soft voice she asked, “May I come over?”
I smiled to myself. “Tell you what, Marilyn. Tomorrow, after church you can come over and cook for us.”
She sounded sad. “You don’t want me to come over tonight?”
I smiled again. “I don’t want you arrested for violating the restraining order.”
She laughed. “But tomorrow is okay?”
I loved her laugh. I was tempted to let her come over, but I said, “I am very tired. I wouldn’t be very good company. I am sorry.” This was one of the few times in my life that I turned down a woman offering herself to me.
Before she hung up, she whispered, “So am I!”
Sunday morning I got the kids up and ready for church. We were on our way to church when I realized that I had made a mistake: both Marilyn and Sharon would be there and both would expect us to sit with them. I was about to have a panic attack.
We arrived at the church and I sat in my usual spot. Sharon waved at me to come sit by her. I shook my head no and made a face at her. She laughed and shook her long blonde hair.
The service started and I looked around. There was no sign of Marilyn anywhere.
When the service was over I stood up and looked outside. I couldn’t see her car in the parking lot at all.
Sharon came over to me. “Hey, bozo, want to come for dinner tonight?”
I knew it was going to be a bad idea, but I said, “Sure.”
On the drive home, I thought that maybe Marilyn had just skipped church and would be at my house. What should I do or say to her?
We got home and no one was there.
I fixed lunch and then took the kids to the park and let them run and play. I kept a constant watch, but never did see her. I let them play all afternoon, and at five loaded them up and drove to Sharon’s.
She had outdone herself again; she had baby shrimp, with homemade tartar sauce. She had corn on the cob with mashed potatoes and gravy. I was beginning to believe that Sharon was an excellent cook.
She had gone out and bought a game where you tried to catch cherries with a string and a hook. The cherries had stems with holes in them and they rolled around on a round tray. It was a fun game. Even I liked it. Again, the kids loved it, and just the two of them played it. Sharon and I got to talk to each other.
I said, “Honey, I couldn’t sit by you. Everyone in the church would talk and it would ruin your reputation. I can’t let that happen.”
She smiled. “If Marilyn had been there would she have sat with you?”
I lowered my head and made a face. “I don’t know, Sharon. I hadn’t thought about that.”
We had a wonderful evening with Sharon, but at eight-thirty I loaded the kids up to go home and to bed.
We skipped baths and I noticed something odd. There was just something different about the room. Someone had been in it. I knew who the someone was; the bed had her form outlined on the comforter. She had lain in the bed.
I picked up my phone and dialed her number. “What do you mean coming in the house?”
Marilyn was giddy; probably a little drunk or possibly high. She said, “I had to pick up some of my things. Don’t worry, I didn’t bother any of your stuff. By the way, where were you today?”
I sighed into the phone. “I might ask that of you. You were supposed to meet us at church.”
She said, “After I talked to you last night, I was so sad, I had a drink, and you know how I am; I got drunk.”
I asked, “What is wrong with you now? You sound funny.”
She hesitated, a sign that she was going to lie. “A guy at work gave me some marijuana. I am still high from it.”
My anger flared. “A guy at work, huh? What did he want in return? They don’t just give that stuff away.”
A little too quickly she said, “He just gave it to me, he didn’t want anything. I really liked it. You ought to try it.”
I kept my voice under control. “Honey, next time he will want to do it with you, and he will talk you into having sex with him. Please don’t do it again.”
She said, “You sound like you care for me. Do you?”
I smiled. “You are the mother of my children. It is my job to protect you. By the way, who was the guy?”
She said, “Gilbert O’Shay.”
I knew Gilbert. He was a bad boy. I knew what his interests were and knew that Marilyn would be a sucker to his spiel.
“Honey stay away from him. He is no good and will only hurt you. You know he has several charges of abuse against him by young women.”
She asked, “Why don’t you like me anymore?”
I closed my eyes. “Honey, I like you just fine; I just can’t live with you anymore.”
She asked, “Why not?”
I sighed. “Marilyn, you are becoming a drunk and a drug addict. Don’t let yourself become a piece of meat for the men around you to pass around. Keep your dignity. Be honest with me, who are you seeing?”
She hesitated again. “Honest, baby, I am not seeing anyone. I haven’t cheated on you, I really haven’t.”
I sighed. “Marilyn, when you decide to be honest with me, call me. I got to go bed. Take care of yourself and get some sleep yourself, and throw that marijuana away. Goodnight.” I hung up the phone and nearly threw it at the wall.
Almost immediately my phone rang again. I answered it thinking that it would be Marilyn again, but it wasn’t, it was Sharon.
“Brandon, I just wanted you to know, I love your kids. If you get to keep them, it is fine with me. Do you know yet when your divorce is going to be final? I am getting tired of the hiding already.”
I smiled. “No, I don’t. I will call my attorney tomorrow and find out.”
She asked, “When can just you and I go out?”
I lost my smile. “Okay, want to go out Friday night? We could go dancing, I know a nice little club in Grand Prairie. No one should recognize us there.”
She giggled. “Okay, you got a date. Want me to cook dinner?”
I shook my head. “No, I know a small restaurant; let me treat you for a change.” With that I had my dream date set up. I knew how I planned it to end!
Monday morning, I got the kids ready and took one to daycare and the other one to school, then I drove to work, singing a happy song. I just made up the words. I only had one thing to do today: call my attorney.
I got to work, and at nine o’clock I called my attorney. He gave me the bad news. Marilyn had gotten a powerful Dallas attorney and he was filing motions for her to get the kids and the house. He wanted every piece of dirt that I had on Marilyn. I told him about the marijuana and who had given it to her. He told me to be very nice to her, not to give her any ammunition to use against me. He told me not to date or be seen with any other women. I was devastated. I called Sharon and gave her the bad news.
Sharon said, “We can still have a date and dance; we just do it in my apartment.”
With that my world was good again.
The week went by slowly. I didn’t hear from Marilyn at all.
Friday night at seven Lori showed up to baby-sit. She agreed to stay till midnight.
I went over to Sharon’s and was completely oblivious to everything around me, especially the man with the telephoto camera who took pictures of me and Sharon kissing on her doorstep.
Other than that, the night was wonderful. She had chips and dip. She also had wine and bourbon, and by eleven I was pretty drunk. We began drinking coffee and I wound up a wide awake drunk.
I left at eleven-thirty to more kissing on her doorstep and more pictures. Somehow I got home and took Lori home without getting caught.
Back at my house, I saw that I had a message on the house phone. I listened to it and sure enough, it was Marilyn. “Brandon, may I see the kids again tomorrow? And I would like to pick them up next Friday and keep them all weekend.”
I called her back and said, “Sure, meet you at the park at
ten and you can have them next weekend. I think that is fair.”
She asked, “Are you drunk?”
I smiled. “I think so; I have been drinking a little bit.”
She said, “Yeah, you are slurring your words really bad.”
I never did tell Marilyn where I had been, and she didn’t ask again. For some reason, I felt like I had dodged a bullet.
The next morning at ten, we met Marilyn at the park. She was subdued, but the kids were thrilled to see her. They played on every piece of equipment on the playground. I went and bought a cheap loaf of bread, and the kids fed it to some ducks that were in the pond. I was surprised at Marilyn; she never tried to get me alone or ask to come over. She was actually quite nice to be with. It never dawned on me that she might have a reason.
Saturday evening I called Sharon. “Want to fly to Las Vegas Friday night and come back Sunday afternoon?”
She was thrilled, so I called and made airline and hotel reservations. This was going to be the trip of a lifetime, or so I thought.
Saturday night, I watched a movie with my kids. I got no phone calls, which surprised me. Sunday morning we sat with Sharon. Both the kids sat on either side of her. They acted like I could get lost. Fortunately, Marilyn didn’t show up, but the man with the camera did.
That afternoon, I called Marilyn. “Hey, honey. Next weekend I am going to go out of town. Why don’t you stay at the house where you will all have beds?” Then I laughingly said, “But no other men.”
She was agreeable and we were content with each other. Sunday evening, the kids and I had dinner with Sharon again. More pictures. I had no idea that I was digging my own hole.
Monday