Birthday Surprise

It was a local sheriff that pulled me over, before I reached the Interstate. It seems that Mister Honeycutt needed to talk to me some more. I got to follow the police car back to the Belly-Up where Franklin was waiting for me. He was in the middle of breakfast and invited me to join him. Betsy brought me coffee and took the opportunity to give me a big wink. She must have been a closer friend with Sally than I thought. It seemed that Franklin's legal advisors wanted me to stick around. I used the trite old phrase 'time is money,' to discourage him, but he just laughed and kept on eating.

It would have been very easy to agree to everything and then just skip out, but I decided that I might want to stay a few more days, especially after last night. The party would pay for a motel room and meals but that was the best they could do.

It was a good opportunity for me to get my clothes washed, and catch up on my bill paying and banking. WI-FI is great. I got a couple of e-mails off to the boys and paid all the bills. I was just folding my second load out of the dryer when Sally walked in.

I don't think I ever saw a woman that looked better in jeans. She had three kids and still had a perfect body. Her blue Oxford shirt was not tucked in, but cinched with a silver concho belt. Her skin was shining, not from sweat, but from a natural glow. She was a damn good-looking woman.

"What the hell are you doing, Brian?"

I gave her an innocent shrug. "Folding laundry."

"You were supposed to be gone. Remember, you said you were leaving this morning."

"Things changed. Your brother asked me to stay a few more days."

"The only reason I came to see you last night was because I thought you would be gone today. I can't have you around here after..." She was fumbling for words. It seemed that she was not expecting some type of relationship, other than a one-night stand, and had no idea how to handle it. I was amused at her frustration and considered it an opening for some fun.

"After talking to Franklin this morning, I am seriously thinking about buying a house and staying here permanently. He made it sound pretty good."

"Now I know bull shit when I smell it. What is really going on?"

I sat Sally down on the bench beside the dryers. "Your brother insisted that I stay a few more days, just until they could get something set up to go after Hemmingway. I promise to stay away from you and the boys, until he gets everything done. I didn't mean to embarrass you or do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable."

"That's not the problem, Brian. The boys like you. They wanted to know when you could come over again. They were a little upset when I told them you were leaving. Tyler wanted me to talk to you about staying around a little longer."

"I am sorry. I was just trying to be friendly. They reminded me of my own and it was easy for me to talk to them. I didn't want to create any problems for you."

"Of course, I didn't make things any easier when I came out to your truck last night."

"You definitely made things hard." The innuendo got me a jab in the arm and a smile.

"Why did you come out to see me?"

Sally shrugged and looked a little embarrassed. "I am not sure. It's been five years since my husband died. Five years without any comfort or passion. It just seemed like the perfect opportunity, especially since you were supposed to be leaving today." She was starting to get a little feisty with me again. "Why didn't you leave, damn it?"

I picked up a pile of folded laundry, handed it to her, and then grabbed the rest before walking back to my motel room. She hesitated a moment at the door, until I held my finger up to my mouth, like she did the night before. Her coy smile was followed with a big grin, as she shut the door behind her.

It is a lot easier to make love to a woman in a proper bed. However, the part that I enjoyed the most was the shower: even running out of hot water did not stop us. Before she left, she made me promise to be at the house for supper, at six o'clock. How could I refuse? I was ready. Hell, I had two showers today already.

Supper at Sally's became a regular thing and Betsy became my greatest ally. Betsy and Sally had been friends since childhood. Betsy took great pleasure in telling me all about the things they did when they were younger and all the boys they jerked around. The discussions about Sally's husband were sad and not nearly as frivolous, but it gave me a good idea of who Sally was, and why I wanted to get to know her better. It was never my intention to remain in South Dakota, but the longer I was here; the more I wanted to stay.

By the end of the first week, the boys all had Texas A&M tee shirts and sweat shirts from Auburn. Sally kept one of the Auburn shirts for herself. It was a little big for Tanner anyhow.

I wasn't paying much attention to the political joisting. Franklin and his team seemed to be doing fine without me. Somehow or other, the press found out about Darla's shadowy past and started to play it up. Hemmingway's people tried unsuccessfully to make nothing of it. The more they denied it or ignored it, the worse it got. His numbers started to drop rapidly. I never got involved in any of it, until I got a surprise visit early one morning at the motel.

The woman at my door was tall, blonde and straight as a pole. I was still in my boxers, but invited her in anyhow. Her eyes avoided me as I pulled on the 501's, but I watched every movement she made. She wore a dark suit with a white shirt and low black heels: definitely a professional of some type. I wanted to take a leak and get a cup of coffee, but instead forced myself to sit at the small table that came as standard issue in every American motel room.

"My name is Mary Beth Steinmetz. I am an attorney from Levitz Brothers in Sioux Falls. I assume that you are Brian William Connors?"

She knew my middle name. This was not good.

"Excuse me for one moment." I got up and walked into the bathroom. Although I closed the door, I was sure that the noise I made when my water hit the toilet bowl was noticed. I was going to try and hold it a while, but I felt that this pompous bitch needed a little humiliation. Less than a minute later, I returned to the table.

"Was that necessary?"

"No, but I figured from your tone, that we were going to be here for a while."

"Sorry, but I was just trying to be professional."

"You missed. What the hell do you want?"

"Our company represents John Hemmingway. We recently learned that your marriage to Darla Connors was never properly terminated, and we were hoping to rectify that problem."

"How?"

"There are statutes available within the state to allow for rapid terminations of marriages in certain circumstances. We feel that we can take advantage of these statutes with your cooperation."

"You mean that you want me to divorce my wife?'

"Yes."

"Why would I want to do that?" My guest seemed befuddled. I don't think she was expecting that reply. At this point, I would welcome the divorce, but on my terms, and I didn't want to let her know that. Miss Steinmetz just sat and looked at me.

"Miss Steinmetz. Will you please tell me in layman's terms why my wife and I are no longer living together. Don't sugar coat it and be completely honest. If you can do that, I will consider continuing our conversation. "

She leaned back and undid the top button of her blouse. "Three years ago your wife had an affair with a co-worker. When you found out about it, she ran away because she could no longer face you or your sons. She has not been in contact with any of you since that time. Is that plain enough for you?"

"That's good. It fact you hit the nail on the head. So what is the problem?"

"If you are following the news, you are aware that Darla and Mister Hemmingway got themselves in a little bind. We can't undo what has been done, but we are hoping to alleviate it a little."

"By getting her a quickie divorce?"

"Right."

"And tell me again: what do I get out of it?"

"Freedom."

"Hell, I am happy with the way things are now. You are going to have to show me how my life will be better, not the same."

"What do you want Mister Connors? Do you want money? How much? Give me something to work with here."

"What are the terms of the divorce that you are proposing?"

"There are none. That is why it can be done so quickly. No money changes hands, no assets to divide, and no custody issues. You both walk away with what you have and neither one of you owes anything to the other. It is clean and final."

"How long does this take?"

"Less than ninety days."

"That means that it will be final before the election?"

"Yes, I believe it does." She admitted it, but didn't want to play it up.

"Do I have to see my wife?"

"No. In fact we would prefer if you didn't."

"Do I have to stay here until it is over?"

This question brought a sigh from my guest. "Yes."

"Okay. I'll agree to it on one condition. You have to pay for my room and board until it is completed."

Mary Beth Steinmetz suddenly got a smile on her face. I could tell that this was better than she had hoped for. I probably could have hit her up for some big bucks, but right now just getting free sounded good.

"I can prepare the papers and have them ready for your signature this afternoon. Would that be Okay?"

"Perfect. I will have to check with my lawyer, but I don't think that there will be a problem." I didn't have a lawyer, but I wanted to run it past Franklin first.

"Your lawyer?"

"Give me your card. I promise to call you if there is anything he doesn't like. If you don't get a call, bring me the papers."

I was glad that it was over, because I needed some breakfast. I walked her to the door, barefoot, in my jeans and no shirt. As she drove away, I saw Sally across the parking lot. Before I could wave her over, she sped down the road.

After a quick shave, I dressed and headed over to the Belly-Up. Betsy gave me a stern look with my coffee.

"Do I get a chance to explain?"

"Not to me, Mister Connors. You better have a good story for Sally though."

The breakfast was hot, but the company was cold. I finished as quickly as I could and called Franklin. He was out of town, but we got to talk for twenty minutes. He was tickled pink about the whole situation and told me to go with it, but make sure that I got copies of everything. He sounded like he had control of the situation no matter which way it turned. I asked him to call Sally for me. He was still laughing when he hung up.

There was a big power wash station down by Interstate 90. I spent at least an hour getting the rig steam cleaned and vacuumed, and then finished it off with a hand wax job. That took another hour. It would have been easier just to pay and have it done, but I needed the therapy. I grabbed lunch at the Cracker Barrel before heading back. I was avoided the wrath of Betsy.

This time she was parked right by the door to my room. Sally got out of the Jeep as I pulled up and looked a little sheepish. It was easy to see, from her expression, that Franklin had called her. She spent the next two hours apologizing to me. Sometimes guilt is good. She was gone, when Miss Steinmetz returned with the papers for me to sign. For some reason, she also made me accept a check for ten thousand dollars.

Hemmingway's campaign continued to go down the tubes, but my divorce petition moved right through the legal system. Tracey was now at College Station, and had a friend to look after him. I was officially divorced, just before the election. Franklin won and promised to pay me back for my help. I didn't feel that I did anything, but I told him that I would call it even if he gave me his sister. That got me another punch in the arm from Sally.

Things didn't go so well for Darla. After the election, somebody decided to charge her with bigamy anyhow. Before they could do anything, she just disappeared. She was good at that. I never got to see her or talk to her.

I sold the truck and bought a house and small gravel pit near Huron. Sally and I married at Christmas and my five "T" boys were all there. Betsy moved into the doublewide and promised to take good care of it.

The sonogram said we were going to have a girl. Anybody know any good girl names that start with the letter "T"?