The General's Wife

Jack sighed in resignation. "Sure; come on in. You know the way."

Kathy took a seat in the chair that had once been hers. Tears came to her eyes at the memory. Jack sat in his usual chair. It felt different. He had not been home in months and the cushions had gone back to their normal condition. They no longer matched with his butt. The mind thinks of the strangest things at the strangest times, he mused.

"You're selling the house. Why are you selling it? I loved this house!" Kathy's eyes were wet with tears.

"I don't really spend much time here. I bought some property west of Austin and I'm building a house out there. I've bought a few horses and that's where I plan on spending my time when I'm not on location."

"I watched you on TV. I even saw that movie you made with Gary Cleveland. You were so good Jack! Why didn't you ever try to be an actor when we were married?"

Jack shook his head at the ridiculousness of the question. "In case you forgot, I was too busy being a general officer in the United States Army. Acting was not on my radar back then. Hell, it wouldn't be on my radar now except my agent has me contracted for three movies over the next two years."

Kathy's eyes widened at that revelation. This just reinforced her decision.

"I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for everything I did. I had everything I wanted and I threw it all away." She started sobbing as she looked down at her wringing hands. "I am so sorry. I want you to know that I divorced Danny. You'll never have to worry about him again."

Kathy missed Jack's eyeroll.

"Okay Kathy. I forgive you. It's water under the bridge. No harm; no foul. Water off a duck's back. No worries. We're good." Jack stood. "Was there anything else?"

"Do you think that there's any chance..." She was interrupted by voices coming through the kitchen. The girls are back early, Jack thought.

As they came around the corner, Kathy was shocked to see her daughter accompanied by an obviously pregnant Hispanic woman that appeared to be a few years older than Kelsey. The woman was gorgeous and Kathy wondered who she was. Their laughter and chatter stopped abruptly as they noticed their visitor.

"Mother," Kelsey acknowledged without any trace of emotion. "What brings you up from Hades?"

"Kels..." her father warned. Be nice to your mother. "Have a seat ladies. Kathy was just asking me a question." He nodded towards Kathy. "You were saying..."

Kathy took a deep breath. If she was going to humble and humiliate herself, she might as well do it in front of her daughter, but to do it in front of some pregnant Mexican woman? She wasn't there yet.

"Kelsey, it's been a couple of years since I've seen you so I don't know all your friends. Don't you want to introduce me?"

"Sorry Mother. You were always into the Hollywood gossip so I just assumed you would recognize her. Kathy...is it Bullard or Bascombe these days? Whichever, Kathy, this is Maria Elena Montoya. She's my friend, but most importantly, she's my father's fiancée and the mother of my soon to be little sister. Maria Elena Montoya, meet the stupidest woman in America."

+++

Setting the record straight.

This is a work of fiction. The only real person is this story is James Bonham. He did not have a brother name Robert. He did however have a brother named Milledge Luke Bonham who stayed in South Carolina. Luke was the governor of South Carolina until he resigned to accept a commission as brigadier in the CSA. To my knowledge he did not marry the niece of the King of Spain.

Tyler Sherman is a fictional character. He is not based on any real person. What, you don't believe me? Have I ever lied to you?