When You Least Expect It

by Sandra Leiper

  When it came Mr. Richardson’s turn to present Carrie’s case, even the judge was appalled. Carrie was requesting an enormous amount of child support and alimony for life. She wanted a new car, and for Ray to pay for it. She wanted Ray to continue paying her mortgage and all living expenses. She offered almost no time with the children. She wanted to rake him through the coals, leaving him no money to start a new life.

  Ray held his head in his hands. She wanted him to suffer. She wanted him to be as miserable without her as he had been with her. She was punishing him. He prayed the judge would see through this. He got his wish; the judge was on his side.

  “Mr. Richardson, this is ludicrous! I cannot even believe you would put this on the table. How long exactly have you been a divorce lawyer? This man wants a divorce, not a jail sentence.”

  “Your Honor…”

  The judge banged his gavel. “I don’t want to hear anything. I am breaking for lunch, and in two hours when we come back, I want to hear some reasonable requests.” The judge got up and left even before the bailiff could say, “All rise.”

  Carrie looked over and gave Ray a look that would scare a small child into his mother’s arms. She turned in a huff and stormed out of the courtroom, her heels clicking loudly, hammering into Ray’s head. Her parents and flustered lawyer followed close behind.

  “Well, Ray, looks like we have a battle on our hands. Even though the judge feels Carrie is being ridiculous, they will only lower their demands enough to make the judge happy. They will still be more than what you have on the table. How far are you willing to compromise?” Michael looked at his client sympathetically. He didn’t have a chance. When Ray didn’t answer, he slapped him on the shoulder and suggested lunch. “We’ll think about this over a huge pastrami sandwich. I’m famished.” Ray agreed and off they went to the corner deli, Mike’s hand still on his client’s shoulder.

  ~~~

  Carrie was outraged. How dare the judge scoff at her requests? They were perfectly legitimate. Ray was the one who wanted this divorce, why should she have to suffer for it? She was perfectly willing to give up Ray; she just wasn’t willing to become the struggling single mom. She had seen it happen to too many women; it was not going to happen to her.

  Carrie, her parents, and her lawyer were sitting in the conference room pretending to eat a sandwich. Her mother was in the poor lawyer's face, giving him a piece of her mind. The sound of her mother’s voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard. She couldn’t take it anymore. She stood up and banged her hands on the table, bringing everything to a standstill. “Enough! This is NOT acceptable. I want what I want and I pay you to get it for me. I will not stand for the judge dismissing me as if I’m some crazy bag lady. You get that judge to take me serious, and that’s it. I’m not going in there again, you do this without me!” With everyone staring at her with his or her mouth open, Carrie grabbed her purse and left the room, without so much as a glance back.

  Ray felt better after eating. He decided not to change a thing; he was already being more than generous. Michael agreed with him, although he still felt they were in for a fight.

  “All rise.”

  Ray stood and looked over at the defendants table. The only one there was Mr. Richardson. Ray’s heart sank into his stomach; this couldn’t be good.

  Judge Grijalva looked over at the table. “I’m almost afraid to ask Mr. Richardson, but where is your client?”

  Mr. Richardson turned beet red. “She decided not to come back, your Honor. She did not feel you were taking her requests seriously. She left before I could stop her.”

  The judge looked at the defense attorney with disdain. “That’s ludicrous! You need to get a grip on your client, sir! I am holding you in contempt of court, and your client. You are wasting my time, the court’s time, and I don’t appreciate it. This is my court, and what I say goes. If I don’t want to take Mrs. Knights outlandish requests seriously, then so be it. I still am not, she will be fined, and I will allow Mr. Knight a chance to re-do his request because I feel he is being too generous.” He looked over at Ray as he continued his tirade. “I can understand your eagerness to leave your present situation, Mr. Knight, but do not be so desperate that you give her everything. You have a right to a normal life.” He banged his gavel. “Get out of my courtroom.”

  After deliberating with his lawyer, they decided to leave everything on the courts’ shoulders. Ray really did want his girls’ to be able to live in their house, have the child support owed to them and for them to have the least amount of change as possible. It would be easier for them, and that was what Ray wanted most. As for the alimony, there he did have a problem, and alimony for life was out of the question.

  Thankfully, his attorney felt they would lower their demands before the next hearing, but since Carrie had never worked until recently, it would be a sizeable amount. Ray was discouraged. He’d wait to see what the outcome was before worrying about it too much.

  When he got home, there was a message from Amanda. She’d called to see how things went. It was nice to know that somebody was concerned about him. He hurried to the phone, anxious to hear a friendly voice.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi.”

  Amanda was alarmed by how down Ray sounded. “How did court go today?”

  “It sucked. Carrie was her normal crazy self, and in fact, left in the middle of it.”

  “What? Can she do that?” Amanda was incredulous.

  “Apparently, in the world of Carrie, she can.”

  “So now what happens?” She felt so sorry for him; she wished at least one thing would go his way.

  “Now we wait for the next hearing, and hopefully we will get more settled at that one then we did today. I can’t believe the audacity of that woman!” Ray’s voice had gone up about ten octaves. “The only thing in my favor is that the judge totally dismissed all her outrageous request.” He laughed out loud. “You should have seen the look on his face when he heard she wanted alimony for life.” Ray let off a little steam by allowing himself to laugh heartily. “She is fucking crazy!”

  Amanda laughed with Ray, but she was concerned. Ray was in for the battle of his life, and based on the guffaws of laughter he was still enjoying, she doubted he realized it. “So when is your next hearing?”

  “Next month.” This put an abrupt stop to the laughter. “Can you believe it was put off for a month?”

  Amanda could not. “Wow.” This was the only response she could think of. She was appalled that Carrie would want to stretch this out so long.

  “Oh well, Mandy, I’m not going to worry about it. Whatever happens; happens, and I just hope in the end, I have enough money to live a halfway decent life. Anything is worth the price of my freedom at this point.”

  They talked for another hour about nothing, and everything. Amanda went on about her job, the kids, her rowdy neighbors; whatever she could think of to fill the empty spaces. Ray was especially quiet today, but she understood. After all, she’d been there before.

  “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if we could go out to a movie or something. It’s so hard to have such a good friend so far away. I wish I were there to be a little more supportive, Ray.”

  He smiled into the phone. “You are my biggest support, Mandy. Don’t ever doubt it. As much as I’d love to go to the movies, take you to dinner, or just sit holding you in my arms, I’ll be happy with this.” Ray fought off tears. This was more than he could take. “Well, Mandy, it’s been a long day. I’m going to call it a night.”

  She wished him a good night’s sleep and they hung up. She went to make dinner for herself, feeling lonely, and wishing Ray was there.

  Chapter 27

  Amanda was true to her word and was going on a date with Dan. He was taking her to the movies, Tom Hank’s latest blockbuster. She was looking forward to it, mostly because it would be dark, and there would not be much interaction in the theater.

  She was keeping it casual tonight; she threw on her o
ldest jeans, sneakers, and a long sleeved black t-shirt. Her hair went up in a ponytail; she added a little color to her lashes and lips. She was ready. She was happy with the results as she looked in the mirror. Dan would have to take her or leave her, au natural.

  She was dropping Alex off at work on her way to meet Dan. She never told him about her dates, since they were meaningless. She grabbed her purse and knocked on his bedroom door. “Ready?”

  Alex came barreling out with a sandwich in one hand, and a walkman in the other. He was dressed in black jeans, and a t-shirt and cap with the restaurant logo on it. Amanda was amazed at how old he was starting to look. How did it happen so fast?

  “Where are you going tonight, Mom?"

  “I'm driving you to work.”

  Alex rolled his eyes. “I mean after that.”

  “Nowhere special. Maybe I’ll see if your aunt Hilary is home.”

  “You should go out more. I worry about you being home alone all the time. It can’t be healthy.”

  She smiled, touched by her son’s concern. “Don’t you worry, I’m just fine. I’ll probably take in a movie or something.”

  “Is it okay if I go out after work? My friends want to go to rock and roll bowling.”

  “Sure, as long as you have a ride and come home early.” They had arrived at Alex’s job.

  “Okay, later, Mom.”

  “Have fun.” Amanda watched as her son walked into his job. She sighed as she thought about how quickly he would become an adult. She hoped he was making the right choices, about college, a career. She wanted only the best for him, even if it meant him moving on. She shook her head as if to erase that thought from her mind. She was not ready to face it yet.

  She turned up the volume of the radio and sang along to the music, as she headed off to meet Dan.

  As soon as she drove up, she saw Dan waiting by the ticket window. He was more dressed up than she was, wearing dressy jeans, a turtleneck and a leather jacket, with matching boots. He was more handsome than she remembered, and suddenly wished she had dressed up more.

  She parked the car and walked over to him. He looked up and seemed genuinely happy to see her.

  “Hey, you made it!” He took her hand and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “You look great!”

  Amanda knew she looked nowhere near great but blushed at the compliment anyway. “Thanks, Dan. You look terrific yourself.”

  “This old thing?” He smiled as he opened his jacket, preening for her. “Why, I just threw it on.” They both laughed. “Ready for some popcorn and what hopes to be a good movie?”

  “Ready!”

  Dan grabbed her hand and led her inside. This surprised her, but she decided she liked it. As he paid for the popcorn and soda, she looked him over again. He was really very handsome, and he was being so nice. Could there be potential here? She decided to definitely keep an open mind and see where this evening would lead her.

  “All snacked up! Let’s go find some seats before the theater fills up.”

  They sat in the middle, munched on popcorn, and talked a bit before the movie started, about their jobs, homes, mostly benign things. When the movie started up, they turned their attention to the film. Dan surreptitiously grabbed her hand and held it on the armrest. Her hand felt so small in his, and he was just so gentle. Again, she resigned herself to enjoying this attention. She held the popcorn in her lap and there was a spark of electricity whenever their hands met in the bag. Amanda laughed at this, god, how cliché! Nevertheless, she was always aware of him, his smell, his touch, his laugh. They looked at each other once in awhile, she’d smile shyly, and he’d smile happily. She was so surprised how taken she was by him; she was barely able to watch the movie.

  As they walked out of the theater, they talked about the movie. They strolled languorously towards Amanda’s car.

  “Are you up for some coffee? There’s a fancy coffee shop down the street; we can go over in my truck.”

  She mulled this over in her mind. Did she feel comfortable enough with him to get into his vehicle? She looked into his eyes and decided she did. “That’d be great. I’d love getting to know you better.”

  He smiled and it was obvious he was pleased. He took her by the elbow and led her to his truck. He opened the door for her as he put her into his double seat full-sized truck. “Watch your step.”

  Amanda loved the feel of the leather seats as she sat on the passenger side. His truck had all the fancy gadgets imaginable, and it was very clean and obviously cared for. She was impressed.

  They drove the short distance to the packed coffee house. They agreed that wouldn’t be the place for quiet conversation, so they decided on the neighborhood bar across the street. Once inside, they were happy it was almost empty, and found a booth as far away from the pool table as possible. Dan went up to the bar and brought back two beers. “The selection isn’t too good here, I hope this is okay.”

  “Anything’s fine.” She smiled up to him. “I’m having a really nice time.”

  He shot her a sexy smile. “I aim to please.” They talked about everything and anything, from her failed marriages to his. She could see he was still very hurt from his situation, and as it turned out, his ex-wife and brother were still together. He had lost two people in one stupid moment.

  “I doubt that I’ll ever recover from that, Mandy.” He grabbed her hand. “I’m very attracted to you. It scares me because I feel so comfortable with you. But after hearing my nightmare of a story, I know you’ll understand when I tell you I want to take things slow.”

  “Of course I do. Believe me; I’m in no hurry to jump into any kind of relationship.” For some reason, Ray flashed into her mind for a brief second. “I’m just looking for companionship, that’s it.”

  They called it a night, and Dan drove Amanda back to her car. “I had a great time, Mandy. I hope we can do this again soon.” He’d opened her car door for her and they were walking hand in hand to her car. He took her keys from her hand and unlocked her car door for her. “You’re a very special lady.”

  “Thank you. She took out her notepad and jotted down her number. “Call me.” They looked at each other without her having to say anything else. He bent down and kissed her gently on the lips.

  “I look forward to it.”

  Amanda got into her car and Dan closed the door. He waved as she backed out. He watched her drive away as he headed back to the truck.

  Amanda was amazed at what a good time she’d had. Dan was nice, respectful, fun, and not bad on the eyes. She looked forward to seeing him again, and hoped he’d really call her. She’d learned long ago, just because they say they’ll call, doesn’t mean they will.

  Ironically, when she opened the door to her house, the phone was ringing. She laughed at that and ran to pick it up, thinking it was probably Ray. She was surprised to hear Dan’s voice.

  “Hi, so you’re home.”

  “Yes, I just walked in the door.” She was smiling from ear to ear.

  “I just wanted to tell you again, what a great lady I think you are. I hope it isn’t too soon to call and set up that second date.” Dan felt that since the chemistry was so right between them, that it was definitely not too soon.

  Amanda laughed. “Hmm…what do you have in mind?

  “How does Western Playland Amusement Park on Saturday sound? You look like the kind of woman that enjoys a good roller coaster.”

  “Well, as a matter of fact, I am.”

  Dan loved the drawl when she spoke. He had missed that when he lived in Connecticut. “So, is that a yes?”

  “Definitely, I think that would be a lot of fun. When, what time and where?”

  “Shall I pick you up—or do you want to meet me at my house.”

  Amanda hesitated. She didn’t know him well enough to invite him to the house, so she opted for the latter. “I’ll meet you at your home, if that’s okay?”

  “That’s great. Let’s get an early start; how about eight?”


  When she agreed, he gave her directions and told her to be on time. “I can’t wait Mandy; thanks.”

  “Well thanks for the invite. I can’t wait either.”

  They both were smiling as they hung up the phone, not really knowing what to expect, but excited to find out.

  ~~~

  Ray woke up Saturday morning lonely and depressed. The weather was dreary, and it was not a weekend with the girls. He had no idea what he was going to do with himself this weekend. He found it challenging to fill his hours. He hated doing everything alone, but didn’t really have any friends in town to call. Carrie had taken care of that.

  Ray shook his head; he had to stop blaming Carrie for things. It was a brand new life, so he had to take responsibility for it. He decided the best way to get things started was to call Amanda. She always made him feel better. He dialed the phone, once again forgetting about the time difference.

  “Hello?” Amanda was surprised to hear the phone ringing so early, hoping it wasn’t Dan calling to cancel.

  “Good morning.”

  Amanda was shocked to hear Ray’s voice. She tried not to let him hear it in her voice. “Hi there, you’re calling bright and early today.”

  Ray slapped his forehead. “Man, I keep forgetting. It’s only seven o’clock there.” Ray noticed that she didn’t sound like she had been sleeping. “You’re up early. What are you up to today?”

  Amanda hesitated. Should she tell him? He knew she dated; there should be no reason to lie to him. “I’m off to Western Playland!” She tried to sound cheery.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s one of El Paso’s main attractions; a huge amusement park, lots of water rides, roller coasters, the usual.”

  “That sounds like fun! Are you treating the kids to a day of fun-filled adventure?” Ray laughed at the cliché.

  “Ummm…no. Today is an adult adventure.” Amanda groaned inside. She didn’t want to hurt him.