Anniversary
Copyright© 2026 by Vonalt
Chapter 2: Rose Morgan Attorney At Law
I was able to find my way to Rose Morgan’s office on Saturday morning by using the GPS on my phone. Her office was located in an old, converted dairy/quick-stop building from the 1960s. It was in good condition and tastefully maintained on the outside, yet still recognizable as a former dairy store that had been prevalent in the Midwest during that era.
I parked my Honda Civic in the lot and walked to the entrance, clearly marked as the offices of Rose Morgan, Attorney at Law, specializing in family law and adoptions. I realized when I went inside that I had been correct in thinking that the person who I spoke with on the phone the previous day was a teenager. I later learned that she was Rose’s granddaughter, and that the paralegal was Rose’s daughter. It was most definitely a practice specializing in family law.
The young woman at the desk informed me that she had let Rose know that I was there for my appointment and that she would shortly be out to speak with me.
I didn’t have to wait long as Rose came out of her office located in a room behind the receptionist’s desk. She was nothing like I had expected when she stepped out to meet me. I had been hoping for a pit bull in a dress, but Rose turned out to be a stereotypical grandmother instead. All that was missing were homemade Toll House chocolate chip cookies, but they appeared on the corner of her desk after she led me back to her office to talk privately.
Rose offered me a cookie from the plate on the corner of her desk as we entered the room, then closed the door and sat down behind her desk. Holding a pen in her hand and with a legal pad in front of her, she began to ask her first question.
“So, was this divorce petition a surprise? I got that impression from our phone conversation last night,” Rose said. “You sounded pretty shell-shocked when we first talked.”
“Totally,” I responded. “I was served on our fourth wedding anniversary. That hurt the most. She even texted me before I went to bed last night, wishing me a happy anniversary and calling me a name. I still have the text if you’re interested. It’s on my phone.”
Rose said, “Please forward it to my phone, I’d like to add it to your file.” She printed a hard copy for my file after I forwarded it.
Rose then warned me that the difficult part was about to begin, and asked me to answer her questions truthfully. She assured me that she wouldn’t judge me, but that how I answered would help her most effectively represent me in the divorce.
“I want to come out swinging, Rose. I’ve done nothing to deserve the accusations she’s making. I always put her wants ahead of my own in our marriage. I didn’t realize that my needs always came second until this moment. I’m done with it,” I said, my voice tight with anger.
“My next question is sensitive. Did you ever cheat on her, or even threaten to? You don’t strike me as the cheating-spouse type,” Rose said, her gaze fixed on me. I have never even thought about cheating, never mind done it.
“Let me check who’s representing her. Hmmm, that explains a lot. Her lawyer of record is an ambulance chaser, a true bottom feeder. He’s hoping to drag the case out to make more money, since one of the conditions of the divorce petition is that you cover her legal fees. That won’t happen if I can help it.”
That made me happy. Andrea would at least be stuck paying for her own sleazeball attorney instead of foisting his inflated fees onto me. I no longer cared about saving the marriage; I wanted Andrea gone, and I wanted her to feel every bit of the pain her claims caused. I hadn’t done anything wrong, and I wanted her out of my life as fast as possible. I had been hopelessly in love with my wife just days ago. She now was nothing more than a money-grabbing opportunist. There would be time to figure out how I had been so wrong about her later.
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