A Good Life

Those in the area that could afford to took their business elsewhere when it got around that Susan was spending time in Tim's bed. I was offered the opportunity to stay with Sam and his wife Joan in town. Friends and neighbors kept the door warm the next couple of days dropping in to see me and fill me in on the goings on while I was gone. The one thing most of them wouldn't talk about was Susan. At most I would get a sentence or two then they would either change the subject or remember they needed to be going.

Finally, one day I was in the bank and turned to see Susan walking through the door. I stopped in shock as I looked at her face then my gaze dropped to her belly. She was VERY pregnant. When she saw me her face turned white, then dark red and she ran from the building.

I stood staring and feeling like a fool, and then I noticed the quiet in the building and saw almost everyone staring at me. I too turned and walked outside. I was standing beside my truck when I felt a hand on my back. I heard a female voice saying, "John. Are you OK?"

I looked toward the voice and saw one of my favorite teachers from high school. She had instilled my love for Mathematics in me and spent hours taking me to even higher levels of knowledge than was offered at the school. I smiled and said, "Yeah, I guess Miss Maude. How you doin'?"

Miss Maude gave me a little smile and said with some asperity, "Well boy, probably a little better than you are right now. You know the whole town is sure proud of you and most of us are sure sorry for what you're going through. If you need to talk, you know where I live son." She gave me a little hug and walked back into the bank.

I couldn't believe no one had told me Susan was pregnant! I know I had only been home three days but damn. Well, now I knew there was no way we would ever get back together. I was mostly sure before but now. NO WAY.

Well, the divorce was long and bitter. A time or two during hearings, Susan and I were both warned about contempt of court when we got into shouting matches. During one of her diatribes she told me one of the reasons she was divorcing me was that I would never amount to anything and she needed more for her and the children. She told me Tim was going places and he could provide more for her and the kids.

I just stared at her in shock. Tim only had 140 acres and while he managed the Farm store he only owned 25% of it. He did like to cut a big swath through town though and there was talk about him running for the State House of Representatives. He had always been flashy and I guess that and his smooth line is what got her in the end. Now I wished I had paid more attention back when we were younger and she was always running around with Tim. It seemed like even when we were together she spent a lot of time with Tim but I just put it down to friendship.

It seemed like we fought over everything. I didn't think I was being unreasonable but she sure said I was. She wanted the house and half of the farm, 3/4 of the bank accounts and full custody of the children.

I did manage to keep the entire farm for myself but it was hard. I had to give her all but $10000 of our savings and a promissory note for almost $200000 to keep the land. I was sure glad the two real estate agents we got to appraise the place were unhappy with the way she did me too. They appraised it at $1500 per acre instead of the $2250 it would probably have sold for. I was scared the Judge wouldn't accept that when she and Tim complained but we had an ace in the hole. One of our neighbors had some financial difficulty about a year before and sold out fast for $1250 per acre so the Judge allowed the $1500 per acre as a reasonable valuation. Tim got so mad he was ushered from the hearing cursing and screaming.

Finally, yesterday, it was all over. I was single and alone again at age 35 except for a town full of friends. Susan got custody of the children but I had unrestricted visitation and was guaranteed at least one weekend a month and two months in the summer.

With another heavy sigh I got up to face the day. The first day of the rest of my life-a life without the woman I had loved so dearly. Times would be rough for a while but I was sure I could get through this like I did Iraq and my injury. I wondered though if it would be as painful as that had been.

Susan and Tim married two weeks after the divorce was final and moved into his house on his 140 acres. I got to keep the kids during the week they took for their honeymoon. At least the children were close enough I could see them daily if we wanted to. In fact a lot of time they got off the school bus at my home and stayed until Tim and Susan got home from work.

Well, the last 6 years have seemed to fly by. I was still alone but I had a semblance of a good life. I had my children and their love. I had good friends both male and female but no girlfriend. I didn't date for almost a year and a half but I did go to some of the local functions, dances pie suppers etc. Finally I began dating occasionally but just couldn't find anyone that struck that special spark. I went out with a lot of really nice ladies but no one special.

I did have one new interest though. I only lived about two miles from town and I had a large nearly new pole barn on my place that I only partially used to park my machinery in. About 5 years back I had listened in town and watched the neighbors. There sure seemed to be a lot of people doing their farm shopping out of town instead of with Tim's supply store.

I began asking questions and most of the answers I got involved two reasons for people taking their business out of town. One was the cost and quality of Tim's goods and the other was their disgust at how he and Susan had treated me. I decided to set myself up in competition with Tim and opened my own Farm Supply and Feed store. I hired a young married couple that lived about a quarter mile away to help. Sean worked with the feed and supplies while Sally worked the cash register and helped with the books. I did a little of everything including run my farm. I also stayed in the Army Reserve and took several short Active Duty tours.

Whooo Boy. My new store had only been opened three days when all hell broke loose. Tim and Susan arrived in a cloud of dust and you could hear them cursing and screaming as they got out of the car. My customers stood and watched as they berated me. Tim was carrying a tire iron and I was worried he might try and use it. I suppose Sally was worried too because she had called the Sheriff. We were lucky a car was near and he arrived before we came to blows.

The next few weeks after my confrontation with Tim and Susan were tough. We got several nasty phone calls we thought were probably from Tim and Susan. Tim was very loudly complaining about my new venture around town. By the end of my first summer of business I was making a nice profit and had a pretty large customer base. If I were guessing I would say I have taken about half the business away from Tim. Whenever I saw Tim or Susan in town, if looks could kill I would definitely be dead.

One other drawback to the store was its effect on my children or rather my ability to be with them. Susan refused to let them visit for a month after I first opened the store. I finally had to contact my divorce attorney and he threatened to file with the court if they didn't let me see the children again. They grudgingly let me see the children but held to the exact letter of the original custody agreement for some time.

Things finally changed after Jessica got into high school. She needed help with her math or she was going to fail the subject. Her mother and Tim could just barely balance their checkbooks even though they both had college degrees. A bookkeeper and accountant kept all the business records.

My college minor in and love of Math made me an excellent source of help with the homework. I helped Jessica whenever I had visitation but it wasn't enough. Finally, Susan grudgingly allowed Jessica and later Alex to spend a lot of evenings and even nights with me getting help with their schoolwork. Susan made it very plain though that my keeping the children so many nights had NO effect on the amount of HER child support. As time passed, Jessica and Alex began to bring friends over for help and tutoring. I really enjoyed having the kids around the house and really loved to see the light in their eyes when they grasped a concept.

I was so proud when the children I had helped would rush into the store or my house after receiving their report card and show me their grades. Most of the kids I helped made A's or B's in the subjects we discussed. Everyone made A's in Math. I found more and more that I would be stopped in town by the parents of one of "my kids". They all told me how much they appreciated my help and friendship. Life was fun again.

The fall Jessica turned 17, she was a junior in HS, and Alex was 16 and a sophomore. Both children seemed more and more unhappy. They were spending more and more time at my house, asking for help on schoolwork. I could tell they really understood the subject matter many times when they came to me for 'help'. Finally In February I put my foot down and demanded to know what the deal was.

Jessica sat looking down at her hands in her lap, then sighed and looked at Alex. Jessica took a deep breath and began to talk through her sniffles. "Daddy. If we are at Tim's place we have to be quiet. We have to keep the whole house clean and do most of the cooking. Momma says we owe it to them because they both work so hard at the store to furnish such a nice place for us to live. If we are home and Tim and Mom want to go out they just tell us to watch George (Tim and Susan's son) and leave. We never know when they will get back. A lot of the time they are gone over night or for a day or two. We have to stay in our rooms when Tim and Mother's big city friends come over. It's almost like they were ashamed of us."

"They always go out to eat or parties and we almost never get to go. When we stay here you don't make us do anything you don't help us with. We laugh and tell jokes. We watch TV and sometimes you take us places to eat or just to go. You let us have our friends over and we can laugh as loudly as we want and listen to our music. Oh, Daddy I wish we had never had to leave our home. I, no, we so want to come back here and live. We miss it and you so much."

After I calmed the children I helped them finish their homework and reluctantly sent them back to their mother. After they left, I sat and thought about them and their problem. How I hated what had happened to my children and to my life.

The next morning I called the attorney that had handled the divorce. He said the children were old enough to decide where they wanted to live and if the court agrees then they could move back "home". One upside to this would be an early end to the child support. I told him to begin working on the problem and filings.

The next time the children came to see me, I told them what the attorney said. They looked so happy when I told them that. I got teary hugs when I told them I instructed the attorney to file custody papers on them. Jessica and Alex both looked like the weight of the world had lifted from their shoulders. Jessica began crying and turned to Alex. She said, "See Alex. I told you Mother and Tim were wrong. I told you Daddy loved us and would let us live with him again."

They both came to me and we had a group hug. Then, Jessica told me she and Alex had asked Susan if they could come live with me a few months before and she had told them No. She had said I didn't want them underfoot all the time and besides, she and Tim needed the child support money. She had said, "Besides children should be with their mother not some man that is happy living like your father does."

Needless to say, the custody hearing was nasty. The lawyer did his homework well though. He had a Private Detective watch Tim and Susan and document the times they were away leaving all three children to fend for themselves. Jessica was old enough to stay alone but it was a little iffy to put her in charge of the two boys for such long periods of time as she was left with them. In addition, the judge listened to the children's desires. He ruled they would be allowed to return to my home.

I think we were all shocked when the Judge ordered Child Support services to monitor the home life for Susan and Tim's son George. Susan was furious. She was screaming and yelling in court then Tim stepped up to me and said, "You just couldn't leave it alone could you Asshole? You just had to shaft Susan and cause trouble for us again didn't you? Wasn't ruining my business and chances for the House enough?" then walked away.

The children settled in and it was such a pleasure during the summer to hear children swimming and playing in the old swimming hole day after day. I think we had half the kids in town down at one time or another. I did notice the same three boys in attendance frequently when Jessica was home and a core group of 16 year olds for Alex also.

The Saturday before thanksgiving I was sitting on the front porch in mid afternoon and heard, then saw an older car coming down the dead end road toward my home. They had passed the store so I knew it wasn't business. I wondered who it was and was a little angry because from time to time people try to drive across my field to get to the road on the other side. The road has been closed for over 30 years because the creek changed course and washed it out. People still want to go through though and try to drive in my field to do so.

I sat and watched as the car stopped in front of the house and a very pretty woman about mid 30's got out. I realized I had never seen her or the car before. When she had walked up to the porch, she looked at me and asked in the sweetest voice, "Are you Mr. John Stevens?"

I nodded, and then said, "Yes. What can I do for you?" I was sure hoping this wasn't some salesperson or bible beater.

The woman gave me a beautiful smile and said, "I am Melody Harris, the Math teacher at the school. I have been having a group of students the last three years doing much better than their peers. From time to time a student that has been having trouble making a C grade begins to make A's or B's. I have discovered these students are all friends of your children. I talked to them and your daughter and found out the better performance on my tests is your fault and I decided I needed to meet my assistant."

"I think your daughter and her friends were afraid you would get in trouble for helping them. They were very reluctant to tell me who was doing my job for me."

I sat in shock for a spell, then jumped as I heard Jessica exclaim, "Ms. Harris! What are you doing here?"

"Relax Jessica. I was grading papers this afternoon and once again you and your friends were doing much better than the other members of your class. I decided I needed to finally meet your father. Since I needed a break, I decided to see if I could see him today."

I regained my senses and stammered, "Ms. Harris. I'm sorry for my Daughters and my poor manners. Would you like to have a seat? We can sit out here or go inside. Jessica. Would you get me a glass of tea please and whatever Ms. Harris wants for her?"

Melody said, "Thank you Mr. Stevens. I just love the view from your porch. Could we just sit here while we visit?"

"Oh, sorry Jessica. Tea will be fine for me also." She said.

I said, "Ms. Harris I"

Ms. Harris cut into my sentence and said, "Melody please Mr. Stevens."

I smiled and said, "OK, Melody. Thank you. I agree. The view from the porch and my patio is worth every cent it cost to build them. And my name is John."

After Jessica delivered the tea Melody and I began to talk about the kids and the help I had been giving them. She was impressed with my minor in math and willingness to help the children. "But what about the rest of your life. From what the children tell me you have homework sessions two or three days a week and Saturday evenings. You operate a Farm Store and a large farm. Doesn't your wife" then she blushed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How rude of me. I forgot. I mean I heard what happened. OH." Then she jumped up and started toward her car.

I jumped up and grabbed her as she was starting to get into the car. "Melody. Please wait. It's OK. I know what you mean and I'm not upset. Now please come back and finish your tea. I might get upset if you leave before then!"

She looked at me a minute, still flushing, then let me lead her back to the porch. "John. I am so sorry. I know how you must feel. I lost my husband in the war and I have poured all my care and life into these kids just like you have. I keep hoping to get a real life and find someone but there just isn't anyone here that is that interesting. Is that your problem too?"

I started to get upset at her prying but then I thought was she really? After all, she hadn't said anything I hadn't thought about the "mate pool" of my beloved hometown.

I looked back at Melody and saw tears running down her cheeks. I walked to her chair and kneeled beside her then said, "Shh. Melody. It's long past. If you want to tell me about it I will be glad to listen but you really need to get past it."

She looked at me and said, "We had only been married 18 months when Jason died. He was a Navy helicopter pilot and never came back from his first combat mission. We had wanted to have children but hadn't had time to start our family. I just threw myself into my school work and when I found this job opening here, so far from the coast and bad memories I took it."

I have dated some but other than meet a few nice men; I haven't found anyone to share my future with. I know how you must feel. I'm just thankful for the children I get to nurture at the school."

I think we knew all the same people. I knew the problems and idiosyncrasies of the men she dated and she laughed and told me about the morals and problems with the women I had mentioned dating. We had a good laugh or two reminiscing about dates. We found we neither one liked the bar scene in the nearest large town (45 miles) and none of our friends had anyone acceptable to set us up with.

Melody was impressed I was still in the Reserves, was now a Major, and was eligible for promotion to Lt Col soon. I have 22 years total time in now and am trying to decide whether to retire or not.

I explained that Sean and Sally had long since taken over 98% of the work at the store. They and the other hired help made me redundant so since I had nothing much to hold me at home I had taken a lot of short active duty tours in the Reserves. I also explained those short tours had stopped when the children came to live with me again. I was thinking about retirement solely so I could be home with the children and not have to worry about being deployed again if the Army needed me.

Dusk settled in and we were still talking. My stomach growled, then Melody's. She blushed and apologized. She said she needed to go. "I didn't have lunch and really need to get supper."

I said, "I have really been enjoying our talk. Why don't you let me take you to supper in town? The Kids have dates and I would be here by myself otherwise. We could go to the café and continue our talk over supper."

"No John, I really couldn't. I can't believe I have kept you all afternoon as it is. I'm really sorry I kept you from your work." She said.

I looked at Melody and thought I saw something wistful in her eyes. "Melody if you really don't want to go with me fine, but if you are worrying about imposing forget it. I have enjoyed this afternoon more than any afternoon I can remember since I got back from Iraq 6 years ago and I really, really don't want it to end."