The Secrets That We keep
***Willow Pond***
Something was bothering Jennifer. She was awake in the middle of the night for the 3rd night in a row. She felt like Jonathan was keeping something from her.
She laid there next to him, with his arm around her and mentally went over the signs. He hadn't been eating like himself, he wasn't as energetic as he usually is, twice this week he had rebuffed her advances. Something was just not right.
She flashed back to a time when she had promised him something years ago, something that had always been true and was still true.
She and Jonathan were standing in his hospital room. He had been blinded by someone putting a chemical in their pool.
"Darling, when they take the bandages off tomorrow, suppose I can't see?"
"Jonathan, there's not a single thing in the whole world that will ever change the way I feel about you, alright?"
"Alright. You'll have to take care of me".
"Are you kidding, we'll have to take care of each other".
She still felt the same way, and more importantly, she knew that he knew she still felt that way. So, why wouldn't he tell her what was going on?"
She didn't know what to do. She rolled over and started kissing him and trying to wake him up.
"Jonathan….honey….."
"Not tonight, babe. I love you". He rolled over and took his arm away.
She rolled over and tried to not cry.
***The next morning***
Jennifer woke up and left him sleeping there. She headed for the shower. She was very hurt by him pushing her away.
After she was dressed, she went downstairs. He was getting up just as she was going downstairs.
She ate breakfast and read the paper, and as soon as he came in, she got up to leave. She didn't want to fight with him, and she knew if they talked about it, her feelings would be hurt, and she would cry.
She passed him as he walked in the kitchen.
"Good Morning".
"Bye darling".
No kiss, no hug, no discussion. She grabbed her purse, and her keys and got in the car.
Max was away at a poker game, so Jonathan was left to fend for himself.
Jennifer sometimes used an office at Hart Industries to write her articles. Jonathan correctly surmised that she had headed to the office.
Jonathan had given her a secretary. Priscilla was a godsend to Jennifer.
Jennifer parked the Mercedes and went inside.
"Good morning, Priscilla. I have a lot to do today, so please don't let anyone interrupt, me, alright?"
"Yes ma'am".
She sat down and got right to work, and tried to put Jonathan out of her head. She certainly felt like he had done the same.
Jonathan's office was on the top floor. Jennifer's office was at the other end of the floor from his.
He got off the elevator and headed straight to her office.
"Morning, Priscilla. Is Mrs. Hart in?"
"Yes, but she-"
"Great".
He opened the door and went in.
She sighed and put her head in her hands.
"Jonathan, I am really busy. And besides, I don't want to talk to you".
"Darling, we have to talk. It's vital".
"So, is my article. And so is your sleep, apparently".
"Jennifer-"
"Don't deny it. I was there. That was the third time in a week that you rebuffed me."
"Darling, I-"
"Is it someone else? Do you want a divorce? Just say so, I will walk away and do whatever I have to so you can be happy. But don't make me look like a fool for loving you".
"There's nobody else, darling. I swear it. There's nothing wrong".
"Oh yes there is".
"Really?"
"Yes, Jonathan. You aren't eating like you used to. All you want to do is sleep, and you barely touch me. You promised you would take me to dinner 4 nights ago, and you haven't been home for dinner since. You just aren't acting like yourself, darling. And I don't know what to do to help you, because you keep pushing me away".
"What do you want me to do, darling? You want me to go to a doctor, I will. You want me to take you to dinner, fine, we'll go. I can't fix this if you don't tell me what you want".
"I want you back. The man I fell in love with, the man who couldn't keep his hands off me, who would have never pushed me away. Have you seen him lately? I sure haven't".
He didn't know what to say. He just held his arms out and pulled her close.
After a long hug, she took a step back.
"Jonathan, I am serious. I can handle whatever comes my way, but I won't take being pushed aside. I deserve better than that".
She had tears in her eyes.
"I have a meeting, Jennifer. Can we finish talking about this later?"
She glared at him.
"Of course you do".
Later that morning, she decided to take a break and go grab some lunch.
He saw her go to the elevator, and told his secretary he was gone to lunch.
He got on the elevator just as it was about to close and was glad to see it was just the two of them.
"Darling, mind if I join you?"
"Fine".
"Where do you want to go?"
"L'orangerie".
"Ok, let's go".
He helped her into his car, and they drove there in silence. She was some kind of upset with him.
He had to fix this, but if he told her the truth, it would be worse.
They sat down at the restaurant, and ordered drinks.
"Tell me what you want me to do, darling."
"For starters, I want you to go to the doctor and find out why you aren't eating and why you are sleeping more than usual."
"Well, I already went. I know what is wrong".
"And?"
"And it's not good, darling."
"Cancer?"
He nodded.
"What stage?"
"3".
"Well, that's good, because you will be able to get treatments for it".
"I don't want to live like that, darling. I don't. I refuse to have you see me as helpless, bald, sickly, and unable to take care of you.
"Well that's better than how I see you right now".
"Which is what?"
"Selfish and cowardly. You are throwing our lives away, when we have so many years together ahead of us. You don't get to decide that for me".
"Decide what for you?"
"That I won't get to live with you as long as I planned. You don't get to make that decision, Jonathan".
"Well, I cannot let you see me like that. My pride won't let me".
"Then it's official. You love your pride more than you love me".
"That's not true".
"Oh the hell it's not".
She grabbed her keys.
"I am calling a cab, I am going home, and I will be moved out by the time you get home tonight. You want me gone, fine, I'm gone".
She grabbed her purse and stood up and left.
***Willow Pond***
She spent all afternoon packing, and putting her things in suitcases. She told Max she was taking a trip, but he didn't buy it. She had 10 suitcases and no clothes in the closet.
Jonathan called Max.
"Is she there?"
"Yes, she's here. She's packing".
"Do whatever you have to do to keep her there, Max. Don't let her get away from me".
Jennifer had been loading the car with the suitcases, and walked back in to hear the last of the conversation. She quickly grabbed her purse, and got in the car and drove off.
She went to their beach house.
She brought her suitcases in, and put them in the den.
She put her car in the garage, and locked the door, and moved some curtains from another window over the door. Jonathan had only taken her there once, so she was hoping he wouldn't remember that she knew about it.
She went upstairs and sat out on the upstairs terrace. She put her feet up on the railing, and then stared at the ocean.
Tears streamed down her face, and she couldn't help but think of all the good times they had shared. Never in her life did she think it would end this way.
Theirs was a love to be reckoned with. She had never fallen in love with someone the way she fell in love with him. And she had never been with someone who showed her how in love with her he was each day like Jonathan did. And then one day, boom. Nothing.
That's why none of this made sense.
She sat out there till around 5, and then headed upstairs to read.
She fell asleep reading, and didn't wake up till the next morning. When she woke up and realized he hadn't come after her, her heart broke into a million pieces.
Meanwhile, at Willow Pond….
Jonathan knew that she was at the beach house. He had cameras that he could pull up from any computer and he could see the footage of her pulling in and shutting the garage door.
He knew it was horrible of him to make him think he had cancer. And he hated pushing her away when she wanted sex, but he knew that that was the only way he would have a chance that she would do what he needed her to. He needed her to leave him. It had been about a month since he got the first threat. He didn't take it seriously, but the second and third threats really got his attention. He was being blackmailed. If he didn't sign a particular deal, one that would mean more than half of his employees would be out of work, they would take Jennifer. He wasn't about to let that happen. He figured if she walked away from him, he could tell them that she was no longer part of the equation, and force them to renegotiate. If he didn't sign the deal, then he would lose billions on patents for a new idea. His only hope was that she would walk away from him, and he would be able to force them to renegotiate. However, he didn't have a plan for how to get her back once she walked away.
***Beach house***
Jennifer was devastated when she realized it had been three days since she spoke to Jonathan.
Well, obviously he had made his choice. So now, she would make hers.
She contacted an attorney, and had divorce papers drawn up. She didn't want anything from him, except a place to stay. She would buy her own car, if he insisted on taking back the Porsche Cayenne he had just given her. If not, she would keep it. She didn't want alimony or even half the company.
She wanted him to sign first, so she had her lawyer send the papers and she included a note in there that she would be using office space elsewhere.
She cried buckets of tears when she got back to the beach house. She ordered dinner and then ate it on the terrace and then went to bed.
***Willow Pond***
It was about 8 p.m. Jonathan was at home, working on the deal. He told them that his wife had left him, and they were still not willing to renegotiate. He needed more time.
Someone buzzed the gate.
"Yes?"
"I have a delivery, for Mr. Jonathan Hart".
"Come on up".
He opened the front door and was waiting for them.
"Mr. Jonathan Hart?"
"Yes, how can I help you?"
"You've been served. Have a nice evening".
He opened the envelope as he closed the door.
His heart sank when he pulled out the contents. Divorce papers.
He read the note.
"Petitioner wants respondent to sign first, petitioner's demands on page 5. Petitioner wants respondent to know that she will be vacating the office she uses at Hart Industries, Inc."
He grabbed a pen, wrote a note of his own, and put them all back in the envelope. He called the courier service and asked for an immediate pickup.
About an hour later, they were back on their way to Jennifer.
***Beach house***
Jennifer was in the kitchen when there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?"
One thing she missed was the gate intercom from the Willow Pond house. Another thing she missed was Jonathan.
"I have a delivery for Mrs. Jennifer Hart".
She opened the door.
"Here you go ma'am. Have a nice day".
He handed her the envelope. She pulled the papers out, and looked them over.
On top there was a note.
"I am not signing these. I love you. I don't have cancer, but I can't tell you what is going on. I miss you like crazy. Please call me".
Jennifer had tears in her eyes. She called Max's private line.
"Max, is he ok?"
"I have never seen him like this. He misses you, Mrs. H".
"I miss him, but he pushed me away".
"Can you just talk to him?"
"Not yet. I am still too hurt. Can you tell him that I will talk to him when I get over my hurt feelings?"
"Sure, Mrs. H. If you need me, you can always call me".
"Thanks, Max".
They hung up, and Jonathan went to tell Mr. H. what she said, but he was asleep.
***The next morning***
Jennifer called Priscilla and asked her to box up her office and bring it to her at the beach house.
"Yes ma'am".
"And please don't tell anyone, including Mr. Hart where I am".
"Yes ma'am".
Jonathan saw Priscilla cleaning out the office and got sad. He threw himself into his work, and came up with several alternatives to the current deal to throw at them.
Option 1: Chemcal would become part of Hart Industries, Inc. It would retain the name Chemcal, everyone would get to keep their job, and he would get to keep the patents.
Option 2: Hart Industries would buy ChemCal, and change the name to HartChem. Everyone would keep their job, and they would split the patents.
Option 3: He would back out of the deal completely, and they would split the patents.
Option 4: he would do a hostile takeover of ChemCal, and no promises would be made on people keeping their jobs, or anything.
Jonathan knew that option 4 would never happen- that just wasn't how he did business. However, he figured if he put that on the table and they rejected it, they would be more willing to pick one of the other options. If they picked it, he would get the company, fight for the patents and everyone would keep their job.
He got out some paper. He wrote a note to Jennifer.
"Darling, I love you. Can we please talk about this? Max can bring you out to the house for dinner tonight, and make whatever you want. Please. I love you, Jonathan".
He ran to catch Priscilla.
"Please see that Mrs. Hart gets this when you take her boxes to her. Consider it a personal favor".
"Yes, sir".
Priscilla loaded the boxes onto a dolly, and then pulled it to the elevator.
***Beach House***
Jennifer paid 2 guys on the beach 20 dollars each to help unload the boxes and carry the suitcases upstairs. They were finished in about 10 minutes.
She paid up, and thanked them profusely, and they left.
"One last thing, Mrs. Hart. Mr. Hart asked me to give this to you. It was a pleasure working for you".
"Thank you dear. It was a joy to work with you as well."
Jennifer hugged her and then she left.
Jennifer sat down on the couch. She opened his note and read it.
She thought about it. But, she knew if she went there, she would want to touch him. And if he didn't let her, it would devastate her all over again.
She decided that she didn't want to end her marriage without at least hearing him out. She grabbed the phone and called the office, and left a message with his secretary.
"Please tell Mr. Hart that Max doesn't need to pick me up, I will drive myself. I will be there at 6, and he doesn't have to fix me dinner."
"Ok, I will give it to him right now."
"Thank you".
She hung up the phone.
She thought about dressing up all nice and wonderful, but why? That would make it look like she was trying to seduce him.
She finally decided on a pair of destructed skinny jeans, black flip flops and the black v-neck top he had given her last summer.
She was ready to walk out the door by 5.
***Willow Pond***
Jonathan was racing to get home in time to meet Jennifer.
He had picked up flowers, and he had told Max to fix stuffed pork tenderloin, just in case, and to have some champagne handy and chilled.
She was about to turn into their gate when she saw a delivery truck come out of the gate.
She drove up and parked in front of the house, but she pulled way up so that she could still leave if she wanted to. And she was most definitely not planning on spending the night.
She rang the doorbell and waited for Max to answer it.
"Mrs. H., why are you ringing the doorbell in your own house?"
"I don't live here anymore, Max."
"Well, in my mind you will always live here."
"Thanks, Max".
She hugged him.
"Mr. H. should be here in about ten minutes. How about a cocktail?"
"Sure, thank you".
She cried when Freeway ran to her.
"Hi boy, mama missed you too. Mama is sorry she had to leave, but it really is for the best. Hopefully Daddy will let you come visit mama, would you like that?"
He barked.
"Me too".
She had just come back from the bathroom when Jonathan came in the door.
"Darling, hi".
"Hello".
"Don't I get a hug?"
She hugged him.
Oh, it felt so good to hug him. But she had to be strong….
"You said you wanted to talk, let's talk".
They sat on the couch.
"Darling, I am trying to buy a company. And they keep saying that unless I agree to their terms, they will kidnap you. So, I knew that I couldn't put extra security on you, or keep you here, that's not fair to you. Plus they said there wasn't any amount of security they wouldn't break through. I told them that you weren't involved in the business, and they didn't care about that either. The only choice I had was to push you away, and I couldn't think of another way to do it except the cancer thing. I'm sorry. I am glad you are at the beach house. They don't know we have it. But more than anything, I want you here with me, darling. It's not the same without you".
"So, you get a threat on my life, and instead of telling me about it, you decide to lie me to that you are dying and you hurt me on purpose by making me feel not desireable? And you say that you did it because you love me and want to protect me? No, Jonathan, not this time. We have been through our fair share of capers and adventures and plans and business deals, but you never made it personal till now. This time, you really hurt me, and It's going to take more than flowers and dinner to make it up to me. How dare you toss me aside like garbage".
She grabbed her purse and headed out the door.
He sat there with his head in his hands.
***Beach House***
Jennifer came in, ate a salad and went to change. She took a long walk on the beach, and then went upstairs to get ready for bed.
She was sound asleep when she heard something and woke up. She sensed that someone was in the house.
She went and hid in the shower, and heard someone come in to her room. She heard them get in the bed, and decided to make her move.
She dashed out of the bathroom and headed for the door.
She was grabbed by the waist and pulled onto the bed, and pinned down.
She was screaming for them to let her go.
"Darling, it's me. Shhh…it's alright. It's just me".
"Jonathan, what the hell do you think you are doing?"
"I came here to try and resolve this with you, darling".
"You snuck into my house and grabbed me to try and fix things?"
"I admit that it looks bad. But I am not giving up on us".
She sighed.
"I really don't want to do this right now".
"Well, what do you want to do?"
"Sleep, like I was doing".
"Ok, we can sleep. We can do whatever, but I am not leaving your side till we resolve this. If the deal falls apart, then so be it. I won't leave your side till this is fixed or until we are in front of a judge and the judge says we are divorced".
She sat up.
"Fine, if we talk about it, will you go?"
"Maybe. Depends on how the talk goes".
"Jonathan!"
"Jennifer, I love you. I have always loved you, and I always will love you. Nothing is going to change that".
"You weren't honest with me, twice. You said you got threats a month or so ago. By my count, that's at least 30 times when you could have come home and told me, or woke up and told me, not to mention countless other times when you could have called me and told me. And the fact that you didn't, means that I am no longer a priority to you".
"Darling, you are just as much a priority to me as you ever were. That's why I did this- to protect you".
"By lying to me?"
"There wasn't any other way".
"Yes there was, Jonathan. The truth is always a way".
She was fuming, and she had every right to be.
"And let's take the not telling me out of the equation. You hurt me, Mister. I thought you loved being with me, but three times you shot me down and made me feel like dirt. Have I ever told you no?"
"I'm sorry, Jennifer. I was trying to push you away so that you would leave on your own so that I wouldn't have to tell you and blow the deal".
"It always comes back to the deals. I am so sick of that".
"My doing business deals has afforded us a lot of luxuries, Jennifer. This house for one. Willow Pond, for another".
"And our marriage as a downfall".
"Not if I can help it".
Her back was hurting, so she got up and found her tennis ball in a sock and put it on the floor and laid on it and rolled it back and forth.
"What are you doing?"
"Relieving some tension".
"Darling, come here, please."
She looked at him, sighed, and then got up and came and sat by him.
"If you needed tension relief, all you had to do was ask".
He got behind her and started rubbing her shoulders and neck.
"I was afraid I would get another no".
"Darling, you aren't ever going to get a no, again. Promise".
She had grown quiet. She did that when she was enjoying her massage.
He rubbed on her back at least an hour, and she let him wrap his arms around her.
"I am so sorry, darling. I love you, please believe me".
She turned to face him.
"I do, I do believe you".
She turned and kissed him for the first time in days.
"Feels so good to kiss you".
She nodded.
"You said you had to protect me. I have to protect my heart. I cannot let you hurt me again, Jonathan".
He was kissing her face.
"I won't baby, honest."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her down on the bed.
He reached up and turned out the light. They made love and then fell asleep.
***The next morning***
Jennifer and Jonathan didn't sleep all night. They just made love for hours and soaked in the tub together. He had meant it when he said he would do nothing else till she agreed to come back to him.
"Do you want to come home today, honey?"
"Back to Willow Pond?"
"Yes".
"What happens when I do?"
"Well, we go back to being us, and I will try to renegotiate the deal to buy ChemCal."
"Can you just drop the deal, or let someone else handle it?"
"if I drop the deal, we lose billions in patents. If I let someone else handle it, they may not close it like I would, and we may not get all that we want".
"I don't want to come home just to come back to you working all hours of the night and ignoring me again. You aren't eating. You are oversleeping. You aren't the husband I am used to having."
"I know. And I hate it. But I am so nervous I cannot eat. I am so stressed that the only relief I get from it is sleeping. And I have to worry about protecting you in the meantime".
"I understand that. But I am still your wife, remember?"
"I remember".
"If I came home, cut you off in bed, didn't eat meals, and slept all day, you would fly in specialists, have me committed, send me to health spas, whatever it took to get me back to normal. Can't you see that's my goal too?"
She put her head on his chest.
"How did we get here? How did we go from perfect to falling apart?"
He felt her tears fall on his chest.