Wishes Do Come True

The sobs started to rack her body again. Jamie held her close and whispered to her again that it would be okay. Oh boy, would it be okay, he thought. This was the best news he had heard since he fell in love with Jenny all over again, but he kept that to himself. He would be able to tell her later, but not now. Now was not the appropriate time.

"I know I told you that I would think about leaving Brian, but I didn't think he would be thinking the same thing. I just wasn't prepared. I was shocked. I know this is probably best. I do love you. I've known it for a long time, but last weekend, I just knew it was time to do something about it. I was going to try and feel him out first, try to be kind. There was no kindness with Brian—just 'I want a divorce, here sign this'. He's going to move to Texas. He wants the papers signed by next Thursday when he comes back for his clothes. He said we'll decide who gets what then. Then he just turned around and left. He was going back to Texas."

Jamie sighed and thought there wouldn't be a better time. He reached inside his jacket and removed the envelope.

"Jenny, please, don't be mad at me. I've been thinking that Brian's behavior over the last couple of months has been strange. You might work on weekends once in a while, but not as often as Brian seems to be. If you had that much work in Austin, you'd be spending weekdays there, too." Jamie took a deep breath. "So Monday, I called the investigating service the bank uses and asked them to do a personal check on Brian for me. This is what they found. I got this earlier this afternoon. You look at it. I need to make a call. I'll be back in a minute."

Jamie slid out from under Jenny and called Scott from the kitchen.

"Scott, Jenny's here. Brian has asked for a divorce. It's seems he is having affair. He's already seen a lawyer and Jenny has a copy of the agreement. She hasn't signed anything yet. Brian told her he would be back on Thursday to formally sign the divorce papers at the lawyer's office."

"I'll call Max right now and see if we can get Jenny in Monday. Will she be staying with you at least that long?"

"I'll see that she does. I'll go with her if you can get us in. And thanks, Scott. I'm sure glad I talked to you this afternoon."

"I'll call you back after I talk to Max."

The line went dead and Jamie returned to the living room. Jenny was just sitting there.

After the initial shock of the report wore off, Jenny whispered, "That bastard! He wouldn't even touch me. I thought he was impotent or something. I guess I should be grateful. She's probably slept with hundreds of guys, probably has AIDS." She seemed to find this really funny and said, "I can only hope!"

Jamie sat down beside her and took her hand and just rubbed it softy. After a moment of thoughtful silence, Jenny quietly said, "It does hurt, though, that he would never touch me. I did let myself go, but I've been working hard to look better. But even that didn't make him want to touch me. It hurts."

"It's his loss, Jenny. Not yours. You're an amazing woman. It's him, not you."

Jenny smiled weakly at him, realizing how long it had been before Jamie came back into her life that a man stood up for her and cared for her, really cared for her. She realized that Brian hadn't for years. It had been so gradual that she never even noticed how indifferent Brian was toward her.

Jamie was finally able to tell her about his conversation with Scott and the phone call he just made to him.

"Scott has a lawyer friend and says he's the best. He's going to try to get you in Monday to meet with him. I'll go with you."

Jenny couldn't quite take it in. Her whole world had been turned upside down, then her stomach growled.

"I'm hungry. I don't think I've eaten since yesterday at lunch. Let's order a pizza," she finished with a weak smile.

The pizza arrived while Jenny was in bathroom holding a cool rag on her swollen eyes. She told Jamie she had gotten little sleep the night before. She had cried most of the previous evening and during the drive to his house. She was grateful she didn't have an accident.

Although she had said she was hungry, she didn't eat much. Jamie got her to take a few bites and coaxed her to eat a few more. They were just cleaning up from the pizza when the phone rang.

"Hello." Jamie listened for a few minutes, wrote an address down, then said 'great' and hung up.

He turned to Jenny. "That was Scott. His friend, Max Henderson, won't be in the office Monday so he wants you to come to his office tomorrow. He'll get the preliminaries and his staff will start on it Monday. He wants you to bring the agreement Brian gave you. He'll also go with you to the meeting that Brian has arranged Thursday."

Jenny sighed and rolled her head. "This is going so fast. I guess I should plan a trip to the kids. I'm sure Brian will want me to tell them. He's never been the bearer of bad news; he's always left that for me. Bastard!"

"Come, Jenny, time for bed."

"Jamie, I don't..." Jamie put his finger on her lips.

"You need sleep. You said you hardly slept last night. I want you rested before we see Henderson tomorrow. Sleep is all we'll do tonight, honey. I promise." And with that, he slid his arm around her, leading her into the bedroom.

Chapter 8 - The meek wife no more; Jenny goes to court

Jenny and Jamie walked out of Max Henderson's office. Mr. Henderson would have all the papers ready for the Thursday meeting.

"I want to go shopping. Lazarus, Ayers, Saks Fifth Avenue. I want a suit, very expensive, black wool would be nice and a white silk blouse."

"What...er..." Jamie looked down at Jenny in confusion.

"When Brian sees me Thursday, he's going to wonder where his meek, compliant, docile wife is. She sure isn't going to be at that meeting. Mr. Henderson is right. I am going to get everything that I should. Maybe that's wrong. After all, I'm having an affair, too. But I would never have gone looking if Brian had shown any affection to me. I wanted to stay in the marriage. I was living in a fantasy world. I thought our marriage was a good one, except for the sex part. I still wanted it to work. I won't be a doormat for him any more."

"Where to first?" Jamie asked, smiling.

~*~*~

The only part of Max Henderson's advice that Jamie didn't like was the part about not seeing Jenny until the divorce was final, and certainly not until they knew if Brian would contest the amended divorce settlement. If Brian had no inkling that Jamie and Jenny were seeing one another, Max wanted it to stay that way. He saw immediately this was no 'friendship only' between them and didn't want to give Brain any ammunition to use in the settlement. Jenny and Jamie had been honest about their relationship with Max, only leaving out the part about her searching Jamie out for an affair. They told him, instead, that they met by chance that first weekend, which wasn't a total lie. Jenny did tell Max that she and Brian had stopped being intimate years ago.

In the new agreement, Jenny got the house free and clear. Brian had to pay off the small balance, then it was hers. Jenny would also receive half of Brian's 401(k) to be transferred to an IRA set up in her name.

The part of Jenny's plan that Jamie didn't like was the fact that she didn't want to come to him immediately when the divorce was final. When the divorce was final, they would start a more open relationship, giving each family time to accept them as a couple, Jenny said. He would work on that. He was allowed to call her, but she could not call him. Max did not want any phone record from now on. There was no way to erase the calls she had made before Brian's announcement.

They needn't have worried. Brian was indeed stunned to see Jenny composed and with a lawyer. He had underestimated her, but he wanted the divorce as soon as possible. He agreed to the new terms. Their house had such a low balance that paying it off wouldn't be a problem. He had purchased a house in Texas and his girlfriend was already living in it. Brian wasn't happy about splitting his 401(k), though. After a bitter discussion and a compromise reached by the two lawyers, Jenny agreed to a transfer of one-third instead and the court would issue a QDRO as part of the divorce settlement. Brian still didn't like it, but Jenny quietly told him to accept the change or she would ask for—and would get 50%. He didn't contest it further since it would drag out the final decree, and, as Jenny pointed out, he would lose more. As Jenny suspected, Brian was more than happy to let her tell Beth and Garrett about the divorce. Jenny had reservations for Friday afternoon to fly out to Florida to see the kids.

Jamie called her Thursday evening. Jenny sat on the couch with her legs pulled up under her and told him everything that had happened. Even though she suspected he was jumping for joy, he was very subdued and told her he would be there for her.

"Brian must be a total idiot to let you get away, Jenny. Don't let this get to you. It's his loss. I wish I could come see you this weekend. We could meet somewhere and no one would know."

"Jamie, you are terrible, but you've forgotten I'm going to see Beth and Garrett this weekend. They need to know what's happening. I'll call, oh, I can't yet. Call me Monday evening. And, Jamie, thanks for your support and not just for the last week, but for the last six months. I would never have gotten through this without you. I love you, you know."

"I love you, too. Call me from Beth or Garrett's if you need to talk. Better yet, go to Wal-mart or some place and get a Trac phone. You can call me and no one will know."

Someone has to tell the kids

Beth picked her mother up from the airport. "Mom, is there something wrong? You look great, but there seems to be something. I just can't put my finger on it."

"I wanted to see my beautiful grandchildren. Did you say that we're all meeting at Garrett's this evening?" Jenny smiled at her lovely daughter. Beth looked so much Brian. But that was okay. Jenny always said she could never understand how divorced parents could pit a child against the other parent in divorce situations. At one time, those same people loved one another enough to create a child. She had made it plain during the meeting yesterday that she expected Brian to continue his relationship with his children and if there were times when they would be thrown together -- like the baptism of Garrett's unborn child -- they would be civil to one another. They would not use the children against each other. Jenny was adamant about that and Brian agreed. He wanted to maintain his relationship with his children and grandchildren, too.

After supper, Jenny turned to her children. "Beth, I would like you and Garrett to drive me back to your house. Paul, will you keep Julie here with Sarah and Carrie for a little while, please? We won't be too long, but I need to talk to my children for a few minutes.

Garrett and Beth wanted to protest, but the look on their mother's face stopped them. Beth was the first to recover.

"Okay, mom. Come on, Garrett, we can go in my car."

Ten minutes later, the three of them were seated in Beth's living room.

"I'm sorry I didn't include Paul and Sarah. I didn't want to be interrupted by Julie and Carrie. You can tell them what this is all about later." Jenny put her hand up when both Beth and Garrett started a barrage of questions. "Your father and I are divorcing. I know this is a shock to you. Believe me, it was a shock to me at first, too. But it's for the best. I know we may have looked like the perfect couple on the outside, but our marriage has not been perfect for a long time. We live in the same house, but that's about all. He did his own thing and I've been doing mine. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't make it right. So I just quit trying and the situation got worst. I'm not what your father wants anymore. He's in love with another woman and I hope she's able to make him happy."

"I don't believe it," Beth cried. Both she and Garrett were close to Brian and there had been no warning.

"Mom! Another woman?" Garrett's voice echoed Beth's surprise.

"I would have warned you, but I had no idea either until he asked for the divorce a week ago. I didn't want to tell you over the phone. Your dad had already seen a lawyer. I got my own lawyer and we signed the papers yesterday. I'm really sorry to tell you this, but you have to know. The reason your dad wanted the divorce so quickly is that this other woman is pregnant." Jenny tried not to cry, but a tear escaped anyway. She didn't want the children to feel sorry for her or hate their dad.

Jenny continued, "It's for the best. We haven't had a real marriage for a long time. Maybe both of us can move on now."

Chapter 9 - Jenny tries to pull back

"Jen, what's the matter? I miss you so much, I ache. Please. It's been six weeks. Brian is not going to contest the divorce. He's already moved in with his girlfriend and he's just waiting for the final decree."

"Oh, Jamie, I know. It's just..."

"Just what, Jen?"

Silence

"Jen, come on. Let's talk this out. We're back to where we were before I came to you that day you were cutting the grass. I can't take it. In Louisville, we were so happy. Please just come and we'll talk. Please."

The desperation in Jamie voice was more than Jenny could stand and she was missing him, too. But how could she make him understand?

"Okay. I'll come tomorrow. I'll be there when you get home from work. Okay"

"Okay? Of course it's okay. That's what I'm asking for—just some time to talk." You bet we'll talk and I'm getting to the bottom of this, Jamie thought. When Jamie told Jenny he wouldn't give her up again, he was serious. "I'll see you tomorrow. Jenny, I love you."

"I know. I'll see you tomorrow."

How was Jenny ever going to tell Jamie she was scared to live with him full-time? Sex...no scratch that, what they had was not sex. It was making love. Jamie had said that over and over. They were in love and made love together. They did not have sex. Making love was great, but she didn't think she could keep it up fulltime. Yes, she was without a doubt scared. The drive to Indianapolis took almost two hours and at the end, she was no closer to deciding how she could tell Jamie that she didn't think it would work than she was before she got in the car. Hell, if she couldn't come up with a plan in the last month, whatever made her think she could do it now?

~*~*~

"Okay, Jenny. Something's bothering you and you're not leaving until I know what it is. It's making me crazy. Please tell me."

Jenny expected him to say something like this, but not so forcefully. Well, she would have to get it out sooner or later.

"I'm afraid, Jamie. I didn't have sex for seven years. You made me feel alive again and I love you for it—oh, not just because of that." She smiled up at him and very seriously continued. "I'm afraid that, if I move in fulltime, I won't be able to keep it up. Once every two or three weeks is different than every night."

Jamie's jaw hit his chest. He couldn't believe what he was hearing!

"Is that what's got you so uptight, so afraid?"

Jenny nodded. Jamie just let out the biggest sigh of relief, started to breathe again, and then he laughed.

"Oh, Jenny, I thought you didn't love me after all. Honey, even I couldn't keep up the pace we've set on the weekends if we were together everyday." More seriously, "Jenny, I told you a long time ago that I wanted 'all of you' not just the sex. I love you—you—not just the body that goes to bed with me. I love you even when we're not in bed. You're...God, Jenny, I can't believe this. I feel complete with you. I want to come home and hold you. I want to...I don't know...I want to laugh with you, go to the movies with you, forget work because I have you at home. I want you to change the curtains in the bedroom."

The curtain comment made Jenny laugh. She had told Jamie that first weekend together that his bedroom curtains were too flimsy. Jamie knew this would not calm all her fears, but now that they were out in the open, they could deal with them.

Epilogue

The day after the divorce was final, Brian married his pregnant girlfriend. A month later, he traveled to Garrett's house to attend the baptism of his third grandchild. Charlene was too pregnant travel that distance.

Jamie had wanted to go with Jenny to the baptism. If Charlene had been there, Jenny probably would have agreed, but since the new pregnant wife wasn't going to be there, Jenny talked him out of it—this time.

"I'm going to tell Beth and Garrett about you and the next time they come up or I go down, I want them to meet you. But this time, since she's not going to be there, I'd like to wait. Please."

Since he had come to the conclusion that he'd probably not be able to deny her anything, Jamie agreed—this time. But slowly, over the next couple of months, he moved her out of her house into his.

On the Saturday following Thanksgiving six months after her divorce was final, Jennifer Carter Matthews and Jamison Robert Vannoy were married in a civil ceremony. It was a small wedding. Jenny's children and their families attended, along with her mother, Jamie's children, Scott and Claire, and a few close friends.

After the vows were exchanged and they were declared married, Jamie kissed his new bride and whispered into Jenny's ear, "Wishes do come true." They flew to Hawaii for their honeymoon.

About six months later, Beth called and told Jenny that Brian was feeling the effects of having a child at the age of fifty-three while also being a stepfather to a six year old and an eight year old. Beth said he looked like hell when he and his new family came to visit on the previous weekend.

Jenny couldn't help but laugh. It served him right, having a child at that age and getting involved with a woman not much older than their own children. But Jenny didn't dwell on Brian. She was content and happy; both were feelings she thought she'd never experience after so many years of feeling next to nothing. She and Jamie continued to grow closer and closer and more in love than either ever expected...Because Wishes Do Come True.

~*~*~

Please do not leave scathing comments about infidelity. This is based on a true story and the true life counterparts were unfaithful. I believe they should have gotten a divorce first...but then there would have been no story.