Lights Out
Joe Morelli stares at the divorce papers in his hand. Child support. Custody. Alimony. And she wants the house, too. His house. He lets out a sharp bark of laughter, his face contorting a little bit. Wake up, Cupcake. Life is no fairy tale. Does she think he's that stupid? Is she mad, delusional, or what? He has been staying with his mother for the past two months. He has been trying very hard to give her space and time to cool down. He has been trying his best to refrain himself. He has done everything he can. But still she wants a divorce. She wants his house and she has already changed the locks. He can't even enter his own house or take his own children out for ice cream or pizza without her permission. And she got herself a lawyer in no time at all. A lawyer from a fancy law firm in Manhattan, as a matter of fact. Where did she find the lawyer? How can she afford a lawyer? How is she going to pay the bill? Where is she going to get the money? Who is she going to borrow from? Well, silly question. It's quite obvious, isn't it?. Who else but her rich old friend? Her mentor. Her Men of Mystery. Her Batman. What makes her think he'll sign the divorce papers? What make her think he's not ready to fight in court? He has done nothing wrong. Nothing. Nothing that can be proved, anyway.
"I'm not going to sign this shit." He tosses the divorce papers onto the table with a thud and narrows his eyes at Stephanie's imbecile of a brother-in-law. Albert the Clown blinks nervously and pales immediately. They both think of the time when Morelli pulled out his gun, pointed it at Kloughn and ordered him to shut up. Ah, the good old days. He allows himself a small smile as the thin bald middle-aged bored-looking lawyer from the Big Apple takes a stack of photos out of a manila envelope and push them across the table.
"You may want to rethink your choice, Mr. Morelli." The lawyer says in a surprisingly pleasant voice. However, his smile never reaches his pale green eyes. "Take your time."
Joe Morelli flicks through the photos and turns pale. The photos are of him and that curvy blonde woman. He still can't remember her name. They were kissing and touching each other in the bar's parking lot. They were kissing and undressing each other at the entrance of her apartment building. He was leaving the apartment building in broad daylight. They were kissing, laughing at the camera, and having sex with different positions at the same time. His vision becomes a blur as the not at all shark-like lawyer calmly continues:
"It seems that you and Miss Sinclair agreed to take some intimate pictures as keepsakes that night, Mr. Morelli. Of course we can take this to court and let the judge decide, but why waste everybody's time and money? Let's keep it simple and get it over with. We have to think of the children, don't you agree, Detective?"
Joe Morelli clenches his jaw and fists as his eye starts to twitch. He wants to fight. He hates losing. He's never afraid to take his chances. So he cheated on Stephanie. So what? It's just an one-night stand, an one-time fling. It doesn't mean anything. That woman, Tiffany or Tammy or Amy Sinclair, is nothing. Every man cheats. They all cheat. his father cheated on his mother. His uncles cheated on his aunts. His elder brother Anthony can't stop cheating on his poor wife even if they all know he truly loves her. It's not such a big deal. Anthony always goes back to his wife and kids. They all did. The other women will become nothing but ancient history and faraway faded memories. And it wasn't all his fault. He's not the only one to blame. Stephanie is not perfect, either. She, too, has made tons and tons of stupid mistakes. But she has never ever cheated on him. She took her wedding vows seriously. She has been betrayed once before and she never gets over it.
He keeps his eyes away from Albert Kloughn. And as if on cue Albert swallows audibly and timidly says: "Joe, please don't make things worse. Think of JJ. Think of Rose Maria. Think of Stephanie. She loved you. She chose you. She trusted you. They all trusted you. Stop hurting Stephanie. Give her a chance to move on and heal. Maybe one day she will be able to forgive you. It's the best way to make up for your mistake. You broke your wedding vows. You have to pay the price. You betrayed her trust. It's only fair. Please."
The tense uncomfortable silence drags on for a couple minutes. Joe Morelli looks up toward the ceiling and wonders how Albert affords an office like this. Maybe he's actually a better lawyer than people think? Maybe he really is talented and good at what he does for a living? Or maybe he's just lucky? He grasps hold of the pen and signs the divorce papers without further thinking. He pushes back the chair, stands up, and leaves. He doesn't want his kids to think of him as the bad guy. He remembers how much he wanted to prove to the world he wasn't like his father. He once believed he had broken the family course. He won the girl and achieved his dreams. He lost the girl and now his dreams are busted. He just wants to be happy. He just made a simple foolish mistake. He just couldn't bring himself to get down on his knees and beg for her forgiveness. He has his pride and she's not perfect.
He gets into his car and starts the engine. He raises his hands to grab hold of the wheel and freezes as his eyes fall on his wedding ring. Suddenly he feels like crying. He just wants to be happy. Is that too much to ask?