Independence Day - She objected

Leo's hand snapped away from the car door as quick as lightning, and I opened the door to get in. As I had one foot in the car, Leo said, "This isn't over, dad. You are not divorcing mom, and you are not moving out of the house." With that, he walked to his own car.

Lindsey looked at me, and said, "I suspect this one is going to be messy," and she walked back to the office.

I got into the car and drove to my apartment, making sure I parked the car in a place it could not be seen from the road.

On Sunday, I met with the housekeeper, and we went through my medication, dietary requirements and other items particular to my heart condition. They had a system in place to ensure all medication was taken and all meals met dietary needs.

Things blew up Monday afternoon. Lindsey called me to say Josie had appointed an attorney and their first action was to issue a protection order, saying I was unable to look after myself on my own, and asking the court to place me in Josie and Kirsten's care due to the need to manage my heart condition. A preliminary hearing was set for ten the next morning. Lindsey asked for the details of my doctor and the details of the facility manager, so she could put together a defence.

At ten the next morning, the court hearing was called to order and Josie's attorney stood up saying I was unable to look after myself, that Josie managed my entire medical condition, and I should be placed in her care. Josie was called to the stand and gave a very one-sided view of my inability to do 'anything for myself'.

Things went sideways when Lindsey asked her what she would do with the divorce petition if the order was granted, to which Josie replied, "Cancel it, of course."

Lindsey then turned to the judge and said, "Your honour, this is an attempt to stop a divorce; it has nothing to do with the welfare of my client," and sat down.

Lindsey then called the manager of the facility, who explained that it was assisted living and they had a system in place to ensure medication and dietary requirements were met. She then called my doctor to the stand, who had gone to the facility to review the process and he said it was as good as any he had seen, and had no issues.

The judge looked at Josie's attorney and called him to the bench. After a heated exchange, the judge said, "I am not granting this order, as it is clear the health reasons given are spurious, and the real reason is an attempt to stop the divorce. Everyone is dismissed."

After we left, the doctor turned to me and said, "Give me a call, I was looking over your medication charts and I think we need to review them."

Kirsten was hovering behind Lindsey, and when the doctor left, said, "Dad, this isn't over. You need to get over your ego and get back to mom, or she will get mad at you and actually signs those papers."

I laughed, and said, "Oh please, let her do that, and quickly."

The next day, I was sitting in the doctor's office and he said, "I notice you are still on a very high dose of ACE, which is keeping your blood pressure too low. I think we need to take you off that all together; at your last check-up, your blood pressure was actually too low. "Starting today, I want the dose reduced by ten milligrams a week. I will issue the letter to Mrs. Davidson at your new address."

Over the next two months, my blood pressure medication was reduced to zero. About two weeks after the last dose, Sam and I were sitting watching TV when the manager brought in a lady who was looking to rent one of the apartments. I instantly found her attractive, but the slight stirring in my trousers was a strange, embarrassing, but very enjoyable experience. One that I had not felt in a very long time.

The first hearing on the divorce petition eventually came along after Josie put up every roadblock she could. Lindsey presented the petition as a simple, irreconcilable differences divorce and asked that it be granted without delay. Josie's attorney stood and said the divorce was being caused by a misunderstanding on my part and asked for twelve counselling sessions, which was the maximum in our state, to enable us to work through the issues and to find a way to move forward.

The judge looked at Lindsey and said, "Your client has been married a long time, I think they should see if something can be salvaged." Then, to the court in general, he said, "I order three counselling sessions, then the counsellor to report back to me on progress. The counsellor to be agreed between the parties."

The decision on the counsellor was traumatic. Josie's first suggestion was to use one of her friends from the Golf Club. That was killed instantly, and we eventually settled on a counsellor that Lindsey knew was evenhanded.

The first session went badly from the start. Josie started by saying she had needs and it was unreasonable of me to prevent them being seen to. When I explained that this involved her committing adultery, she freaked, saying it was a simple need and I was not up to the job and how could I expect her to remain faithful in such circumstances. When I produced her letter, which she tried to grab from the counsellor saying it was irrelevant, the counsellor went to town on her, saying she clearly did not see the marriage as one of equals.

The second session was worse, as Kirsten barged in halfway through, demanding the counsellor tell me to stop being selfish, and to tell the judge to stop the divorce.

After the second session, the counsellor wrote to the judge and said there was no point in continuing, as there was no prospect of the marriage being kept together.

For the next three months, Josie's attorney used every procedural tool in the book to delay the divorce; asking for medical and psychiatric evaluations, claiming I was mentally unstable, and that my medication prevented me from making rational decisions.

The final Hail Mary came two days before the final hearing. I had been declared fit to make my own decisions and Lindsey had made an application to the court for this to be the final hearing. An application that was probably going to be granted.

I was sitting in the main room talking to Angela, the new tenant whose presence had caused the stir in my trousers, one evening after dinner. We had become friends and the mutual attraction was growing along with the stirring in my pants. I had spoken to the doctor, again, who explained my dose of ACE was too high, meaning I literally could not pump the blood to my extremities. It turned out Josie had demanded the medication be kept at a high level, thinking it was better for my health.

As we talked, two police officers and a smartly dressed man came and asked who I was. When I gave my name, the man gave me an envelope, saying my children had been granted temporary rights under an enduring power of attorney and I was to be placed in protective custody until the full hearing. As I was physically escorted out of the building, I shouted to Angela to call Lindsey Logan, my attorney and get her to find me.

I was taken to the local hospital where I was placed in a bed in the secure unit. I heard Lindsey at the desk about two hours later, but she was told that the attorneys on the POA had instructed that she was not allowed to see me.

At nine the following morning, Lindsey and the process server entered my room, with a nurse close behind saying, "You are not allowed in here."

The process server turned and handed her a sheet of paper, saying, "This is a power of attorney saying we have the right. If you obstruct me, as an officer of the court, I can use whatever means necessary to gain access. And believe me, after what happened to him last night, I will not be gentle with you."

The nurse stepped aside very quickly, and Lindsey came to me, saying, "Get up quick, and get out of here, they will try and stop this."

The process server undid the handcuffs, and we literally ran out of the hospital and into a taxi. Lindsey took me to her house and sat me down with a coffee, to explain.

I had signed a POA for my children at the time of my heart attack. It gave them rights to make decisions over my medical care and finances, in the event I was incapacitated. They activated it yesterday, saying I was mentally incapacitated and had me put in the hospital. They had a hearing today at ten AM, and if they could keep me out of it, they would be granted control over me and all my legal affairs. Lindsey's plan was to have me in the court, but as the children had notified the police that I was a danger to myself and others, we had to be careful.

We left Lindsey's house at nine-forty-five, and took a taxi to the court, entering through a back door. At ten o'clock, the case was called and when Lindsey walked in to the court and took the table for my defence, Kirsten's attorney objected saying she had been dismissed under the POA and she could not represent me.

Lindsey stood up and said, "Please ask Mr. Mulholland himself," and called me in.

The children jumped up, but the judge told them to be seated. I had a right to be there. Then the judge looked at me and said, "You are not infirm, why has this case been brought?"

Lindsey stood up and said, "My client is in the process of divorcing his wife and this is a naked attempt at preventing him from doing that."

The judge looked in his papers and said, "Why is the divorce not mentioned in these papers. This is a clear misuse of the POA, I dismiss this case. Miss Logan, when is the hearing for the divorce?"

She replied, "In about one hour."

The judge looked at the children's attorney, and said, "If there is an objection to the decree on the divorce, both of your clients are going to county for twenty-one days."

The divorce went through without a hitch, and three months later, I was a single man.

What happened to Angela? Well, the night of the divorce decree, we had a party and as we danced, everything started to work. Before either of us knew what was happening, we were in bed and we consummated the friendship.

We aren't going at it like rabbits, but once a week for this heart attack victim, keeps us both happy.