Balance

John continued to show no fear, as he stopped before the man.

In a voice that Barbara never heard before, John told the young man what he intended to do to the man that assaulted his woman. John promised him that retribution would be harsh, lingering, and final as he stared coldly at the young man.

He had one opportunity, and only one to walk away with his life. That would require the man to release Barbara and walk away; otherwise, the young man's mother would be mourning her son's death.

The man immediately released Barbara, dropped the switchblade and began running down the road. John held Barbara as she cried, he then walked her to his truck and took her home.

That didn't deter her from running as she knew that somewhere John would be close by protecting her. She never saw the young men that had tried to attack her again. So again, the only distraction was the occasional horn going off as vehicles passed by.

On one late afternoon run, she had hit a deserted area of highway surrounded by open fields. She suddenly stopped as she saw a majestic elk stepped out of the forest and wandered to a nearby pond for water. As she watched, she was aware of John pulling up to see what was wrong. He walked up to her and stood behind her as they both silently watched the animal drink.

Then a herd of female elks came out of the woods, and the male elk having sated one need; went to sate a more primal need. They continued to watch the large antlered elk powerfully mount each doe of his herd, as he sought to pass along his heritage into his offsprings. Then slowly, the herd wandered back into the forest, leaving Barbara and John in the electrical air of sexual tension.

Barbara knew if they remained there, that she would jump on John and have sex right there on the highway. So reluctantly, with her brain screaming no, she moved away from him and continued on her run. John watched as the enticing figure of his neighbor faded into the distance as he sighed and went back to the truck to trail her.

Barbara attended her lawyer's deposition of Richard and was amazed at how she sliced him open and bleed from a thousand wounds, as revelation after revelation came forth from his mouth, in contrast, Barbara's attorney had spent hours subjecting Barbara to mock depositions from associate attorneys at Ms. Starr's law firm. They harassed Barbara with intimate questions and tried to get her to lose control so she would blurt out something damaging to her case. Then they would critique Barbara's responses and show her a more appropriate way to respond.

The day arrived for Barbara's deposition. Despite her attorney's assurance that she would do fine, Barbara was still nervous as she was sworn in. For the entire day, Richard's attorney tried to trip her up and Barbara would escape each trap. She was amazed at how many questions were the exact questions, her own attorney had asked in the mock depositions, and the responses came easily to Barbara, which frustrated Richard's attorney. Finally, the ordeal was over and Barbara met Ms. Starr in her office.

"Overall, I think you did good, Barbara. There were a few questions I would have liked you to have answered differently, but, that is the case in every deposition I had been a part of. You denied all of their serious allegations in a way they can not come back and impeach you with. I know this has been a long drawn out affair. Let me tell you what I think is going to happen".

"This case has divided Warrenton. You are going to find out what people think of you, and some of it is going to be hurtful. The Society's members and their families are 100% against you. Richard and his business connections are likewise against you. Your neighbors are 75-25 % for you. Your fellow teachers are 80-20 % for you."

"I suspect they will start with all their experts. They will try to build a case that you are an unfit mother by neglecting Linda. Then they will try to shoehorn some of your neighbors and friends testimony to fit that theory. I will try to minimize as much of the damage as I can, but rest assured at the end of the trial, you will have to do some hard thinking on people you thought were friends."

The court date was set for July the third.

On July the second; a nervous Barbara began her last run before the trial. After completing her warmup ritual, she began her run on the cloudy storm threatening day. She followed her usual pace as she went from her block, through her neighborhood, through the downtown area, past the city limits, onto the jogger lane by the highway.

The distance passed, with only the sounds of her feet striking the pavement and her regulated effortless breathing. She started thinking what a difference a year made. She was on the cusp of losing her husband; her home; and more importantly, perhaps her daughter. The very thought fueled Barbara's rage and she increased her pace.

When she reached her turnaround point, still two miles away from Lake Warrenton, an ominous rumble of thunder startled her. She flashbacked to all the pain and humiliation she had suffered on her first run, and instead of turning around, she continued to stride down the highway, as the rain came down.

The rain continued as the thunder growled from the sky. Instead of being intimidated, Barbara dared the weather to do its worse, as once again, she raised her pace. She thought of the pain that Richard had caused her and Linda; she thought of the loss she felt for her mother; she thought of the humiliation she had to endure, as she now flew down the highway.

Her breathing quickened, her muscle signaled discomfort, her pulse raced; and still Barbara ran. She realized she had lapsed into her sprinter kick with no finish line in sight as the rain bathed her body. Still, she was a mile away from Lake Warrenton and still she refused to give up; or to slow down. Stride after stride, she sped down that last mile until she finally reached the lake and stopped.

She leaned forward with her hands on her knees gasping for breath as her legs welcomed the cessation of running. A gamut of emotions were building within her and she began sobbing as she stood up, her arms stretching to the heavens, her chest heaving. She gave a yell of rage and triumph as the rain baptized her.

Then John was in her arms as she stood crying in her catharsis state. Instinctively, her mouth sought his as they expressed their mutual yearnings. Hands probed their bodies as they hugged tightly to one another. Kiss after kiss, followed as time stood still as the two shared this intimate moment.

Barbara looked into his eyes and cradled his face in her hands.

"I have to finish this."

John reached with his hands and held her hands as they remained on his face.

"I know."

They reluctantly broke apart and stared at each other. Barbara turned and began heading home in an easy jog as John prepared to follow behind her.

The next morning Richard swaggered into court escorted by Kim and the entire membership of the Warrenton Historical Society for support. As Barbara's attorney suspected, the first witnesses were the experts hired by Richard. As the first witness sat up on the stand smugly asserting his contention that Barbara had harmed Linda's developmental progress. Veronica Starr calmly and methodically eviscerated the expert until he left in a flush of embarrassment for being revealed as the quack he was.

The next witness had the same thing happen to him as Ms. Starr's preparations begin to show their rewards. After that, all the witnesses for Richard began to hedge their testimony, so as, not to face the ridicule they would be subjecting themselves in the court. Richard's attorney stood frustrated as his game plan failed to show Barbara was an unfit mother.

Still, he was able to prove that Richard and Barbara were married at the time when Barbara inherited the house. Therefore, his client was entitled to half the value of the house. As they rested their case, Barbara sat glumly watching Richard flashing a victory smile to Kim.

Veronica Starr calmly stood up and announced for her first witness, she wished to call John Dupree. A surprised Barbara watched as John was sworn in and stated his name and address.

"Mr. Dupree, who are your neighbors?"

"Currently, Barbara Ferrell, and her daughter, Linda." John answered.

The response clearly disturbed Richard by John's use of Barbara's maiden name.

"Mr. Dupree, to your knowledge, does Ms. Barbara Ferrell have any ownership interest in her homestead?"

The answer stunned Barbara as John calmly stated. "No, she does not." That shook Barbara to her core; as her foundation, as the man she cared for, so easily betrayed her. Not again, she silently screamed as she watched John sitting placidly on the witness stand. Broad smiles broke out on Richard and all his minions faces.

Still Ms. Starr continued, "Why does Ms. Ferrell have no ownership interest in the house she is residing?"

"Because, I purchased the house nine years ago from Ms. Ferrell's mother and have been the title owner ever since."

The revelation caused chaos in the courtroom as shocked and upset people tried to register what John Dupree said. Barbara slumped back trying to understand how and what was going on, as the judge furiously gaveled the court back into order.

"Mr. Dupree, I am showing you what has been marked as Exhibit No. 1 and ask you what that is?"

"That is the warranty deed, Mrs. Allison Ferrell gave me when I purchased her house nine years ago."

Veronica Starr picked up another piece of paper, Mr. Dupree, I am showing you what has been marked as Exhibit No. 2 and ask you what that is?"

"That is my cancelled check for the purchase of Mrs. Allison Ferrell's house from nine years ago in the amount of four million dollars."

A gasp came from Barbara, as she came to accept her mother had indeed sold her house, but, what had happened to the money? And how did John have the money to buy it in the first place?

Next came the land registry book from the Warrenton's Circuit Clerk's office showing that the registration was indeed recorded properly.

Then a video was introduced and played and Barbara watched as her mother and John were shown going through the entire transaction, even with closeups of the warranty deed and the check presented to Allison Ferrell.

The video even showed the discussion of John agreeing to put in money to the escrow account that paid the taxes on the house.

Against Richard's attorney objections, all the exhibits were allowed into evidence. Then came the cross examination. Richard's attorney lashed out with every innuendo ever submitted against John. He was desperate to score some telling point against John. Barbara got more and more upset as he insulted John.

Finally, she cried to her attorney, "Make them stop!"

The judge lifted an eye at her, but, didn't say anything about the outburst.

Richard's attorney smiling at the pain he was finally causing Barbara then asked, "Mr. Dupree, you expect us to believe this contrived story of you buying Mrs. Allison Ferrell's house. You, an unemployed bum, a man that doesn't even believe in this country, wants the protection from its courts! You, a man that is so despicable that you won't even celebrate the Fourth of July expects the court to believe your web of lies!?"

John studied the attorney before he spoke.

"I was born into a family quite wealthy. In fact, I could buy everybody in this room, five times over and never miss the money. Growing up, I was quite arrogant about that expecting my life of privilege. I was an insufferable idiot, quite like you, sir, until I met Morgan at college.

I saw her at a party and knew I would soon be in her pants as soon as she found out about me. Instead, she was repulsed by my behavior and it upset my ego that I couldn't charm her. I decided that I would get her to submit to me, before I went off to find some other conquest. But nothing, I ever did worked to change her mind.

When she refused another one of my endless request for a date, I finally asked her what she was looking for. When she answered, it was basically everything I wasn't. It was my wakeup call and I began to try to change in the person she wanted me to be.

When I finally convinced her of my sincerity, we went out on our first date. When I got my goodnight kiss from her, I knew, she was the one." John smiled at the memory.

"I didn't try to rush things, we went at her pace. My family marveled at the changes in me as I tried to make up for all my mistakes in the past. We discussed our future and Morgan said she was going to med school. That, of course, made up my mind.

We both got in and completed med school, we were both scheduled to start at John Hopkins when 9-11 happened. I did a lot of soul searching and I found myself signing up for the Marines. When Morgan found out, I thought it would mean our breakup, she was that upset.

I told her that because of her, I had changed; and that if she had any respect for me, as a man, that she would accept it. She cried and said that she would accept it, as long as I promised to come back to her.

So I found myself in basic training, wondering what in the hell had I got myself into as my drill instructor screamed at me. We were on a conditioning run, with full knapsacks at Camp Lejeune when I broke down. My DI came over to me and I fully expected to hear nothing but screaming from him. He squatted down and quietly said, 'Doc, when you're at the end of your rope, all you got to do is take one more step.' Somehow, I got up and kept taking all those one more steps and made it.

We got deployed to Afghanistan and we were in country for three months when it happened. A convoy had been ambushed by the Taliban and there were multiple wounded that needed care. I had been assigned to the base hospital, but, I volunteered to go out on the relief helicopter.

As we prepared to land an RPG hit us and we had a crash landing. We scrambled out of the helicopter right into the middle of the ambush. Guys were getting hit left and right as I would crawl to them and drag them to cover. I would quickly treat their wounds and go back to get another one.

I would pop off rounds from my M-16 to give us a little protection then try to get them to safety. I don't even remember when I first got hit, I just knew it was harder to run when I looked down to see my bloody leg. I slapped on a bandage and limped back out there.

I took another hit and fell as I saw six Talibans stripping off gear from Lance Corporal Tyree Washington's body. One of them was wielding a big sword and raised it. I knew he intended to behead Tyree, so I shot him first. That got their attention as we engaged into a firefight. I shot or chased off the rest of them and got to Tyree.

I found a pulse and began working on him, all the while, having the Taliban take potshots at me. I took off my body armor to drape over Tyree to protect him. During the remainder of the fight, I was wounded three more times. I was getting weak from the loss of blood and knew I was about to die.

The only regrets I had was that I wouldn't keep my promise to Morgan and I wouldn't be able to save Tyree. Imagine, I went from being a snot nosed kid hellbent on getting drunk and crashing Corvettes to actually caring for a ghetto black kid who was my brother Marine. A guy, in my former life, I would never look twice at.

I kept trying to stay alert and keep fighting as rounds were hitting all around me. I started thinking I just wanted it to stop. Then I heard my DI in my head telling me to just keep taking one more step. So I kept taking every step I could to survive and save my buddies.

For some reason, the Taliban began to charge me and I fired at them until I passed out. When I woke, I was being treated at the base hospital, being stabilized to be shipped stateside. I was told when the gunships arrived, the Taliban made one last effort to get to us, that was why they decided to charge. There were about twenty bodies next to me and Tyree, when our relief got to us.

They gave me the Navy Cross for what happened that day, but, what was important to me was Tyree and all the other guys I treated made it home." John smiled .

"When I got home, I was being treated at Bethesda and Morgan came into my room crying, 'You made it back!'"

"All I could do was to hold her and tell her how much I loved her. I had a hard time readjusting. Between physical therapy; a growing dependence on painkillers; and, suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, I reverted back to a lot of bad habits.

Morgan finally gave me a reality check and told me that I had to change. The thought of losing my angel was enough to get me focused again. It wasn't easy, and I had a lot of setbacks, but, I finally had a grasp on things and was looking forward to starting a family with Morgan.

She was getting a yearly checkup, when her doctor noticed some readings that disturbed him. They ran further tests and found she had pancreatic cancer. Before we could even begin to treat it with chemo, she was on her deathbed.

I was begging her to stay with me, when she looked at me and smiled and said, 'You, have to let me go.'"

The tears that had been coursing down John Dupree's cheeks began soaking his shirt. Holding himself together for a few more moments, he said, "Do you want to know what day she died? It was the Fourth of July."

With that, he began sobbing before the silent courtroom. Barbara cried along with him, watching his body shaking in the memory of his loss. After a minute, the judge suggested a short recess. When they returned, John was excused from the witness stand and walked out of the courtroom. Barbara's heart went with him.

Ms. Starr called a bank official to testify that nine years ago Allison Ferrell had deposited four millions dollars into her account and had withdrawn it six months later. The records of the transaction were submitted into evidence.

Then an agent from the IRS testified that nine years ago Allison Ferrell had filed her tax form reporting income of four millions dollars from the sale of her home. The copy of the tax form was introduced into evidence.

Try as he could, Richard's attorney could only flounder the rest of the hearing. At the end of the hearing, the judge granted the divorce and ordered Richard to reimburse Barbara for 50% of the values of the accounts he had initially seized.

He ruled given the testimony that there was no marital home to consider as it was clearly the property of John Dupree.

Then he ruled that sole custody of Linda would be awarded to Barbara with liberal visitation rights to Richard. Child support payments would be required of Richard, but, no alimony would be required.

Then he ordered the hearing closed and Barbara and Linda both hugged Veronica Starr and thanked her for the stellar job she did. Veronica told Barbara that it was her pleasure to represent her, but, now she was going home to celebrate the holiday with her family.

Linda also announced she was leaving to go to Beverly to finalize plans for tomorrow. Barbara walked out of the courthouse and began walking toward her house. As she walked, she noticed only a third of the houses around the courthouse square were decorated with the Society's decorations.

After her public revolt last year, the large majority of the homeowners opted to deny the Society. While they would privately decorate their houses to celebrate, gone were the days where they would be ordered to comply. Nor would the Society's members receive special privileges at their houses. Let them stand in line at the Port-A-Johns like everybody else.

When she got to her house, she looked at John's house and saw no activity. She went inside to her house and undressed from the business suit she wore to court and changed into some comfortable panties and put on a simple sundress and sandals. As she was changing, the notes from a guitar floated up to her and a smile came to her face.