Unexpected Connection Pt. 01

Another Thursday night and Ben Smith walked into the Station; a former railroad depot that had been converted into a bar. It was located on the outskirts of town where he lived. A lot of the locals avoided it because they didn't like the owner due to him not originally being from the area, thus making it the perfect place for Ben to hang out for the last year. He moved to the bar and sat down, Amanda the normal bartender came up, set a coaster down and smiled, "Evening Ben, the usual?"

He smiled back, "Busier than usual tonight. Yeah, throw a burger on too."

She smiled after setting his beer down, "Yeah, been good for the tips. You want the game on?"

"Sure."

One of the things that he liked about the Station and its staff, they pretty much just left him alone other than giving him a refill when necessary. That solitude was what he enjoyed, but he liked to be around people, so at the urging of his therapist, he made a point to go out once a week to avoid becoming a complete hermit.

As he took a drink of his beer, he reflected on the last two years of his life. Two years ago, Ben and his then wife Michelle had moved back to her hometown in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere corn country so Michelle could take a job with her parents' electrical industries company. Ben had always gotten along with his in-laws, and while he was from a midsize town, the smalltown rural life always appealed to him because he liked space and had always enjoyed being outdoors.

He and Michelle's story, like many, was much more complicated than, moved, drifted apart, then eventually got a divorce. They had met when he was 29 and she was 27 through some mutual friends. He was a teacher while she was just getting her start in the business world having obtained her MBA. She had gotten hired at a decent size company and was doing well for herself, even though she was just starting out. Their romance had started out slow, but quickly blossomed; Ben having snagged one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, and Michelle seemingly attracted to him because he wasn't pretentious or egotistical like the small-town world she had grown up in where her family's power, money, and business made them essentially royalty.

After four years of dating, Ben proposed, and Michelle eagerly accepted. As they began to plan the wedding, Michelle's parents offered to foot the bill and they accepted, then they were surprised when Ben's parents scraped together the money to pay completely for their honeymoon. Ben really thought that they were going to be getting off on solid footing, but he began to notice changes in Michelle as she planned the wedding.

Very quickly, it became apparent that his opinions and ideas didn't matter because she had the wedding already planned out in her head. He wrote this off because he knew the old stereotype that women planned their wedding's since they were little girls. As they began to discuss moving in together and consolidating things, she began to criticize his belongings and saying they just needed to use her stuff or flat out get new, something that Ben made clear he didn't think was necessary or a wise financial idea.

That usually started off her criticizing him because as a teacher, he didn't make as much as her, and that meant she should have more say in their finances and what they had until he finished his administration license and got a higher paying job. He scoffed as he thought back about how anytime he used logic or made a valid point, especially in public, it tended to piss her off which led to more arguments. He always attributed it to the stress of her work and the planning of the wedding, but now looking back, it was just red flag after red flag that he ignored. Even with all of that, the wedding went off without a hitch, making all the local papers in her hometown and surrounding area, and for a while, things definitely improved.

He thanked Amanda as she dropped his burger off and brought him another beer. As he ate, his mind drifted to the decision to move back to her hometown; it all started one terrible morning when Michelle's sister Maggie called and tearfully told her that their parents had been killed. They have been traveling to the airport to check on some facilities they had out of state when due to the heavy fog, they apparently crossed the centerline and collided head on with a semi-truck carrying corn, killing them both instantly.

For the next ten days, Michelle and Ben spent time with her family trying to sort through everything along with the massive business holdings. Michelle had two siblings, Maggie who had already moved back home to work in the family business with her husband Jeff, and an older brother Eric who was married to a local girl named Ellen and had never left. Michelle had always been the proverbial golden child, she was the oldest, the smartest, and the one the company was supposed to be left to, which became apparent with her parents' death.

Probably the biggest shock was that the family's lake house about 10 minutes outside of town had been left to her and Ben, not just her. Those two revelations started a flurry of discussion between she and Ben, ultimately culminating in him resigning from his position at the end of the school year, her submitting her two weeks' notice, and them moving back to her hometown. Immediately after moving, she threw herself into the company, learning the ins and outs of a business that she knew very little about.

In the meantime, Ben began to apply for jobs, eventually landing one a couple of towns over at the local high school. As that summer came to a close, things were looking as positive as they could, given the circumstances. As fall and school began to ramp up, Michelle was still constantly busy at work, often working 12-hour days, Ben was doing much the same because of the new classes he was teaching, meaning they didn't see each other more than a couple hours a night and weekends. This didn't leave much time for couple things, especially sex, they were both often very tired, but when Ben would try to initiate, he would often be turned down.

This became even more common when they would fight and he would stand up to her; she would refuse to have sex, kiss, touch, and even talk to him in a lot of cases until he gave in and gave her what she wanted; to say Ben was beginning to be beaten down was an understatement. He didn't know anyone in her hometown, he had met some of her friends, and while they seemed okay, he only ever befriended a couple of them; even then, he always viewed them as Michelle's friends, not really his. He still talked to some of his friends from college and vented to his buddy Nick a lot, and even when Nick or his wife Erica tried to get Ben to see what was going on, Ben just ignored them, or blamed it on the stress.

Everything changed one Saturday evening when Ben returned early from a school trip that he had chaperoned. When he pulled into their driveway, there was a BMW parked in his usual spot, thinking it was one of Michelle's coworkers, he parked and headed inside. Not hearing them talking in her office, he figured maybe they were outback on the patio since it was a nice night. He set his suitcase down at the foot of the stairs and headed towards the kitchen and the back deck. As he entered the kitchen, he looked out the window and could see the hot tub was open; he found that strange and quickly opened the French doors, only to discover Michelle standing up, bent over the edge of the hot tub while Brad, her high school boyfriend railed her.

Even to this day, he had trouble remembering what exactly happened, he knew that he had yelled at them, and as they freaked out, he had taken a picture on his phone. There was a lot of yelling, so much so that the neighbors across the street heard and called the cops. Being a small area, the cops arrived quickly, just as Ben was heading back out the door with a suitcase and Michelle following him wearing a robe. Based on the report that had been provided to his attorney, there were a lot of expletives hurled at her as he got into his car and drove over an hour away to find a hotel.

The following Monday, when he began to call divorce attorney's, he began to run into a common issue, Michelle had used a lot of her connections and reached out to many of them, thus they wouldn't or couldn't represent him. After a couple hours of calling, he finally found an attorney and hour and a half away that would take him as a client. Ben agreed to drive and meet with him that day; after they met, the attorney was confident that Ben would be taken care of because the majority of their assets were shared, he had moved to help her, and the infidelity would also work in his favor.

Once Michelle was served with divorce papers, Ben found an apartment between her hometown and his work and with the help of a couple coworkers and Nick and Erica who flew in, they got his clothes and other thing out of the house while Michelle was at work, which turned into a fiasco itself because she had changed the locks and someone from her office had to come over and let him in, all while the cops stood by and the neighbors gawked.

At first, Ben wanted to just get the divorce done and split everything 50/50, but Michelle's first demand tried to screw him out of their joint bank account, a lot of the furnishings in the house, and some personal family things she claimed were gifts. When Ben read the demands, he saw red and told his lawyer, "I want blood."

After some back and forth, the day in court finally arrived and Michelle and Ben had to face each other for the first time in months. Ben had to laugh when he walked into the court room to find Brad, the catalyst in this whole thing sitting just behind Michelle and her lawyers. The judge essentially said that because he did make less than her, the funds in the accounts would be split 40% to him and 60% to her. Both vehicles would be refinanced out of the others name, they would each keep their individual pensions and IRA's account, but when it came to the house, things got juicy. Ben's lawyer provided evidence of the infidelity along with witness statements from people that it had been going on for at least six months. That, coupled with his moving to the area for her and other factors, the judge awarded Ben the house since it was in both of their name's according to the will, causing Michelle and her lawyers to protest viciously.

With their divorce final, Michelle was given 30 days to move her things out of the house, much to the ire of her siblings but also a lot of the town since Ben wasn't from there, and he had taken her to the proverbial cleaners by using an outside attorney. That local disdain was evident by the fact that his mail was often scattered on the yard, cashiers at the local supermarket wouldn't bag his groceries, and people in general just glared. That's why one night after a hard day at work, knowing he didn't have any beer at home, and knowing the hate people had for the Station, he stopped in and had found his new "home" every Thursday night for the last year.

As he was finishing up his burger and polishing off his second beer, he heard a voice that sounded familiar say, "Can I get my tab?"

He glanced over and saw Marissa Robinson, Michelle's high school friend and one of their bridesmaids. Marissa was one of the good one's as he thought, one of the few people he could probably call a friend, even though they didn't talk often, or hang out; she hadn't deleted him on social media like most people, she wished him happy birthday online, so he guessed that meant something.

As she waited for her tab, she glanced over and saw him, she said, "Ben?"

He gave a slight smile and nodded as Amanda set another beer down, "Hey Marissa."

She gave him a big smile, moved over to his stool, and gave him a side hug, "Long time no see, how you are doing?" He took a drink and gave her a sideways look, she smirked and said, "Besides the bitch that is Michelle."

The surprise must have been evident on his face because she laughed. He set his beer down, "That is not the response I was expecting."

She paused to sign her receipt, then said, "Well her cheating on you was shitty, then how she has acted since isn't any better."

He nodded, trying to be a bigger person when Michelle came up, I'm good, just working. How have you been?"

"I'm good. Work is..." Before she could continue her friends yelled at her, she looked at them, and seeing Ben starting another beer, she thought for a moment and said, "You going to be here for a bit?"

"Probably one more beer and the end of the game."

"Want some company?"

He gave her another confused look, "I don't want you to miss out on your friends."

She laughed again, "They are going home, they are all married and have kids, we were just getting dinner after work."

"Won't cause you any problems?"

She scoffed, "I don't care if it does, I don't associate with high school people much anymore."

With a shrug of his shoulders, he said "Sure, can I get you drink?"

She smiled and turned to walk back to her friends, as she did, she looked over her shoulder, "Vodka Cranberry."

He nodded and watched her walk back to her friends, taking her in. Marissa had always been incredibly down to earth, she still lived in the area and was working for a large insurance firm; she had taken over her dad's firm when he retired then merged with another two, forming a rather large agency that was providing the majority of the insurance policies for the businesses and farmers in the area.

He turned back and made the order, Amanda laughing and commenting, "Finding a lady to let you buy her drinks."

He laughed and shook his head, "I guess. She's an old friend."

"You're not from around here though?"

"She was a bridesmaid in my wedding. From the way it sounds, she's not friends with my ex anymore."

"Nice, she must be a good one then." He nodded and turned to see Marissa walking back towards him. She was dressed casually, wearing a pair of tight skinny jeans, black flats, a black top with a bit of cleavage showing, her glasses, and her short hair down and bangs pinned back, casual yet attractive.

She smiled at him and took over the barstool beside him, "Who's winning?"

"Cubs are up two in the seventh."

"Nice! So where were we?"

"You were just getting ready to tell me how you were doing."

"Oh yea!" For the next 45 minutes they caught up on life, Ben talking about how things were going at school with the year winding down, how living in the big house was going, and a host of other things. Marissa talked a lot about work, and they fell into a comfortable conversation quickly. What was supposed to be another beer turned into two more and an order of cheese sticks that were left over as the kitchen wound down.

Amanda appeared and said, "Okay guys, we are closing down."

Marissa playfully whined, "Oh come on!"

Ben and Amanda both laughed, with Amanda eventually saying, "To quote a band that is old like you two, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.""

They all laughed again as Ben grabbed the tab, and after pulling out his wallet, tossed down three 20's and told her to keep it. They stood up and made their way out to the parking lot, as they reached her car, Marissa said, "Thank you for the drinks, we should do this again."

For some reason Ben said, "I've got stuff at the house, you wanna come back and sit outside, it's a nice night."

Marissa smiled, "That sounds awesome. What you got?" He listed the liquors he had and the beers in the fridge, she nodded, "I think I can find something in that. I'll follow you."

They climbed into their individual cars and as they pulled out of the lot, Ben couldn't help but think, "Why did I invite her back, that was really weird."

In the other car Marissa was smiling to herself, "He seems like he is getting back to normal, it'll be cool to hang out."

They made the 20-minute drive back to Ben's house and as they walked to the front door she said, "I like the paint color, much brighter."

"Thanks, the neighbors hate it which makes me like it more." She laughed as he held the door open for her. They made their way through the living room and into the kitchen where he asked her what she wanted; he didn't have any cranberry, so she settled for Sprite with her vodka while he poured himself a bourbon and ginger. "I'm going to use the restroom; you know the way to the back deck."

"Yep!"

When he emerged about five minutes later, he found her sitting right in the middle of the couch that overlooked the lake, he stopped and noticed that she had found the torches and the lighter, covering the deck in a soft glow. She looked up and smiled, "Here, I'll scoot over." She scooted over to the end of the couch, and he joined her on the other end. They both set their drinks down and she sighed, "It is always so beautiful out here."

He nodded, "Yeah, especially this time of year."

"So other than the paint outside and in the living room, what else have you changed?"

"Well, I got rid of the hot tub of ill repute."

She laughed, "I noticed it was gone."

"Yeah, didn't want that memory, been thinking about buying a new one that hasn't been tainted." She laughed, him joining in this time; he continued, "I moved into the one spare bedroom, haven't been able to bring myself to sleep in the master." She nodded knowingly as he took a drink and thought for a moment, "Oh! I bought a boat, Michelle and I already talked about getting one, so I bought a little open bow to run around on. That's really it though, I sold some of the stuff we had purchased and replaced it, changed the decorations a bit, but made sure I gave her back all the family's stuff."

"Well, that was nice of you."

He chuckled, "After everything she put me through, my buddy and his wife both said I should just burn it, but I decided to be the better person."

She laughed, sipping her own drink, "Well that was good of you. Can I ask something kinda personal?"

"My therapist said I shouldn't hold things in, so sure."

"I know about the cheating with Brad, but what else happened? You all seemed to be doing okay." He sighed, taking a long drink before setting it down and looking over the lake; after a minute or two of silence, he heard a solemn Marissa say, "Sorry I said anything."

He turned to her and gave a soft smile, "Don't be sorry. There's just a lot to say."

He felt her place a hand on his shoulder, "You don't have to tell me anything."

"No, it won't hurt. Where do you want to start?"

"Wherever you want."

He sighed and spent the next 15 minutes explaining all the different things that had occurred throughout their dating, up through their marriage, then culminating with the cheating. The entire time he spoke, Marissa simply nodded, adding in words of affirmation on occasion, asking clarification questions, and event patting his shoulder or leg when he struggled through specific parts.

As he got towards the end, he sighed, "You wanna know the worst part of it all?" She took another sip of her drink, finishing it and nodded, "Even through all the demeaning and terrible things she said, the worst was the withholding physical affection and touch. Just the hug at the bar, and touching my shoulder and leg is more physical touch than I got from her in the last 6 months of our marriage."

Marissa frowned, "Oh Ben, that is horrible. I don't know what happened to her, she was NEVER like that growing up. It is why we got a long, she wasn't like the rest of the rich kids in school. I understand stress does crazy things to people but demeaning you when all you ever did was treat her well, especially from what I saw."

He sighed, "I'm not 100% innocent, I said things that I shouldn't have, and taking this" gesturing towards the house, "probably wasn't the nicest thing to do, but I was so pissed off."