Warren Butterfield Pt. 03

"Tracy said that it had been a long time since we had all been together and she wanted to invite us to come up the next weekend for a cookout. She said that she hadn't seen Trish in a couple of months and she couldn't remember the last time she saw Megan and me. I was pretty sure what that meant. Trish was having an affair.

"I was already pissed when Trish arrived home around eleven o'clock Sunday morning. I was sitting in the kitchen waiting for her but before I could say anything Trish told me she was pregnant.

"That hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn't know what to say for a moment. I did a quick review of the past several weeks. I knew that Trish and I had not had sex for at least six weeks and I remembered that Trish had her period about a week after the last time we had sex. I wasn't the father.

"Trish was staring at me waiting for my response to her news so I said, 'Your sister called. She wants us to come up next week. Make up an excuse and tell her we can't make it.'

"I didn't say anything else to Trish. I thought about what I should do about Trish for a couple of days and finally decided not to do anything. I just didn't want to hurt Megan so I pretended nothing was wrong.

"Of course, Trish knew that I knew but we just didn't talk about it. I had decided that I would stay with Trish at least until Megan finished college. I don't know why I waited so long but after you and Megan got married and moved up to Cincinnati I decided it was time to end our shame of a marriage."

I was stunned. All this time Trish had us convinced that Harold had abandoned her and Brandon. Knowing Trish as I did then I had little difficulty believing what Harold had just told me.

"Trish claimed that you left them penniless."

"When we finalized the divorce, I sold my appliance store in Frankfort and we sold the house. We also liquidated our investments and then split everything evenly. Trish walked out of the lawyer's office with a check for more than $600,000.

"Can you prove that?" I asked.

"Yes. I have a copy of the settlement papers at home."

"That bitch. Can I get a copy of the settlement?"

"Absolutely."

"I can't wait to shove that in her face and ask her to explain her lies."

"I'd like to see that myself," Harold said.

"Harold, if you didn't do anything wrong, why didn't you contact Megan after the divorce."

"I tried. She wouldn't take my calls and I never got an answer to any of the letters I wrote to her. Now I know why."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Megan never even saw any letters you might have written. Trish always seemed to get to the mailbox first. I'll bet she threw your letters away," I said.

"Probably."

"What I don't understand is why she was so determined to destroy my marriage. I didn't do anything to her," I said.

"I don't think it was about you. It was about Megan. Trish is jealous of her," Harold said.

"Jealous of her? Why?"

"It always bothered her that Megan and I were so close. Trish wasn't able to get that close to Megan. When Brandon was born Trish quit working and did everything she could to spoil him rotten, and she succeeded. The problem was that Brandon loved Megan. When Megan would came home from school Brandon would stop anything he was doing and run to her. Sometimes he would jump out of his mother's lap and run to Megan. I know that bothered Trish. For some warped reason she doesn't want Megan to be happy. At least that would be my guess. Then again, maybe she really doesn't like you.

"Are you and Megan going to be all right?" Harold asked.

"Don't think so, Harold. Megan seems to have found herself another man," I said.

"I don't believe that. I can't believe Megan would cheat on you."

"I guess it's a case of 'like mother, like daughter.' Anyway, I will make sure Megan finds out the truth and that she talks to you."

"I am sorry, Warren. I hope that you and Megan can work things out."

"So what ever happened to Trish's lover? Did she stop seeing him?" I asked.

"Trish managed to get up to Cincinnati at least once every couple of weeks while Megan was still in school and then more often after Megan left for college. She always took Brandon with her when she went to see him," Harold said.

"Did you every find who he is?"

"Yes. His name is Preston Matthews. He dated Trish in college just before we met. He's a multi-millionaire. Mostly family money, I've heard."

"Preston Matthews?"

"Yeah. You heard of him?"

"Sort of," I said while trying to hide the shock that name gave me.

I thought Megan was having an affair with Preston Matthews but Matthews was her mother's lover. Why would Megan be visiting him? I thought I was starting to get a handle on things but I had no idea what this new information meant. I can't believe that Megan would condone what her mother had done and that she would actually visit the man's house. Was she there with her mother or worse yet, alone?

I put those thoughts aside to be dealt with later and continued talking with Harold. We talked for another two hours. Harold told me that after the divorce he bought a house in Lexington where he lives with his girlfriend. He opened another second hand store in Lexington and in addition to that he had been buying and fixing up houses for resale or as rental properties.

He listened intently as I told him about my career problems and then he helped me make some decisions on how to handle my situation. Before we parted, I promised Harold that I would make sure that Megan called him and that I would get back in touch with him about some of the things we discussed.

When I left the restaurant I picked up a twelve pack of beer and headed back to Grandma Jean's house. I spent the rest of that Saturday drinking beer and trying to make sense out of the relationships between Megan and Trish, Trish and Preston Matthews and between Megan and Preston Matthews. When I finally gave up trying to make any sense out of it I went to bed.

***** Chapter 26 - Megan Calls

Sunday morning I was debating whether I should go back to Cincinnati or stay in Lexington for another day when Megan called.

"How was your visit with Kate?" she asked.

"It was very nice. We went out to dinner Friday night and I took her shopping Saturday."

"I bet she loved that," Megan said.

"She did. I let her buy her own underwear."

"You let her go alone?"

"I didn't want to embarrass her by watching what she was buying," I said.

"You should let me go with her when she is buying underwear," Megan said.

"You weren't here."

"You didn't invite me along."

The conversation struck me as odd. I was having trouble seeing past our problems. The only thing I could see on the horizon was the end of our marriage but Megan acted as if nothing had changed. I decided it was time to rattle her cage a little.

"Do you know a guy named Preston Matthews?" I asked.

There was no delay in Megan's response and I didn't sense any attempt at deception.

"No. Should I?

She had been to his house at least twice that I was sure of, the other four nights she may have been at his house but I had no proof. I pressed on.

"He lives over on Southacres Drive. That's about twenty miles for our house."

"What's this about?" Megan asked.

"I happen to know that you were at that house twice last week," I said.

"Have you gone crazy? I don't know anyone named Preston Matthews and I have never been to his house and I have no idea where Southacres Drive is. Who told you I was there and when was I supposed to be there?"

"Monday night and Wednesday night last week. Your car was seen there both of those nights."

"Monday and Wednesday? Wait, my mother used my car those nights."

"Trish used your car? Has she done that before?"

"The last month and a half she has been using my car to go to her club meetings or what ever they are."

"Why is she using your car instead of her own?"

"She said that the 'check engine' light on her car keeps coming on and she didn't want to drive it until she could have it fixed," Megan said.

My head was spinning. Trish had been driving Megan's car. So Megan hadn't been at Preston Matthews' house. What did this mean to me? If Megan was telling me the truth then maybe all wasn't lost. I was going to have to think about that some more.

"When are you coming home?"

"I'll be back by two o'clock. Will you be home?" I said.

"I will probably be at the club playing tennis."

"With Tredwell?"

"Yes."

"I wish you would stay away from him."

"Don't start this again. He's just my mixed doubles partner," Megan said.

"Megan, he's playing a game and you're the prize. If he wins, I lose."

"Stop it. You're acting just the way my mother said you would."

"I am acting the way Trish said I would? We need to talk about Trish when I get home. I want you to cancel your tennis date and be home when I get there."

"I don't want to listen to another one of your attacks on my mother," Megan said.

"Just be there when I get home."

***** Chapter 27 - No One Home

After talking to Megan I pulled up the J&S proposal and proofed the whole document and made a back up on a CD. Then I opened my e-mail and found the note from Harold waiting for me. He had attached the divorce settlement file he had promised to send me. I printed the file and read it. According the settlement agreement, Trish walked away from the marriage with a check for $632,595.

I could feel my blood pressure rising. That bitch had lived with us for free and she had never offered even a penny to help out and had all that money sitting in a bank somewhere earning interest. How devious could one woman be?

I shut down my computer and packed up my things and twenty minutes later I was headed north on I-75.

It was just after two o'clock when I got to the house and found no one home. I thought that I had made it clear that I expected Megan to be home when I got there but she ignored my wishes, perhaps for the last time.

Megan didn't get home until four o'clock that afternoon.

"I asked you to be here when I got home," I said.

"I told you I had a tennis date."

"With Tredwell, yes. I remember, but I expected you to break that date so we could talk."

"I don't need to listen to another attack on my mother. I know you two aren't getting along but there is no reason for you to constantly complain about her," Megan said.

"Is that what you think this is about, just me complaining about Trish? I give up."

"Okay, I'm here now. What did you want to talk about?" Megan said.

"It's too late now, Megan. You've taken Trish's side against me again, so there's nothing more for me to say except that this will all be over soon," I said.

"What do you mean? I am not taking anyone's side. Why do you have to always put me in the middle of your battles with my mother? Why can't you just try to get along with her?"

"Get along with her? Right! You'll find out soon, very soon," I said.

To be continued.