Temper Temper

"I can't give you a copy of this without a whole lot of legal trouble for me, you, and the company. But I did talk to our Chief Legal Officer, and she said if your lawyer is made aware of it, she can get a copy for you to use as evidence. I wanted you to know."

"Thanks Hugh."

"I'm really sorry Grant."

Grant sat at home that evening having his nightly beer on the back patio. Mrs. Edison seemed to have given up knocking on his front door about a week ago, and he was not giving anyone a chance to stop him and pump him for information.

He decided to call John.

"Grant! Great timing bud! I've got someone I trust to take your case and they're here right now; she was going to call you in a minute. Can I put you on speaker?"

"Sure!"

"Can you still hear me?"

"Yup"

"Great! OK, I've got Susan here, she's got a great track record and is willing to take on your case."

"Hello Mr. Walker, Susan Curran."

Hi Susan, please call me Grant."

"Okay Grant, John has filled me in on your situation, have there been any new developments, or any new information you can share?"

"Oh boy there sure has!"

Grant went on to explain all the recent developments in detail. He realized part way through he was probably paying for her time, but he didn't care. Finally, he finished his tale.

"Grant, we have enough to get her case thrown out and then you can counter sue for adultery. There are no children, so that makes things easier. You can try to split things or go for more. Your other option is to see if her lawyer will get her to drop her case and you could go for irreconcilable differences if you'd like to avoid too much of your private life becoming public."

"What if I just want to talk to her?"

"I'm sorry, what do you mean?"

"She won't talk to me, she thinks I cheated on her and from what I saw, I can understand why."

"I don't think there is a way she can be forced to communicate with you, Grant. Perhaps if you file, she'll talk in court, but there is no guarantee."

"I understand. It's just...well...I miss her, and I wanted a chance to see if maybe something could be salvaged."

"So, to sum it up; You did nothing wrong. You caught your wife in bed with another man. She sued you for divorce, wrongly accusing you of adultery while not mentioning her own. She won't talk with you at all. Despite this, you wish to attempt salvaging your marriage."

"Uh, even though that makes me sound like some kind of wimp, I guess I do."

"It doesn't seem to me that you are a wimp. I think you show great maturity in being able to process the facts the way you have. Let me think for a moment."

Then John, who had of course been listening to the exchange between Susan and his friend, chimed in.

"You sure bud? I mean you walked in on her."

"John, I wasn't sure until this call, but I am. My Angie has a temper, and she has pride. It's a bad combo, but I knew it going in, and I've dealt with it for years. But she is also the most full-of-life person I know. She keeps me on my toes and has made life fun and interesting. I mean, I don't like it being quite this interesting, but I think I could forgive her if she'd just talk."

Before John could respond, Susan spoke up.

"Here's what I think you could do. I can share the evidence with her lawyer and see if she'll drop the charges when she realizes she was wrong in her assumption. Then you can try to work things out with her."

"It won't work. Her pride won't let her reach out. Don't get me wrong, she'd feel horrible and probably punish herself and refuse to talk out of guilt. We'd end up with an extended separation, while I worked to convince her we could save things, And I'd probably have to go through her parents which isn't fair to them."

"Then we let her case go to court and we fight it."

"Umm, how will that end any differently?"

"Well, we can show the evidence as late in the process as possible and then ask for court ordered counseling. They usually will grant it. It's no guarantee, and your talking would be in the presence of a councilor, but you would get to talk to her."

"I like the odds better on this option."

"But there are downsides. The case would go on the public record. Although no one would see the video, your testimony about her encounter and a description of your evidence would be part of the file. Not that many people read those, but if your wife's pride is as you describe, it might make things difficult for her. And it may decrease the odds of successful reconciliation."

"I guess I hadn't thought of that."

"There's one more thing I can try, but again, there are no guarantees. You'd kind of have to trust me on it."

"What do you have in mind?

"Now that I've seen the file, I know her lawyer. I've been on a few cases with him and he's very reasonable. I think we could ask to speak with one of the judges. I'm going to see if we can get a pre-trial audience in the judge's chambers and see if he will order the counseling without a trial. It's highly unusual, but we may be able to convince the right judge."

"Go for it!"

Angie was not doing well. She had lost weight and Carla was worried about her. She just had this nagging worry that she was making some mistake. Damn him and his messages!

Her lawyer had contacted her and said she had to be at the courthouse next Thursday. She'd asked about bringing her parents and was told that they could come, but there would be a pretrial meeting in the judge's chambers, and they may not be allowed in that.

Another reason she was worried was that despite her anger and pride controlling her actions and words sometimes, she was a smart person. She knew that her claim she had not cheated would not hold up in anyone's eyes, not to mention the court's. For the thousandth time, she wished he would have just reacted the way he was supposed to. He should have yelled back, denied things, called her names. Then they could have considered things finished and moved on.

Instead, he'd planted this seed of doubt, been sad, and kept trying to call her. Despite her anger, she knew she couldn't stay angry forever. And her anger was her armor. People left her alone when she was angry. Anger allowed her to see the world the way she wanted to, without other opinions because it made people keep their mouths shut. So, as time went on, Angie felt more vulnerable and unsure.

"I still don't understand what's going on. Two of my friends have been divorced and they never had to go to the judge's office."

"Angie, I told you, Judges do this sometimes and it's always wise to do your best to honor the judge's wishes. And it's 'chambers', not 'office'."

"Okay." Angie rolled her eyes.

Her mother reached over and squeezed her hand. Angie looked at her and wished she hadn't. It had been a few weeks and her mother, and she weren't talking like they used to, and it bothered Angie. Her parents had always been there for her, but she and her mom were especially close. She knew she'd deeply disappointed her with what she'd done, but at this point, Angie didn't see that there was much to do but get it over with.

Her parents went and sat in some chairs that were across the hall from the door to the 'chambers'. Then Angie looked at her lawyer and nodded. He lifted his hand and knocked.

"Enter."

Angie thought it would be larger, but the room was cozy. She saw bookshelves and a large desk, with the judge, a diminutive, elderly man, sitting behind it, eyes boring into her, but smiling.

Then she saw him, and her heart felt like it skipped a beat. She knew he'd be here, but it was still hard to see him after so many weeks. Seeing him made her feel funny. She had expected anger, and there was some, but she was surprised to find herself looking at him and thinking that he needed a haircut, that he should have picked a different shirt to go with that suit, that he looked good despite that.

'Stop it!' she thought to herself and thrust her jaw out. She thought she saw the judge smile just a bit, but she may have been imagining it. She looked straight at the judge, refusing to look at Grant, or even vaguely in his direction.

The judge gestured to the two remaining empty chairs, and they sat; her lawyer sat next to Grant's lawyer, and Angie sat next to hers, putting the maximum possible distance between the estranged couple. Angie noticed a man standing behind and off to one side of the judge and assumed he must be the bailiff.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get started. We're here today to discuss the filing for divorce by Ms. Angela Walker, against her husband, Mr. Grant Walker, on the grounds of adultery. I need to confirm. Are you Mr. Walker?" The judge looked at Grant.

"Yes, Your Honor."

"And you are Ms. Walker?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Both of you have agreed to abide by anything I may order after this discussion. You may nod if you affirm."

Both Angie and Grant nodded.

"Ms. Walker. May I call you Angie?"

Angie nodded.

"And you, may I call you Grant?"

Grant also nodded. The judge smiled and continued.

"Thank you both, that makes it much easier and doesn't sound so stuffy. You may call me 'Your Honor' or 'Judge Everly'." He chuckled at his display of humor and the lawyers laughed with him. Angie and Grant did not.

"Angie, I understand you want a divorce because you claim your husband had inappropriate relations with a woman?"

"Yes I do and yes he did!" Angie said with a little heat, which the judge ignored.

"And you witnessed this?"

"Yes...Your Honor." Angie added as the judge raised an eyebrow.

"Grant. Did you have inappropriate relations with a woman like your wife claims?

"No, Your Honor."

"LIAR!" Angie yelled, rising out of her chair.

"Angie! Sit down!" demanded the judge. Angie's lawyer had reached for her arm, but she tugged it away and sat down hard, looking angry.

"My, you are a feisty one! Angie, do you have any evidence to back up your claim?"

"Judge if I may?" asked Angie's lawyer. The judge nodded.

"Ms. Walker went to her husband's place of employment to bring him a meal. He had been working late nights and weekends for over two months, with a woman from another department. Upon arriving, she witnessed the woman taking off her dress in the presence of Mr. Walker. The woman was naked. Ms. Walker left the place of employment without being seen by her husband or the woman."

"I see, I see. Not good. Not good. No sir. Grant, what is your side of the story?"

Grant's lawyer, Susan, put her hand on his arm indicating she would speak. Grant sighed and nodded.

"Your honor, my client does not deny that he worked many late nights with the woman, however they were working. He also does not deny that the woman did disrobe that night, if his wife had stayed but a moment more, she would have witnessed Mr. Walker chastise the woman and then demand she put her clothes on and leave."

"OH Please!" Angie said, standing again. "I'm supposed to believe that you just told a beautiful woman to put her clothes back on when she was offering herself...ungh" Angie suddenly choked fighting to hold back tears.

Everyone was immediately on their feet, both Grant and Angie's lawyer made a move toward Angie, Grant with a look of anguish. Susan held him back, whispering something in his ear. Judge Everly witnessed this and moved around the desk while saying.

"Now now Angie. Hold on dear. Everyone but Ms. Walker out! She and I are going to have a little talk."

By now, the judge had come from behind his desk and put a fatherly arm around Angie, who was looking down, clearly fighting to keep her emotions in check. Everyone shuffled toward the door to the hall, including the bailiff. Once they were alone, the judge helped her sit down and moved back to his chair.

"Angie, what am I going to do with you? Hmmmm?"

Angie had managed to control herself finally and was just sniffling a little. She didn't really think he wanted her to answer, so she kept her mouth shut. He looked at her for a few more moments and spoke.

"I'm going to show you a few things, and they're going to hurt. But you need to see them. I asked everyone to leave because I don't think you need that big an audience. Okay?"

"I guess so."

With that, the judge pointed to a large panel television that was off to the side on a rolling cart. He held up a remote and the screen came to life. Angie saw the screen split in two. After a moment, she saw Grant and Kelly on the left and it hit her what she was going to watch.

"Please! Please No!" she sobbed. "I can't bear to watch it!"

"Don't you mean again? Watch it again?" the judge asked calmly, looking at her.

She just looked down for a moment without answering, tears running down her cheeks.

She gasped when she saw herself come off the elevator and realized it was security camera footage. Once it got to the part where Kelly took her dress off, Angie was openly crying and having a hard time seeing. Judge Everly hit pause and handed her a tissue. He waited patiently while she composed herself. When she had, he said.

"I'm going to continue. Be strong Angie."

She watched as she saw herself flee and then took a breath and made it obvious she was still watching the video. She saw Grant turn and apparently yell. Kelly backed away, covering her breasts with her arm. She suddenly picked up her dress and put it on while Grant turned away from her. She then ran out of the office and down the hall.

Angie's mouth was hanging open. The judge came back around and sat next to her as her mouth began opening and closing like a fish. Color drained from her face and a tear leaked from her eye and ran down her face.

"Oh no, Oh no, Oh no..."

The judge put an arm around her, and she suddenly leaned into him and began to cry softly. The judge could hear her voice, muffled by his robes.

"What have I done! Oh God! I'm so sorry!"

He winced at her pain.

Angie cried for almost thirty minutes, and the whole time the judge stayed at her side as she dampened his robes. Finally, she composed herself and apologized to him.

"I'm sorry, Your Honor. I...I'm just sorry." She was looking at her lap as she said it.

"Look at me Angie."

She looked up.

"We all make mistakes. All we can hope to do is learn from them. Oh, I know, it's always tempting to blame others for our mistakes, or pretend they didn't happen, but that doesn't serve a purpose other than to deny ourselves a chance to grow."

He got up and moved back to his chair. He sat and grabbed a folder and held it up.

"In here is a statement from Ms. Kelly Dawson to the human resources department of your husband's employer. She admits to trying to entice him into having sex with her. She also states he denied her every time, making it clear he was happily married."

Angie squeezed her eyes shut.

"Now, now. No more tears, at least right now. I did not mean to torture you. I merely knew you needed to see and hear the truth."

"What am I going to do now?"

"Well, as luck would have it, I'm a judge!" He said with a smile. "And I have certain authority to make things happen, so to speak. And so, before I bring everyone back in, I'm going to tell you privately, that I'm ordering you to take anger management classes."

Angie sat up straight and bristled, but the judge ignored it if he noticed.

"I know of a few good ones and my assistant can get you details later. I expect you to take at least ten sessions. After that, you may end if you 'graduate'. Or, if you find it helpful, you may choose to continue. It is time you master your anger and take control of your life."

Angie nodded slowly; she knew she needed help.

"As for anything else I have to say, it will be to the full group. Are you ready?"

Angie took a deep breath and nodded. The judge pressed a button on his phone and spoke.

"Please tell them to come back in. No need to knock."

Grant had an awkward forty-five minutes in the hallway, sitting across from his in-laws. Carla looked sad, maybe a bit apologetic, but neither he nor she said anything. Larry, his father in-law, wouldn't make eye contact with him. He hoped everything was going well.

When he'd seen Angie enter the chambers, he almost forgot to breathe. She was so beautiful. He hoped they could try again and knew if they did, they had a long way to go and a lot of challenging times ahead but seeing her made him realize he wanted her back in his life.

Finally, they got word to go back, and they filed in and returned to their seats. Judge Everly waited patiently for everyone to get settled. He cleared his throat.

"Now that everyone is aware of the evidence, I'm going to ask some questions. Grant, do you want a divorce from Angie."

"No, Your Honor."

Angie gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. She had leaned forward and turned to face Grant, a look of confusion and wonder in her eyes.

"I see. And Angie, do you wish to proceed to court with your case?"

Angie turned back to face the judge and mumbled something.

"Speak up dear."

"No, Your Honor."

"Well then. Solved! You two can hold hands, give each other a kiss, and go about your happy lives as if none of this happened!"

Gant and Angie squirmed a bit, but the two lawyers had a tough time containing smiles.

"No? Well then, maybe we need to think some things through. Grant, is there anything you would have done differently?"

"Your Honor?" Grant didn't know where the judge was going with this.

"Did you play any part in this? Or was it all your wife's fault?"

Grant just stared at the judge, suddenly feeling like he was missing something. The judge sighed and shook his head. "Put yourself in her shoes, son. If it had been her working late with an attractive man, for months, and you came in to see him strip naked, what would you have thought?"

Grant reddened with embarrassment. "The same thing Angie did, Your Honor."

"Can you think of how this could have been avoided?"

"Yes, Your Honor, I could have told her about Kelly hitting on me from the start."

Judge Everly looked up to the ceiling and lifted his arms. "Hallelujah! There is still hope yet!"

Grant and Angie were still looking uncomfortable, the lawyers were visibly shaking with barely suppressed mirth at his antics.

"Angie, could you have reacted better?"

"Yes, Your Honor. I...I could have asked him what happened after seeing what I did."

"Thata girl! So, I think we recognize a need to improve communication. To that end, I'm ordering you both to marriage counseling. Ten joint sessions and ten separate sessions apiece. I have more questions. Grant, do you love Angie?"

Grant choked up and replied.

"Yes, Your Honor. More than I ever thought possible."

The judge turned to Angie, whose tears had begun to flow at Grant's statement.

"Angie, do you love Grant?"

Angie, unable to speak, just cried and nodded her head rapidly.

"Well, that certainly gives me hope! Seriously now, you two have a lot of mending to do. It won't be easy, but I believe you two will make it. I expect the lawyers to clean up whatever needs to be done to withdraw the filing and ensure you know how to follow my orders. With that said, I believe we are done here, you may all leave."

Everyone said, "Thank you, You Honor" and all but Angie turned to file out. Grant paused and watched as Angie ran to Judge Everly and hugged him. The elderly judge looked surprised for a moment and then returned the hug, a tear in his eye.

Four Months Later