Chapter 3

If I thought I was done with all the new surprises Katie could bring to my life I was kidding myself.

After the confrontation where Katie had changed her look so drastically happened Katie started not coming home more and more.

When she did come home, it was usually right as I was headed to work and needed to drop the kids off at daycare. She would watch me from her car struggling to put two kids into car seats without trying to help me.

Once I was finished she would often breeze right past me reeking of cigarettes and cheap cologne as she headed into the house. The few times I tried to search her face to see what she was thinking it looked harder than I ever remembered seeing it before, but I tried not to concentrate on her as I struggled with our small children.

At some point I remember putting my foot down and said "Look do you live here or not. I can't take not knowing what is going on with you. I deserve to know what you are doing and if you are coming home. We have children that depend on having both parents."

Katie walked away without even acknowledging my comment but I should have seen what was coming next. The next night I came home to find that everything Katie had was taken out of our bedroom. All of her clothes, shoes, and make-up were gone. Even that stupid cat alarm clock of hers was missing from our room.

Walking around the house I also found that various knickknacks she loved were missing. The only thing Katie hadn't taken were family photos of any of us.

Katie had move out on us.

I tried her cell phone but it was off and she never returned any of the many messages that I left.

I had to wait until the following morning to call the Congresswoman's office repeatedly to eventually get ahold of her. I think they just patched me through because I wouldn't stop calling or taking "She's unavailable right now" for an answer.

When she finally answered the phone and spoke to me she told me to quit calling her during office hours and she would see me later at home tonight to talk. Then she hung up without letting me get in a word edgewise.

To say I was seething would be putting it mildly, but I knew calling her back to try and prove a point would only be counterproductive to trying to figure out what was going on.

I fed the kids and put them down. Early on when Katie started missing dinners and seeing them in the morning they started out fussy and hard to deal with. But the longer it went on they got used to seeing only me in their little lives and they adjusted. It only took three months before that happened.

That night they went down without a fuss after they were fed. I sat in the living room at 7:30 after putting the kids down early and waited for Katie.

I thought she might like to visit with them, but after seven I realized that that wasn't her plan. She obviously wanted to only talk to me without being distracted by my using them against her to come home. I might have done that if I hadn't realized too late that's what she may have thought.

At 10pm Katie walked into the house like she solely owned the place and decided to drop by.

She sat opposite of me while I was seated on the couch and said "We have to make this quick. I'm going to a rally with Teala tonight and I need to get back to the condo to get ready. Here's what's changed, we're constantly fighting and we need a break from each other.

"You don't appreciate me and you're taking what I do around here for granted. You're taking it out on me because you've been doing what I've been doing for several years for just a few short months and you're acting like it's a big deal. How do you think I felt while I was trapped here and you were off interacting with other adults and having fun?

"I've never complained and I think I deserve some time off for the value I brought to the family. You could try to divorce me, but you have a problem. I'll take half of what you have and take the kids. You'll be alone and paying me for the chance at seeing them. Or you can let me just have a little fun visiting with my old roommate for a few months and then I'll be ready to come home," said Katie looking at me.

"So who's planning to try and come back to this house? Will it be the old Katie or the one who's become that whore Teala's new clone?" I asked dead pan.

"Fine, try to be funny and don't take me serious. But I deserve this time away, I need this time away, and I'm taking this time away whether you like it or not," said Katie as she got up from the chair.

"Leave your keys on the table. "If" you decide to come back I want to know about it. I don't want you sneaking in like some thief like you did when you left. I want to talk to you about the changes around here when or if that happens. You've already removed all your stuff and you have no reason to be floating back and forth here," I said as she started to turn for the door.

I could see there was no point to this discussion. She came here with the intent to briefly stay and just lay down the law as she saw it. There was never any room for discussion to be had. But I would be damn if I would let her just walk in and out of mine and the kid's lives when it suited her.

Then something I thought I'd never see happened.

Katie turned back to face me and then gave me the same self-satisfied "smirk" that Teala always gave me as she removed the house key, the shed key, and the key to the back door from her key ring.

Looking at me with distain she let them drop one at a time from her outstretched hand to fall with a loud tinkling noise as they struck the coffee table right in front of me. Katie stood watching me the entire time, as her eyes never left mine, while she did this.

"You're going to regret being a dick. I'll be back when I'm good and ready, and not one second before. You better have the door open and the house clean for my return," said Katie as she gave me the most condescending look she could.

Then she swept out the door without looking back with a feline walk that I'll be damned if it didn't match Teala's. I heard a car pulling away as she quickly left. I hope it was her car, but now I wasn't so sure. But I didn't want to get up and look because I wanted to pretend that this wasn't happening to me.

"We'll see about that," I finally said softly as I sat looking at her keys lying in front of me.

Then the enormity of what had just happened hit me, and I felt crushing depression starting to set in. The strangest thing was I had the thought that I needed to make sure there were no extra keys. So also I decided to have a locksmith out in the morning to rekey all the locks.

I wanted to stay in bed and curl up and pretend that this all had never happened the next morning, but I couldn't. I had two small children who needed someone responsible in their lives taking care of them. I forced myself to get out of bed and get children up, change them, feed them, and try to make believe that nothing had changed in their little world.

Soon I was set in a pattern of taking them to daycare, picking them up, playing with them before fixing their dinner, bathing them, and then putting them down for the night.

Sometimes what was going on didn't hit me hard until well into the night lying alone in our bed when the insomnia came. Then I was force to relive what was happening to me and where my life went wrong. I clearly recalled the five little words that destroyed my happiness as I knew it.

I often tossed thoughts around during this time: Did I seek divorce based on abandonment and take the kids mother from them? Was she even being a mother too them? Katharine's fourth birthday was coming up soon as Katie said nothing or had done nothing about it. She made no calls or tried to get with me to see if she could help.

It's easy to say just get a divorce and go on. God knows I've said it a hundred times, but it's not as easy to do when you're the one forced to admit a chapter in your life is over, especially when it's a part of your life that you've grown comfortable with and really started to depend on. It's like coming to the decision to cut off one of your arms to save the rest of your body from infection.

I used to wonder why battered women stayed in abusive relationships. Making the decision whether to divorce or not might feel like something similar, but I would be just guessing based on the level of pain uncertainty was bringing.

At the end of the month Stacy's birthday came and Katie did nothing or contacted us about it. She didn't come to the house ones or call to check on her children or see how we were doing.

Eventually I had decided to exercise the option to work from home using my company's VPN and flex time. Most of my work could be done remotely anyway with a few visits into the office, and since Katie stopped putting any money in our joint account I saw no need for the extra expense of Day care.

I also moved all the money left in our joint accounts into ones in my name only. I did it after Katie took out two cash advances for a thousand dollars each, but had long since stopped putting money into our joint account.

After that was taken care of and I opened a safe deposit box in my name only, and transferred everything out of the joint one into it. All the personal documents along with all of the CD's and Bonds that we had went into it. IF we split up I wanted to be sure I got my fair share.

Then I purchased a bow flex and cancelled my gym membership. Staying close to home like I was doing I found it harder and harder to get out. That was the best answer I could some up with that kept weights out of the house that might harm small children, but still allowed me to get in a workout.

It also served the dual purpose. Once the kids were sleep I found I could sleep easier if I wore myself out fighting the demons in my mind around what Katie might be doing off with that slut named Teala who she called her friend.

It was only by chance, just pure chance, which changed what was going on in my life. And it wasn't for the better.

I was working out late one night in the den that I converted into a half office half workout room after the kids were down that I forgot and left the TV on in the living room.

As I was passing through the living room to put my workout clothes in the laundry so I could wash them later I just happened to glance at the TV. I saw some political celebration party for some candidate who I didn't know and couldn't have care any less about.

But what drew my attention was that there in living color was my loving wife hanging all over some prick I had never seen before. She had her arm linked with his and she was using her other hand to rub his stomach, just barely above his crotch on national TV!

I know my blood pressure started to boil. She wasn't out trying to get a break from the pressures of being a mother and a wife. She wasn't trying figure out what she wanted to do with her life as the married mother of two! What she was out doing was whoring around with that bitch Teala!

That made me so mad I could no longer sleep. I lay in bed and the first thing I did as soon as it was light was start to look for two things. One for a good divorce Attorney and then for a good P.I. firm to get me the dirt on what was really going on.

I looked on the web for good recommendations and I found a guy who everyone suggested to retain if you were someone who was a wronged male. I noted his name for later.

Then I found a good reputable and licensed P.I. After calling him I received an appointment for later that afternoon. My call to the Attorney got me a meeting right after my one with the P.I.

Once at my P.I. appointment I explained what I needed they quoted me a price.

The investigator who was assigned to my case told me why what I wanted was so expensive. It was because they would need to get into rooms, hotels, homes, and possibly rallies to make sure they had a complete trail of all of Katie's activities.

The price was steep but I gave him the go ahead and made arrangements to come down and pay their retainer the next morning. I would need to cash in one of the CD and pay the heavy penalty, but I had to do what I had to do.

Later the meeting with the Attorney went pretty much as I thought it might.

Without proof that would stand up in court I would be stuck with a "No fault" divorce if I went forward and I would get taken to the cleaners. But with a general divorce I could possibly fare better.

What hurt to find out was that it didn't matter that I was currently the primary caregiver to our children for almost the last year. Katie had spent far more time in that role than I had, so I was going to get massively boned across the board.

Then I had a thought and asked him "What about if she's not living in the marital home anymore by her own choice? If she has her own job, contributes nothing to the household expenses, and has a separate place of residence? What if she's left us to take up with another man? Does that even factor into this?"

My Attorney asked "It might help mitigate some of the issues. How long as she been gone?"

"She's been out of the house just barely over three months. But I think she's been screwing around on me for much longer," I said.

"She needs to have been gone from the family home for at least six months for us to try to get a general divorce which we can then use fault on. And we'll still need proof her infidelity, but we need it done legally. I don't want you trying to play private detective and getting it yourself.

"We also can't use things like illegally obtained hotel room pictures or records without her consent. But on the flip side all we need to do is prove that it more than likely it happened by her actions, that she created the situation where that was the only possible outcome. First let's get a good P.I. firm on it and go from there," he said.

"I already hired the Maxwell group to do it for me this morning," I said.

My Attorney gave a low whistle as he leaned back in his chair.

"I know of them. They are very good but very expensive. But they know how to get what we can use in court. Did you only ask for that or did you ask for a full disclosure about all of her activities?" asked my Attorney.

"It was explained to me the difference between useable and non-useable material. But I want to know it all. I want to know what she's up to and what she's doing. She could claim anything and while proof what "could have happened" is all you need, what I want to know is what was really going on. I'm paying extra to have that complete knowledge and peace of mind," I said.

"Good enough, all we need to do now is wait to see what they get for us. I don't need or want to see your final report. It might compromise our case if I do. But I'll get started on the paperwork so that we're ready to move once I get what I need," said my Attorney.

The next three months was the longest nightmare and the longest wait of my life.

I found myself watching rallies just to see if Katie was there. Half the time she was and if she was, she was off somewhere to the side of the main podium just barely out of sight of the speaker.

And each time I saw her she was with a different bastard, and each time she was rubbing on them as she cheered for whoever they were there to help. Each man seemed to get great pleasure out of fondling my wife while she was doing this.

I took to eating antacid tablets to settle the ulcer I knew I was getting. I tried to keep the routine with the kids the same, but it was hard when they saw Daddy just seconds from breaking down. I'm sure if it wasn't for them I would have given up long before I did.

Finally the fated day came.

The Maxwell group assembled what I needed and they used the three month window I requested to assemble both court usable information and the personal information I wanted to know about.

They called me down to their offices and took me to a sterile white room that only had one chair and one table in it, and they were both bolted to the floor. There was a TV and a DVD player recessed in the wall behind some type of Plexiglas cover. I could just reach the DVD player through a small opening in the Plexiglas.

There was a garbage can close to the door with a plastic black bag in it.

An extremely thick stark white binder with everything I had requested to see was given to me and then I was left alone in the room. This was the information that was for my eyes only and couldn't be used anywhere. They never said how they got it and I wasn't to ask. But it was everything I wanted to know as fact about how Katie was now living.