The JAG Officer's Wife

"Do you know who assaulted Randy Cain outside of your brother's residence?"

Rollie Cruz shook his head in barely concealed rage. He already knew the answer to Lynn Dunaway's question.

"Yes, I do. It was me," Leland said. "I beat the hell out of him for attacking Danny and having an affair with my brother's wife."

Rollie looked at the jurors, most of whom were trying to conceal smiles and laughter. He looked at his client and shook his head.

Dismissing Leland, Lynn called Betty Lou Keel to the stand. Bobby Lou's testimony ended with "Yes, I do. It was me. I beat the hell out of him for attacking Danny and having an affair with my brother-in-law's wife."

Bobby Lee Gearson's testimony ended in much the same manner: "Yes, I do. It was me. I beat the hell out of him for attacking Danny and having an affair with my sister's brother-in-law's wife."

Roland Cruz's impotent rage was evident in his closing remarks to the jury as he pointed toward the defendants. "I don't have to prove my case; they proved it for me. One or more of the defendants brutally attacked Randy Cain. After the attack, one or more of the defendants acting in concert, conspired to cover up the crime and engaged in a criminal conspiracy to do so. You ladies and gentlemen of the jury know what the truth is. Please do your duty and find for Randy Cain."

Lynn's closing remark was equally brief. "The only thing that the plaintiffs have proved is that Randy Cain is a despicable human being who has affairs with married women and then beats up their children. If there was proof of guilt, they would have been arrested. Please find in favor of the defendants. Thank you."

With that, Judge Bowman banged the gavel dismissing the jury to deliberate.

+++

The "Ferguson Five" as they had dubbed themselves in the wake of Randy Cain's lawsuit, were eating pizza in Grant's apartment while the jury deliberated. They felt that they had done the best they could under the circumstances. No one had lied under oath or to the police, although admittedly they had not been very forthcoming with the facts. Even the fact of their individual admissions to attacking Cain was true in a manner of speaking; they were in fact guilty, even if it was guilt after the fact.

"How long do you think it will take the jury," asked Bobby Lee Gearson.

"I don't think it's going to take too long for them to decide on the guilty or innocent aspect. We admitted guilt. Deciding how much to award the asshole will take up most of the jury's time. Could be today; could be tomorrow." Grant took a bite of his pizza and stared morosely at the floor. He regretted letting the others talk him out of making a settlement offer to Cain. If he had, this would all be over by now.

"How's your mother doing," Betty Lou asked Danny.

Danny shrugged his shoulders, before hunching over with his elbows on his knees. "She's not doing well at all. She comes home from school, goes straight to her bedroom, and spends the night crying. We've had a couple of talks about her affair and the divorce and she is still having a hard time accepting the divorce. When I asked her how she thought things were going to end when Dad found out, she started crying so badly I had to give her space until she calmed down. From what she says, she expected Dad to be pissed at her, but that he would get over it and fix things because that's what he always did; when something went wrong, Dad would fix it. She's only just now starting to get it; that there's no fixing this and that she's solely responsible for her situation. She pissed into the fan and can't understand how she got so wet."

"She fucked around and found out," Leland said flatly to Betty Lou's eye-roll.

"Thank you, Mr. Reddit," Betty Lou snarked. "I almost feel sorry for her. I've been her friend since you two started dating. I was right here, twenty minutes away from your house. If she was getting tempted or if she was having feelings for another man, she could have reached out and I would have dropped everything to be with her. Any of us would have. Instead, she isolated herself from the ones who cared about her the most so she could carry on with that useless jerk-off."

As they nodded their heads in contemplation of the stupidity of people in general and cheaters in particular, Lynn's cell phone dinged.

"Judge Bowman's clerk," she said. "The verdict is in."

+++

The "Ferguson Five" and their attorney rose as Judge Bowman entered the courtroom. After taking their seats, the judge verified with the jury foreman that the jury had reached a verdict and that the verdict was unanimous. The foreman handed the jury's findings to the bailiff who handed the findings to Judge Bowman.

As the five, plus Lynn, stood to have the verdict read, Grant closed his eyes, regretting once again that he had not stepped up to make a settlement offer to Randy Cain.

"In the matter of Randy Cain versus Grant Keel, Daniel Keel, Leland Keel, Betty Lou Keel, and Bobby Lee Gearson, we find that a conspiracy did exist to attack Randy Cain for having an extramarital relationship with Catherine Keel and for Randy Cain's abuse of Daniel Keel."

As Judge Bowman paused, Grant deflated somewhat. The verdict had been expected, but to hear it read in court was humbling.

"We further find that the plaintiff, Randy Cain should receive from the defendants Grant Keel, Daniel Keel, Leland Keel, Betty Lou Keel, and Bobby Lee Gearson a total of $1000 for real and compensatory damages and a total of $100 for punitive damages." Judge Bowman peered over his glasses at the jury, who looked at him with self-satisfied smirks. He then turned to the plaintiff's table and looked at Randy Cain.

Cain's face was purple with rage as he stood at the table and began hurling insults at the jury and the judge. "You let them get away with this? You stupid motherfuckers! Do you call this justice?" Cain shrieked as Rollie Cruz attempted in vain to calm him down and take his seat.

"Is there any reason for me to pole the jury?" Bowman asked. The jury foreman grinned at the judge and shook his head. Bowman sighed and turned to the defendants. "You have ninety days to appeal the verdict, however, something tells me that you are going to take this verdict and run with it."

The six people gathered around the defendant's table were laughing and smiling as they hugged each other as Judge Bowman dismissed the jury and banged his gavel ending the trial. Unnoticed, Cat stood and for a moment, looked proudly at her former family before exiting the courtroom alone, her tears leaving tracks down her cheeks.

+++

There would, of course, be no appeal of the verdict. The group took it for the win it was and Grant gladly wrote out a check for $1010. The check was payable to the court, who would pay the funds to Rollie Cruz so there would be no need for any further interaction with the former coach, who quickly left the area after Cruz wrote him a check for $707; the amount of the jury award minus Rollie's thirty percent. Cruz was disappointed but resigned to accepting the shit hand he had been dealt. Such was the nature of contingency cases.

Grant and Lynn soon went back to the full-time practice of law. The nature of their relationship had turned sexual after Grant's divorce and so Lynn spent more time in Grant's apartment than she did her own. As their relationship deepened, they debated what to do with Lynn's apartment. There was also the question of children. Lynn wanted at least one and preferably two, however, Grant was reluctant. At forty-six, he felt that he was too old to be a father. Lynn explained to Grant that he was an idiot.

So, at the age of forty-seven, Grant Keel became a father once again. Danny was able to visit shortly after the birth of his half-brother. He was thriving at West Point and enjoying the engineering courses, however, like his father, he had a strong interest in the law and could see himself one day as a JAG attorney.

Grant and Lynn were not the only new parents in the Keel family. Leland and Betty Lou had decided to adopt. Betty Lou had known all her life that she would be unable to have a child but she had always hesitated about adopting. When the sixteen-year-old niece of a co-worker of Betty became pregnant from her high school boyfriend, Leland and Betty Lou had discussed the situation for hours before finally deciding that this was something they wanted to pursue. Neither of the child's parents were drug users or drinkers; they were just two horny kids that found themselves in a tough situation. Leland and Betty Lou welcomed their new daughter, LeeAnne Keel eight months after the birth of Grant and Lynn's son, Wyatt Keel.

It was a crisp autumn morning in Ferguson when Bobby Lee Gearson called in on Grant and asked if they could go for coffee at the café next door. A puzzled Grant agreed, and shrugging his shoulders at Lynn, followed his long-time friend out the door.

"Do you know why I got divorced?" Bobby Lee asked as soon as they were seated.

"I know it was for irreconcilable differences, but I never asked about specifics. It wasn't any of my business." Bobby Lee had met and married his wife while Grant and Cat were living in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They had flown home to Ferguson for the wedding where they had met Bobby Lee's bride and found her to be a pretty and vivacious woman who seemed to be deeply in love with Bobby Lee. After Grant's posting in North Carolina, the Keels were sent to Germany for three years for Grant's next posting. It was two years into this posting that they received word that Bobby Lee was getting a divorce.

"We cheated on each other. I cheated on her first at a bachelor party in Vegas which I confessed to, and then she had a revenge affair on me. At that point, we realized that our marriage was so broken, that no amount of counseling would fix it. Besides, she didn't want to fix it anyway. She'd fallen in love with a co-worker and just wanted out of the marriage. That was ten years ago and I've been pretty sour on marriage ever since."

Grant knew that to be true. Bobby Lee was one of the nicest, kindest men he knew and was a decent-looking guy as well. He received a good salary from the fire department and had several patents, the royalties of which gave him a very nice supplement to his income. But Bobby Lee seldom dated. His family had been after him to put a profile on dating sites or do anything where he might meet a future partner. He had adamantly refused.

"Okay, so where are we going with this conversation Bobby Lee?"

"I've been seeing Cat," he said. Bobby Lee was looking at the table and fidgeting with his coffee stirrer as he dropped his bombshell on Grant.

"Seriously? You're dating my ex-wife?" Grant didn't know what emotion he should be feeling now. Shock? Sure. Anger? Maybe.

"We've been out to coffee a couple of times and lunch one time. Nothing's happened yet and nothing will happen without your okay. We're on the same page in that regard. She's also been seeing a therapist every week to help her understand what caused her to nuke her marriage I saw a therapist for several years after my divorce to understand why I blew up my life."

"You've both cheated on your partners, so I guess you have that in common," Grant said with an edge to his voice.

Bobby Lee nodded, seemingly unaffected by Grant's tone. "Cheating on my wife was the worst thing I have ever done to someone. The feeling of being cheated on by someone I loved was almost as bad, but I would take that feeling over the one that I got when I cheated. Grant, you know Cat better than any of us; do you think she'll ever cheat again?"

Grant cocked his head to the side as he contemplated Bobby Lee's question. "I don't know, man. I never thought she'd cheat in the first place; so, I guess I don't know her as well as you think I do. I hope she's learned her lesson. I hope she'll never cheat again and she'll be a safe partner for the next guy, but I wasn't willing to risk it."

Bobby Lee nodded his head. "I'm willing to risk it with her and she's willing to risk it with me if you give your blessing. If you don't want to give me your blessing, I'll end it right now before we get in too deep."

Grant leaned back in his chair and exhaled deeply as he thought about Cat and Bobby Lee. How did he feel about his ex-wife re-joining his family? He still loved her and she still loved him. You couldn't turn off twenty-plus years of love like water from a spigot. Cat would always be a part of his story and he a part of hers. But could they make the shift to friendship after all she had put him through? Could he forgive her? Could he let her find happiness with someone else or did he want to hang on to his anger and watch her burn?

"Tell you what Bobby Lee; I think I'm okay with it. I may not have the same kind of relationship with her that I have with your sister, but I think I can eventually get part way there.

"As long as the two of you are good to each other and bring happiness to each other, I'll be a cheerleader for you. I do want my son's mother to have a good life and be in a good place mentally. You're a good friend and a good man so maybe it would be good for both of you. So, good luck my friend. If you get married, invite me to the wedding."

And he did.

Setting the record straight:

Civil trials are very tedious so I tried to keep this one moving at a fast pace but realism does suffer as a result.

Cat didn't get completely torched in this story, but her husband and son are good guys and would not do that. But Coach Cain? Fuck that guy.

Rollie Cruz, Esq. appeared in "You Should Probably Take That" and will most definitely make an appearance in another story.