Chapter Four #3
“He’s paid Jill’s first year at Duke Law, but says that’s it. She’ll have to manage to get student loans for her other two years. He won’t pay for J. J.’s college. He says his son is eighteen now, and he’s not legally responsible.”
“And?” Nora’s face was emotionless.
“No alimony,” Rick finished.
“What am I supposed to do, Rick?” Nora asked quietly.
“He says you’ve got a college degree, so get a job,” Rick told her.
“What about the eight thousand dollars my dad gave him to buy the house? He told my father he’d put the house in my name.”
“Jeff’s lawyer says there is no proof of that, and that the money was a gift to Jeff.
Unless your mother can help us prove otherwise, we’re stuck.
But listen, Nora, this is just the opening gambit in this game.
Now we negotiate to try and get you and the kids better terms. Will your mother buy the car for you? ”
“It’s too much money right now,” Nora said. “She’s already given me ten thousand to tide me over. And she’s sending you a check. Did you speak to her?”
Rick nodded. “Yeah. And you’re right. She’s a cool lady.”
“We can turn J. J.’s car into the family car. He won’t be happy, but I told him he couldn’t take it to State in his freshman year anyway. But how much is the insurance going to cost me?”
“We can handle that for you,” Rick said. “We’ll put J. J.’s car in your name ‘cause it will give us a better rate. Jill is working for her pocket money, so she’ll be okay. J. J. got a summer job yet?”
“At Handlemann’s Nursery,” Nora said. “He’s already working weekends, but it’s too late to get him any student aid for this year.
How could Jeff do this to his own son? And because he wants to buy a co-op for his girlfriend!
Rick, what am I going to do about J. J.’s college?
The scholarship covers tuition, but he’s got room and board. ”
“We’ll work that one out,” Rick told her.
“State is cheap for in-state kids. The big problem is the house. We can’t let him sell it out from under you, Nora.
I’m going to go into court tomorrow and get a restraining order.
His lawyer can get it lifted, but we can tie them up long enough to get through the summer.
And at that point we will have come up with something, or maybe he will be more reasonable. ”
“Don’t bank on it,” Nora said grimly. “When Jeff wants something badly enough, he will move heaven and hell to get it. You don’t know what he’s like.”
“Well,” Rick said, “we’ll just have to move heaven and hell to keep him at bay.”
Nora gave a small laugh. “I never realized you were a knight in shining armor, Rick,” she said.
“I’m second-string, honey, and I’m up against the first string, but I’m not going to let Jeff leave you homeless and penniless, Nora.” He stood up. “Thanks for lunch,” he said.
“You only ate half your sandwich,” she admonished him.
“I’m not hungry, except for a victory over Jeff Buckley,” Rick told her, and then he was gone out her kitchen door.
The telephone rang. It was her daughter. “Ma, you okay with all of this?” Jill asked. “It must have been one heck of a shock.”
“It’s bad, baby, but Rick is going to do his best,” Nora said.
“I wish we had the best to handle this,” Jill said. “This kind of thing is really over poor Uncle Rick’s head.”
“He’s all I can afford,” Nora answered, “or rather, Grandma can afford. She sent him a retainer. Your tuition has been paid at Duke for the coming year, but you’ll have to get student aid for the other two years.
Daddy says he won’t pay. And I don’t know where we’re going to get the money for J. J.”
“He’s not paying for J. J.? Ma, that is so unfair! Why not?”
“I think he’s taken your college funds for the co-op he wants to buy. He’s trying to sell the house out from under us too,” Nora told her daughter.
Jill shrieked, “Ma! This is terrible. It’s like he’s trying to punish you, but you didn’t do anything. Are you sure I shouldn’t come home this summer?”
“You’ve got another course to complete if you’re going to Duke this fall, Jill.
You were accepted on the proviso you finished.
I don’t want you deferring law school. There is nothing you can do to help, and we don’t want to give your father an excuse to not pay that first year.
Rick says this hardball is just a negotiating tactic. ”
“Ma, this is really gross of Daddy,” Jill said.
“There is more, sweetie. Your car insurance is going to be changed, but don’t worry,” Nora said. “But I did want you to know when you get the paperwork. Okay?”
“Why is the car insurance changing?” Jill demanded.
“Because I’m going to be paying for it,” Nora told her. “Now, Jill, I don’t want to discuss it any further.”
“You aren’t telling me everything, Ma,” Jill Buckley said.
“Jill, the divorce between Daddy and me isn’t your problem. It’s my problem, and I’m going to solve it. Your brother understands that, and is studying his brains out for his finals. I want you to understand it, and finish up so you’re ready for law school in the fall. Now, do we have a deal?”
“Have you met her?” Jill asked.
“Who?” Nora was puzzled.
“Daddy’s little bimbo,” Jill replied.
“No, I haven’t, and to be honest I don’t know anything about her. I assume she works with your father in some capacity,” Nora said.
“I hate her!” Jill said. “I never even want to meet her! I don’t have to, do I?”
“You are of age, Jill. That decision is yours, but you might want to meet her at least once for Daddy’s sake. If you don’t, he’ll say I’m turning you against him. I really don’t need that right now.”
“I can’t believe how good you’re being about this,” Jill remarked. “What are you going to do now? I mean after the divorce. Both J. J. and I will be away. You’ll be all alone. I hate to even think of it.”
“Well, don’t, then, honey,” Nora said. “I’m going to learn how to operate a computer, and then I’m going to check over at the community college to see if they have a course or a seminar about getting into the work force for the first time for old broads.”
“Ma! You are not an old broad,” Jill said, but she was laughing. “Does this mean Daddy isn’t paying you alimony? I can’t believe it!”
“Jill, we haven’t settled anything yet, but I don’t want to take money from your father any longer than I have to take it.
I want to be useful in another capacity from the one in which I have been.
I married your father right out of college.
I’m a dinosaur in this day and age. A woman who never worked.
It’s past time, and I’m kind of excited thinking about it. ”
“And you might meet another man,” Jill said slyly.
“I don’t think so,” Nora replied.
“Oh, Ma, do you still love Daddy that much?” Jill asked.
“I’m afraid I don’t love your father at all, honey,” Nora responded.
“I probably haven’t for some time. I just didn’t realize it.
I went about doing the same things year after year.
I wasn’t unhappy, but neither was I happy.
I want an opportunity to live on my own now, but I’ll always be here for you and J. J. to come home to, Jill.”
“I gotta go now, Ma,” Jill said. “I’ve got a class. I love you!”
“And I love you, Jill. I’ll see you for your brother’s graduation, okay?”
“Yeah. Bye, Ma!”
“Bye, sweetie!” And the phone clicked off.
Nora set it down. She looked out the kitchen windows into her backyard.
The pool was open. The bright scarlet rhododendrons were in full bloom, as were the pink azaleas.
The lawn was a deep green, but it needed mowing.
She’d have J. J. do it before the weekend.
The lawn always grew so quickly in the spring.
And then suddenly Nora began to consider if this was the last spring she would sit here and look out at her backyard.
She had designed the layout of the garden herself.
Worked with Mr. Handlemann to oversee the plantings all those years ago.
It was so perfect, and she wasn’t ready yet to give this all up to strangers.
Whatever happens, she thought grimly, I am going to keep this house.
Jeff is not going to sell it so he can buy his damned co-op for some other woman!
Let him take a mortgage. If he wants to play, he’s got to pay.
I deserve my home. All he did was pay a mortgage.
He never told me, but his mother did. He didn’t save the money for the down payment.
His father gave him the ten percent, and my father gave him the other ten percent.
I made this house what it is. It’s mine!
I won’t let him take it from me! And then she began to cry.
She wept herself into a small headache before her tears finally subsided.
Nora got up and, walking into the powder room, grabbed a handful of tissues and blew her nose.
Then she washed her face. J. J. would be home from school soon, and she didn’t want him to catch her crying.