Weeds in the Garden of Love (18 page)

He remembered the bad times too. Chrissie’s drinking, the arguments and finally the night she gave him the letter from her lawyer. Craig felt tears running down his cheeks. He wiped them away.
What a sissy you are, Andrews.
He started his car. Then, he laughed softly. Craig could always manage to laugh, especially at himself.

Driving through the old neighborhood, Craig spotted Garth Hodgson’s car parked near a cul-de-sac. Garth was slouched down low in the driver’s seat, so Craig almost didn’t see him. He decided to say hi, made a u-turn and parked. As he stepped out of his car, Garth sped off. Craig waved, but Garth ignored him, turned the corner and was gone. Craig thought it was strange Garth would behave like that.
M
aybe he didn’t recognize me—or maybe he did recognize me and
that’s why he took off.
Wonder what he’s up to?
He would probably see him at the Men’s Group meeting tomorrow night. He was sure Garth would have a logical explanation.

Craig drove off once again. He went past the family restaurant in the strip mall next to the Recreation Center.
Joe and Olivia loved that place.
Boy we had some fun times.
Craig hadn’t thought about them lately. He missed Joe and Olivia. They had both added so much to his life.

Craig’s thoughts turned to Robbie and Heather. He missed them every day. He regretted dragging them through this divorce. He hoped they understood he had no other choice. He was determined to see them as often as he could and to fill their world with only good times. He vowed he would never allow any harm to come to his children.

It was a promise that would be broken.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Betrayal

Even though Eric Millard was not trained in physical surveillance, he managed to keep an eye on the vehicle he was following. It sped through a yellow light. Eric had no choice; he had to stop. Heavy traffic crossing in front of him obscured his view. He tried to keep the vehicle in sight but lost it.

“
C’mon light, change. C’mon … c’mon.” The light changed, and Eric sped off hoping to catch up. The vehicle was nowhere to be seen.
Damn,
w
here is she?
He drove along looking up and down each side street he passed.
S
he couldn’t have gotten far.

Then, Eric spotted her. It was Vikki. She had parked her car and was walking away from him. He could spot his ex-wife’s wiggle a mile away. He used to call it: “a backfield in motion.”
Where’s she going
? He pulled over and parked. Vikki embraced a man waiting in front of a restaurant.

Eric zoomed in with his telephoto lens and snapped the first of several pictures. “Gotcha,” Eric whispered. “Now, I have to find out who this joker is. If you were having a fling with him before we broke up, little Miss Vikki—I really gotcha.”

* * *

Breakfast was ready, and Chrissie called upstairs to Robbie and Heather. A moment later, they rushed into the kitchen.

“
Hurry up and eat, you two. Your father is coming to pick you up, and you should be ready to go.”

Robbie was excited. “We’re ready, Mom. What time will Dad be here?”

“
Soon. So hurry up and eat.”

Robbie and Heather could hardly wait to see their dad. He hadn’t shown up last weekend. Their mom said he was probably busy or had forgotten. They were disappointed when their Dad didn’t show up. He always had fun things planned, and they both loved the playground near his apartment building.

Some Saturdays, their mom took them out early in the morning for pancakes. On several of those mornings, Robbie saw his dad drive past them towards their house. He tried to tell his Mom, but she either ignored him or said it wasn’t his father’s weekend to visit them. Robbie knew something wasn’t right, but he didn’t know what. Right now all that mattered was—his dad was coming today.

* * *

Craig was late. He had spent too much time trying to decide what to wear. It was understandable. This date with Lisa could possibly be his first sleepover since his divorce. She worked in the office at Victoria Crossing. She was young, cute and good company. Over the past while, Craig had taken her out a few times for dinner and a movie. This date was Lisa’s idea. She invited him to spend the weekend at her parent’s home in the country. Craig accepted. He needed a change of scenery, and the possibly of sex was exciting. Craig threw a weekender bag into the trunk of his car.
Been a while.
H
ope I remember how to do it. Ha! You sure you’re ready for this, Andrews? Hope her parents are home. No, wait a minute. I hope they aren’t. Oh, man—I don’t know what I hope.

* * *

Craig had not seen Robbie and Heather for a while. Numerous times lately he arrived at the house to pick them up and no one was home. One Saturday, he was a few blocks from the house when he saw Chrissie and the kids driving in the opposite direction. The next weekend he was on his way to pick them up. He planned to arrive at least a half-hour early. They drove past him, once again. It was then Craig realized Chrissie was playing games.

He remembered Dr. Dorothy’s warning about access games hurting children. Craig was not about to let that happen. He called Mark Floyd. Mark was already well aware of the problem. He had received a letter from Chrissie’s lawyer.

“
Chrissie claims your visits are erratic, Craig.”

Craig was dumbfounded. “What? She deliberately takes the kids out early—way before the pick-up time we agreed on. How is that my fault?”

“
Let me finish. Chrissie wants a schedule so she knows the days you’ll be picking up the kids. She says the inconsistency of your visits is upsetting the children.”

Craig was angry. “It’s her vendetta against me that’s upsetting the children!”

“
Regardless, our best option is to comply with her request. A visitation schedule is the easiest way to settle this.”

“
Guess she wins another one, huh?”

“
Nobody wins in a divorce,” Mark said.

He knew Mark was right, but Craig’s anger was well founded. He would never neglect his own children. He was always on time to pick up them up. She was the one playing stupid games and deliberately using the children to make his life miserable.

Craig could not believe Chrissie would actually make her own children unhappy in order to make him appear irresponsible.

Craig knew this was a fight he couldn’t win. Robbie and Heather lived with Chrissie. She was filling their heads with every lie she could conjure up, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Craig told Mark he would provide a visitation schedule.

* * *

Craig was in good spirits on his way to pick up Lisa. He was looking forward to this. He decided to put his on-going access battle on hold so he could enjoy the weekend. Besides, Chrissie had been notified he would be out of town. The kids wouldn’t be expecting him. He would try not to think about it for a few days. Craig couldn’t remember when the divorce hadn’t been on his mind. Felt like a lifetime ago.

* * *

Eric parked at his apartment building and walked over to Malarkey’s—a popular corner bar frequented by many people from his neighborhood.

The photographs were in an envelope in his jacket. He was determined to identify the guy with Vikki outside that restaurant. Not only was he curious but, more importantly, he needed to retaliate. Vikki had named Chrissie Andrews as a co-respondent in their upcoming divorce. Eric was furious. He still loved Chrissie and didn’t want her name dragged through the mud. He felt no remorse for cheating. He was relieved Vikki hadn’t found out about the flings he had with all those other women.

In her affidavit filed for their divorce proceedings, Vikki maintained she had been absolutely faithful to Eric throughout their marriage. He needed to find out if she was lying. He didn’t care how it affected the divorce. Eric simply wanted to see the look on her face when he presented the evidence.

Malarkey’s was nearly empty when he walked in. As usual, Eric sat at the bar. On a barstool, you always had someone to talk to. The bartender Danny was pouring a pint of dark draft. Eric hoped it was his.

“
How goes the battle?” Danny set the beer down in front of Eric. “You look like you need this.”

“
Thanks. Got a lot on my mind. You know how it is.”

Danny smiled. “Women. Can’t live with ‘em. Can’t live without ‘em.”

“
I’ll drink to that.” Eric raised his glass in a salute, but Danny was already headed to the other end of the bar.

Eric opened the envelope containing the photos. He spread the pictures on the bar. Several of the shots were of Vikki and the guy hugging and kissing. In the last one, he was opening the restaurant door for her. Danny came over, and Eric turned the photos around so he could see them.

“
My ex and some guy,” Eric said. “Ever seen him before?”

Danny perused the photos. “Sure have. That’s Jim Roberts, a big time contractor. He used to come in here a lot. He’s the one who developed Botsford Downs, and now he’s got a new one … umm … Victoria something.”

“
Victoria Crossing.”

“
That’s it. Boy, Roberts had better hope his wife never sees these. If she finds out she’s been traded in for a newer model, she’ll have his balls for bookends. She’s a lawyer at some big firm downtown. I hear she’s one tough cookie.”

Eric sipped his beer. He would need more copies of these pictures.
Well, Miss
V, accuse me of messing around, huh?
Eric leafed through the photographs.
This’ll make us even.

* * *

Robbie and Heather were excited as they stood at the living room window waiting for their father. They were pressing their faces against the glass, trying to be the first one to yell “dad”. Each time they realized it wasn’t him; they both would groan and then wait silently until the next car appeared.

After a half-hour of this, Chrissie walked into the living room. “Doesn’t look like he’s coming, kids.” She put her arms around their shoulders. “I can’t believe that jerk didn’t show up again.”

“
Don’t say that, Mom!” Robbie screamed. “He’s coming! You’ll see! He’ll be here!”

“
He’s not coming, Robbie. I keep telling you. Your father doesn’t care about you any more.”

“
He does care! He does!” Robbie ran upstairs and slammed his bedroom door.

Heather pulled away from her mother and stood at the window looking out at the empty driveway. She had tears streaming down her cheeks. Chrissie moved closer and tried to put her arm around her once again. Heather dodged her and ran upstairs.

Chrissie stood for a moment before walking back into the kitchen. She poured herself another stiff drink.

* * *

Craig and Lisa drove through the countryside, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.
She’s so happy,
he thought,
but she’s still young. She hasn’t experienced the ugly side of life. Hope she never does.

Craig felt good about accepting this weekend invitation. Jim Roberts didn’t hesitate when Craig asked for the weekend off. Jim winked and mentioned Lisa had the weekend off as well. Craig was sure Jim had connected the dots and realized he and Lisa would be together.
Jim’s a cool guy,
Craig thought, s
o nice of him to cover my shifts this weekend. But
then again,
he owes me. I’ve covered for him, many times.

Craig wondered why Jim’s wife hadn’t caught him or even suspected he was messing around
.
Then he wondered if anyone was faithful anymore. It sure
didn’t seem like it.

Lisa looked at him and smiled. “You’re a million miles away. Missing your kids this weekend?”

Craig was touched. “Yeah, but I always miss them. They’ll be okay. I scheduled this weekend off, so they won’t be expecting me. I’ll make it up to them.”

“
You’re a good dad, Craig. By the way, when do I get to meet them?” Craig knew this would come up eventually. He didn’t want to hurt Lisa’s feelings, but he wasn’t sure his kids were ready for dad to have a girlfriend.

“
Soon, Lis. But I want to wait until they’re ready. They’re still adjusting to this divorce. Besides, kids are funny when it comes to their parents dating.”

Lisa understood but wanted Craig to know she accepted the fact his package included children. Many people won’t date someone with children. They fail to realize everyone has a past—baggage they drag into every new relationship. Some have more baggage than others. Lisa had her own. One day, she would share her story with Craig. One day, he would be ready to hear it.

* * *

Eric drove to a part of town where he thought no one would recognize him. It was an older area filled with low-income rental properties and people down on their luck.
Never even looked at a property here in “Dogpatch,”
he thought. Eric didn’t want any witnesses. He felt good. Payback always feels good.
Vikki and that Roberts guy deserve this.
Then Eric remembered his own adultery.
Well,
at
least I didn’t break up anyone’s marriage. Well, not that anyone can prove anyway.