Divorce Among Friends

****

Mama Connie had gotten up to help straighten up the living room by taking the glasses left by my once-very-good friends. She had wiped the moisture from the coasters and stacked them as well.

She was on her latest trip to the kitchen, when Dad told me what he had finally gotten up the energy to say.

"Well, Son; you are definitely burning your bridges here. You have served Jamey with a petition for divorce; two of your friends with suits for 'Alienation of Affections;' and one for 'IIED.' Does that just about cover it?"

I know that he was just trying to be matter-of-fact about things, while adding just a touch of levity in an effort to try to lift my spirits. He was probably certain that he had instilled sufficient degrees of survival instincts in me -- physically in the woods when I was a boy and a teen; and emotionally as I had matured under his mentorship. The confidence in his face showed that he was certain that everything would turn out well in the end.

That's probably why he blanched and almost dropped his beer bottle when I pulled out and handed him my last envelope; and said, "Almost."

****

It was now completely dark outside, with the light atop the tower on Lookout Mountain blinking off in the distance, along with the glow of the city on the horizons.

I reached the top of the driveway, heading for my truck, so that I could find a new bar to settle into for a couple a beers away from my house. I glanced back at the house and looked through the front picture window. Dad had the contents of the envelope in his hand, which included the transcript of one other conversation that my PI had recorded during that fateful week out at the Outer Banks. His look was a combination of incredulity and anger; Mama Connie's was one of anguish and misery.

I started up the big Cummins diesel engine and pulled away from the curb, not worried about leaving them at the house. I knew Dad had a key and would lock up when they left.

****

Author's Wrap-Up:

Yeah, I know. Almost none of this stuff would pass a sanity check in an actual court of law.

But, I am not an attorney; nor -- as they say -- do I 'play one on TV.' But, there is enough of stuff on the internet to provide a survey or an overview of various tort actions that may be considered in situations of 'Domestic Non-Tranquility,' so to speak.

It is truly amazing to read some of the seemingly over-feminized reasons given by legal analysts in the majority of states that have done away with 'Alienation of Affections' as a reason for suing others involved in an affair leading to divorce. They claim that it is only a 'revenge' tool for the so-called 'evil' husband to get his ounce of blood out of someone contributing to his losing his 'property,' as those bashing men for supposedly still having medieval attitudes toward the wife's place in a marriage still assert. They go on to claim that any hopes at possible forgiveness and reconciliation would be dashed by the efforts of the spouse to exercise his revenge through use of 'Alienation of Affections' law suits; also claiming that such cases polarize everyone and leave a scorched-earth result that affects all parties, especially any children involved.

Interestingly, there are still only a few states that retain 'Alienation of Affections' as a tort action: Hawaii, Illinois, North Carolina, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. Most of the others allow the tort measure known as 'Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.' That comes as close as you can to the 'Alienation of Affections' action, but is much stricter in its definitions of what constitutes the case for the plaintiff.

Anyway, that's my story. I hope that you enjoyed it. In this case, it was not so much 'Burn the Bitch' as 'Burn the Enablers.'

Regards,

Flavian

THE END