Chapter 24

David couldn't believe that he was actually leaving town just like that. No notice, no plans, no nothing! All he had was the twenty three thousand he had left after trading in his Lexis and paying off the used Ford that he'd bought. The only thing he had from the house was what he'd hurriedly packed. 'Lucky for me that back window was unlocked or I wouldn't even have that much!'

"How stupid could I have been!" he yelled, pounding his hands on the steering wheel. He'd been steadily driving west, and it was already approaching lunch when he pulled off the highway into a rest area.

'What the hell was I thinking anyway? he asked himself, as he ate an Arbie's sandwich.

He was heading to San Diego, and he had no idea what he was going to do once he got there. There was so much he had to do, beginning with: finding a place to stay, getting his car registered before the temporary registration ran out and finding a new job before he started running out of money. He couldn't believe how quickly his life had come crashing down around him. By the time he'd finished eating, he was swearing at himself for simply picking up and leaving like that just because some guy had told him that he had to!

'I can fight this!' David told himself as he stormed out of the building.

He jumped into the car with every intention of driving back home, but when he turned the key in the ignition nothing happened. It was as if the battery was completely dead! Then swearing at the salesman who'd sold the car to him, he got out and kicked the tire.

"What a piece of junk!"

He then went around to the front of the car and opened the hood.

Greg had scared him that morning, but David wasn't nearly as frightened then as he was when he saw the note on the inside of the hood! It read, "You've just been killed."

One of the cables had been disconnected from the battery! He fearfully looked around, but didn't see anyone watching him. His hands were shaking so badly by then that he had a hard time reconnecting the battery cable. He then got back into his car, and after looking over the parking lot one more time, he pulled out onto the highway and continued on towards San Diego.

"Hi Pretty Lady! Mind if I join you for lunch again today?"

Bonnie was really happy to hear his voice on the phone that morning. It was nice to have him back, and she hoped that it would be a while before he had to leave again. She didn't even care if David did have someone following her around taking pictures. Somehow she knew that Greg would handle it.

"Of course I will!" came her quick reply.

"Good! I'll see you then."

Greg sounded extremely cheerful, and she hoped that it meant that he had some good news for her. Besides that, she just couldn't wait to see him again.

Greg ended up taking her to the park for lunch that day, too. Liz and Shelly just assumed that she was meeting with Jerome again. They didn't know Greg was back, and just then, she preferred to keep it that way. 'My life is complicated enough just now without having to answer their questions, too, ' she thought.

"So how are you holding up Pretty Lady?" he asked, once they were seated on the park bench.

"Better now that you're here," replied Bonnie, with a smile.

Greg looked down at the sandwich in his hands, and in a soft voice, he said, "He's gone you know."

"Who?" asked Bonnie, in surprise. "You mean Andy? I know; thank you."

"No. I mean David; he's gone."

"What do you mean, 'He's gone'?"

It was obvious that she couldn't comprehend the fact that her husband was actually gone, and was confused.

"He's gone. He left town this morning, and he won't be coming back," answered Greg, slowly.

Bonnie looked at Greg suspiciously. "Why would he do that? Everything he has is here, his family, his job, everything." Then with narrowed eyes, she asked, "What did you do?"

Greg caught the look, and looking directly into her eyes, he said, "I assure you; he's fine. A little shaken up, but everything was his own doing, and I didn't do anything illegal to get rid of him either."

Bonnie was so bewildered that she was having trouble digesting the information--and its ramifications. "I don't understand how you could have gotten him to just go away like that," she replied, at the last.

Greg thought a moment before carefully answering, "Let's just say there are rumors that David ran away with a young teenager," and before Bonnie could ask her next question, he quickly added, "Believe me. You don't want to know any of the details. All you really have to know is David is gone and he won't be coming back."

Bonnie looked down with a deep furrow between her eyes, and thought for a few moments. "Okay."

The more she thought about it, the more she thought that Greg was probably right. She really didn't want to know any of the details.

"What you have to do now is just let your lawyer continue to do his work. Without David around to press those ridiculous charges, they'll be dropped. And after a few months, you can file for divorce sighting adultery and abandonment as your reason."

Once the shock of the news began to wear off, Bonnie began thinking of the reality of it all. The first thought that came to her was how she'd never be able to make the mortgage payments on her own. 'In fact, I'll never be able to even keep up with the car payments, ' she thought. 'And if David really has disappeared, then there won't be any child support either.'

Greg was carefully watching her, and when her facial expression changed from shock to wondering thought, he said, "There's more."

"I don't know if I can take any more," replied Bonnie, softly.

Greg disregarded what she said and continued, saying, "I hope you don't mind, but I did some checking. I know that your house is worth about two hundred thirty thousand dollars, and I happen to have a friend who wants to buy it from you. After you pay off the mortgage, you'll still have about fifty thousand or so left over. You could trade in that car you drive for something a little more practical for you and the boys. It will also reduce your insurance payments."

Bonnie looked up at him in surprise. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. When Greg had told her not to worry about anything, he really meant it! It seemed there wasn't anything that he hadn't thought of!

"I ... I don't know how to thank you!" she suddenly blurted. "I just can't believe it!"

"It's true Bonnie. All of your problems are gone."

Bonnie didn't know what to do or say, and with tears forming in her eyes, she quickly looked around until she finally glanced down at her watch. "But I ... I have to get back to work now."

Greg grinned at her. "No you don't. Mr. Simmons already knows that you won't be coming back today. In fact, you won't be going back for a while."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie was overwhelmed, and was beginning to get nervous about the whole thing. She didn't know how Greg managed to make David leave town, and she didn't know how he found out about her mortgage either. All kinds of questions began popping into her mind, and they were really beginning to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Well, since you'll have the fifty thousand dollars to live on for a while, you're going to go back to school to become a paralegal. Mr. Simmons' firm is going to pay for the schooling provided you go back to work with the firm after you graduate. The courses are just beginning, and if you register Monday, you could easily catch up with the few classes that you missed. It's already been arranged."

"I ... I don't know what to say!"

Greg smiled. "You don't have to say anything. Just go home and think about it over the weekend, and if you decide to take the offer, then go register at the college on Monday. If you don't want to, then just go back to work like you always do. I suggest you call Mr. Simmons and thank him, though."

"Yeah, I'll do that."

It was obvious that Bonnie was pretty shaken up, and Greg offered to drive her home. "I'll come by and pick you up in the morning so you can get your car."

"I can't," replied Bonnie. "She was so bewildered that she almost forgot that there wouldn't be anyone to watch the boys in the morning. After she thought about it, she was a little surprised how Greg, who always seemed to think of every tiny detail, didn't think of it either.

"Sorry, I don't have any kids of my own and forgot."

Bonnie smiled up at him and thanked him anyway. "It was a nice thought, though," she told him.

It was late by the time Greg dropped her off to get her car, and not wanting to face Mr. Simmons, she simply drove home without going up to the office. She needed that time alone to sort through everything that Greg had told her anyway. She called Sandy when she got home and told her not to come that afternoon, and then she called Mr. Simmons to thank him.

"You have some very persuasive friends," he told her. "Unfortunately, I have to find a new secretary now, but I think it will be worth it in the end."

'You'd think by now, he'd know that the title "secretary" wasn't used anymore, ' thought Bonnie. Then a new idea popped into her mind.

"You know Mr. Simmons. I happen to have a friend who would be the perfect replacement for me."

"Really? That would be wonderful, and it would save me and the firm the time and expense of finding someone new," he replied.

Bonnie then told him of Jen, and when she was through, Mr. Simmons told her to have her friend come in Monday morning.

'This will be a huge improvement for Jen, ' thought Bonnie. 'A better paying job with benefits was exactly what she needs, and she's certainly smart enough to be able to do the job, too!'

The only bad part about the whole thing was she had to tell the boys that David wasn't going to be around anymore. It was a conversation that she sincerely wished that she didn't have to have. Jen assured her that kids were a lot more resilient than people realized, and that as long as she was up front with them then, everything would turn out all right.