Earthquake Ch. 01

"When and what time was it there?"

"Not sure when, but it was the last two times it was raining. She would have normally been out walking."

There was silence

"Oh dear," said Carolyn, "perhaps I should not have mentioned it."

I took Jimmy inside and began to take stock of the situation. My anger calmed and I began to feel guilt at what I had done. It dawned on me that I had just been totally irrational. To do something like that was completely foreign to my way of thinking. I had discovered them totally unprepared and reacted as it was an emergency by doing everything wrong.

In calming down I found myself in damage control. I had done it, I couldn't undo it. I wondered about our future. The bottom line was the root cause of my irrationality was her infidelity.

My thoughts returned to divorce. I could not fathom us being apart but the possibility of this was a stark reality. I needed to plan for that possibility. At this time I was still felt stunned. I no longer felt particularly angry or remorseful and the adrenalin of the situation now had me thinking lucidly. I wondered what they were going to do in the circumstances.

I rationalized my motivation in taking Jimmy was to remove him from a disgusting situation and to shock Lisa to the consequences of what she was doing. More than anything else I was gobsmacked with her behaviour. This was not the Lisa I knew, the intelligent woman who absolutely doted on her children. Why was my wife and fabulous mother behaving like this and ignoring her youngest child? What possible reason would she have to do this to her family?

About half an hour later I heard the sound of a car revving and speeding past our house.

There was a long agonizing wait following that, until I received a call on my phone. I answered to Lisa shouting, "Darling, someone has kidnapped Jimmy, can you make it back to the house straight away!"

She obviously thought I was still at work.

I went down the drive to meet her. After a few minutes she arrived in a police car. She hastily got out of the car and ran to me sobbing. She wrapped herself around me as I stood there rigid and emotionless.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't know how this could happen."

I was devoid of empathy at this time.

Meanwhile a police man and woman had got out the car and were making their way toward me.

"Can you just slow down and tell me what happened," I asked Lisa.

"Well, I thought I would take Jimmy for a wee jog down the track to the stream. "

"Wouldn't it have been easier to go up to the domain?" I replied.

"Jimmy likes it by the stream."

"Oh."

"I was about halfway back..."

"Where were you exactly?"

"Just by that old bench seat."

"Oh that's quite close. Then what happened?"

"I went around behind some bushes to take a pee... I was bursting....When I came out; Jimmy and the push chair were gone."

"You didn't hear or see anyone?"

"No not at all, I .... I don't understand it."

I listened carefully then instructed, "Lisa could you stay here with the policewoman, I would like to talk to the policeman inside."

Lisa, who had now composed herself, looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I walked inside with the policeman and when out of earshot, "Sorry I did not introduce myself; I am obviously Lisa's husband, Gaz. Have you taken a statement from her?"

"Yes, an initial one."

"Do you believe her?"

"It is not for me to say."

With that I took out my phone and brought up the video.

The constable gaped at it, "What is actually going on here?"

"Well, I had some good news for Lisa so I came home early. She wasn't here but Carolyn next door told me she had gone for a walk down the stream with Jimmy. I went right to the stream and found these two in the picnic area. Lisa was partaking in what you guys call an indecent act in a public place. On top of it she was doing it with our son left by himself. Quite frankly I want her charged with the offence and I want Welfare informed."

The constable then said, "are you sure you want us to do this."

My response seemed come from outside of my body. Where did the hate return from?

I coldly said, "This will almost certainly result in divorce. These facts must be a matter of record with the appropriate authorities."

I then said, "Would you like to meet Jimmy?" I ushered the constable into the living room. Jimmy was still in his push chair kicking his legs; "Daddy, daddy."

Now as it happens Lisa never knew me in my rugby days. She would think of me as a soft loving family man smiling and playful which I might ratchet up a few notches for our romantic activity.

She knew the earnest, studious and efficient engineering persona and maybe the competitive guy when we play tennis or card games. I guess she would think of me as a gentle giant perhaps even a little weak for it.

In my younger more arrogant days it was not beyond me to throw my weight around, especially on the rugby field. I wouldn't say I have ever been a violent person. I have always been in control but if the situation demands, I can switch into my "don't fuck with me" mode. I was big back when I was younger and it stood me in good stead then and most backed off. One or two didn't and suffered the consequences but I won't go into that.

In my chosen profession I am a leader and when working overseas dealt with some quite threatening and stressful situations. I will take a commanding situation if I have to. This side of me is no shrinking violet.

Lisa had never experienced this side of me. She was shortly to experience this for the first time.

I suppose an important attribute for engineers is their ability to solve problems. The situation our marriage was now in and the mysterious circumstances leading to it were going to have to draw on this ability in spades.

First step, reunite mother with our son Jimmy.

I took Jimmy outside.

"Oh my god!" Lisa shouts, "Where did you find him?"

The next comment was cold and sarcastic, but I could not help myself.

"I found him down by the stream while your boyfriend was casting offensive matter into your alimentary canal."

There was a sudden silence, followed by a gulp. Lisa turned very pale, turned to the side, bent over and began vomiting.

Without compassion, I said to the cops standing nearby. You guys, I guess will want to have us down the station to make statements. I will ask Carolyn to look after Jimmy while we are there.

Coming back from Carolyn's, Lisa was cleaned up and standing in a trance, sullen and silent, head down, beside the police car. The police were already inside.

I surprised myself in what I said in the next exchange, but the reply from Lisa was to surprise me even more,

It began like this

"Get in the car, Lisa." said in my 'don't fuck with me' tone.

Lisa didn't budge she kept her head down, shoulders hunched. The rage suddenly surged within me and I was apoplectic at this point.

"Get in the car, bitch!" (Bitch, a word that I had never said in front of Lisa in all our married life.)

The policewoman looked a little alarmed and stepped forward.

Lisa looked up briefly wide eyed and very scared. Then appeared to cringe, returning to her earlier state.

Then came her reply.

"Yes sir, sorry sir" in little whispered tones.

I was confused, this did not sound like Lisa speaking.

"What are you fucking saying?"

She spoke up, this time loud, but still in that same little voice and without looking at me.

"Yes sir. James, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!!"

I looked at the policewoman who appeared as puzzled as me. The reply was swimming in my mind. She seemed to be talking to herself. There was no James there. Then who the hell is James? That must be Hera's husband?

Then it dawned on me James, James ........Jimmy, of course!

Without speaking further she dutifully got into the patrol car, all the time avoiding my gaze.

There was something about my voice she was responding to rather than me directly. I said nothing more and for the entire ride to the police station there was silence.

It was now firmly in my head that James could be the father of Jimmy, but how? I tried to think back to the period of conception. I had never thought of it when Lisa announced the pregnancy but I was often out of town for work at that time. I naturally had trusted her.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur. We had to make statements. Carolyn kindly took care of our other two children and offered to look after them for the evening.

Lisa and I hardly spoke to one another and when we did it was cold and monosyllabic.

I knew the manager's wife Hera would be home with her two children. I insisted we visit her. Lisa was to confess to her what she had done and apologise. Lisa screamed that she would not. I reminded her that she was wrecking two marriages and if she had any decency at all she should stop all the lying to everyone and admit her responsibility. I got a "like hell" for a reply.

However I purposely emphasized that despite her being apparently honest in the past she had just been caught lying to the Police. I don't think she had seen herself as doing that. She then relented.

We finally arrived at the house. It was modest, rather shabby bungalow but extremely neat and clean inside. The reception from Hera was not what I expected at all. Lisa and she glared at one another. "Thank you," she said, "but I have known about this since it began."

She went back into her bedroom and brought out a tote bag. You might as well take these seeing you don't plan on coming back. It was a bag full of lingerie. I picked up a couple of items. I had never seen Lisa in anything remotely like them. With that I hastened to leave, dragging Lisa with me. As a parting shot Hera called to us. By the way you had better get that bitch checked out by a doctor. I just got diagnosed with an STD last week.

That comment struck at my core. We got into the car and sped away. Suddenly I completely lost my composure and had to pull over. The tension of the day bubbled over. I began to bawl as I have never done before. It was as though I had just found Lisa dead.

"I love you Lisa so much, why did you do this to me? Why did you do this to your children? What will your parents think? These are not your values. We have been struggling for a bit, but the reason I came home was that we have had a breakthrough and our future should have been assured. I was going to take us all out and celebrate. And then like an absolute shock out of the blue I go looking for you and find you...."

Lisa began to sob as well; she moved over and hugged me. "You mean you did not know we were there before you found us there...Darling you must believe me, I still love you, I haven't fallen out of love."

"What the fuck are you doing with him then?"

... Silence.

"I'll explain when I get home. I don't want to leave you ... truly."

We got home and there began the most surreal night of my life. Neither of us was hungry, I think I just had a sandwich. I took out a bottle of gin and we settled in with G&Ts.

There began waves of sobbing, nausea and periods of lucidity from both of us. Lisa finally opened up and began to talk incessantly to explain her actions. But I had lost my trust in her. She was hiding stuff, and I felt some of what she was saying was outright lying.

She claimed she wanted to get back together and did not want divorce. I said she would have to make amends and there was a lot of damage to repair. I said that she would have to lose James. The elephant in the room was Jimmy. At first she had feigned innocence in this regard but I let it known that if we are to continue all three of our children would have to have DNA tests.

And then there was the STD....Lisa and Hera were obviously not the only women involved.

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