"I am one year older, maybe wiser and I just wanted you to know that I think of you often. I am very sorry that I hurt you. If you need my help, I'll oblige."
"I was thinking of you today on your 75th birthday. I am truly sorry it did not work out for us. We had an incredible 35 years. Best wishes in the upcoming year."
"We had an incredible 37 years, ½ of my life. Remember Ma Cills?"
"Absolutely."
"We had fun there."
I mull this text conversation with my ex-husband. The last time I heard from him was a year before when he had his child bride arrested for 3rd degree assault. She spent the night in the county lockup and had to sleep without a pillow. My attorney saw it on Busted.com and told me. I shared the info with my ex's daughters, one of whom threatened the new wife with arrest for elder abuse. My Ex called and yelled at me for messing with his business.
I wonder if he has changed or if it's just the birthday talking.
A few weeks later, I send him another text.
"Hope you are doing well. I assume your attorney has notified you that Judge H has set a bench trial on June 6 at 9 am to finalize the terms of our divorce. The only outstanding issue I am aware of is the $306,875 still due to me from our loan to ASI. Rather than both of us having to pay attorneys a lot of money to dig into ASI's finances, I was wondering if you could propose a way from me to be repaid, perhaps an immediate payment of some amount and then quarterly or monthly payments. Obviously, this would need to be in a legal document but that would be better than depositions, etc. I know you have to pay ASI expenses, but I am sure you can find a way to move repayment of my debt from last place. Looking forward to hearing from you."
He denies owing the amount agreed to in the divorce settlement and offers $59,000 less, paid off over many years. I suggest splitting the difference with some collateral pledged to guarantee the loan. He replies, "See you in court."
I return his original text to him, "If you need my help, I'll oblige, but I add, "Obviously no longer true."
Birthday or not, some things never change.
— opelikakat
"I was thinking of you today on your 75th birthday. I am truly sorry it did not work out for us. We had an incredible 35 years. Best wishes in the upcoming year."
"We had an incredible 37 years, ½ of my life. Remember Ma Cills?"
"Absolutely."
"We had fun there."
I mull this text conversation with my ex-husband. The last time I heard from him was a year before when he had his child bride arrested for 3rd degree assault. She spent the night in the county lockup and had to sleep without a pillow. My attorney saw it on Busted.com and told me. I shared the info with my ex's daughters, one of whom threatened the new wife with arrest for elder abuse. My Ex called and yelled at me for messing with his business.
I wonder if he has changed or if it's just the birthday talking.
A few weeks later, I send him another text.
"Hope you are doing well. I assume your attorney has notified you that Judge H has set a bench trial on June 6 at 9 am to finalize the terms of our divorce. The only outstanding issue I am aware of is the $306,875 still due to me from our loan to ASI. Rather than both of us having to pay attorneys a lot of money to dig into ASI's finances, I was wondering if you could propose a way from me to be repaid, perhaps an immediate payment of some amount and then quarterly or monthly payments. Obviously, this would need to be in a legal document but that would be better than depositions, etc. I know you have to pay ASI expenses, but I am sure you can find a way to move repayment of my debt from last place. Looking forward to hearing from you."
He denies owing the amount agreed to in the divorce settlement and offers $59,000 less, paid off over many years. I suggest splitting the difference with some collateral pledged to guarantee the loan. He replies, "See you in court."
I return his original text to him, "If you need my help, I'll oblige, but I add, "Obviously no longer true."
Birthday or not, some things never change.
— opelikakat
Nicely done! This is such a precice depiction of a complex relationship.
ReplyDeleteI agree with lkai's comment. A great layered descrption in a brief post. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteYou provide a telling example of a troubled, long-term relationship in 400 words. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThis seems too real to be fiction. But anyway, it's late in the day to repay that much money! These folks are old! (Not that I am not). Situations like this make me wish money had never been invented. It carries too much meaning. I finished the piece feeling as frustrated as the persona narrating it. Good slice of contemporary life! --- Macoff
ReplyDeleteBusted. I quite forgot I was writing fiction. But at the very least, it served as a cheap therapy session.
ReplyDelete