Chapter 65- Erica to the Rescue
The next afternoon was Stuart and Marian's divorce hearing. Myrtle was concerned when Rae had another rough night and she thought she should stay home with her after Rae cancelled all of her clients for the day. Skye made the comment no one had ever showed that much concern over her having the flu before. Although Rae shared Erica's opinion on Myrtle attending the hearing, she encouraged Myrtle and Skye to go because she didn't want to hold them back. Myrtle called John and asked him to sit with Rae during it, but he was working all day and would try to pop in when he could. When she couldn't get a hold of Opal to help out, Myrtle ended up asking Erica to check in on Rae instead.
When Myrtle and Skye arrived, Stuart was sitting at the front with Barrie, and Adam was leaning over from behind them discussing something. Hayley and Scott sat in the same row as Adam. Across the way, Liza was talking to a large man with curly brown hair. The seats in front of them were empty indicating Marian and her lawyer hadn't arrived yet.
Myrtle and Skye took a seat behind Hayley and Scott, who turned when they noticed them.
Hayley smiled and said, "Hi" in a raspy voice.
"Hey, Skye," Scott said. "It's been kind of awkward… Uncle Adam and Liza aren't speaking to each other. This divorce has divided them. I would've thought Colby coming home would bring them closer together…"
"Pfft…" Skye glared over at Liza and spoke very loudly. "If you ask me, Daddy deserves Liza. But I'm glad Uncle Stuart will be rid of those gold diggers once and for all—"
Myrtle smacked her arm. "Shush!"
Liza, the man sitting with her, Adam, Stuart, and Barrie all turned to Skye.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Stuart rose to his feet and jauntily went over to them. "Myrtle! Skye! I'm so happy you're here." He hugged both of them.
Adam turned his attention back to Barrie.
"Just stay strong and keep your chin up, Stuart," Myrtle said. "You have nothing to be afraid of and it'll all be over soon."
"Yeah, we'll make sure that lying slut never hurts you again!" Skye said before Myrtle smacked her again. Skye turned to her. "What?"
"Don't be angry with Marian," Stuart said.
"And just who is the dude with Liza?" Skye asked. "Is she a cheater like her mother?"
Stuart shook her head. "No. That's Marian's new boyfriend, Zach. He owns a bunch of casinos and—"
"He's the one Marian cheated on you with!?" Skye asked with wide eyes and started to get up. "I'll go give him a piece of my—"
Myrtle yanked her back down. "Sit! If you keep this up, then I'm sending you home to check on your mother."
Skye's mouth dropped slightly. "I'm not leaving Uncle Stuart to deal with this alone!"
"He's not alone," Myrtle said.
"He needs me right now. He was always there for me, so I'm going to be there for him too!"
Myrtle nodded. "I suppose that makes sense—"
"Besides I have a date right after this. And Mom is fine. It's just the flu. But I forgot to tell her, we're going to have to celebrate tomorrow instead."
"Celebrate what?" Stuart asked.
Skye smiled proudly. "Mom can't have any more children!"
Myrtle smacked herself in the forehead.
Stuart looked confused. "We're celebrating that?"
Skye nodded. "This is the best news ever."
The doors at the back opened and Marian walked in with a female lawyer and they sat in front of Liza and Zach.
Myrtle whispered to Skye, "Lesley Coulson is a nasty lawyer."
Skye rolled her eyes. "Great…"
And finally, the bailiff spoke. "Please rise for the honourable Judge Huffman."
Stuart returned to the front, and as everyone rose, both Adam and Skye shot daggers at Marian.
FargateFargateFargate
Even though Rae's vision was getting a little blurry, she noticed that Skye's laundry basket was full. She knew she had a busy weekend, so she decided to help her out a bit. After all, she couldn't just sit in bed all day.
But as she carried it down the stairs, she began sweating profusely and as she reached the bottom step the basket slipped from her shaky hands because she got a severe pain in her stomach. She hunched over as the phone began to ring, and she dropped to the floor in a fetal position, cradling her swollen belly in her arms.
"Rae, it's John," his voice came through the machine. "Myrtle seemed very worried about you and so am I. Can you please call me right away? I got good news. We have proof that Lorenzo Alcazar knew about the threats, kidnappings, arson, stabbing, drowning, etc. We still don't know if he actually partook in everything, but I'm betting on he just knew and didn't do anything to stop it. Aiding and abetting. I can't get away right now, but please call me. I love you."
"John…" Rae cried out. If only she could reach the phone…
FargateFargateFargate
"In regard to assets," the judge spoke. "Ms. Colby is asking for half. But Mr. Chandler wants to keep everything."
Stuart looked back at Adam and frowned, but Adam nodded.
"After hearing from witnesses and Ms. Colby herself, it is clear that she and Mr. Slater committed adultery," the judge continued. "Therefore, I rule in favour of Mr. Chan—"
"Excuse me, um…" Stuart rose to his feet awkwardly.
Skye exchanged a look with Myrtle, and Adam was fuming.
"I—I'm Mr. Chandler," Stuart continued. "Barrie and Adam, they—they—they mean well. They really do love me. But—But I don't want to keep everything. I'm not angry at Marian. I just want her and Zach to be happy. I want to divide everything in half."
"Stuart!" Adam rose to his feet and leaned over to him. "Stop this. Stop this right now." He straightened up. "Please excuse my brother. He doesn't know what he's saying—"
"Mr. Chandler!" The judge snapped. "You are in contempt of court! I will allow the elder Mr. Chandler to speak, but not you. Now sit down."
Adam groaned as he sat down and mumbled into Hayley's ear.
"Please, I don't want to take everything from Marian," Stuart said. "Barrie's testimony was based on what Adam wanted, not what I want."
"Uncle Stuart, she doesn't deserve anything from you!" Skye blurted out, and Myrtle smacked her again.
"If both parties agree, then your lawyers can work out an agreement," the judge said.
Stuart and Marian turned to each other and nodded.
FargateFargateFargate
Erica grumbled as she pulled into Rae's driveway. "I can't believe I took time out of my day to check on Rae Cummings… Well, that woman better appreciate me more…" She made her way to the porch and rang the doorbell. She groaned when there was no answer, so she knocked very loudly. "Rae, open up! This isn't funny! If you don't answer this door right now, I'm leaving!" She stood there for several more seconds and flipped her hair. "Fine, I'm leaving." She turned to leave but came to a halt next to her car. "What if there's something wrong? Myrtle would never forgive me if I left." She whipped around and hurried to the door. She walked inside and sure enough, a very sweaty Rae, still in her nightgown was lying there in a fetal position wincing in pain next to a messy pile of laundry hanging out of a basket.
"Oh my gosh…" Erica dropped down beside her and touched her wet forehead. "You're hot. Rae, it's me Erica. You'll be all right. I—I'm calling an ambulance." She pulled out her phone and dialled 9-1-1.