Path to Convergence
Copyright© 2025 by Vonalt
Chapter 4: Picking Up the Pieces
I checked out of the motel on the morning of my fourth day in Seattle, and loaded my luggage into the Volvo’s cavernous trunk. Heading north toward Everett, I merged onto US Route 2 and began the long drive east. Much of the road was familiar as I’d driven it several times from the Midwest, but the farther stretches felt less so. Old memories came flooding back as I passed certain towns and landmarks.
I stopped in Minot only for fuel and a quick bathroom break. It wasn’t until later, while tossing out an empty snack bag, when I realized that I’d filled up at Jorgenson’s Quickie Mart and Gas Station. I was lucky the clerk had just been a teenager who didn’t recognize me. I’m not sure what kind of reception I would’ve gotten otherwise.
I rolled into Fargo by early evening and found a motel with a vacancy. Using a fake name, I paid cash for a single night. I called Patrick’s office the next morning. We set a noon appointment for a working lunch at his office.
I showed up at Patrick’s office a little after noon, slightly delayed by trouble finding the place. His receptionist was just on her way out as I walked in, leaving the two of us alone.
Lunch was simple; a cold sub, a bag of chips, and a drink from a local sandwich shop.
Patrick had blocked off an hour to review Grandma Jorgenson’s will and my duties as executor. It thankfully wasn’t complicated. She’d made clear decisions about how everything should be handled. My job was simply to follow through and carry out her wishes.
Her house in Minot was to be leased to the university for ninety-nine years, with the lease terms renegotiated every five years between the university and me. Any remaining cash after funeral expenses were covered, would be evenly split among the younger Jorgenson children as starter college funds. It wasn’t much, but every bit helped.
Her final request was handwritten on a separate sheet was that Karen and I settle our differences and become the couple that we once were. I recognized the handwriting as hers, though scratchier than the carefully penned letters that I remembered. A PS: at the bottom read, “Don’t disappoint me, Grandson.”
That PS: caught me off guard and made me choke up, not just because of the words, but the quiet authority behind them. Grandma had a way of cutting through everything and getting straight to the heart of it even in death.
I wasn’t paying attention on the way out, and smacked my head on the low-hanging door closer. It hurt, about as much as the wooden spoon did back in the day. I took it as a sign that Grandma was reaching out from beyond, warning me to make things right with Karen, or else. Creepy, yes, but I wasn’t about to ignore what I knew she wanted. Who knew what the next rap would be? No sense in tempting fate with a Jorgenson woman.
I got into the Volvo and headed east toward Washington, DC. I bypassed Chicago entirely, cutting across to St. Ignace, Michigan, then south through Michigan and Ohio. It took longer, but the quieter secondary roads gave me time to think, mostly about Karen, how I might face her, and with luck, find a way back.
I felt like Grandma Jorgenson was with me, offering quiet counsel, while driving back to Washington.
The trip took nearly three days at my pace. I stayed under the speed limit, stayed careful behind the wheel, even though my mind was elsewhere. I stopped two hours short in Winchester, Virginia, instead of pushing through, spending the night at a motel off I-81.
I waited until after rush hour before heading into Alexandria the next morning. Traffic was still heavy, but I missed most of the worst of it. The city had changed a bit in my time away, new construction and empty buildings were now occupied, a good sign, I thought. The neighborhood looked much the same otherwise.
I turned north toward the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery. Not far from both was a small restaurant that Karen used to love. It was still open, so I stopped to check on reservations.
I ducked into a hotel lobby and used the public phone a few blocks away. I called the restaurant first, no reservations needed, but I made one anyway, then called the house.
I worried that Karen had changed the number for a second, but that was just nerves. A worse thought then hit me; what if a man answered? That alone almost sent me over the edge. I doubt that I would’ve tried to make peace if it had. It would’ve been a brutal divorce, leaving scorched earth behind me.
I called my home number, and it connected. She at least hadn’t changed it. A small wave of relief hit me.
It rang three times before a woman with a heavy Spanish accent answered.
“Jes? May I ask who’s calling?”
She didn’t identify the residence or confirm the number. I wasn’t even sure that it was still my house for a moment, had the number been reassigned?
I took a chance.
“Would you tell Karen that James Bond is calling from Chicago?”
A pause, then “One moment.”
I heard her set the phone down and footsteps retreating.
Someone came running back and picked up the receiver with a clatter less than a minute later. There was a pause, long enough to hear their breathing, as they tried to steady themselves before speaking.
A shaky voice then asked, “Is that you, James Mercer? Please tell me it is. When are you coming home? No more games, James, I can’t take it anymore. Our daughters ask when their daddy’s coming home every night, and I’m tired of lying. I miss you.”
I fought to stay calm; the anger that I’d long repressed surged up. It took all I had not to lose control.
“I made a reservation for us at Ferraro’s at 2 PM, Karen,” I said, my voice shaking. “I want it to be just you and me. We need to talk, and there are questions that I need answers to. I want to come home, but not until you give me the truth. I hope you understand that I haven’t stopped loving you, but I’m full of anger right now. Real, marriage-ending anger, and it won’t be pretty. I need you to be honest with me, because I’ll know if you’re not.”
“I’ll be at Ferraro’s at 2 PM, James. I have questions too, and I need answers just as much as you do. The sooner we talk, the sooner you can come home.”
“Okay, Karen, see you at 2.”
“If only it were that easy,” I thought. I feared that one of us, or both, might lose our temper, ending everything. I’d grown used to being alone. The idea of being together again felt strange, almost foreign to me.
I arrived at Ferraro’s early, and found Karen already there. It had been a while since we’d seen each other, apart from those brief, tense moments at Grandma Jorgenson’s funeral. I expected relief, or maybe even happiness, but all I felt was a knot of fear, anger, and betrayal.
Karen saw me, stood up, and walked over, tears in her eyes. She threw her arms around me when she reached me, holding on so tightly that it nearly squeezed the breath from my lungs like being caught in a python’s coils. She clung to me, tears streaming down her face. Diners around us glanced over, curious, but respectful.
I finally eased out of her grip and guided her back to the table. A server appeared with menus as soon as we sat down, and took our drink order. Karen’s questions came pouring out the moment he walked away. She wasn’t just emotional, she was angry, angry that I hadn’t come home.
I let her speak without interrupting. I replied as calmly as I could when the flood finally slowed, reliving the memory as if it had happened yesterday.
“I did come home, Karen, actually, a couple of days early. It was morning, and I used my key to open the front door, expecting to be swarmed by the mutts, but there were no mutts. The house was almost as quiet as a tomb.”
“I set my bag down in the entryway and looked up and saw a Hispanic woman dusting the banister on the upper landing, softly singing to herself. She didn’t notice me.”
“Music, laughter, male and female voices drifted from the living room as I moved further inside. That wasn’t normal for the Mercer household. All I could think was that General Markov’s replacement was paying us a visit. Worried, I pulled my sidearm from my bag, ready to defend myself.”
“Then I saw you, my wife, and Andi, cozy on the couch in our living room with two strange men.”
“I came this close to doing something I’d regret. The pistol’s safety was off, and I was raising it from the low-ready when reality hit me. You know that it wouldn’t have been the first time either, they say that the more you do it, the easier it gets.”
My voice grew louder with each sentence. People at nearby tables started looking over. Our server and the host exchanged nervous glances, unsure whether or not to call the police.
Karen went pale at my confession. I half-expected her to get up and run, but she stayed, bravely meeting my gaze instead.
“Now it’s my turn. Who were those men? Where were our daughters, and where were our protectors, Beast and the Dobermans?”
I didn’t hear an answer. I looked at Karen as she still held my gaze. The silence said everything that I didn’t want to hear. I was about to get up and leave when she finally spoke.
“What you saw wasn’t what you think,” Karen quickly said. “It started out as just friendship, but Andi and I put a stop to it before it went any further. Ask Jean if you don’t believe me, she warned us about those two. Total players, and Andi and I were just so lonely without you. We fell for their lies hook, line, and sinker.”
My heart sank. It felt like it dropped straight to my bladder. Overwhelmed, I said, “Whoa, slow down. Start at the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”
Karen, tears in her eyes, said, “Andi and I were so lonely without you, James. Every night was the same, eat supper, do the dishes, play with the twins, put them to bed, go to bed ourselves, and then do it all over again the next day.”
“Andi and I decided to go out to a club in Georgetown we used to frequent one night. I thought that it was a great idea, we just wanted to dance and have some harmless fun. We weren’t looking to cheat or hook up with strangers. We actually went with some nurses I work with. In fact, you called just as we were about to leave one night. You might have heard Andi say, ‘They’re here,’ in the background.”
I remembered that moment, it had bugged me when I heard it before. I’d always wondered who ‘they’ were. I was now glad that she finally explained.
“So, how long after I came home did you kick those players out? Look at me when you answer. I’ll know if you’re not telling me the truth.”
“I never cheated on you, James. Nothing happened with those two. We went out dancing, and it never went beyond a goodnight hug, not even a peck on the cheek, I swear.”
“The girls were with Imelda, the housekeeper I hired to help with the house and the kids, when we went out. Beast and the other two weren’t at home because she’s terrified of dogs. We had them boarded at a kennel until it got too expensive. Jean and Scotty are now watching them. You know that Beast listens to Scotty almost as well as he does to you.”
“Andi and I have been going out one night a week to enjoy being around other adults. I love our daughters as much as you do, but I need time with grown-ups too. Andi and I are lonely without you here like I said.”
Our server nervously brought our food, and Karen kept explaining between bites.
“It was probably around the time that you were stuck behind Iraqi lines,” she began. “These two guys kept asking us to dance while out one night. Nothing happened at first, it was always fast songs, never slow. It just felt nice to have regular partners who we thought we could trust. There are a lot of creeps in those clubs. I’ve had to use that thumb-roll move you taught me to keep guys in line more than once.”
Karen took a bite of her food before continuing. “Those two guys kind of appointed themselves our dance partners and watchdogs at first, then they started getting a little too grabby. Andi and I shut it down, and that worked for a while. But the touches and suggestive comments started again. We eventually told them to shove off and avoided them after that.”
She looked me straight in the eye the whole time she spoke. No flinching, no hesitation, her voice never wavered. I believed her.
I waited, half-expecting her to ask if I’d had any dalliances while I was overseas, or during the time that I was in hiding.
Wait a minute, James Mercer might be smart, but he can be slow on the uptake sometimes.
“What do you mean that Andi was lonely without me? I don’t think that I’m following you.”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Andi’s going to have to explain that one herself. Honestly, James, you’re so oblivious sometimes.”
Her comment caught me off guard. I knew that Andi had told me she loved me, but I didn’t realize that it went as deep as Karen was implying.
My life was already complicated enough with Karen. I didn’t need another woman in the mix. Single life was starting to feel a lot simpler at that moment.
“I’m not worried about Andi right now. I asked you to lunch to talk about us. I used to say that I didn’t believe in divorce, but walking in that morning changed things. You say nothing happened, and I want to believe you. I honestly do, but you need to convince me that I can trust you again.
“Trust, that’s the key word. I want to give it, but I also feel the need to verify it.”
I chuckled to myself. That very idea, trust but verify, was what first opened doors for me in Washington a few years back.
Karen shot me an annoyed look. “What’s so funny, may I ask?”
I smiled. “Remember that old Russian proverb that pulled us into the whole DC scene? Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to do to keep this marriage together. I’ll trust you, but I’m also going to verify that you’re honoring our vows, and you can do the same with me, if you want.”
Karen kept giving me an annoyed look, but didn’t say a word.
The server returned with the check, placing it face down on the table before quietly clearing the dishes. I waited until he walked away.
I said, “Would you like to go for a walk along the Potomac like we used to, back when we first came to DC, Karen?”
I left enough cash to cover the check, and a hefty tip for the server and the hostess just for not calling the cops. It would be a while before Karen and I were truly back together. I didn’t want us getting labeled as ‘one of those couples that establishments dread coming in’.
I didn’t need to worry, she agreed right away. I suggested a park south of town that I’d always wanted to visit, and she didn’t hesitate. It was only a ten-minute drive from the restaurant.
She didn’t complain when I suggested that we drive separately. I noticed that she was still in her pink VW. She saw the Volvo and said that it suited me, then added that she should’ve known to check Seattle after spotting the Washington plates.
We drove south out of Alexandria to Jones Point Lighthouse Park. We started walking the trails after spending a few moments admiring the lighthouse. The grounds were quiet and peaceful. We watched boats drift along the Potomac.
We traded stories about what life had been like for each of us during my time in Iraq and after, as we walked. Karen closely listened, genuinely interested in the people who I’d met and the things that I’d seen. She even asked if we might go there together someday at one point.
I told her not to get the cart before the horse, that we shouldn’t rush things or set ourselves up for disappointment. She didn’t like that, of course, but she kept her reaction mostly to herself.
Karen had found ways to keep busy while I was overseas during the war, and when I later returned to the Middle East. She’d taken a part-time job as an ER nurse at the local hospital. With her working shifts, she hired a live-in caretaker to manage the house and care for the twins while she was away. Her name was Imelda, and she moved into Grandma Jorgenson’s old room. The girls loved her, and the feeling was mutual. Imelda clearly adored them.
Karen told me that Scotty and Jean had been looking after them once boarding became too expensive when I asked about Beast and the other two dogs. She and the girls often visited, and Beast hadn’t changed a bit from the sound of it, still up to his old tricks and constantly begging for food.
The girls and the dogs were inseparable during their visits. They’d take them to the park for long walks and runs, part play, part workout, to keep them fit and full of energy.
Karen warned me to expect the cold shoulder from Beast. She was sure that he’d suffered some separation anxiety after I left. He’d spent the majority of his time in Grandma Jorgenson’s old room since then, which had become his sanctuary when he was still at home.
Supper time was closing in after nearly three hours of walking and talking. I told Karen that I needed to head back, but promised that I’d call soon to set up a visit with her and the girls if not tomorrow, then the day after.
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