When We Were Married Ch. 01

I could tell he was losing it as his hands closed into fists but he was trying.

"Bill – Mr. Maitland, I know it may have looked bad, but we're just friends. We've gotten close over the last nine months, but I wouldn't mess with a married woman."

I gave both of them a contemptuous glance, because I really couldn't believe they were stupid enough to keep trying to carry on this act.

"Doug, give it up. I know my wife must have told you what I do for a living. I read people; body language, expressions. You're in love with, or at least you want to bang my wife, and she's hotter for you than you are for her."

I could say the devil made me do it, but in all honesty it was probably just two weeks of simmering rage that launched my right fist toward his face at that point, but it was as if I was moving in slow motion. He just leaned back casually and then his right hand balled into a fist caught me on the right side of the face and sent me stumbling backwards.

I ended up on my ass staring up at the horrified or amused faces of the people crowding around us. I looked up to see Debbie just staring at me. She seemed more angry than concerned about her dear husband.

I shook my head to clear it. I hadn't been in a fight in 25 years and I'd forgotten what a hard shot to the face felt like. As I tried to get to my feet I heard Doug saying, "I'm so sorry Deb. I didn't mean to hit him, but when he swung I just reacted automatically."

I got to my feet, swaying and pushed away someone who apparently was trying to help me up,.

"Alright, asshole, let's try that again..."

I ran at him swinging awkwardly. Like I said, it had been over a quarter century since I'd tried to hit someone for real and he just swatted the punch away and somehow pushed me so that I ended up on my face. The first laughs started.

He looked down at me and said, "We don't have to do this. Let's act like grownups."

I got back to my feet and stalked toward him slowly. Blood was dripping down my check. Debbie shook her head and said, "Please, Bill, don't do this. God, you've already embarrassed me badly. I've got to face these people. Please."

I swung again and when he blocked my right I managed to sink a left into his stomach. He just "whuffed", more out of surprise than anything else and smashed his fist into my nose. Blood was all over the place and I staggered to stay upright. For a moment I could hardly see for tears in my eyes. Jesus Christ, that hurt.

"Bill, get out of here," Debbie hissed. "You have managed to ruin everything. This was the biggest night of Doug's career, and you have to show up and make as ass out of yourself."

I ran a hand over my face and it came away bloody.

"I haven't started yet, my loyal and loving wife."

I could hear titters behind me and Debbie stared at me as if she couldn't believe my words, as if the mere thought that I might able to hurt her young stud astounded her. Her absolute confidence that I was harmless hurt more than anything else.

"Go away, Bill. Don't be stupid. He will kick your ass. He's younger and bigger and he can box. You've already humiliated yourself and me. Don't make yourself an absolute laughing stock."

"Your concern is touching. Go to hell."

I moved closer and swung again. An anvil or something equally heavy hit one eye, then something smashed into my mouth resulting in another spray of blood and something else slammed into my midsection, doubling me over. I couldn't help hurling as I went down."

I knelt on one knee and tried to bring my vision into focus, could sense the movement of people around me and nervous laughter and I knew Debbie was standing with Doug and probably gloating in his triumph. I tried to remember when she had ever loved me.

A hand grabbed my arm at the elbow and I heard Doug saying, "Come on, Bill, it's over. Let it go. Let me help you up, we'll get you cleaned up and out of here."

I didn't consciously plan anything. I just rammed forward with the top of my head as hard as I could and hit something relatively soft and heard Doug moan and fall forward. As he did I reared up again as hard as I could and bounced his face off the top of my head.

I was standing somehow and Doug and all his flat bellied glory was flat on his back holding his hands over blood spurting from his nose and mouth. If I could just stay upright for a few more seconds. I managed to make it to him before anyone got in the way and kicked him in the face as hard as I could.

Debbie's screaming behind me only made it sweeter.

"Oh, God, Doug..."

I was gang tackled by what felt like an entire posse and dragged to the ground. I could see Debbie standing there between us, looking from one bleeding prone figure to the other. Then she ran to Doug and knelt down beside him. She was crying. She had made her decision. God, I asked myself, could she be any more of a treacherous bitch.

As the old saying about rape goes, when it's inevitable...So I just lay back and let about four guys in tuxes hold me down. Debbie was using any kind of fabric she could lay her hands on to try to stop the blood gushing from Doug's face.

I heard someone saying, "Call the cops."

"Security is right here. Get this asshole out of here."

Someone else said maliciously, "Let's see how tough you are in a holding cell..."

There was a tall, distinguished looking, grayish elderly gent standing near Doug and he asked solicitously, "Professor Baker, are you alright? Should we call an ambulance."

Then he looked over at me.

"And you, sir, whoever you are, are going to rue the day you assaulted one of our staff."

I made an educated guess.

"You must be President Myers, right?"

He was getting ready to leave but something in my tone of voice stopped him.

"Yes, I'm the President of UNF. And you are?"

"William Maitland, Head Supervising Assistant State Attorney for the Third Circuit, and the husband of the blonde consoling your professor Baker over there."

His eyes widened a little as he looked from Debbie and Doug to me and back again. He might be an old fossil, but there was nothing wrong with the speed of his mental processing.

"In that case, Mr. Maitland, I would not like to be in your shoes. You're an officer of the court assaulting a man in plain view of hundreds. Not good. But, I think we might be willing to extend some forbearance here. -"

"I think, President Myers, that your ass, and that of your institution is about to become grass, and I am going to be the lawnmower."

His face tightened. He wasn't used to being addressed in that manner. I knew he came from old money and had social and business ties that extended from Atlanta to Miami. That's why they had tapped him as President.

"I don't understand-"

"Why don't we go somewhere and I'll explain it to you, before you and this institution step into a whole swampful of shit."

He didn't like that either, but he wasn't stupid and he was used to making snap decisions. A nod from him resulted in two of the men jerking me to my feet. We walked to a toward the rear where there were restroom signs. I noticed that Myers had Doug and Debbie practically frog marched along with us.

When we had gotten far enough to speak in relative privacy we stopped and he said, "Alright, Mr. Maitland , explain yourself."

Doug had pretty much staunched the bleeding, but he was still hurting. Debbie had her arm around him and if looks could kill, the glances she sent at me would have laid me in my grave.

"I don't know how closely you monitor things, but I don't think you're stupid. This is fairly simple. My wife has been 'very close' to Professor Baker for awhile, too close for my tastes. I know he took her home the other night and kissed her in my driveway while was wearing a very, provocative, outfit.

"I know she engaged in very loving, and intimate behavior with Professor Baker both on and off the dance floor tonight, and like you said, I have hundreds of witnesses. I know he gave her a very, un-collegial, kiss tonight in full view of many of your staff and I heard them cheering and whooping as he did so. I don't think I'd have any trouble convincing a jury when I sue UNF for being a party to the Alienation of my wife's affections, that her behavior was common knowledge."

I thought Debbie was going to launch herself across the space separating us. She could have started foaming at the mouth for a little bit.

"You bastard," she said loudly. "President Myers, my husband suffers from mental problems. Namely an obsession that I have been unfaithful to him. It's all in his head. There is absolutely nothing improper going on between myself and Professor Baker. Don't listen to anything he says. Please have him removed."

Myers glanced at her and said mildly, "I might be inclined to agree with you, Professor Maitland, but unfortunately for both you and Professor Baker, I was on the dais and I witnessed the display between the two of you, and particularly that kiss. I was under the impression that no woman in her right mind would have engaged in that kind of activity unless she had an 'understanding' with her husband, which you obviously didn't."

He looked at Doug and shook his head.

"As for you, Professor Baker, I'm disappointed. I had thought you a sharp and rising addition to our faculty. But whether there was anything improper going on between you and Professor Maitland, the fact remains that you should have had the good sense to avoid the appearance of impropriety, and you obviously did not. I will have to reevaluate your future role in our university."

I somehow managed to avoid laughing at the expressions that crossed both their faces.

Myers looked back at me.

"Regardless of our future internal activities, Mr. Maitland, the fact remains that you are in a much more tenuous and dangerous position. If we report this, I expect you'll lose your position with the State Attorney's Office. You might be disbarred. Why shouldn't I simply call the police?"

"You're right. I could be fired. And disbarred. But if that happens, I will sue the university for alienation of my wife's affections and actions that led to the destruction of my marriage. I might not win, probably won't. But I'm a well known prosecutor, my wife and Professor Baker are respected academics. And, more importantly and to the point of this discussion, my wife is a hot, big tittied blonde and Professor Baker is what I would call a hunk.

"When the word gets out of a sexual and romantic triangle, alleged adultery, hanky panky in academia, I think UNF is going to get a whole world full of unwanted press attention. Not the kind of attention you want; not the kind of attention that will do you a lot of good when it comes to attracting the kind of big money, old money, corporate donors that you need to keep an institution like this running smoothly."

I stopped and we all stared at each other for a moment or two. I noticed four or five university security cops huddling a little distance away.

Finally Myers sighed and said, "You really don't care if you win the suit, do you?"

Without giving me a chance to reply, he said, "What do you want? Professor Baker is new and doesn't have the academic protections that come with longevity. We could probably get rid of him. Your wife has more protections, but we could make it – advantageous – for her to seek employment elsewhere."

One of the chief regrets of my life is that I didn't have a camera to catch the expressions on the lovers' faces.

I shook my head.

"I just want to walk away from here and get some medical attention. I don't want you to take any retribution against either one of them."

Myers looked surprised.

"You are a surprising man, Mr. Maitland. Why did you come here and create so much havoc tonight if you didn't want revenge?"

I looked at Debbie. Surprise and an emotion I couldn't place played across her face. Doug just looked like his whole world had fallen apart around him. I had my doubts about his long term future with UNF regardless of what I said.

"My marriage is over. I know that. My wife isn't in love with me anymore. That hurts, but it happens every day. I don't want to destroy her. We have two children and I want her to keep her job for their sake.

"No, I came here tonight because I just wanted my wife to know I'm not a complete idiot, that she couldn't walk out dressed for a hot date and feed me a line of crap about going to a boring academic meeting that spouses weren't invited to.

"As to Professor Baker....I wanted – well, I don't blame Baker that much. He's an asshole for playing with a married woman, but I would go after my wife if I hadn't been married to her already. She's a beautiful woman. So I didn't want to ruin his life. I just wanted a little payback for stealing my wife."

He took a last look at me, said, "You're an interesting man, Mr. Maitland, please don't come back here again," and walked away.

The little crowd dispersed and Debbie started to walk away with Doug Baker, but stopped and came back to me. She had blood on her dress and wrap and the fire in her eyes had burned down to a wary sadness.

"Thank you, I guess, Bill. I've got a job, but I don't know how much of a career I've got left. All this crap, and for what? All of this is in your mind. I'm not having an affair, and despite what you saw, Doug is just a friend.

She took a deep breath, then caught my gaze in hers and said, "Don't come back to the house tonight, or any night, Bill. I'm going to get a protective order keeping you away from me and the kids. You've shown that you're a dangerous man prone to violence and I question your mental stability.

"I think we need a formal separation, for a while anyway. I don't know what will happen to our marriage, but we need some space and time before....we do something permanent. You can make arrangements with the Sheriff's Office to come by and pick up anything you need."

And with that, she went off with Doug and I went back to the River.

##########

A week had gone by and I hadn't heard from Debbie or the kids. Of course, I hadn't tried to call them, but they hadn't called me. So we were even. I had made a temporary home at the River condo, but I knew I'd have to look for more permanent digs.

It was near noon Friday and the case of the sailor who had shaken his daughter to death was drawing to a close. We'd probably have a verdict in time to let the Presiding judge, Herman Herring, get out in time to catch a new play opening at the Times-Union Theater for the Performing Arts.

A younger SA, Billy Parker, had made the first close and the defense attorney Bob Becker had made his passionate defense final argument. We were on break until we got our last shot at the jury.

I grabbed a sub I'd ordered from the sandwich shop downstairs in the courthouse during the break and tried to make a tactical decision. Parker had done a good job in the initial closing or final argument. He'd summed up the case and the evidence against the young sailor, Van Horn, clearly enough that the jury had a good sense of the case against him.

Because Becker, the hot shot from New York, had put Van Horn on the stand, we had one last bite of the apple. I could let Parker take the final argument, but I was thinking of grabbing this one for myself. I felt like cutting somebody's balls off in court...I needed something to cheer me up.

Cheryl stuck her head in my office and said quietly, "She's on the phone, Bill."

"Great timing. Okay."

I picked up the phone and punched in her call.

"Hi Debbie."

"Hello, Bill."

"To what do I owe this honor? You got another court order directed at me?"

"No, Bill. Remember, we talked about a separation until we could get things...straight between us."

"I remember."

"I'm filing for a divorce this afternoon."

"hmmm...well, thanks for the heads up."

"Bill....I don't see any way out. I haven't been happy in a long, long time...and if you're honest, once things settle down, I don't even think you'll miss me that much. You'll still have your job and your cases. That's what your life is all about, what it has been all about for so long."

"Very perceptive. Good to know you're thinking about me. How is Doug, by the way? Did he need surgery on his nose?"

"....No, Bill, he didn't. No thanks to you. And I know you're thinking it, because you have been ever since you went crazy, but I'm not doing this for Doug. I'm doing it for me. I just don't love you anymore, Bill. Not like that. I'm sorry."

"That was all you needed to say, Debbie. I'll get an attorney and I'll have my guy call your guy. Have a good life."

I hung up on her.

I sat there and tried to figure out what I was feeling. At least I wasn't vomiting. It was all so anticlimactic. Almost 20 years of my life drawn to a close with a single one minute conversation. It should have been raining under overcast black skies. But that was bullshit. It was just another day.

I buzzed Cheryl.

When she came in I told her, "Call Parker. I'm taking the close. Van Horn's got a date with the death chamber."

I grabbed a few bites of the sub but again I just wasn't that hungry. I threw the remainder in the trash, got up and grabbed my briefcase and headed for the door. Before I got there Cheryl was standing in front of me.

She just pointed to my face. I didn't understand.

"What? Do I have something in between my teeth?"

She held a makeup compact up to me and flipped it open to the mirror. I saw the tears rolling down my cheeks. I took out a handkerchief and wiped my face, eyes and then my nose.

"Make a note of the date and time, Cheryl. Those are the last tears I'll shed for that miserable bitch."

I headed for the elevator and I almost thought I could smile. For the first time, I felt sorry for that son-of-a-bitch Van Horn. He was going to take his last breaths strapped down to a hospital gurney in Raiford watching the lethal chemicals mix before entering his body. And at least a small part of the blame, or credit, for what awaited him was due to my loving, cheating, almost-ex-wife.

As the elevator doors closed behind me, I stepped into my new life.

END OF CHAPTER ONE

There's obviously going to be a Chapter Two and Possibly Three. I know some people don't like the longer stories, but that's the way this one played out.