Diary of a Recovering Idiot

Chapter 25 - Suspicious

Every once in a while you get a niggling at the back of your head or your gut that tells you something is wrong, and all too often you stupidly ignore it. That is what has been happening to me off and on and when I sat down and really begin to think I realized that I had to be missing something important. The thing is, whatever it was, I seemed not to be figuring it out. With that, I made up my mind to make a note of what was going on next time I got that telling niggling.

It so happened that while I was sitting in my lawyer's office that feeling came over me, and I finally knew what had been trying to get my attention for so long. Something wasn't quite right about my divorce. It was highly probable that the feeling was telling me to make sure I got myself a magnifying glass when it came to the settlement because of what I have been discovering about Walter. I now knew when he suggested that you to walk, say feet don't fail me and run like hellhounds are after you. Taking that into account, I asked the lawyer for a detailed outline of everything that was being proposed because I intended to go over it with a microscope because I knew Walter was going to try to pull a fast one.

Best decision I ever made in my life. Like I said, the man has testicular fortitude but believe me, I just hadn't begun to estimate the level he had the delusion of thinking he possessed. Firstly Walter wanted to trick me when it came to the payments for the car and other items when he, more often than me, was the one who insisted on the purchase or believed it or not, the items were in his name. Did he really think I was so stupid that I wouldn't make sure I verified every last thing when it came to this divorce? The exodus of him from my life resulted in the regeneration of my brain cells, thank you very much.

I made the lawyer show me everything and read it slowly and immediately started giving him notes for the corrections he needed to make. The fact he was supposed to be representing my interest and somehow missed so may of the important little things made me let him know he had better pay attention because right now it was looking like some zombie stole some his brain and was pretending to be him because this was not the work of a top-notch lawyer. His jaw dropped and I pinned him with a look. Then I challenged him to prove to me he was as good as everyone said he was and worth his exorbitant fee because so far I wasn't seeing it.

Results came swiftly on the heels of my comment because suddenly I started getting endless unwanted calls from Walter. My lawyer was starting to work for his money because he had to contact my husband's lawyer and started negotiation to amend the settlement. I had no intention to be quarreling with Walter so the phone could ring off the hook for all I cared because unless it was about the children I didn't want to know. Since they are with me at the moment the man had nothing to say I wanted to hear. As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to our divorce, I refused to talk to Walter. If I meet him anywhere and he started talking about it, I turned around and walk away.

I remember distinctly the first time he started ranting at me about what my lawyer told his lawyer and I just looked at him like he was speaking in a foreign language. When I simply turned and walked away I swear I could hear the rage exploding out of his ears. Well rage on Walter my dear, it's such a lovely thing to see you losing your cool when not so long ago it was me. Turn about is such an amazing thing when you don't have to do a single thing for it to fall into place. Watch out Walter it is coming for you.

The lawyer contacted me later that week and informed me it was becoming quite a battle with Walter's lawyer and from the pushback he was getting if a settlement wasn't reached soon we would most likely be heading to court. Fine by me. If the only way to get things done was to take this situation to court then so be it. A determination had settled over me when it came to this divorce and I refused to be cheated. I'm not going to be greedy like a lot of other women who want to reduce their ex to living a life of pauperdom. I just want my little bit. Fair exchange is not robbery and that is all I'm after...a fair exchange.

What's so hard about giving me back full ownership of the house and letting me pay him out. Then there is the car that I'm driving that is still in his name, which he is stalling about having it transferred into my name. Well, considering I have been paying out the most money, I think my request is only reasonable. If by the next few weeks there has been no progress with the car issue, I will stop making payments on it and get one of my own. There is no way I'm allowing him to have the power to just get rid of a car that I have poured all my money into. You don't fight your way forward to get something then simply sit there and let someone strip it from you without trying to save it. Progress is a fight, and believe me, I have learnt there is a time for everything and now is my time not to back down.

From what my lawyer says, this is going to be a slow progress and I'm breathing deep in a bid to focus my patience chakra. It's a fight but I'm working on it. I'll give the whole process some more time, but I don't intend to let it take over my life. I will move on to other things with the assurance that the lawyer knows what needs to be done and will be on it from time to time because I don't plan to wait ten years to get this over with.

Yes, I said it, ten years. That is just one of the examples of the lengths of time of how long it can take to get a divorce sorted out. Shocking I know but when two people can't agree and one's intention is to trick the other, it ends up being a tooth and nail fight to decide the winner. Well, I intend to win, bet on it.