The Empty Nest Pt. 03

"I don't want to get in the middle of you and your mother on this but as I am hoping to see a lot more of both of you I don't get any choice. I think you are being too hard on your mother but I can understand that seeing her form a relationship with somebody else must be tough."

We both stared ahead as I pulled back onto the road and continued towards Charlie's house. Neither of us spoke for a while. When I turned onto the road Charlie's house was on, David spoke again.

"Life can be a real bitch sometimes!" He blurted out.

"Yep," I agreed, "But you can either play the victim and moan about it and let it define you, or you can take what you get and live as best you can!"

"Is that why you are selling the house?"

"Well I'm only thinking about it but, yes, I suppose it is."

We pulled up outside Charlie's house and she appeared through the front door.

"Would you like me to stay or go?" I asked David as he looked at his approaching mother.

"Probably best if you go, I think I'm in for a lecture."

"You're lucky it's only that!"

"Yeah I suppose, thanks for the lift. I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he got out of the car.

I heard his mother say, "Into the house now young man!" Then her worried face appeared inside the passenger side door. "Thanks, are you coming in?" Charlie continued uncertainly.

"No, it's best if I stay out of this one. Don't be too hard on him. I think he is sorry for this morning."

"I guess I'll find that out, are we still on for Friday night?"

"Restaurant's booked, and I'm salivating." I said enthusiastically.

"For the food or me?" Charlie inquired with a dazzling smile.

"Take your pick!"

"Get out of here before I have you arrested!"

"How did you know I was thinking of something illegal in some states?" I asked with a laugh.

"Scoot now! Before I make you come inside and be a referee." Charlie closed the car door and waved me away with a smile.

David came to my house after school for the next two days. He got the easy garden stuff done. The mowing, the edging, and raking the leaves. It appeared he and his mother had negotiated a truce, I didn't ask, he didn't tell. Before he left Thursday evening we discussed what else was to be done. I was keen to get the garden fence repainted and also the timber around the windows on the outside of the house. David agreed to do it and we made a list of what would be required to get the job done.

I was about to drive him home when my cell phone went off, looking at the screen my sister's name was flashing.

"Will you excuse me for a second?" David nodded and walked over to the car. "Hi, sis, what's up?" I inquired with some trepidation.

"I've just been contacted by an associate of Waters, Anderson, Nelson and Kerr. They have a court order so I have to give a deposition regarding Mistcal Pty Ltd."

"Damn!" I spat, "oh well I suppose we had to expect it. Did you find the telephone records?"

"Yes, I have all that. I'm meeting with them next Monday." She replied nonchalantly.

"Do you want me to get my lawyer to be there?"

"No I'll have my own legal counsel. It would look more suspicious if I had yours. Don't worry, brother, I can handle myself with these legal types."

"Alright then, is everything else going okay?"

"Yeah sure, I've got to run. I'm late for a gym class. I'll ring on the weekend."

She disconnected, leaving me disturbed and anxious. I walked to the car where David waited in the passenger seat.

"Everything okay?" David asked as I sat down.

"Maybe, it's just a family matter so it's nothing for you to worry about." I replied dismissing his concern.

"Hang on, doesn't that affect me now!" David reacted more adversely than I expected.

"Oh...yes, I suppose it does. Um, it's just some news about the upcoming separation appeal hearing."

"Bad news?"

"I hope not but I'll know more in about 11 days."

I don't think he was satisfied with the answers but he was quiet for the rest of the trip home. Charlie was at a staff meeting so she wasn't home when I dropped David off. I texted her to make sure she was still right for the next night and she replied she was looking forward to it.

Friday morning I met up with Brian in his morning tea break to let him know that the opposition was sniffing around Mistcal Pty Ltd.

"Look Jeff, if you stick to your story you should be alright. You were still co habiting with Rachel at that stage so they have to prove you were planning a long way in advance to say you were hiding the money." He gave me a quizzical look, "Did you ever mention that you were giving some money to your sister?"

"No, she and Rachel haven't always seen eye to eye so that was a fight I wasn't going to get into. Besides I really was trying to hide the money, not for a future divorce but just so Rachel couldn't allocate it to some extravagant scheme!" I explained.

"Umm...best not admit to that on the stand Jeff, wouldn't pass muster that one."

"I have no intention of saying that!" I said defensively.

"Okay, well get your sister's lawyer to send me a copy of her deposition when it's done and we will review it next week."

I was preoccupied about the deposition for the rest of the weekend. There was a brief respite at dinner with Charlie on Friday night but I was distracted and she picked up on it. I explained that the divorce had hit a rough patch and she didn't push it any further. David came around Sunday afternoon to start painting but I mostly stayed inside. Monday morning I found it hard to concentrate on work, at lunchtime I sent my sister a message wishing her good luck. By three o clock I was climbing the walls.

I didn't hear from my sister until five, by then I was contemplating jumping in the car and driving the three hours to the city. After the formalities I got straight down to business.

"What happened?" I asked trying not to sound too worried.

"Piece of cake big brother, it only took thirty minutes."

"Well why didn't you ring before?" I inquired unable to hide my exasperation.

"It was just a deposition, not a cross examination. They just get my version of events and then they will no doubt try and find a hole or trip you up if it gets to a hearing."

"I know that but what did they ask? Do they know about the ten million?" My voice was becoming shrill.

"Calm down Jeffrey! Of course they know, why do you think they were deposing me! They asked about how we organized to buy the ticket. I told them you rang and showed them the incoming call log then they moved onto the money in the company and they wanted to know how it had increased in the last six months. I showed them records of my trades and then they left."

"Oh right, so no probing?"

"No, it was very businesslike. They got my story, copied my documents and left."

"Can you send a copy of the transcript to Brian?"

"Already done it, Jeff, it should be in his inbox. Got to fly big brother I'm going out to dinner tonight. Bye."

She disconnected and I grabbed my coat and headed out the door on my way to Brian's office. Unfortunately he was in court that day and he hadn't returned so I had to wait till the next morning to read through the transcript. Brian was happy with my sister's answers and felt that our position was defendable. I was a little happier but still wished it could all be over.

I had dinner with Charlie and David on Wednesday and Thursday night. We were back in our old routine, David would work at my house after school and Charlie would come later with dinner. It was a little different, Charlie and I were feeling our way through the beginning of a relationship. It was different the second time around, especially with a teenage boy stuck in the middle.

We were taking it gently, subtle touches, friendly greeting kisses rather than passionate ones. I guess being more mature I could control my carnal urges to a certain extent but the pressure was building. David had left to get in the car and I was giving Charlie a farewell hug when I pulled her tighter and kissed her more forcefully. She pushed her hips against mine and we both could feel my arousal growing.

"Ohh," Charlie chuckled, "looks like I should organize a sleep over for David this weekend!" Her hand moved between us and she rubbed my erection through my pants.

"That sounds like a great idea!" I replied enthusiastically before kissing her again.

"Hmmm, maybe you will be too preoccupied with your divorce. Will we leave it till it's all finalized?" Her hand moved lower and she cupped my balls.

"No way! Ohhhh...If you don't stop that you will find yourself up against the door again!"

"Promises, promises," Charlie laughed escaping my clutches. "I'll let you know what I work out for the weekend."

She waved and then walked away swaying her hips more than usual as she did. My secretary came in at ten the next day saying Charlie was outside and wanted to see me. A dreary day brightened until I saw the look on her face, she had an envelope in her hand that she handed it to me. I recognized the logo in the top left hand corner, it was the WANKers.

They wanted a statement about her loan, during the rest of the day my other friends whom I had helped out rang as they had also received letters. The deposition caravan was coming to town next week, they had all been asked to come to a conference room at the local ex-serviceman's club on Tuesday.

Some of them, including Charlie, were worried that what I had done was illegal. I assured them it wasn't then I rang my lawyer to make sure.

"Don't worry, Jeff. You documented all this stuff before. They are just racking up their billable hours. Throw in a bit of travel and accommodation, the bill gets bigger and so does their profit."

Despite the assurance it put a dampener on my weekend with Charlie, both of us were thrown by it. As it turned out we'd made a mountain out of a molehill, each person was only in with the lawyers for ten minutes. They just asked, how much, and when are you paying it back? It could have been done over the telephone but I guess Brian was right, it was all about beefing up the bill.

With that drama over with my focus shifted to the leave to appeal hearing and it too turned out to be a fairly dreary affair. Rachel didn't attend and her lawyers put their case while the judges asked a few questions and made some notes. When the Chief Justice asked if there was anything further Mr. Kerr asked that the case be expedited as their client was in a precarious financial position. The judge on the end, the lady of about fifty cleared her throat before responding.

"Mr. Kerr, your client has a house, sorry, a villa in the south of France and four weeks ago received one million dollars. Many others who come before this court would envy her precarious position."

I couldn't help it, I had to snigger. The chief judge looked down his nose at me waiting for me to stop before he replied.

"Very well, Mr. Kerr we will take that into consideration."

He banged his gavel and asked the clerk to read the name of the next appeal to be heard. Brian stood up and ushered me out of my chair leading me out of the court room. When we got outside I asked when we would hear the result.

"A week probably."

"So they don't decide today?"

"No, the three of them go their separate ways and write up their own opinion then in a couple of days they get together listen to each other's thoughts and then their combined decision is posted online and the family court website."

"Then what?"

"First a directions hearing, that's where a decision is made on when the case will run and for how long. Both sides put in a submission outlining their arguments and witness lists, the judges go through their diaries and a start date and duration is decided. After that we turn up for the big show."

"How long until it's over?"

Brian scratched his head thinking for a moment, "it's hard to say. Normally four months for the directions hearing then maybe another three for the actual date. However we have already seen that W.A.N.K. have some pull so they might get it heard earlier. The hearing itself shouldn't take long. They won't want to give too much time to this, maybe half a day. It's only a division of assets there's no children involved. When custody of children is to be decided then invariably these days there are suggestions of abuse or neglect so they take a lot longer."

I sighed, "So we just sit and wait again? No point making another offer to settle?"

"No, I think they have made it fairly clear that no matter what you offered they will chase for more. Frankly Jeff I don't see how the judges are going to give them more now we have more realistic valuations of Rachel's assets but as I told you earlier another day in court another two days of billable hours."

"Leeches," I said quietly.

"Speaking of my contemporaries, we should find you a barrister, if the appeals upheld you will need one. The main administration office here keeps a list of local guys who specialize in martial separation. Maybe we can get some time with one today and save another trip."

We got a list of twelve names, unfortunately none of them had any time to see us. It didn't help that we didn't know the outcome of the appeal. They didn't want to waste time on something that may not be needed. So I wound my way home, when I pulled into the driveway I saw David was painting. I gave him a wave and went inside to change out of my suit.

I came out of the house in my some old clothes just as a Charlie was walking up the drive. I waited at the door for her. We embraced then kissed, then kissed again. I saw David look up then look away hurriedly, it was still tough for him but he wasn't being hostile about it.

"How did it go today?" Charlie asked as we stayed close embracing.

"I'll tell you in a week," she gave me a quizzical look, "we have to wait for their decision," I explained.

"And then it will be over?" Charlie said hopefully.

"No, Brian thinks they will accept the grounds for appeal. Then we proceed to the hearing where they decide when to hear the appeal and then the appeal and then hopefully it will be over."

"Oh dear. My head hurts thinking about it," Charlie held up a shopping bag, "I got fish for tonight's dinner, I can't have you getting fat eating all that takeaway. Do you want to come in and talk while I cook?"

"I was just going to help David."

"Okay then," she replied glumly, "I'll call you when it's ready."

After dinner, David excused himself and went outside playing with his phone. Charlie got up and started clearing the plates. I helped get them back to the kitchen. Charlie was about to start packing the dishwasher when I stopped her.

"Why don't you move in with me?" Charlie looked uncertain, "Come on, you are here a lot anyway, I feel like I'm taking advantage of you."

"You are taking advantage of me? Or you want to take more advantage of me?" She was very defensive. It wasn't the reaction I expected.

"Come on I thought..." Charlie cut me off.

"You thought you would like someone to cook and clean and wash for you?"

"No that's not it at all!"

"Oh I forgot, a maid during the day and a whore at night."

"Of course not! I'd never think that, come on Charlie where has this come from?" I was flabbergasted.

Charlie sighed, "I'm sorry that might have been a bit harsh but I'm not your wife Jeff. I'm feeling a little under appreciated here. I cook you a beautiful dinner and I don't get any thanks and precious little help. You are supposed to be wooing me, you know, flowers, compliments, little surprises..."

"I'm sorry Charlie, I'm a little rusty at this relationship stuff and with the divorce and. .."

Charlie's eyes blazed again, "Come on Jeff, you're not the only one with stress in their life, and rusty? Do you even know what a woman wants? No wonder Rachel took off the first time somebody showed her some attention!" She stormed out slamming the front door leaving me stunned.

I heard the car start and back out before revving loudly and disappearing up the street. I was left standing staring at the closed door.

David came in from the garden, "Was that mum?" he asked.

"Umm yes."

"What happened?"

"I asked her if she wanted to move in and..."

"It didn't go very well," David finished my sentence for me.

"I guess you could say that." I replied still staring down the hallway.

"How am I going to get home?" David inquired with a smirk.

"Oh, um, I'll drop you of I suppose."

"So she's not coming back tonight?"

"Somehow I don't think so, I'll just pack these plates away and then I'll take you."

I took David home. Charlie's car was in the drive so she was home. David invited me in but I declined.

"Chicken shit," he mocked me then got out and went up the drive.

The next day I sent her some flowers at her work with a card saying sorry and that I would try to do better. I got a curt thank you by text as a reply. David came over to work the next afternoon but his mother didn't come later, he walked to the bus and went home that way.

I picked up the phone a few times to call her but I couldn't think of what to say.

That night an idea came to me, I rang Tom Ballard from the local race club to organize things so I would be ready for tomorrow. At three thirty I was in the car park at the high school leaning on Charlie's car. I watched as she walked out of the school juggling a pile of books while trying to find her car keys in her bag. By the time she had found them she was halfway to the car, looking up she spotted me standing beside it. She didn't stop dead and turn to run which I was grateful for but she did slow her advance, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Jeffrey," she said curtly by way of a greeting.

"Um, hi, I err...I was wondering what you were doing tomorrow afternoon?"

"I haven't decided yet," she was still ice cold.

"Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the Mungerybar Picnic races?" I half bowed holding up a ticket.

She took it from me and inspected it, "I'll consider it, what time would you pick me up?" There was still no sign of a thaw.

"Ten thirty."

"Don't be late this time!" she said brushing past me but I detected a hint of a smirk.

She got in the car and left me standing there, I walked back to my vehicle and as I got in my phone beeped. It was a message from Charlie.

'Better, but let's see how you do tomorrow.'

This time I was five minutes early to pick her up, and with a bunch of flowers. On opening the front door and seeing me David made a retching noise before disappearing into his room. I found Charlie in the bathroom applying some make up and presented her with the flowers.

"Are those for me?" She asked dramatically, batting her eyes.

"Yes ma'am," I replied, trying to impersonate Rhett Butler.

"Good boy!" Charlie took the flowers in one hand and with the other grabbed my jacket pulling me close for a sensual kiss. "See how good it can be when you put in a little effort?" she chided, once she had released me.

I nodded before pulling her close again for another kiss, "Alright, alright, unhand me you brute. I'll be five minutes, amuse yourself elsewhere till then."

I went to the kitchen and got a glass of water then leafed through a magazine in the lounge room. Of course the five minutes turned out to be fifteen but when Charlie appeared all that was forgotten. The old dressing gown she had been wearing earlier was gone, replaced by a short, figure hugging red dress. It wasn't obscene but her assets, while covered, were definitely on display. She placed a small red hat on her head and did a twirl, her skirt flipped up displaying even more of her toned legs.

"Breathtaking," I gasped, putting the magazine down and standing up.

"You like?" Charlie inquired, pouting her red lips.