A Daughters Revenge...

10 days later the divorce strategy and all of his financial adjustments were ready to go. He told his lawyer to go ahead and start on the divorce papers, but not to serve them until they heard from Jimmy. During this last 10 days Linda had been calling and texting both Molly and Jimmy begging to talk, begging to go to family counseling, and begging them to come home. Jimmy had instructed security at his offices that she was not to be allowed on the property. Molly had gone to the vice-principal at school and told him the situation and convinced him that she shouldn't be allowed on school property either.

Right around this time Molly heard from Linda's parents. They called her and left a voicemail that confused Molly. Basically, it said that they didn't know why Molly and Jimmy were treating their daughter so badly over a minor disagreement and how could they be so cruel as to move out and not talk to her? Molly decided to call Jimmy's parents and see if they had heard anything. She got on the phone with them and said, "Hi Grandma, how are things going? Have you been in contact with the family and what's new? I know we haven't seen you for a few weeks."

They said that nothing was really new. They were just waiting for Dan and Amanda to have their baby. They said Dan and Amanda were coming over for brunch this coming weekend and wondered if Linda, Jimmy and Molly wanted to come over. Molly quickly figured out that no one in the family really knew what was happening. Obviously, Linda hadn't told her own parents the real truth and apparently Dan never had a discussion with Amanda or his parents, unless they were incredibly forgiving.

That evening at the apartment Jimmy got a call from Linda's sister Sheri scolding him for taking Molly and leaving Linda for such a minor reason as a disagreement about Molly's school activities and friends. "How could you be so cruel Jimmy. It doesn't sound like you at all."

Jimmy just said that there were issues between Linda and him and they were personal and would take time to work out. 20 minutes after that call Linda's parents called with basically the same message. How could you be so cruel to walk out on some minor arguments and disagreements. And at the end of the evening, Jimmy's parents called and asked if Linda, Jimmy and Dan would come over for brunch.

Jimmy asked if Dan and Amanda were fine and if Dan had talked to them at all. They said that Dan said Jimmy was mad at him for not returning his tools and that they had a fight about it and weren't talking. Jimmy's mom said, "come on Dan. Grow up. You can't have a fight with family about something as minor as missing tools. You come over this weekend and make up. Besides, we haven't talked to Linda or Molly for a longtime." Jimmy made up an excuse that Molly had an out-of-town soccer game and they wouldn't be able to attend.

Molly could see that Jimmy was trying to take the high road, but Linda or Dan hadn't been truthful to anyone about what was really going on. Molly looked over at him and said, "Well it's obvious that neither Linda or Dan has told anything close to the real story to the family and you are getting the blame!" She was mad but her dad just shrugged and said, things will work themselves out.

Two weeks later, after a lot of soul searching, self-analysis, and discussions with Molly, Jimmy decided that the love for Linda, the hurt at being betrayed, the deceit and not owning up to the failure to keep her wedding vows was too much for him to forgive. On top of that, it was obvious she hadn't taken any responsibility for what she had done with her family, and neither had Dan. He decided it was over, so he went ahead and asked his lawyers to serve Linda the divorce papers.

Linda was sitting at home trying to decide what strategy she could use to get Jimmy and Molly back home so she could work on re-building her relationship. She knew she had hurt them, but she still was rationalizing to herself that it was only meaningless sex and it was over and things could return to normal. She had told herself that they would miss her and return and when they did, she would be the most loving wife and mother that she could be.

As she was thinking through how she could get Jimmy to talk with her, she heard a car pull up and moments later a knock at the door. She looked through the window and saw a young man in a suit, looking back at her. She opened the door and he said "are you Linda Jacobs?" Worrying that maybe something had happened to Molly or Jimmy she said "yes, I am, is everything alright?" The young man handed her an 8 ½ x 11 manilla folder and said, "Mrs. Jacobs you have been served." He quickly snapped a photo of her with the packet and then turned and walked back to his car.

Linda wasn't sure what he was talking about and went into the living room, sat on the couch and opened the envelope. She pulled out the documents and saw "petition for Divorce" across the top of the first page. Her eyes teared over, she dropped the documents and for the first time she really understood that she had likely thrown away her marriage and her family for some lousy sex.

A few days after Linda received the petition for divorce, Jimmy started to get calls from all sides of the family. Linda's parents called and demanded how Jimmy could take away her child, move out, and divorce his wife all for a minor set of disagreements and arguments. Don't destroy your marriage because you two are arguing about raising your daughter the right way. Get together and work it out.

Then he got a call from his parents. "Jimmy, what are you doing? Linda says that you are now divorcing her and won't speak to her and you are keeping her daughter from her. She said you are just having a rough spot in your marriage and that she loves you and wants to get her family back. Jimmy, this doesn't seem like you; it seems very harsh for just a series of arguments and disagreements."

Then Jimmies' brothers' wife Amanda called and scolded him. "Jimmy, how can you quit talking to Dan about arguments over tools. And how can you possibly think about divorcing Linda for such minor reasons. You need to get some help Jimmy. Maybe some counseling."

Jimmy tried to ignore it all and his standard line on the phone was that this was a very personal matter between Linda, Molly and himself and they should go back and ask Linda if they wanted to really understand why there would be no reconciliation and why a divorce was the only way forward for him. But that didn't work. He kept getting calls. Then they started calling Molly with the same lines and urging her to go back home and be with her Mother, whose heart was broken.

Molly saw the pain this was putting Jimmy in and how he was now being cast as the bad guy by the entire family. She could plainly see that Dan had never told anyone the true story and blamed his issues with Jimmy on losing some of Jimmy's tools. Molly could see that Linda was trying to garner all the family resources to talk Jimmy and Molly back, but to gain their support she had never owned up to what she did and had never told them the real story.

She knew Jimmy never would; that he would let all of his relationships be poisoned by Linda's betrayal, and that he was too ethical to spread the dirt and real truth that would ruin Linda's relationships. But Molly had had enough. One day during study hall at school, she pulled out her computer and composed an e-mail to the whole family. It read, "to all of the family that is so quick to blame my Dad for all the problems between my Mom and us; and between Dan and him. It is very painful to send you the attached video, and I know it is going to shock and hurt you all, like it did to me when I walked into this nightmare and recorded it. It is extremely unfair that Jimmy should be punished by the family for something that he didn't do. He was betrayed by his wife, his brother, and now by his family. I've had enough."

"Please view this and ask yourself what would you do if you were in my Dad's situation. What would you do in my situation? What would you do when the two people that you thought loved you, and would protect you, and would always be on your side betrayed you in the most horrible way and continue to lie about it and not take responsibility for it? Please view the attached video in private and then you can talk all you want to my Mom and Uncle Dan about how Jimmy should respond." With that she copied the entire family, her Dad (who she knew would be mad, but she felt a duty to support) and she also copied Linda and Dan. Then, with her original anger and pain coming back to her, she pushed the send button.

Linda had been at work and didn't see the personal e-mail, and she had her phone off at work. As he went out to the parking lot and got in her car at the end of the day, she turned on her phone hoping to see any response from Jimmy to her bi-daily calls pleading for forgiveness, pleading to let her explain, pleading for him to come home and talk. Instead, she saw missed calls from her parents, from Amanda, and from Jimmy's parents. She first listened to the voice mail from Amanda. "you bitch and whore. Not only did you ruin Jimmy's life with your dirty affair with Dan, but you two also ruined my life. I never want to talk to you again and I'll be Jimmy's strongest witness if possible, at the divorce. He treated you with respect and love and did everything with his family in mind and you threw it away with your cheap slutty behavior. Maybe Dan wants to come over and stay with you cause his ass is getting kicked out of here tonight!"

Linda didn't really understand if Dan had confessed or what had happened, but she had a sinking feeling that the family knew what had really happened. The next voice mail was from her mom saying, "Linda, how could you. I was so disgusted and revolted watching that video. And with Jimmy's brother of all people and in your marriage bed. And then poor Molly walks in and witnesses her mother and uncle in a disgusting betrayal of her husband, herself and the whole family. How could you!" with that she started to sob and hung up.

Linda slumped down in her drivers' seat and cried. She opened up her e-mail on her iPhone and saw the E-mail from Molly. She didn't want to open the video, as she was pretty sure she knew exactly what it was, but she did so just to witness how it would look from the rest of the family's point of view. It wasn't only the revolting sexual acts but again she heard her and Dan loud and clear. "Fuck me you dirty boy you and don't stop until I cum all over your cock!" she screamed. Dan replied "I love to fuck you and I'll fuck you better than little Jimmy ever could!" And if that wasn't bad enough, it was how they laughed and shared their evil joke together. And then of course the hurt, shock and pain in Molly as she yelled "YOU CHEATING FUCKING WHORE! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO OUR FAMILY. AND YOU UNCLE DAN, YOU FUCKED YOUR OWN BROTHER'S WIFE! I HATE YOU BOTH YOU WRETCHED PIECES OF SHIT!"

Linda knew it was all over. Her attempts to get her family to help get Jimmy to talk to her and reconsider were gone forever. What was she thinking? More lies, more dis-respect and not owning up to her actions were perhaps as bad as the illicit affair itself. She realized she was just kidding herself. There was no coming back from this, not with Jimmy. He was too hurt, too dis-respected. And she realized that she had forever lost any close and loving connection to her daughter. She no longer had the right to even act as a parent to her; any advice or guidance she gave her would be a hypocritical joke. She cried for an hour in the parking lot before she could even start her car and drive back home.

Three weeks later Jimmy's lawyer called and told her that since she hadn't signed and returned the divorce documents that he had scheduled a court hearing and it would be two weeks from now. He suggested she get a lawyer and get prepared.

Linda got a divorce attorney on advice of a friend of hers that had cheated on her husband and gone through a divorce. She was honest and open with the lawyer on what she and Dan had done and how she had gotten to this point. After reviewing the documents, the lawyer told her, "your husband is being fairly generous in that it is a 50/50 split on everything. It doesn't appear he is hiding any monies or trying to leverage you in anyway by releasing the video. Except for one thing; he is asking for 100% custody of your daughter. That is very rarely granted by a judge, so at this time I guess we just go to court, reject that part of the divorce petition, and leave it up to the judge.

When they appeared in court it was the first time, she had seen Molly or Jimmy for 8 weeks. They looked rested, and Molly looked older and more mature than Linda had remembered her. Neither Jimmy or Molly would even make direct eye contact, and when she tried to speak to them in the hallway before entering the court they just turned and walked away. "I'm so sorry, please don't hate me forever. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but I can't bear to think you will hate me forever. If you could find it in your heart to at least nurture any kind of relationship, I would be so thankful."

With that they walked into the court and the proceedings began. When they got to the part about 100% custody, the judge balked and was ready to rule the standard 50/50 custody set-up. At that point Jimmy's lawyer looked at Molly and said to the judge, "You honor. Before you fully decide my clients, daughter has asked to approach the bench and have a quick discussion with you." The judge replied that this was highly unusual but given her age I'll allow it.

Molly came forward and both of the lawyers also approached the bench to listen. Molly said to the judge, "Please your honor. I don't want to live with my Mother. She has damaged our relationship beyond repair. If you award her any custody, I can tell you honestly that I will run away. I won't stay a night in her home. I want to ask you to look at this short video, and understand that this is what I walked into one day when I came home early from school. The man in the video is my uncle, my Dad's brother. This had been going on for 3 months and probably would not have ended if she hadn't been caught." With that she started the video and handed the judge her phone. His demeanor and body language changed as he watched the video play out. He handed the phone back and asked them all to return to their seats.

He said, "I am going to grant 100% custody to the father per the petition. Therefore, there will be no child support from the father, and due to his salary, I will not ask the mother to pay any child support either. Relative to custody, however, I am going to rule that the Mother gets a weekly 2-hour visit with the daughter. The first 6 months of the visit will be at a counseling session, which the father will pay for. He is invited, but his attendance is not mandatory. This counseling will be an attempt to see if the mother and daughter can forge a relationship for the good of their future lives." With that the judge dismissed the courtroom, got up and left for his chambers.

Linda bent over the table and cried at the decree of 100% custody to Jimmy, but at least she had a faint glimmer of hope that with a counselor help, she might be able to initiate some kind of relationship with her daughter and possibly Jimmy. It was all she now had to look forward to in life and she desperately wanted to at least make sure her daughter knew that she loved her and knew that not only had she hurt Molly, Jimmy and the entire family; but she had also ruined her life in the process. No one was without pain, and perhaps the worst pain and hurt that Linda's affair had initiated was her own.

Epilogue... one year later.

The counseling sessions with Linda and her daughter Molly were somewhat successful. Linda had been able to understand better why she might have done what she did and she felt that Molly was able to understand it through the work that the counselor did. That wasn't to say that Molly could necessarily forgive it, or ever justify it, but she could clearly see that Linda was in as much or perhaps more pain that Jimmy and her.

Molly realized that despite all that had transpired, she did love her Mother and she did begin to spend the occasional weekends living at her apartment and spending time with her. Linda had learned to treat Molly like an adult, let her make her own decisions, and not ever criticize her for those decisions. They both knew if nothing else, they would be friendly in their future lives with each other. Linda would continue to apologize until one day Molly said to just let it go. Put it in the past and lets never speak of it again.

Linda would try and pull any information about Jimmy from her that she could, like how he looked, if he was dating, if he seemed happy. Molly could see that Linda still loved him very much but she knew that Jimmy would never find it in his heart to trust her or be able to love her again, so Molly never encouraged her Mom to dwell on Jimmy but instead encouraged her to start dating and look for a new beginning in her life.

Jimmy never attended any of the counseling sessions. He was able to rekindle his relationship with his parents, and he had a close relationship to Amanda and her kids. She had left Dan and was rebuilding her life. Jimmy, true to his word, never responded to any of Dan's or his parents attempts to get him to reconcile with Dan. If Dan was coming to any holiday party or dinner or event with his parents, Jimmy would not show up. Jimmy hadn't spoken to or seen Dan in a year and still was comfortable in his decision to never see or talk to Dan again. Jimmy had poured himself into his relationship with Molly first, and work secondly, during the past year. He had not dated nor did he go out with the guys and party. Molly was encouraging him to get a life, and start to date, and she felt that maybe he was getting close to joining the dating scene again.

Linda would look back on her actions and still kick herself for what she had done. A 10-week affair of meaningless sex, thrilling for the moment, but disastrous to the lives of anyone she really cared about. The guilt and the pain that she had caused through her actions never would leave her. She tried to deal with the depression and guilt by being a better Mother, a better daughter, a better friend, and a better employee in all of her relationships, but she knew her life would never be what it once was or would have been. Actions in life have consequences and she had been stupid enough not to consider any of them when her lust and cheap thrill of illicit sex took over her.

She had thrown away the best life she could have had for herself. She had pushed her daughter into the realities of adult pain and problems far earlier than what she would have ever hoped for her. And she had thrown away the love, trust, partnership and joy that she had with her family, and knew she would never experience that again.