Problem Solving

That's when Uncle Max spoke for the first time. He asked Mike, "What exactly, did you see Jack or I supposedly do?" He held up one finger before Mike could answer, and went on, "Remember you just stated you only saw 2 dark figures on the roof after the shooting stopped, not who they were, and also you only saw gang members shooting each other." Mike quickly saw exactly where Max was heading with this conversation and said, "It looks like they just decided to have it out between themselves and see who was left standing. Perhaps there was a bad batch of drugs involved somewhere in there?!"

As they were leaving, Pete looked at Max and I saying, "We will talk real soon!!" I nodded and waved them off as they drove away. Max and I had another beer, then went back to the factory for the night. I just wanted to be sure no-one would find me at the house if they went looking. Pete, Max and I didn't have that talk until a year later.

Over the next months, speculation was rife about what happened. Strangely enough, Max nor I were ever interviewed, although many people ask if I had any involvement, remembering my previous interactions with the local gangs. My standard reply became, "After receiving legal advice, I can neither confirm nor deny any involvement. Thank you." I'll just let their imaginations fill in the blanks.

When Pete, Max and I had that talk, it was the first time anyone in the family, besides myself, knew that Uncle Max had been in Vietnam and had trained as a commando. We filled Pete in on the plan we had come up with. I already explained about the powder keg effect. All we needed was a way to pack them into one area and drop in a match. The 7/11 store opened the way to get the gangs together. Having no charges laid against me was an unexpected bonus.

All we had to do then was corral them into an area that gave us the advantage. Max knew that by attacking the bosses directly, it would hurt their pride and remove their standing as a leader. And that was one thing they could never let happen. The idea for a mannequin came to me in a dream. The rest as they say is history. The gangs never tried to set up in our town again.

I shunned any and all attempts that were made to try and portray me as some kind of avenging hero. I had gotten everything I wanted, revenge for my Anne. My demeanor changed 180 degrees and my family and close friends commented how I was much calmer and could talk about Anne without getting upset about it now.

Over the next several years I dated sporadically but was unable to find anyone even close to Anne. It wasn't until one day when we were at a birthday party for Pete and Beth's eldest daughter, when Beth took me aside. She reminded me it had been over 9 years since Anne passed and even though I dated, it seemed to her I wasn't really looking for anyone.

I contemplated what she said and replied, "I am looking, but just can't find anyone who comes close to replacing Anne." That's when she hit me with it. "Why the hell are you trying to replace Anne? Everyone who knew her knows she is irreplaceable!! You need to be looking for someone new." Damn. She was right.

Later that night in bed, as I thought over what Beth said, I felt something I realized I hadn't felt in a long time. A pair of arms encircle me from behind, and a whisp of warm air caress my face. I don't know how, but I knew in my heart it was Anne telling me it was time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life. No matter what else happened, I could never forget those 8 wonderful years we had spent together.

When I woke in the morning, the sunlight looked brighter, the air smelt fresher and I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was on a new path with my life from here forward. I started seeing women around me I hadn't noticed before. I was sure they could sense something in me had changed as well. It was rare for me to ask a woman out, mostly because they asked me first. Even with all the attention I received, I never once led a woman on or tried to take advantage.

But I still couldn't find 'the one'. Until that fateful day I went fishing with my friends. I know it was probably lust at first sight for me, but over our first year of dating, it turned to love. We had similar values regarding family, both wanted kids in the future and shared a slightly warped sense of humor, among other things.

When I officially proposed to Jill, it was very low key. We had dinner at Dustys, a small restaurant we liked. After dessert I took a knee beside her with the ring in hand and asked if we could make it all legal like. Those were the words I used. Thankfully she took it the way it was intended and said yes. Four months later, there was an "OOPS", and the outcome of that was Jill refused to walk down the aisle pregnant.

I had always felt Jill was way above my league. Originally, I had thought this would be a rebound relationship for her. As we got to know each other better, she had told me her marriage had broken up due to her ex being an alcoholic, abusive husband. It was only after he put her in hospital for the third time that she filed charges then divorced him. The divorce had been finalized only 5 months before we met.

It was 2 nights before I had planned to ask Jill to marry me. I lay in my bed worrying if I was doing the right thing. If Jill and I married, it would mean to me, that what Anne and I had was really gone. It was then I felt those familiar arms encircle me, followed by the whisp of warm air on my cheek and knew that Anne would always be a part of me, no matter what happened from here on.

So here we were, some 20 years down the track, and it seemed she wanted to move on from me to some new guy. They didn't even have the decency to try to be discrete. Walking arm in arm into Mama Cassa's Italian restaurant in the middle of the day certainly drew attention. It was THE place where couples went for an intimate dining experience.

Mama Cassa herself was the one to call and inform me of Jills lunch date. She gave me a basic outline of how Jill and her paramour were acting. Holding hands, long intimate stares, quiet whispering. She suggested I should park around back and come to the kitchen first. She would have her grandsons, Antony and Luigi, standing by if I needed any assistance. Antony and Luigi also owned the local boxing gym but helped their grandmother by waiting tables occasionally.

When I arrived, they had just finished their main meal, so I decided to wait until after dessert before confronting them. I figured that way, he would have a full belly and that may slow him down if things became violent. While I waited and watched from the kitchen, I ate some of Mamas wonderful homemade garlic bread.

I thought back over our marriage. Through our 20 years together, we had never had a real argument. Of course, we had our different views and didn't always agree with each other but we could reach an agreement eventually. And it wasn't a case of one of us just saying "Yes Dear" to keep the peace. It saddened me no end, that now it had come to this.

Suddenly I felt the whisp of warm air on my cheek, but this time there were invisible hands dragging me from the chair and words whispered in my ear, "Go and talk to them!" I froze in place but felt no fear. I knew without any doubt who whispered those words. Someone who I had been unable to hold for over 30 years.

A nudge in the back finally got me moving. As I left the kitchen, I noticed Antony and Luigi follow discreetly behind me. As I approached their table, Jill had her back to the kitchen, but I could see his face on the opposite side from her. I had to admit, he certainly was a handsome bastard. Big and solid too. I felt some relief having Antony and Luigi behind me.

I was staring at him as I arrived at the table. He looked up at me with a smile, or was it a smirk, and started to rise. Before anyone knew it, Luigi had his massive paws on his shoulders, pushing him back into his seat. He quickly sat, leaving his hands in plain sight, fingers spread on the tabletop. After her initial shock, Jill soon spotted me. With her 1000watt smile and a glint in her eyes she said to me, "Oh darling, I'm so glad you're here. This is Allan Dickson, my ex-husband."

Talk about a kick in the guts... She wants to get back together with the bastard who put her in hospital. I took a step backwards getting ready to leave when a gentle nudge moved me forward again. Looking over my shoulder, no-one was there. I had a confused look on my face when Jill asked me to have a seat. Not knowing what else to do, I sat. I did notice Antony and Luigi stood just behind and to each side of Allan.

Jill went on to tell me how they had ended up having an intimate lunch together that I knew nothing about. Allan called her at 9am this morning, practically begging to meet with her as he had something very important to ask of her. Not having heard anything of him since the divorce, she was curious to say the least. She told him to wait while she called me to ask my opinion if they should meet.

Unfortunately, I was in the factory without my phone. Being unable to contact me, she decided to meet him in a place she knew would draw lots of attention and keep her safe. Smart girl my wife! Allan and Jill had been married 4 years when they split. According to Jill, it was 1 happy year, followed by 3 years of shit. That I already knew.

I asked Jill about their hand holding at the table and she wasn't surprised I knew about it. She explained even though they finished badly, they had started out truly in love. I then asked if I would be privy to what they talked about. Allan then spoke for the first time. "Perhaps I should answer that!"

As we looked toward him, I noticed the glint from his collar and told Antony and Luigi everything was under control and they could leave us alone. They only went as far as the kitchen door. Unembarrassed, Allan continued the story. After the divorce he really went off the rails. There was a 5 year period that would always be missing from his memory. It was only after spending 2 years in jail for serious assault he straightened himself out.

He joined the Seminary and 7 years later, became a priest. However, he could never shake the tremendous guilt he carried about how he had treated Jill those many years ago. After twice coming close to suicide, he knew he had to apologize to her. It still took him over 3 years to find her. This meeting was the compilation of the last 20 years of his life.

With that problem solved, I stood and started to leave. Jill panicked and asked where I was going. I told her she and Allan needed to finish their conversation between themselves. If she wanted, I would listen later tonight. Leaving through the kitchen, I told Mama I will pick up the bill for their lunch. I thanked her again for calling me and with a hug and smile, she handed me another garlic bread.

Later that night in bed, Jill told me Allan and her left about 10 minutes after I did. She had forgiven him his sins against her and I could see in her eyes that she had. We never kept secrets from each other, so I decided to tell her my first thoughts of when I heard about her and Allan having lunch.

She was furious. How the hell could I think such a thing about her after all these years together. For the next 15 minutes she raged, then rolled over with her back toward me and went to sleep. I lay there for I don't know how long with tears streaming from my eyes. A few hours later, I decided I needed some time alone to try to comprehend what just happened.

When I tried to sit up, it felt like some great weigh was holding me down. Using all my strength, I forced my way to my feet, quietly dressed and packed a duffel bag with enough clothes for a week, purposely left my phone in the middle of the kitchen table and walked to the car. I had no idea where I was headed, I just drove. It seemed the car knew where to take me. 3 hours later, just after sunrise, I was knocking on Uncle Max's door. He took one look at me and said, "You had better come in and have some breakfast!"

He might have been 86, but Max still rose before the rooster. After the bacon, sausage, eggs, tomato, toast and coffee, Max got straight to the point. "So what brings you here unannounced on a Wednesday, at sunrise and without your wife and kids?" I filled him in on what transpired the previous day and evening. He replied, "That's why I never married. Could never figure women out!" By now it was 9am and I had been awake since 5am the previous day. I told Max I needed sleep and went to the spare room, kicked my shoes off and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

I must have been exhausted because it was dark when I woke. I looked at the clock and was shocked to see it was after 10pm. I quietly went to the kitchen where I found Max had just made 2 cups of coffee. As I sat down, up popped 2 slices of toast. Max placed them on a plate and slid it toward me, along with butter and honey saying, "You had better eat that!"

When I had eaten, he told me what happened while I slept. The first call was from Pete asking if I was there. Max said I was and he had heard my side of the story, but had no intension of interfering unless necessary. Pete just said he was glad I was in a safe place and would be available if needed.

The next call came from a very irate Jill demanding to know if her arsehole husband was there. Max just hung up. 10 seconds later the phone rang again. When Max answered, Jill yelled "We got cut off..." but before she could say anymore, Max said, "No we didn't bitch!" and hung up again. He ignored the next 4 calls from her.

Then my dad and mum called, asking what the hell was going on. Jill had called them twice, but they couldn't understand anything she was ranting about. All they could make out was I was the biggest cunt on the planet. Pete had called them to say I was staying with Max for now, so they called to try to clear things up. Max gave them an outline of what I had told him and said to let me work through things first.

I sat there stunned. I had no idea who this version of Jill was, but she certainly wasn't the Jill I had married 15 odd years ago. I was wondering how this debacle could be fixed, when a dark thought crossed my mind... Did I even want to fix this?

Many more dark thoughts followed. I had always worked long hours so Jill didn't have to work outside the house. Her and the kids never wanted for anything. We always did the things her and the kids wanted to do. Anything I wanted to do was always 'too far' or 'too hot/cold' or any of 100 other different excuses not to do them. Maybe it was time for 'ME'?

One thing that did piss me off was, where had this attitude of hers suddenly come from? All I had done was something we had both done for the past 20 years. Discuss our thoughts and feelings with each other. Now I'm somewhere lower than a politician or used car salesman.

When the phone rang, Max answered it then handed it to me. I hesitated at first, but he just said "You need to take this!" When I spoke, expecting it to be Jill, I used my spam callers voice saying, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?" But it was Beth and she was crying. All she could get out was, "You need to come home, Jill needs you!". Pete then took the phone to explain that Jill was in hospital and Toby and Debra were with Pete and Beth at their place.

I have no idea why, but all I could say, in an unemotional voice was, "Thanks for being there for the kids tonight. I will come by tomorrow around lunchtime to pick them up. When Pete asked if I wanted to know about Jill, I just replied, "No" and hung up the phone.

I said to Max that I would leave in the morning and pick up the kids from Pete's, then go home. He didn't ask any questions, knowing I would talk when I was ready. I then had a glass of Max's special warm milk, laced with a slosh of rum, and went back to bed. I slept well until the smell of coffee and breakfast woke me at 5.30am.

After we had eaten and I did the dishes, I had a shower to freshen up for the drive home. It then dawned on me, I hadn't informed work of my absence. I called 'Information' and got the office number, then left a message that I would call later with an explanation. With that taken care of, I said goodbye to Max and headed to, I don't know what!

On the 3 hour drive home, I racked my brain as to what might have caused her outburst. My job was to solve problems and I was damn good at it. But with this one, I came up totally blank. I hadn't accused her of doing anything, just explained where my thinking was at, and how I always thought she was always out of my league. By the time I arrived at Pete and Beth's, I realized that, strangely, I had not had an emotional thought about Jill in the last 3 hours.

Before I could get to the front door, the kids were all over me asking about their mother. I explained that all I knew was she went to hospital yesterday, so I suggested we go inside and they could bring me up to date with what they knew. We sat around the kitchen table while Toby explained how when he and Debra arrived from school yesterday afternoon, they found Jill unconscious on the living room floor. After they called an ambulance, Debra tried calling me but my phone went to voice mail, so she called Beth.

Beth arrived as Jill was being loaded into the ambulance. Beth sent the kids to pack clothes for a couple of days while she found out where Jill was being taken. When the kids returned, she loaded them into her car and drove to her and Pete's place. Beth then called Pete, sending him to find out about Jill, hoping he would be able to get better information than a phone call would. When he got home a couple of hours later, all he could tell her was Jill was still unconscious, but all the tests were negative.

I thought we should visit Jill after lunch and everyone agreed. When we got there, I sent Beth and the kids in first while I spoke with the doctor. Doctor Susan Amir said they could find no physical reason for her not to respond. She then asked if Jill had any emotional issues recently, so I explained what had happened between her and I and my leaving the house.

We discussed that for 10 minutes when Dr Susan asked if there was anything else, because while our situation was emotional, it seemed to be more than just that. I then recalled to her about Jills meeting with her ex-husband and the basic details about their relationship. I could almost see the lightbulb go on over her head at that information.

Dr Susan then said that until further tests, when Jill woke up, they couldn't guarantee anything, but that gave them something to work with. She went on to explain she believed that with everything that happened, Jill had had an emotional breakdown. Dr Susan seemed surprised when I asked how much I was to blame for that. She said I had zero blame to shoulder. It was just how circumstances worked out. She also said I had done the right thing by leaving and not intensifying things. Now that surprised me.

As she was leaving for her next patient, Dr Susan said she would pass on everything I told her to a mental health expert, for when Jill regained consciousness. She suggested that in the meantime, we should treat Jill as though life was going on as normal. Even though she lay in a hospital bed, her senses still worked, so involving her in conversations would be beneficial, similar to how coma patients were treated.

As I entered Jills room, I not only found Beth, Toby and Debra, but also there was our eldest Lisa along with Pete. They all looked very forlorn and morose until I filled them in about what Dr Susan had told me. I'm unsure if it was a genuine reaction or not to my news, but the mood improved with everyone being upbeat and positive.

I leant over Jill and kissed her forehead, then sat on the side of her bed and gently took her hand. I felt her actually take hold of my hand. I stayed on the bed while we all caught up with how Lisa was doing at university. It had been 3 months since she had been home and her communication skills were sometimes lacking.