Two by Two(64)

I found him at a booth in the corner, the table topped with a red and  white checkered tablecloth and a manila folder lying on a pad of yellow  legal paper. He was drinking a glass of mineral water and when I sat, he  slid a piece of paper toward me, along with a pen. "Before we get into  this, you need to sign a retainer agreement. I told you that I don't do  family law anymore, but I can make an exception for you. I can also  recommend some attorneys, including the guy who handled my second  divorce, but I'm not sure how much they'll be able to help you for  reasons I'll get to in a moment. The point is, no matter who you choose,  everything you tell me will be covered by attorney-client privilege,  even if you ultimately decide to work with someone else."

I signed the retainer agreement and slid it back to him. Satisfied, he leaned back. "You want to tell me what happened?"

I told the same story I had to Marge and Liz and my parents and Emily.  By then, I felt as though I'd told the story a hundred times. Taglieri  jotted notes along the way. When I finished, he leaned back and said,  "All right, I think I got it. I also reviewed the document, and I guess  the first thing that you should know is that it looks like she intends  to file for divorce in Georgia, not North Carolina."

"Why would she do that?"

"Georgia and North Carolina have different laws. In North Carolina, a  couple has to be legally separated for a year before divorce can be  granted. That doesn't mean you have to live in separate places, but both  of you have to understand that you're separated. After the year is up,  one of you files for divorce. The other side then has thirty days to  file an answer, but that can be sped up a bit, at which point you get on  the court calendar. When your time comes, divorce is granted. In  Georgia, there is no separated for a year requirement. There is,  however, a residency requirement. Vivian can't file for divorce until  she's been a resident of the state for six months, but after that, it  can be granted in thirty days, assuming everything has been worked out  between the two of you. In essence, because she's been living in Atlanta  since September eighth-or maybe even before that-she'll be able to  obtain a divorce next March or April, instead of next year around this  time. In other words, she cut six months off the process. There are a  couple of other differences concerning fault and no fault that I doubt  will pertain to you. I'm guessing she'll file no fault, which  essentially means the marriage is broken."

"So she's in a rush to dump me, huh?"

"No comment," he said with a grimace. "Anyway, that's one of the reasons  I've decided to offer my services if you want them. I passed the bar in  Georgia as well as North Carolina-go Bulldogs!-while the attorneys I  used for my divorce haven't. In other words, it's either work with me,  or get an attorney in Georgia. Also, I made some calls this morning …   apparently, Vivian's attorney is a real piece of work. I've never dealt  with her, but she has the reputation of being a bully who likes to wear  down the other side until they just throw in the towel. She's also very  selective when it comes to clients, so my guess is Spannerman pulled  some strings to get her to agree to represent your wife."

"What do I do? I have no idea where to start."

"Just what you're doing right now-you've retained legal counsel. And  trust me, nobody knows what to do in the beginning unless they've been  through it before. Long story short, in Georgia, there are documents  that will have to be filed, everything from disclosure statements,  marital settlement agreements, to an affidavit regarding custody. Her  attorney will probably press to have everything ready by the six-month  mark, so there's going to be a lot of back-and-forth between counsel."

"What about the settlement agreement she sent?"

"That's essentially a contract between the two of you. It covers alimony and property division, things like that."

"What about London?"

"That's where it can get tricky. The courts retain the right to make  decisions regarding custody, visitation, and child support. Now, the two  of you can come to an agreement and the court will take that into  account, but they're not bound by it. If it's reasonable, though, the  court will usually go along with what the two of you decide. Because  London is so young, she won't have much of a say at all. That's probably  for the best."         

     



 

I suspected he'd have to go over all of this again. "What did Vivian want?'

Taglieri reached into the folder and pulled out the agreement. He began  to flip through the pages. "As far as property division goes, for the  most part, she wants half. That's half the equity in the house, half the  money in your banking and investment accounts, half of your retirement.  She wants the SUV and half of the value of the contents of the house,  in cash. She also wants an additional chunk of change, which I'm  guessing is half the total you invested in your business."

I suddenly felt as though I'd been donating blood for a week. "Is that all?"

"Well, there's also alimony."

"Alimony? She earns more than I do right now and she's dating a billionaire."

"I'm not saying she'll get it. I suspect she'll use it, along with the  rest of the proposed property division, as leverage to get what she  really wants."

"London."

"Yeah," he said. "London."





After my meeting with Taglieri, there was no time to return to the  office. Instead, I drove to the school and got there early; I was at the  front of the car line. I was looking over the separation agreement-it  crowded out all other thoughts-when I heard a tapping on my window.

Emily.

She was wearing tight faded jeans with tears at the knees, along with a  formfitting top, and the sight of her made something lift inside me.  Opening the door, I stepped out into the sunlight.

"Hey there," I said. "How are you?"

"I feel like I'm supposed to ask you that question. I've been thinking  about you the last few days and wondering how Sunday night went."

"It went as well as something like that could, I guess. Vivian did most of the talking."

"How's London doing?"

"She seems all right. Other than the fact that she's still getting over a cold."

"Bodhi, too. He just came down with it yesterday. I think more than half  the class is sick right now. It's like a leper colony in there." She  seemed to study me for a moment. "Other than that, how are you holding  up?"

"So-so," I admitted. "I had to meet with an attorney today."

"Oh, yuck," she said. "I hated that part of it."

"It wasn't a lot of fun," I said. "It still feels like a dream, like it's not really happening. Even though I know that it is."

She looked straight at me and as she held me in her sights, I was struck  by the length of her eyelashes. Had they always been that long? I found  myself struggling to remember. "Did you have your questions answered?"  she asked.

"I wasn't even sure what questions to ask. That's what I was looking  over in the car. Vivian sent a proposed separation agreement."

"I'm not a lawyer, but if you have questions, you can call. I might not be able to answer all of them, of course."

"I appreciate that," I said. I could see more cars pulling into line, a  steady flow now. As far as I could tell, I was the only male in the  pickup line. As I faced Emily, I suddenly heard Vivian's voice in my  head-rumors!-and wondered if any of the mothers in the car line were  watching us. Automatically, I took a slight step backward and slipped my  hand into my pocket. "Did David leave for Australia?"

She nodded. "Yesterday evening."

"Was Bodhi upset?"

"Very. And then, of course, he wakes up sick as a dog."

"And no word when he'll be back?"

"He said that he might be able to visit for a few days around Christmas."

"That's good."

"Sure. If he actually shows. He said the same thing last year. He's good  at saying things. The problem is, he's not always so good at  follow-through."

I wondered where London would be this Christmas. I wondered where I would be.

"Uh-oh," she said, tilting her head. "I said something wrong, didn't I? You sort of drifted off there."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about some of the things the lawyer said to me today. It looks like I might have to sell the house."

"Oh, no. Really?"

"I'm not sure there's another option. It's not as though I have enough cash on hand to simply pay Vivian off."

That was putting it mildly; if I gave in to all her demands, I'd be flat  broke. Add in alimony and child support, and I wasn't even sure whether  I could afford a two-bedroom apartment.

"It'll all work out," she said. "I know it's sometimes hard to believe, but it will."