Killing Me Softly Pt. 03

This is a little intense, but it's what I think is his mindset.

The Family

...............................

Friday dawned cold in Chicago, almost as cold as in my house. The kids flew in from the East and West coast. My son brought his soon-to-be fiance with him. I hoped he had made the right decision. This encounter would be a very emotional discussion.

Their mother was still living in the hotel, and they did not understand why. I told them they would have to talk with her tomorrow.

They asked where she was. "She is currently residing at the Peninsula hotel. If you want to see her or speak to her, try there."

"I've tried to, dad. It says her cellphone doesn't work anymore. Why would that be??"

"It's disconnected. Call her work, or leave a message at the front desk. I wonder why she hasn't called you yet? HMMM. Interesting."

My daughter looked at my son and his fiance and asked: "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON???"

"Your mother has a problem. I am not at liberty to discuss it. Talk to her. Please. You'll know why if she talks to you."

They tried to get hold of her, to no avail. Through her secretary, she said she would talk to them Saturday morning, at 10:00 a.m.

I took the kids out to dinner, and we had a pleasant if slightly strained time.

Saturday morning dawned clear and cold, as was Chicago's want this time of year. 10:00 rolled around, and the kids had coffee and waited for their mother to put in an appearance. She showed, with the Honorable Kathleen O'Hara in tow.

"Really, Sophia? Did you bring your lawyer? In from of the kids??"

"My client did not want any smears to her character in front of her children."

"Your funeral."

I ushered them into the living room. The kids rushed to greet their mother, wanting to know what was going on.

"No questions for my client," said Ms. O'Hara

.

"WHAT?? WHO THE HELL IS THIS, MOM??" "I am Ms. Sophia Dawe's attorney. Your father is suing her for divorce."

Ballgame. I just sat there grinning and said nothing.

Steve had told me if this happened to say nothing but the truth or nothing at all. In hindsight, it seemed like good advice.

My son started first.

"What the hell is she talking about, Mom?"

"Please. Address all questions to me."

"What is she talking about, mother?" asked Ashley.

"Address me, Ms. I am your female parent's spokesperson."

"Mother, is this true??"

"Ms. Barron, I will not instruct you again."

That's When Tara spoke up, "SHUT UP, BITCH!!"

Suffice it to say, MS. O'Hara was slightly shaken. "And just who are you???"

"I am Mss Tara Longoria; I am Mr. Micheal Barron Junior's fiance. That makes me family, which is more than I can say for YOU!!"

WELL, this was getting interesting. Micheal Jr.'s mother was not aware of this. Actually, I was not mindful of its severity, but now I noticed the diamond on her left hand. I grinned, rose from my seat, and approached my new soon-to-be daughter-in-law. I pulled her into a bear hug and kissed her on the cheek. I turned to my grinning son, hugged him, and shook his hand.

"Congratulations, son!"

He grinned again and said, "Careful, old man. You know she's spoken for." All this while his mother was going catatonic.

"Oh, My Baby!" said Sophia.

"Sorry, Mom, You have to talk through your mouthpiece."

She choked. Ms. O'Hara said, "I think we are done here," and stood to leave. That's it; I'd had it.

"SIT DOWN, BITCH!! This is a family meeting. She knew that, and she brought a lawyer anyway. You can either keep quiet or leave. Her children and I want to talk to Sophia. Capisce??"

It had gotten quiet. Ms. O'hara sat down with a chagrinned look on her face.

"Now, Sophia, other than what was said here today, I have not said anything to our children. YET. I am giving you the first shot. Don't screw this up too."

I shot a warning look to the lawyer as she opened her trap. She immediately closed it.

She blushed and stuttered and finally said, "Your father wants a divorce."

Micheal shot me a look that would usually kill. "Why, mother?"

She lowered her eyes and said, "I don't know," in a shallow voice.

Micheal, Ashley, and Tara skewered me with their stares. I was in deep shit here, but I had the advantage.

"Really, Sophia, that's how you want to handle this?"

She started to sob. "My turn?" She sobbed some more. "Fine."

"Your mother and I went to the children's gala last Friday night. She consorted with a male who propositioned her to go home with him for the entire weekend, and he would give her mindless sex, orgasms that she would never believe. He inappropriately touched her and pleasured her on the balcony of the ballroom, all the while the women who had fallen to his spiel five years before told me precisely what he was going to do and say to her. Then they would return, and YOUR MOTHER would say to me she was going home with him and spent the weekend servicing him and being serviced by him.

"To my undying shame, I did nothing to deter her. She is a mature woman and can make up her own mind. I could have caused a scene and probably gotten the shit beaten out of me by his two bodyguards. But I did nothing. And I am ashamed, mortified. YOUR mother, however, did precisely what was forecast. And was adamant about it. This weekend was what SHE wanted. So she took it. I did not hear from her all weekend. Not a peep from her. Until Sunday afternoon, about 4:45. She texted me that she was on her way home and would be there in about twenty-five minutes.

"She arrived at about five twenty-five, dropped off by the scumbag."

My temper was starting to surface.

"She strolled up as if nothing had happened. Her keys didn't work because I had had the locks changed. I didn't want to take the chance that she would bring the asshole into my house."

"You sold my car!!"

"I told you, bitch, it was my car. I bought it; my name was on the bill of sale, registration, and insurance. I got it so you would have a car. And I didn't give it away as you did with your body. I gave you the money."

She was rapidly coming unglued. Her mascara was running, as well as her eyeliner. She was balling her eyes out.

"But you want to know what the kicker was? She wore her diamond necklace, my 24th-anniversary gift to her, and her Christmas Saphire earrings to the party. When she got home Sunday, she still had them, in addition to her wedding ring and her engagement ring. I took the ring from her because we were no longer married, and the engagement ring had been my grandmother's. But do you know what she didn't have any longer? What she so cavalierly gave away??"

"What was her most favorite piece of jewelry? The thing she had to have because she was so enamored with it, even though it was just a cheap facsimile? One I told her I would have a replica made for her of much finer quality? The ring she loved and would wear almost constantly??"

My daughter and son looked at each other, and as they said "Lady Di's ring," Sophia lost it. She slumped to the floor, wailing.

"Yeah, Lady Di's ring. She didn't have that. And do you know why?"

"Please don't, Michael. PLEASE!!"

"HE WANTED A MOMENTO. SHE GAVE IT AWAY LIKE SHE GAVE HER BODY AWAY!!"

My children shuddered together, and Tara gasped. She turned and hugged Michael. Sophia was a basket case.

"STOP!! PLEASE, STOP. I'LL SIGN EVERYTHING. JUST STOP!"

"So I spent the weekend and the rest of the week arranging things. AND CRYING. OH, HOW I CRIED. That's why I have nothing left now."

That's when the curveball came at me. Ashley said, "Daddy, surely you can forgive her one minor transgression."

"Yeah, Dad, it was just a one-time thing. Mom deserves more from you. Get over it, and get past this."

...............................

Strike one; I could never hit the curveball. Micheal's retort was Strike two. I was behind in the count. I was shocked. I did not expect this. Was I the only one hurt this badly?? Was this all my fault?? Were my children suddenly brain dead?

"Have you heard anything we've been discussing here? DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHE DID?? Let's find out.

"Tell me, Sophia, did you converse inappropriately with a man, not your husband, last Friday night?"

"I spoke with a handsome man..."

Ball one.

"Answer the question!!"

"Yes. I suppose I may have."

Ball two. I was looking better. She couldn't find the plate.

"And did you let him intimately touch you, much as one would let one's husband do??"

"It didn't mean anything. The gentleman was so very sophisticated."

High and tight; ball three.

"I see; so then did he TELL you to TELL your husband that you were going to go home with him and be intimate with him??"

"Yes, but I am a mature woman, and Err I uhh..."

Foul tip. I was still in this.

"I see. And when you went home with the asshole, did you fuck him? Did you suck his cock, and allow him to ejaculate in your throat? Did you take him in your ass? Because I WASN'T THERE!! I don't know, so tell us what you did ALL WEEKEND LONG!! Did you play scrabble? Did you discuss poetry? Did you write letters to your children?? DID YOU BOTHER TO CALL YOUR HUSBAND??? I didn't think so. You fucking slut.

She threw one at my head, and I dodged. "I wanted it badly, and I took it!!" she said.

"Understand, I will have you deposed, under oath, about what happened that weekend. The world will then know if they don't already. And the young lady who served you on Monday? She is actually a lawyer; she works at Steve's firm. She volunteered to do it because her mother did the same stupid thing and broke up their family. That's what prompted her to become an attorney."

Sophia knew she was in trouble. She broke down again; all the bravado was gone. She stood and looked at her soon-to-be ex-husband and her now three children.

"I'll sign everything and get it to Peter this afternoon."

O'Hara started, "I don't think this is your best interest."

"You're fired, Kathleen. Have your bill sent to my office, and I'll have a check delivered to you."

Right down the middle: I drove it deep into the centerfield seats in Comisky Park.

Sophia moved to the door and turned to me.

"Goodbye, Michael. Kids, I'll call you tomorrow, and we can get together." She left, and the door closed behind her. Ms. O'hara was left standing in the living room.

"Well," she said to me, "I hope you're satisfied. She is distraught."

"BITCH, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!!" I bellowed.

The lawyer huffed, and turned, and left.

That's when it started.

"Daddy, how could you be so cruel. Treating mommy like you did." This from my daughter.

"What the hell is wrong with you, dad? Are you seriously going to divorce mom over THIS??"

'I'm so glad I sent the two of them to college,' I thought to myself.

"Do you think I should tolerate this? Is this what the two of you want from your marriages?"

I turned and stared at Tara.

"If that is the case, run away quickly now, Tara." She gasped and stared at me.

"I would never do anything like that, dad. It's wrong, on every front!"

"Surely, dad, you can't be going through with this!!"

"Mike, it's a done deal. And if you can't get behind this, don't either of you include me in any functions in the future. ANY FUNCTIONS!"

I looked him square in the eye and held his gaze. He has my temper, and I could see him rearing up.

Ashley, on the other hand, was in whiney mode.

"Daddy, how could you be so cruel? You saw the shape mommy was in when she left. She is hurting bad. You should forgive her misbehavior and take her back."

I was dumbfounded. My children were siding with their mother in her infidelity.

Tara finally broke the ice and said, "Dad, this may piss Mikey off, but you're right. She never even took ownership or apologized. Not that that would have made any difference, but showing remorse would have been the right thing to do, at the very least."

It was tense from then on.

About two hours later, they called their mother and made arrangements to go and see her. I gave Mike a duplicate key and told him to drive safely. He looked at me and asked if I wanted to come with them.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!!" I bellowed. Mike glared at me and then said he couldn't understand me.

...............................

I stepped up the campaign against asswipe, and my minions seemed to be doing a good job and enjoying themselves.

One of the things they did was change his license plate and then anonymously tipped the police to a stolen car. I was impressed that they had such ease of access to his car, even though he kept both his Ferrari and his Cadilac inside a garage.

I also had them follow him on the Dan Ryan Expressway, with a neat little black box that could hack the car's computer. They slowed traffic, and isolated him in the middle lane, and went he got in the right lane to exit, they made the Ferrari swerve and hit the abutment. That caused considerable damage and got him ten days in the hospital.

Meanwhile, his insurance went through the roof, and he lost his original carrier. The guy was having the worse run of luck you could imagine. Not only that, but every time the cops got involved, they didn't precisely bust their asses to solve the crime. They knew of his reputation and kind of turned a blind eye to his difficulties. I heard that the majority were pretty sure some pissed-off husband was getting payback. God bless the boys in blue!!

I got a call from Steve that evening, and he said that she had hand-delivered the paperwork. He had a good judge lined up; his son had been victimized by shithead three years ago, and he promised us he would push the paperwork, both for the divorce and the alienation of affection lawsuit. Steve didn't know if we would get any traction in the adultery filing, but it was there.

The kids got cool to me, more so than the initial confrontation, and only Tara said anything to me about agreeing with me. After a week or so, they went back to school, and the divorce proceeded. After the final decree, I was a free man, and it was coming up to the Cancer Society Ball. I knew he would be there, and I wanted to burn him badly. One of my minions happened to run into me at a coffee shop we frequented and laid an idea on me that was so good that I knew I had to be there to see it. I called Lana and asked if she was going. She said she had gotten an invitation but hadn't thought about going. I told her it would be worth her while to attend, and would she like to go with me. She thought about it and said if I was going to provide the entertainment, she didn't want to miss it.

We showed up and mixed; then I noticed Sophia was there, along with her friends, Gwendolyn and Stephanie. She was trying to chat up shit-fo-brains, but he wanted nothing to do with her. He was zeroing in on a hot petite blonde in a sea-green sheath dress. Asswhipes two goons were corraling her husband, and he was making his move on her. he moved her to a private room and closed the door.

I went over to the husband and told him I could help him out if he would trust me and do what I told him to do. He looked panic-stricken, and Lana was starting to talk to him, explaining what was going to happen. I told him if he went along with everything, she and her husband would still wind up going home together, only slightly the worse for wear. Otherwise, if he pitched a fit, he would probably get his ass whipped. He looked at the two goons and seemed to deflate. If he listened to me, I told him we would put him in touch with people who would help him. He would also be able to lord it over his wife and embarrass her to the point she would apologize to him and be highly embarrassed.

He reluctantly agreed.

At that, the conspirators came out of the side room, with the wife leading the way. She strode up to him, made her little speech, and they turned and left.

We let them get about fifteen feet away, and then the three of us followed. They stopped to get their coats while the goons went and had the Cadillac brought around.

We went out just as they were opening the back doors, and they slipped in, with him grabbing her ass and kissing her. They closed the back door, and then goon number two got in the passenger front seat.

The husband almost lost it; I cautioned him, 'WAIT FOR IT!'

Now, the plan my friend had hatched had two of his 'ASSOCIATES' working in an auto detail shop and had given asshole's office a fifty percent off coupon for interior cleaning with a free hand car wash. While they were doing this, they placed three skunk smell smoke bombs under the seats, complete with electronic detonators.

The car's brake lights flashed, and it started to roll away slowly. It got about ten feet into the circular drive when the vehicle lurched to a stop, hitting a taxi with the front right side of the car.

The doors flew open, and four people spilled out, gagging and coughing, throwing up on the driveway, while smoke poured out. The blonde was falling out of the top of her dress, and her panties were on the pavement, out of the door.

The women's husband ran to his wife, only staggering a little bit as he helped her up due to the smell and the smoke.

I smirked as the asshole tried to stand and hobbled a little on his still game leg. The police arrived as shithead moved around to his erstwhile paramour and took her arm. The husband slugged him in the gut, and as he staggered, kicked him in the balls. Down for the count. He hustled his wife away, even with the smell of skunk on her, chewing her out on the way to their car.

I smiled and turned to Lana; "Score one for the good guys."

I had given the husband a business card with my cell phone number on the back and told him to call the number the next day. I pulled out my cell and hit a speed dial number.

"Yes?" the voice answered.

"Outstanding," I said. "That you, sir." He replied. The connection broke.

To Be Continued...