waited. Finally, I went back to the reception area and told the receptionist that maybe she had put me in the wrong conference room because no one showed up. She assured me it was the right conference room and told me to wait a few more minutes.
I told her no. I had been requested to be here at exactly 3 p.m. And not to be late. I had done so and I expected that other parties to be on time or to at least phone me. I had waited more than ten minutes and I was leaving. She could set up a new meeting. She seemed a little flustered and said she would immediately check with the lawyer. I said that would be fine and walked out the door.
Maybe that sounds petty on my part but I knew the lawyer was playing a game. The only thing I had left was my self-respect. I wasn’t going to play toady to the lawyer. Why he was even bothering mystified me since they had all the power. I knew that I was going to be handed a contract and told to sign it and, having no real choice, I was going to sign it. In fact, it was kind of a mystery as to why they didn’t just mail it to me. I suspected someone was playing games and running up their billable hours. Since I wasn’t paying, I didn’t particularly care about the billable hours but I didn’t want to be a pawn in a game. I went back to my office.
On the way into my office my phone rang. I looked at it. It was the lawyer’s receptionist calling me. I let it roll to voice mail. I was going to be busy for a while.
I spent the rest of the day working although I couldn’t keep my mind on the work. As soon as I could, I left and went to Woody’s bar to eat. After a couple beers, I went to my room at his house to read.
My phone rang. It was Kat. She wanted to know why I hadn’t waited to meet with the lawyer. I told her I was commanded to be there at 3 p.m. and not be late. I was there, waited ten minutes and no one showed up so I left. She was irritated and said I needed to phone the lawyer to set up a new time. I said that he could phone me and set up a new time and I hung up. Why was I being such a jerk, I wondered? I guess since everything was being taken away from me, I was being a jerk because it was the only thing I had left. I couldn’t even stand myself.
I went down to Woody’s home bar and fixed a Manhattan. Lorraine came in and joined me. She could tell I was in a bad mood but I encouraged her to stay in the hopes it would cheer me up. And it did. Lorraine always cheered me up. I never had any sexual interest in Lorraine but I was attracted to her. I liked her a lot and I considered her a friend.
The next day the lawyer’s assistant phoned me and we set up a new time for the following day. Maybe this time I was going to get to see the lawyer.
The time finally came and I appeared at the law office. I saw Kat’s car in the parking lot along with the red Beemer. I assumed that the third car belonged to the assistant who loved to tell me to wait. I walked into the lobby exactly on time. The assistant led me to the conference room where the lawyer and Kat were waiting for me.
Must be the games were over. Time to get down to business.
The lawyer was a small guy dressed to the nines in a suit, vest and power necktie. His shoes gleamed. Everything matched. I knew I wasn’t going to like him but I had to give the guy credit for dressing well.
Right away he wanted to know where my lawyer was. I told him I didn’t have one.
He said, “It isn’t my role to give you legal advice but I strongly advise you to retain legal counsel.”
“Why? You have the backing of The House of Woodward and whatever they decide is what is going to happen. In fact, I’ll bet that you already have the contract written and all I have to do is sign it.”
The lawyer had no expression on his face but I could tell I had hit a nerve. Kat, on the other hand, would not look me in the eye. How could things get so bad between Kat and me? This is where the ugly head of hate could appear but I refused to hate. Life was too short. I reserved the right to be a jerk occasionally but I wasn’t going to hate.
The lawyer smoothly said that they would like to go over some points in the agreem
ent so that there would be no misunderstanding. He first reminded me that I had signed a prenuptial, so no money was coming to me. Next, he listed all of the goods that I was allowed to keep. This was my truck, motorcycle, books, clothes, etc. No surprises in that. Then the bomb was dropped.
He informed me that I was not to have any visitation rights with the children. In fact, I had to agree to stay at least one hundred yards away from the children. I was stunned. Not in my wildest imagination had I anticipated such a turn of events. I knew he was still talking but I couldn’t hear a word. How could this be happening to me?
Ignoring the lawyer, I turned to Kat and said, “Is this what you want? How can you do this? You know I love the kids as if they were my own. Kat?”
She refused to look at me. Her jaw was clamped so tight the muscles in her cheek were bulging.
The lawyer, ever the smooth guy, explained that we were not there to negotiate. The terms were firm and his job was to explain. Once again he said it wasn’t his job to give me legal counsel but I had the right to retain counsel and have my desires heard.
My mind was coming back on track and was racing. I realized that I was going to have to leave the city. The city wasn’t big enough for me to keep one hundred yards away from anyone. If I was in a grocery store and Kat came in with the kids, I was going to have to leave the store immediately. If I left town, including not going to church or shopping in town, I had to go a distance, meaning I was going to have to give up my job. I was losing everything.
I turned to Kat and said, “Kat, do you understand what this means? I’ll have to leave the city. I’ll have to leave my job. I lose you, I lose the kids, I lose my home, I lose my job, I lose everything. Is this what you have in mind?”
Finally she spoke up. “No, you only have to stay away from the kids.”
“But there is no way for me to do this. Don’t you understand that or is it part of Mama’s plan?”
Kat burst into tears and left the room. The lawyer followed, leaving me alone to think. What was there to think about? This was too much. I couldn’t figure out if the person who came up with the one-hundred-yard-deal was too stupid to figure out the implications or whether they had done it on purpose. Knowing Mama Woodward, I could imagine she had insisted on it, knowing full well what it meant.
Finally, Kat and the lawyer came back in the room. Kat looked awful. I had to give the lawyer credit. He was handling this very professionally. Maybe I had misjudged him. He was only doing his job. Well, he was still a lawyer.
The lawyer said, “Look, this is not being productive. The terms are non-negotiable.”
I said, “Well, I have one request. Since I will have to leave the city and my job, I will have to move to a new city and start a new life. This may take me a year and I will need money to do this.”
The lawyer reminded me of the financials. I replied that I wasn’t asking for a gift, just a loan. I would pay the money back.
The lawyer said he was not authorized to negotiate such a deal.
I just stared at him. Kat wouldn’t look at me. Finally, in a weak voice Kat asked me how much money I wanted. I told her $50,000. I had $20,000 in savings so I didn’t think I would need all of the $50,000 but I figured that they would argue me down.
Kat said, “I will give you the $50,000.”
I said, “No, I only want a loan.”
The lawyer again stated the rules: no money.
Kat turned to the lawyer with fire in her eyes and said it was her money and she would give me the money.
With that I asked if there were any other surprises. The lawyer said no.
“Well, in that case, I want to sign the contract and be done with this ugly business. And just for the record and for you, Kat, I want you to know that I am not signing this contract because I think it is the right thing to do. It isn’t. It is a travesty. You are ripping my heart out. I am signing it because I know Mama is behind it and I don’t even come close to having enough resources to fight her. I just find it very hard to believe that you are caving in to her. There must be something very big at stake for you to do this. I hope it is worth it for you. You are wrecking my life.”
I signed the papers, got up and left. Kat was crying. I felt like a pavement roller had rolled over my chest. I was crushed.
Chapter 16
Do What Where?
I left the law office in a daze. In no mood to go back to my office I decided to go to Woody’s Bar and Grill. It was almost five o’clock anyway, my official quitting time. I took it easy driving. I wasn’t in good condition to be on the streets. I couldn’t focus on anything except the disaster in the lawyer’s office. I felt like I had been in a truck wreck.
I pulled into Woody’s parking lot and took several long, deep breaths. What was I going to do? Where was I going to go? How could my life unravel so quickly? It just didn’t seem possible but I had a copy of the divorce papers sitting on the seat next to me to remind me it was not only possible but it was real. Too real.
I went inside. Woody’s place was almost empty. It was a little early for the after-work drinkers. In a few minutes the place would be packed. It would then empty out as the people went home for dinner and then it would fill back up with the evening drinkers.
I sat at the bar and Woody brought me a beer without my asking. I usually don’t drink beer but at Woody’s I usually had a Beck’s. He took one look at me and said, “It looks like you just lost your last friend. What’s up?”
Woody, “Let me ask you a question. How is it possible that you do a good turn, setting off a chain of events that ruins your life? How is that possible? How can life be so unfair?”
“Man, what are you talking about? Are you talking about the other night?”
“No. It is something that happened a while ago in West Virginia. I just came from Kat’s lawyer’s office. They laid a deal on me that means I have to get out of the city.”
“What? That ain’t legal, is it?”
“When you have Woodward money and lawyers, anything they want is legal.”
“Man, I can’t believe this. How can they force you to leave town?”
“Well, Woody, they made me sign an agreement to stay at least one hundred yards from Kat’s kids. That means I can’t go to church, go shopping or anywhere I might run into them.”
“My God, you mean you have no visitation rights?”
“Yeah, Woody, you have it figured out.”
“Jack, I don’t know what to say. Them bastards. It ain’t right. What are you going to do?”
“Woody, you just put your finger on the number one problem. I have no idea where to go or what to do. Right now I want to eat one of your hamburgers, have a few beers and go back to your place to think.”
I thought that night but I didn’t come up with any ideas. It all just swirled around in my head. I couldn’t get my arms around the idea that I has lost everything meaningful to me in such a short time. I didn’t even see it coming. I knew our marriage was in trouble but I had started sleeping better and was hoping that things would smooth out. That night, I had a fitful night’s sleep.
I got up and ate breakfast with Lorraine. She was trying to help me but I felt rotten. She fixed a nice breakfast, which I both appreciated and ate. I had to get out of the house.
I went to work and cleaned out all my personal stuff from my desk and put it in my truck. As soon as that was done I told my boss I was resigning. He looked at me like I was putting him on. Finally, he said, “Are you sure? I know we haven’t gotten along lately and I sometimes get on your case but this is kind of sudden, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I am sure. What’s the process?”
“Company policy says that I have to walk you out the door if this is final. We would then send all your personal stuff to you. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to reconsider and we can pretend that this conversation never happened?”
“No, it is over. Here is my badge. I am leaving.”
He walked me out the doo
r. He told me to give my address to his administrative assistant and she would send my personal stuff to me. I didn’t bother telling him I had already cleaned my desk out. Besides I didn’t have an address.
It was just after nine o’clock and I decided to go to the bank and check to see if Kat had transferred the money to me as agreed. Nope, my bank account had not changed. I decided to give her until noon and made my way to the library.
I read all the papers. Printed news was rapidly disappearing. I could see the handwriting on the wall but I was going to miss newspapers. Already newspapers were not good sources of national news. Most newspapers were living on local news. Getting news was starting to be a problem. TV was entertainment only. The news shows had to be entertaining or they disappeared. Americans demanded to be entertained. Real news was boring.
At eleven-thirty I grabbed lunch and made my way to the bank. I don’t know why I was so focused on the money from Kat. I guess it was the only positive thing that I knew I could do. I still hadn’t figured out what I was really going to do.
At the bank I found out that my account balance had not changed. I phoned Kat on her cell phone. She was at lunch.
She said, “You aren’t supposed to be phoning me.”
“And you aren’t supposed to go back on an agreement.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The loan that you promised isn’t in my account.”
“What?”
“I said, the loan is not in my bank account.”
“I am sorry. I left instructions for this to be done the first thing this morning. I will contact the bank and get it straightened out and phone you back.”
“Okay. Thanks. And by the way why aren’t I supposed to be phoning you? That isn’t in our agreement.”
“I just don’t think it is a good idea. I’ll get your money for you. It is not a loan. You can have the money. Goodbye.”
I always say when in doubt go get a good donut. I went to a local donut shop that had great donuts. I had a Bavarian cream-filled donut with powdered sugar on the outside with a cup of coffee. Kat phoned and said my money was ready. I walked to the bank as penance for the donut.
A Shadow of Death in The Woods Page 10