Wenatchee Ch. 03-04

We entered a very nicely appointed meeting room with an oval shaped table suitable for eight or ten people. There would be only four of us today. As I entered the room, I saw Joyce already seated at the near side, but not looking up to acknowledge me. Okay, if that's how she wanted to play it.

Ocsana and Pete exchanged a few pleasantries and then got down to business.

"I'm sure you must have explained to your client that concealing her income and holdings is improper, Ocsana. Mrs. Nelson's income over the past three years has been in excess of two hundred and thirty thousand dollars, not including the benefit of her company car. She has contributed seventy-eight thousand dollars to the household over the same period. It begs the question ... where is the remaining one hundred and fifty-some thousand dollars?"

"Mrs. Nelson has disclosed her income tax returns in full and is holding nothing back in the way of information on her earnings."

"That doesn't answer the question. Where are the rest of her earnings? Mutual funds? Savings bonds? Stock market?

"Mrs. Nelson is reluctant to disclose that information," Ocsana said carefully.

"Have you advised Mrs. Nelson that we could have the court oblige her to reveal that information?"

"I have."

"And?"

"She does not wish to reveal that information."

"Then ... I see no option to take this matter before the court," Pete said in an even, controlled voice.

"What is it you want?" Joyce suddenly snapped. "I earned that money legally. I paid taxes on it. I don't owe anyone anything." Her face was red and she was looking at Pete, not me. She hadn't looked at me since we had arrived.

"On the contrary, Mrs. Nelson. It is part of community property. It was earned while you were married to Mr. Nelson and living in the same household. Surely Ms. Dirovich has explained that to you."

"No! It's my money. I don't have to share it with anyone. I earned it and I'm keeping it."

I was shocked at Joyce's outburst. Her lawyer had tried to get her to be quiet, but she was having none of it. At least now I had an inkling of what was going on in her mind. I didn't like what I was seeing in my wife at that moment.

"Well, Ocsana, there seems little point in continuing this meeting. I will contact the court and we will set a date for a formal hearing. I wish you could convince your client that it is not in her best interest to refuse our request. The court will take a dim view of her attitude."

Ocsana said nothing but smiled faintly and nodded. She understood, but clearly had no control over Joyce at that moment.

As Pete and I exited the elevator and walked out into the early June sunshine, I turned to him.

"Who the hell is that woman?"

Pete shook his head and shrugged. "I'm proud of you Geoff. You didn't rise to the bait. As for Joyce ... I can't answer your question. She seemed completely irrational and Ocsana must be just as frustrated and unhappy as I would be in the same circumstances."

"What now?"

"Well, I can file for a hearing with the court. God knows when that will happen. However, once the notice of hearing is posted, Ocsana will get a copy and then it's showdown time. We can cancel the hearing at any time, and I'm hoping that Ocsana can talk some sense into Joyce before she gets herself into real trouble. If not, we go to court and the whole thing gets played out in public. I doubt Koch Motors will be very pleased with that."

"So ... maybe with a bit a leverage at Koch, and some more pressure from Ocsana, we can get this done without the court?"

"You're pretty good at strategy, Geoff. Yeah. That's my thinking."

When I got back to my car, I called Matt.

"Hey, Matt. How are you?"

"Fine, Dad. What happened at the meeting today?"

"You knew about that?"

"Yeah. It's all Mom talked about for the last few days. She was upset about something, but she didn't say what."

"I think your mother is heading for some trouble, Matt. She won't listen to her lawyer's advice and it's going to end up in court and she's going to lose. It could be real bad news for her."

"Jeez, Dad, it's bad enough around here already. Do you mind if we come up to Orondo this weekend. We want to get out of here for a couple of days. Mom's driving us crazy."

"Sure. It's the long weekend, so you can have three days of fun and sun. Just make sure you let your mother know where you're going and then meet me at the store on Friday afternoon about five. Bring some clothes for the weekend and don't forget your swimsuits. You're going to love the place."

"Great. Thanks, Dad. It'll be good to be with you again."

If Joyce wasn't listening to Ocsana's advice at the meeting, she was listening when she was told not to contact me directly. I heard nothing from her about the boys coming up to Orondo on the weekend. I was certain Matt would tell her, so I assumed they had at least grudging permission. Maybe a weekend alone in that big house would have some affect on her thinking.

I told Terry what had happened at the meeting and he was all for having the boys at the cottage that weekend. He wasn't able to be there, but said it would be important for them to get away from the hostility and tension at home. We talked about the possibility of them staying with me if things got too ugly at home, and he had no problem with that. I phoned Pete and asked him about getting permission for the boys to be with me for the summer. He said he'd talk to Ocsana about it, but not to get my hopes up. He didn't like Joyce's attitude at the meeting and wondered if she would put up roadblocks. He'd get back to me with an answer. In the meantime, he had filed with the court for a formal hearing on the divorce. It looked like we would be going to court after all.

I heard nothing from the boys or Joyce for the rest of the week. Just as well since I was busy getting Jana and Jimmy settled in their jobs. Happily, they didn't require a lot of supervision or instruction. They caught on very quickly.

Shortly after four on Friday afternoon, the boys showed up at the shop with a couple of gym bags. "Everything okay with your mom and this weekend," I asked Matt.

"Yeah. I don't think she was thrilled, but I got the impression she would be just as happy to be alone for a while. I wish it was longer than just a couple of days, though. We can hang around the house most of the day when she's at work, but sooner or later we have to be there with her. It's like we're a pain to deal with."

"I'm still thinkin' she's got a boyfriend somewhere," Ross added.

"Any reason to think that?" I asked.

"Naw. Not really. It's not like she's goin' out at night or getting funny phone calls. Just ... she's actin' so weird. Ever since you left, she's not the same. Maybe she misses you and doesn't know how to deal with it."

"Well, when she was at the meeting the other day, she never looked at me and never said a word to me. She just yelled at Pete, my lawyer. I'll tell you about it this weekend, but for now, let's just get out of here and head to the cottage. Like I said, you're going to love it up there."

They threw their bags into the back and we took off for Orondo, stopping at the local Safeway for some groceries. I was feeling good about having my sons with me even if for only three days, and it would be a good test to see if I could manage with them around for the summer.

Even with the rush hour pre-weekend traffic, we were at the cottage by five o'clock and put away the groceries before I showed them around. I gave them the option of sharing the double bed in my room, or one of them on the sofa bed on the porch, and they chose the latter. No surprise. I moved into Terry's room, taking just what clothing I would need for the weekend.

When I pulled out the barbeque, the boys noticed an aluminum boat with outboard motor and wondered if it was okay to use it. It was, but only with me along. I wasn't sure just how skilled either of them would be with a power boat like Terry's. On the other hand, I knew there would be some serious bikini watching tomorrow as the day warmed up well into the seventies.

Matt grilled some steaks, while I made a tossed salad, and Ross microwaved potatoes. I had a beer while the boys settled for sodas. I didn't think relaxing the rules was a good idea just now. As the boys looked around and began to explore the area, I could see they were happy with being here. There was a beach in front of the property, but in truth, the river was still too cold for swimming.

We had a great weekend together and it was almost a shame that I had to return them home on Monday evening. I wondered how much luck Pete would have in getting permission for them to spend the summer with me, but I said nothing to the boys so that they wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't happen.

When I dropped them off at the house, I could see Joyce looking out the window. I wasn't sure if she was watching them or me. She didn't move or make any sign, so when I saw them safely at the door, I waved to them and drove back to the cottage. The place seemed lonely once again without my two sons. There had been noise and activity and laughter and conversation over the time we were together. I began to realize how lonely my life had become without my family.

There had been something bothering me for a week or so that I couldn't get out of my mind. Joyce's behavior at the meeting was so uncharacteristic of her that I couldn't quite get over it. Even the day before she presented me with the divorce, she wasn't displaying any signs of the coldness I saw that fateful evening, or at the meeting at Ocsana Dirovich's office. It was as if she was two different people. I began to wonder if she was suffering some kind of mental breakdown.

I had to admit I was obsessing about my situation. That we would divorce seemed to be a certainty. I was fairly sure the boys would choose me as their principal caregiver. I didn't feel that the divorce would leave me destitute as so often seemed to be the case.

But I missed Joyce ... or at least the Joyce that once was. I missed the warmth and scent and loving that we had shared for all those years. I missed the companionship of just being together, sitting watching TV, or on the back deck in the evening. I missed our friends, who would come to our house or we would go to theirs. I'd shed many a tear in the last three weeks. I began to despair I would ever be happy again.

I arrived at the shop at my usual time on Monday morning to find both Jana and Jimmy waiting for me.

"Hi. Good morning. Did you have a good long weekend?" I asked them both. I got a yes from Jimmy and a nod and a smile from Jana. Well, that was progress for her, I suppose.

"Any problems you need to talk about?" I asked, looking at both again.

"Nope, everything's pretty cool," Jimmy replied.

"Can we have some more work?" Jana asked, surprising me.

"Are you finished what you've got already?"

She nodded. "Yes. It wasn't very difficult," she said shyly.

"What about you, Jimmy?"

"Yeah ... I'm pretty much done. Maybe another hour. Jana's too quick for me. She's always been the big brain in class," he grinned, looking at her.

She smiled faintly and looked away, embarrassed.

"Okay. I'm sure I can get you two started on some new projects. Maybe something a little more challenging this time. Have either of you had any experience with networks ... commercial sized ones I mean."

Both shook their heads.

"Well, here's your chance. Let's sit down and I'll give you an idea of how they work and what needs to be done to add or modify them."

I got an enthusiastic smile from both and over the next hour I told them what I knew about commercial networks and the best way to configure them. To say these two were bright would be an understatement. They were very quick to learn. Mr. Drummond had been right. They would be an asset and I was already wondering if we could find a way to keep them year-around.

This was only the beginning of their second week on the job, but already I knew we had made a good choice. It was going to lessen the workload on both Terry and me and that would mean we could scout out some new business without worrying that it would swamp us.

It was Thursday afternoon that I got a call from Pete Mahoney.

"Hi Geoff. Good news. I got an okay from Ocsana for you to have the boys stay with you during the summer. I asked for that permission in writing and she sent it to me this afternoon and I'll forward it to you by e-mail."

"That's great, Pete. I'm sure the boys will be pleased too. Any word on the other issue of her assets?"

"Nope. According to Ocsana, she hasn't budged an inch. So the filing is sitting there waiting for our turn. The wheels of justice turn slowly in civil cases I'm afraid."

"Okay. I guess it doesn't make much difference. There hasn't been any activity in our bank accounts, so it's not like she draining them. In fact, she is still depositing a thousand just as she did before."

"Keep an eye on it, Geoff. With her attitude, I'd check your safety deposit box and make sure everything is still there. You might also give some thought to whether you want to change the beneficiary on your life insurance policies and your will."

"Yes ... thanks. I hadn't thought of that. I'll do that tomorrow."

We chatted for a couple of minutes more before signing off. I immediately called Matt on his cell phone.

"Hey, Matt, it's Dad. Are you at the house?"

"No ... I'm at the ballpark watching a game. What's up?"

"I got an okay from your mother for you guys to stay with me at the cottage for the summer."

"Really? I heard her talking to that lawyer woman about it. I didn't think she was going to go for it. When can we go?"

"I guess whenever you want. You'll need to pack a couple of suitcases with your stuff. You'll be staying at the cottage until you have to leave for Eugene. That is, unless you discover you're not comfortable there."

"Jeez, Dad, like that's going to happen," he chuckled.

"Well just remember that we'll be doing all our own cooking, cleaning, and laundry. It's going to have to be a team effort."

"Yeah ... well ... I guess I might as well get used to it. That's how it will be in the dorm I suppose."

"Is your brother there?"

"No, he's hanging out with Sandy Pantuzzi. I think she's his latest wanna-be girl friend."

"I don't know about your brother, Matt. He collects girls like some guys collect baseball cards. I'm going to have to keep an eye on him. Just the same, let him know about our conversation, please."

"Sure. He'll be happy. I'm betting he's going to be scoping out the bikini babes up at the cottage. They're going to have to take a number with him," he laughed.

"Well, at least it will give him something to keep him interested until school starts. Anyway, let me know when you're ready to go and I'll come and pick you both up at the house."

"Okay, Dad. And thanks for this. It's going to be a great summer."

I snapped the phone closed and sat back in my chair. One more problem solved. I was beginning to feel the pressure come off. Suddenly, nothing was quite as urgent as it had been a few days ago. By the sound of it, it would be a while before our divorce would come before the court, so there was no point in holding my breath. I felt better about the boys being with me, especially with Joyce's erratic behavior. And, I had great young help at the shop to take the pressure off Terry and me.

Yeah ... things were getting a bit better. So, how come I didn't feel better? I was missing Joyce. Despite the things she had said and done in the past weeks, I was still missing her. You don't spend twenty years and have it suddenly disappear. Losing her was going to be with me for a long, long time.

To be continued

Editing by ErikThread and DaveT with my thanks for their thoroughness and helpful suggestions. Any errors are mine.