Chapter 2

When I arrived at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport I took a cab to the house I had shared with Gloria in La Cañada. I couldn't call it home anymore. I packed up what I'd need for an extended absence and headed to the garage. I had a couple vehicles to choose from, but passed by the new F-150 4x4 that Gloria had bought for my birthday last year. Likewise the Mustang convertible that was actually a Churchill Aviation owned car. I threw my bags into the back of my old CJ-7 and left, for what I expected would be the last time. The prenup gave everything jointly owned by Gloria and I to her in the case of divorce, and the company car would be returned as I fully intended to resign my position as VP of development at Churchill.

I had turned my cell off as soon as I had called the cab in Dallas. Turning it back on I checked my messages to find no less than eleven calls from Gloria and one from her mother. As I expected, Frank was respecting my wish to be left alone for now. I deleted all the messages from Gloria, but I listened to the one from Helen.

"Jack, I know you are upset and angry right now, and rightfully so. What my daughter has done to you is horrible, and maybe unforgivable. I only hope that you can rise above what she has done to you and remember all the good times you have had. Please think about the consequences of whatever action you are planning to take. I ... I ... I wish if I had had a son he would have been like you". I could hear her choke back a sob as she clicked off.

It was too late on a Friday night to see a regular divorce attorney, but I had a friend from the Army who practiced family law in Pasadena. I called his cell phone, but it went to voice mail. I knew the only time his cell was off was when he was at home I dialed his home number.

"Hi, Jerry it's Jack. Can I drop in to see you for a few minutes?"

"Hey, buddy! I thought you would be stuck in Washington this weekend."

"Too long a story for the phone. Can I come by? It should only take a few minutes."

Jerry and his wife had a small house in the Bungalow Heaven section of Pasadena. It was just a few minutes down Foothill to Lincoln in Pasadena. Mary, Jerry's wife met me at the door.

"Jesus, Jack! You look like hell." Mary let me in and directed me to the rear patio where Jerry was fussing over the barbeque. Mary could tell something was wrong, so left me alone with Jerry. I was dreading the next few minutes, but it had to be done.

"Jerry, I need a huge favor. I caught my wife in bed with a guy today and I need you to file divorce papers for me". I could see his chin drop at the news.

"Holy shit, Jack. You are the last person I would expect to hear that from. Is there any possibility of a mistake?"

"No, no mistake. Her parents were with me when we walked into her hotel room together."

Jerry got me to settle down and stuck a beer in my hand. I had to tell the whole story from the beginning. Telling it was no easier than experiencing it had been. Just as I had finished my story, the cold ball that had been in my gut since I stepped into that hotel suite erupted. I lost my beer, the one sip of bourbon, and all that remained of my breakfast on Jerry's patio. Great. Not only was I a cuckold, but I was losing control of my bodily functions as well.

Calling for Mary to bring me a damp towel, Jerry got me into the bathroom. Dry heaves wracked me as I tried to upchuck something that wasn't there. Tears again streamed down my face. I felt as alone as I had when my parents were both lost in a car accident while I was an undergrad. Gloria and her parents were all the family I had. Now that was gone.

After a few minutes I was able to get control again. As a combat chopper pilot and veteran of war it was unseemly to be so unmanned in front of my friends. I washed up and went back out to face Jerry and Mary.

"Look, guys. I'm sorry, but I can't do this right now. All I need to know is whether or not you can represent me, Jerr."

"You got it, buddy, but don't you have an iron clad prenup?" Jerry had been my best man and had advised against the prenup, but I had never expected to see it enacted, so I signed. I was in love, so what worry was there about the possibility of divorce. Now my innocence would come back to haunt me.

"That is not my concern at this point. She can have everything. Hell, she's already taken everything I care about away. I just can't be with a woman I don't trust, and she has shattered my trust. The hell of it is that I will never get over her. She's all I care about. And now that is gone."

Jerr and Mary tried to get me to take the spare room in their house, at least for the night. I think they were afraid of what I would do if left alone. I finally convinced them that I needed time alone, and they reluctantly bid me goodnight. But before I left, Jerry promised to have divorce papers ready for me by noon on Monday. Where and when Gloria would be served was left for future discussion. I had an idea that there would be trouble serving papers, but she is a lawyer and would know that she could not duck service indefinitely. Jerry also showed concern that she would beat me to the punch and file first. That didn't concern me.

"Look, Jerry, with the prenup she gets everything anyway. What advantage is there to her if she does file first?

I drove away from the bungalow still in a foul mood. I pulled in at the Holiday Inn on Colorado Boulevard and got a room for the next three nights. I'd find a more permanent address on Monday.

Once I was settled in my room I had some more time to think, or brood over my situation, if you will. Gloria and I had met at Pen State in 1995. I was working on a Master's in Aerospace Engineering and she was in her first year of law school. My tuition was covered by the GI Bill and my military retirement. My Apache helicopter was shot down on the last day of hostilities in Desert Storm, leaving me with a ruined knee and a permanent disability. After several surgeries I could get around on it okay, but would never pass an Army flight physical again. Thirty percent disability didn't exactly make life comfortable, but I would never be destitute, and my Master's degree was pretty much covered without having to resort to ruinous student loans.

That first meeting at the campus bookstore had me hooked on Gloria at first sight. I'll never know just what she saw in me. I'm just less than six feet, about 190, and will always walk with a limp. I keep my dark brown hair cropped in a military cut and my only vanity is a well trimmed mustache and goatee. When Gloria asked why I kept the facial hair, which is definitely non regulation, I joked that it hid my weak chin.