More than an Affair

That complicated things a bit. I now had a regular job with a decent salary and Donna was no longer working. At this point, I was afraid that I would end up getting screwed in a divorce. Then things got worst.

"William, I have some good news for a change." Harry was serious and I was all ears.

"Three of the eleven people that we sued have settled."

"What does that mean?"

" Since we had only sued for one hundred thousand dollars, they were advised by their insurance companies to just go ahead and pay it and avoid any public litigation. It was covered by their insurance, so it was no great personal loss to them."

"You mean we might get some money out of this?"

"William! I already got three checks. There might be more coming."

"Do you think this might have something to do with Donna getting fired?"

"I'm pretty sure that it was."

"Is this going to screw up my divorce?"

"Did you file yet?"

"No! Not yet. I was going to ask you to help me with it."

Harry had a really big smile on her face. "William. Pack a small bag and get the Challenger ready. We are going to take a road trip to see your wife. We will leave Thursday morning early."

Now I was smiling.

We left at six AM and checked into the Sheraton ten hours later. The Challenger was happy. I called Linda and asked her to bring Donna and Lara to lunch at the Reading Motor Inn the next day.

The conversation at supper was a bit awkward. Picking and choosing off the Red Lobster menu was fun and we ended up spending more money than we anticipated. We didn't care because it was a celebration of sorts. Our conversation was varied and convoluted. Why? We were both cautious about avoiding the elephant in the room. We were spending our first night together. We were friends without benefits for over a year. The last thing I wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable.

While I won't get into the details of the evening, I will say that it was not nearly as traumatic as we anticipated. We were both a little bit rusty but managed to get through it with the expected results. She seemed relieved that I was not repulsed and I was happy that it was not near as bad as she led me to believe. We were a couple of happy fools. We had a late breakfast in the morning.

Donna and the girls were waiting at the table when we arrived. I wore one of my new sports coats with a dark turtleneck. I looked good. Harry wore one of her lighter business suits, sort of casual professional. My wife and my daughters looked at me in amazement.

"Donna, Linda, Lara. This is Harriet Parker, my confidant, and attorney. Harriet. My wife Donna and daughters, Linda and Lara." It was awkward, but the best I could do."

Before we could get to any meaningless chitchat the waiter showed up to take the drink orders.

"I am not hungry. If you don't mind I'll just have coffee." Donna was first to break the silence.

I quickly glanced around the table and came to the same conclusion. "Why don't you just bring us five coffees and leave a pot on the table."

The waiter nodded and everyone seemed relieved at the decision.

"It is nice to see you again, Bill. Would you care to bring us up to date on what you have been doing the last few years?" Donna had a slight smirk when she said it.

"Just working and allowing you the freedom to find yourself or whatever you were doing." Harry slightly kicked me under the table.

"I needed you and you deserted me."

"You might have needed somebody, but it wasn't me."

"Mom! Dad! Quit it. I am sure you didn't set up this meeting so that you could sit and snipe at each other. Dad! What are we here for?" Linda was being very assertive.

I could see that this was going to be a very short gathering. I was at a loss. I glanced over to Harry for a hint of some kind as to how to go forward. She ignored me but took over the conversation.

Harry reached in her purse and pulled out an envelope. She handed it across the table to Donna. "Mrs. Smith. This is a divorce petition. I think that you will find it very fair. I suggest that you take it to your attorney and have him look it over."

Lara and Linda both looked astonished. It was easy to see that they were not expecting this. Donna however had a big grin on her face. She didn't take the envelope from Harry, but reached under the table and got a similar one from her purse.

"You stupid jerk. I divorced your wimpy ass eight months ago for desertion. You never got a copy because I didn't know where to send it. It is final. Whatever you got here is worthless. There is nothing that you have that I want anyhow." Her smile turned into a big smirk.

The waiter returned with our coffee and a full urn for the table, just as Donna was getting up. She smiled at Harry and me and gave the girls a weird look before leaving. She left both envelopes on the table.

"Dad. Can we all stay for lunch? I hear that they have a really good quiche here." Lara said. Harry and I had a small laugh and asked the waiter for menus."

Harry, Lara, and Linda had a great lunch and conversation. I felt like I was eating alone. I never did understand women too well. The girls all exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch.

After returning to the room, I started packing.

"William. I thought that we were staying another night."

"We are, but not here. Hurry up and pack."

One hour and thirty minutes after that, we were in Elkton, Maryland. Thirty minutes later, Harriet Parker became Harry Smith. We spent the night in Luray, Virginia. I wanted to go further but we didn't make it.

We got a house with a three-car garage. That's another story.

The girls said that Donna had a fit when she found out I got two million dollars from Gilbert Industries. Donna moved to Iowa. I don't know why.