Fallout 06: Accident

"How do you know this guy?" Rhonda asked.

"Friend of mine got a divorce a while back," Jennie said. "He was her attorney. Trust me, this guy is good. My friend said her ex was lucky to walk out of the courtroom with his ass still attached to his body."

"Sounds like my kind of attorney," Rhonda said. That afternoon, they went to his office. Rhonda wasn't sure what she expected, but thought she had made a mistake when they walked into his office. He was short -- about five foot seven -- balding, somewhat plump, with thick coke-bottle glasses. In short (no pun intended), he looked like the stereotypical bookworm -- the kind of guy who got sand kicked in his face at the beach. He listened quietly as Rhonda told her story.

"And you say he's in the hospital now? In a coma?" he asked.

"That's right," Rhonda said.

"Alright, well, the first thing I think we need to do is mitigate your potential financial liability," he said. "From what you just told me, your husband could be facing two very nasty lawsuits on top of potential criminal liability." He pulled out a checklist and handed it to her.

"With your husband being in a coma right now, this is the perfect time to get things started," he said. "I need you to get back home and take care of the items on this checklist -- the sooner, the better. I'll start the paperwork for your divorce and should have it ready to go in a couple days. I'm assuming you want to file on the grounds of adultery. Also, try to find out if this Carlisle fella plans to file a lawsuit. I'll try to find out about the driver of the other car and see if I can learn what the DA plans to do. Any questions?"

"What about my husband's car?" Rhonda asked. He shrugged his shoulders.

"What about it?" he asked. "If the DA plans to prosecute, he'll probably want it as evidence. If he decides to release it, the insurance company will probably total it. That's actually the least of your worries, in my opinion. We'll deal with that later. The first thing we gotta do is protect your assets."

After discussing the case, Rhonda paid a retainer and the two girls left the office. On the way back to Jennie's house, Rhonda got a call from a number she didn't recognize.

"Hello," she said when she answered the phone.

"Mrs. Green, this is Fred Carlisle. Can we get together for a bit later today?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure, Fred," she told him. "Where would you like to meet?"

"My place, if that's okay with you," he said.

"Yeah, that's okay," she said. "Is it okay if my sister comes with me?"

"Sure," he said before giving her his address. She wrote it down and handed it to Jennie, who nodded.

"We can be there in 20 minutes," Jennie said.

"Twenty minutes, is that alright, Fred?" she asked.

"That's fine," he told her. "I'll see you then."

"What was that all about?" Jennie asked when Rhonda ended the call.

"I'm not sure," Rhonda answered.

"Well, we'll find out when we get there, I guess," Jennie said. Twenty minutes later, the two girls walked up the steps and knocked on Fred's door. He opened the door and invited them inside.

"Thank you for coming by," he said. "Can I get you two something to drink? Coke? Tea?"

"Tea sounds good, please," Rhonda said. He went into the kitchen and came back with three bottles of green tea and handed them out.

"Have a seat, please," he said. The girls sat down and waited for Fred to continue. He seemed nervous about something.

"Mrs. Greene," he began.

"Please call me Rhonda," she said. He nodded his head.

"Rhonda," he said. "I know you've been through a lot, so please bear with me."

"Of course, Fred," she said. "By the way, where are your kids?"

"They're with their mother's parents," he said. Rhonda found his deliberate choice of words interesting. "In case you're wondering, they're not mine."

"I see," Rhonda said. "Did you adopt?"

"No," he said. "They're my wife's children. That's part of my explanation. Look, I know it was your husband who drove that car, and technically, he's responsible for what happened to Angela. I've been hounded all day by ambulance-chasers wanting to take my case. I told them all to go away and leave me alone. Yes, your husband killed my wife, but I want you to know that I'm not taking any action against you."

"Thank you, Fred, you have no idea what that means to me," Rhonda said.

"The truth is, Rhonda, your husband freed me from six and a half years of hell," he said.

"I don't quite understand, Fred," she said. He got up and walked to a small desk, then came back with a photo. Rhonda looked at it when he handed it to her. It was a photo of a much younger Angela and Fred. But the Fred in the photo bore little resemblance to the man standing in front of her. The man in the photo was fit and muscular, unlike the thin shell of a man standing before her.

"What happened, Fred?" she asked.

"That was Angela and I shortly after we got married ten years ago," he said. "We had a great marriage at the time, or at least I thought we did. About seven years ago, she went to a weekend spa retreat with three of her friends. When she came back, she was a totally different person. And not for the better. She was a complete bitch. It was as if the good Angela was sucked out of my wife's body and an evil Angela took her place.

"She made it clear to me that she would be taking lovers whether I liked it or not. And she threatened to destroy me personally if I filed for divorce. I started getting letters from something called the Mutual Marital Assurance Society, but I never responded to them since I never heard of them. Eventually, the letters quit coming. I asked Angela about them, but she claimed ignorance, so I tossed them in the trash.

"Six years ago, I came home and was ambushed right here in my own living room by a couple of big guys. I tried to fight them off, but they injected me with something. I woke up tied to a chair in my bedroom. They had removed my clothes and shaved all the hair off my body except for my eyelashes. Then they put something in my mouth and started hitting me with canes. Finally, Angela came into the bedroom and informed me that things would be much different from then on.

"I was forced to watch as those two guys took turns screwing my wife. The whole time, she put me down and laughed at me, calling me a wimp. When they finished, she rubbed their gunk all over me and called me her little cuckold. Her lovers beat me as I sat tied in that chair. When they left, she told me that she was in charge and I was never to question her about anything.

"Some time after that, I bought a gun," he added, holding up a .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol. "The only place I carried it was here in the house. I told Angela if she or her fuck buddies ever tried doing what they did before I would blow their heads off. She believed me but that didn't stop her.

"She deliberately had sex with other men and had their children. I refused to sign the birth certificates since it was obvious I am not their father. I also got DNA tests to prove they weren't mine. She wanted me to raise them as mine but I refused. I never abused them or neglected them, but I never treated them as mine. I treated them as I would anyone's children. But not mine. Suffice it to say as they grew older, Angela taught them to disrespect me every chance they could.

"She went to work for your husband and set her sights on him early on. Yeah, he had sex with her -- a lot. Sometimes, right here in this house, in her bed. But she was just as eager for it as he was, and frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if she blackmailed him into it. You should know, Rhonda, that your husband had sex with a number of women, not just Angela. I'm sorry to have to tell you that.

"I started noticing changes in my own body about four years ago or thereabouts. At first, I thought it was just from age or stress. God knows there was enough of that around here. Imagine sleeping behind a locked door with a loaded gun under your pillow. Now I know it was something else. I started seeing doctors about it but they had no answers for me. About three months ago, I went to a specialist and he ran several tests on me. It turned out Angela had been giving me something. I guess she put it in my food and over time, this is what happened," he said.

"Why would she do that?" Rhonda asked.

"It was her way of keeping control over me," he said. "I believe it was that MMAS bunch that gave it to her. I did a search and ran across a website where guys could report this kind of thing. So I filed a report. The specialist I saw also reported it. Said it was part of a new federal law or something. I got a visit from some federal agent who said they've been getting a number of reports like mine."

"Did they do anything?" Rhonda asked.

"They verified the doctor's test results and were going to arrest her this week," he said. "But she was killed in that accident. So you see, your husband doesn't know it, but by killing her, he saved my life."

"Oh my God," Jennie said.

"So what are you going to do now?" Rhonda asked.

"I've taken a four month leave of absence from my job and I'm going to a camp up north," he said.

"What do you intend to do with the children?" Rhonda asked.

"They'll stay with their grandparents from now on," he said. "I thought about giving them a choice -- either stay with the grandparents, go to an orphanage or live on the street. I ultimately decided to simply take them to Angela's folks."

"Did you tell them what happened to their mother?" Jennie asked.

"Yes, I told them their bitch mother was killed in an accident and wouldn't be coming home ever again," he said. "I know that may sound cold, but you don't know what it's been like around here."

"They must've taken that pretty hard," Rhonda said.

"They did," he said. "They started crying, saying they wanted their mother. I got angry and told them to shut up and suck it up. I told them to never forget that life's a bitch, and then you die."

"Maybe you should write a book on how to explain life and death to young children," Jennie said sarcastically.

"Look, I know it sounds cruel, but in all fairness, you don't know squat until you've walked in my shoes for a couple years," he said.

"So, I guess you're not going to file a lawsuit, then?" Rhonda asked, trying to change the subject.

"Nope," he said. "If anything, I should thank your husband for ending my misery."

"I see," Rhonda said. "What about your wife's funeral? That's going to cost a lot of money."

"There won't be a funeral," he said. "I donated her body to science. Her parents didn't like it, but that's too damn bad. Maybe the brainiacs can figure out what turned her into such a cunt. Excuse my language."

"That's alright," Rhonda said. "I understand. So, when do you go up north?"

"First of the month," he said. "That'll give me time to sell or burn all of her crap and deal with her final expenses."

"I see," Rhonda said. "Well, I think we'd better get going. Thanks for having us over, Fred. Good luck with your camp. If there's anything I can do, please let me know."

"Thanks, Rhonda," he said. "I appreciate you letting me vent. It's been a while. And good luck to you as well."

"Thank you, Fred," she said. She stood, and Jennie followed her lead. They left and drove back to Jennie's house.

"Now there's a man with some serious anger management issues," Jennie said.

"Perhaps, but I can understand how he feels," Rhonda said. "You have no idea what it's like when your spouse cheats on you and disrespects you."

"I guess you're right about that," Jennie said. "I got lucky in that department."

"No, you just have a husband who truly loves you," Rhonda said.

"So, when are you heading back up to Wichita Falls?" Jennie asked.

"I probably should get going this evening," Rhonda said. "That way I can get an early start on this checklist Durwood gave me."

"Okay," Jennie said. "Just give me a call when you get there, and let me know if you hear anything from the hospital."

"I will, and thanks for letting me stay," Rhonda said. That evening, she made the two-hour trip home, grabbed a burger, then went to bed. The next day, she began going down Durwood's checklist, taking care of everything he suggested she do. As he requested, she sent him an update on a daily basis.

A week later, she got a call from Dr. Kim's office letting her know that Jake was starting to wake up from his coma and that the good doctor wanted to see her as soon as possible. She called Jennie, made arrangements through her work, then called Durwood's private cell.

"Good morning, Rhonda," he said when he answered.

"Good morning, Durwood," she said. "I heard that Jake is waking up and the doctor wants to see me, so I'm on my way down there now."

"Good," he said. "I have some news for you as well. Ronald Schmidt, the man driving the other car, plans to sue your husband for medical expenses, lost wages and punitive damages. I spoke to his attorney and from what he tells me, they're probably going to ask for at least a million dollars."

"Damn," Rhonda said.

"On top of that, the District Attorney told me that when Jake is released from the hospital, he plans to file charges for criminal neglect and vehicular manslaughter," Durwood said. "Your husband could find himself in jail for quite a while if he gets convicted."

"Good," Rhonda said. "At least he'll be off the road." Durwood chuckled at that.

"Yes, indeed he will," he said. "Anyway, the divorce papers are ready to be filed and served, so let me know when you're in town, and we'll get things rolling."

"Why don't I come by your office tomorrow morning," she said. "I have no idea how long I'll be with the doctor."

"That works for me," he said. "I'll let my receptionist know and we'll see you first thing in the morning."

"Okay, Durwood, thanks," she said, ending the call. She loaded up enough stuff for a week, topped off her gas tank and headed south. When she got to Jennie's house, she unloaded her things, said hello to her sister, then went to the hospital to see Dr. Kim.

She sat there as the doctor explained the extent of his injuries. She looked at the X-rays and the charts and saw that Jake was indeed, in a world of hurt. Her eyes glazed over as Dr. Kim explained what was happening to her soon-to-be ex-husband. She barely heard him tell her of a surgical procedure Jake would need.

"Mrs. Greene, are you getting all this?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to process it all," she said. "So, what if he doesn't have this procedure? What happens?"

"Well, your husband's chances of recovery without it are slim," he said. "They'll be a little better once we've done the procedure. But I have to warn you, it's still somewhat experimental."

"Which means it'll be seen as an elective surgery not covered by his insurance," she said. "How much will this cost?" He slid a sheet of paper in front of her with a set of figures. Her eyes widened when she saw it.

"You gotta be kidding," she said.

"I'm afraid not," he said. "Tell me, Mrs. Greene, I'm aware of the circumstances behind your husband's hospitalization. What are your intentions?"

"I intend to divorce him as soon as he's out of here," she said. "I also understand the DA has charges pending against him as well."

"But until then, you're still responsible for his health care," he said. "What do you want us to do?"

"It's on me, is it?" she asked. He nodded his head as she continued. "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not feeling all that hospitable toward him right now."

"But he could die if he doesn't have this done," the doctor said.

"We all die, Doctor," she said. "Someone told me not that long ago that life's a bitch, then you die. None of us get out of this alive."

"Perhaps," he said. "Mrs. Greene, I'm beginning to think that maybe we should find someone else to be responsible for your husband's care. Is there a parent or a sibling we can speak to?"

"No," she said. "Both of his parents are in an assisted living facility. They have Alzheimer's and don't even remember his name. There's no one else."

"I see," he said. "Please, give this some careful thought. Try to set your marital problems aside for a little bit. We're talking about a man's life here. But don't take too long."

"I'll think about it, doctor," she said. "Can I go see him now?"

"Yes, he's awake, but he can't speak too well," Dr. Kim said. She went to his room and looked in on him. This was the first time she had seen him since before he left for his latest trip over a week ago. He looked like hell in the hospital bed, bandages and casts covering most of his body. His eyes were open, but not by much. She walked to his side and looked down at him.

"This is a helluva mess you've gotten yourself into, Jake," she said. "They tell me they had to fish your dick out of Angela Carlisle's mouth. They reattached it, but you'll never get full use of it again. Oh, she's dead, by the way. Her husband said to thank you for liberating him from her.

"The District Attorney is also looking to file criminal charges against you. Criminal Neglect, Vehicular Manslaughter, Reckless Endangerment, and whatever else he can come up with. The driver of the car you ran into is also suing you for a shitload of money. And yes, I'm divorcing your sorry ass. I told you I would if you ever cheated on me again," she said.

"S...Sorry," he croaked through dry lips. She shook her head.

"You lied to me, repeatedly, you fucked around with multiple women, killed a woman, put another man in the hospital and destroy our marriage, and all you can say is, 'sorry?' Are you kidding me?" she asked, angrily.

"P...Please," he began. She waved him off.

"Oh shut up, asshole," she said. "I'm done with you. You remember what I told you the last time I caught you fucking around on me? Guess what, buster? It's time for you to pay the piper. Your ass is grass and I'm the fucking lawnmower." His eyes grew wide as she spoke. O, by the way, I spoke with the doctor before I came up here. Wanna know what he told me?"

"What?" Jake asked.

"He said, you're gonna die, asshole," she whispered in his ear. She smiled as his eyes widened and his face turned white. "Enjoy Hell, motherfucker," she added before standing up. "Later days," she shot at him as she walked out of his room.

...

Epilogue:

Rhonda woke up in her sister's guest room when her phone rang. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was 3:30 am. She picked up the phone and answered the call.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Mrs. Greene, this is Julie from Parkland Hospital. I'm sorry to inform you that your husband has passed away. Could you please come to the hospital?" the woman at the other end asked.

"Sure, on my way," she said before ending the call. She got up, showered and dressed. Jennie met her in the hallway.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"That was the hospital," Rhonda said. "Jake's passed away."

"Oh no," Jennie said. "Let me get dressed, I'll go with you." The two girls made their way to the hospital and went to the area where Jake's room was. They met Julie and John Williams, the doctor on call that night.

"What happened?" Rhonda asked.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Greene," Dr. Williams said. "Your husband had a massive heart attack. He was gone before anything could be done. We have the paperwork here to release his body to you."

"I don't want it," she said.

"But," Dr. Williams began before Rhonda cut him off.

"I said, I don't want it," she said firmly. "Donate his body to science or something."

"Well, alright, if that's what you want," he said. "Julie will take care of the paperwork for you. Again, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, thanks," she said. Later that day, she met with Durwood and passed on the news.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we haven't filed the divorce papers yet," he said. "Did your husband have a will?"