Cobalt Blue

Chapter 9

I woke Tuesday morning when I heard the bedroom door click open, Stephanie smiled as she stepped out and walked past my nest toward the bathroom. A few minutes later she walked out of the bathroom door and stopped beside my temporary bed, this time wearing my vintage Black Led Zeppelin 1975 US Tour shirt, the one with brightly colored Icarus in flight on the front.

"Your turn to cook breakfast." she grinned then disappeared back through the bedroom door.

Her idea held some appeal so I got out of bed and pulled on my baggy gym shorts. I started the oven to preheat and arranged several strips of bacon on a wire mesh in a cookie sheet. Then I made my morning ablutions in the bathroom while the oven heated. When I left the bathroom, Stephanie was standing in front of the sink, cracking eggs into a bowl.

"What was it they said about too many cooks in the kitchen?"

"I know but you take too long." She said with a smile.

As we finished eating breakfast and cleaned the cooking and dining areas she asked if I still planned to delay filing my divorce petition.

"Yes, I'll call Ted when I get to the office. I'll probably meet with Sarah after work this evening, too. I need to put that in my rear view mirror sooner rather than later. Maybe I'll have enough time to get out into the barn and see what it would take to turn it into a decent work shop."

"So, you thinking about staying here for a while?"

"Yeah" I said "I think so. I kinda like it here. Hunter said he would consider selling it to me if I wanted to stay, maybe I should talk to him about a price."

"I think it suits you." She said as she wiped the table down with a damp towel.

I smiled at her in response and put the rest of the dishes away in the cabinet.

"I don't know what kind of company I'll be tonight after talking to Sarah."

Stephanie lay the towel on the tabletop and sat down in the booth. "I hope I haven't given the wrong impression, I'm not looking for a relationship, I like to have fun. And I'm not very good at answering to someone or dealing with jealousy. I know I've been in your face the past couple days and while I'm pretty sure that when we do sleep together we're not going to get much sleep, I'm not looking for any exclusivity bullshit. To be honest, you're so dead-set on 'doing the right thing' that it's kind of fun pushing your buttons. I appreciate you sticking to your standards, It's a credit to your character and makes you all the more attractive. I have a feeling that over the next few months this piece of property is going to become pretty popular with single women from Floyd and Bartow counties." She finished with a chuckle. "Just remember, I showed interest in you first." She winked.

I gave her a sly grin "Actually, you weren't the first to show interest in me."

"REALLY?! Well, I just need to up my game, then!"

We both enjoyed a good laugh as we finished straightening up.

"Be right back." Stephanie said as she slipped out the door. She returned a couple minutes later carrying a duffle bag and a hanging garment bag as I was tucking my shirt into my pants.

"I see you came prepared this time. Did you just want to sleep in one of my shirts or did you forget your sleepwear?

"I didn't forget anything, I like wearing a man's shirt at night. But I prefer a long sleeved button-up shirt, hint, hint." she said smiling.

"I see. Freshly laundered or recently worn?"

"I don't like hanger creases." she said as she lay both bags on the bed.

I laughed. "You're trying to get me in trouble."

"If I was trying to get you in trouble I'd do this out there in front of you, or I'd at least leave the door open." As she pushed the door closed.

I opened the gate and she stopped as she drove through and spoke to me through her open side window "I won't come back out tonight but if you want to talk, give me a call, OK?"

I locked the gate behind me and went straight to my office. After checking the duty board I chose which cases needed the most attention for the day then started making my contacts and conducting interviews. At 10:00 I called my attorney and asked him to delay filing my divorce petition until after lunch on Friday and gave him an abridged version of my reasons. At lunch I called Sarah and asked her if she'd be willing to meet me at the Levee park in town and I'd pick up take out so we could discuss what was happening in our marriage. She sounded calmer than I expected and we agreed on the time and location. All in all it was quite a productive day: I closed one case Exceptionally Cleared, one case as Unfounded and drew up arrest warrants on two other cases. I also found a promising lead on a fifth case but wouldn't be able to follow up on it until a witness returned from vacation almost two weeks later. When I returned to the office at the end of the day I found that I had been assigned two new property theft cases and a child abuse referral from DFCS. The life of a Criminal Detective is a never ending cycle, and people wonder why we don't recognize problems in our own lives and marriages before it's too late? It's because we have so many cases and problems running around our heads at one time it takes all of our critical concentration and no person should ever have to worry about keeping tabs on his or her spouse. That's the one person in the world that anyone should be able to trust without verifying everything they say or do.

I took off work two hours early, then picked up soup, salad and fresh bread from the Outback and met Sarah at the levee, choosing a reasonably clean picnic table to sit at. She looked sad but resigned to what she was about to hear but I wanted us to enjoy our meal before we broached the less pleasant part of our meeting. However, neither of us seemed to have much of an appetite. What conversation we shared was limited to generic two or three word sentences, neither of us willing to delve deeper than what seemed necessary.

After watching Sara idly stir her soup I put the plastic lid on my half-full bowl and dropped it back into the take out bag. Sara sensed that we'd come to the point and laid her spoon on the table, stared past me over my left shoulder and said "It's too late already, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"How much do you know?"

"Some. I know you've been cheating on me at least for several weeks. I know you've been lying to me for longer than that and I know you lost respect for me even before then."

"It was you, wasn't it? At the lake."

"Yes, it was."

"In my gut I knew it was. After I called you I knew for sure. When I hung up I told Paul that you had lied to me for the first time since we've known each other. And I deserved it." "I couldn't face you Saturday night so I stayed in a motel. Alone. I couldn't bring myself to stay with Jessica. I know it doesn't mean much and I know it won't change anything but I want you to know that I'm sorry. I'm not sorry that I got caught, actually that isn't really true, I am sorry I got caught but I wish I'd never made the decisions I made that has brought us to this. In retrospect they certainly weren't worth what I'll have to pay as a result of making them."

"Decisions rarely have a price tag attached and usually cost more than we expect." I answered.

"If you saw what was happening at the lake then you'll eventually figure out that there's more going on than just our marriage ending."

"I know."

"Detectives came by today with search warrants and pulled account files from the past two years and interviewed everybody separately so something's happening." "How much time do I have to get things ready?"

"I don't know, It's not my circus. I have no part in anything other than you and what happened over weekend." "All I can say is get a good attorney and if anyone important offers you an opportunity you might consider taking it."

"Thanks for that. I suppose I can call Ted Kilgore."

"Ted can't help you in this."

"Oh, so he's working for you then?"

"Yes, he has the papers, you should hear from him by first of the week maybe."

"I want you to know you didn't do anything wrong. I got bored, stupid and listened to the wrong people. I knew what they were telling me was wrong and that's why I got so mad when you pointed out what kind of person Jessica is. But I was mad at myself, not you really, because I knew you were right and it embarrassed me that I let myself get distracted so easily then I took it out on you. You really are a dreamer but despite what I said last weekend the world needs more dreamers. I guess that's what kept you from becoming bored like I did. I'll bet you really never did have an affair while we were married, did you?"

"Honestly, I've come close recently but no, I've never cheated on you, I never considered it before last weekend."

"Well, call Ted and tell him to get me a copy of the papers and I'll sign them. Tonight, tomorrow, whenever." "I really am sorry, I love you. I just wish I didn't forget that I did."

"I'll give you the house, I don't see myself living there anymore." I said

"I don't want it either, there'll be too many memories. Let's just sell it and split the proceeds."

"OK, if you want to handle that you're better suited for it."

"Actually, I don't know how much longer my license will be valid but I'll get it appraised and listed. How hard do you want it marketed?"

"Just get somebody to call it home, whatever you're comfortable with." I answered. "I'll get Donovan a message and we can set up a Zoom meeting with him when he's available to break the news to him together, hopefully it'll be easier on him than if he heard it from one twisted point of view or from some third party with no idea what's actually going on."

She nodded and looked up at me with watery eyes then turned and walked across the grass to her car and drove away.

I gathered our left over trash and put it into a garbage can before climbing into my truck and pulling onto the road toward home.

Chapter 10

After I got home and claimed my folding chair beside the fire ring on the river bank, I called Stephanie and told her about my meeting with Sarah. She confirmed what Sarah said about the search warrants and agreed that any further delay of filing my divorce petition made no sense. I'm not sure how much personal reasoning influenced her opinion but I still called Ted after hanging up with Stephanie. My attorney assured me that he'd have the petition on the Clerk of the Court's desk at start of business 09:00 on Wednesday morning and hopefully have Sarah served early or mid afternoon.

It was still daylight when I finished my calls and sitting in a folding chair watching the river drift lazily by below was becoming a favorite pastime. I decided it was early enough to make another call and opened the contact list on my phone.

"Hello Mr. Sean!" The tiny voice trilled.

"Well, hello to you too, Ms. Katey! How are you today?"

"I'm doing good, do you want to talk to my momma? She's right here."

"Sure. It was nice talking to you, Ms. Katey."

"OK."

"Hey, you called sooner than I expected. I'm glad."

"Well, quite a bit has happened the last few days and I thought it would be nice to talk to you again. This time while I wasn't quite so confused and disappointed about things. How are y'all doing?"

"We're doing fine, nothing much going on with us. How about you? Are you getting things sorted out?"

"Yeah, I moved out Sunday, my attorney has the papers drawn up and she should be served tomorrow afternoon."

"Does she know what's happening?" Samantha asked.

"Yeah, we met at the levee today and sorted things out, she agreed to sign the papers when she gets them and not contest anything. Of course, I won't try to squeeze her dry. I just want to start over with my life and let her do the same. Besides, I'm afraid she's got more to worry about than just a divorce."

"I see. Can you tell me about it?" She asked.

"Maybe a little later in the week as things develop. I'm not part of it, conflict of interests."

"Well, I just wanted to touch base with you, see if you ghosted me with a wrong number Saturday. I was a bit addled and you could've told me anything you wanted to at the time. I didn't even ask about you, not even your name. You had to volunteer that before I left. You even had to offer your phone number. I definitely wasn't in good state of mind. I still don't know where you live."

"I live in Euharlee, between Rome, Taylorsville and Cartersville."

I gave a brief burst of astonished laughter.

"You're going to give me a complex if you keep reacting like that whenever I tell you something about me." She said, amusedly.

"I'll explain it all to you one day, if I tried to do it now you'd think I was trying to hit you with the weakest come-on lines ever conjured."

"OK, I'll accept that. For now, but not for much longer." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Well, part of it is that right now we may be within five miles of one another. I'm renting a place on Hardin Bridge rd on the river just down from the boat ramp."

"Ooohhh, I know the area you're talking about, there's a beautiful piece of land around there that looks like where a farm house might have been a long time ago, there's still a barn but that's all. I go that way when I go to town because it's so nice."

"And the hits just keep on coming." I deadpanned.

"What?" Samantha asked, confused.

"Why don't you drive over, I think I know the area you're talking about and I'll meet you there."

"OK, see you in ten minutes."

I was standing by the open gate when the black Nissan Juke slowed and a wide eyed Samantha Kelley turned off the road and through the opening. She rolled her window down and with a surprised expression on her face she said "This is it, this is the place I was talking about. There's the barn and it looks like there should be a house over there. And this is where you're living?"

"Yes, I'm renting right now, although I'm thinking about buying the property. I'm staying in a camper trailer just through those trees there. Follow me."

I walked the seventy or so yards from the gate to the camper while Samantha idled along beside me.

When we got to the camper, Samantha released Katey from her safety bondage capsule in the back seat of her SUV and we both shouted "Stay away from the the bank!" at the exact same instant when the four-year-old ran around the front of her mother's car, we then looked at one another and both said "Jinx" simultaneously. This flashback to middle school earned a brief spurt of energetic laughter from both of us.

We sat at the picnic table under the awning and talked for a while, learning more about one another. Samantha was twenty four years old and got pregnant with Katey at eighteen in her Freshman year at Kennesaw State and married Katey's father during summer break before her birth. Her ex was never happy and blamed Samantha for intentionally becoming pregnant in order to trap him in a marriage, hoping to become a pampered house wife, not having to work outside the home. The marriage lasted less than two years before Samantha's ex decided he couldn't limit himself to a single sexual partner so he filed for divorce and moved to California. He hasn't been heard from in nearly three years. She and Katey moved in with her parents at their house in Euharlee so she could finish her BSN. Now she was an RN at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in Kennesaw and still lived in the basement apartment her parents had set up for her and Katey.

We were watching Katey throw rocks and sticks into the river while she sang songs only she had ever heard.

"Did y'all eat yet?" I asked.

"No, I'm going to have to go soon and feed Katey."

"How about we grill hamburgers or hotdogs? It's still early enough that we can eat a quick meal then you still have enough time to get her home and in bed."

"Katey, do you want a hotdog?" Samantha asked her daughter.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Katey was jumping up and down excitedly in front of us.

"If we all want hotdogs we can cook them on sticks over the camp fire. Then maybe we can roast marshmallows after dinner?" I asked Samantha.

"I'm good with that." She answered.

I used the partially charred wood already in the ring of rocks to start a new fire and it wasn't long before we had an established bed of coals and the fire was ready for cooking. Samantha, Katey and I joined forces to prepare the wieners, buns, condiments, a bag of potato chips and tea, taking them to the picnic table outside. I showed Katey how to hold her wiener over an area of glowing coals and away from the open flame for a perfect roast. While we were eating it became clear that Katey was on reserves and waning fast. Roasted marshmallows were going to have to be postponed for another time.

Katey was deep asleep in her car seat behind Samantha's passenger's seat before we ever reached the gate. I said goodbye to Samantha through her driver's door window then locked the gate after she pulled through and I walked back to the camper. I cleaned the mess we left after eating, made sure the fire pit was safe again and went into the trailer to shower and get ready for bed.

Chapter 11

When I woke Wednesday morning I couldn't escape the feeling that something was missing. I hadn't realized how valuable attentive companionship really was. Yes I've been married for more than twenty years but now I realized that for the past several months, maybe even years our relationship had more in common with college dorm mates who simply tolerated one another than a seasoned marriage. Waking the past two mornings with Stephanie still present proved to be more pleasant than I was ready to admit, even though we'd had no physical contact. Waking up alone this morning highlighted the fact that my marriage was over and I was alone again.

I had successfully pushed my need for companionship to the side when my wife had grown distant. And to be fair, she doesn't deserve all the blame, I quit paying attention to Sarah some time ago. Like I said earlier, my marriage had become comfortable and routine; like an old familiar, broken-in leather jacket that you take for granted and tend to forget that it needs the occasional rub down with Saddle Soap to ensure it doesn't crack and degrade. Basically, I failed to nurture my relationship with Sarah and as a result allowed cracks to form in the leather finish. Eventually, the cracks widened and it fell apart. That didn't excuse Sarah's betrayal and cheating, especially over such a seemingly short span of time. I never considered cheating on her so I know that it wasn't an inevitable choice for her to make.

I texted Ted and asked him to call me once the divorce petition was filed and ready to be served then headed to the office to begin my day.

At the office I checked off my normal daily routine: checked the duty board for any special or unusual activities planned for the day, logged on to the computer system to see what activity Patrol division had reported for the past day, looking for names or addresses that might be related to any of my open cases, reports of thefts, prowlers or unusual occurrences in neighborhoods where I had active burglaries or thefts. Anything that could relate to something I was currently investigating. I also pulled backgrounds on anybody named in the new cases I was assigned on Tuesday afternoon and started activity logs on the new cases. Before leaving the office I called the DFCS office and scheduled a meeting with the referring Case Worker for the Child Abuse referral I was assigned the day before to discuss the case.

Just before 09:30, as I was pulling into the DFCS parking lot my cell phone rang, "Ted the Shark" appearing on screen. "Hey, buddy, did everything go OK?" I asked.

"Yeah, the petition has been filed with the Clerk of the Court, your divorce has officially begun. I assumed from your calls and message you have something in mind for serving Sarah so I didn't drop her copy with the Sheriff's department yet."