Liars, the Lot of Them!

The gavel smacked resoundingly and that was it. They were divorced.

Later that afternoon Mary and Andy were enjoying a burger at a coffee house cum-restaurant near the court buildings.

"What next, Andy? Mary asked.

"I'm finding I'm enjoying consultancy work, so I'll build that up. I think I might look at moving to Florida."

"If you don't mind my asking, what are you going to do about the girls? Are you going to look for a relationship with them, going forward?"

He shrugged. "I don't see how I can. They knew their mother was cheating on me and they didn't care. In fact, they encouraged her and they lied to me. So, I really can't see any point in bothering, really."

"I see where you are coming from, Andy."

They continued to chat about general issues until they left the restaurant and went their separate ways.

Several days later Katy asked to meet with Andy and he acquiesced, but demanded that they meet at the offices of his lawyer.

They sat in a medium sized conference room facing each other over a polished wood table. "Well, Katy. You wanted the meeting. What do you want to say?"

"I'm so sorry, Andy. I guess I got greedy and stupid. I really thought that I could keep you and Billy as separate but equal husbands. Obviously that didn't work for you and I'm sorry."

He nodded, but didn't speak.

She continued: "I also would like to know what we are going to do about your relationship with the twins? They are missing you, you know?"

He looked baffled: "Why would they miss me? Haven't they already got their real father in their lives?"

"I understand that you are angry with me, my parents and the girls but the girls are young and two dads was all they knew, OK? So please don't blame them."

"They lied. They knew that Billy would be taking my place on that December cruise, yet they joined you in bullshitting me at the dinner table that evening, pretending to be upset that their grandfather was excluding me from the cruise?"

Katy looked upset. "Yeah, I know, I know. I see your point. It's just that we didn't want you to be hurt by being excluded from the cruise and replaced with Billy. But I guess you were hurt, even so."

"More than you will ever understand, Katy. You, all of you, destroyed me."

"Will you see the girls?" she asked.

"What's wrong with Billy, their real father? Where's he?"

"He's already left for Antarctica to take photographs and do paintings, He'll be away from home for four years. It's a big deal for him. Quite a prestigious gig."

"So, you got rid of me, your cuckolded husband, and the man you replaced me with has left you for at least four years. Sucks to be you and your daughters, Katy. So, in answer to your question, I won't be seeing your daughters. It's too soon for me, Katy. Maybe one day I'll reach out to Cassandra and Emily, but don't hold your breath."

At that point their meeting ended.

Later that day, as Andy puttered around sorting out the books in what he laughingly referred to as his library corner he was mildly shocked to receive a phone call from Claire, his former mother-in-law.

"Hello, Claire. What can I do for you?"

"Hi, Andy. Please, accept my apology about what was done to you."

"OK, I accept your apology" he waited for her to continue speaking.

"I warned Katy and Marvin that the idea of having you and Baxter as separate but equal husbands would not work, because it was utterly wrong and stupid. And so totally unfair on you. Nothing you did deserved that treatment. And I told the girls not to listen to the BS that Katy and Marvin was feeding them, but they were too young and sort of thrilled by the secrecy and having two fathers. Katy told me you don't plan on seeing the girls? As their grandmother that makes me sad, but as your mother-in-law, I feel sad for you and totally understand where you are coming from."

"Thanks, Claire. What you are saying is helpful. I'm glad you said that. What's next for you?"

"Well, I'm separating from Marvin."

"What? Why?"

"Because I really don't want to continue living with someone who could pull a stunt like the vacation trip nonsense. I know he did it because he loves Katy and she has him wrapped around his little finger, but even so, allowing that creepy shit Bill Baxter to take your place on the family cruise was totally shitty of him and I realized that I really don't want to be living with Marvin, at least in the short term. After that? I really don't know."

"If you thought the separate but equal husbands idea was wrong, why didn't you do anything about it?"

"Because I saw how happy you were and I hoped that Katy would stop being such an idiot. But she never did. I suppose I tried to calm my conscience by making sure that you were compensated for the shitty stuff Katy and Marvin, the girls and me, too, I guess, were putting on you. For example, I made Marvin give you those shares, you know," she laughed.

Andy chuckled at that. "Thanks for that Claire, at least. It was good to know that there was one member of the family who had my back, at least to an extent."

"What are you going to do, now?"

"I'm doing business consultancy work, which is fun."

"Will you stay in the city?"

"I'm thinking of moving. I really have nothing to stay here for."

"I'll miss you, Andy."

"Yeah, likewise, Claire. I'll miss you."

They ended the call.

He had actually been sorting the books out in preparation for his move to Florida. He'd been in touch with Julia who had promised to help him meet with real estate agents in Florida. She'd also sent him a photograph of her younger sister. Who was, she'd told him, recently single.

She was, realized Andy, also, on a scale of one to ten, easily a 15.

"Maybe this divorced life isn't going to be as rough as I thought? He said to his reflection, grinning.

He visited Florida, met with Julia and a real estate agent her daughter knew and he bought a good sized house a couple of miles from Julia.

He also went for lunch with Julia and her sister. And made arrangements with Sonya, the sister, to start dating when he moved to Florida. They'd both been hurt by cheating spouses, so both planned on taking things easy.

What intrigued Andy was that she had already raised the possibility of having children with him.

And within several years of a happy, normal marriage, they had two children and life in general and married life in particular, was exceedingly good.

As for his former marriage, his former family? As he said to Sonya and Julia over dinner one evening after they'd put the children to bed: "You can't drive along the highway of life looking over your shoulder, or you'll crash. My former family are in the distant past, you and our kids, Sonya, are my present and my future."

He was pleased, for her sake, that Claire had divorced Marvin. Apparently he had taken more than a shine to Julia's replacement and had been caught in a compromising situation by Katy and the twins. Andy laughed when she had revealed by a Facebook message that they didn't have a prenup, so his divorce was very costly for him. He grinned when Claire revealed that she had found a young tennis pro to help her improve her service. Or something. "Serves Marvin right," thought Andy, the irony of that remark not being lost on him.