Amy Finds Her Muse

Wednesday seemed like the slowest day of his life to John. All he could think of was that Amy was there and here he was, hiding in his office, trying to think of ways to avoid her when he returned home. The hole she had ripped in his heart had reopened this morning and he could hardly stand it. Twice the tears had started and he began to wonder if he should be considering counseling for what he was beginning to think was a serious state of depression. Finally it 4:30 he decided what to do and phoned the house.

When Amy answered he said, "I will be there right around five o'clock. I think it would be best if when I come in the side door, you just leave by the front. I don't think I really feel up to dealing with you in person today."

Amy's only reply was, "All right."

John's arrival at home played out exactly as he had asked. Amanda's playpen had been set up in the living room and she was in it when he got there. He had heard Amy closing the front door as he had closed the side door. Through the living room window he could see her walk to a car parked on the street and drive away.

Supper for John and Amanda did not go well. After cooking himself a meal he had been unable to eat. Amanda had eaten all that he had fed her but as her meal was completed she again began crying and looking for her mother. This was the most upsetting episode yet for John as nothing seemed to console Amanda. Her crying continued until she began having difficulty catching her breath. John had been holding her and rocking her the whole time and was quite upset by the effects on Amanda. When he finally got her calmed down he gave her a bath and got her to bed. He sat with her until she fell asleep.

His nightly ritual of a glass of Scotch combined with several hours of thought was repeated again this night. This time it was almost 1:30 before he headed for bed but he had decided what he had to do for both his and Amanda's sake. He would contact his lawyer in the morning.

Thursday morning he phoned his lawyer and was able to get an afternoon appointment. He took the envelope from Amy's lawyer with him and shortly after two o'clock handed the pages to his lawyer, Bob Taylor. Bob read them over and said "Well, it looks like this is pretty cut and dried. I don't believe there is anything here you need to argue about, as she has asked for nowhere near the 50% she would normally get. She's not asking for personal support and by leaving Amanda with you there is no child support issue."

"I realize that," said John. "I've decided though that there are changes I'm going to insist on if she wishes this divorce to proceed quickly. Yesterday was the first visit she had with our daughter and the emotional turmoil that visit caused Amanda and myself is something I don't want to repeat every week until she leaves. It will be even worse if she comes back every three months and wants to spend a full week with Amanda."

"Therefore, I'm asking you to send her lawyer a letter as follows: she is to give up all parental rights to Amanda; she is not to see her again before she leaves the country; she is not to return periodically expecting to see Amanda; she is not to contact me personally ever again; and she is to sign a legally enforceable agreement to stay at least 500 feet from Amanda or myself. I want it emphasized that I will fight her application for divorce for as long as I can if she fails to agree to my terms," said John.

Bob looked at John with incredulity. "You can't expect that she is going to sign off on those conditions do you?"

"She will if she wants a divorce within four months," said John with determination.

"Well, I'll prepare a letter this afternoon and have it delivered by courier in the morning but don't say I didn't warn you. With all of the favorable terms she has already given you I can't believe these demands will be accepted."

"You may be right but we'll see. I'm serious about this. If she wants to rip apart our family that's one thing but to keep on repeating it every week is unacceptable to me," said John.

John left his lawyer's office and headed back to his own business. He finished the day in a better frame of mind now that his thoughts were being put on paper. He heard nothing more that week and because the weekend arrangement with Barbara had worked so well the previous weekend he suggested it to June again, so long as Barbara was agreeable. She was and they spent another good weekend together. Barbara had brought her homework with her this time and John spent time helping her with it while Amanda napped. He had been able to get her over some hurdles in geometry and algebra and she said that was a fair trade for her babysitting services.

- Tuesday, February 12

The week had begun routinely for John. At least with respect to the new routine he had developed. He had been able to spend parts of the previous day working from home, using the new computer network from home to office. Mary was doing well as his office manager and had rarely been forced to call him at home. Some questions had been answered by email between the two of them and he had been able to send and receive estimates and orders. The pace of work in his business had picked up and all three of them were busy each day.

Just before noon John received a call from Bob Taylor, asking him to come in for a meeting at 2 p.m. When John walked into Bob's office his lawyer had a smile on his face and said "Well, I don't know quite how you managed this but she has agreed to all of your terms. I don't think in all of my years as a lawyer I've seen a party to a divorce agrees so quickly to such serious terms. Her lawyer has told me all of the signed documents will be here later today, so assuming that that takes place, I guess we should have you sign your agreement to everything."

"I will forward your signed copies to her lawyer when we receive everything from them. As I said, I'm shocked at her agreement but the reasons behind it are not for me to comment on."

John signed wherever Bob indicated and was able to get out of his office in only half an hour. He too felt shocked by Amy's agreement but at the same time he was greatly relieved. Maybe now he and Amanda could get on with their lives and get away from the emotional roller coaster. He left early from the office after telling Mary he would work from home for the rest of the day and would try to see how well he could work from home for the rest of the week.

Working from home for the remainder of Tuesday went smoothly. The next three days however, did not. He had told June that he would try to handle things on his own but he quickly found that the conflict between Amanda and his work was more than he expected. It seemed that whenever he got busy with a file Amanda had at that moment decided to fall and bump her head or needed changing or was hungry. Tasks requiring a lot of attention could not be easily left for later. He realized he would have to come up with another plan.

He made it through to Friday evening without losing any customers but after getting Amanda to bed, raiding the Glenfiddich bottle and making himself comfortable, he decided to turn his thoughts to how he could better handle the jobs of business owner and single parent. The answer came to him rather easily he felt. To make it all work he had to visit his in-laws on the weekend and see what they would think of his idea.

He went to bed in a better frame of mind than on previous days. On Saturday morning, after he and Amanda were fed, he phoned June to see if they would be busy in the afternoon. When told that they had nothing planned he told them that he and Amanda would be over around two o'clock. Since June had not seen Amanda for several days she invited them to stay for supper and John readily agreed.

When John arrived at two o'clock Barbara met them at the door and immediately took charge of Amanda. John smiled to himself when he saw that, as it fit well with what he was going to suggest to this family. He joined Fred and June in the living room and accepted the offer of a cold beer. When they were all comfortable he began to tell them what had transpired over the last few days.

Both Fred and June were shocked and upset to hear that Amy had relinquished all of her parental rights and would no longer attempt to see Amanda or John. Both of them felt that was very unlike Amy. John agreed but explained to them why he had felt he had to insist on these terms. In the end they understood his point and agreed it was for the best.

"Now," said John, "Comes the real reason for me wanting to talk with you this afternoon. I discovered on Thursday and Friday that there is no way I will be able to run a business and care for Amanda full-time as well. One or the other is going to suffer. I cannot afford to lose my business and Amanda deserves a good upbringing. I've considered day care and if what I am going to suggest to you is not of interest to you that is what I will pursue."

"For the last couple of years you have both been retired and have mentioned several times that as soon as Barbara is finished her education you want to travel in your motor home around the continent. What I'm proposing is that, if she is agreeable to it, Barbara move into my home and act as a nanny for Amanda. This would only be for the hours when Barbara is not in school or involved in activities after school."

John shifted in his seat, clearly enthused by his idea. "I would begin working from home during the day but only handling emergencies that required immediate attention. The rest of my time would be devoted to Amanda. I believe my staff can handle almost all of the normal workday situations. After Barbara finishes her school day she would care for Amanda and I would leave for my office, where I would work during the afternoon and evening doing the jobs that required my personal attention."

"My business has been picking up in the last two weeks to the point that I've had to have the printer I've hired work overtime on several evenings, something he really doesn't want to do. I would be able to handle those jobs as well and if my business should continue to grow, by working evenings myself, I could probably forestall the need to hire a second person to do the print work. The costs that I would save would easily allow me to pay Barbara as a nanny."

John continued, "Weekends might require some time from Barbara but I would pay for that over and above her weekly wage. Hopefully she would be able to handle her homework and her work as a nanny and in situations such as pending exams I would pay for a sitter for Amanda as necessary. While Barbara would be staying in my home you two would be able to begin to do the traveling you have been waiting for."

"Naturally you will have to think it over and discuss it, so don't answer me right now unless you can see it is of absolutely no interest to you. I don't like to put any pressure on you, though in truth, I will have to decide something quite soon. If you two feel it is feasible then discuss it with Barbara to see what she thinks of the idea."

June looked at Fred and said, "Well, it sounds pretty interesting. We have definitely been thinking about how we could get a chance to travel on an extended trip, so this has real possibilities. We'll have to let Barbara make up her own mind but I would be shocked if she said no to the idea. She loves Amanda and I know she gets along well with you. How about the three of us talk about it tonight after supper and we'll call you tomorrow."

They all agreed to this suggestion and didn't discuss it any further. They didn't mention it to Barbara, as John wanted just her and her parents to participate in that conversation. They had a pleasant supper and while Amanda fussed a couple of times during the afternoon, anxious for her mother, they were able to deflect her attention. John left at 7 p.m. and he and Amanda spent a quiet Saturday night.

On Sunday morning John received the expected call from June. She let him know that Barbara had been enthusiastic about the idea and that she and Fred could see no real reason it couldn't work out as John had described. Since there was a bit of time pressure for John, Fred decided to come over on Sunday afternoon and help set up Barbara's room.

When Fred arrived John showed him the layout of the house. At the top of the stairs John's master bedroom and bath were on the right with Amy's former studio on the left. Second on the right was Amanda's room. Second on the left was the main bath room and at the end of the hall next to it was a guest bedroom. John and Fred first cleared the guest bedroom of all of the junk that had accumulated there. They also removed an extra chair, nightstand and lamp that were not needed.

Since the guest room was a bit small they decided to put Barbara's computer desk, bookshelf and study desk into what had been Amy's studio. Because John would be tied up with work and Amanda in the coming week, Fred would arrange to purchase a rug for Barbara's study room, as well as new blinds and curtains for both of her rooms. When everything was finished she would have half of the upper floor to herself.

The two men then went to the basement to see what changes they could make there. The basement had one large room with a sofa, TV, treadmill and a Bow Flex exercise machine. There was also a laundry room and a bath room with a large shower. They decided another rug would be appropriate and that childproof gates would be needed for the basement stairs and the top of the stairs to the upper floor. It was decided that Fred would purchase and install them.

- Monday, February 18

On Monday morning John phoned Mary and explained that she should call him on his cell for any emergencies that arose and to make a list of all accounts and files that he should work on when he came in later in the day. He explained as well that any printing jobs that he could do in the evening could be left for him as long as Frank had other work to do.

During that day Mary had called twice, neither call conflicting with his duties with Amanda. Both were easily resolved. At 3 p.m. Fred, June and Barbara arrived, along with enough of Barbara's clothes, accessories and necessities to cover a two week stay. They would arrange her room, help her get settled and watch Amanda. John thanked them, kissed Amanda goodbye, grabbed his briefcase and left for work.

When he arrived at the business he asked Frank and Mary to meet him in his office as soon as they had a few moments to spare. When they arrived he explained his new living arrangements and how it would affect his work with them. The new routine would see him arriving around 3 p.m., spending the next two hours making any phone calls or having meetings that had to be done during business hours.

After the business closed at 5 p.m. he would work on the accounts and files that Mary had set aside for him. If there was printing work to do he would do that as well, hopefully eliminating the need for Frank to work overtime. He asked them if either one of them could see a problem with that plan.

There were no objections so he asked them to carry on but to let him know if they saw any problems. John proceeded to work on the files as necessary, making required calls and appointments. Before he knew it, it was 5 p.m. and Mary came to the office to let him know she was leaving for the day.

John carried on with the work he had, stopping for a soft drink and to eat the sandwich he had prepared and brought with him. There were two small printing jobs for him to do but even so he was done by 9 p.m. He decided to make it an early night and get back to see how Barbara had made out.

When he arrived home the house was quiet. He took his briefcase to his den/office and then headed upstairs. The light was on in Barbara's study room and the door was open. He looked in and she was hard at work at her desk. A stack of school books and her binder were scattered on it and she was sitting there engrossed in her work. She had changed to her pajamas and was sitting with one leg tucked under her.

"Hello, Barbara," John said. "How is everything going?"

"Oh, hi John," she said. "Everything is great. We got all of my stuff moved in for now and my dad got the blinds and curtains all fixed up and the rugs are both down. He said he would do the child gates in the next day or two."

"How was Amanda for you, did she give you any trouble?"

Barbara hesitated and said "Well, she was fussy a couple of times. I think it was the same problem of missing her mother. Other than that everything was fine."

John looked at her stack of books and asked, "How's the homework going? Are you having any problems?"

"Just the usual problems with math. Maybe you could help me with a couple of these questions later."

"Ok, that's not a problem. Just let me get cleaned up and get rid of this jacket and tie," said John.

Later, as John helped Barbara with her algebra, he noticed she was more comfortable with him than 2 weeks ago. She smiled without concern that her braces would show. She was still easily embarrassed though as her cheeks flamed crimson when his hand accidentally covered hers when reaching for a pencil.

The remainder of the week went very well and Barbara and John were able to establish some routines around the house. Each morning John would be up first and would prepare the breakfast. Barbara would take care of making bag lunches for the two of them for later in the day and would feed Amanda while John did work in his home-office. Once Barbara left for school for the day, John would take over Amanda's care.

On two occasions John had insufficient work to do in the evening so he was able to come home at 6 p.m. to join Barbara for supper. She was proving to be a skilled hand in the kitchen, able to prepare a variety of meals. One night John remained at home until he put Amanda to bed, so that Barbara could study for a test the next day. Both of these evenings John returned to the office and worked until nearly midnight.

Their first weekend under the new arrangement went well. Barbara watched Amanda while John went in to the office Saturday afternoon and John was with Amanda Saturday evening while Barbara went out with some friends. On Sunday John invited Fred and June over for supper and the four of them discussed how the week had gone. They decided things had gone well enough to proceed with making it permanent.

Barbara's remaining clothes would be brought over this week and John would arrange for temporary guardianship papers to be drawn up so that he could legally speak for Barbara's parents should the school require it or an emergency arise.

Two bank accounts would be set up, one of which John would deposit Barbara's wages to and the other would contain a balance supplied by her parents for clothing, incidentals and her normal allowance.

Fred and June were enthusiastic about being able to begin traveling around the country in their motor home and planned to start preparing it in the coming week. They decided to purchase a dolly so that they could tow their car behind the motor home and planned to leave in two weeks.

The next two weeks passed quickly with John and Barbara refining their routines. Things went well, with only one emergency arising. On that occasion a major client needed to meet with John unexpectedly, so John was forced to ask his neighbor, Vicki Pierce, a 60-year-old widow who had just moved next door, to babysit Amanda for him. Vicki, as she insisted he call her, thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to watch Amanda and insisted that John call her any time that it was necessary. He was pleased with her offer as it helped eliminate one concern that he had.

John's business continued at a steady pace and it was likely that had he not chosen to work evenings he would have had to hire another employee soon. Mary was continuing to improve in her job, to the point that John was rarely called at home. He found that the tremendous pressure he had been under to succeed at both his business and as a single parent was greatly reduced. He felt he could begin to enjoy life again.