People Can Change Ch. 03

"You don't know how much I've been looking forward to tonight," I said. "You must know that I've been trying to get you to give me a second chance for the last four years."

She pulled both of her hands away.

"Greg, I'm sorry. I didn't ask you here to discuss getting back together," she said. "Quite the reverse, in fact. I'm sorry if you got that impression."

"OK," I said. "So why did you ask me to come here?"

"I'm getting married, Greg," she said. "I'm marrying Miles as soon as his divorce comes through."

"So, what do you want from me?" I asked. "You don't need my permission to get married, or are you going to ask me to give you away?"

"No, of course not," she said. "The thing is, there is something you can help me with. You see, Miles' family want the girls to carry his name."

"Now, let's get this straight," I said. "You got me here to ask me to agree to that arsehole adopting my children. How long have you known this guy?"

"His name is Miles," she said rather pointedly. "He's a barrister, and he handles a lot of cases for our practice. I have known him for about six years."

Suddenly many things became clear. Whenever it looked like we were making progress in our relationship, she would return to work and suddenly everything went back square one. Now I find that everyday she was being advised by a man who was just trying to get in her knickers.

"So, the poison pusher at work is revealed," I said.

"I don't know what you mean," she said.

"I mean that despite all I've done to prove I've changed, it became obvious there was someone at work convincing you I couldn't be trusted. Now I know he had a vested interest. He was trying to get in your pants."

"You have to reduce everything to the basest levels, don't you?" she said, obviously annoyed I had made the connection.

"But he has been persuading you not to give me a second chance, hasn't he?" I said.

"I grant you Miles did advise me during the divorce and things, but calling him a poison pusher is carrying things a bit too far."

"Right, let's get back to what you want from me?" I said. "You want me to hand over my girls to a man they can't stand and who has spent the last five years trying to ensure their mother and father continue to live apart. Is that what you're asking me to do?"

"You're making this much harder than it need be," she said. "All I'm asking you to do is sign the papers which will allow Miles to take on parental responsibility for Annabel and Grace. I thought you would jump at the chance, since it would mean an end to paying three hundred pounds a week to the CSA."

For a moment I felt the anger flow through me, but it was soon under control.

"Julie," I said calmly and quietly, "I know I've changed, but I can't remember ever being the sort of man who would sell his own children."

"Now you're twisting my words," she said. "I never suggested you sell the girls."

"Give up parental rights in return for three hundred pound a week. It sure sounds like selling them to me."

"Well, you know I didn't mean it like that. I was just trying to point out the advantages to you," she said.

"To tell you the truth, the Julie I knew wouldn't have dreamed of asking me to do this. She knows how much my daughters mean to me. Now, you want to talk about advantages, tell me about the advantage to the girls of this move."

She sat there, speechless. I could see her racking her brain to think of an advantage.

"So," I continued, "now we know there is no advantage for the girls, try telling me why I should do something which benefits no one but you and Miles."

She sat thinking for a while. "Perhaps I should have laid my cards on the table from the beginning," she said. "Miles really wants to marry me, but he can't give me children and his family are desperate to continue the family name. They will disown him if he marries me without the children taking his name."

This was total bollocks, and I knew it. None of it made sense. The question was, is she bullshitting me or has he been bullshitting her? I racked my brain to find a reason why Miles would want to bring up another man's children, one of whom hated him. If I had been a difficult father I could understand it, but I had never denied Julie the chance to do anything with the girls, and she knew I never would. Having come up with no advantage for Miles in adopting the girls, I started asking myself why he expected me to agree to it. That's when it hit me. He expected me to refuse, so he could continue shafting her and blame me for him being unable to marry her. From what I knew of Miles, this seemed to fit all too well.

"The first thing I have to say is that I don't think much of a man who puts his inheritance before getting married to the woman he's supposed to love," I said. "The other thing is that I would want my access to remain as it is now, and I would want a legally binding document to guarantee that."

She looked at me surprised. "You mean, you would do it?" she asked.

"I mean I'll do it on my terms," I said. "Those terms are that I want the document I've already mentioned. I'll also not sign anything until you're actually married. I'm not giving him any control over my girls unless you're there to protect them."

Julie was so excited she failed to see the Aston Martin pull up outside. Miles was halfway across the restaurant before she even noticed.

"Hi Babe," he said. "Are we all done here?"

He looked down at Julie and mistook her tears of joy for tears of sorrow.

"Oh, come on babe. I told you he wouldn't go for it. When has he ever shown any interest in your happiness?" Miles asked.

"I think you misunderstand," I said. "I have agreed, but with some conditions of my own."

I outlined the details of the contract I wanted from them.

"But, that means nothing really changes," he said.

"It means you get what you say you want. The girls can bear your family name, but without me losing my rights of access."

"No, no, that is not acceptable," he said.

Then I told him I wouldn't sign until they were actually married.

"But that means we have to trust you. You could back out and we would still be married," he said.

"Miles, old chap, you're making it sound like you don't really want to marry this lovely lady," I said, pointing to Julie.

"Not too lovely right now," Julie said, looking at her face in her make up mirror. "I'm going to the ladies."

She got up and made her way to the rest room to touch up her make up.

Miles continued to try and bait me. It ranged from selling my children to only being prepared to fight women. Nothing got the violent reaction he so obviously wanted. As Julie came out of the ladies room I stood up and took his right hand in mine, in a handshake motion. My time in the Royal Marines and several years fitting tyres had given me one hell of a grip in my right hand. As I proceeded to crush his right hand in mine I leaned forward to slap him on the back. As I did so I spoke into his ear.

"If you EVER hurt her or my children, I will break your fucking neck. That is one promise you can take to the bank," I said.

I knew my message had struck home by the way the colour drained from his face. I made to leave and Julie came up to me and kissed me on the lips.

"Thank you, Greg," she said. "I can see now, you really have changed. Thank you."

It was Saturday morning of the following week that I got the phone call from Annabel.

"Daddy," she said, "come quickly. Mummy's not well. I can't wake her up."

I left Eric in charge and jumped in the Morgan and, for the first time, drove it the way it was meant to be driven. Within five minutes I was ringing Julie's doorbell. Annabel let me in and I ran straight to the master bedroom. Julie was lying in bed, motionless. I checked she was still breathing before slapping her face to try to bring her round. I looked around the room. On the bedside table I saw a half empty vodka bottle, a glass and a packet of Tamazepam tablets. I checked the packet and found about half of them missing. I put the pills in my pocket then gathered Julie up in my arms. I told Annabel to bring Grace and that we were taking mummy to the hospital.

I carried Julie out to the car and placed her in the front passenger seat. Annabel came running out of the house with Grace and they clambered into the back seat. I set off for the hospital at some speed. I'd travelled just over a mile when I saw the flashing blue lights in my mirror. I pulled to the side of the road and the police car stopped in front of me. When one officer got out and came back to my car I thought I recognised him. He stepped up to the driver's door and a big smile spread across his face.

"Sergeant Maitland," he said. "You remember me - Corporal John Blackman. We served together in Afghanistan."

"John, I know I was speeding and you have to give me a ticket, but can it wait until I've got this lady to the hospital?"

PC Blackman looked over at Julie then back at me.

"Follow us, sarge, close as you like," he said.

As he went back to his car he yelled out to the driver, "Nicola, blues and twos to the hospital."

The police car pulled out into the traffic with blue lights flashing and sirens wailing. I tucked in behind and we raced through the streets to the hospital. Once we arrived I scooped up Julie once more and carried her into the Accident and Emergency department. I told a nurse it was an accidental overdose and gave her the packet of pills. I was shown into the relatives room with the girls. We hadn't been waiting there more than a couple of minutes when PC John Blackman and his partner WPC Nicola Bates came in.

Corporal John (Chalky) Blackman was a salt of the earth type character, six feet tall and built like a brick shit house. If you needed someone to watch your back then you wanted it to be Chalky. He and I had served in Iraq and Afghanistan together and we had the kind of mutual respect that is only developed between men living together in the shadow of death. His partner was only five foot four and looked to be much slighter in build. It's difficult to observe a woman's figure when she's wearing a stab vest, but my guess would be she was not flat chested, and despite the uniform trousers I did observe a nice round bum. Her face was very attractive with blue eyes, dark hair and full lips. If I had to share a car with anyone all day, every day, I wouldn't mind it being her.

"So, who is the lady then, sarge?" asked PC Blackman.

"Please, drop the sarge bit, John. All that was a long time ago. It's just Greg these days," I told him. "The lady is Julie Maitland, my ex-wife."

"Is that the same lady you assaulted some years back?" asked WPC Bates. For the first time I noticed she had her notebook out and was taking everything down.

"Yes it is, but this has nothing to do with me. God, what do I have to do to escape that?"

"I'm sorry, Mr Maitland, but it came up on the computer when I entered your registration number. I would be failing in my duty if I didn't get curious when a man convicted of beating up his wife is driving around with an unconscious woman in his car."

"I didn't beat her up, as you put it," I said. "I threw her out rather too forcefully and it's something I've regretted ever since."

"So, can you tell us what happened this time?" she asked.

To my surprise, little Annabel sprang to her daddy's defence. "I called Daddy because Mummy wouldn't wake up," she said.

"Yeah," I said "when I got there I couldn't wake her either and there was a packet of Tamazepam and a half drunk bottle of Vodka on the bedside table."

"And you didn't think to call an ambulance?" asked the WPC.

"Well, of course I thought about it," I answered. "I just thought I could get her here quicker, and thanks to you I did."

"Sorry, Greg. She had to ask you know," said John Blackman.

WPC Bates put her notebook away. "I think that's the business taken care of. Now," she said to Annabel, "tell me about your daddy."

"Come on," said John Blackman. "We have to get back to work."

Then he looked at me. "We're off shift in an hour," he said. "I'll pop back and see how things are going."

With that they were gone, leaving me to try and convince Grace and Annabel their mother would be all right.

It was half an hour before anyone came to tell us anything about Julie. Even then, it was only to tell us she was responding to treatment. Within the hour I was allowed to see her and a nurse stayed with the children.

Julie certainly did not look like the beauty I married at that moment. Her hair was wet and matted with traces of vomit. She had a saline drip in her arm and looked like she was suffering the hangover from hell. She apologised for ruining my weekend and for frightening the girls. What she didn't do was tell me why. In the end I had to ask her what she thought she was doing.

"I was just trying to shut it all out," she said. "I wanted to sleep, to stop thinking about it all."

"Thinking about what?" I asked. "What could be so bad that it takes half a bottle of vodka and any number of pills to shut out."

"I've been such a fool, Greg," she said. "He didn't want to marry me. He just wanted to keep on fucking me. He used me like a cheap whore."

She broke down in tears and I was asked to leave her for a while. When I got back to the relatives room I was surprised to find not only John Blackman but also Nicola Bates sitting chatting with Grace and Annabel. Without the uniform Nicola Bates was outstanding. Her jeans were tight enough to show the contours of her bum and without the stab vest I could see she was very shapely. Her long chestnut hair was now down and framed her face beautifully.

The girls cheered when I told them Julie was going to be all right and we just had to wait until the doctors thought it would be safe for her to go home. I chatted to both John and Nicola about what had happened and why.

"You do realise you could use this as evidence that she's unstable, if you wanted to contest custody," Nicola told me.

"But I don't want to do that," I said. "The girls need stability and before Arsehole came on the scene she always put the children first. I think she needs my support right now and I intend to give it."

"You know, down at the station they paint you as an evil bastard who got off lightly," she said. "Then there's John, who says you're the best bloke he ever served with and that something serious must have happened to make you behave like that."

"And which camp are you in?" I asked.

"I don't know yet," she said, "but everything I've seen today says that John got it right."

John stayed for about half an hour and we exchanged phone numbers and promised to get together for a drink. Nicola said she would stay with the girls while I went in to see Julie again. John gave me a nudge and told me his mates at the station would give their right arms to get to first base with Nicola.

When I went back to see Julie she was looking a lot better and was more able to talk to me. I also managed a chat with the doctor who told me they wanted to monitor her for another hour and as long as there was someone to keep an eye on her they would let her go home. Julie pointed out that I had brought her in wearing only a nightie and she would need clothes to go home. I agreed to collect her clothes and some make up.

The girls were overjoyed to hear mummy was coming home and I told them they would have to help me choose what she was going to wear. Nicola seemed quite happy, too. She asked if I could give her a lift home and I willingly agreed. I told myself it was the least I could do after she sat with the girls for me. The truth was, the longer I spent in her company the better I liked it. The drive to Nicola's flat was all too short. I pulled up outside and she got out and looked back at me.

"Nice car," she said. "I'd like to drive it some time."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," I replied.

She said her goodbyes to the girls then turned and held her hand out to me. I reached to take her hand and found a small piece of paper being held in her fingers. I clasped her hand as I took the paper. I've heard it called electricity or chemistry. I don't know what to call it, but something more than a piece of paper passed between us in that moment.

"Call me," she said. "Please."

I waited for her to walk away. Written on the paper were both her land line and mobile phone number.

Together with the girls, I selected one of Julie's business outfits, some underwear and a pair of shoes. Not having a clue what make up she needed I just picked up her handbag and took that. Back at the hospital I gave Julie the clothes and had a chat with the doctor. He wanted my assurance there would be someone with her for the next twenty four hours. I assured him I would be there. Everyone was happy to see Julie coming home and once home she relaxed and played with the girls while I prepared the lunch. I really wanted to know what had happened, but I didn't want anything to upset the girls so I was prepared to wait.

Once I had put the girls to bed I sat down on the sofa and Julie brought me a glass of wine. She snuggled up next to me with her legs tucked under her the way women do. I waited for her to reveal what had happened.

"Oh, Greg, I've been such a fool. I allowed myself to be used by a man who couldn't even tell me he didn't want to marry me," she said. "You were supposed to oppose the adoption idea so he could blame you."

"You said he couldn't tell you, so how did you find out?" I asked.

"His wife came to see me yesterday," she said. "She was really horrible to me. She told me he had never petitioned for divorce and that he never would. Apparently her family are very big in the judiciary and the chances of him ever becoming a judge would be minimal if he ever divorced her. I couldn't believe it. She said she knew he had plenty of affairs, but I was the first who wasn't married."

"So, she knows all about his affairs and just turns a blind eye," I said.

"Apparently it was because I started telling people we were going to be married that she felt she had to put a stop to it."

By now she was crying on my shoulder.

"What am I going to do?" she sobbed. "Our firm does so much business with his chambers that I see him almost every day. I don't think I can face that."

"What you're going to do right now is find me a duvet and a pillow so I can sleep on the sofa," I told her. "Then you're going to bed. Everything will seem much better in the morning."

The next morning I was up with the lark and all three girls woke up to the smell of bacon frying. Annabel and Grace thought it was a real treat having Daddy cooking breakfast and even Julie was so pleased to see me she greeted me with a good morning kiss.

Overnight I had worked out a plan, so during breakfast I asked the girls the all important question.

"How would you like to go to Spain, or Portugal, or Morocco, or all three?"

Both Grace and Annabel yelled "Yes" at the tops of their voices and were bouncing up and down in their seats.

"You shouldn't do things like that," Julie said to me. "You know we can't just take off like that. I would have to book my holidays at work and we would never get fixed up at such short notice."

"Relax," I said. "I've got it all figured out. First thing tomorrow you go to see the doctor and tell him what happened, including your little accident. He'll sign you off work for at least two weeks. If you want, you can call work and tell them you're signed off but are happy to take it as annual holiday. Now, I'm booked on a ten day Mediterranean cruise, leaving on Tuesday. It's a four berth cabin and should be a piece of cake to change the booking."

"I don't believe you, Greg Maitland," Julie said angrily. "Here I am, in a vulnerable state, and at the first opportunity you're trying to get me to share a cabin with you. Huh, you might just as well have jumped into bed with me last night."