Blindsided

Mary understood Jims feelings more than many could realize. Her own husband had told her those same things verbatim when he refused to talk to her about her cheating and the possibility of taking her back.

He had even been ashamed that he'd let her talk him into an hour long talk to his soon to be ex, knowing that she'd try to talk him out of the divorce. In the end he'd stood strong and left her. Neither had married since then and Mary was sure that her ex didn't even date ... and their divorce had been over two years before.

Mary had her painful prior experience with divorce, and now she'd do whatever she could to help Giselle with her pain. She knew how Giselle was feeling, and just how devastating it was to be served those papers. Giselle needed her help more than she realized. Far more than she would know for quite some time.

Back to Jim:

I'd been at work for a few weeks when the call came.

"Jim, she wants to talk. She's refusing to do sign anything, and she's said that she'll fight the divorce tooth and nail."

"Oh man. Why? She has the man she wants, so why would she fight it?"

"Because she doesn't have the man she wants? I've seen this before. Trust me Jim ... she is dying inside right now because you found out, left her, and then hit her with the divorce. I'm not real certain your actions were the best way to go about doing things, but I do understand why. In the end, she'll fight it, delaying the whole mess until it costs a bunch in legal fees. I recommend that you sit and talk with her. Get her to give it up. Maybe she'll see how serious you really are and walk away then."

"NOW she wants to talk? NOW? I tried for months to get her to open up and talk. I tried for months to turn her around and back into the woman I loved and desired. NOW she wants to talk? Fuck. Sorry ... I don't mean to blow up like this. It just pisses me off so much."

"Well, you could probably use the good news then huh?"

"Good news?"

"Yeah, Sammy boy, her lover, just went down hard. Seems he tired to force his way in on Giselle, all pissed off about her breaking it off with him and meaning it. The cops were called, and as they hauled him off to jail, I hear that some other women called the cops and started filing charges too."

"How'd the other women know? OH, wait, don't answer that. I think I know what little birdie got the word out about him."

"Why Jim, I'm surprised you'd think that I, an officer of the court, could or would do such a thing."

"I never said you did Amanda. I can see the light though. Not to worry, I won't ever tell. I hope the son of a bitch goes away for a long, long time."

"You and me both Mr. You and me both. Anyway, you want me to set up a meet between you and Giselle?"

"Fine. Make it for next Saturday, in the afternoon. I'll meet her at Charro's bar. She'll know where that's at I'm sure."

"Hey, you doing okay Jim?"

"Yeah. Still hurts. My new job is keeping me plenty busy though, so I don't have to think too much about things. Thanks Amanda."

"You know, you're one of the few good guys Jim. I respect you and how you tried to fix things before they got to this point. Too bad Giselle didn't see that until it was too late."

"Yeah. Too bad."

Giselle finishes:

Our talk wasn't good. Jim flat out refused to agree to any chance of reconciliation. He told me I'd burned the bridge to ashes and there was no structure to repair. Our marriage was dead and he wanted it buried. I finally was forced to sign off on our marriage. I was forced to give up. Once I heard his voice, saw the look in his eyes, I knew I'd screwed up. I knew he'd never bend on this. Maybe, had I seen something like this coming before, I would have had a chance to save our marriage, but now ... not a chance in a million.

The worst part of all of this? I love him completely, totally and forever. I just didn't realize how much until it was too late. He found a new job, moved away and led me to believe he'd be home at the end of the week. Yeah, he lied to me. The problem I have now is to know that I lied far more, for a far longer time, and in a far worse way. My life is empty. My lover gone, evidently headed to jail. My husband gone, and soon to be my ex-husband. All that's left of my marriage is his signing the decree.

I'm still young enough to start over, but the clock is ticking and soon I will be in that danger zone for having children. I couldn't keep my first husband, who I loved dearly, even though through my cheating. I clearly showed the opposite to those who saw what happened. I signed the final papers today. 'Decree Nisi' being the beginning of the end... 'Decree Absolute' being what I signed today. So ... cold. So ... formal. So ... empty.

Jim finishes:

My life has gone through a metamorphosis. With Giselle gone, living in a new city and my new job keeping me busy, I haven't had a lot of time to dwell on the recent past. I have had some nights that were long, cold, and yes, empty. I see some silver linings beginning to show up though.

My process program is working far better than even I hoped for. Our business is leaping ahead with a growing momentum thanks to our combined efforts. I've found a nice house that I moved into, and one day I hope it becomes 'home' to me too. Lastly, there's a few nice prospects for female companionship on my horizon.

I'm a bit gun shy of new relationships, but I have dated a bit here and there. I hope to get over the nasty mess behind me soon and then I can begin to look for someone special again. I'm pretty sure they won't look or even sound or act anything like Giselle. That's okay with me though ... I'm about over her totally now. Just a little more time and I'll bet even the looks, sounding or acting like her won't even get to me. Too much.