What the Hell is Going On?

"How do I know she didn't go on the date?"

"She says she didn't."

"Didn't you just say that she said she was going on a date?"

"Yes, but that was a lie."

"So, she lied about being on a date, but is telling the truth about not going on a date afterwards. I may not remember you and her, but I am not stupid. I have to assume I took actions to protect myself."

"I'm sorry Miss, but your ten minutes has expired. You'll have to leave now."

Two hours later, his other daughter came. "I talked to you earlier, didn't I?"

"No, that was my twin, Carol. I'm Lydia. Don't you recognize me?"

"I'm sorry I don't. You and your sister are very attractive young women. Were we on good terms? I take it your mother and I were separated."

"We are on good terms. Mother played a prank on you, and you got mugged and had a head injury before she could tell you it was a prank. You started taking steps towards a divorce before you found out. You need to stop that, Dad."

"I don't know what to do. I don't know if you are my daughter or not. I don't know who my wife is if I even have a wife. I don't think I should do anything before my memory returns, if it returns. Do I have a lawyer?"

"You have two. One for regular stuff and one divorce lawyer. You gave him POA to proceed with the divorce."

"Maybe if I talked to him, it might help jar my memory. Can you contact him or her and have them come by and visit me?"

"Sure. Anything that might get your memory back. Dad, can you let Mom come visit you? It's killing her not to be able to see you and apologize."

"I don't think I would feel safe around her. Maybe later."

*****

"Mr. Strickland, I'm Chris Andrews, your family law attorney. Do you remember me?"

"Is everything we talk about confidential?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I don't have amnesia. I am trying to figure out what to do regarding the divorce. What I remember is that I told you to give her plenty so she can move on with her life without me."

"That's right. She has been served and has obtained counsel. Do you wish to dissolve the POA and stop the divorce?"

"No, on both counts. Can you investigate her alleged non-date and let me know what you find?"

"I can hire someone on your behalf if you authorize me to do that."

"Do it."

Harvey kept up his pretense of amnesia and kept up the conversations with his daughters and ignored their pleas to see their mother and stop the divorce. He was waiting on a report from his lawyer. It came a few days later.

"According to the private investigators, there is not enough evidence to prove she did go on a date or didn't. The man she went with swears nothing happened, but he is married and could be afraid to tell the truth. I guess it is up to you to believe her or not."

"I was afraid of that. Thanks for the information. I guess it's time for me to get my memory back. I revoke my Power of Attorney, but I want you to continue with the divorce."

Carol was the one who heard him say her name from memory. Soon after, he told her that the memories flooded in, including the night of Betsy's betrayal or trick depending on whom you believed. He agreed to see Betsy.

After hugging and crying, Betsy started in, "Harvey, it was a trick, a mean trick on you to get you to change. Doug and I only went around the block, but you were already gone by the time we got back."

"How do I know that is true?"

"I can have Doug come in and tell you. He was the one who helped me pull off the trick."

"So, I'm supposed to take the word of the man you cheated on me with to convince me that you didn't cheat on me. Sorry, that dog doesn't hunt."

"I tried calling you, but you left your phone at home. I sat waiting for you all night, but you never came back."

"Was anyone with you while you waited?"

"Doug was for a couple of hours, and he went home."

"I'm sure he will vouch for you."

"I waited for you to call until the next afternoon when I called your office. That's when I found out that you had taken a scorched earth approach to my fake affair. You seemed like you couldn't wait to get rid of me."

"And why not? You told me you were going to cheat to my face. You said you wanted another man who was standing in front of me in my house! I was devastated but because I loved you, I wanted to give you what you wanted as soon as possible. In addition, I no longer wanted to be married to you because you didn't want to keep our marriage vows anymore. Why prolong the agony? Let's go ahead and divorce."

"I don't want a divorce. I didn't plan to really cheat on you and never did. I wanted to motivate you to fight for me and put some life back into our marriage. I chose the wrong way to do that, obviously. Please, Harvey, stop the divorce and let's go back to our life. I love you."

"Even if what you said is true, and I still don't believe it is, you played a cruel, nasty joke on me. I don't know if I want to stay married to a woman who does such things. As of now, I am continuing with the divorce and will move into my own apartment when I leave the hospital."

"Harvey, that's such a waste of money. You have a home and a bed. I'll move into another room in the house for a while if that's what it will take to get you back."

"Visiting time is over and I want to see my daughters." Betsy was dismissed.

The twins tried to support their mother's case. Neither of them could account for the time their mother spent with Doug that night, so it carried no weight with Harvey. When it came time for him to leave, he did move into an apartment near his work.

The divorce proceeded until it got to the point where Betsy's lawyer demanded mandatory counseling for them - 12 sessions. Harvey put up no opposition.

COUNSELING

Betsy went first. "I love my husband very much. We have had a great marriage and raised two wonderful girls together. I guess the Empty Nest Syndrome hit him harder than me. I wanted to fill the gap by spending more time with him doing things - not just being together physically in the same house. Harvey seemed to have retired from our marriage. Our sex life remained the same when we had to plan sex at times the girls were not likely to hear. Their being gone didn't make a difference to Harvey.

"I decided to shake him up to pay more attention to me. I got a male friend from work to join me in what I called 'shock therapy.' I faked going on a date with him one night. My 'date' and I drove around the block so I could go back and tell Harvey it was a joke meant to provoke him to get revved up about our marriage again. When we returned ten minutes later, he was gone and took his cell phone with him. I had no way of talking to him. I waited until the next day when I called his office and found out that he had taken several steps in divorcing me.

"It was a few days later that I found out Harvey had been mugged and was in a coma. When he came out of the coma, he didn't believe my going on a date was a trick and I didn't want to go out with other men. He has been pursuing a divorce ever since. I apologize for my misguided deed and beg him to give me a second chance."

"Harvey, what is your summary of what happened?"

"She is accurate in part of what she said, but she left out a few things. When her 'date' showed up, she not only told me that she was going out with him over my objection, she was hoping to spend the night having sex with him. At that moment, as far as I was concerned, my marriage died. I assumed it was all my fault for killing our marriage, so I wanted out as soon as possible. I left my house and her so she could have the man she wanted, and I could start over. I took the measures to separate us quickly. I gave a POA to a lawyer because I didn't want to even think about Betsy anymore much less talk to her. I would give her a generous divorce and move on with my life.

"I didn't know that I was going to be mugged and put in a coma. When I came out of the coma, I didn't remember who I was. Sometimes I wish I had stayed in the coma and kept the memories of that night suppressed forever. Betsy says that she didn't really go on the date, but she offers no proof. It is just as likely in my mind that she did go on the date and had sex with that Doug fellow. I think she only had a change of mind when she realized what all that would mean for her financially. Now, I am asked to believe it was just a prank and I should return to live with a woman who didn't mind breaking my heart.

"Even if she was telling the truth, she is a wife who has proven she will willing hurt me whenever she thinks she needs to. How can I live with that? Every night I come home, I would worry what is waiting for me? A loving wife or a cheater going out on a date? It would be cleaner if we got a divorce. She and Doug can have a life together and I can try and move on."

"It seems we have a lot to talk about."

Things were at a standstill until Betsy brought Doug to one session.

"Harvey, I want to apologize for my part in the prank. Betsy assured me that everything would be okay. I challenged her when she got into my car. I swear we only went around the block before we returned to the house. She was shocked to find you had left. We found out you had taken your phone when we found it in your room. I stayed with her for you to come back. She spent most of the time lamenting what we did and how much you meant to her. I left after a while. Again, I am sorry."

"Now, do you believe me, Harvey?"

"Doug certainly sounded sincere. But maybe he's just a good actor."

"Harvey, there seems to be nothing I can do to prove to you that it was just a joke. Despite the precedent, I will never play a trick on you again. Can't you just believe me?"

"Let's see. You lied to me the night you said you were going to spend the night with Doug. Then, you say you're telling the truth that you didn't do anything. Now, you want me to believe you won't do something like this again in the future. How do I know what are the lies and what is the truth?"

"It comes down to trust, Harvey. If we are to be together again, you will have to trust me. If can't do that, I will agree to divorce you."

The counselor spoke. "I have a suggestion. How about a post-nuptial where if Betsy does this again, you get all the assets in a divorce? Would you be willing to do that Betsy?"

"Yes, yes."

"Harvey?"

"I guess I could give that a try." Betsy came over and hugged him.

*****

Harvey slowly integrated himself back into his marriage with Betsy. It was quite a while before he and Betsy shared a bed. Their interactions were very fragile. Over time they developed a relationship that included going out more, doing projects at home together, visiting their daughters and traveling. Their sex life was more active than before the incident.

Betsy began to feel comfortable at home. Harvey called one day and told Betsy not to fix dinner. They were going out. He had to hang up quickly, so Betsy did not know what the occasion was. She did remember about a reorganization going on at his work due to a merger. Betsy assumed he got good news about his position after reorganization.

Harvey came in the house and went straight upstairs. "Changing clothes for tonight" was his drive-by comment. Soon after, the doorbell rang. Betsy answered. Standing in front of her was a woman who looked about ten years younger that she and Harvey. She was very attractive and professionally dressed.

"Yes, may I help you?"

"I'm here for Harvey. We're going out tonight."

Betsy got a flashback from the incident she had tried to forget. She thought, "Finally, he is trying to get revenge." An idea of what to do emerged. She invited the woman in.

"You have a lovely home, Mrs. Strickland."

"Thank you. Excuse me a minute, I need to tell Harvey you are here."

She went to the bottom of the stairs, "Harvey, your date is here." His response was not understandable. She assumed he said he would be right down. She returned to the woman.

Betsy was about to ask her a question when she heard Harvey coming down the stairs. She went into action. Betsy put her hands around the woman's throat and started choking her lightly. "You husband-stealing bitch." The woman that Betsy assumed was part of the reverse-joke, soon started fighting back.

Harvey yelled, "Betsy, STOP! What the Hell is going on?"

Betsy started laughing. "This time I caught you trying to prank me."

"What prank? This is my new supervisor under the merger, Amanda Briggs. Amanda, I am so sorry. I don't know what got into her."

Amanda frowned at him, "I like to think my supervisees are normal people after hours. You can kiss your new position goodbye if this is what you consider normal. I'll be in the car waiting for you to take me back to my hotel."

"Amanda, please give me a chance to explain before you do anything hasty." She stomped out the door.

Betsy was crying while sitting on the couch. "Thanks a lot, Betsy. Just as I thought our marriage had gotten back on track, you derail our marriage and my job. This is it. I am leaving to try to save my job. I will not be coming back to save my marriage." He walked out to the car.

Betsy ran upstairs and flopped down on the bed crying. "What the Hell is going on? What have I done?"

About 15 minutes later, Harvey and Amanda returned to the house. He called Amanda to come downstairs. They explained to her she had been pranked. She grabbed on to Harvey and cried she was sorry. Later they went out for supper and a few drinks. Amanda related how she was afraid she would get hurt, but helping Harvey with the joke was worth it to her. Betsy finally go to the point where she could share the laughter.

When Betsy and Harvey got home, she went to clean up the kitchen before coming to bed. Harvey went upstairs. He immediately saw that his automatic pistol that he kept locked up was laying on Betsy's nightstand. On examining the gun, he discovered that there was bullet in the chamber and the safety was off. His heart fell to his stomach.