John: How to Save a Life

He had more. "I found out through the land and property registry that she owns a condo in a residential building close to her office. She bought it almost two years ago and has just about paid for it. She has a bank account, at that bank that you told me about, that has a current balance of $321,000. She is depositing 75% of her commissions from her work as a real estate agent. She's made big sales in the last three years, mostly commercial stuff, and by the looks of her sales she is the top grossing agent at the company. They've offered her a partnership but she refused it. We can't find a reason why she turned that down."

Bob took a drink of water before he continued. "I have the names and backgrounds of the two men she is seeing. They're likely the latest in her...history, with other men. Both men live in the city. One is married and has a family and the other is single. I get a sense that your wife is planning a move, of some sort, in the next few months. While I don't have any concrete information on her exact plans, it looks like she is preparing for something. The hidden condo and the hidden money are all tell-tale signs that a person is planning for a big change. Just when she is planning on revealing that to you, I don't know. It could be soon, it could be months or years or it could be never."

With that he looked at me and handed me a folder with his written report and the other information that he had been able to gather.

Roy said, "Good work, Bob. If we need anything further I'll give you a call." With that, Bob left us. I sat there dumbfounded that Andrea had expanded her extra-marital sex to two men.

"What the hell do I do, Roy?" I looked at him as if my life had taken a further turn down the road to hell.

Roy looked at me with a studied countenance, that said that he was likely going to suggest that he get the divorce paperwork ready to go. After some discussion, we agreed that divorce was likely getting closer; but I wasn't ready to pull the trigger just yet. I still had my three daughters to worry about and I wanted to make very sure that I was in a position to have full custody of them post any divorce or separation. That was not a negotiable part of any of this.

Roy exhaled deeply and opened his mouth to offer his advice. "John, what do you want to do?" That was it? "You have a lot to think about, here. I recommend that you mull this over in your mind for a few days. There is no rush. If Andrea does something drastic, then we can get the divorce petition filed and delivered to her in a matter of hours. Unless you have major changes to make, I know exactly what you want and in fact, the documents are already drafted. All you need to do is call me and in a matter of a few hours, the poop will hit the propeller." Roy actually smiled when he said that last part.

I nodded my head, thanked him and left his office. Indeed, I had a lot to think about. I would think of nothing else for the next three days.

All the while that I was thinking about what Andrea was actually doing, I was watching her closely to see if I could notice anything, anything at all, that was different about her. She still greeted me every time with a kiss on the lips and she still mothered the girls in the same way that she always does. There wasn't a thing that I could identify that would explain the fact that she had bought a hidden condo downtown. I figured that she wanted it as a love-nest, of some sort. A place to hide her activity from me.

We still had that relationship agreement in place. I mean, we hadn't actually talked about it for months, but I suppose it meant that she had the right to have a lover. That I had agreed to it. It also meant that I had the right to have a lover. That Andrea had agreed to it.

So, where does that leave us?

**********

Week 83

Jane

Okay, this is new. I stopped taking my birth control pills a couple of months ago when I made the decision that I wanted a child in my life. I really want a husband and father to go with that child, but for now I'll have to make do with just the baby part. The husband part will follow, I think, when all the dust settles.

Now, I'm not stupid and I have resources available to me in the legal world. I also have lots of colleagues that are able to get me other resources when I want them. One of those resources was able to tell me that John had already contacted a divorce lawyer some time ago and had gotten the preliminary work done to put together the outline of the potential divorce between John and his wife, Andrea. I had made some discreet inquiries about Andrea and it wasn't long before I knew pretty much what she was up to.

I knew that she had bought herself a place to live in the downtown, not far from her office. I knew that she paid cash for the place and that meant that she was squirrelling away money from John. I knew that this was the work of a woman who was planning on ambushing her husband. This was what people did to hide their true intentions.

I also knew that John was going to be the father of my child. He knows that I want a child. He knows that I want him to be the father. I want the man in my bed for more than just a few hours at a time. I want him there permanently. I don't want to share him with another woman, a woman that wants more than one man in her life at a time to satisfy her sexual needs. I can't for the life of me figure out why she needs that. John is all man. He is already the father of her children. The man is a tiger in bed and also knows how to make love to a woman. He can be rough and he can be gentle. I can't get enough of him. He's smart and talented and loves children. He loves me. I love him.

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Week 85

Andrea

Why can't John just accept that I need more than him. I plan to continue to be a good wife to him and mother to our children; but I need more than what one man can give me. I don't know how to explain it. It's a craving that has to be satisfied in order for me to be happy. If I don't get my craving satisfied, my itch scratched, my universe is not spinning the right way. When I do have my needs met, I function at a much better level. My brain makes decisions quickly. I'm making a shit-ton of money. The little place I bought downtown was to give me a more secure place to enjoy myself as I get my needs met with Rob and Tom. Oh yes, forgot to mention that Tom is also one of my afternoon pleasures. Tom is a new real estate agent at our company and just moved to the area. I've been letting him stay at my downtown place until he gets his own place to live in.

John and the girls don't see any difference in me. I'm still his wife and their mother. I still love John and I know that he loves me. So what if I manage to get my other needs met in a way that doesn't impact my family. John understands, he and I have a written agreement. We worked out the logistics of it all. I got to have my fun and he gets to have his. I'm not sure if he's seeing anyone. With our busy schedules we hardly get a chance to talk at all most weeks. If he is seeing another woman, then that's so much the better for both of us. I get mine, he gets his and we carry on with our daughters.

Someday, I'll give it up and we will be just for each other. I know we will. John understands. I think.

**********

Week 92

Jane

The last few mornings I woke up and didn't feel well. I normally love my morning cup of coffee to start my day, but lately the coffee has been going down and coming right back up. I knew what it meant. So, I stopped at my local pharmacy on the way home from work and picked up a test kit. It would confirm what I already knew. I called John to tell him that I was going to take the test and I wanted him to come over. He was at my door after supper, amazingly with his three daughters in tow. I suppose it was fitting that his children be there for the unveiling of the test to see if they were going to have a half-sibling.

John's daughters were no strangers to me. We had done activities together many times in the last year. I knew them well enough to know about the activities that they were involved in and how they were doing in school. John's oldest daughter, Diane, was, in my estimation far more mature than her 12 years. She was smart and had an ability to see and understand what was going on in her father and mother's life. She was a keen a observer and knew that her family was slowly changing and that something big was in the works for them all.

After the girls got settled in the kitchen, I took John by the hand and we went to the bathroom off my bedroom. I pulled out the test kit and and said, "Okay, the moment of truth." We both looked at each other and I sat on the toilet and peed on the test strip. After washing my hands I took the piece of white plastic and handed it to John. "Well, what does it say?"

John looked at for a few seconds and then, "What it says is that you, and I, are gong to be parents. Congratulations Mom!"

**********

John

Jane and I went to see her doctor and she confirmed that Jane was indeed pregnant. She calculated about six weeks. It was a signal to me to get my shit in order and do some things that were needed. It was something that was a long time in coming, but it was now very necessary.

**********

Week 94

John

Bob, the investigator updated me on what Andrea was doing with her stable of lovers. There really wasn't any change in her behaviour. Now was the time for me to act.

I knew where her condo was located and had done a reconnaissance of it to see how to get in the place without being obvious. She had underground parking and you needed key fobs to get in the building and the parking garage. I went with the straight-forward approach, no need for subterfuge. I went to the building and waited until I saw her drive in. I gave her time to park and go up to her unit. I went to the front door entrance and scrolled through the directory until I found her name. She was listed as A. Leighton. She was using her maiden name. I rang the phone and waited for an answer. It took a couple of minutes but a man answered.

"Hello."

"I'm looking for Andrea Stewart."

"Ah, no one here by that name."

"Yes there is. How about Andrea Leighton, then."

"Ah..."

"Just tell her that it's her husband. I'm John Stewart, in case you weren't aware. She is the mother of my three daughters." My frustration level was going up fast and I had to tell myself to be calm and not do, or say, something that would make things worse.

I could hear whispering in the background and and an audible 'oh fuck' that came through, loud and pretty clear.

"Just put her on the phone, or intercom, or whatever-the-fuck you're talking on."

There was a further delay and finally Andrea spoke. "John, what, what are you, doing here?"

"Never mind Andrea, just unlock the door so I can come up and we can talk."

It took a minute but finally the door buzzed. I took the elevator to her floor and looked for her unit. I got there and knocked on the door. I could hear some muffled voices and figured that there was a lot of scrambling to get dressed and for her to try to figure a way out of the confrontation that was about to take place. Finally the door opened. I was greeted by a young man with very big eyes. He was looking at me, clearly fearful that I had a violent intent.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to do anything to you. I want to talk to my wife and it might be best if you were not here. So, why don't you go somewhere else for a while. I'm sure she will call you when you can come back."

The man looked at Andrea and she looked back, "It's okay Tom, go and get some coffee. I'll call you."

He looked at me with his worried expression and grabbed his suit jacket and left the apartment. I walked in and looked around the living room. After a few seconds, I gestured with my right hand, "nice place."

Andrea was looking at me as if she was the cat that ate the canary. The look of guilt on her face told me pretty much all I needed to know. "Do you have something to drink?"

Finally she nodded. I said, "Why don't you pour yourself something and I would like a glass of ice water, please."

She was looking at my left hand like I was carrying a bomb or a big gun. I was holding a large envelop. Our future was in that envelope.

I took off my suit jacket and put it over the back of a chair and sat down. Andrea went to her kitchen to get her wine and I could hear ice being put in a glass and then the faucet running. She came back and handed me the glass of water. "Sweetie, why did you come here? Being here isn't going to do any good for you."

I looked at her with an expression that said 'really?' "You know why I'm here. Stop fooling yourself that you can be married to me, have a family and have two lovers, all at the same time, and there not be consequences. You're not that unaware."

She took a sip, a gulp really, of her wine. I looked her square in eyes. She was noticeably uncomfortable and looked at the table for the longest time. The silence in the the room was deafening. Finally she spoke. "What's in the envelope?"

I was channelling my inner Roy and looked at Andrea with my sternest expression. I wanted her to be very afraid right then. "I'm really disappointed by you. I expected better. You took me for a fool. Last year I gave you what you wanted. I made it okay for you to have a boyfriend on the side. I looked the other way. I did nothing to jeopardize our family life. I went so far as think that eventually you would get it out of your system and we could be a regular family again. But...that didn't go very far. You decided that I wasn't the husband that you wanted. That our family life wasn't what you wanted."

Andrea interrupted me, "No, sweetie, that's not it at all!"

"Oh come on! That's bullshit, and you know better than try to sell that story!" I was getting worked up at that point.

"If it's not 'it' at all, then what is this place? Tell me." Andrea was looking at her hands.

"And then I find out that you're building up your secret bank account." Her head popped up like a jack-in-the-box at that statement.

"How, how, did you find out about that?"

"I have friends at the bank, too, you know."

She stammered, "It was a fund for us to retire on and for the girls education."

I gave her my incredulous look to say that what she was trying to sell was more bullshit.

"Oh Please! Be honest with me. You fully intended to hide money from me. You have another life, here, with your boyfriend and your 'itch-scratchers' and it sure looks to me that you fully intend to bolt and run from your family. We hardly ever see you at home anymore. You come and go at odd hours, I guess I know why. The girls never see you. They've been asking me where you've been."

The expression on Andrea's face said it all -- busted. She knew that her game had been exposed. She knew that the consequences of her decisions were coming back to her. Her game-plan was now out-the-window so she made the decision in an instant to stop tying to bluff me. She knew it would do no good. She took a drink. "What do you want to do John?"

I picked up the envelope that I was holding and pushed it across the table to her. "Have a look."

Andrea looked at it, for what seemed like an eternity, and then slowly picked it up and stared at it. She unwound the string that held the tabs at the top together and pulled out the contents.

On top was the relationship agreement that we had signed last year. I'd taken a black marker and made a line across the front page and wrote 'VOID.' She put that aside and then looked at the next document: Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. Andrea sat back in her chair and took a large drink of her wine. She looked up at me with a deer-in-the-headlights look that said that she didn't really believe that this was happening.

She looked at the top page for a moment and sighed. I quietly said, "I've had my lawyer work out what is a very favourable resolution for both of us." I paused for a few seconds. "It's pretty clear to me what your intent is." I left that hanging out there to see what Andrea would say. She was quiet. I pushed on, "The girls and I will stay in the house. I want to make sure that they're as unaffected by this as much as I possibly can." I let out a big sigh. I was waiting for Andrea to say...something; to react in some way, but there was only silence from her.

We sat at her table for a few minutes and then finally I had to push a bit, "Say something for fucks sake! What the hell is going on in your mind? Why are you doing this? I realize now that you don't love me anymore, but at least your children! You must care about them." I was pleading with Andrea at this point to say something. I needed to understand just what I had done to drive her away. How have I failed her as a husband? Nothing.

Without looking at me she said, "I won't agree to a divorce. I still want you and my children. We're still a family. This is all just something that I need for just a little while. It's separate from you and me."

I laughed, "Really? You think that you can live here with your lovers and pretend that we still have a marriage? When was the last time you and I had sex?"

Andrea stammered a bit and tried to come up with a time. "It was just a few weeks ago."

I grimaced. "No it wasn't. It was months ago. In fact it was eight months ago. That's how little time you spend with your family. When was the last time you had sex with Tom?"

I waited for an answer. There wasn't one. "I'm betting you were just starting when I came here to your condo. I bet you had to get dressed before you let me in." No reply.

"So, don't give me your bullshit about loving me and wanting to to keep our family as your priority. Your actions speak louder than anything you say and you have told me and the girls, loud and clear, that we're not your priority."

I took a big gulp of the water. "So, have your lawyer look at the divorce agreement and talk to my lawyer, his card is in the envelope."

I stood up to get ready to go. "I'm not going to say anything to your parents, so you can tell them whatever you want to tell them. Just don't make me out to be the villain here or I will make sure that they get told the truth."

I got to the door. "You have a week to get your lawyer to talk to my lawyer and then we file with the court." I opened the door to leave, "You can call your boyfriend and tell him he can come back now." I closed the door and went home to my daughters.

**********

Andrea

I don't know how John found out about the condo and my secret bank account. I've been building it up now since I went back to work after our third daughter was born. I added most of my commissions and bonuses to the account and it wasn't before long that I had over $400,000 built up in it.

I decided at first to buy the condo as an investment and then when I was making Thursday afternoons a regular thing with Rob we started meeting there. There wasn't much furniture there but over time I bought some things to make the place comfortable. When Tom and I started seeing each other and he needed a place to live, I let him move in there. I figured that it would only be for a few weeks, until he found a place to live, but it's been a few months now, and he's still here.

John surprised me when he turned up here with that damned envelope with the divorce papers. He wasn't supposed to know about this place. I had my lawyer look at the divorce agreement and she was surprised that John wanted full custody of the girls. Normally in this state the courts give custody to the mother. She would try to get that fixed and threaten John with a counter proposal that would essentially bankrupt him once the house, mortgage, child support and alimony were paid. I didn't tell my lawyer about my condo and other financial resources that I had. As well, I played down my income showing her only my official tax returns. I know that if the firm has to produce their records I will get screwed in the deal.