Chapter Six #4
Her days were filled with all the things a mother does for a son going off to college.
She made lists, and bought items she would never have bought for herself, but that she knew he would need and appreciate, like a sandwich maker and a small coffeepot.
She and Carla shopped together because Maureen would be going two and a half weeks after J.
J. They bought sheets, pillowcases, towels, washcloths, and down comforters.
Margo’s generous graduation gift to her only grandson had allowed him to buy a nice laptop, and the rooms in State’s dorms all had Internet access cable connections.
Oh, brave new world, Nora thought, remembering how up-to-date she had been in her freshman year with a small electric typewriter.
And as the day came closer for J. J.’s departure, Nora began to pack her son’s possessions, glad she was alone and could sniffle over the very worn Clifford the Big Red Dog stuffed toy that J. J. had always loved.
Those were the good days. There were bad days too, like the day she and her attorneys met with Jeff and his attorneys.
Her husband, certain of victory, was pompous and unyielding.
Nora was certain he had expected her to weep and go to pieces.
Instead she had attacked him verbally and told him he would get their house over her dead body.
She accused him of stealing the kids’ college funds, and when Raoul Kramer had protested, Nora had attacked him too.
“If those accounts didn’t belong to the children, why did he show them to the kids every goddamned Christmas morning and tell them that those accounts were their college funds!
Jill went through her undergrad studies in three years on the interest from her account.
Do you know what your client did, Mr. Kramer?
He fraudulently stole those accounts last spring.
He went to the kids and had them sign papers telling them it was for tax purposes.
What he obviously did was get them to sign paperwork taking their names off those accounts so he could have the money to spend elsewhere.
He refused to pay our son’s freshman year at State.
J. J. has a sports scholarship, but it was our neighbors who gave him the money for his dorm room and meal plan! ”
“Jill’s tuition at Duke Law is paid,” Jeff put in.
“For this year only, because you had to pay it early,” Nora snapped.
“You’ve told her you won’t pay the other two years, you miserable bastard!
You have disenfranchised your own children so you can marry a girl young enough to be your daughter.
I don’t care that you want to divorce me, and that hurts, doesn’t it, Jeff?
I’m supposed to be weeping and begging, but I’m not, and I never will.
I don’t want a penny from you, but the house is mine.
If you attempt to take it from me, so you and your trophy wife can begin anew debt free, I will find some way to make you sorry, you can be certain of that. ” She glared hard at him.
“What the hell has come over you, Nora?” he demanded. “You’ve changed.”
“Gee, have I?” she said sarcastically. “You have been screwing everything that moved but me for years. Now you want a divorce. You don’t want to meet your parental obligations. You want to put me out on the street, and make me homeless, and I’m not supposed to stand up to you? Get real!”
“You can get a job,” he snapped. “Other women do.”
“I have a degree in English literature, Jeff. No teaching credits. No work experience. I don’t know one end of a computer from another.
What the hell am I supposed to do to support myself?
I need to take some classes to get me up to speed, and I’m not going to do it living in a homeless shelter.
Besides, Egret Pointe doesn’t have a homeless shelter. ”
Raoul Kramer sighed, and said, “I think I need to take my client back to town and talk to him again. Let’s meet again in ten days?” He stood up.
“Look, Heidi and I have been accepted by the coop board, Kramer. We need to close on our apartment,” Jeff told his attorney.
“I’ll get you a bridge loan,” Kramer said in a hard, tight voice. “This matter is not going to be settled as quickly as I anticipated.”
“You said it would be a matter of days.” Jeff’s voice was strident. “You said it was a no-brainer. Everything was mine. She didn’t have a leg to stand on, damnit!” His face was red, and Nora noticed in that moment how much he’d aged.
“That was before I knew her father gave you half of the down payment for your house, Jeff. That was before I knew those accounts were in your kids’ names, and you conned them out of them.
She’s right. It’s fraud. Now, I’m certain Mrs. Buckley doesn’t wish to encourage your son and daughter to press charges.
I’m certain if we reconsider your position, we can come to an agreement that will be satisfactory to us all.
Let’s go.” He turned to Rick. “I’ll have Bev call your girl to set up another meeting.
” He closed his black Italian leather briefcase with a snap, and turned toward the door.
“You’ve turned into a real bitch,” Jeff snarled at Nora.
“Only two good things came out of our marriage, Jeff, J. J. and Jill,” Nora told him. “I feel sorry for Heidi. She’ll learn soon enough what a jerk you really are.”
Jeff Buckley stormed past his attorney and stalked out of the room. Raoul Kramer followed at a discreet pace.
“I’m glad I’m not riding back to the city with him,” Rick said with a grin.
“Well, I think that went rather well, considering. I think we can get you a half interest in the house, and some alimony until you’re able to get a job that will support you.
I had already told Kramer about the accounts, but I don’t think he gave it much credence until you blew your top at Jeff, Nora. ”
“This isn’t fair,” Nora muttered.
“No, it isn’t, but the law isn’t always about what’s right, or what’s fair. It’s about the law,” Rick told her.