Rivalry

Most everyone knows a place located away from their home where they seem inevitably run into someone from their hometown. In Kentucky, the rest stop at Beaver Dam on the West Kentucky Parkway, is one of those places. Our story starts there.

David Hancock was on his way to Lexington for a business meeting. Going out of town for business was unusual for him. As an owner of a construction company, he took advantage of the hard rain to have an excuse to go. By coincidence, his wife, Vivian, was at a trade show, also in Lexington. She would probably be on her way back, however, so they might be ships passing in the day.

David made a pit stop at the rest area for bladder relief, coffee and a snack. He would wait until Lexington to eat a real meal. The restaurant choices in Lexington helped make up for the long drive. He looked around in the convenience area for people from Hopkinsville, his hometown. Before long he saw the familiar back of a lovely lady. Normally that would make him feel good, but the arm of a familiar asshole was around her waist. They were laughing and giggling like teenagers.

"Hello, Vivian. Hello, Dipshit. Have fun in Lexington?"

Vivian was flustered. "David! What are you doing here? It's not what you think."

"Oh, he didn't have his arm around your waist? Are you telling me Allen didn't go to Lexington with you when you swore to me he wasn't?"

"He was just being friendly. He got chosen to go at the last minute. Really, you've got to quit being jealous for no reason."

"I have plenty of reason. I have had plenty of reason since I caught you two making out at your office's New Year's party."

"We were not making out. Just a little kiss under the mistletoe."

"There was no mistletoe in the conference room and you could have not seen it if there were, with all the lights out. And I don't believe the story about he forgot to zip up after going to the restroom. Now I know for sure I cannot trust you to tell me the truth about him."

"David, this is not the time and place. . . "

"When will be the time and place?"

"David, when you return home, we will have a talk. I think you'll see that there's nothing to worry about. Go on to your ball game."

"Meeting, no ball game."

"Whatever. Try to enjoy the rest of your trip. I'll be home waiting for your return. Nothing will have changed. You'll see. Come on Allen, we need to be going."

David went on to his car and headed towards Lexington. He was surprised at the location of the confrontation with Vivian and Allen, but he was not surprised at the content of the verbal exchange. He knew Vivian was lying through her teeth. She had already talked to a lawyer. He expected to be served soon. She was not aware David had been planning what to do about her cheating since the New Year's party.

David remembered that in dating Vivian, his lust had overruled his recognition of the most irreconcilable difference possible in the state of Kentucky: She was a University of Louisville fan while he was a University of Kentucky fan. If you're not from Kentucky, you don't realize that no matter the sport, no matter the rankings, any contest between UofL and UK is WAR.

They had met when both attended Western Kentucky University, so they were outsiders together there. She had gotten a volleyball scholarship to WKU; otherwise she would have attended UofL. David needed to attend a college closer to home so he could work in the family business easier; otherwise he would have attended UK. They were physically attracted to each other from the start. When they found out about each other's true college affiliation, it required a compromise.

Both would cheer for the Hilltoppers. They had agreed to support each other's team except when they played each other. They both lied. They never supported the other's team. Although they lived together their junior and senior years, it was quickly established that there could be no sex after any ballgame in which UK and UofL were combatants. Too emotional.

Because David was established in his family's business in Hopkinsville, Vivian had conceded to living there. David picked a three-bedroom house with unfinished basement for them to live in. One bedroom was the Cardinal Bedroom, one was the Wildcat Bedroom, and one was the master bedroom. The spouse whose team lost spent the night in the opposite affiliation bedroom as shame for the failure of his/her team. Guests got to choose or split bedrooms.

She had agreed to join David in his hometown in a house of his choice but that was the extent of her sacrifices. She got to decide furniture, social activities, and trips. Any hesitation on David's part to give her what she wanted was met with 'I agreed to move to UK country. I should get whatever I want."

Although there was nothing else that should have caused trouble in their lives, neither was there anything to cause excitement. She worked in a local jewelry store and helped with some local charities, but none of these things touched her soul. Vivian began to suggest more exotic trips and adventures that David said were too expensive and that he couldn't get away for. Vivian became more and more irritated. The lust was no longer great enough to make up for their differences. Sex became less frequent and less passionate.

To Vivian there always seemed to be some reminder that this was Big Blue country and she was an outsider. She began to seek out Louisville fans to counter the overwhelming Kentucky support in the town. That's how Allen got into the picture. He was a UofL graduate who had married a local girl.

While in Lexington, David received a message from Vivian that she wanted to meet with him at the house after noon on Saturday and told him he needed to be there. It was important. He said that should be no problem since he planned on returning shortly after breakfast and would gain an hour coming back from EDT to CDT.

Just after noon on Saturday, David brought his overnight bag into the house. David had seen Allen's car in the driveway, so he was expecting he was there for the meeting also. "Hello, Vivian. Hello, Asshole."

"Really, David? Childish name calling?"

"I am rubber, you are glue . . ."

Turning to Allen, Vivian remarked, "You see what I've had to put up with . . ."

David got serious. "Okay, Vivian. It's your show."

"Well, Allen has won a trip to the Bahamas for a week. He and I will leave together tomorrow. I feel a big relief that we don't have to pretend anymore. Our lawyer will have divorce papers served first thing on Monday morning. We wanted to meet with you after noon today because you won't be able to do anything with your money before you receive the papers which will coincide with the freezing of your assets.

"I have a copy of the latest totals of the accounts so don't think you can hide them from the settlement. It's simple. 50% for each of us from our assets, including your business. We'll sell the house and split the profit. And alimony, of course. Fight it and I'll go for more and make it difficult for you to access the money to run your business. More importantly, your precious reputation in your Norman Rockwell hometown will be ruined when I tell of all the abuse, neglect and mental cruelty I suffered from."

"Well, it seems like you've thought of everything. I'm curious though, why don't you want the house? I would be glad to move out so you and assh... sorry, you and buttwipe could live here." David asked her to aggravate her. He knew she hated the house.

"You know I've never liked this house, but you, Mister Construction Man, knew what a good deal it was. And that creepy basement. I get goosebumps just thinking about all those spider webs, roaches, and rats that might be down there. If you hadn't moved the laundry facility upstairs, I would never have lived here. I still don't understand why you didn't build a house yourself?"

"I wanted to, but at the time we moved here, I was only into commercial construction. Even then, I told you I would fix up the basement. Haven't you heard me all those nights and weekends? Have you been down there lately? It's improved a lot. You'll be surprised. It's just about finished."

"I wouldn't open the basement door if you paid me. I figured you were just trying to have a UK Man Cave that I wouldn't disturb. Anyway, it doesn't matter now. Allen and I will find our own house. You can buy my half of the house if you want this place that bad."

"Well, it looks like I will have to plan for the changes coming up. Will I be able to reach you on your cell phone if I have any questions?"

"No. This will be our 'pre-honeymoon.' We don't want to be disturbed. It's only five days so whatever you want can just wait. And please, don't try anything stupid while we're gone. You will regret it. I will make the community aware you are the cuckold fool you are and take more than half your money."

"Yes, dear." The sarcasm was dripping from his lips.

"You haven't asked why. I'll tell you anyway. It's partially the old cliché about loving you but not being IN love with you anymore. It might have helped if you had a job with regular hours and didn't come home covered with dirt. It's when I started to think of having sex with you as one of my household chores that I knew it was over. Allen has provided that zest for life I was missing, and I don't have to worry what I say about the Big Ass Blue.

"In some ways, however, I'm sorry. In most ways you've been an okay husband. It may have worked out if you weren't such a diehard UK fan. I think I've done pretty good by waiting this long. There's just too many negatives to overcome the few positives. I'm hoping you care for me enough you won't be nasty in going along with the divorce, but I'm also warning you I can get nasty myself."

David replaced the clothes in his overnight bag and left for his office. Although it was closed, he needed a place to work from. A lot had to be accomplished in a short period of time.

Vivian and Allen had a good time in the Bahamas except for the encounter with the jellyfish and sun burn. Those two things kept them indoors a lot without being in the mood to enjoy indoor activities. They resolved to pretend to others that their stay was of honeymoon quality.

When they reached Miami, they turned on their cell phones. Vivian saw a text from the process server who was to have served David Monday morning. It said that he had gone to the construction site but was told David was no longer the owner. The business had been sold to the Webb Brothers from Lexington. He said that he was directed to contact David's lawyer. He informed her that he saw the lawyer at 10:05 am. He was able to accept the petition for divorce because David had left him Power of Attorney. The lawyer said he understood that the clock for the divorce and freezing of assets began at 10:05 on Monday.

"He sold his business. That bastard."

"Now Vivian. There's no way he could have legally sold the business before 10:00 Monday morning. Just to be safe, check your bank balances on your tablet."

Vivian did as asked and exclaimed, "All of our joint accounts have been emptied. What are we going to do?"

"Calm down. What we're going to do is to screw him royally. I'm surprised he's acted so stupidly. We just need to get our lawyer after him. He'll have to return the assets and the money from the sale of his business. Don't worry. This may even be helpful. Now we don't have to worry about how to split the business. He's converted it to cash for us already, so it will be easy to figure." Allen said that to assure Vivian. He wasn't so sure. David hadn't become a successful businessman by being stupid even if he couldn't keep his wife satisfied.

Vivian came back to the house and found that David, some of his clothes and all of his toiletries were not there. David did leave the contact information for his lawyer. She and Allen debated if he was just off somewhere having a hissy-fit or was gone for good. They didn't really care. The divorce process had started, and the real issues were, "Where is the money? How was he allowed to take the money when it was frozen? How could he have been allowed to sell the business?" They called David's lawyer.

David's attorney told Vivian, Allen and their attorney in a meeting the next day, "I assure you everything he did was legal. What you underestimated was how well he was liked by the people of this community. Since he was not going to be served until Monday, he got the bank to open on a Sunday. Most of the directors of the bank are close family friends and UK fanatics. No state or federal laws restrict banks from setting their hours of operation. David used that time to remove his money. And no, he didn't transfer it to another account or another bank. I have no idea where it is.

"As far as the business, he had been negotiating with the Webb Brothers for a while on buying the business. On the day you all 'met' at Beaver Dam, he was on the way to meet with the Webb Brothers then. They offered him $13 million. He called on the Saturday you two divulged your plans. David offered to sell for just $12.5 million, if and only if, they could get all the paperwork ready on Sunday and send their private plane to bring the papers to sign. Again, the money was not deposited in any bank account.

"David has disappeared. He calls me periodically on a phone that does not show his number on my phone. I have the authority to act in his behalf. As long as I hear a settlement that I believe is in his best interest, I will sign off on the deal for him. Your initial offer as attached with the petition for divorce is a good starting point. I suggest we meet and go over points of disagreement."

Allen remarked, "That sounds reasonable, but our being nice will be dependent on getting her half of everything."

Their attorney reported the next day, "The date he offered for our meeting was in 45 days from now."

"He's trying to stall."

Their lawyer responded, "Obviously. I imagine that he will resort to some sort of additional reason to delay just before the deadline of whatever the most recent action was. David has the money to tie up this divorce up for months, maybe a year or more. His attorney will get rich and I will get richer if we continue as is. Given what I understand about your finances, I suggest you think about postponing the divorce, at least until you find out where his money is."

Allen responded, "But Vivian will be awarded over $6,000,000. Can't you wait to get paid?"

"Vivian MAY be awarded over $6,000,000. Our firm has had some clients who never found the missing person or the money or they found the person, but the money had been spent. The clients were never able to pay us for our services. Since then, the partners have taken a more conservative approach. You would need give us well over $100,000 just for us to stay involved. Do you have that to spare? Find David's money and then get back to us."

Allen and Vivian consulted. Vivian would have money problems without access to David's funds, much less a spare $100,000. She had learned that David had stopped all the auto-withdrawals for the utilities. David had, however, paid the mortgage in advance for a year. Allen was in a bind because he had started his divorce procedure and was surprised how angry and vindictive his wife had been in her response. First, she threw Allen out of the house, so he moved in with Vivian. Then her attorney asked for the freezing of Allen's funds. She was not agreeable to Allen's using joint funds to support Vivian. The funds he had to support him and help Vivian were half of the disposable income he was used to having.

Vivian was forced to use her personal savings account for utilities and car payment. Her father's business had gone under and he could not help. If the divorce was going to take a long time, she did not believe she had the funds for both an extended divorce proceeding and hiring a private investigator to find David and his money. She went with the PI. That commitment put her on a paycheck by paycheck basis for living expenses. The waiting and searching game had begun.

Vivian and Allen awoke one night, itching and scratching. They thought it must have been mosquitoes, but it kept getting worse despite the spraying. Vivian went to the doctor and got a different diagnosis - bed bugs! She went ballistic. She hated all things creepy and crawly, but bed bugs were the worst. She literally shivered at the thought of bed bugs. As quickly as she could, she called an exterminator. They came out and did the extensive treatment required, which cost a hefty amount.

Although they appeared to be regular exterminators in order not to freak out the neighbors, the morning after the treatment Vivian saw a sign in her yard saying that this house had just been treated for bed bugs. Too many neighbors had seen it before Vivian ripped the sign up. No one would even walk their dog on the sidewalk in front of their house anymore. They had already told her not to call on them for help after what she had done to David.

Vivian called the exterminator's office to complain but was told the company never put up signs like that for obvious reasons. Vivian immediately thought, "David! That bastard is still around here." She passed that information on to the PI. It didn't help. The PI kept reporting that they had not found him, or the money nor did they have any good leads. They did report that they found his car at the Long Term Parking Lot at the Nashville airport, but were unable to find evidence of him taking a flight around the time of his disappearance.

About a week later, Vivian and Allen began to notice that the water pressure had gone down. They called the water company to come check. The workman inspected the water main to the house and told Vivian that the pressure to the main was fine. There must be a leak between the main and the house or under the house. He walked around the yard and found a patch of ground wetter than the rest. "I'll bet the leak is around here."

"Can you fix it?"

"Leaks between the main and the house is the owner's responsibility. You need to call a plumber."

A phone call and several hundred dollars later, the problem was fixed. It appeared someone had drilled a hole in the water pipe. Vivian knew who and became even more agitated.

Vivian and Allen worked in the jewelry business. He was a wholesale buyer. She worked in one of the jewelry stores. Her uncle in New York had a jewelry business and she had worked for him during the summers. Between her knowledge of jewels and her good looks, she was very successful. Her salary was above average. The income from her commissions wavered, but mostly on the high side of what she predicted.

On day she heard the bell for the store's front door ring. A little old lady hobbled in, walking with the aid of a cane. Vivian and everyone in the store knew who it was. Mrs. Edna Smithfield. She was the matriarch of one of the town's founding families and owned a considerable amount of real estate of great value. She loved beautiful jewelry and didn't worry about the price in acquiring the same. Vivian was excited to see the woman make her way to the counter where Vivian was.

"Mrs. Smithfield, how good to see you again. What can we help you with today?"

Mrs. Smithfield looked up at her and squinted her eyes. "Vivian?"

"Yes, Mrs. Smithfield." Vivian thought that having her name remembered was a good sign.

"I can't talk very loudly. Can you bend over so I can talk to you?"

Vivian was happy to comply and leaned about halfway across the counter.

Mrs. Smithfield smiled and then slapped Vivian across the face. She told the stunned clerk, "That's what you get for defiling your marriage to one of the finest young men I have ever known. His family has been here almost as long as mine. Shame on you." As she turned to head out the door, she turned to the shocked owner of the jewelry store and announced, "I will never do business in this store again as long as that Cardinal hussy works here."