Mr. & Mrs. America, Aftermath

"All right, I'll admit it. It would make me look like a terrible person, doing that to you. Happy now?"

"I haven't been happy in months. The reason it would make you look like a terrible person because it would be true. Look, I'm tired, and I think you should leave. If you want to talk more, come by after six. I have to work tomorrow, and it's really late."

"Can't I just stay here with you?"

I knew what I was about to say was going to cut her to the quick, but all the months of pain and anger I'd held in surged forward.

"No. I make it a habit of not sleeping with strangers. And that's what you are. A stranger. I never really knew you at all, did I? And in my opinion, with all the baggage we have, it's too late to find the real you. I'll call a cab."

She didn't say another word. When the cab arrived, she took me in her arms, hugging me so hard my bullet wound reopened. The pain from it was nowhere close to the pain in my heart. I hugged her back, knowing it would probably be the last time I held her.

...

Jo didn't come back the next day, leaving that afternoon. Polly and Jessica cried all over me, and Josh looked incredibly sad, but they really didn't talk about it. Josh told me later that Jo told them part of the truth, that she'd done something terrible to me a long time ago and I had just found out. She said not to worry, she would give me a little time and we'd be fine. I don't think any of them bought it. He handed me a thick letter she wrote to me, asking me to read it. It lay on my mantle for weeks.

I filed for the divorce. Not surprisingly, she fought it, even filed papers to force me back into the country. Under the advice of my lawyer, rather than spending money unproductively, I dropped the divorce, sending her a letter through counsel saying that even though I was no longer proceeding, we would never reconcile.

While that was going on, I immersed myself in my work. Sherry and Fatima came back from Disneyland, glowing. They'd made a quick trip to Israel on the way, ordering rings and picking them up on the way back. Matching engagement rings, made from the diamonds in their collection. Moshe came back, bringing his wife and children. She was an attractive woman, and the kids were well mannered and adorable. We became instant aunts and an uncle.

They knew a little about my domestic situation, and said little, other than they would support me in any way they could.

"Great," I told the girls, "marry me instead of each other. I've always wanted to try polygamy out." It got the response I expected, giggles and regrets. Anything but that.

I told Moshe and his wife to find me a nice Jewish girl that didn't mind dating a married man. Ruth just laughed and said if they could find me someone like that she wouldn't be a nice girl.

Many of the scrolls were repetitive of others that had been found over the years, but every once in a while we found something totally new, and our excitement level would spike. We had to be very careful, sitting on the results to avoid international incidents. Teddy took the lead on that, deciding when to release the results to create the least amount of blow back.

Over the months, as I got closer to the man, I often wondered what he did. I knew he was one of the senior directors of the National Museum, but his circle of friends and the amount of people he knew in high and low places was quite extensive. I asked him obliquely, one night over a few glasses of bourbon, what he really did.

"I'm a director of the National Museum," he said, with a straight face, before grinning. "But that wasn't my first job, and I've remained close to my old employers, as a 'consultant', so to speak. Drink?" I knew that meant shut up, so I did.

I did, in fact , have a pint or two with some of his friends a few weeks after our last trip, friendly but serious chaps who gently probed me, asking me for analysis and any insights I may have into the political climates of the places I'd visited. I had no reason to lie, so I gave them my honest opinions, mentioning names of people I thought would bear watching in the future. They seemed quite happy with the conversation.

I impressed them so much, that when Jo showed up unexpectedly with her lawyer in tow, she was met at the college by some pleasant young men in three piece suits showing ID with a bunch of letters and numbers behind their names, and told them I was in the midst of some very important research and couldn't possibly be bothered. Besides, I was out of the country at the moment.

It wasn't a lie, I was in Saudi Arabia, as a consultant, bringing a scroll we had found to my counterparts in their country. It contained a few unknown footnotes into the history of their area, and the decision was made(at our urging)to turn it over to them. We did this after much discussion to prove we were going to honor the terms we'd made when we started the project, to return as many scrolls as possible back to the people we felt had legitimate claim on them, and more importantly, to quell the grumblings that were starting, grumblings that if were allowed to continue could possible out us as "S7".

I attended a dinner at the International University there, even did a guest lecture, that had to be moved twice to hold everyone. It drove home how much I loved and missed teaching. I was partnered at dinner with a woman from Greece. She had the classic Greek features, jet black hair, olive skin, great physical beauty. I felt the electricity when I took her arm, escorting her to the table. We dined, had serious discussions until the wine kicked in, then the conversation degenerated into light flirting. There was a social hour after the dinner, with dancing to a full orchestra. She fit into me perfectly, and the touch was quite pleasant.

I dropped her at her apartment, where she invited me in for coffee. We had the coffee the next morning, after I had slept with the first woman other than my wife in twenty-four years. It wasn't planned, but I didn't try to fight it. I knew full well if I went into that apartment my marriage was finally dead. I went in.

Aphrodite(her father was a history professor)was very skilled in the bedroom. We did the standard stuff, and for the rest of the night she introduced me to things I'd never experienced. The next morning we enjoyed a long shower, followed by a trip back to the bed, followed by another shower, where I had shower sex for the first time ever. Jo didn't think that was very dignified. I slept for twelve hours straight when I got back to my room.

Apparently we made the international papers, and Jo saw us, sitting side by side at the dinner table, and later dancing cheek to cheek. I couldn't understand it, and Teddy laughed.

"Of course you're newsworthy, old boy. A college professor at the top of his field, who consults for the British Museum and other countries, seated beside one of the foremost international law experts in the world, makes good press. The fact that she's ranked ninety-six out of the hundred most beautiful women in the world didn't hurt, either. Enjoy your fame for the short time you have it."

Wow. Ninety-Six? I needed to get a look at that list.

I got a scathing email from Jo, and a profanity riddled Skpe message. I was, and I quote "the lowest asshole in the world, a bottom feeding cheater who didn't deserve another chance," followed by a lot of crying and begging for me to come home.

I sat and wondered why. Why was she doing all this? She lied her way into our marriage, hadn't respected me the whole time, didn't have an affair by the narrowest of margins, expected me to suck it up and carry on after she was exposed. Even after I left, she was still firmly convinced I'd come back to her. AND SHE WAS NEVER SORRY!

In revenge, she sent me a photo of her and Jeffers together at a party in her honor, for making partner. They were standing very close together. It should have hurt more, but how can you mourn for something you never had?

I sent her a bouquet of flowers and a congratulatory note. "Well, your dreams have come true. You've broken the glass ceiling. I wish you continued success, professionally and privately. Tell Jeffers I still intend to say hello to him someday.

Love, Pete."

That little stunt got me a pretty sharp call from Polly.

"What did you do to Mom?"

It was four in the morning, my time, so I was a little slow. "Polly, is that you? Got any idea what time it is here?"

"Not a clue, and I don't care. What did you do to Mom?"

"I haven't done anything to your mother, honey. I haven't actually spoken to her in months."

"Well, you did something. It was cold enough when she saw you with that woman in the papers. Now you're making her cry all over again."

I was getting tired of the conversation. "Polly! I haven't done anything to your mother. In fact, I sent her a nice bouquet over her promotion, even wrote her a nice note. That's been the extent of our interaction in a long time. Now, good night, or good morning, or whatever. Goodbye, Polly."

...

I really wasn't surprised when she has papers served on me, citing mental cruelty. Really? She wanted to go that route? Plus, she wanted seventy per cent of our assets.

It must have shocked the hell out of them when I agreed to the split, if they changed it to irreconcilable differences, threatening to make the letter a matter of public record, along with the recordings I'd made of her admitting everything on two separate occasions if she refused. I even hinted about the annulment procedure still being an option.

I got a email from her lawyer, agreeing, if she were allowed to amend the terms to fifty-fifty. Seems vindictiveness was seeping away after all. There was also a clause stating that I had to read the letter she'd left me, and a new email afterwards, or the deal was off. I agreed instantly, ready to put the past behind me.

Polly had given me the letter when she left, and gasped a little as I tossed it on a shelf, alongside the one my father had left almost a year ago.

"Aren't you going to read it?"

"Absolutely, honey, when I feel like it. I think everything we needed to say to each other has already been covered, so I'm in no hurry."

"But you have to read it soon. It's in the divorce agreement."

"And I intend to honor the agreement. But, you're wrong, there is nothing in the agreement at all that says I have to read it now. I'll get around to it, eventually."

It was the type of trick Jo would have used, maybe living with a lawyer all those years had an effect on my thinking. But my barrister assured me it was completely legal, and wouldn't stop the divorce.

Polly sighed, shoulders slumped in defeat.

"You win. Mom will be devastated yet again. You should see her now. She had stopped exercising, and gained twenty-five pounds before she got over her pain enough to start back up. It's been really hard on her. There's been a lot of rumor and speculation around the college, I hear a lot from my friends. Oddly, not one word of gossip has come out of her company. The least hint gets squashed immediately."

"Let me tell you who wins in a divorce, honey. Absolutely no one. The barristers have it right, you just fight to lose less."

"Will you ever tell me what caused the split?"

"No, this mess is completely the doing of your mother and grandfather. Make them tell you. I'll tell you this though, your mother will go to her grave before she admits any of this is her fault, or that she did something wrong."

Polly sighed, kissed my cheek, and packed her bags.

I got the final decree a few months later. It hurt me to know the marriage was over. Was I really just being stubborn? Were my reactions unjustified? Was it my fault I couldn't forgive her and her lack of guilt? No, no, and hell no. I had loved that woman with every fiber of my being, and when the depth of her betrayal and her lack of respect for me finally surfaced, she didn't think it was a big deal.

Life went on. We waded through the seeming mountain of material we had. When the Scroll Seven ceased to operate, Lord Bevington instituted a program designed to very handsomely reward any independent source who could bring him new scrolls or books, no questions asked. There were several intermediaries, so it was almost impossible to trace it back to him. It got people killed when greed overruled their common sense, but material trickled in on a regular basis.

I never went back to my old university, except sporadically for an occasional guest lecture. I made it a point not to arrive until just before the lecture and leave immediately afterwards, going to a reception for selected guests under the tightest of security. Yes, I was a coward. I didn't want to face Jo again, the thought of reliving the pain didn't interest me in the least.

...

My cocoon of isolation was destroyed when Polly flew over to see me with a young man in tow. I took one look at them and asked them if they had set a date yet. She blushed wildly while her boyfriend grinned.

"Six months from today, I hope. And she really wants you to walk her down the aisle. Will you do that for your daughter? No one knows exactly what went wrong between you and her mother, and her mother refuses to speak of it. I know it pains you to be in her presence, but I'm asking you to endure it for the sake of your child."

I liked the guy. He was direct without being insulting. Polly watched me closely as I pretended to mull it over.

"This isn't about me or your mother. It's about you and your future husband. A name would be nice right about now."

Polly blushed even more, but her future husband stuck out his hand. "Jack Myers, Lt. Jack Myers, class of 2015, Annapolis. Currently stationed in D.C. And you're the famous Pete Trammel. I had no idea who her father was when we first started going out."

It was my turn to blush slightly. "I think famous is a bit of an overstatement. Did she tell you I spend the majority of my time locked in a dusty room translating scrolls and books? Some are no better than a glorified laundry list."

"And from what I hear, some of it is groundbreaking. Did I mention my degree was in Political History?"

We might have gone on for hours if Polly hadn't stamped her foot. "I didn't come here so you guys could talk shop. Focus, are you walking me down the aisle or not?"

I pretended to hesitate for a second, but she looked miserable. "Of course I will honey. Did you really doubt that? And I promise I'll behave. Have a long talk with your mother, though. Tell her not to bring an agenda and we'll all get along. Now, I insist on treating you to dinner tonight."

I took them to the same place I'd taken all of them the last time they'd been here. I wasn't trying to bring up old memories, it just happened to be the best place around.

The meal was great. Polly glowed, excited about the future and glad Jack and I got along. She got up to freshen her makeup, and I seized the opportunity.

"I don't see a ring on her finger."

He looked sort of sad. "She wouldn't let me buy anything until you agreed to be there. She also said you knew some pretty good jewelers."

I grinned. "Let me make a call, see what I can do."

They stayed three days. I introduced him to Lord Bevington, who seemed to have a keen interest. I was sure he had something to tell me later.

Fatima liked him and Sherry said he was handsome. Moshe liked him instantly, and Ruth smiled her approval.

Two days after they left I gave Jack a text, followed by a call.

"I may have something for you in the ring search. I want this to be my wedding gift to both of you. I'm sending you some information on a jeweler. He will have several ideas I'm sure, and the rings will cost you nothing. Pick what you like and give him the size. In about a month to six weeks, you'll have the finished project in your hands. Please humor me and accept this. And it's completely you choice, all I'm doing is calling in a favor and footing the bill."

Jack was stunned, but agreed to get in touch with the jeweler. It cost me my largest star sapphire, but when he was done they had a diamond engagement ring and two custom designed bands, with an appraised value of over seventy-five thousand dollars. Seems jewel prices had appreciated quite a bit since they came into my hands. I had more diamonds, and I wanted to keep them for Jessica and Josh, should a need for them arise.

...

Polly and Jack stayed a week before flying back. Jack got introduced to my friends and they seemed to approve of him. They were all invited to the wedding. Polly spent a day with Fatima and Sherry shopping, and I entertained Jack. He enjoyed the day, I think. I had him over to my apartment, and he admired my sword and the jewel encrusted scabbard. I took it down and let him handle it. The movements he made had me thinking he had a little experience, so I invited him to work out with me at my new dojo. He told me he held a brown belt in Judo and would be testing for black a week after he got back home.

Jack was pleased, saying he needed the exercise. My newinstructor was from the Philippines, and taught an obscure form that the Israelis, Russians, and Americans armed forces borrowed heavily from, especially the knife work. There was no show in this form, every move was designed to kill or incapacitate as quickly as possible. I held belts in Brazilian Jujitsu and Shotokan karate, and this was different game completely.

I introduced him around, and he sparred with a couple of the lower levels, doing an admirable job. He surprised me by asking if I'd go a round or two with him, just for fun.

One thing every instructor I'd ever studied under taught me was to never underestimate an opponent. So I started out cautiously, bouncing around in a Jujitsu mode, His judo training stood him well and neither of us scored a good hit. I switched in mid bout to Shotokan, an art that didn't grapple much, favoring hit and run strikes. It confused him enough for me to score a turn fist and leg sweep. He got up, the grin off his face, and proceeded to reveal his true level of skill. I was hard pressed for a few minutes before I switched to my new style and put him on the mat, my hand hovering over his face for the kill strike.

He was stunned, then started grinning. I stepped back and he got up, bowing. "Good match, old man. I know now I should have chosen the sword."

I just grinned and took down two wooden practice swords, running through some of the moves Emil had taught me, confusing him because he didn't recognize the style. When the instructor signaled us to begin it was fast and furious, as we went up and down the mat, seeking advantage.

He got a pretty good strike in, blooding my nose. I stopped holding back, and he was hard pressed to keep me from scoring. I dropped a shoulder and rolled suddenly, coming up beside him, delivering a strong blow to his kidney, before sticking the sword between his legs unexpectedly, tripping him to the mat. He dropped his weapon in surrender and I helped him up. I was rubbing my nose, thinking it was a good thing we'd worn headgear.

He came out of the shower limping slightly, and I could see a pretty good bruise on his back. He just grinned and said I was probably going to be the most interesting father-in-law in history.

I took him to my local, and introduced him to a few of the lads from the regional 5 and 6 branch who frequented the place. Over a few pints and some darts they became quite chummy. Moshe and the girls dropped in, and two hours later Teddy came in with Polly in tow.

She glared at us while we looked sheepish, then grinned and ordered a pint. I'm not sure exactly how I ended up in my bed. Jack and I were pretty quiet at breakfast. When they left, Polly assured me she was happy with my approval, and she couldn't wait for me to walk her down the aisle. I laughed and told her it would help a bunch if she'd set a date.