Five years ago, Harper and Jeremy got married after being swept up in a whirlwind romance. As the years passed, the excitement wore off and now they are into the years of their marriage that take a lot of work. However they are both struggling to co...
The next several weeks passed smoothly. Along with school starting back up, I met with my attorney several times. This afternoon, we were meeting with Jeremy and his attorney to try and settle the divorce outside of court. I really tried to make this whole process easier, and I'm really hoping that Jeremy will accept what I offer.
We weren't appearing before the judge, so we didn't have to be too dressed up. Pulling on a pair of jeans, I paired it with a nicer jacket and a pair of boots.
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Collecting all of my papers and my purse, I got into my Tahoe and made my way downtown. Parking outside the courthouse, I made my way inside and found my attorney waiting for me. He was an older man with mostly gray hair, and a bit of a tummy. Although he was older, John Russo was well known as an aggressive attorney willing to do anything for his clients.
"Are you ready for this?" He asked as I approached him.
Looking at the large wooden door to Conference Room B, I sighed, "Yeah."
Opening the door for me, we both walked inside and sat at the large table across from Jeremy and his attorney. I looked at Jeremy as I sat down, but he kept his head and eyes down. I could tell he was nervous. It wasn't something I often saw with him, which made it even more prevalent when it happened.
Our attorney's discussed a few things on our behalf for the first part of the meeting. Eventually , Jeremy's attorney pulled out a stack of papers.
"This is a breakdown of all of the belongings and assets between Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, and an even split that we are hoping you and your client will agree to." Jeremy's attorney said sliding the papers across the table to us.
I didn't even look at the papers as Mr. Russo flipped through it. When he was done, he flipped back to the front page and cleared his throat to speak.
"I don't agree." I said before he was able to speak.
Jeremy finally lifted his head and looked over at his attorney.
"What Mrs. Lewis means, is that we already have a counter offer." Mr. Russo said.
"We aren't inter..." Jeremy's attorney started to say.
"It's in the favor of Mr. Lewis." Mr. Russo interrupted.
Jeremy's eyes snapped over to me in surprise. I gave him a sympathetic look as he still looked nervous and scared. He thought I was going to try and gut him of everything, which I of course would never do.
"I just want my money. You can keep everything else." I said softly.
He just looked at me in shock as his attorney reviewed our offer.
"Mrs. Lewis is also prepared to pay half of Mr. Lewis' attorney fees, due to the events that ultimately ended the marriage." Mr. Russo said.
Both Jeremy and his attorney were speechless. When his attorney slid the offer to him with a pen, Jeremy signed it.
"We will submit everything to the judge to be finalized." Mr. Russo said as we all stood up and walked out of the conference room.
Walking out to the main lobby, Mr. Russo congratulated me before heading towards the judges chambers to drop the paperwork off with his assistant.
Jeremy was still talking to his attorney outside of the conference room, so I decided to wait in the lobby for him. A few minutes later, I met him at the front doors and walked outside with him.
"I wasn't expecting that." he said quietly.
"My intent was never to hurt you, Jeremy. There is no reason I need half of everything either. If you're keeping the house, you need furniture for it. I just want my money." I said.
He was quiet for a minute, "I know I said this a thousand times and never actually fixed anything, but I really am sorry."
"I know." I said. "I think the love was there between us at a time. We just never loved each other at the right times."
"Are..." Jeremy said hesitating, "Are you doing ok?"
I smiled as I nodded, "Yeah, I am. School just started back up so I've been busy with lesson plans." I said knowing better than to mention Michael and hurt him more.
"Well, I'll let you get back to your day." He said as he slowly started to turn.
"Jeremy." I said, stepping closer to him.
"Hmmm?"
"Can I give you a hug?" I asked.
He hesitated again before nodding slowly. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I hugged him tightly. He eventually wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me back.
"Thank you for all the good years. I know it got rough, and that we weren't right for each other, but you will find someone who is perfect for you." I whispered to him.
We stood on the front steps of the courthouse just hugging each other for several minutes. Eventually, we said goodbye and officially went our separate ways.
Driving home, I knew I would get there after Michael. It was such a crazy emotional day, I was just ready to get into comfortable clothes and relax the rest of the evening.
Walking into the house, I went into the bedroom to change. I heard the shower running as I changed in the closet. Walking out to the living room, I found a movie for us to watch.
"Well... how did it go?" I heard Michael ask as he came into the living room and sat with me on the couch.
"Surprisingly well." I said, nodding.
"So everything is final?"
"As soon as the judge signs off on it. So probably Monday, Mr. Russo said."
Looking at the T.V., Michael smiled, "I'm guessing we're having a lazy Friday night?"
"Yes. And you're cooking." I said, picking up Michael's phone off of the coffee table and handing it to him.
He just laughed as he called and ordered pizza for us. I had a few quick things to finalize with my lesson plans for next week, so I quickly did them while we waited for the pizza.
"What is this?" Michael asked, picking up a paper that laid out the daily schedule I had set.
"It's the class schedule." I said simply.
"It says Miss.Clark's Class..."
"Yeah... I'm not keeping my name as Lewis." I said it was obvious.
The doorbell rang as Michael dropped the paper back on the table.
"Mrs. Collins sounds better than Miss.Clark." he said as he walked away from me to the door.
I turned to look at him just as he opened the door. I was so speechless, I didn't even tease him about Leah, the delivery girl, having a very obvious crush on him. Closing the front door, he put the pizza on the counter and got a couple paper plates for us to eat while we watched the movie. He just smiled at how stunned I was as he passed me and set the plates on the coffee table.
"Are you coming over here?" He asked as he sat down and pressed play.
Setting the papers down that were in my hands I walked over to the couch and sat down. Michael handed me my pizza, and pulled me into his side. Taking a slow bite of my pizza, I smiled as Michael kissed my head, and I felt his thumb rubbing back and forth on my leg.
