Chapter 4: Ed

There wasn't anything of interest in the mail, but the phone recorder had three increasingly nasty messages from Ed. Eliminating several minutes of scatology and expletives, he wanted to know where his wife and kids were. He ended up threatening me, if I didn't call him immediately and tell him everything I knew.

I removed the tape and put in a new one. Calling my lawyer, I told him I had another divorce for him to handle and it needed to start with a restraining order against Ed, keeping him away from me, from Rachael and from both sets of kids. I told him about the tape and he asked that I bring it down right away. Thank goodness seventeen-year-olds can drive. I had Sam do it. I didn't want to leave the family alone right then.

Good thing, too. No sooner had Sam left than Ed's car pulled in the driveway. Of course, he recognized Rachael's van. As he bounded up the steps, I told everybody to get into their rooms and stay there. They were still scampering when he started banging on the door.

Putting the chain on the door, I started to open it, when Ed's shoulder pushed it to its limit. "Open up, damn it!" he yelled. "I know she's here. Let me in!"

"Ed!" I said. "Calm down! You're not going to get in, so quit lunging at my door!"

With that, he put his fist through the lovely leaded glass panel in the door and tried to find the chain with his bloody hand.

Rachael was nearby, watching with wide eyes. I told her, "911! Hurry!" Then I grabbed a walking stick from the stand by the door and whacked his hand and wrist with it until he removed it from my door. As soon as he backed off, I slammed the door and set the dead bolt. To get at it, he'd have to put his hand through the window again.

Immediately, he was pounding on the door and howling curses at me, at Rachael, at anybody he could think of, demanding that I let him in, so he could "teach his slut wife who was boss in his family."

We heard a siren and two police cars slid to a stop, blocking the driveway. Both officers came at a run when they saw how Ed was acting—he was almost foaming at the mouth, he was so insanely angry. Ed didn't even notice them until they were next to him. Then he tried to attack them! One laid him out with a couple of nice strokes from his baton—in the gut to bend him over and on the back of the skull to put him down. They cuffed him while he was down, hauled him to his feet by a shoulder and his hair and put him, none too gently, in the back seat of a patrol car equipped for prisoners. Ed was still cursing and fighting them the whole way.

Once the trash was off the porch, I opened the door and invited the officers in. One took Ed to the jail where they'd book him and hold him overnight for arraignment. The other came in to take our statements. We laid it out for him, including that Ed had been arrested for beating Rachael three days earlier in Vancouver and that we were in the process of obtaining a restraining order against him. From the looks of things, we wondered how much good a restraining order would do...

Rachael said that she still had a key to his car. Could we move it out of the driveway? The officer said—with a small, smug grin—he'd arrange to have it towed to the impound yard.

I called the lawyer, who was in the process of listening to my voice mail tape. He was amazed when I told him what had just happened. "I was getting the idea that this guy isn't all there. Is he on anything, like crack or speed?" I told him we didn't know, since Ed hadn't been home long enough in the past three months to tell. When he was home, he'd been abusive.

The lawyer expected he'd have the restraining order by the following afternoon. He asked that Rachael come see him in the morning, at her convenience. He'd have some complaints for her to sign and he needed to talk with her about details of what she wanted in her divorce. "She'll tell you herself, but really that's easy. She wants him permanently out of her life. She wants custody of the kids, with the kids having the final say about when and where and how much he sees them. She wants her car and the household goods she has now. The furniture and other stuff she left in the house, he can have. She doesn't need or want anything more—except your fee and costs, if we can get them."

"That's very generous. But I need to hear it from her. And before you give it all away, remember: Dollars are the only real hammer the law has for this guy. They're not going to put him in prison for slapping his wife around a little. Sometimes if you ask for everything, you can get what you really want—freedom—in exchange for giving some of it back."

"OK," I chuckled. "Have it your way—you always do. She'll be there after she gets the kids fed in the morning."

While Rachael fixed dinner, I called the insurance company and boarded up the door.

We weren't a carefree lot, at dinner that night. The twins were frightened. It wasn't that long ago their own mother had forcibly abducted them, now their cousins' father was threatening all of us.

The younger kids didn't know what to make of it. They'd seen their dad drunk and abusive before, but never completely out of it like this. They were scared, yet still felt some loyalty to him. Certainly they were confused. But they knew they wanted to stay with me and not have to go back home with their dad.

"Ben, Leah," I said, "we need to talk. This isn't good dinnertime conversation, but it's on our minds ... Even if it ruins our supper, let's get it over with.

"Sooner or later, your dad will get to see you. He is your dad and we can't keep him away from you entirely. When he does see you, you must not let him—or anyone else, for that matter—know your mom is anything to me, except my oldest and best friend. OK?" They nodded, solemnly. "Someone may try to trick you. They may try all kinds of things to confuse you. Just tell everyone that you want your mother and Uncle Al.

"If you are taken by someone and they won't let you come back to your mom, call us the first chance you get. Sam and Sara will teach you about that and help you memorize the numbers you need." All four heads nodded.

The wrecker arrived to tow Ed's car. We took a recess to watch that, then returned to our dinner.

"You two need to know that I love you very much and I'll do all I can to protect you. You're old enough, though, to understand that it's an evil world. I can't protect you from everything. Even if you do everything perfectly, you can still get into trouble. But," I broke into a sunny smile, "we all love each other and we'll stand up for each other, no matter what. Right?"

"RIGHT!" the kids answered, smiling.

"Only one other thing: There is nothing wrong with loving your father, even though he seems to have gone off the deep end. You don't have to choose between him and me. OK?" They nodded.

In the morning, I drove off to work. Everything was running smoothly in the plant and sales were right where I thought they should be. I called the lawyer, who said he'd been able to get the restraining order served on Ed while he was still in jail. Ed was one mad sucker.

Then came a question I hadn't expected. "Do you have any idea about Ed's financial situation?" I didn't. "Didn't think so. After the way he's acted, I thought I'd better do some checking. He's done very well the past few years. Everybody wonders why he owes anything on his house, for example. Well, maybe Rachael can straighten it out when she gets here. One other strange thing, though: It seems he's pulled a lot of cash out of his business in the last few months. Any ideas what that's about?"

"None. It's a mystery to me. I thought they were just scraping by."

A bit later, satisfied that all was well at the office, I called on a local customer, then went home. I felt a bit uneasy, for the first time since we'd moved into the old house, about the kids being there alone.

And then I felt angry; that I should be robbed of feeling secure in my own home.

The van was gone. Rachael hadn't returned yet. The kids were quietly occupied. Sam was showing Ben his favorite computer game and the girls were up in the sewing room. (Sara had discovered her grandma's sewing room—it was remarkably well equipped—and asked if she could use it. Given a free hand, she dove in and was already making some of her own clothes.)

My phone recorder, though, had a vile, nasty message from Ed on it, threatening Rachael and me with everything from tar and feathers to crucifixion. Calling the lawyer, I learned Rachael had just left, so I said Sam would bring another tape. I asked Sam to stop by the office supply store to get more blank tapes.

Forty-five minutes later, I heard the horn from the van and went out to help Rachael with the groceries. In the house, we indulged ourselves in a good, wet, tonsil-licking kiss.

Taking the groceries into the kitchen, Rachael said, "Do you understand any of that about Ed's business? I thought we were just barely making it. The lawyer says Ed's wealthy—or nearly. Where did it all go?"

"No idea. That's what I thought, too. It seems there are a lot of things about Ed we don't know. I think we'd better find out."

"Yeah. Me too. If he's been keeping this from me all this time, I want to know the 'what' and the 'why'. I don't particularly care about his money. I can get a job to pay for my share of the bills. But I really want to know what that S.O.B. has been doing with all that money!

"There's too many things don't make sense, you know? If he's been hiding his income, intending to dump me, why throw it at floozies? Why, if he wants me out of his life, did he behave that way yesterday? I was already moved out. All he had to do was quietly wait for the divorce papers. I mean, Al, I was married to the guy 14 years. I don't understand what's going on at all!"

"Dunno either, Rachael. Uh—forget about getting a job to pay your share of the bills. If you get a job, it will be because you feel you need a career and are fascinated by the work. The business is doing OK. None of us needs worry about basics. We have the boat—she's paid for, too. Might have to take a mortgage on the house for a few years when the kids are in college, but we're really doing well. That most definitely includes you, Ben, and Leah from now on. All right?"

Her eyes sparkling, Rachael gave me another of her toe-curling kisses. "All right, my darling lover. But it will be a two-way street. Whatever I have, I'll throw in the kitty, too."

"OK ... How about we spend just a bit of it finding out what Ed's up to?"

The next morning, I had a full schedule at work. I managed to squeeze in a call to the lawyer and told him I'd pay for an investigation into Ed's situation. How much money had he made and where did it go? And why, if he was trying to get rid of Rachael, was he so angry when he couldn't get her back?

Admitting that those were very good questions, the lawyer said he had the divorce papers ready, asking for half of everything. He needed Rachael's signature later that afternoon.

By the end of the day, I felt I'd done three days' work. Love makes me that way, I guess. My secretary remarked that she hadn't seen me that cheerful in a long time. And she'd known me as a kid.

When I got home, dinner was ready, the table neatly set and all four kids washed up and ready for their meal. Astounded, I asked what the occasion was. Sam started, "We felt that, if we were going to be..." "a perfect family, like the Brady bunch, or something..." Sara continued. "We should be all ready and scrubbed up..." from Leah. "when daddy gets home from a hard day's work," Ben finished.

Rachael, with a 'butter won't melt in my mouth' smile asked, "Would you like your pipe and slippers in front of the TV, dear?"

"All right. All right. Knock it off and let's eat!"

The scene degenerated into a rush to get seated and dig in.

After dinner, the kids wanted to watch a movie. I was tired. I wanted a sauna, a shower and a half hour in the hot tub. Rachael asked if I'd mind company. "Thought you'd never ask," I leered.

"Dirty Old Man!" she replied, as she found some big fluffy towels.

I hadn't used the sauna since we'd moved in, so I had to study some to find the controls and figure out what they did. Luckily, it was pretty simple and soon we were sitting in the hot steam, my beautiful, beloved old friend and new lover and me, as I sweated out the cares of the day.

A quick shower to wash off the grime, then we jumped into the big hot tub on the deck. Marvelous! Pure relaxation.

Having given me some time to unwind, my beautiful lover invaded my lap, believing it was her time, now. I agreed and soon found that her bare bottom on my bare lap produced the result she was looking for. Squealing with delight, Rachael stuffed it in and started gyrating every way she could without getting unplugged. I just grabbed her and kissed her soundly, increasing my hardness by sharing her passion. Then I cheated and inhaled one of these fantastic nipples. She went off instantly. Golly, I enjoy getting this woman off! Finally, I gave her nipple one last wipe with my tongue and let her come down. She cooed, "Ooooh, Al! You do have a way of getting a girl's attention, don't you?"

"Well, you know, when you're in love, it's easy. Let's get out of this tub before we melt." I helped her off my lap, then rose and helped her into the bedroom. The combination of steam, hot water and good sex had left her limp.

I can't say if it was age or experience—or love. Sex with Rachael was on a whole level above any I'd known before. On reflection, I believe the fact that we were deeply in love is the difference.

She welcomed me into her body. It's the only way I can describe it. I was where she wanted me to be. And she was giving it all to me—Wow! I've got to be careful not to get too mystical or lyrical here. Our love was growing and deepening, in every way. She was offering her body—it was no longer hers, but mine to deal with. At the same time, my body was no longer mine, but her toy, too. That made an exquisite joining. This wasn't one of those athletic, superstar, multi-orgasmic things, where everybody passes out at the end. Rather, it was a joining of spirits along with our bodies, which created its own excitement and left us with a sweet sense of belonging and satisfaction.

We slept with her incredible body artistically draped over mine, so either would feel skin contact with the other as we slept. My dreams were peaceful and happy—kind of 'R' rated 'Disney Dreams'.

Next day, my lawyer called. It seems Ed was petitioning the Washington courts for custody of his children. The lawyer didn't think it would be a problem, but we shouldn't go to Washington, or allow the children to. We'd already filed for divorce and for custody in Oregon, where Rachael and the children were living. The restraining order was in place. He said he could handle this one, but that we should be prepared for a drawn out, nasty fight.

Rachael and I resolved to be very circumspect, even inside the house. We didn't care what anybody else might think, really. We just didn't want to give Ed any levers. And, of course, Susan was lurking in the background, still unhappy and still ready to make trouble if she could.

For a week, we lived cautiously, but peacefully. Ben and Leah adjusted to their new home easily. They loved the big old house, with its odd nooks and crannies. They enjoyed the fact that they each had a large room to themselves, with plenty of space for study and the projects and collections kids seem to accumulate.

Leah loved the sewing room and soon had Sara teaching her all she could. The girls enlisted Rachael's help—then found that sewing wasn't her strongest area. Rachael did find a summer class they could take, at the local community college. The girls were thrilled when she told them.

I told the boys they'd better wear anything the girls made for them, and smile, or else!

Sam spent significant time with a girl he'd met at the local pool. With his summer job, he didn't have too much time at home. But he didn't neglect Ben when he was home and was always cheerfully willing to show him a computer game, or take him on at Nintendo. Sometimes he even took Ben for a drive in my old Chevy pickup, to show him some of his favorite places in the area—or just to the golden arches for a burger. Ideal big brother—except that Sam truly enjoyed playing that role, since he thought he'd never have the chance.

Ed demanded a visit with his children. We would not allow him to take them anywhere, fearing, with reason, that he'd try to take them home and just keep them. And we would not relax the restraining order, to allow him to come to the house. At our lawyer's suggestion, we said we'd allow a one-hour, supervised meeting, at the lawyer's office.

After dinner that night, we held a family meeting. Rachael and I explained what was happening. We reminded the kids that we would do everything we could for them, but that they were, in the end, free to choose what they wanted for themselves. We discussed that Ed would probably press them to leave with him, or to say that they wanted to live with him, or go places with him.