Amanda Guesses Wrong

As I climbed into bed I did wonder if Amanda was telling the truth. It was possible, but I couldn't be sure and that was the killer - the fact that I couldn't be sure. Then I had a thought. It was a little out there, but it could work. It was a long shot, but it wouldn't cost me a thing to try it. I got up and got my cell phone. Since Amanda spent so much time with Sally I had Sally on speed dial in case I needed to get in touch with Amanda.

I called Sally and when she answered I told her I needed a big favor.

"Can you get a message to Mandy without messing up her date?"

"She cancelled the date. She is supposed to be home talking to you."

"Oh? I haven't gone home yet. I guess I'd better hurry home then."

I disconnected and went to bed. So much for Amanda's story that it was all a bluff.

+++++++++++++++++++++

In the morning I made the bed and picked up the room. When I got to the kitchen Amanda was there and it did not look as if she had a good night. She did have the coffee made so I poured myself a cup.

"Is your room straight" I asked.

"You aren't really going to sell the house are you?

"Of course I am."

"I don't want a divorce Rob. Please! It was all a big mistake. I don't want a divorce."

"That's what you don't want Amanda. How about what I didn't want? I told you over and over again that I'm not going to share you with another guy and I've told you countless times that I didn't want to hear any of that shit again. Did I get what I wanted Amanda? No I didn't. You constantly bring it up even though I keep telling you that I do not want to hear it. No reason to give you what you want when I can't get what I want."

"I won't do it anymore Rob. I promise I won't do it again."

"You probably won't, but that won't stop you from wanting to do it and it is my belief that with the thought in your mind that you need to do it while, how did you put it – you still have the goods - you will still be talking to Sally and listening to her tales of how great it is to experience different men and you are going to do it. You will decide that since you can't get me to go along you will do it without telling me. You will get caught by me and then I'll go to jail for what I do to the guy you cheat with. When I get out of jail I will divorce you for infidelity. Since divorce is going to happen anyway it is better that I do it now for irreconcilable differences and avoid going to jail."

"I would never do that to you. Yes, I do want to do it, but only if it is okay with you. That's the reason I keep bringing it up. I figure that once you accept that I really, really want to do it you will let me."

"That is stupid thinking on your part Amanda. Have I ever, even once, in the last fifteen years given any indication of a softening in my attitude? I have not! It will never happen with my approval and I believe that you will come to realize that and when you do you will go ahead and do it thinking that it will only be the one time and you can hide it from me.

"The problem is that you won't be able to do that. I know you too well Amanda and I can tell when you are trying to put something over on me. For instance; you told me that the date thing was a bluff and I could tell you were lying. You did have a date. You thought that once you gave me your ultimatum I would accept it because you knew that I loved you and wouldn't want to let you go. I surprised you when I said okay I'll go for the divorce. Suddenly you realized that you guessed wrong and that I was going to let you go so you cancelled your date and started doing damage control.

"Deny it all you want Amanda, but you can't lie for shit. I could tell you were lying through your teeth when you told me that the date thing was a bluff. You did have a date. I know it and I'm tired of this shit so I'm letting you have what you want, but there is a price for letting you do it and that price is a divorce. As far as I am concerned now that you have been served you are free to do what ever it is that you want. Have other men to your hearts content Amanda because your marriage to me is over. Now, is your room ready for viewing?"

"No it isn't and it isn't going to be. I'm taking the day off work and the kitchen isn't going to look all that great either. I intend to do a lot of baking today and you know how messy that can get. Also I'll go along with them on the walk thru and point out all the flaws. I may even mention that we don't have the roach problem under control yet."

"I guess I can't stop you from doing that, but if you do it do it knowing what it will cost you."

"And that would be?"

"I'll move out, stop making the house payments and stop paying for the utilities and eventually the house will go into foreclosure and we will lose it and your portion of what we could have gotten in a sale. The other option is that you pick up the house payments and pay for the lights, gas, water and phone. Quite frankly I don't believe that you can do it on your salary alone, but that is something that you will have to decide."

I got up from the table, filled my travel mug with coffee and said, "I'm off to work. I'll call the real estate agent this afternoon and see how the showing went. If he tells me that you tried to sabotage the sale I'll make the necessary calls to put the utilities in your name and let you make the next house payment which is due this coming Wednesday."

"Damn it Robert! Can't you get it through your hard head that I don't want a divorce?"

"Can't you get it through your thick skull that I don't give a rat's ass about what you want or don't want? I stopped giving a shit about what you want when you looked me right in the eye and told me what you were going to do it and that if I didn't like it I could get a divorce. That was the end of our marriage Amanda. You gave me the choice and I chose divorce."

She was looking at me with a glum look on her face when I left for work.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

At one o'clock I called my friend Mark.

"How did it go?"

"She stayed out of the way."

"Was the room she was using viewable?"

"Neat as a pin. Even the kitchen. My brother liked the house. He almost wishes that it really was for sale."

"If our plan doesn't work it might be."

"I've got my cousin and his girlfriend going to look at it the day after tomorrow and my sister and brother in law on the day after that."

After your cousin looks at it I'll tell her that you called me with an offer."

"You really think that this is going to work?"

"I hope so, but if it doesn't at least I will have tried."

When I got home from work Amanda was sitting on the living room couch reading a book. When I came in she put the book down and asked:

"Should I fix dinner or are you going out again tonight?"

"If you are going to fix for yourself I'll stay in, but if you are going to cook just for me I'll go out."

"I haven't eaten all day so I'll go fix something" and she got up and headed for the kitchen. While she was getting dinner ready I went down into the basement and checked the recorder that I'd put on the phone line the day Mark had put the for sale sign in the yard. The only call of interest was a call that she made as soon as I left for work that morning.

"Hello?"

"Hi. It's me. He just left for work."

"Any change?"

"No. I guess he is really going through with it. The realtor is bringing some people to look at the house this morning."

"I don't know why you are so down about it. It frees you up to do what we've talked about."

"I don't want to do it if it is going to cost me my marriage."

"It looks to me like you have all ready lost it. If Rob does follow through on the divorce you can hook back up with Rudy. You pretty near broke his heart when you cancelled the other night. He was really looking forward to bringing you to the meeting. There were a couple of other guys who were also disappointed when you were a no show."

"Not as disappointed as I was when our plan didn't work. You assured me that Rob would give in rather than lose me."

"And I don't understand that at all. The man loves you. Everyone knows that he worships the ground you walk on. He should have caved in to your ultimatum."

"Well he didn't and now I can't even get him to talk to me."

"Given the hard line he is taking what could you possibly say?"

"I don't know, but there has to be something I can say or do that will get him to put a stop to things."

"I hate to say it, but the only thing I can see working is that you promise him that it will never be brought up again."

"The way things have been going I don't think he would believe me. He doesn't believe any thing that I say. He says he knows I was lying when I told him that the date thing was just a bluff."

"Oh shit!"

"What?"

"He knows you were lying because he called me and asked me if I could get a message to you without interfering with your date and I told him that you had cancelled the date so you could be at home and talk with him."

"Oh God; now what can I do."

"I don't know that you can do anything girl."

"Don't say that! I can't lose Rob; I just can't!"

"Why not? Once you are free of him you will be able to have all the experiences that you want. Besides Rudy I know a good half dozen guys we can hook you up with."

"I thought you were my friend Sally, but I guess I'm wrong. It seems like your only interest in me is having someone you can hook up with your single friends who want to join your swing group. It isn't going to be me Sally. Not ever. Not without Rob going along with it and I have finally accepted that it just isn't going to happen. He is never going to go along with it. Goodbye Sally."

I rewound the recorder and went back upstairs. I watched the evening news until Amanda called me to dinner. We ate in silence and it wasn't until Amanda got up to start cleaning up that she spoke.

"I do not want a divorce Rob. What do I have to do to get you to drop the divorce and take the house off the market?"

"It doesn't matter Amanda because you can't do it."

"How can you know that?"

"Because you have had fifteen years to do it and you haven't been able to do it. No reason at all to believe that you can do it now."

"What?"

"Put an end to the 'other man' bullshit. The problem we have now is that you could promise me that you would do it, but I don't trust your word any more. I can't help but believe that even if you promise to drop it and a situation was to arise that made you believe that you could do it and get away with it you would go ahead and do it. I'm always going to remember you saying that you needed to do it while you still had your looks. And then there is the fact that you have already lied to me about the date thing. No Amanda, I just can't see it happening.

"You might want to start looking for a place to live. I talked to the real estate guy this afternoon and the couple that looked at the house seemed to really like it. He thinks they are going to make an offer."

"This is just so unfair. I don't want to lose this place."

"You don't have to lose it. You can always buy me out of my share and keep the house and how can it not be fair? You are getting what you say you have always wanted. You now have the freedom to experience another man or men. You should be happy."

I got up and left the table.

When I came back into the house after spending a couple of hours on the Pontiac Mandy was in her room so I went to the basement and checked the recorder. There was nothing of interest on it so I rewound it and headed up to bed. I set the alarm for five and then sacked out.

++++++++++++++++++

I was up and out of the house before Amanda came out of her room and I stopped at the IHOP for breakfast. I had an extremely busy day and didn't have much time to spare on thinking about the situation with Mandy.

I decided to eat out that night and after eating I stopped by Bud's Bar to have a beer or two and shoot some pool. I left about a quarter after ten and when I got home the lights were out and Mandy's car was in the garage so I guessed she had gone to bed.

I checked the recorder and only found one call of interest.

"Hello?"

"Good evening girlfriend."

"What do you want Sally?"

"To get back on your good side."

"Why? Got another single guy who needs someone so he can get into your swing group?"

"Don't be that way Mans; we were friends long before I met Ralph and got involved in the scene and let us not forget that it was you always pressing me for more information about what Ralph and I do."

"Okay. You've made your point."

"The reason I'm calling is to see if you can have lunch with me tomorrow. I think I have a way for you to get Rob to drop the divorce."

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you over lunch. I'm still working on the fine points of it. Sarducci's at noon work for you?"

"I can be there."

"Don't panic if I get there first and when you get there you see me sitting with a guy. I'm not trying to fix you up with anybody, but if my plan is workable we will need him. Got to run. See you at noon."

I went to sleep trying to wrap my head around the fact that Sally was trying to help Amanda save her marriage. Sally didn't even like me and never had. Of course that the feeling was mutual might have had something to do with it.

I was up and out of the house before Mandy got up in the morning and I had enough free time during the day to wonder about Sally and Mandy's lunch date. Did Sally really have an idea that would help Mandy or was the lunch just some ploy to try and suck Amanda into the swinging scene?

I decided to go straight home and not eat out or stop for some beers after work. I'd no sooner made that decision than Mandy called me and asked me if I would be home for dinner or was I going to be late again. I told her that I would be home around my usual time.

Dinner was ready when I got home and Mandy set it out on the table. The conversation was minimal and pretty much limited to "Please pass the mashed potatoes" or "Would you like some more green beans." After we had eaten, but before she cleared the table Mandy slid an envelope across the table to me. As I reached for it Mandy said:

"I had a phone call from Sally last night and she told me that she had an idea on how I could maybe save our marriage. I met her for lunch and she had a man from her swing group with her, but he was there in his capacity as a paralegal and a notary.

"Sally explained her idea and I agreed with it and Abe, the paralegal, left us and came back twenty minutes later with the document you have in your hands. I signed it and he notarized my signature. All you have to do is read it and then sign it where it says "I accept this agreement."

"What if I don't accept it?"

"Why wouldn't you? It gives you everything you say you want and then some."

I opened the envelope, took out the document and read it. Basically it was a legally enforceable post nuptial agreement that stated if Amanda violated any of the provisions of the document and it led to a divorce she would leave the marriage with nothing but her personal possessions. The two major provisions were infidelity and any attempts on her part to try and get me to join her in having sexual relations with others. I took a pen out of my shirt pocket and sighed on the line that said:

"I accept this agreement."

Then Mandy said, "There is one thing that has to happen that the document doesn't specify."

"What's that?"

"It doesn't become valid until after we have made love" and she started to unbutton her blouse.