It's Just Dinner with a Friend

We were sitting in the waiting area when the doctor came in.

Mr. Cunningham, as you know by now, your wife took a bad fall down the stairwell at that hotel. She's a mess. She sustained a broken clavicle, a broken left leg and ankle, a couple of fractured ribs and a concussion. The laceration on her head required some staples. I'm guessing she will be here several days for observation after the surgery on her ankle and clavicle. One other thing, Mr Cunningham. Our blood work found trace amounts of HGB in her system. She also had sex within the last three hours from the amount of semen inside her. All this would indicate she was possibly sexually assaulted. Samples were taken and will be given to the police. With the drug in her system and DNA from the semen. Prosecution for sexual assault with this evidence should be a no brainer."

I said, "I work for the DA's office so I'm sure we will be looking at charges even though she was there of her own free will. Can we see her?"

He said, "Give us about thirty minutes. We are still immobilizing her clavicle and splinting her leg and ankle. She had a lot of blood on her from the head wound. The nurse is cleaning her up.

We're making sure we have her pain under control when she wakes up. We have her sedated right now until we see how the concussion progresses."

"Okay,.Thanks, Doctor."

I called one of my investigators and told him to get a police officer and go over to the hotel. I told him to find Simon and get a search warrant for the room.

When we finally were able to see Margot. I could not believe what I saw. The beautiful woman that had left our house six hours earlier was laying in a hospital bed. She had a large bandage on her forehead, both eyes were blacked, her right arm in a sling, and her gorgeous leg splinted resting on pillows. I listened to the beep of her heart monitor and watched the drip from the IV bags. This was the woman I had adored for eighteen years. All this...for what?

My investigator and officers from the city found Simon still sound asleep in the room. He found the paperwork Margot was served on the floor along with her suitcase. I told them to photograph everything and find the drug. I told him to bring me the Separation Agreement and suitcase when he was done.

Simon? Well, Simon is Simon Bridges aka Simon Wilson aka James Bridges aka John Simons. He's a convicted sex offender. He was arrested four times for sexual assault and drug possession. He just got out of prison six months ago. He's on parole.

I thought, "Damn, Margot. You can sure pick em."

We found the HGB in his pocket and more in his overnight bag along with about an ounce of Coke.. His parole officer was notified and a blue warrant issued immediately. Simon was back in jail.

Chapter Four

It was another forty-eight hours before they woke Margot. The doctor told us that she has enough metal in her leg, ankle and clavicle that will no doubt piss off some exuberant TSA screener at the airport someday.

The question is what do I do with her while she's recuperating. The original idea was for her to leave with her new man and never come back. Divorce is a no brainer now as far as I'm concerned. She crossed a line that she can't uncross. Maybe she was drugged and raped...maybe not. One thing for sure, from the sexy lingerie she had on, she had every intention of being with him and fucking him. I'm not sure he would have needed the HGB.

The kids and I talked regarding their mother's recovery.

Jack said, "Dad, you just can't throw her out right now. It's going to be sometime before she can even use crutches with her arm immobilized in a sling healing along with her leg. She's going to be wheelchair bound for at least six to eight weeks. She's going to need help. Allison and I can help. School will be out in a few weeks and we can be here. We may not like her very much right now but she's still our mom."

I saw Allison frown. She's still extremely unhappy with her mother.

I said, "Okay, but here's how this will work. I will move into the shop. It has a full bathroom, a kitchenette and the comforts I need. Your mom can have our old bedroom. That way, you two don't have to move and she has everything she needs close by. We will get a live in nurse to help until she's able to get around. I'll be honest, Kids. I want little or nothing to do with her."

We moved Margot back to the house two days later. She had to have help with most everything so the live in nurse was a Godsend. Allison or Jack took her to her scheduled Doctor's appointments. She and I barely talked at all.

It had been eight weeks since all this occurred. Allison took her to her biweekly appointment. Allison walked in the house crying. Margot made her way to her room without a word and shut the door.

I looked at Allison. I said, "What's wrong, Baby? Did you and your mother have words?"

She said, "Oh, Yeah. We had words. Dad, they did bloodwork today to make sure there were no residual traces of the drug."

"Okay, was she clean?"

Allison said, "Oh, yeah, except for her pain meds, she's drug free ...and eight weeks pregnant. Her fuck buddy knocked her up on top of everything else.

I said, "Holy Shit. When it rains, it pours."

Allison said, "My sentiments exactly. You had a vasectomy years ago so she wasn't on any kind of birth control when ole Simon's pumped his little tadpoles into her snatch. If you remember, the ER doc said she was full of semen. Voila! Mommy's gonna have a baby."

I said, "Allison, don't be gross. It's not a good time for that."

I went to the bedroom and knocked on the door.

I heard, "Go away, Jeff. I just want to die. Please let me die."

I said, "Margot, it's a problem you've got to face. You have options but it's your decision to make."

"You're divorcing me, aren't you?"

"Yes, Margot, you left me no options. You made a choice. Remember I told you there would be consequences to your choices. You left me. I didn't leave you. I asked you not to go. You told me and I quote, "It's just dinner with a friend." Hopefully, you'll be well enough in a few more weeks to find an apartment or house. Your income is sufficient to take care of you. Your company has continued to pay your salary and your insurance is paying your medical bills."

"Jeff, I know it's too little, too late to say I'm sorry and ask you to forgive me but I was trying to back out of the situation I was in when he drugged me. Regarding the baby, I've made a decision. I'm going to have this baby but I'm going to give it up for adoption."

"Margot, that's certainly an option but make sure that's what you want. You only have a small window to terminate the pregnancy. Being it was essentially a rape, you are within your rights to terminate. Past that window, you will have six more months to carry your baby. Your swelling belly will remind you every day of the choices you made that evening."

With tears flowing down her face, she looked at me with those sad eyes and said, "There's no chance for us, is there?"

I shook my head. "Margot, you were the love of my life for eighteen years. I can't turn that off even with your betrayal. I gave you the opportunity to stay home...save your family. Instead, you have a leg that will never be the same and you're pregnant by a convicted sex offender who drugs and rapes women because he likes it. No, Baby, we're done. I will forgive you in time because you're the mother of my children and it's the right thing to do but I could never forget."

Margot moved into her own apartment two weeks later. With therapy and rehab she's walking and getting stronger while her belly swells with her child. Five months later, true to her word, she delivered a baby boy and gave him up to a loving family who are unable to have children. She calls occasionally trying to chat and see if there's anything left of what was us.

I just say, "I'm sorry, Margot, but that ship sailed when you had...

...dinner with a friend.

The End