Petition for the Dissolution...

"One Saturday, after a game, the whole team went out for pizza afterwards, and eventually Don and I were the only adults left, and we started talking. I told him my horror story about my divorce, and he told me about you and your affair. He couldn't help it, he cried. I think that I may have first fallen for him right then, a man who could love so deeply, be so hurt, and still struggle on each day. Even finding a place in his heart to be there for other people's children," her face had a sudden pensive look. But then, Anne returned to the matter at hand.

Her hand reached to the papers, and pointed out the stated cause: irreconcilable differences.

"Donald," she said, "is citing irreconcilable differences, rather than adultery, as the cause. He is offering you a very generous settlement, more than I would have recommended, given the circumstances. Obviously, child custody isn't an issue, since both of your daughters are now legal adults. That's why Donald waited until now to file."

"He won't get off this easy!" declared a now outraged Georgia, "He can't prove a thing, and I'll counter sue based on your affair. If he wants this divorce, I'll take him to the cleaners. And as for you: I suspect that your relationship with Donald will raise some eyebrows when you try to explain how you can represent someone with whom you are having an on-going love affair!" Georgia had a triumphant look in her eyes, as she struck back at this arrogant woman.

Hearing that, Anne laughed.

"I'm not Donald's attorney! My practice is entirely corporate law. Donald just asked me if I would care to be the one who served you with your divorce papers," was her reply, the glint in her eyes mocking the soon-to-be ex-wife across the desk.

"When you get back home, you'll find the door to Donald's room will be unlocked, and it will be empty of his personal effects," the look of triumph now on Anne's face.

"And just for your information, yes I love Donald deeply, but we've never had sex together. Not because of me — I've been willing; no, more — I've wanted him, for some time, but because Donald is too honorable and honest to betray his vows, regardless of how you've treated them, he refuses to make love to me until... you're at least legally separated," she stated as she sat back in her chair, looking exhausted from her efforts.

"You just tell Donald, it isn't going to be that easy," was Georgia's reply through clenched teeth.

Anne once again displayed that beguiling and enigmatic smile, as she reached into a drawer and began gently tossing photographs across her desk for Georgia's edification. They were pictures of Georgia and Brian Cushing locked together in various sexual positions and acts. Georgia was horrified and shocked — they were from inside the apartment in Greensville.

"No court will allow these," she sneered, "This is a massive invasion of privacy. I may have all of you arrested." She had moved forward in her chair again, her elbows on Anne's desk, looking like she would enjoy nothing more than reaching across and choking the life from her rival.

"Ah," Anne answered softly, "Did you think that Don would pay for your apartment, your little private love nest for you and your lover, out of the goodness of his heart? Have you always thought that he was stupid?" Anne was truly curious about that, because to her mind, trained in legal logic, there wasn't really another answer.

"That was Don's apartment. He paid for it, remember? That was his name on the lease. He had a key. He had every right to have monitoring equipment installed. No, you're wrong, these pictures are entirely legal, and if you try to fight the divorce, they will be used in the proceedings," Anne wasn't even gloating anymore as she explained the reality of the situation to Georgia.

Georgia had sat back in the chair and was clearly focussed inward, not seeing through her open eyes, when Anne spoke again,

"I do have a question for you. There are an awful lot of photos and hours of videos of you and Brian. Was it all as boring as it looked? Did you really give up Donald and your marriage for that?" Anne just shook her head. She found it incomprehensible.

Georgia was locked in her own thoughts, and didn't even hear Anne's last question. She was at a loss regarding what she should do now. Brian had dumped her the week before, claiming his wife had put her foot down. So much for his promises that he would leave his wife. At some level, Georgia knew that the real reason for his callous and cavalier attitude was that he had seduced one of the younger women at the office. She even thought that she knew who, the bitch who was dressing up a bit these days, and who seemed to look at her with contempt as she passed.

What Georgia didn't know about, were the photos that Brian's wife had received, from an anonymous source. Don wouldn't have approved sending the photos, but Anne thought that it added a certain symmetry to the situation.

In truth, Georgia had never considered that she wouldn't be able to return to Donald and restore her marriage. But that vanity had just been swept from her imagination. What would she do now?

The voice in her head had no answer.

Slowly, Georgia, lifted her self from the chair, and began to walk towards the door. Anne silently rose as well, and retrieving the documents from her desk, handed them to Georgia before she left.

"Oh, by the way," Anne stopped to say, "Donald is at one of the soccer fields around town with the team. The boys are playing for the championship of their division today. But I still don't think he wants to talk you."

Dazed, Georgia didn't remember leaving the building, but the Security guard was shocked. He could hardly believe that the woman who could barely walk out of the building was the same 'fox' who had entered less than an hour earlier. She appeared to have shrunk, to have collapsed inside herself. Where there had been drive, there was now despair, the confidence was now humbled. She was a different woman, and her expensive clothes, her tastefully applied makeup; nothing could hide the change.

xxx

Driving home in her black Mercedes was one of Anne's pleasures in life. It fit in with the expectation of what a high-powered attorney should drive, but more important to her was the feeling of control that she had as she would speed down the road.

That need to feel in control was one of the 'gifts' from her ex-husband; that and the two dental implants where he knocked out two teeth. They looked completely natural, the color matched her other teeth perfectly, which they damn well should at almost $2000 apiece. Way better than a bridge.

But today, her mind was on other things as she returned to her home.

Another result of her disastrous marriage was that she didn't trust men. For ten years, well, nine years, anyway, Anne had been completely uninterested, despite the many men who made it clear that they would be available, if she were in the game.

That was until she met Donald Plummer.

She had indeed met Donald when he was coaching her son's soccer team. He was a little older than she would have normally considered 'eligible', at least for her. At 43, he was seven years older than she. He was handsome, and still physically fit, and one of the things that Anne noticed while watching her son's practices and games was that there was never a woman waiting for him when he finished coaching. Never. Not even when the teams would go out for lunch or dinner after games, when most of the coaches wives would show up at least part of the time. He wore a simple wedding band, but that might be camouflage.

It was also an anomaly that he didn't himself have a son playing.

With other men, the combination of no wife around and no son playing might have raised other questions. But, as soon as she inquired of some of the other 'soccer moms', she heard the short version of his story. Married, but with wife living in Greensville. The separation, job related; at least that was the story.

What impressed her most about Don, was his character. He was kind and generous to the boys, even those whose skills were not completely up to par with their contemporaries. He was unfailingly polite to everyone, even the refs! And to Anne's complete surprise and admiration, he never 'hit' on her, something that she was accustomed to from almost every man, fifteen year old Romeos to seventy-five year old Lotharios. He treated her in a friendly manner, as an intelligent person, but without the pressure of any sexual innuendo or expectations.

That was before their mutual confessions after the pizza dinner. As she trembled recounting her tale of woe from her first marriage, Don covered her hand with his, gently patting it, just a simple gesture of comfort. When Anne got Don to reveal his more recent wounds, he began to quietly weep, trying to resist, but unable to hold back, Anne moved to his side of the table and put her arms around him and held him, until his grief had passed.

It was her fault, if fault it was. That night as they returned to their cars, she pulled him to her, and they kissed. Nothing between them had been the same since.

It still hadn't been easy for her to trust, even Don. With the resources at her disposal due to her law practice, she had a background check done on him, just to be sure that he was telling her the truth, and that he wasn't some sort of parasite wanting to be supported by a high-earning wife. To her great surprise, the report revealed that she didn't even come close to having his earnings or assets, he had a well-managed and profitable business, so money didn't seem to be his motivation. And other than his deteriorating marriage, there didn't appear to be any other skeletons in his closets. He was the real thing.

She activated the garage door opener, the door rose and she pulled into her house. She gathered her purse and briefcase and entered into the kitchen. She dropped off her purse and keys on the end of the counter, in a corner where they would be convenient to retrieve in the morning as she left. She put her cell phone on the recharger at the same time.

"I'm home," she called out.

"Hey, honey, I'm in the living room," came Don's voice.

"Give me just a minute," Anne called back, as she entered into the master bedroom, and took her jacket off and hung it up.

She returned to the living room where she found Don behind the bar. He walked out, and they embraced in a passionate kiss. Just like the very first time in the parking lot, Anne melted in Don's arms. She felt warm, protected, loved — all of the things that she wanted but hadn't gotten from her ex-husband.

When they finally loosened their embrace of each other, Don reached over to the bar and handed Anne the Strawberry Daiquiri that he'd been preparing for her when she entered. He grabbed his J.D. rocks as soon as his hand was free.

He looked at her, his vision of loveliness, his Aphrodite. His face lit up and the worry lines relaxed.

"You are now officially separated from your wife, and your divorce is in process." Anne told him, raising her glass and touching his in an ironic toast, "At last!" she sighed.

Don wasn't overjoyed at the news, he wasn't by nature a vindictive sort of man. Although he was reconciled to the notion that divorce from his wife was the best course, he still wondered how he had failed as a man in his marriage. He took a drink, and asked,

"How did she take it?"

Anne thought before she answered,

"As well as could be expected. I think that she somehow thought that she would just crook her finger at you, and you would come running. You would forget about the past year, forget about how she treated you."

"The girls?" she asked.

"I called them a couple of hours ago. They weren't terribly surprised," came his reply.

Don stepped forward and hugged Anne again, but at least this time he was smiling.

"Well, it's time for us to get on with our lives. What did you plan for tonight?" he gently inquired, while hugging his Anne.

"Parker is staying over at Jenn's place with his buddy Mark tonight. The house is ours." she giggled a little,

"We have dinner reservations at 7:00 PM at L'Escoffier," she allowed, "followed by," and at this point, Anne's hand ran across the front of Don's pants, stroking his rather evident erection, "a quiet evening at home, just the two of us, making up for lost time..."

Don groaned slightly, "Good lord, Anne, be careful down there with your hand. It's been more than a year since my friend last visited a woman. I'm afraid that I'm going to disappoint you, because I'm not sure how long I can last!"

Anne looked at Don with a loving look in her eyes, and reached up put her arms around his neck and kissed him again,

"Baby, it's beentenyears for me since the last time anything masculine has taken care of me between my legs, so you've got your work cut out for you," was Anne's response.

"Your gynecologist?" he teased.

"She's a woman, mister. Now that you are officially 'free' and I'm finally getting my shot at you... let me put it this way, I doubt you're going to be walking in the morning!" she claimed, with that look of lust in her eyes. "Don't worry about getting off too quickly the first time. I'll keep you hard all night."

"Good thing I'm the boss then. I'll declare tomorrow a personal holiday!" was Don's wistful reply.

They kissed again, before leaving for dinner.

This story was derived from a situation described in a Sue Grafton mystery. Over several novels, her female detective character becomes involved with a policeman whose wife has first left him for an extended period, taking their two daughters with her, and then moves back in with him, with an announcement that she will live with him, but only if they have an 'open' marriage. I found that to be a perfectly outrageous situation. So I delighted in developing a little scenario in which the man decides to divorce his errant wife, and has his younger, prettier girlfriend serve her with the divorce papers. Of course the characters and actions in this story are completely original, and only the general circumstances are similar to the Sue Grafton novel.