The Civil Divorce
"Have a seat and someone will be with you in a minute Sir" The receptionist said as he walked through the door, he didn't argue he took his seat and waited, his mind heavy on the fact that he was seriously thinking about divorcing his wife. It was never somewhere he thought he'd be, but life had suddenly dealt him a rotten card after 4 years of marriage he'd woken up one morning and decided that there was no relationship left, he'd fought it of course he had but 10 months down the line and he'd finally had to admit to himself he was right no relationship was left. His wife was away nearing 8 months at a time on tours and he was on modelling trips all over the world, they were arguing more than loving and when he'd started avoiding her calls he knew something was wrong. He couldn't stop crying when he was talking to her and she'd never let him get off the damn phone once he'd got on. There was no doubt about the love, that was there, but life for them was so complicated and strained they needed to make a decision and he'd made his mind up he was going to make that decision, so here he was sitting waiting to speak to a Lawyer about the best way to conduct a civil divorce.
He finally got called in and sat telling his story to this smiling Lawyer "What's my best move on this?" he asked when he finished
It had been 10 years since this Lawyer had been practicing, he'd seen so many people come through the door talking divorce, it always brought to mind his first clients, "lets call them Mr and Mrs Evans for ambiguity" he replied smiling "Use your imagination on this one" he told his new client
The Lawyer fell back in his memory "I hadn't smoked for years" he looked at his client saying "I kept my last one and I said to myself I'd never smoked again, for 15 year I kept that cigarette, and then one afternoon Mr Evans came to see me and when he left, I knew that game was on" he smiled lighting his cigar "Mr & Mrs Evans you would have heard the story only I managed to keep it out the papers, I'll give you this for free, no charge and with my fees that means you should listen" he said before he started to tell this client the story
"They'd met at school, love at first sight they'd said, saved themselves for each other, through school, college and even University. He did some modelling but he'd got a Law scholarship and she got a record deal, life was made for them. They struggled at first everyone does, but when they finally got it together, they said they were ready for the commitment, they got married on a remote island in Perth somewhere a beautiful wedding, all roses and hearts and stuff so, when Mrs Evans finally paused on the singing and got pregnant of course they were happy it was part of the plan.
The twins were to die for beautiful dark brown hair and big green eyes gave their parents competition in the lip department and baby number three came along without warning which meant more staying at home for Mrs Evans and more working away from home for Mr Evans. If he wasn't working away he was studying at home, finally their youngest was 5 and Mrs Evans could do some part time work, singing that's what she always wanted to do, Mr Evans finally got his Law Degree"
"Sounds like a fairytale doesn't it? And it was" the Lawyer smiled "They were good together, good friends" he smiled "My Dad used to say there are 3 important things in life Family, Trust and Love" he smiled "Mr Evans gave up the Modelling and settled into Law, he'd only been with the firm for maybe 6 months" he told his client. Yeah things got better for them, he got a promotion and she made a couple of hit songs, money was coming in big time, they moved to a bigger house and started having friends, acquaintances and even colleagues round for dinner, you know the formal stuff that rich people do. I met his wife at that first formal dinner they had" he smiled I remember seeing him looking at her with lust in his eyes, I couldn't blame him she was on point, and he loved his wife, I guess secretly everyone else did too"
"Babe, tell our guest about our last trip to France" he asked her as we sat at the dinner table, she started in telling us about their amazing time
"I remember that because just after that was when I saw that things had started to disintegrate right before my eyes and truth, there was absolutely nothing I could do about it" he told the client "I guess he was trying to show her up to impress his new friends or something anyway, it hit the wrong spot, she laughed but it was one of those laughs that women give when their not amused, you know?" he asked, as his client nodded "He'd cut in on her story telling 'everyone to cut a long story short' he said, well who says that when a woman's talking?" he laughed "He told me later about the conversation they had that night"
"I think everyone enjoyed the night don't you?" he asked as they lay in bed
"Short story" she looked at him saying "No fuck face, next time tell your own damn story instead of butting in and making me look bad" she told him as he sat next to her shocked at what she'd said
"Alright" he said after some consideration "I guess I overstepped and I'm sorry about that, I just thought you were struggling"
"I struggle with you" she looked at I saying, taking time to acknowledge he'd heard her before turning her back to him in bed "Don't touch me" she said puffing her pillows
Things went by without mention after that party took place, Mrs Evans was on tour, the children went off to school and life was peachy, Mrs Evans visited a friend one day and was overwhelmed by her house, so much so she started looking herself and found out she had a thing for chandeliers, the higher and more extravagant the better
"Babe" she said one night when they were finally in the same place and preparing for bed "We could afford something bigger don't you think?" she smiled as he rubbed cream into her shoulders "The children are getting bigger they need more space and stuff and you could do with a bigger study, I could attach a music room what do you think?"
"I think you've been looking already" he laughed
"Maybe I have" she smiled "It's got six bedrooms, very large garden, upstairs balcony's to the front bedrooms and a beautiful chandelier four stories high in the hall, it's beautiful, I fell in love with it and I just need to have it" she jumped up off the bed saying
"We'll take another look" he laughed
"Tomorrow, we'll look tomorrow" she said rubbing her hands together before he pulled her down onto his chest, making his intentions clear as he grabbed her lips
They were up and dressed ready to view the house first thing "It needs a lot of work" he said as they looked around "A lot of work" he said as they walked around
"I can do this I'll take time out and get it done, Please babe we need this"
"You'd take time out for this?" he asked looking around the shell of a house his wife was trying to talk him into
"This is who we are now babe, I want to make this home for us please let me" her puppy eyes making him melt into submission
"Fine" he said as she grabbed his lips "We'll take it" he told the estate agent when his wife let his lips go
"Over the next 6 years they both worked hard to create the perfect home, a picture of that wasn't easy for a girl who had grown up doing chores in the neighbourhood to help with the bills and a boy who worked at the local garage to find money to treat his girl every weekend, but they found one. They had the perfect carpets, rugs, figurines, mirrors, tables everything for their home, within 6 years it was finished and for Mrs Evans the question was now, what can I do next? They had their separate lives, music and law, with Mr Evans keeping his hand in animation every now and again, but they never mixed business with pleasure, they'd spent so long with, children, climbing ladders and making home, they'd forgotten to make time for each other, now the house was finished she was having difficulties finding something they had in common, something else they could do together"
"The foods nice babe, thank you for doing this" he said as they sat either side of a rather large table eating, the children looking from one parent to the other
"This conversation is cold" their eldest son said looking at his twin sister for back up
"I couldn't find anything else to say" his Dad laughed saying "Everyone is just so solemn"
"16 years married and you guys can't find anything to say to each other?" their youngest asked
There were constant arguments about that work home balance everyone talks about, lack of support around the home; the upkeep of the house fell on Mrs Evans all the time, things got tense
"Seriously Babe I don't have the time, I could maybe get you some help?" Mr Evans suggested
"Did you say seriously?" she looked at him asking "No I don't want a stranger in my damn house"
"I've got no more time to give babe I'm as stretched as I can be and seriously that's the only other option" he told her walking away from his not too happy wife
"She gave in eventually, I helped do the interviews and they got Maddie in" he smiled "That went well for a while, but then there was another twist because the children were going off to university, Mrs Evans had gone back into her music thing with a vengeance, she was off on tours for months at a time, everyone was happy for her, her career was taking off again, she'd gone back at the right time" "Drink" he asked the client holding the decanter in his hand
"No thank you" he replied listening intently to the story this Lawyer was telling him
"How old are you?" he asked him
"27 just about"
"How long you been married did you say?"
"Nearly 5 years" the client smiled saying
"Okay; dinner wasn't a family event any more, no children; their youngest at college by now, no house to fix up everything about the relationship was strained as Mrs Evans' attitude became more Diva than any Diva you'd care to meet, I guess around this time everything was happening internally because by the time I got back on board with it all again it had got way past acceptable behaviour. They were fighting in the bedroom, playing close to the bone tit for tat games around the house" he frowned
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he finally asked her
"Well for me that question should have been asked long before then" the Lawyer laughed "If there's one bit of advice to take from me today it's this" he said pointing at the client "Ask that question regularly of your wife and if you get nothing back that's when you're in trouble" he waved his finger warning him "I guess" he laughed "I shouldn't laugh" he looked at his client saying "I guess he sort of got his answer when she didn't turn up at the hospital for his suspected heart attack, I ended up bringing him home"
"How could she not go see him at the hospital?" the client asked
"A question he asked when he finally saw her later that evening" the Lawyer told him
"Why do you think she never came?" he asked me as I drove him home late that night, he was mighty upset as you could guess, I didn't have an answer for him either, because I didn't have the heart to tell the truth as I saw it, I just said something like she must have a good reason" he said sadly
"A good Reason?" the client asked raising his eyebrows
"That's all I had just then" the Lawyer said shrugging his shoulders "But later on he told me what it was" he smiled
"I got to hear this" the client sat forward in his seat saying
"I thought I was dying, why didn't you come and see me?" he asked as she walked into the bedroom humming as if it was a bright sunny morning at near midnight
"I spoke to the nurse, she said you were fine, I wasn't worried" she told him
The Lawyer laughed "Can you imagine and he still didn't get it, he took that answer and slept soundly that night, I think that might have been a great opportunity to ask, what the hell is wrong with you don't you?"
"Very much so" the client laughed
"The children weren't happy when they got wind of it, they came straight back from College and University and gave them both a good telling off"
"I can't believe you didn't call us Mom, Dad could have died and we'd be the last to know anything" their eldest son said as they sat down to a family meal
"It wasn't serious" Mrs Evans replied
"It could have been Mom, and I think that's the point we're trying to make" Their eldest daughter told her "I'm not amused"
"Okay" Mr Evans said "This shouldn't happen again, everyone should know as soon as anything happens, is that agreed?"
"Agreed" the children sang together, making Mrs Evans smile
"Agreed" she finally said
"That night in bed she came up with a revelation he certainly didn't know" he said warning the client to be ready for yet another shocking development in this case
"I started to make my way to the hospital yesterday" she sat up in bed telling him, he was relieved that she was finally talking about things and maybe they could get past this funk they were in "Then suddenly I was in the car panicking that much I had to pull over, I was so scared" she told him
"I understand that babe" he said turning to look at her as she spoke, stroking her cheek
"No don't do that" she pulled away from him saying "I was panicking because I felt so happy that you had gone I mean"
"What?" the client gasped as the words he was being told sunk in "This isn't true, you made this all up no one hates anyone that much"
"Believe me this happened, stand out case as I said, should have been public but I kept it covered"
"What did he do? Mr Evans I mean, what did he do?" the client asked
"Well he started asking questions would you believe" the Lawyer laughed
"You were happy?" he asked trying to understand what he'd just heard
"Yes I was happy" she looked into his green eyes and told him, he was so infuriated he got up and walked out of the room for fear of killing her himself, it took him a while to calm down and then he finally did he went back to their bedroom to confront her about her comment
"I think you owe me an apology for saying that to me" he told her almost hoping that it was a joke he hadn't waited to hear the punchline on
"No I don't think I do I told the truth, actually what I want is a divorce"
"A what?" he gasped unable to comprehend how the conversation went from sacred, through panic and onto divorce in less than 30 minutes
"You heard I don't want to be married to you any more" she stared at him saying eyes as cold as snow "it's nothing specific it's just not what I want any more, and before you ask no there's no one else"
"Come on Babe, you know that isn't it, I need specifics, an explanation at least?" tears falling down his face at the realisation of the situation right now
"Specifics?" she asked laughing "Okay because even looking at you provokes my damn slap action, and it takes all my concentration not to just rip your damn face off" she said a devious smile on her face
"Do it" he stood in front of her saying, hoping she would back down after being given the opportunity and that would suffice and they could get back to their life together, to his surprise she took the lamp off the side cabinet and struck him across the head with it, throwing him across the floor and into the dresser. He straightened himself up quickly shocked as he touched blood on his forehead from the blow "Next time I'll fight back, and I'll tell you now you better get yourself a damn good lawyer" he said looking angry on the outside but inside he was broken, they'd taken this relationship to somewhere they swore it would never go, she'd laid hands on him and they both knew just then that was the end "I hear you" he said his voice weak as he turned and walked out the door, that was the last night they were in a bed together in that house
"Finally" she shouted after him as he slammed the door behind him
"They'd pumped everything they were into that house making it home and neither of them were willing to leave it, so yes they went to battle about it, her Lawyer had made every conversation into something it wasn't the court battle was a joke" the Lawyer laughed as he remembered "Excuse me" he asked his client hearing his mobile ring
"Hi babe" he smiled as he looked around his office "I'm sorry but I'm with a client at the minute, can I call you back when I'm done?" he smiled down the phone to whatever was being said "Love you too and I miss you and you know what else" he laughed down the phone "Got to go babe bye, yeah love you back" he said before closing the call down "Where was I?" he asked his client the smile still on his face
"Went to battle" the client told him much too engrossed to leave the office right now and he wasn't paying anyway
"Yeah they went to battle or the War of the Evans' as I call it" he looked at his client saying his face solemn again "I've told myself so many times and I'll say it again now" the Lawyer looked at his certificate on the wall saying "I made a mistake when I guided Mr Evans on this one" he got up and walked over to his bookcase and took a large book up, passing it to his client on an open page "16940 section C" he told him as his client looked into the book "Read it" he instructed
"Partners who have pursued separate lives, sharing neither bed or bond with each other..." he looked up at the Lawyer saying
"Carry on"
"... shall be deemed to have lived separate lives even though they reside under the same roof" he looked up when he finished reading "I don't get it"
"I told him to stay in the house it was his right after all, they tolerated each other for a while I guess I remember going round at Christmas that year" he smiled "The children were home for the holidays and everything in the house seemed normal dare I use that word"
"Hi" their youngest came walking towards me saying as the maid opened the door, he was so cute with his blond hair, green eyes just like his Dad and he could belt a note on the fly, I mean a serious note, they all could but he was good"
"Hi" I replied as he came in for a fist bump "The twins are in the study telling our parents off" he informed me, I didn't go in I sat with him waiting
"Hi" they came out saying everyone smiling as if things had been sorted
"Mom and Dad have decided to sleep in separate rooms because of Dad's snoring, and we totally get that, it's loud" their daughter said
"Yeah and with me working full time again I need my rest" Mrs Evans told us as everyone sat round the well clad tree.
"The day went as usual with carols being sung on the fly eggnog and present exchanges and I left, but by the end of the holiday their youngest son reported to me his concern that after that day I visited, the season came and went without any more song, laughter or love and they were scared to go back to their places of study and leave their parents alone"
"They'll be fine" I told him laughing it all off
"That same day Mr Evans came to see me" he told his client
"I think I've come up with a fool proof idea of sharing the house" he told me all excited and I realised he'd more than brought into this divorce thing now, it was not going to be civil because there really was no love left it was all about who got what out of that damn house
"Mr Evans" I urged "Please cut your losses now and move out of the house we can negotiate a sale and you will get what's yours from that" I told him but he wasn't having it
"It all belongs to me" he stood there shouting like he was Monica, Brandy or somebody,
"He left the office determined and that was the last anyone saw of him for a while, well maybe three weeks before he came back telling me"
"I killed the damn cat, it was an accident, but after the argument we had, it seriously looks like I purposely killed her damn cat"
"He stood almost shaking telling me right here in this office" the Lawyer smiled at the memory of it "About two days later Mrs Evans came to see me of course I told her how unethical the visit was and told her I needed to tape it and everything"
"You don't understand the urgency for him to move out, I need you to convince him it's the best thing for him to do before things start going terribly wrong for him" she said "What do I need to do to get you to tell him to do that one thing for me" she crawled round my desk saying
"This shit was getting serious I mean buttons were undone, things were exposed, she was putting it out there hardcore, a man had to know his life's worth to back away from that because believe me, there was a lot on offer. Lucky for me Mr Evans friendship was at the forefront of my mind at that time, I resisted moving her off my desk and backing her out my office door" he told his client mimicking the actions as he walked towards the door
"You know where I am if you change your mind" she said teasingly as she walked backwards out the door, he mimicked her saying
"I don't mind telling you I was letting off some serious sweat, I shut the door and my first thought was I need a cigarette but I resisted, I just sat and breathed for a long while" the Lawyer sat in his chair saying with thought "I wonder what would have happened if I'd have said yes then?" he looked at his client asking
"You're married aren't you?" his client asked looking at his ring finger which wasn't empty
"Yes I am but sometimes the flesh can be weak" he laughed "Lucky for me not then"
"Have you ever cheated on your wife Sir, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't mind answering, no I've never been unfaithful, I was offered a few times but what I have at home is more than enough for me" he smiled "You, ever cheated that is?"
"No never I love my wife"
"And yet you sit here" he looked at him saying "Anyway I digress"
"Wonder what would have happened?" his Client told him catching him back up on his story
"Yeah I do wonder every now and again, I mean she was hot, and when he told me she was a cheerleader in her early days I was peaked at what that session might have been like, but I'm glad I missed the opportunity" he said coming back to reality "The maid left after that summer break when the children went back for their final year at university and their youngest to his third year, the games got worse. I couldn't watch any more and I told him as much, tried to talk him round but he flipped and fired me"
"Fired you?" the client gasped
"Yeah and then they really went out of control on this thing, neither of them cared any more, it wasn't even about the house just how much they could hurt each other, it got really dirty". "I think you might need a drink for this next bit" the Lawyer told his client as he poured him a drink and took it over to him
"Thanks" he said taking the drink but not sipping it
"Ready?"
"Yep" the client said putting his left leg up to rest his ankle on his right knee as he sat back in the chair and rested the glass on his ankle
"They, well she arranged a dinner to talk" he smiled
"Will you come home early tonight I think we need to talk about this situation and get some sort of resolution?" she asked down the phone
"Home" he said surprised "Yeah sure I can do that"
"Say 8ish is that alright?"
"That's fine"
Dinner time came and he turned up with a bottle of their best and her the nibbles "We've made a mess of this and I just wanted to get a little normality back in our lives, I need to be happy again but I don't want us together so, I thought I'd ask you really nicely if you'd move out?" she asked as she offered her nibbles and he poured wine
"I cant do that babe I still love you, and I want us to work so much it hurts" he replied
"I don't even like you any more, I need you to leave because, I guess you don't believe how far I'll go with this"
"Well you don't know that about me either" he said looking at her glass
"Did you poison the wine?" she asked
"Did I?"
"I guess you need to be sure of what your actually eating" she smiled back at him
"What?" he looked at the appetiser asking "What did you do?"
"Have you seen your damn dog lately?" she asked as he spit his food all over the table
"You …." he wanted to say the word but even now he couldn't cuss her out he still loved her, they went further down into the mire of their so called civil divorce
"I guess it all came to head for me when I had a visit from the maid, Maddie" he smiled "She'd tried to get in and couldn't, she'd walked round the house and looked in through the window to see things in the dining room smashed and called me"
"So what did you do? his client asked
"Well when I got there, I looked through the window to find the both of them hanging from that damn chandelier they'd loved so much it made them buy a 6 million pound house, their prize possession" he laughed "They were singing"
"Singing?" the client asked shocked
"Yeah they were singing 'First Try' by Johnnyswim so ironic" he laughed "By the time we managed to break the door down and get in they'd fell 4 floors down crashing in a heap of crystal, gold and blood, none of them breathing, ironically, their hands clasped together"
"They died" his client gasped "My God surely it would have been easier to have just given the divorce?"
"Divorce?" the Lawyer asked "Their hands were clasped together, there was still something there" he almost shouted at his new client "After all that they realised there was still something there"
"I guess" his client sat thinking
"Some story yeah?" the Lawyer asked
"Some story" his client said nodding his head
"I guess the moral of the story could be a civilised divorce is a contradiction in terms" he chuckled "Maybe it's not natural to stay with one person for life any more, I might well be old fashioned with that way of thinking" he pulled up a chair closer to his client saying "So look here it is, we can start on your divorce, not a problem, but I urge up to be generous to a fault, give her what she wants so you can get on with rebuilding your life or you can go home and try to find a shred of whatever it was that made you commit your life to that woman in the first place and work on it like you worked on it to get that first date, kiss, sex even find what you first loved about her and grab it back" he told him with passion "She's your childhood sweetheart, your wife, just take a minute" he said getting up and leaving him to think about his options for a minute "I'll be outside" he said grabbing his Cigar off the desk as he went to stand on his balcony. He pulled hard on his cigar as he looked out on the early evening traffic making it's way back to loved ones bringing his wife back to mind as he took his phone out "Hi Babe" he said when she answered
"Hi babe, I missed you all day" she told him
"I missed you too but I'll be home soon, I'm just waiting on his decision"
"Another divorce?"
"You guessed it" he laughed
"I'm guessing you did your Mr & Mrs Evans thing" she laughed
"It's been a heavy day babe, yes I did" he laughed back
"One day someone is going to call you up on it"
"It's not even about that babe" he laughed "It's the thought behind it I need them to get"
"Whatever" she laughed "The children are about to go to bed and I thought you'd want to say goodnight, they have exams in the morning"
"I can't believe I'm missing study again tonight"
"It's only the second time this week, you're getting better"
"I'm trying"
"Here they are" she said as he heard noise flood the airways as he calmed them down and said his good night's with a promise to be there the following night and good lucks
"Put Mom back on" he told them when he'd finished "You know our conversation has just started yeah?" he chuckled
"I know" she giggled
"I love you, bye"
"I love you back bye" she said and the call was closed down
He turned to look back into his office when he finished the call to find his client putting his coat on "Are we finished here?" he opened the door asking
"For now I guess I've thought of another route" he smiled as he offered his hand to the Lawyer "Thank you" he said making for the door when he let his hand go "By the way, how do you make money on this thing if you give free sessions that just sort everything out for your clients?"
"I don't give everyone a free session" he laughed as he watched the client open the door
"So why me?"
"Because I married my childhood sweetheart and I can't believe you can feel the way I feel about her and want to leave, I have to try everything, like you have to try this other route" he smiled
"Thanks, I mean it" he said and he was out the door grabbing his phone out as he went "I need to see you, we have to talk" he said down the phone when his wife answered
"I'm glad you called back I wanted to talk too, I'm in Vegas can you make it down tonight, I'm at the cage?"
"I can, I will" he said excitedly "When did you get back to America?"
"About three hours ago, I've been calling you" she laughed "I called home but I'm doing just tonight here and I wanted a serious talk so, away from home, everything and everyone, please babe"
"Works for me, I'm there in a few hours" he said closing the call down, he went home grabbed his already packed travel case and ran to the airport making his reservation on the way and three hours later he was standing in the airport in Vegas
The Client (27)
He walked into the hotel room looking around at the many flowers, cards and chocolates scattered round and smiled 'No wonder she's found it hard to be grateful for my damn gifts' he thought as he looked at the size of the bouquets scattered, she hadn't unwrapped any, notes were still attached and chocolates still wrapped 'At least she opens mine' he smirked as he picked the phone up to order something to eat "Club sandwich, regular coffee and chocolate cake please times two in about forty minutes" he asked waited for a response before finishing with "Thank you" and putting the phone down
"Hi babe" Mercy said as she walked into the room thirty minutes later, to see him sitting there "I missed you so bad" she hugged into him saying and suddenly she was crying and he was holding her "Are you hungry?" she finally pulled away asking him "I'm sorry to throw all that at you I'm just overwhelmed" she said wiping her face and trying to stop her tears
"Hi" he giggled "I ordered our dinner already" he helped her wipe her tears away saying "Let's eat first yeah?"
"Yeah" she said running off to the bathroom to clean up, when she came out the sandwiches were waiting "Old faithful" she smiled looking at their meal "Bare your soul food" she said scarily
"Yeah I guess we're both on the same page with this" Sam said as he unpacked her sandwich and passed it to her before doing his own "I missed you too babe" he said before taking a bite of his sandwich, they ate caught up on how she'd made it back to America and the gig she had later that night sipping coffee before indulging their sweet tooth, all the time knowing their bodies needed to touch
"Ready to start talking?" she asked
"Yep" he said slumping back on the couch after disposing of the food wrappers and containers "Tell me what's wrong" he smiled remembering the question he should ask often
"Okay, don't hate me because I know you want this more than me but" she looked at him saying conscious of his mood "I'm taking time out from singing maybe five years and then I don't think I'll go back into it as hard as I have these past five year" she said stopping him from talking as he opened his mouth "I know you're going to protest in the biggest way but Babe I need to slow down my biological clock is ticking way too loud for me to ignore any more and truth I don't want to ignore it, I want babies, babe" she sighed "I'm sort of hoping you don't fight me on this because, I feel you slipping away too and that would just about kill me, if it happens. I know the decision lays with you but I just want you to think about where I'm coming from with this, I love my husband, I need him so bad sometimes I feel like giving everything up but you stop me, we've always said we want children, and seeing a gap I'm asking for that to happen now" she stopped to take a breath "What do you think?" she asked nervously
"Babe" he said looking up to the sky as he spoke "I need to tell you something before we can get into that conversation"
"Sounds serious" she looked at him saying hoping to get a hint of what was happening in his head right now, but didn't
"This morning I woke up packed my bags and decided to head for a Lawyer" he looked at her saying
"Why what's up?"
"A divorce Lawyer babe"
"Why?" she gasped "What have I done?" she asked her eyes already shedding water "Whatever it is babe I'm willing to change it, to fix this, I need to fix this" she grabbed his hand saying "I can fix this babe" she assured him not bothering to lose his hands to wipe the tears from her face
"We weren't communicating babe, I wasn't seeing you for months at a time and, I didn't want to stop you being who I need you to be, so I was going to give you up" he told her "A civil Divorce I was looking for"
"But I know you know there's no choice to be made when you put those two things on the table in front of me"
"I do and that's what I was trying to get away from" he smiled "But then I had a very long conversation with a Lawyer we both know and saw the error of my ways knew that I loved you, always will, and we needed to work something out, hence the call"
"I don't understand babe what are we doing here?"
"I guess we're working with your compromise, on the five year plan that is" he said letting her hands go and grabbing her round the waist pulling her into him "I'm going to try the Law thing for a while get some stability up in here" he laughed "Can we stop talking now?" he kissed her neck asking "It's been a long 6 months"
"Will you sing with me tonight?"
"One for two" he laughed telling her as she grabbed his lips two hours later they were talking baby names and bigger houses "What are you singing?" he asked as they got dressed to get to her gig
"Probably one of our usual ones depending on how I feel, you don't mind being loved up do you?"
"No babe I'm in love, didn't I tell you that?"
"I heard some muffled something in the throws" she laughed
"Well" he said pulling her to him "I love you wife"
"I love you back husband" she said kissing him before grabbing his hand and leaving for the venue
She did the first half of her gig before introducing him to the crowd, he came from the sidelines and took his bow "I talked him into singing a song with me" she announced as she hugged him to her "He needs no introduction he's a legend I real live one; she told them knowing they'd have to have been living under a rock not to know he was the well known model Sam Evans, the other half of me, so here we go with 'Take the World' by Johnnyswim for you guys, enjoy" she said as the band started playing their song, "We can do this babe" she told him before she kissed him on stage, "Goodnight" she said to the crowd before he grabbing her hand and led her off stage as the audience clapped
"I thought we agreed two for one?" he asked as they left the stage
"We did one song for two hot nights" she laughed "Are you happy babe?"
"Very" he said kissing her as they left the venue
The Lawyer (47)
"Hi babe" Sam said as he walked through the door, a bit worse the ware for fighting through traffic "I've missed you all day"
"Hi babe" Mercy laughed "I know what you missed all day, missing your afternoon snack"
"I love the way you know me, can we do catch up?" he said slapping her butt as he followed her, he didn't really care where it happened, the children were in bed and the staff had gone, they were alone except for Maddie, the live in maid
"Sorry" she walked in front of him saying as he grabbed her back and gave her a kiss she knew meant business "As I said sorry" she told him again pushing the living room door open to reveal their friends"
"Mike, Tina" he said surprised as he walked in "Good to see you guys" he walked in hugging his wife saying, making her know this wasn't the right time to leave him exposed "Drink?" he asked veering off to the bar to give himself some time
"No thanks we're sorted" Mike said holding his hand up with a full glass in it
"I'll just get myself one" he smiled sorting himself out as he poured
"What brings you guys to sunny California?"
"We've passed through to see a show last night and thought we might just make a weekend of it and see some friends, so here we are" Mike told him as he got closer and hugged him as he bent down to kiss Tina
"It's good to see you" Sam smiled looking at Mercy for the lack of warning on this
"So what you guys been up to?" Mike asked
"Well I still do my freelancing and I've got my own law firm now too and..." he looked at Mercy saying
"I'm still doing the singing thing when I get the chance, but you know how that is, every girl in California wants a song, there are so many of us" she laughed
"But you will keep going won't you Mercy?" Tina said seriously
"Of course, but I guess the children have done all their growing so I guess I could think about taking my singing serious" Mercy said a bit unsure
"How old are they now?" Mike asked
"The twins Kyle and Kaylen are 18 and Kane the youngest 17" Sam smiled telling him "We're so proud of them"
"What time's your show?" Mercy asked
"Oh that was last night but we're going somewhere at 9.30 tonight, you guys should come too" Mike said "It'll be good to just hang out"
"I guess" Sam said smiling as he looked at his very keen wife
"Great did I mention it's an open mic night?" Tina laughed
"No and I'm not singing" Mike said
"It's been a while for us together, but I'm good with that, you up for it babe?" Mercy asked
"Yeah why not" he smiled at her saying "Did you guys ever have a family?"
"No way, I think maybe when we were like 20 something but we're 40 something now I think that ship has sailed for us, we're happy enough" Mike told them hugging Tina
"I guess we should get dressed then and grab something to eat before we bare our souls on the stage" Sam laughed, lightening the conversation
"Coming Tina?" Mercy asked as they got up and made their way up to the bedroom to get ready, an hour later and they were sitting waiting for the men to be ready. A while later and they were piling into a cab, Sam with his guitar in hand, and on their way to starlights for a evening of entertainment
"Wow this place is heaving" Mike said as they walked into a packed house
"Let's grab something to eat" Sam suggested as he guided everyone over to the restaurant attached "Foods good here" he smiled as he approached "Table for four please Tony" he said to their local restaurateur
"Thought you hadn't sung in a while?" Mike asked for his familiarity
"We eat a lot here though" Sam laughed
They were seated quickly in contrast to the crowd that was in the place and their food although it took a while to arrive was excellent as he'd said "Song" Tina piped up just before they put the last morsel in their mouths "We'll go first" she added grabbing a protesting Mike "Come on don't be a killjoy" she laughed as he followed her on stage and announced their song
"Well done" Sam shouted as they descended from the stage, Mercy hugging Tina
"Your turn" Tina said showing them towards the stage
"Okay I guess we'll be singing 'Summertime Romance' by Johnnyswim because that's where we started" she laughed
"Well done guys" Tina ran up to them saying as they came off stage, the rest of the night they spent singing along or dancing to the songs people were putting down, by drink maybe six Sam's hands were a bit freer and Mercy knew she had to get him home soon before hell broke loose
"Babe" he said in her ear as they slow danced
"I know babe it's time to go" she giggled "Guys we're calling it a night" she shouted over to Tina and Mike, who were getting just as lost as them near the middle of the dance floor
"We're still booked into the hotel so we're fine" Mike came over saying with Tina attached "It was great catching up, we must do it again and next time we'll call, promise" he said as they fist bumped and hugged their goodbyes
"No need just come round" Mercy told them, feeling Sam squeeze her tighter, as they smiled, hugging again before leaving for home.
The got in the car and Sam's attention was fully on Mercy, because of her unusual quiet through the entire evening "Is everything alright for you babe I didn't get a chance to ask earlier?" he asked "You've been kind of quite" his concern making her look at him
"I needed to speak to you about upping things on my career I need to get back to it, how do you feel about that?" she stared at him saying
"If you're happy I'm happy babe I need you to be happy, I'll miss you of course, but I know you need this, we'll cope" he smiled
"Really?"
"Really" he laughed "You picked a good day, I told one of my stories again, I'm feeling like I need to pay attention"
"Thank you story" she laughed as she hugged into him "I'll speak to Glen tomorrow"
"Fine" he said hugging her in for the rest of the journey home
They went directly to their bedroom for the rest of the evening and as daylight broke they finally lay exhausted "I missed you yesterday" he said pulling her to him "I love you Mercy"
"I love you back Sammy" she smiled at him saying "Are you happy babe?"
"Very" he smiled back at her
Mr & Mrs Evans (57)
They'd been in the middle of their argument when Sam had accidentally dropped their prize Natural Jadeite carved Feng Sui a symbol of wealth, health and longevity, she gasped at the crashing sound as he tried his best to pull it back but failed miserably she fell to the floor and cried
"I'm sorry" he said so many times, even he was feeling the messed up with his pathetic gesture
"Stop it, you know you did that on purpose" she flicked his hand off her shoulder saying
"I'll buy it back" he told her
"How the hell are you going to buy back the birth of our children?" she jumped up asking, it was a stone they'd brought in three pieces which they'd had made symbolising the birth of their children forming a perfect Phoenix and a footprint from each child in their piece. "I wished I could hate you" she spat at him pulling away with such force she broke through the already weakened stair railing at the top of the house
"Babe" he shouted as he watched her topple in slow motion "Grab the chandelier" he urged her as she looked up and grabbed it swinging herself across to eventually get the height to pull herself up to sit on it "I'll grab it in" he told her using the stick they used to clean the crystals to pull the frame in "Got it" he said when he hooked it and started pulling it towards him
"Careful" she shouted as she watched him on his toes pulling it in "It's too heavy, just call some..." before she could finish her sentence he was swinging from the chandelier too "Sam!" she shouted trying to grab for him, he climbed up and sat in it too
"Someone will find us, this thing is so tight an elephant could sit in it" he smiled saying "I guess now you can listen to me" he said smugly as she rolled her eyes
"I guess" she finally said looking around and seeing there was nowhere else to go
"I know somewhere along the line we lost our thread a bit, but I assure you at the centre of my mind through all our lives together I've lived by what I said back in school and Mercy you've proved time and time again your cream and God you've rose to the top and stayed there, but I refuse to lose you to your career, and you know I won't stop you either, so you need to accept my compromise, I'll give up the Law thing and go full time on the Animation, that's mobile and we can travel together and okay this damn chandelier comes with us"
"I knew you'd give me my answer" she smiled "I was banking on that, and thanks on the chandelier"
"The cat would have been a genuine accident" he laughed saying looking at where they were
"I couldn't do anything like that to our dog, the children will be thinking we're the Rose's " she said as they both laughed "in our 50s and here we are acting like children"
"I guess we could go on forever saying sorry about today but the bottom line is I love you Mercy Evans, and I'll do anything I can to keep you happy"
"We can get another Jadeite carved Feng Sui for the grandchildren" she smiled "You're worth far more" she blew him a kiss saying
"I guess I could have just had a conversation instead of me going all Diva on this" she laughed sobering up as the chandelier moved "What was that?" she held onto the cable asking
"What was that, you haven't been messing up there have you?" he asked looking at the ceiling "We didn't agree to move it yet"
"Let's sing our song" she smiled
"What now?"
"Yeah we're waiting for someone to turn up aren't we?"
"I guess" he replied "What do you want to sing?"
"First Try' by Johnnyswim" she laughed "back to our roots yeah"
"Okay" he laughed as they started singing, They'd got more than half way through the song when they heard the cables giving way at warp speed "Babe" he said grabbing her hand as they lay watching the last two cables slowly release themselves "You touched them didn't you?" he asked
"I did" she said looking at the cables as they slipped through the rings
"We got it right on the first try" they both sung looking into each others eyes, hands clasped as they fell in slow motion
Most the damage was to their lower legs from shattered glass and bruising but some 24 hours later they woke up in hospital "Twin beds, finally" he smiled
"Mom, Dad" Kyle shouted alerting the others to their consciousness "I'm coming straight at you guys with this it has to stop, whatever it is you've found lacking in the damn relationship find it some other way" Kyle told them
"You guys could have died hanging off the chandeliers at your age" Kaylen the other twin shouted at them
"I usually stay quiet you know I do, but I draw a line at this too, you guys are like nearly 60, either sort it out or sort it out those are your options and for your sake I hope you sort it out" Kane their youngest told them laughing "Chandeliers" he said shaking his head smiling "Living the damn tale"
"So what happened?" Kyle asked his voice a bit calmer than it was a minute ago
"I broke our Carved Jadeite Feng Su" Sam said looking really guilty
"How did you get hold of it?" Kaylen asked
"I took it out the cabinet" he looked at her saying wondering why she would ask that they all knew where it lived
"That was a fake, we moved the real one when we came back for Christmas that year you guys were both going away and the house was left empty" Kaylen told them
"Fake?" Sam laughed
"Fake" Mercy clarified laughing as she rolled her eyes "Of course it was" she looked at the children saying "When did you get permission to do that?"
"I'd maybe stop at when I imprinted my foot in it" Kyle said still not impressed with his parents "The house is a wreck"
"It can be fixed" Sam said looking at Mercy smiling
"Yeah we'll fix it" she said to the children while she looked at Sam
"It's not fair, we have news" Kyle smiled
"News?" Mercy perked up saying
"Help me with this" Kyle asked Kane as they pushing their parents beds together "We" he said looking at Kaylen "Are pregnant"
"Who?" Mercy asked
"Kaylen and Jennie" Kyle told them puzzled
"Wow" Sam said grabbing hold of Mercy's hand, she had tears of course
"God this changes everything" Mercy said holding onto Sam as the children laughed at them not being able to fully move as Jennie and Thomas came into the room
"Congratulations" Sam and Mercy shouted at them happy
"So going mad parents how do you feel about being responsible Grandparents?" Kaine asked
"Good, I can work with that" Mercy said
"Special occasion and as usual we need a song Bro" Kyle shouted at Kaine
"I got something, you oldies can join in with this call it healing, giving thanks or even foresight" he laughed as she took his plugs out and 'Touching Heaven' by Johnnyswim was playing as everyone agreed it was a great song and he started the singing
Kane: All I see are angels, all these streets are gold, that lead to you, If touching love is touching God
No wonder I'm in heaven, when I'm holding you, simple as a song, a melody repeating in this heart
Kyle: I don't know when the chorus came, where I heard it first, or when it started
All: I won't be holding my breath for chariots, Thomas & Kaylen: I'm not just waiting for skies to part
Thomas & Kaylen: You've been my glimpse of Kingdom right from the start,
"Hi" Kane said as his girlfriend Joanne walked into the room hugging everyone as they sang before hugging Kane
Kyle & Jennie: and you got me touching heaven, All: Ooo, got me touching heaven, ooo
Mercy: So tell me what you're dreaming, tell me what it is, your dream come true
I don't need a map to find a hidden treasure, Sam: there, ain't no hiding you
All: I won't be holding my breath for chariots, Kane & Joanne: I'm not just waiting for skies to part
Sam & Mercy: You've been my glimpse of Kingdom right from the start, and you got me touching heaven,
All: Ooo, got me touching heaven, ooo, got me touching heaven
"That's enough guys they'll be throwing us out for having church up in here" Mercy told everyone before the bridge came she knew they could bring the sound when they were ready
"I know you guys don't believe us but it really was an accident" Sam laughed
"It will be a scary story to tell the grandchildren" Kaylen laughed as Mercy looked at Sam thinking, it was his scary story, seeing a glint in his eye telling her it was his intention to do just that
"Don't you dare" she laughed
"Are you happy?" he asked laughing
"Very" she said leaning to kiss him
"Aarrrhh" they both said with the pain, making the children laugh
Sam & Mercy (67)
"Gosh" Sam sat on the rocking chair saying "I've give them half an hour before we go up" he blew breath out saying
"You just did it didn't you" she laughed as he sat down
"I sort of softened it a little bit, I started with Goldilocks and sort of ended with Juno and a lot of shit in between but they believed me" he smiled
"Sam" she said hitting his chest lightly
"What? they need to know this love stuff is serious business" he rubbed his chest saying
"You visited your Dad's firm once when you were what 27 or something, and he scared you shitless, so everyone has to suffer, you got our children believing we were actually the damn Rose's because of the chandelier incident, you'll have yourself believing those dinner parties and that shit happened, but for crying out loud Sam we're nearly 70 now..."
"67 actually" he butted in
"We sold that damn house, get over it" she frowned
"We sold the house but you kept the chandelier didn't yeah" he shouted mimicking the scene from Poltergeist
"Their only 10 years old Sam, get a grip" she laughed
"Look Mercy we have three young boys up there just getting started on the testosterone thing and that's bad enough but if we don't educate those girls on this shit now we could have two Quinn's sitting up there" he blew "I want them to be loved first is that a crime?"
"No"
"And in order to do that they need to understand relationships yes?"
"Do we understand ours that's what I need to know right now?" she huffed
"Okay I hear you, what's wrong?" he asked rolling his eyes with a smile on his face
"How many times have you asked me that since we've been together?"
"I'm guessing not enough, right now"
"Kane and Joanne are not doing too good right now, I heard mention of the D word, apparently he's having a trip about her not being able to conceive right now" she told him, Sam stood shocked for a short while before he went to their movie collection and started looking through it "What you looking for?" Mercy asked puzzled as to why he'd reacted that way, already searching her mind for her next move
"The Family Man" he told her "I need to brush up before I go see him"
"Seriously?" she laughed
"Yeah he's so much like me, that will make him fight for what they have"
"I'd have to agree with that" she laughed "Only can the ghost be someone like Sue Sylvester this time?"
"Yeah I guess" he laughed "I see some traits I could use there"
"I don't even know why you bothered getting that law degree you could have just sat and watched films"
"We did" he looked at her saying "The first what, 5 years of our relationship, films" he smiled "And they have to work, because Dad was right, there is no such thing as a civil divorce.
The End
Loosely Based on the Film 'The War pf the Roses'