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Jack and Diane Ch. 01

By: torchthebitch



I discovered my wife's infidelity the way most men do... she told me she was divorcing me. I will admit it came as a bit of a surprise as I had thought we were the ideal couple. Our love life seemed normal enough and Diane didn't seem to be out of the house any more than I would expect. I was pretty busy at work, but I don't think you could describe me as inattentive at home. Anyway, she presented me with her decision, two suitcases of my clothes, the information that I had reservations at the nearest Moto-Lodge for the next two nights, and that her boyfriend was moving in that night, so I had better skedaddle. A fine start to my weekend.

Now I'm quite sure there are those amongst you who will say that I should have dug-in, turfed her out on her arse, and beaten the crap out of lover-boy, but you have to remember that at this stage I was completely off balance. I loaded my cases into the car and left in a complete daze. I probably shouldn't have been driving but I didn't hit anything, or kill anyone, en route to the hotel. 

I booked in and went to my room. It was quite nice, I thought. A three quarter bed and a large double, tea and coffee, small kettle, TV, a small settee, and en-suite bathroom with shower over. The walls were an acceptable shade of beige with the colour being injected by the bedding, curtains and soft furnishings. There were the usual pieces of what I call "furniture" art on the wall. The perfect, bland, setting that will not annoy anyone except the most rabid design freaks. I was quite happy with the room. It was pleasant and functional and did nothing to increase my distress.

Now, some would have cried, some would have ranted and raged, some would have rolled onto the bed and lain in stunned silence. I undressed. I took a nice hot shower. I dressed in clean clothes. I left the room, drove to a local inn and had a very passable meal. 

I found a local shop and selected some bottled water, (I wasn't going to fill the kettle from the tap in the bathroom, very few hotels pipe fresh water direct to the rooms and you never know what has fallen into the water tanks). I looked out at the local off -- licence across the road and decided to buy some coke and a carton of orange juice as well. Then I crossed the road and bought a bottle of rum. I would have preferred Guyanan but settled for the God-knows-whose brand as it was the only dark rum they had. I returned to my room and administered my chosen sleeping draught. 

After consuming the best part of a bottle of cheap rum, I awoke with a mouth that would kill at a thousand paces, a head that couldn't decide whether it was sore or still drunk, and a stomach that was undecided about its preferred location. I drank half the carton of orange juice as I changed into some sports gear and running shoes. The juice doesn't really help with the hangover but it makes your vomit taste nice. I went for a long run. Mind you, in the state I was in, anything further than my own length, constituted a long run. 

I found the tow-path and ran along the canal. After about a mile my stomach decided it wanted out. Anywhere else it would have been pavement pizza, but here I was able to project about a quarter of the way across the canal. It was very wide at this point, honestly! That set the tone for the next mile. I was glad of the orange juice. I turned at the lock gates and returned to the hotel feeling much fresher. 

Showered, freshly dressed, and having made good use of my toothpaste and the courtesy mouthwash, I made my way to the dining room. The breakfast was surprisingly comprehensive for a motorway chain hotel. There was fresh grapefruit, fruit juice, cereal, small breads, toast, full English breakfast and copious amounts of tea or coffee. I must admit, I pigged-out. What's more, after the run, everything stayed down.

Replete, I returned to my room. I needed to sort out what I was going to do. Firstly I phoned my solicitor. I know it was Saturday, but since he was also one of my best mates I knew his phone number.

"David, it's Jack."

"Hi Jack," David always greeted me that way, a standing joke. "I know what this call is about and I'm really sorry, but I can't represent you. Diane came to me to file. I told her I couldn't handle the case because of conflict of interest, so I called in my partner and he's dealing with her."

"Shit..."

David cut in before I could say anything more. "Fret not, my dear boy, I wouldn't represent you anyway, divorce law is not our greatest strength. Phone Milla, she is expecting your call."

"Eh, I don't think I have her number here."

"Are you using your mobile?"

"Oh, yeah, of course. I'm not firing on all cylinders, yet."

"Quelle surprise. Do exactly everything Milla tells you and don't hold anything back from her. She is very good but only as good as the information you give her. Give her everything you've got and she'll really cover your arse. I'll see you at the clubhouse in the morning. But don't talk to me about the divorce, it'll only fuck up your case since we're representing Diane."

"Thanks, David. I'm..."

"Jack, get your fucking arse into gear and phone her now! We'll talk later and I'll tell you what we can and cannot discuss. I'll see you in soon. T.T.F.N."

"Bye."

I took David's advice and phoned Camilla, or Milla, as we knew her. 

"Good morning, Jack" 

"Hi, Milla, David tells me you're expecting this call."

"Sadly, yes. When did you find out?"

"Last night."

"Hmmm, she moved pretty quick. She was only in with David yesterday. Where are you?"

"The Moto-Lodge."

"Are you sober... no let me rephrase that. How much did you drink last night?"

"Best part of a bottle of rum."

"Don't drive. I'll pick you up. When can you be ready?"

"I'm ready now."

"I'll believe that when I see it. Forty-five minutes."

"OK, bye."

"Bye."

Milla collected me, drove to her office, and started to sort my future.

"Right, go put the kettle on. I'll take a coffee".

I trotted off to the kitchen and did as I was told. When I returned to her office she had everything ready.

"From what David told me she has started the ball rolling, so she should be paying, but you can rest assured she'll try to plead poverty and claim legal aid. That'll land you with the bills. We'll have to head that one off at the pass. But first things first, can she lay her hands on your money?"

"Well she has her own bank accounts. We have a joint account for housekeeping and the kids. There's a joint credit card on it, but my salary goes into a personal account."

"Savings, pensions, investments, mortgage?"

"Mostly in my name. I'll get a full statement on Monday morning... Shit, most of the records are at home!"

"The joint account is useful. We'll direct the 'maintenance pending suit' into that and you can get statements to see how much she is using. Cancel the credit card."

"The what?"

"You're still liable for your share of the family budget, if we make some payments right from the off it'll sit better with the judge. Especially when we go for custody."

"Why am I paying maintenance when she has moved lover-boy in already?"

"Oh she has, has she? That was a mistake. We can limit the maintenance, but we still pay it. Honestly, it will look a lot better for you. The stupid bitch shouldn't have moved lover-boy, as you call him, in quite that quickly. Alan will not be happy." 

"Alan?"

"David's partner? The solicitor acting for Diane?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm a bit slow on the uptake at the moment."

"Yes, well, no more bad drink for a while. You are going to be as pure as the driven snow at least until this is settled. Now, any other financials I need to know about?" 

"There's no mortgage. The house technically belongs to Mum and Dad, it's a sort of family trust, and we pay rent."

"Excellent, I'll need to talk to your parents. We'll serve her with a notice to quit."

"Hang on a sec, Milla, I can't just throw her and the kids out of the house..."

"Jack, you have to realise she is in the driving seat at the moment. You need to throw her of balance and take charge here. If you don't, she is going to take you to the cleaners."

"But I don't know..."

"...what you want to do, I know. But let's get one thing straight here buster, you do as I say and I'll protect your position, and the kids. She'll get as near fuck-all as I can sort. The notice to quit is exactly that, a notice. We aren't saying get out immediately and we make no mention of the children being put out. We can make a motion for you to have temporary custody of them in the home they are used to, it just makes things awkward for her."

"There' the house on the south coast. It's paid for too," I said.

Camilla was spitting feathers. I knew she could be ruthless but I had never seen her in full battle order. In fact she rarely swore. The number of swear words coming out of her mouth were a measure of just how angry she was. I'd put it at 9.5 on a ten point scale. 

David, Camilla, and I had all grown up together. We had always looked out for each other, and it was quite clear that she considered Diane's actions as much an attack on her as me. 

The rest of the morning was pretty much in the same vein. Milla extracted all the information she needed and put everything in place for her staff to draw up all the papers she needed on Monday morning. Her final business of the morning was explicit enough.

"Go get you gear from that squalid little doss house. You'll stay with Simon and me until we get you back on an even keel. By then I should have you back in the house."

"It's not that bad."

"Don't care. You're not staying there any longer than necessary."

"Well, you're going to have to drive me back to get my gear."

"Ah!"

An hour and a half later I was unpacking in Milla and Simon's.

Jack and Diane Ch. 01



My name is Jack and I am a very bad 40 year old. I have been into older women (50+) for quite some time, but it was my aunt Diane, and my fantasies about her, who really got me interested in mature and sexy women. 

Aunt Diane is only 55. A very sexy 55 (and when you do the math, 15 years isn't that much of an age difference. I have been with 2 other mature women older than her. There is nothing quite like the touch of a mature woman.

Now, I have had many fantasies over the years about Diane, starting as far back as me being 18 years old (yes, I was a late bloomer) until most recently. We have always gotten along very well, almost too well. We have shared sexual stories, or ideas, and sometimes pictures, with ease. Nothing feels taboo. It feels natural.

Recently I decided to have a mini-Me vacation, and thought of visiting Diane for parts, or all, of it. She was ecstatic to hear that I had made plans that involved her, and was very welcoming for me to stay with her, and besides, warm weather and the sand between your toes is a very good vacation.

So I packed up and headed to the airport, boarded the plane, and within a few hours, I was in Diane's home town. As I was exiting the plane, and heading to the Arrivals area, I saw Diane in the window waving. I smiled, as I walked a little quicker. 

I hadn't seen her for about 6 years and was quite excited to spend some one on one time with her. We always have a great time together, and more especially when it is just her and I.

I got through the doors, and Diane threw her arms around me, which usually land around the middle of my back. I hugged her back and we gave each other a little kiss on the lips. She looked really good, and I mean good. A tight jean skirt, and a low cut loose blouse.

"It's so good to see you Diane," I said.

"You too Jack," she replied pulling on my hand and trying to race to the luggage pick up. 

"Which one is yours?" she asked pointing to the carousel. 

"The black duffle," I replied. 

"There it is." She reached over to lift it off, and as she bent over, her skirt rose a little, showing off a little bit of her ass cheeks, and a hint of a g-string. 

My mouth must have dropped as I stared in amazement. She turned around and lay the duffle at my feet. I looked at her again, and I could clearly see down her top from where I was standing. Her pert round breasts were not in a bra, and again, I stared in awe. 

"This is too heavy for me, you shou...," her voice trailed off as she looked at me. 

I hadn't realized my own jeans were feeling a bit tight as well, due to my ever growing erection. 

"Umm Jack... JACK," she said. 

I snapped out of it. "Huh? Oh right, yes I'll carry it," as I picked it up and carried it in front of me, in my feeble attempt in concealing my hard-on. 

Diane looked puzzled, concerned, and then with a bit of smirk, "Let's go and find my car," she said, with a hint of a giggle. 

Oh boy, could I have been that obvious. I must be very red in the face. No, it just must be the heat.

As we were heading down the highway, we made some small talk about my flight, the weather, the town, the beaches. 

"So how are you really?" Diane asked. 

"Well, I am alright, a bit lonely, but alright," I replied. "How about you?" I asked. 

"Jack, I won't lie. I am very lonely, but getting by. I have missed having 'fun' if you know what I mean. But enough about that... I am just SO glad you came alone to see me," she said smiling as she drove.

"You must be starving. What would you like to do for supper?" she asked. 

"Well, I do like pizza, and seafood, but not together," I laughingly said. 

She looked and smiled. "Why don't we go back to my place, and you can change out of those hot and tight jeans and have a beer with me before we head out," she said. 

"That's a great idea," I replied as I looked down at my now semi erection. "That's a really great idea."

We pulled into her driveway, and I grabbed my duffle. "You know where the guest room is. Please, make yourself at home," she said as she unlocked and opened the door for me. 

"Thanks Diane," I said. 

"Anytime," she replied as she put her hand on my ass and patted it. "Anytime." 

I looked at her, and she had the same smirk on her face as at the airport earlier. "What? Can't a girl have some fun?"

I nervously laughed as I slipped my shoes off and headed to the bedroom.

"There are fresh sheets on the bed, and I laid out a towel and a facecloth for you," she said. "I'll get our beers ready." 

"Thanks Diane. I won't be long."

I was now a sweaty mess, with all the humidity and heat that I am not used to. I thought I'd grab a short shower, to freshen up, so I grabbed my bathroom bag and the towel and headed for the bathroom. I closed the door and started the shower, and climbed in. I washed my hair, but thought I had heard the bathroom door open, but didn't think any more of it. 

I finished rinsing my hair, and wiped the water from my eyes, and there was Diane, with two beers in her hands, watching me from the other end of the shower curtain. 

"Thirsty?" she asked before she took a drink from her bottle. 

"Umm yes," I said, as I tried to discreetly cover up.

"Oh please, don't be modest or shy. I just want to watch you, and you are going to let me, ok?" Diane said as she handed over my beer. 

"Ok Diane," I replied with a forced smile. 'What am I to do?' I thought as I took the beer, and had a quick sip, as water was flowing over my back. 

My cock was starting to get hard again, and I felt myself get red in the face once more. "Diane, can you please hold my beer so I can quickly soap up?"

"Sure thing kiddo, sure thing," she replied as she took the beer from me. I quickly washed and rinsed, and the whole time being watched by Diane. 

I looked at her, and she intently taking it all in, watching and enjoying it all. I shut off the water and turned around, and heard the door close. I pulled the curtain back, and she was gone, but left the beer. I grabbed my towel and dried myself off, and opened the door, and headed to the bedroom. I could hear Diane in the kitchen, preparing something.

I closed the bedroom door and hung the towel up, and looked on the bed. Diane must have come in and laid out something for me to wear: some black silk boxers, a nice white t-shirt and a loose pair of surfboarding shorts. I got dressed, grabbed my beer and headed for the kitchen. 

As I turned the corner I could finally see what she had been doing in there. There was a bowl of nacho chips, fresh home made salsa, and Diane sitting on a stool, wearing nothing more than a tight tank top, a g-string, and sandals, sipping on her almost finished beer. 

I looked her over in awe as I sat down. Her hard nipples were clearly showing through her white top. "Thanks for the...," I paused, forgetting all concept of the English language. 

"The snacks Jack?" she asked.

"Ahhhh yes, the snacks," I replied, as I nervously (while being quite puzzled and excited) finished my beer. 

"Would you...," Diane asked, but I cut her off without thinking. 

"Yes," I said. She looked and smiled. 

"As I was saying, would you like another beer Jack?" Diane said sarcastically. 

"Umm yes, Diane, thank you," I replied. 

She got up and turned around. The view of her nice, round and milky white cheeks split in half by her mostly buried g-string, was intoxicating. Diane opened the fridge and bent over to pull a beer out of the bottom of the fridge. I could now see her in almost all her glory. 

What seemed like time standing still, as she bent over, I could see the mound of her slightly hairy, but trimmed, privates, with the treasure hidden only by a small triangle shaped cloth. I could feel myself get hard. I could clearly see the cloth of her g-string was damp in the center.

Diane closed the fridge, popped the cap off the beer, and brought it over to me. She was standing almost between my legs as she set the beer on the table. Without a word or a look, she undid my shorts, and put her hands on my now throbbing and wet cock. I tightened up, wondering, 'what the fuck'. 

"Now Jack, I noticed you looking at me at the airport, and again when we got back here, and now again in the kitchen. And every time I have caught you looking at me, you have gotten hard. I am flattered, but I know now you 'have' to learn how to control yourself. I cannot have you do this when you are a guest in my home," she said sternly, turning her head, looking right into my eyes, as she squeezed my cock and balls tighter. 

"Do you understand Jack? You must be broken."



Jack and Diane Ch. 02-04



I apologise to readers for the delay in posting this. I am posting a thread in the Story Review forum to explain myself. Please comment here or there.

Jack and Diane Chapter 2

My time at Milla and Simon's gave me some time to think about my life.

Perhaps I should introduce myself. I'm John Nelson Winters. The Nelson bit is mothers maiden name and, yes, there is some connection to the Hero of the Nile and Trafalgar. At one stage the family had been quite wealthy, but that was before the First World War. My father was in the Army and my sisters and I went to boarding schools.

Home was an old farmhouse owned by my grandparents. We lived there as and when dad's postings allowed, but got to see a fair bit of the world as well. David and Camilla lived nearby. They studied law and I studied engineering. They went into practise from college and I went into the Navy as an engineering officer.

I had intended to make the Navy my career, but then the Berlin Wall came down. The government decided to cut back on the armed forces and asked for volunteers for early release, I.E. redundancies. They were going to do it in tranches. I quickly realised that would mean a lot of guys looking for jobs. I was only twenty-seven, had a degree, and experience. I did not want to be competing with a lot of others for whatever jobs were available and I certainly did not want to be pushed out further on down the line. I wanted some degree of control so I bid for release in the first tranche. 

It was definitely my best move. I was offered a number of positions and selected one with a property development company. I was responsible for all the electro-mechanical installations. 

I did very well and learnt a lot about the rest of building industry. That's how I met Diane. She was the P.A. to one of the architects we worked with. She definitely knew about presentation. She looked like a model, even on site she made personal safety clothing look glamorous. . She was three years younger than me, great fun to be, with and after about a year of courting I proposed and she accepted. 

We married just before my thirtieth birthday and decided to get on with having a family straight away. Just over a year later Henry was born and two years after that Georgina arrived. Diane didn't lose all her curves after the births but you would be hard pushed to call her plump, even so. She was more the classic Marilyn Munroe, (or maybe I should say Sophia Loren, since she is brunette), which I preferred anyway. Diane became a stay at home mum.

As I said earlier, we lived in a property on Mum and Dad's land. It had been a fair sized farm at one time, but over the years bits had been sold off to pay death duties and so on. The cottage stood on the small patch of land which we had retained around the family house. Harry and Georgie, as the kids were known, had plenty of room to roam, and Mum and Dad had ponies for them both in the stables. Diane was an accomplished horsewoman and since I had been brought up with my own pony we would often ride out as a family. With my pay-off from the Navy, my salary, and no need for a mortgage we had a pretty good life style. 

Once the kids were big enough, Mum and Dad would take them for a weekend every month or two. Diane and I would take the ferry to France, or book into a small hotel somewhere and make like honeymooners. Once the cheap flights began we would take the odd city break to Paris, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam, and so on. Then we bought a weekend house in Devon near the coast. When the kids were bigger, they and their mother would spend the school holidays by the sea. I would spend the weekends with them and also when we had contracts in the south west. 

I suppose the rot set in when both Harry and Georgie were in secondary school. Diane took a job in a boutique. The whole milieu of the place was thin, thin, thin. Diane felt fat so she started fitness training and going to the gym. Lover boy was one of the trainers.

I was pretty broken up over the break-up. Milla and Simon acted as a sounding board when I wanted someone to talk to and gave me space when I didn't.

I had been Mr. Responsible Citizen all my life. For the first twenty-odd years I had done my growing and dreaming, got my education and entered adulthood. The next twenty-odd I had served the nation, contributed to the economy, and brought up a family. Now at 45 I was being dumped on. I realised that there was little chance of saving my marriage. Diane had changed when she re-entered the work place.

I suppose it's an inevitable result of our modern lifestyles. The woman watches her husband climb the promotion ladder. He puts up with the shit to provide for his family and then reaches to point where he dishes it out instead of taking it. She, in the meantime spends her time cooped up in the home thinking hubby must be having a great time out in the big wide world. Then the kids are at secondary school and can look after themselves till Mum and Dad get home so Mum re-enters the workplace. There she finds the excitement and buzz that she missed bringing up the children.

Hubby, meanwhile has time to review his life and starts to ask how it matches up to his teenage dreams. He looks at all the things he wanted to do, and the things he didn't do because he hadn't the money or the time because of work and family. He decides that now is the time to fulfil as many of his dreams as he can before his body stops him. So now the wife is moving in one direction and the husband wants to move in another. The common goal of raising the family no longer unites them. 

This is where Diane and I had arrived. At least I could look at my children, my time in the Navy and in industry, and say I had done more than most men my age. I had few regrets. I still had at least another twenty years of reasonable health to fill with memories to mull before I got to the stage where Dylan Thomas says we have to "rage against the dying of the light." And believe you me I do not intend to go quietly into "that dark Good-night." 

Sad as I was at the loss of what had been a good marriage, Diane had forced me into a decision. Time to move on.

Jack and Diane Chapter 3

Diane closed the door behind her husband and watched through the window as he loaded his cases into the car. She had thought she would feel more, but all she felt was a sort of numb relief. At least he hadn't made a scene; but then that was never Jack's way. He always seemed so in control. Just once she would have liked him to show some emotion.

She turned to see Peter waiting at the door to the kitchen. He held out his arms and her resolve broke. She ran to him, clutching him close, she buried her head into his chest and burst into tears. She couldn't see his face as he held her tightly and a small smile played across his face. He put his hands on either side of her face and tipped her head to look into her eyes. He looked so sad as her tried to reassure her.

"It had to be done my love. You couldn't live two lives. You said yourself he deserved better, and so do you," he whispered to her.

Then he held her in a full embrace and she felt a sense of finality. Her decision was made. Now all she had to do was live with it.

Diane went into the sitting room where Harry and Georgie sat side by side on the settee. Diane quailed at the look the children gave her. Peter had followed her in. As he did so, Georgie leapt from her seat, ran at him screaming, she kicked his shins and pummelled his chest with her clenched fists, and shouted, "I want my Daddy, I want my Daddy". 

Her brother stood up and looked at his mother with dead eyes, and ran to his little sister. Engulfing her in his arms he led her from the room. Diane looked at Peter. He had been completely surprised by Georgie's tirade and hadn't even tried to protect himself. The look of shock on his face told her that he was out of his depth with the children. She had a lot of work to do to bring them all through this and establish a new family. 

Diane said, "I'd better make supper."

"I'll help," said Peter.

As she went about the mundane actions of preparing the meal she thought of how she had brought them to this point.



Her upbringing was quite normal. She was an only child but her parents had been careful not to over indulge her. Not that she had lacked for anything, but it wasn't a given that she would get what she wanted. In her mid teens she had a job as a Saturday girl in a chain store to get those little extras that girls needed. 

Academically she had been fairly average. Her grades hadn't been good enough for university so she had gone to technical college and taken Office and Business studies gaining both her certificate and diploma. It was at college that she realised her greatest asset was her ability to engage with people. She had a personality that clicked with people of all ages and both genders.

This talent allowed Diane to enter the workforce very easily. Starting as a receptionist with a printing company, she quickly moved through a number of companies. Each move increased her status and salary, until she became PA to Crispin Beauchamp, the senior partner of a major architects practice. 

Diane was five feet eight inches tall, brunette, and slender. Clothes suited her. Any clothes. She was the original "look good in a flour sack" type. On site she was the perfect employee. Her dress presented a flair that complimented that shown in the cutting edge designs for which her employers were world-renowned. Her bearing was that of the consummate professional. Everyone noticed her...including the women.

But that was because she turned everyone's head. Romantically and sexually Diane was only interested in the male of the species. She could have anyone she chose and that's exactly what she did. She was extremely selective in her men. She was even more selective in those who made it to her bed. She had a great job, the best clothes, and drove a Honda- an S2000 not a Civic, so she sure as hell was not going to compromise in the bedroom.

Neither did she expect her partners to put up with second best. What she expected, she gave, and pity help the man who didn't reciprocate. If he couldn't find her c and g spots he was out of her bedroom so fast both his heads would spin. And if he knew where they were, he better treat them right or he was travelling just as fast. She took the time to learn about men's bodies so they had better take the time to learn about hers.

The first time she met Jack was at a site conference. The building was one of the first to include energy producing products in its design and Jack was responsible for their installation. They were discussing the linkage of the geothermal and solar heating. Jack seemed very aloof and detached, looking over Crispin's shoulder at the workers behind them. His contribution was cut short when he bent down and grabbed a piece of timber and barged past them. Diane thought at first he was going to hit Crispin


She barely had time to gasp when she heard a creaking, grinding, noise, followed by shouts from behind her. She turned and saw the scaffolding collapsing as Jack ran forward ordering the men clear of the area. As the dust cleared she saw Jack with the baulk of timber holding up part of the collapsed tangle of metal, planking, and building material. He was shouting instructions to the men around him.

"Get that fuckin' Load-all over here now. You, Jim, go phone the ambulance and fire service. Mick, Seamus, gimme a hand here. Davy, Get the Load-all driver to get his forks in there!" Jack indicated with a nod of his head to the place he wanted them. "Just get him to take the weight. Don't let him lift it. That's it! Enough! Mick, Seamus, pull them out."

Mick and Seamus dragged two bodies clear of the distorted pile of scrap construction equipment.

"GET THEM CLEAR"

Other men rushed forward to help the rescuers. 

"GET BACK! Davy, get the driver to leave that where it is and get the fuck outta here" 

As soon as he saw the driver leave the loader, Jack dropped his wooden prop and ran. He was shouting something but no-one could hear him above the noise as the rest of the scaffolding collapsed. The building materials that had been stacked, ready for use, tumbled and bounced as they hit the ground. Bags of cement powder burst obscuring everything behind a grey pall of lung corroding dust.

The workmen ran past the group of managment, shouting at them to get clear. Some of them grabbed the architects, managers, and promotion hunters, and hustled them away from the advancing billow. Diane lost a boot and her safety helmet as she was dragged backwards by someone who wrapped their arm around her midriff. She was dumped unceremoniously on a large bag of sand. Her rescuer turned and shouted for everyone to get to their assembly points and check who was missing. 

Surprisingly quickly a sort of order re-established itself. In the middle of it all was Jack Nelson, barking instructions. There was no doubt about who was in charge. 

Jack had been listening to the debate about the installation of the geothermal heat exchanger when a movement from the scaffolding triggered his peripheral vision.

He looked towards the scaffolding and saw a few bricks tumbling from a stack near the top. Then he saw a tremor in the scaffolding. 

His instincts as Damage Control officer in the navy kicked in. He grabbed the first bit of heavy timber near him and leapt forward with a warning shout. He spotted two men wearing hearing protection under the scaffolding, working with a jack hammer. That was his target. They would know nothing ever again if he got this wrong.

The men must have sensed something because they looked round just as staging fell around them. Jack got his baulk of timber braced against the ground, a small mound of blocks, and his shoulder, as the weight settled on it. He was just in time to prevent the men being crushed to death, but they were trapped. Seamus and Mick helped him lever the weight just enough to relieve the pressure on the trapped men. The loader driver got his forks under the horizontal poles and took the weight. Jack held the fall off the men while the big Irishmen dragged them clear. Once they were out, it was run like fuck.

When he had joined the company Jack had felt that the health and safety, and accident prevention measures were not good enough and had insisted that a Safety Manager be appointed. He had contributed his knowledge of naval evacuation procedures, head counts, knowing who was in what department, muster stations and so on. They had just proved their worth. 

Order was restored. The emergency services arrived and took control of the situation.

Jack returned to the group, combing his hair with his fingers, and grinning broadly.

"Sorry for the interruption." He turned to Crispin, "you were saying..."

Everyone looked at him in astonishment. Jack was pale grey, covered from head to foot in cement powder. The only relief in the greyness was his shining deep brown eyes and the whiteness of his grin. The sleeve of his suit was ripped from the shoulder where the timber had caught it as he ran from the final fall. His trouser leg flapped loosely where it, too, had ripped on something. The dust on his shirt sleeve started to darken.

Crispin spoke first. "I think we can postpone this for a day or two, Jack. I think you should head over to the ambulance and get that arm seen to. When was your last tetanus booster?"

Jack looked at his arm in surprise, "Oh! Yes. Probably a good idea. When..."

"I'll get Diane to set it up."

Jack looked over at Diane who was clearly shocked. "I think maybe you should come with me." He took her arm and led her to the ambulance. Four ambulances had arrived but fortunately everyone was accounted for. The trapped men had been evacuated to hospital. Two of the other ambulances had been released and one remained on site. Her crew was giving first aid to those with minor injuries. They recommended that Jack should go to the hospital to get his wound dressed and have an x-ray. 

The crew buses were being used to ferry walking wounded to the hospital, Jack and Diane amongst them. As relatively minor casualties they had to wait for a few hours before treatment. Diane was the only woman to arrive from the site and rather than leave her, Jack sat and chatted with her, inconsequentially, until her parents arrived.

He explained to them what had happened. They thanked him for his courtesy and he left when he was called for treatment. Despite her condition, Jack had registered deeply with Diane and she knew this was a man she intended to get to know a lot better.

The opportunity didn't arise for two weeks. The Factory Inspectorate and police were all over the site investigating the accident. Until they had completed their examination no-one was allowed back to work there. The injury to Jack's arm meant he could not drive for a couple of days and Diane was off work for a week. The site then had to be cleared, and the collapsed scaffolding rebuilt and approved.

Crispin called a site meeting and Diane was responsible for arranging it. When she phoned Jack she took the opportunity to thank him for his attention on the day of the accident. She also asked him to dinner. Jack, being Jack, accepted gracefully.

Jack and Diane Chapter 4

Since she had asked him to dinner, Jack deferred to Diane. They dined in a stylish Italian restaurant. When it came to the choice of wine, he graciously referred the waiter to her. When it came to conversation, he made it flow easily. Jack was an absorbing dinner companion. Diane found he was interested in all the things that interested her and there were none of the dry silences where each looked around searching for something to talk about. Since this was ostensibly a thank-you to Jack for his assistance after the accident, they went their own way after dinner, with promises to dine together again sometime. When they parted, Diane had decided that Jack was not going to slip through her hands. 

Jack had been attracted to Diane at the site meeting but his attention had been diverted by the accident. To him, his actions at the hospital were simply good manners. When Diane asked him to dinner, he again responded in what he considered to be a mannerly way. At the restaurant he adopted his "cocktail party" technique. He had developed this in the Navy. 

Every time the ship docked somewhere there would be a cocktail party for the local dignitaries. It was the duty of all officers to entertain these people, usually with the assistance of the local consulate or embassy. His first Captain explained the technique of asking questions until he found a subject that the guest was interested in, and then using follow-up questions to keep the conversation going. Jack had mastered the skill and learned enough to ask sensible questions and look interested. People always left feeling that Jack was as well informed as they were, about the things that interested them. 

Jack found Diane a sociable and attractive companion, someone he might be interested in getting to know. Certainly he wouldn't object if she got him into bed. But that was a far as it went. He sure as hell hadn't heard wedding bells. Diane had other ideas.

As she drove home that evening she thought about Jack. She had enjoyed his company. Whilst she had done most of the talking, she had done a little research beforehand and had used that to extract more information from him. He was interesting, good looking, and had displayed his masculinity in his original career choice. Equally he had demonstrated his intellect and ambition in his degree choice and his fleet-footed career change. He was more than ordinarily solvent and it wasn't just because of his pay-off. He was a rising star in a sector that was developing rapidly. But more importantly she had seen the glint in his eyes. The one that told of that one thing every woman wants in a man, even just once. Once she saw that dangerous, piratical, glint, nature told her that she wanted her children to have Jacks genes.




Jack and Diane Ch. 02-04



Now, Jack may well have had a girl in every port, he may have used his cocktail party technique to entice some of the attractive guests to his berth, and he might think that he was impervious to women's wiles, but he hadn't met anyone like Diane before. She ran her life, and she had decided that Jack was going to be a major part of it, and, naturally, he would think it was all his own idea.

Diane's full court went into operation the following Wednesday, at the site meeting. As they moved around the site she ensured she was close to Jack. This was easy to accomplish because they were still discussing the thermal link. Crispin and Jack were in deep conversation about the technicalities, and she, of course, was taking notes, from beside Jack, not Crispin. 

When she got a pebble in her boot she reached for Jack to steady herself. Then she held his arm for balance as she removed the boot and shook out the pebble.

Diane was pleased at last to get rid of the stone she had placed in her boot as she put them on. Well she couldn't leave it to chance and something had to fall out of her boot, didn't it? Strangely, she had no tissues with her, to clean the mud from her hand. She had sensibly left her handbag in the car and omitted to bring any with her. Both Crispin and Jack proffered handkerchiefs, and she accepted the nearest...Jack's of course.

This set the tone for the site visit. Diane always kept Jack close at hand, but not obviously so. She often, but not too often, found it necessary to ask for clarification on a technical matter. This was partly because Jack was turned away from her to speak to Crispin, partly because of the noise of the site and partly because of the wind. The real reason was to repeatedly draw Jack's attention to her. Her actions produced the required result. Ever the gentleman, Jack took the opportunity to reciprocate Diane's dinner invitation. Unfortunately he chose Friday night of the following week, the night she was going out with friends. So calendars were consulted and the best night for Diane was Saturday, two days hence. Jack arranged to pick her up and Diane headed back to the office to confirm her provisional hairdressing appointment for that Saturday morning. 



Jack walked over to the site hut, for his pre-arranged meeting with the site supervisor and the foremen from the various disciplines involved in the installation. He was not thinking about the meeting but where he was going to take Diane. What had been intended as an engagement to be organised at leisure was suddenly more pressing. The works meeting over-ran. By the time he would get back to the office it would be closed, although he was a key holder. There seemed little point in crossing town to get to the office so he picked up a copy of the local paper on his way back to his flat.

He sat after dinner checking through the entertainments guide in the paper and restaurants, theatres, and cinemas in the Yellow Pages. There was nothing at the cinema that attracted his eye. His choice was kids flicks, horror, or action. Clearly none of those suited a first date. The production at the local theatre was the last night of a touring version of Grease. That seemed uncontroversial enough but could he get two tickets at this short notice? Fatally, he didn't realise that he had thought of it as a first date. Bait taken, he was about to be imperceptibly reeled in.



The only tickets available were returns for a box. He felt that a box was a little ostentatious for a first date but took it anyway. He chose to book a table for the after show meal at the theatre as well. 

Diane had arranged for him to collect her from her parents' house. When he arrived she wasn't ready.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"The theatre and dinner after. Aren't you ready?"

"You didn't tell me where we were going, so how could I know what to wear?" she chided, "You'll have to wait with Mummy and Daddy 'til I'm ready."

Deftly, Diane had arranged for Jack and her parents to meet. In her bedroom she had a choice of outfits laid out, covering all eventualities. She chose the one that complimented Jack's, and befitted a night at the theatre. It didn't take long to get ready but she knew the value of delay. After a suitable wait she entered the room, creating the impression of haste.

"I'm sorry to take so long; I hope we aren't going to be late." To her parents, "I'll see you later, don't wait up."

Diane had Jack on the defensive and played it for all it was worth, emphasising that it was not his fault and thereby adding to his discomfiture. When they were directed to the box in the theatre she expressed her delight at the position, but, apparently absently, wondered if she was appropriately dressed for such a noticeable situation. Nevertheless, she closely watched his obvious embarrassment and determined that it was time to back off.

The rest of the evening was delightful. Jack danced attendance on her. He had flowers and chocolates for the show, drinks ordered for the interval, and dinner was actually quite intimate. They had a side booth with a clear view of the string quartet.

Jack was apologetic about his thoughtlessness but Diane very quickly reassured him that it was of no consequence and that he should not let it spoil the evening.

After dinner Jack drove Diane home and escorted her to her door. When she had opened the door Jack started to turn to leave but Diane held his arm and as he turned to face her she embraced him, pressing her bosom to his chest, and her lips softly to his. Without another word, she slipped into the hall and closed the door. Quickly she peeked through the door viewer. Jack stood for a moment, wide eyed and mouth slightly agape before his face creased in a naughty boy grin and he turned and walked to his car with a definite nautical swagger to his gait. Diane smiled as he dropped into her keep net. 





The whistle of the kettle brought Diane back to the reality of her present situation. She turned to find that Peter had the table laid and all she had to do was serve. 

She went to call the children for their meal.

She found them in Georgie's room. Harry held his sister, as she shuddered through each body trembling sob. Her son's tear rimed glare lanced through her. For the first time in her life Diane was aware of the result of her actions. For years, either everything had fallen just as she wanted, or she had her parents or Jack to back her up. This time she knew she was on her own. Peter couldn't help to explain things to the children and she had just sent packing, the one man she knew could.

"Why did you do this to us?" Harry demanded.

"Supper's ready," Diane offered tentatively.

"Why did you do this to us?" Harry repeated.

"We'll talk after supper, darling," she pleaded.

Harry snorted. "Georgie." He spoke quietly to his sister. "Georgie, supper's ready. Let's go eat."

"I want my Daddy." She answered flatly.

"I know, so do I, but we have to have supper. We'll see Daddy soon."



Jack and Diane Ch. 05-07



Jack and Diane Chapter 5

Milla packs a lot more punch than Alan. It's probably something to do with Simon being a High Court judge. Diane and her paramour were out of the house within the week.

Diane's actions had pretty much told everyone everything they needed to know, especially the kids. They knew Mummy had a new man and didn't want Daddy around. So she was the one breaking up the family. I was the one who fought to get them back. I didn't have to fight too hard, mind you. As Milla said, Diane shouldn't have moved lover-boy in quite so quickly. 

She argued that I had nowhere to live, Diane was the petitioner, and could just as easily move in with LB, and that moving him into the family home so quickly was not good for the children's psychological and emotional well-being. She pointed out that I was continuing to pay my share into the joint account, that I had moved out immediately Diane demanded it, and the problems presented by the ownership and location of the property. Like I said, Mr Responsible Citizen.

The judge directed that she move out and I move back in, pending the full hearing. She, (yes, it was a female judge), directed that the children should stay in the family home, but Diane was to have full access. Milla and I had discussed restrictions but Milla suggested we adopt a fairly non-confrontational pose, for the moment. 

Once I was back in my home with the children I got them into a new routine as quickly as possible. Essentially there were only two real changes. They went to their grandparents' house until I came home, and their mother was now a visitor. Yes, that's right; she came over most evenings to see them. I stayed out of her way when she was there, and she had to leave so they could do their homework. We alternated Saturdays and Sundays at the weekends.

To begin with, Diane tried to explain herself to me but I was not ready to listen to her. I had made my decision to move on and that is what I was doing.

I wasn't contesting the divorce but that doesn't mean that things went smoothly. It all fell apart over the reason for the divorce and the 'ancillary relief,' as the courts call it, and, of course, the children.

I learnt that there are five reasons for divorce in English law, adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, separation with consent, and separation without consent. The consent bit is where both parties to the divorce agree or disagree to the action. If both parties agree they have to have been separated for two years otherwise it has to be five years. 

Our options boiled down to adultery or unreasonable behaviour. Diane couldn't petition on the grounds of her adultery, only I could do that. . So she wanted to cite me using unreasonable behaviour. I wasn't about to let her blame me. Nor was I about to pay her costs. My position was that if she tried to cite me for unreasonable behaviour I would cross petition on the grounds of adultery. A contested case would lead to expense and time. 

Ancillary relief is the money side of things. Naturally this also depends on who has custody of the children. English courts generally divide the assets equally. Since I had been the higher earner, and owned more of the assets, I was going to be hit hardest. The family home was also a problem. The mother usually gets custody of the children, but I was not about to roll over on this either. I was damned if I was going to lose contact with them and that happens all too easily.

Camilla proposed that we use this as leverage to get Diane to settle using an arbitrator. I hadn't heard of this but when she explained it to me, I thought it held promise. Broadly, the arbitrator would listen to both sides and any agreements we had in place. If there were any disagreements, over property or custody, for example, they could help sort them out. The big advantage for me was that there is no appeal to an arbitrated settlement. There were other advantages too, such as speed and cost. The main problem would be to get Diane to agree to arbitration. That meant that I might have to give a bit more but I would save on costs. More importantly, not only could I have more say in placement of the children but they could have more say also.

Milla and I thrashed out an outline of a settlement. She stopped me being too dogmatic about things, and included some "loss leaders" as she called them. Things that we would be prepared to bargain away in order to hold on to something else. The next move was to get Diane to agree to arbitration. 

Milla engaged David in the plan and he did a bit quite unethical subliminal work on Alan preparing him for our proposal. When Milla put it forward he was not entirely receptive to it but he was obliged to put it to Diane anyway. Naturally she rejected it out of hand. Milla then prepared the paperwork for the court case and started by demanding information about Diane's income. This was followed by a request for information about her parent's financial position and details about their bank accounts, in particular any funds they were concealing on her behalf. Subsequently she asked for information on lover boy Peter's income and business interests. This last was most pertinent because he was a part owner of the gym where they had met. 

All of this was forwarded to Alan and when each request was passed to Diane, she simply ignored it. We let things sit for a week and then started to pressurise Alan for the information. In her letter, Milla suggested that the information was being withheld so that funds could be concealed. She suggested that if the information were not forthcoming it would be necessary to request it through the courts. She therefore demanded the addresses of Diane's parents, Peter's address, Peter's partner's names and addresses, and all the relevant details about the gym accounts and the accountants responsible for preparing them. Alan already had everything he had asked for from my side. Milla was absolutely on the ball. If this came to court we smelt of roses while Diane didn't.



Things were not going well for Diane. She had expected to remain in the home with the children and for Jack to settle on her terms. Things didn't happen that way. To begin with, the children became extremely wilful and the atmosphere in the house deteriorated so quickly that Peter stayed in his flat to allow them to settle down. Then Diane was served with the notice to quit and an emergency court hearing. 

Suddenly she was out of the house and had nowhere to go but Peter's. She had daily access to the children but Jack had ensured that the terms meant that she could not stay overnight. This was promptly followed by the proposal for arbitration and then the requests for financial information. When she told Peter about the request for information about the business, he told her that his partners would not be forthcoming. Then Alan told her that if the information was not provided voluntarily, then John's solicitor would request it through the courts and anyone withholding it could be held in contempt and may be liable to fines or imprisonment.

The strain told on her. She was comfort eating and then starving herself, her hair lost it's sheen and her skin was either dry or too oily, her weight went up and down and she felt listless all the time. Her libido dropped. She couldn't understand why Jack was doing all this. She had always been able to get him to do what she had wanted. Right from the first kiss.

After the night at the theatre, Jack found Diane to the forefront of his thoughts, more and more. To the extent that he did something he had never done before. He sent flowers and another invitation to Diane's home. From this the romance gained pace. They spent time together like teenagers at the cinema, dancing, walks at the seaside, countryside, woods and hills. It was the fifth date that Diane decided she had better give him a test run in the bedroom.

After an evening of dinner and dancing, where, as usual, Jack, as the driver, had refrained from drinking, they returned to Diane's flat. Diane too had been careful about her drinks. Like Jack she had drunk water with her meal and had only had two glasses of wine towards the end of the evening. She wanted to make sure this evening was one that Jack would remember for the right reasons. She also wanted to make sure she would remember it so she could make the right decision. 

This time, she invited him in for a nightcap. When she offered him alcohol there was no need to explain what she intended, and Jack unknowingly acquiesced to her plan. For a short time the arena was the large sofa in the drawing room. As Jack nuzzled Diane's neck and unbuttoned her blouse, she drew back, and, taking his hand, led him to her bed. 

Jack treated her as if she was a virgin. As they lay down he caressed her body firmly, kissing her urgently, but as gently as a butterfly. He stroked her hair and neck, drifting his fingers down the length of her body and slowly back again. He kissed her face and neck, softly pinching with his lips. By now Jack had her blouse unbuttoned and freed from the waistband of her skirt, sliding both hands under her back, rolled her on her side and unhooked her bra. His feather touch kisses didn't stop but moved down her neck to her breasts, around the fullness without even brushing her areolas or nipples as they rose in desire. His fingers dragged gently over her flanks, catching and releasing as they moved to her waistband. He unfastened the button and zip, slipping a finger into each side of the waistband, drawing it down, as he did, he caught her briefs and slid her both down her stockinged legs kissing her body as he moved down the bed. 

Quickly he removed his own clothes and rejoined her, kissing her parted lips more forcefully this time, as he dragged his fingernails over her flesh. His gentle touch had fired her skin and she sighed in relief as he finally touched her left nipple and his lips tugged at the ache of her right. Jack alternated his fingers and mouth, straying to her lips to trace them with his fingertips or darting probing with his tongue. His teeth, lips, tongue, fingers, tips and nails, traced her eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, neck, shoulders, and breasts. Every time she thought her skin could take no more teasing he would change his touch to release her agony. Then his attention moved lower. 

Her belly, flanks and thighs were treated to the same exquisite inquisition, she writhed beneath his touch but every time she tried to press her pleading vulva against him he moved away leaving her mind screeching for his touch. Her back arched, thrusting her hips up and open, burning to be quenched, her hand was reaching downwards when his tongue flicked her clitoris and her vision was showered with starbursts. 

She whined as his fingers slide gently into her body and curled into her g spot and his lips and tongue tortured her clitoris to an orgasm like she had never had before. She was beyond control as Jack played that little patch behind her pubic bone with his fingertips and her c spot received the attention of his thumb. With his mouth and other hand Jack ripped open the condom wrapper and unrolled a condom down the length of his cock. He could barely stand the agony of expectation that was coursing through his body. He wanted to make love to this woman like no other before.

As he withdrew his hand he entered Diane's body smoothly and slowly until she engulfed his whole length. Diane's hips bucked as she realised he had at long last filled her body, her orgasm seemed to roll from trough to peak, each one filling and wracking her with feelings and lights and the sound of her blood pounding through her. Jack rotated his hips, driving deeply, pushing up and down against the walls of he vagina, and pressing and rubbing his pubis against her clitoris driving her on until she felt her rush of wetness as Jack's body arced up and back in climax. She felt the pulsing of his erection deep within her and she felt a joy of sharing that she had never felt with any other partner.

They lay linked and entwined in that blurred, unfocussed moment as their bodies bobbed on the ebb of their climax. Diane snuggled into her lover with a smilingly contented sigh. Jack held her in that secure, lovers hold, as his contentment too, lit his face. Both drifted into a deep, easy, refreshing sleep.      Diane woke first. She stretched languidly, savouring her sensations of her own body. The sunlight, filtered through the curtains, bathed her bedroom in a warm glow. She lay quietly re-experiencing the previous night. Turning, she looked at the man who had ridden her to a level of sensory experience she had rarely felt before. His tousled hair, relaxed features, and warm light filling the room gave his a very appealing boyish look. Yet the set of his jaw seemed to hint at more than boyishness. Diane had her final answer. This one was not going to be thrown back in.

She slid from the bed, pulled on her kimono dressing gown, dealt with her morning needs, and headed for the kitchen. The breakfast tray was quickly set for two with fresh grapefruit, orange juice, buttered toast, bacon, and tea. On re-entering the bedroom she set the tray to the side and awakened Jack. He stretched, looked around to regain his bearings, looked at Diane and smiled. His smile stoked a hotness in her belly, but this was not the time.

"Breakfast?" She asked, climbing in beside him, with the tray.

"Hmmm," Jack caressed the back of her neck, pulling her close and, closed mouthed, kissing her gently.

"Sorry," he said, "morning breath."

Diane handed him the dish of grapefruit, "This will clean your mouth then we can see where things go," smiling coquettishly.

Breakfast was one of the most companionable meals Diane had shared. Having eaten, Jack excused himself to use the bathroom. Lack of a toothbrush was over come when he found mouthwash and floss on the cabinet. Combined with the old "toothpaste on the finger" trick, Jack felt a little less self-conscious. Diane was sitting up in the bed. Jack started to dress. Diane looked at him and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I'm taking you out for the day," he stated. "I'm nipping home to change for the seaside."

"And who says I want to go out? And what if I don't want to go to the seaside?"

"Tough! We're going!"

"WE?"

"Yes. Get ready. I'll be back in an hour." He bent forward and Diane kissed him passionately. "Eh, make that half an hour," he said.

"I won't be dressed in half an hour," she teased.

"If you aren't we might not get out today."

"Someone has a high opinion of themselves." She laughed.

"Just wait!"

That was the start of a very happy day, and a very short courtship. Diane had decided Jack was going to be her husband and father if her children. He had no say in the matter. To that end, Diane was the perfect girlfriend, and fiancée. Jack never saw that he had been hooked, played, and landed. He simply fell in love with a beautiful woman who knew how to behave and dress on every occasion, who was fun to be with, who was witty and intelligent, and who made him feel he was the centre of her universe.

Diane's view was unclouded by sentiment. She saw a man with a degree of social standing she had never had, a career, not only with a good income, but with prospects of promotion or mobility, capital, a stable family background, and a steady future for herself and her children, the minimum requirements on her shopping list. That he was a very attractive man, adventurous, entertaining, an attentive and accomplished lover, and actually in love with her, were all the factors that would make her life as a married woman pleasant rather than tolerable.

It's not that Diane was a completely unfeeling person. It's just that she wasn't particularly sentimental. She did like the way Jack made her feel, she liked it when he was happy, and she understood the link between them, but she just didn't feel that, for her, it was the most important part of the relationship. Had you asked her about it she wouldn't even have realised that there was something absent from her relationship with Jack.

Now she realised there was something beyond her control. She really didn't understand what it was; she just knew that things were not going her way. And she didn't like it.

Jack and Diane Chapter 06

Diane couldn't quite understand where or how things had slipped from her control. She had worked so hard to ensure that her timetable was met. When she first met Jack, she had other prospects in play, but from the moment she kissed him, she had cooled them. Once she bedded Jack, they were out of the picture entirely, and all her skills were used to elicit his proposal of marriage. Jack had been a loving and attentive husband, but Diane had no intention of spending her whole life tied to one man and his goals. 

She had proved her femininity by marrying a good prospect, and producing two children. She had been a dutiful wife supporting her husband in his career, attending the tedious business functions to ensure his promotion, and adhering to Jerry Hall's tenets of being "a maid in the living room, a cook in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom." She had even played the dutiful daughter, agreeing with Jack's mother most of the time but showing enough character to obtain respect as well. She had looked after Harry and Georgie as the best mother should, helping with homework, teaching them to cook and ride, playing in the garden and at the beach. In fact, to any observer, Jack and Diane had the perfect marriage.  And that included Jack.

Nevertheless, Diane regarded her marriage as a hiatus in her life. She had been extremely good at her job and had great prospects herself. She would have a husband to support her through the early years of her children's lives, but once they were old enough, she intended to return to making a career for herself, and enjoying all aspects of her life. Not for her, a life of domesticated decline. Once she had proven her motherliness Diane would forge her own future again. This would be financed from the divorce settlement. Not for nothing did she endure the rubber chicken dinners, and warm champagne and tasteless strawberries of corporate hospitality. Since she was being a dutiful wife, Jack would have to provide the capital for the next phase of her life. His advancement was to her benefit and therefore her duty to herself.

Thus far her lifeplan had gone to schedule. She held Jack in deep affection and high regard. She believed that he loved her and she had done her best to nurture that love. She did not have any feelings, though, that she would call love. The one slight complication had been meeting Peter. With him she felt something that she had never felt before. There was an excitement she had never felt before. Her heart lifted when she saw him, and a sexual frisson ran through her. His entry into her life brought forward her timings.

Did the acceleration of her plans produce the loosening of her control on events or was it something she had not understood about her husband?

After the children were born, Jack's parents had arranged to keep them over a weekend every couple of months. This allowed Jack and Diane to spend some time together. Diane appreciated the break from routine and the opportunity to indulge in an abandonment in the bedroom that wasn't possible with two small children under the same roof. 

It was during one of these weekends that they travelled to Devon to look for a holiday home for both weekends and the school holidays. Since they had no mortgage to pay, they decided to invest in a property of their own. Needless to say Diane also had her long term plan in mind. Any such property was jointly owned and would be part of any settlement.

Jack took the Friday off work as time owed. He was no longer on a pay scale where he got overtime, but he worked as each job required, and was permitted time off in lieu of hours worked outside his contract. They arrived in Plymouth to visit the local estate agents for advice on property for sale. Having spent the morning and early part of the afternoon collecting brochures on various properties, they went to a pub overlooking the harbours for lunch. As they entered Diane heard someone declaim loudly and clearly, "Bloody 'ell, its 'armless!" 




Jack and Diane Ch. 05-07



This, of course, meant nothing to Diane, but Jack turned to the source of the call and responded "Oh no! Not you lot! I thought I'd got rid of you!" 

Plymouth is home to Devonport Dockyard, a major Royal Navy base. Sailors from one of the warships in port had also chosen the pub they had selected for lunch. These sailors had previously served on different ships with Lieutenant Winters R.N. The group invited Jack and Diane to join them and whilst Jack was inclined to decline, Diane accepted the invitation. What woman could resist a testosterone charged group of fit, strong, men like these? Apart from that, she thought she might find out a little more about her husband. Jack didn't talk much about his time in the Navy.

Introductions were made but Diane could hardly catch the names. The accents covered the whole of the British Isles, including Ireland, north and south. The afternoon was one of reminiscence and story telling, with much "do you remember..." and "what happened to..." The pub rocked to their laughter. 

During the course of the story telling Jack and Diane got divided. The sailors, however, did not let Diane become excluded. She was included in every round of drinks bought. They considered it a point of honour to ensure her glass was always full and that she was included in the conversation. So engrossing was the companionship Diane barely noticed how much she was drinking, but there again, she seemed to keep her wits about her. It was one of those afternoons where the camaraderie surpasses the effects of alcohol.  

Diane learned that Jack had had a number of nicknames during his service. His first was F.C. This he had received on his first ship. As a Sub Lieutenant he had been Officer of the Watch. The crew comprising the watch had not discharged their duty to the standard required by their officer and as a result he had disciplined them by assigning extra duty. The Petty Officer of the watch, P.O. McVeigh, thought he could brow beat the new officer into rescinding his decision but Jack had stood his ground. He was christened "Fucking Cold" Winters, because of the icy manner he used to deal with the P.O. At least that's what Diane was told. Actually the P.O. called him "that fucking cunt Winters" and that had stuck as F.C. His second ship christened him "One Eyed Jack". This was a fairly typical ratings jibe that worked on a number of levels. Jack was known to have a certain skill at cards, despite gambling being prohibited. He was also a member of the ship's boxing team. An officer is always a prime target in these competitions and can expect no quarter. Jack had received a thumb in the eye during one fight and had to wear an eye patch for a time. This, combined with his middle name of Nelson, earned him the "one eyed" soubriquet.

It was aboard this same ship that he received his final nickname. Damage control has long been a drill extensively practised in the Royal Navy. It is exactly what it says. If the ship is damaged by nature or enemy action all rates are trained to take action to prevent damage getting worse and causing the ship to sink. There are groups formed, of sailors whose role is not directly involved in fighting. They are the damage control party whose role is to take over and do running repairs to maintain the viability of the vessel. Jack was supervising a drill involving some new equipment. A screw jack was being used to brace two beams. The D.C. party were working beneath it when it suddenly slipped. Jack saw this and shoved a man out from below it as it fell. The prop fell on his outstretched arms and broke both of them. 

A naval Board of Enquiry was established into the accident. All personnel taking part were required to give evidence at the shore establishment which is called a "ship" even though it is a land-based building. It was established that there was a fault with the equipment and a signal was sent to the fleet advising new procedures. Once the finding was handed down, the men from Jack's ship retired to a local hostelry to celebrate.

Jack, of course, caused much hilarity trying to drink with both arms in plaster. Unfortunately, amongst the other patrons was a group including P.O. McVeigh, who had spent most of the afternoon in the bar. McVeigh approached Jack. The other sailors from Jack's crew were not aware of the history between the pair, until McVeigh offered to help Jack with his beer. He promptly poured it over the officer's head, slurring something about Jack being unable to respond because he was "harmless" due to being "armless". As he turned to walk away he stumbled and fell. Getting up he accused Jack of tripping him and swung a wild punch at Jack. Jack dodged the punch and brought his plaster-reinforced forearm sharply up below McVeigh's chin, jerking his head back. McVeigh sank to the floor with a soft grunt. Jack swore loudly as the partially set bones flexed despite their casing. 

The bar staff called the ambulance and as a result the Shore Patrol arrived as well. These men are the naval equivalent of the Military Police except in one respect. No-one, absolutely no-one argues with Shore Patrol. Their main duty is to police the bars of the port towns when ships are in port. If the vessel has been on a long cruise the sailors will indulge to the extreme. S. P. deal with troublemakers quickly and efficiently. Many civilians who get involved in fights with sailors have ended up in the brig, only to be released the next morning rueing the time they swung at a member of the S.P. Appeals to the police about wrongful arrest are not favourably received. The local constabulary generally knows that it is not a good idea to antagonise the navy or they may be left to deal with a ships company celebrating the end of a long period with very little alcohol.

Naturally the involvement of a senior rate and an officer meant that there was another Board of Enquiry at which Jack was exonerated And P.O. McVeigh was reduced in rank to Able Seaman, imprisoned and discharged with loss of his pension and gratuity for service. The sentence not only reflected the seriousness of an assault on an officer, and the fact that the officer was incapacitated before the incident, but also McVeigh's record of incompetent behaviour. Having finally been able to establish a watertight case against him the Navy threw the book at him. The incident gave Jack the nickname "Harmless".

These stories and many others portrayed Jack as an officer well respected by those who served under him but also one who was not averse to taking direct action when he felt it was necessary. This was a lesson that Diane had missed.

The afternoon in the bar stretched into the evening and when a group set up for the evening entertainment, Diane was caught up in a whirl of dancing and laughter. At one point, one of Jack's erstwhile command disappeared to talk to the band. He returned to cajole Jack into performing his party piece. Jack's reluctance was easily overcome by the combination of drink taken and peer pressure. 

He joined the band to perform his own version of the Johnny Cash classic "I've been everywhere". This version involved the names of various places visited by all the ships on which Jack served. Despite being a little inebriated, his ability to get through the place names of foreign ports was impressive and received uproariously by the sailors, other patrons, and the band alike.

Knowing it was best to leave on a high, Jack called a taxi and he and Diane retired to their hotel. Spending an afternoon in the presence of so much rampant testosterone deferring to her man had its effect on Diane, and they were barely into the bedroom before she had him clinched in a one armed embrace whilst she hurriedly unfastened his trousers. Moving the crotch of her underwear to the side she lifted herself onto Jack's engorged cock and fucked herself passionately, grinding her clitoris against him, to release. Jack held on for the ride.

Next morning, they woke still fully dressed. They made love, gently, and sweetly this time, before showering, dressing, and breakfasting. The rest of the weekend was spent visiting properties and compiling a short list to view again.

Milla had prevented Jack from being vindictive in the terms and had drawn up a settlement which she felt was favourable to him and would be accepted by the arbitrator. The only unresolved aspect was the children. Whilst Jack wanted sole custody, she calculated that a joint custody agreement would be passed more easily. She had also sought to protect Jack's naval and company pensions and his gratuity by offsetting them against the Devon property. Diane had her own pension plan and the investment had been maintained from the joint account since she had given up work. If she tried to claim against Jack's pension, they would claim from hers. The Range Rover was already in Diane's name and Jack would relinquish any claim on it. She would also receive a lump sum settlement from savings and investments made during the marriage. Jack's ace was the part share he had bought in the boutique. It had been intended as an anniversary gift, but now it represented an inducement to settle. 

Whilst it was more than Jack wanted to give her, the quid pro quo was joint custody of the children. Milla had talked to the children independently and their preference was to stay with their father in their own home. They wanted to continue to attend their current school rather than start anew making new friends. Jack would continue to pay their fees. They would live in the family home during term time with Jack and holidays would be divided between both parents. Initially, Diane wanted sole custody. This idea was quickly quashed when the children stayed over for a weekend with their mother and Peter in his flat. There were insufficient bedrooms so Harry had to sleep in the living room. That forced two early nights on Peter and Diane. Georgie harboured a deep resentment against her mother, which manifested itself in her treatment of Peter. Harry was clearly upset about the divorce as well but he tried to be tolerant, as his dad had told him to be. The tension only added to Diane's stress.

Eventually Diane agreed to a first meeting with the arbitrator but it didn't go well. She tried to get sole custody and the family home. She still didn't grasp that the house was not Jack's. The arbitrator had a meeting with the children and their parents to determine their views. Eventually he concluded that the agreement proposed by Milla was eminently fair. Privately, Alan, Diane's solicitor, tended to agree but obviously took his instruction from Diane. 

The more Diane resisted the more she found herself on her own. Peter was concerned that she was making herself ill and he tried to get her to agree to the settlement. At the next meeting, Milla highlighted the share of the boutique that constituted part of the investments being handed over to Diane. When she realised that this element alone gave her the control of her future that she desired, she agreed.

Jack and Diane Chapter 7

Once the settlement was agreed Jack set about closing all the financial accounts relating to the marriage and opening new ones in his sole name. In doing so he also reviewed the standing orders and direct debits. He moved those relating to his own outgoings and allowed any relating to Diane's to lapse with the accounts. .

One of the terms of the settlement was that there would be no child maintenance paid in either direction. It was one of the conditions Milla had inserted to use as a bargaining chip. Diane had initially protested. Milla simply asked how much she wanted and agreed. Diane was very smug about that until she discovered that she was expected to pay the same amount to Jack while the children were with him. Since they would spend more time with him Diane would suffer a net loss, so that was hurriedly reversed.  

He set about establishing the routine for the children, using his position in work to allow him to be at home as much as possible for them. Diane would take them for part of the weekend and Jack would use this to make up time in work. After the children went to bed he spent much of his time doing the household duties. These posed no problem to him as he had learned to look after himself in the Navy and was practised at "personal admin". While he was ironing or cleaning he had plenty of time for introspection. He could find no reason for Diane to reject him except for Peter. Georgie clearly didn't like him but that appeared to be more to do with him providing a focus for her anger. Harry regarded him as a decent person who seemed to hold Diane in as much affection as did Jack himself.

Jack was deeply wounded by the way Diane had simply disposed of him like a used tissue. He had no intention of letting Diane off lightly. The settlement had been about drawing a line under the marriage and a new start, but part of that, for Jack, was to ensure that Diane had as much hurt as she inflicted on him. Ignoble perhaps, but at this stage Jack was still trying to come to terms with what had happened. He didn't have time for much socialising but he did start investigating the demise of his marriage.

When he first met Diane, Jack was struck by her competent manner. She was business like and to the point. She dressed appropriately for the site visit and did not trail around like a helpless girlie. She was certainly a looker, but his attention was diverted by the accident. It was the second date before he really thought about her as a possible girlfriend. That kiss at the end of the date had a warmth and passion that aroused him more than physically. She was so easy to be around and really made him feel the centre of attention. He wanted to make her feel the same. When she invited him to her bed he wanted to ensure that she thought of him as a lover, not a sex partner. So he pulled out almost all the stops that night. Well, you want to keep some surprises for later.

Gradually, he felt the relationship deepen. He had got the awkward moment of meeting her parents over on the first date. They were very straightforward, normal, people. When he decided to ask Diane to marry him, Jack felt that it was appropriate to go through the traditional niceties and asked her father, Sam, for permission first. Sam was as pleased as Punch that Jack had gone to the trouble of doing so and gave his blessing willingly. Both he and Betty, Diane's mother, had taken him into their hearts. Diane was appropriately surprised later that evening when Jack went down on one knee on a hill overlooking the sea. She knew of course that Jack was going to propose but the time and place did come as a surprise to her.

As an only child Diane's parents pulled out all the stops. They weren't rich by any stretch of the imagination but they wanted the best for her. Both Jack and Diane pitched in of course, but discretely.

The wedding day was everything a girl could hope for and the honeymoon to the Bahamas was everything a boy could. They chose to get right on with a family, as Diane wanted to have her children while she was young enough to keep up with them. Married life was unexceptional. Jack was a loving and dutiful father and Diane played her part to perfection. Bedroom activities fluctuated with family needs but to Jack; they were definitely not on short rations. They explored each other's sexuality to the fullest. Diane knew she had chosen a good lover and father for her children and made sure Jack had no reason to question the stability of the relationship. Or to feel the need to look elsewhere.

It helped that Jack's parents were prepared to look after the children and allow them some adult time every couple of months and Diane never failed to make those weekends special. Even when they bought the house in Devon and Diane and the children went down for the summer, she ensured that Jack was looking forward to getting back to work for a rest every weekend.

For her, the time to change came once the children were both at secondary school. In her own mind she had proven her feminine credentials and it was time to resurrect her career. She chose to ease her way back into the real world by starting in a small boutique in town. This way she could redevelop her customer relation skills. It would also put her in touch with a world of glamour and celebrity where she belonged after fifteen years in the wilderness. 

Diane had been with the business for six months when she was invited by the two owners of the business to accompany them to a show. Unbeknownst to Diane this coincided with Jack's purchase, on her behalf of a 30 percent share in the business. What she did know was that the owners intended to open a second shop in a nearby town. This event prompted the action, which would eventually lead to divorce.

Although she was not by any stretch of the imagination, overweight, she felt it. At the exhibition, she was surrounded by stick thin models, designers, and buyers. All were in the latest styles. Diane felt frumpy. It was as simple as that. She resolved to shed the weight that had not gone after child bearing and she would update her wardrobe. Then she would take over the business, and expand it further. She already had thoughts of a beach and swimwear shop in Devon. To Diane, that meant a trip to Rio.

Her first action when she got home was to join the gym. It was not enough to simply lose the weight. She had to tone and shape her body. She engaged one of the personal trainers to develop a programme of exercise to meet her requirements. That was how she met Peter. 

Peter was eye candy but not a himbo. He had studied sport science and physiotherapy, and was a part owner or the gym. He was 29, six feet two inches tall, slender, but lithe. He moved sinuously, with the grace of a dancer. Yet he exuded manliness. Fair haired, rather than blonde; his blue eyes were darker than Paul Newman's, but had the same roguishness. Diane knew at first sight that this was the man she would need to adorn her arm on buying trips. Jack was still a good-looking man but in the world of fashion he would look like a sugar daddy. Diane knew if she was to develop the business, she had to be the one in control and it had to look that way. So along with her commitment to body sculpting came her campaign to seduce Peter. 

Initially the only parts of all this that Jack could establish were the time frame and the fact that Diane was living up to her Greek goddess namesake, Diana the Huntress. This told him what he needed to know. Diane had used both Peter and him. Jack's anger at the hurt caused to him and the children could be focussed on Diane. Whatever happened to Peter was collateral damage.



Jack and Diane Ch. 08-10



I apologise for the delay in submitting the next parts of this story. I got the dreaded blue screen of death and have had to rescue the story from a couple of sources. The final part is just being tidied up. Thanks to rpsuch for his comments and advice on technique. I haven't entirely implemented them here because of the hiatus but I haven't disregarded them either!:) 

Jack and Diane Ch 08

People like to talk. Jack had developed the skill of getting people to talk. Putting the two together, he was able to gather a reasonable picture of Diane's actions, but not her reasons.

Joining the gym, Jack came into regular contact with Peter. He intended to make Peter uncomfortable. Observing his routine in the gym was a surprise. Peter was very good at his job and treated all his clients in a very proficient manner. Conversing with other users, Jack discovered that all the trainers had a reputation for maintaining a professional distance between themselves and their clients. Not only that, but the gym staff ensured that any predatory behaviour was quickly dealt with. Their reputation was that women could use the facilities in safety and comfort. This even extended to the car park, which was well lit and comprehensively covered by CCTV. 

What he did learn though was that Diane had initiated the relationship. She had not been flagrant in her flirting, but the other women had picked up on the signals, even though the men didn't. There had been no activity around the gym so Jack was unable to establish where the affair had been consummated. Nevertheless that point was moot. Diane had made it quite clear that he was being replaced and the result was the divorce.

For his part, Peter was unfazed by Jack's presence, to the extent that he even welcomed Jack on their first encounter. He was professional enough to give Jack advice on the use of the equipment and exercises appropriate to help improve the mobility of his arms. Peter even asked for advice on how to help improve the relationship between the children and their mother and him. He was clearly interested in the children's well-being. Despite himself Jack started to warm to him. In fact, he had to admit that, had Peter been one of his staff, he would have every confidence in him.

This rather changed the complexion of Jack's plan. Peter had, to some extent, shown Jack that his primary concern had to be to resolve the children's anxieties, and uncertainties. Much to his chagrin, he was also persuaded that Peter did, in fact, love Diane. That, he found hardest to bear. Whilst the flame of his own love for her was dying, he had a feeling that the embers would glow for a very long time. That self knowledge only added to his current pain.

Jack was now ashamed of the ignobility of his initial desire for a grand revenge on Diane and Peter. He was embarrassed with himself for making Peter a target for reprisal. Clearly, Peter was as innocent of any wrong doing, just as were Jack, Harry and Georgie. Laying all the blame on Diane, however, meant that somewhere along the line he had misjudged his wife and the nature of their marriage. It made him question everything about the past fifteen or so years. Revenge, however, can come in many ways. 

Diane was due to collect the children to take them to the house in Devon for the weekend. Jack had arranged that he and David would have a round of golf and then a night on the town. Jack collected the kids from school and found David waiting for him when he arrived home. Harry and Georgie rushed into the house to change and collect their back-packs for the week-end. Jack lifted his clubs and was loading them into David's car when Diane drove up. She got out of her car in high dudgeon and stormed over to Jack.

"BASTARD!" she screamed, and caught him with a full blooded slap across the face as he straightened from loading the clubs. She was about to hit him again when he pushed her away. She stumbled backwards and landed heavily on her rump. Peter had just got out of the car and moved to restrain her.

"You bastard, you did that deliberately!" she screamed again. By this time the children had appeared with their bags.

Jack ruefully rubbed his cheek wondering what he was supposed to have done. He looked at Diane, who was trying to break free from Peter. Then he looked quizzically at Peter. 

"I was stopped by the police because my brake light was out. You bastard!" she shrieked

"That's hardly my fault." said Jack.

"It's not that and you know it, you fucker!"

"Sorry Diane, you've lost me." 

"They checked the car tax and it was out of date!" her rant continued, "then they asked for the MOT certificate and my insurance and they were both out of date too!"

"Oh dear. And that's my fault how?" A small smile played over Jack's face as he realised what had happened.

Diane redoubled her efforts to break free and continue her assault. 

"You should have got it tested and renewed the tax and insurance!" she shrieked.

"Not my problem honey. It's your car. It always was. You wanted a divorce so I don't have any responsibility for it."

"I didn't get any renewal notice."

"I see, you didn't tell them about your change of address then." It was getting difficult not to gloat.

"You should have passed them on to me when they arrived here."

"Again, not my problem. Anyway I did. Any mail for you gets sent back to the Post Office with your new address on it. If they don't re-direct it in time it's nothing to do with me."

"You knew."

Jack changed the argument. "So you're telling me that car isn't taxed, insured or tested? I'm afraid you can't have the children then."

"WHAT?" she screamed, "I'll take you to court for full custody, you bastard!"

"I'm sorry but it wouldn't be very responsible of me to let the children go in a car that I knew wasn't roadworthy, Diane."

Diane was mouthing apoplectically. "You, you..."

"I think maybe you should call a taxi so you can go and get Peter's car. Assuming it is taxed and everything, that is." 

Jack looked at Peter who had a strange look on his face, somewhere between anger and laughter. Fortunately Diane couldn't see it. "Come on Diane," he said, "we'll go get my car," and he firmly conducted Diane back to her car. 

Jack turned to David. "Can we drop the kids off at Peter's so they can have their weekend?" he asked.

"Sure, no problem," then to Peter, "We'll follow you."

The children were very quiet on the journey. Jack tried to reassure them that their Mum was just angry with him and not them. He didn't want to ruin their weekend; Diane was more than capable of doing that.

Having dropped them off David and Jack headed for the golf club. "You devious bastard," David chortled, "you knew that would happen, didn't you?" 

"Not to that degree," admitted Jack.

"She'll get points on her license, as well."

"Oh, dear, to bad, so sad, you're confusing me with someone who gives a fuck," laughed Jack. Somewhat hollowly, thought David.

"Simon and Milla are making a four ball with us then we'll head down the George for dinner."

"As long as you are paying, I'm a poor divorcee now you know."

David snorted.

Jack had a good game but Simon was a 7 handicap and swept the board. Dinner was fun and they all danced with Milla at some stage in the evening. David and Jack danced with a few other women as well. At the end of the night Jack went home to an empty house. He checked the horses before retiring.

Next morning he woke to a lonely silence and spent the morning tending to the animals and the domestic chores. He was about to take each of the horses out in turn for some exercise, when Milla turned up with her nieces. "I thought you could do with a hand exercising the beasts" she explained. They spent a pleasant afternoon hacking through the countryside. Milla noted, however, that Jack's bonhomie was a little forced. "Why don't you come over for dinner this evening?" she offered.

"Thanks Milla, but I'm going to have to learn to live with it. There's a pile of ironing to be done anyway."

Camilla laughed. "Somehow I can't imagine you in a pinny."

Jack had just finished the dishes after his evening meal when David walked into the kitchen with a litre and a half bottle of rum, coke, crisps and nuts. "Righty-ho old fruit! Time for a jolly-old chin wag, I think."

"I take it you and Milla have decided I'm your new charity case."

"Milla may have, dear boy, but as far as I'm concerned you're only my oldest chum."

"You still talk like some old Sir Buffton-Tuffton, David."

"Yes, its handy in court, the opposition still underestimates me, old chap. Works wonders sometimes. Apart from all that, I know full well you are still bottling everything up. The ankle-biters are out of the way, so you can get uproariously drunk and suffer in peace, if not in pieces, in the morning."

"We'd better tend to the horses first then."

"Move them into the pasture. The police caught the horse-slasher so they can graze away and we won't have to worry about them too early."

David carefully got Jack drunk while he maintained his own sobriety and then got him to bed. He checked the horses and locked the house before retiring himself. 

Jack and Diane Chapter 9

Next morning David dragged Jack from bed and they both went for a run, then showered, before having breakfast.

"You haven't said anything about the divorce Jack." 

"Nothing to say."

"Bollocks. I know you better than anyone except perhaps Milla. You've bottled everything up for the sake of the kids. If you don't release the pressure the boiler will burst."

"Did Milla send you to do this?"

"Fucks sake, Jack, Milla isn't the only one who cares about you. Gimme some fucking credit."

"Sorry, David. I know it was you steered me in the right direction first."

"Damn right. Now, I know you, Diane's lucky she's still vertical. So, spill."

"I don't know David. Milla convinced me that the kids would need their mother as well as me. I've come to terms with it. If I do anything to her it's just going to hurt Harry and Georgie. Their mother has caused them enough turmoil without me making things worse."

"All very mature. Did you deliberately fuck up the tax and insurance on the car?"

"Actually? No. I'm not saying I wasn't pleased about it, but when I met her, Diane was pretty high powered. She looked after that stuff for her boss. I'd 'a thought she'd have realised about it. Of course I tended to deal with all that so she probably didn't know it was due precisely then."

"What exactly are you gonna do then."

"Just get on with life. The job's secure. In fact if I wanted I could probably give it up and live of my investments. It wouldn't be flash but I could get by. The kids are OK at school, and Harry will be doing his GCSEs soon. So I'll just have to suck it up and get on with it."

"I'm not really talking about that. Divorce is as bad as bereavement. I'm a solicitor. I've seen plenty of both. You could do with some counselling."

"Counselling! D'you think I'm some sort of a nutter?"

"Far from it. But you need to get it out of your system. You haven't talked to me or Milla, so maybe a stranger would be best."

"You and Milla did cook this up between you then." Jack sighed.

"No, Jack, we didn't cook anything up. We're both concerned about you, that's all. We're both prepared to listen and we're both prepared to help whatever way we can."

"Thanks David. I really did love her, you know?" tears started to flow.

"I know." Thank fuck, David thought. At last, some emotion. If he'd bottled it much longer things could really have gone downhill fast, and that wasn't going to help the kids.

"She always, ALWAYS seemed happy with me. She really was a good wife. What the fuck did I do?"

"I don't think you did anything Jack. She just seemed to have made some sort of decision."

"But WHY? That's what I don't understand."

"I really don't think you're going to find out. I think it was just her. I think you are going to have to accept it and move on mate."

"Dry your eyes mate. Huh?"

"What?"

"That song by The Streets, "Dry your eyes mate, I know it's hard to take it, but her mind is made up," or something like that."

"Oh, aye. Well, maybe."

"Let's go take the horses out for a jaunt."

Together the old friends got the horses into the stables. As they were saddling two, Milla and Simon drove in. Jack looked at David and raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing to do with me."

"The PoW?" said Simon, leading out a bay gelding and saddling up.

"Prince of Wales? Sounds good to me." said David. "I think George keeps that field just for riders to put their horses in to increase his trade." 

"Well it sure as heck works. To the bridle-way!"

"And Beyond" 

The afternoon passed discussing the finer points of the horses unsaddled in the field beside the pub and then the four friends ambled back by the bridleway again. As they were rubbing the horses down in the yard, Peter drove in with Harry and Georgie.

"I dropped Diane off before we came over. I thought it would avoid any nastiness." said Peter.

"Thanks" said Jack. "Did they behave."

"Oh yes, they were very good. I think we got on alright." Peter ruffled Harry's hair. "Diane is another matter though," he cautioned. 

"Thanks for dropping them back."

"See you later kids," Peter called as he drove off. Jack noted that Harry and Georgie waved, happily. 

With the horses cooled and stabled David, Milla and Simon left. "Right you pair, supper." Jack ushered the children into the house.

**************************

Having got Georgie to bed, Jack and Harry were doing the dishes in the kitchen. "Mum's very angry all the time, Dad." Harry commenced, "Georgie is really upset about everything."

"What about you, son?"

"Oh, I'm alright" 

Jack took the opportunity to talk things through with his son to reassure him and to find out how Georgie was. In a way, Harry seemed to be dealing with the situation better than he was, but David's chat had focussed his mind somewhat and he knew that it was time to take his friend's advice.

Harry went to bed and Jack sat down with the newspaper and a cup of tea. The doorbell rang. Jack checked the viewer and saw two police officers. He opened the door. 

"Are you John Winters," asked the male officer.

"Yes, what can I do fo..."

"John Winters, you are under arrest for assault on Diane Winters."

The female officer stepped forward and Jack stepped back, only to receive a facefull of pepper spray followed by a blow to his solar plexus, which momentarily paralysed his breathing. He pitched forward and felt his arms being pulled behind his back and handcuffed. He was dragged unceremoniously to the police car, gasping for breath and trying to tell the officers about Harry and Georgie. 

Jack and Diane Chapter 10

Diane didn't believe Jack's protestation of innocence. Cold fury replaced the burning embarrassment. It festered the whole weekend and she was very withdrawn. Peter tried to make up for her lack of involvement with the children and it only made her angrier. This should have been a chance for them to re-connect. Her plan to win them over to the idea of coming to live with her in Devon had been sidelined by Jack's dirty tricks. Well if that was how he wanted to play it she was more than a match for him. The pain in her arse gave her an idea of how to deal with that other pain in her arse. When Peter dropped her off at the flat before leaving the children off, she promptly drove down to the police station.

Diane asked the officer on the occurrence desk if she could speak with a female officer, and after a short wait was taken into an interview room. She told the policewoman, W.P.C. Graham, that she had gone to collect her children for an agreed visitation, but that her husband had at first refused to let them come with her. She claimed that her daughter was crying and trying to get to her, but when she tried to go to her, Jack had pushed her to the ground.

The police officer took note of all the details and arranged for a medical examination. She made note of the fact that Jack had been in the Services and asked if he had any record of violence. Diane told her how he had been a boxer and how he had been involved in some kind of attack on another sailor. W.P.C. Graham left Diane with the doctor for the medical examination and spoke with her Sergeant. When the doctor was finished the constable checked that Diane would be going back to a safe place and that she knew how to contact the station if there was any threat from her ex-husband. She convinced the Duty Sergeant that Mr Winters should be arrested on a domestic violence charge. Taking a male officer, P.C. Connors, with her, she went to Jack's house.

As soon as the door opened, Constable Graham made the arrest, squirted him with pepper spray, and hit him with her baton. The two officers cuffed him and loaded him into the car. Once he was in the car the police man wanted to know what she was doing using the spray and baton.

"I told you on the way over he had a history of violence."

"Yeah, but he didn't do anything."

"What did you want? He assaulted his wife, he's got previous, if he put you down what would have happened to me? All you say is he threatened us and it was the only way to make the arrest."

"Yeah, but..."

"Are you trying to let a wife beater get away with it? Is that it?"

"No but..."

"You just back me up. You don't want to be known as someone who doesn't back-up his oppo!"

Back at the station Jack was processed by the Custody Sergeant. W.P.C. Graham made her statement. Connors' contribution consisted of "yes" at the appropriate moments. Jack was placed in a cell and told he had to wait for the doctor but as it was shift change-over he might be a while. All his attempts tell them about the children were ignored.

Jack felt he had been in the cell for hours when the door opened and a voice said, "I thought it might be you."

Looking up through bleary eyes Jack peered and replied, "Henshaw? Able Seaman Jimmy Henshaw?"

"As was, Sir." Henshaw was delighted, "I didn't think you'd remember me. What the hell are you doing here?"

Jack told Sergeant Henshaw about his children. A car was dispatched immediately, and then Jack explained his story. When he finished Jimmy Henshaw dropped a bombshell on him

"You know that bitch that nicked you, Graham."

"Yes."

"Her maiden name's McVeigh."

"What?

A constable interrupted them, "Skip, Winters' lawyer's here."

"That's Mr Winters to you, constable, this man saved my life!"

"Sorry sergeant, Mr Winters' lawyer is here." 

"Right, show him into the interview room and get Inspector Willis down there, pronto."

Things started to move quickly after that. David was waiting for them. The moment they walked into the interview room, he started to speak, Sergeant Henshaw raised his hand to stop him. 

"I think, sir, there's more to this than would appear. So if you don't mind, I think we should wait until the Inspector gets here."

David looked at Jack who agreed.

"Are the kids OK?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Harry was at the top of the stairs and saw what happened. He phoned your father. He and your mum ran down to them and phoned me. They are safe, at your parents' house."

The Inspector arrived. Sgt Henshaw took him to the next interview room to outline events, using the reports from Constable Graham and the Custody Sergeant as the starting point.

"From what I can see here Sir, W.P.C. Graham has seriously mishandled this enquiry. She responded to the initial complaint properly, but the arrest is a clusterfuck.

When he had finished his assessment, the Inspector shook his head grimly. "Shit! This looks like a case for Complaints and Discipline. Fuck, Fuck, Fuck! It'll probably have to go to the Police Complaints Commission. I'm going to have to get someone in from outside. The Chief and the Super are going to hang out of us. Thanks for the heads up, by the way"




Jack and Diane Ch. 08-10



"Hardly us boss. This all happened last shift."

"Yeah, but we uncovered it. They shoot the messenger round here." 

They returned to David and Jack. David went on the attack immediately. The Inspector interrupted him. "We are releasing Mr Winters immediately on police bail. There seems to be a lot more to this case than meets the eye. I'm going to have to refer this up the chain. If you'll excuse me I'll leave you with Sgt Henshaw to complete the formalities. I'm going to prepare a report for the Chief Inspector."

When he had gone Sgt Henshaw sat them both down. "This is totally off the record here, OK?" He looked inquiringly at Jack and David. David looked at Jack, who nodded.

"OK" said David.

"What happened on Friday evening?"

"Nothing here is evidential?"

"Nothing, look, you'll get all this under the rules of evidence so I'll tell you what Mrs Winters said. She claims that Commander Winters..."

"That's plain old Mister now, but I'll settle for Jack," said Jack.

Sgt Henshaw grinned, "Mrs Winters claimed she arrived to pick up the children, Jack refused and assaulted her."

"Oh-oh," said David, "I'm a witness to that incident. I'm not going to be able to act for you Jack."

Sgt Henshaw groaned. "This just gets better and better. She reported the assault and WPC Graham responded. It looks to me like she was looking some payback for her father..." Henshaw noted David's puzzlement, "Jack and WPC Graham's father had a run-in when Jack was in the Navy." David nodded. "... and she thought she could hang him out to dry. I told the Inspector I'd get your side of the story so we can figure out just how we are going to proceed. It looks to me like she over-reacted and you have the best "get out of jail, free" card ever."

David looked at Jack. "Well? Normally I would tell you to say nothing and get Milla in here pronto. But this looks like Diane and Graham have fucked up big style. If you trust the Sergeant here it might worth telling him what happened."

"All off the record." said Henshaw.

"OK," agreed Jack.

After Jack had explained the sequence of events, Jimmy Henshaw sat back, sucked his teeth and said, "Oooooh shit. The Inspector is not going to like this one bit. It pretty much confirms what I thought. Look, I'll have to go over this with him. So! As he said you're released on bail. We'll get in touch with your solicitor when we have something. If you could let us know who that'll be...?" David gave him Milla's details.

David ran Jack to his parent's house. Jack's mother had got the kids to bed and she and his father had also retired so Jack got David to drop him off at his house. As David drew up, the security light came on. "Jack, do you still use the cameras?" Jack had a security system installed when someone had been attacking and killing horses.

"Yes, actually, I do."

"We'll have to get the recordings and make sure we retain copies. I'll sort that with Milla. You get some sleep." 



Jack and Diane Ch. 11-14



I am re-posting Chapters 11-14 without the epilogue appended to the original. This has been replaced by an re-written ending, closer to the original which I lost when my computer died. Thanks for reading. TTB

Jack and Diane Chapter 11

I stretched, languorously, only to be brought up short as the bruised muscles of my belly screamed their memory of the previous evening. Doubled up to relieve the pain, I revisited the events of the preceding night. The sun filtering through the curtains filled the bedroom with a warmth that I did not share. A mixture of cold determination and seething anger focused my thoughts.

"There is no way I'm taking any more of her shit," I addressed the house. Gently uncurling, I lifted the phone. My first call was to my parents to check how Harry and Georgie were. Once reassured that they had been packed off to school to keep their routine as normal as possible, I phoned Milla. 

"My name is Jack Winters, may I speak to Ms Fielding, please." The receptionist put me through immediately. Evidently Milla was expecting my call.

"Jack, when can you come in? David is on stand-by."

"What time is it? Geez, I really slept in, didn't I." The clock showed a quarter to ten. "I'll phone into work and see you at twelve. We can continue after lunch if needs be."

"Noon is fine, I'll phone David, Bye."

"Bye"

I phoned my P.A. and explained I would be out of the office for the rest of the day, breakfasted lightly, and having performed the usual morning chores, copied the security tapes for Friday and Sunday nights..

*****

On arrival, I was shown immediately into Milla's office. David was already there. 

"Oh good, you brought the tapes. David has told me everything, but if you run through your version, Jack, to see if there is anything significant he missed."

I recounted his version of events. "Good," said Milla, "No real differences there. And what there are, simply reflect who could see what from where they were standing. Let's go to lunch and we'll chat about what to do next." 

We repaired to a local pub. Good food, good beer, and set out with booths that would allow us a degree of privacy.

"I'm not letting the bitch get away with this Milla. I don't give a flying fiddlers fuck about keeping up appearances or anything else. I am going to fuck her life big style." I opened.

"Whilst I sympathise with the general thrust of your sentiment, old son, I rather think it might be somewhat counterproductive vis-à-vis the old freedom stakes." opined David, in his best Colonel Blimp impersonation.

I had to laugh, then swore. "Bugger, my stomach still aches. Okay, okay, I get it."

"David is right. You've done everything right so far. We are not about to let you blow it," said Milla. 

"Maybe so, but right now Plod reckons I'm a wifebeater. That is not going to do me any favours in a custody hearing."

"I have already been on to the police, they are in a real dilemma over the whole thing. And I intend to keep them off balance." Milla was not the sort of lawyer who saw the police as the enemy, but if they stepped out of line she treated them like any other opponent of her client.

"That's all well and good Milla, but I've done everything you advise and she is still dictating my life to me. She wanted out, but I can't move on because of her. I've a new life to build and it's going to be on my terms, not someone else's."

"Jack, Milla and I both understand that but the only way you are going to be able to do that is if we keep you clean and clear with the legal side of things. The arbitration is binding but you hit the nail when you mentioned custody hearings. That might just be what she is up to, and if you go off, half cock, you will definitely land in the poo."

"David is right, Jack. We need to get this assault charge dealt with properly. David's input is the clincher. Dealt with properly you'll be free and clear and it will turn round and bite her in the arse. She made a false accusation and wasted police time. If we can get the police to charge her then anything she tries to bring up in court would be looked at very carefully. But she has totally blown it by making the false allegation. You have got to keep calm, and let us deal with that."

The waitress arrived with the meals, lasagne and salad for Milla, beef and Guinness pies with chips and mushy peas for David and me. "Could we have another two pints and a glass of white wine please?" I asked.

"Alright, alright, alright. I'll leave that side of things to the pair of you. But I want her out of my life."

"Do you know what you want your life to be?" asked David.

"Ehh. Well ..."

"Exactly. At the moment you are still getting used to the whole idea of not being part of a couple anymore. You have no idea what you want. Only that you don't want what you have. You need to talk to someone. Either us, or a counsellor," David continued.

"Some times it's best to talk to someone independent, Jack. We're here to back you up in any way we can, but our view is coloured because we are your friends," Milla concurred.

I looked at the pair of them. Their faces were both pictures of earnest concern; some would say worry. "Knowing you pair, you have a name all lined up for me."

Their faces softened with relief. Both Milla and David had obviously been concerned that my naval background would have made me more difficult to convince. Milla passed me a card.

" Ummm, grief and bereavement counselling?"

"Yes, you're a bit past the marriage counselling bit, and you need to move on. A grief counsellor will help more with that. Marriage counsellors tend to be for reconciliation or guiding you to a decision about the future of your relationship. You have split up and that is more like bereavement." 

"No, David, be straight with me, don't pull your punches," I laughed. Milla looked nonplussed. David gave me the raised eyebrow, pursed lip, "don't talk crap" look.

"You wouldn't let me away with it, so you know I'm going to give it to you the same way Jack," he replied.

I grinned at my best friend. The pompous façade had disappeared, replaced by the concern of a lifelong friend. I looked at Milla and saw the same.

"You know ...," I was lost for words, "Thanks, both of you."

"De nada, old fruit," David, grinning broadly, ducked behind his shield of portentousness again. Milla simply laid her hand on mine, and smiled.

"Right, I think I'll go pick up the kids then." I said to fill the self-conscious silence.

"Oh. No, you don't," Milla leapt in, "you are well over the drink drive limit." David opened his mouth to speak. "Both of you!" she glared. "I'll drive you both home. You can pick up your cars tomorrow."

David again tried to interject, but Milla simply pointed to her untouched wine. "Oh well, can't let them go to waste," he said passing one to me and lifting the other for himself. 

"Pigs, complete and utter pigs," Milla laughed.

*****

My parents picked up the children and his car for him. Once home, Georgie wouldn't leave my side. I knew I had to talk to them both about the previous night. I told them exactly what had happened.

"I hate her!" Georgie cried, "I don't want to see her again! I don't want to go to that horrible apartment any more!" She curled into my arms, sobbing on my chest.

Harry was obviously upset but struggling manfully to conceal it. "How can she say you hit her? She hit you. We both saw it. That's why Georgie wasn't very happy over the weekend."

"Your Mum is upset and confused. She misses both of you ..."

"Well, it's her own fault!" Georgie declaimed. 

"She is still your Mum and she loves you ..."

"Then why is she doing this to us?"

"Sometimes people change as they grow older, darling. They see things differently, and want different things."

"Do you want different things, daddy?"

Bang! There it was. Out in the open. That is what has been scaring her, and probably Harry too. Did Diane do this because she didn't want them? And did I want to rid himself of them too!

Wrapping both of them in my arms, and squeezing them tightly, I told them, "The only thing I want different is that your Mummy didn't go away. I just want everything to go back to what it was before; all four of us happy together again. But I don't think that will ever happen. So that means that I want the three of us to be happy together, forever. Like the three Musketeers, all for one and one for all." I kissed them both on the forehead. "I love you both very, very, much and I'll never leave you." 

Georgie snuggled in further, and Harry, sitting up straight, said, "Cuppa-tea Dad?"

"Yes, please son," I smiled. 

It was abundantly clear to me that Diane's actions were affecting the children deeply. Initially I had taken the counsellors card as a sop to David and Milla. Now I decided to make an appointment to see what could be done to help the kids. The more I thought about it the more I worried about Harry. At first I had thought he was coping better than his sister. Now I thought he was bottling things up, trying to be strong for his sister and, indeed, me, his father.

Jack and Diane Ch 12

I came into the kitchen from attending to the horses. The children were noisily preparing breakfast. The doorbell rang. The children's gaiety died immediately, to be replaced with anxiety. 

"Don't answer it, Daddy," Georgie pleaded.

I reassured her everything was under control, but used the door viewer. I saw two women I didn't recognise, who gave off the air of busybody officialdom. Opening the door one of the women flashed some sort of ID, and tried to push past me saying, "We are from Social Services, Child Protec ..."

That was enough. I had held my foot against the door for just such an eventuality, blocking the open space with my body. "I'm sorry," I said loudly, "you are not coming into my house." With that I closed the door firmly. Harry, who had followed him into the hall, ran back into the kitchen, and locked the back door.

The women stood outside, loudly proclaiming, "We have right of access Mr Winters. If you don't let us in we shall return with the police and have you arrested."

I phoned both Milla and David. David was about to leave for his office, and promptly diverted directly to my house. When he arrived, the Social Services people tried to follow him in. As soon as he identified himself as my solicitor, they promptly withdrew. Milla, in the meantime, had dashed from her half eaten breakfast, straight to her office and was onto both the police and the local council. Neither realm of officialdom was particularly forthcoming with any information until she told them the name of her Chambers and that she would issue writs against them for harassment.

The name and threat of legal action, whilst not producing immediate results, did elicit promises of return phone calls from higher placed officials. Milla gave a deadline of 10.30 for a response. Not that she really expected things to move that quickly, but she had found it best to use the stick rather than the carrot when dealing with bureaucracy.

*****

David, meanwhile was arranging matters with me.

"We allow them into the house under my supervision, to check on the kids and the conditions they are living in ..."

"Why should they get in at all?"

"Because then we can say they were given access. We limit the time they have by taking Harry and Georgie to school."

David went to the social workers car and told them that the children were getting their breakfast and would be going to school. He informed them that they could come in and check conditions in the home, which they did. Once more my habit of tidiness proved it's worth. Everything from the previous evening had been cleaned and tidied. Additionally, due to the hiatus of the weekend I had got a little behind in the laundry, so the not only were the children's rooms tidy but their beds had been stripped and fresh bedding laid out. The children were sitting to table, eating a breakfast of fruit, cereal, poached egg and toast, when the two women entered the kitchen. Harry and Georgie greeted them with a polite "Good morning." Once they had finished they excused themselves from the table and got their blazers and school bags as I cleared the table. Picking up the children's lunches I asked the social workers to leave and David escorted them to the front door. They were still sitting in their car as we both drove off.

***** 

Surprisingly, the police responded to Milla's call within half-an-hour. The duty Inspector from the station which had arrested me, apologized for the delay in answering her enquiry. He explained that, "no action had been taken against Mr. Winters," adding, "Since you represent Mr. Winters I have been authorised to inform you that, as a result of the complaint by Mrs. Winters and subsequent police action, an internal investigation has been implemented. The officers concerned have been relieved of operational duties."

"Well then, why are Child Protection camped on Mr. Winters doorstep?" demanded Milla. 

"I'm sorry Ms Fielding, I don't know, but they did not receive any information from us."

Milla phoned me at the office and brought me up to date. "I'm going to push for a case conference on this Jack."

"What for? I haven't done anything."

"It's an unfortunate truth that these people are more used to dealing with difficult families on the lower end of the social scale. They'll make a meal out of this, all in the name of political correctness, if we let them."

"You're saying I'm just a scalp to them?"

"That just about sums it up. But they didn't reckon on dealing with the three of us," Milla hinted, darkly.

With that Milla phoned David to work on a plan of action.

Later, just after lunch, the social services department finally returned her call. Unsurprisingly they contradicted what the police had told Milla. "We were contacted by a Constable Graham on Monday morning that she was handling a case involving an assault by Mr. Winters on his wife. She told us that he had not informed the police of the children's presence in the house when he was arrested. She also said she believed they were at risk from assault or abandonment."

"And it took you twenty-four hours to respond?" commented Milla.

"Oh, well, we are very busy with lots of cases, we sent a team round as quickly as we could to remove the children to a place of safety," the Senior Caseworker replied. Clearly she was completely unaware that Milla was not interested in her tardiness, except insofar as it delayed her response to Milla's enquiries.

"I don't think you quite understand, Ms Aristedes, I represent Mr. Winters, and we are concerned that your department is being used to harass him."

"Oh! Ahh, well, er, I can assure you we know Constable Graham and have worked with her so we have no reason to doubt her."

"I'm sure that is the case but I think it would be appropriate for you to delay any further action in this matter."

Zoe Aristedes recovered her composure, "I'm afraid when we have a report like this we have to investigate as promptly as possible, Ms Fielding," she said, primly.

"Well in that case, I think it would be appropriate to hold an emergency case conference immediately, don't you? Perhaps you should get in touch with the police and Mrs. Winters. Mr. Winters and I shall be at your office at four o'clock. Please have all the other interested parties present."

"I don't think that is possible ..."

"You are charged with child safety, Ms Aristedes, believe me it is not in your personal or departmental interests to delay this matter. Four o'clock. Thank you." Milla hung up.

Jack and Diane Ch 13

Milla got David and me to her office as quickly as possible to prepare her plan of attack. "We can't be sure of their approach to this but there are a couple of issues we will have to deal with; namely, the alleged assault, and Jack's arrest. However, having spoken to the police this morning, I don't think the arrest is going to be a problem."

"Diane may be more of a problem, if she sticks to her story," I contributed, morosely.

"Yes, and we don't want to let her know too much about our defence. But again I don't see that as being a problem. All we have to do is focus everything on the children's well-being," said David.

They thrashed through all the obstacles they foresaw, and finally Milla said, "Right, I think we are on top of everything, just remember Jack, you say absolutely nothing unless David or I tell you to."

"Ok, the Big Four then."

"The what ...?"

"Name, rank, number, and date of birth."

"Oh, fun-nee! I'll just give Alison a shout, she'll take notes for us."

The foursome arrived at the offices of the Social Services, and they were directed to a conference room. It was clear that no expense had been spent on office furniture. 

"At least they aren't wasting ratepayers money on creature comforts," said Jack.

"Certainly not down here where the work is done," they turned to see a rather harassed looking woman of about their own age. Dressed in a dark top, loose fitting slacks and flat sensible shoes she looked every inch the overworked, underpaid, uncredited functionary who made local government achieve anything. "If I had what they spent on refurbishing the directors offices, I could have three more case workers, I'm Zoe Aristedes, how do you do?" she offered her hand.

"I'm Camilla Fielding, we spoke earlier," said Milla taking the proffered greeting. This is Mr Jack Winters, my client, Mr David Cavendish, my colleague, and Ms Alison Williams, my PA. She'll be taking notes for us."

"Oh I'd love to have someone who could take notes. I have to settle for using a Dictaphone and sometimes it is difficult to make out what is said. You don't mind, do you?" 

Just at that, Diane and Alan Davies, her solicitor and David's partner, came in along with Inspector Willis. Diane had a hunted look in her eyes. "What's going on, Jack? Why are we here?" she almost pleaded.

"You should know Diane. You set the whole train in motion, this is your wreck."

"Jack!" Milla cautioned.

"Hullo again, Mr Winters," said Inspector Willis.

"Hello Inspector, nice to see you again, maybe someday it won't be in an official capacity."

"Thanks for that," he grinned.

Once everyone was seated Zoe Aristedes opened, "Well, Ms Fielding, this is as much your meeting as mine so perhaps you would like to start?"

"Thank you. Why is your department investigating the Winters family and threatening to take the children into care."

"YOU'RE WHAT?" shrieked Diane, "Jack what is going on?" She was becoming extremely agitated, "Alan, what is this all about?"

"That's what we're here to find out. It seems to be something to do with Mr Winters' arrest on domestic violence charges. Is that correct Ms Aristedes?"

Diane paled and gasped. She looked at me. My look was an interplay between resigned disgust, anger and contempt. She blushed and looked ashamed. I think she realised that her actions had turned all the love and esteem in which I once held her had turned to scorn. 

Zoe noted the unspoken interchange. Along with the initial report from the field workers and the legal representation, she formed a shrewd idea of what had happened. "Our department received a phone call from Const. Graham yesterday morning. She informed us that she had been called out to a report of domestic violence. When she had got there she had to arrest Mr Winters who had not informed her and her colleague of the presence of the children. As a result they ..." I snorted. Milla rested her hand on my arm to restrain me.

Again, Zoe noted the interjection; there was clearly a degree of indignation on the part of Mr Winters. "As a result," she continued, "the children had been left alone in the house."




Jack and Diane Ch. 11-14



I nearly exploded, both Milla and David held him back.

Zoe Aristedes was far from a fool. Whilst she knew that people could be adept at covering up child abuse, she had plenty of experience. The last thing her department needed was to be used as a weapon in a custody dispute. There were far too many real cases of abuse going uninvestigated. She did not, however, expect what followed. "I think, Ms Aristedes, your department has been slightly misled," this from Inspector Willis. "When Mr Winters was brought to the station he was unable to communicate with Const. Graham and her partner. It was only when he was in the custody suite and sufficiently recovered that his first concern was the children. By this stage Const. Graham had gone off duty."

Milla looked at me and shook her head, warning me to stay silent. She had a twinkle of victory in her eye.

"Perhaps Const Graham was a little over zealous in involving us," observed Zoe, "but there remains the assault by Mr Winters on his ex-wife." Everyone noted the stress she put on the word "ex." All eyes turned to Diane.

Her body language spoke for her. Her face was the colour of a traffic light at "stop," she seemed to have shrunk in her seat and looked for all the word as if she wanted the proverbial earth to open up and swallow her.

Milla spoke. "I think that can await the outcome of the police investigation, Ms Aristedes, don't you."

"I think you are right, Ms Fielding. I'll take personal charge of this file. Once I have the results of the police investigation, I'll be in touch with you directly." Addressing the rest of the meeting, "If no-one has anything more, I think we can close this meeting?" Looking round she saw no dissent, "Thank you all for coming, perhaps next time we'll meet in more propitious circumstances." I noticed that her gaze lingered momentarily longer on one of us.

"Can I have a word Ms Aristedes?" asked the Inspector.

*****

Once everyone had left the room Zoe asked, "Ok Sam, who has dropped us in the shit."

"When did Graham phone you Chris?"

Zoe checked her notes, "Five past nine on Monday morning, why?"

"Because she went off shift at eleven on Sunday night, and was on a rest day on Monday. We didn't find out about the kids until I came on shift at eleven, so either she knew about them and left them alone or someone phoned her when we found out. She's either covering her arse or using you for her own purposes. Look, keep all this under your hat. This whole case stinks and I'm not about to go down because someone fucked up. You don't need the flak either. Keep the case pending but as you say, you take it on. I'll let you know what's happening our end. For fucks sake keep your I's dotted and your T's crossed on this one. Those solicitors Winters has working for him are ruthless, and what's more they are his personal friends."

"Thanks for the warning, Sam."

Jack and Diane Ch 14

"Would you mind explaining what went on there?" I asked, somewhat bewildered.

"I think it's safe to say, my dearest chap, that once the dust has settled, you are gratis and transparent."

"He means free and clear," said Milla. "I wouldn't quite go that far, but I think we are looking at the endgame."

"Shame you have to go look after the old ankle-biters, Chilly, old boy, I rather feel that this deserves a few more than enough, and a decent bit of scoff to go with them." David did not share Milla's reserve. The fact that he had also reverted to one of their childhood nicknames for me only served to demonstrate his relief at how things had gone.

"I'll have the notes typed up first thing in the morning, Ms Fielding," said Alison.

"Thank you, Ali, I'll see you in the morning."

As Alison left, a rather contrite Diane approached, the convivial air, chilled.

"Jack?" she asked softly, "can I have a moment, please?"

I did not need any guidance from his friends; I nodded my assent.

"I think I should talk to you about some things, clear the air, so to speak? Perhaps we could go for a drink or meal or something?"

Ever the gentleman, I could do no less than agree, "I think perhaps the children need some reassurance. Maybe if you came and had dinner with us this evening then you and I can talk afterwards."

Milla and David smiled at each other. Jack was going to be fine.

*********************************

That evening Diane and I shared a meal with Harry and Georgie. Georgie was still taciturn around her mother but Harry was his father's son and knew this was a time to make an effort.

Once the table was cleared and the dishes washed, the children settled down to finish their homework before relaxing in front of the TV. Georgie did not want to go to bed but Harry coaxed her and promptly announced he was tired and was going to play his Playstation in his room before going to bed.

Diane took a deep breath and launched straight in to what she had to say. "I am so sorry for what I have put you through Jack. I have got everything wrong. No, don't interrupt I need to get this out while it is still straight in my head. I didn't realise what I had in you. I have thrown away the best thing I will ever have. I thought I knew you, but I didn't. I should have known you were not going to roll over and let me take everything, but I mistook your grace for lack of resolve. You showed me I had misread you."

"I'm sorry to say I misread you too."

"I've been completely selfish, I always have been really. It was when I realised how my selfishness very nearly had our children taken into care that I came to my senses. I was angry that you didn't just settle for what I decided you should settle for. I really should have known you would stand up for yourself. You have never settled for less than what was yours, and never demanded more than your due. I understand that now."

"So where do you go from here, Diane?"

"Ha," she laughed humourlessly, "Where does Diane go? Not, where do we go? You know where you are going and I will have no part in it, sure I won't? Well, when I started working in the boutique I was good at it and I thought I had potential to develop it. I thought if I could get a share in the business I could make something for myself. I thought if I divorced you I could buy in with the settlement. I didn't realise you were thinking along the same lines and had already bought a share for me. I suppose it was going to be an anniversary present?"

I nodded.

"I really fucked up there, didn't I," she said bitterly. " I so nearly had everything and instead of talking to you I chose selfishness."

"Recrimination isn't helping, Diane. Every time I try to get on with my life your vindictiveness screws it up on me. It's time you moved on and let the kids and me move on too."

"I'll put it right, Jack, I promise. I'll go to the police and withdraw my complaint, and sort it all out. You've really been more than fair in the settlement and access. I'll put things right with my babies too. Can I start coming round in the evenings again?"

"I think we'll just put that on the long finger for the moment, Diane."

"I deserved that. I think maybe I should go. Can I look in on the kids before I go?"

"I think you should."

Diane spoke to both the children separately. Despite her earlier protestations Georgie welcomed her Mum, Harry initially listened politely and as she was leaving, hugged her tightly and said, "You did it all wrong Mum but I still love you." Diane broke down.

*****

She thought back to her reaction when Jack had left the house after she presented her ultimatum. Maybe the emotion lacking in their marriage was not Jack's but hers. Too late to find out now.



Jack and Diane Ch. 15-18



As you may be aware, I lost the original ending to Jack and Diane in a bluescreen of death. I have rewritten the ending. This takes up at the end of Ch 14 and replaces the epilogue. If you haven't read Jack and Diane Ch 1-14 you will need to, in order to follow this. TTB. 

Jack and Diane Chapter 15

Whilst things settled down at home, we were still subject to visits from Child Protection Services. However these were carried out by Zoe Aristedes and one of her senior case workers. They established that Harry and Georgie were settled in their home environment and school. Nevertheless it grated that I was still under a degree of supervision. The kids seemed unfazed by the visits and their schoolwork was unaffected. That, at least, took some pressure off me. They continued to visit their mother and Peter at weekends. Diane asked me if she could take them down to the house on the south coast. I had to get clearance from Zoe, but she was content to allow it provided I was. She was keen to get them to re-establish a relationship with their mother. 

On occasions Diane would visit the house in the evenings and dine with us. I kept things as light as I could, but I still resented her for what she had done to us, but that lessened over the months.

Milla kept me informed of how things were going with the police investigation, but they worked at their own rate, and things progressed slowly. The most interesting development from my point of view came when Jimmy Henshaw phoned one evening.

"Fancy going for a beer, boss?"

Since I hadn't heard anything direct from the police before, I quickly realised that Jimmy was going outside the system. "Sounds good to me. When suits?"

"Tomorrow evening, in The Bell?"

"Eight o'clock?" 

"Dead on, I'll see you there."

I made arrangements with Mum to sit with the kids, and Dad said he would drop me off and pick me up. I think he was hoping it would give me a kick into having a social life again. So the next evening found me ensconced in The Bell with an old shipmate. We shot the shit about events, mates, ships and cruises for a while, then Jimmy got to the nub of why he wanted to see me. 

"I thought you might be interested in a bit of scuttlebutt on Constable Graham."

"Not if it affects the investigation, Jimmy."

"Nah. It doesn't really affect it. Anyway, you know her father is ex Petty Officer McVeigh."

I nodded.

"Well she was in her early teens when her father was jailed. When he came out he hit the bottle even harder. The family had to sell the house, and McVeigh couldn't hold down a job for more than months. From what I can make out he blamed you for everything. Eventually his wife left him and took the daughter with her. But she accepted what she had heard from her father and held you responsible for what happened to her family. Anyway, she joined the police in Devon and did fairly well by all accounts. She married a sergeant and became Graham. It didn't last, of course, shifts for one thing, and neither of them could keep their pants on. In the mean time she used her position to track you down and arranged a transfer just after her marriage broke up. It looks as if she had been watching you, hoping to get you on a speeding ticket or something and then provoke something worse. Then your wife dropped the assault thing in her lap." He necked the last of his pint.

"Another?" 

"Sure thing, boss." 

I polished off my own.

I set a fresh pint in front of him. "Anyway, once she got the report, she got one of the probationers and took him out to lift you. She worked the old "police cover each others backs" thing on him. I had to take him to the side and give him the gypsy's. He was backing her story until I explained to him where it was taking him. He's a good lad, and I didn't want to see his career fucked up by that bitch."

"It's easy done. He'd have been completely screwed if he is a probationer."

"Exactly. Anyway, I finessed his report for him so it doesn't look as if he is shitting down her neck. I hope you won't mind. Shopping a colleague is nearly as big a career blocker. It won't affect your claim, though."

"I haven't made a claim. I'm leaving it all to my solicitor and your internal investigation at the moment."

"I didn't know that. You could be in the big bucks if you did. You should think about it boss."

The rest of the evening was spent in reminiscence and catching up. Jimmy had made it to Petty Officer before deciding to go ashore. His exemplary record had got him accepted by the police right away, and he was making a career out of it. I phoned my father for a lift home and we dropped Jimmy off on the way.

********

First thing next morning I phoned Milla.

"You did what? You know better than to talk to the police without me there!"

"Milla, it was all off the record. Jimmy was filling in the background for me. What he told me doesn't affect anything. Does it?"

"No I suppose not. It might be useful if we are taking a case against the police since she used police systems and records, but I suppose there's no harm done."

"I'm going up to London for a couple of days on business. If you need me I'll be at Jury's."

We were finalising details on a new contract and the architects had arranged for all the contractors to get together for a run down on the project. I probably could have commuted but staying in town made more sense. The first day of the conference went as expected. That evening, after dinner, I was at a bit of a loose end. I didn't feel like sitting around the hotel bar. There was a franchising exhibition in a nearby conference centre. Since the divorce I had been a bit restless, wondering if I should have a change of direction. I thought the exhibition might be a bit of an omen, so I took a look. I was fairly unimpressed to be honest. Most of the businesses were variations on Bodyshop, or Tierack, but there was one that caught my imagination. It was a women only gym franchise. The girls on the stand were not exactly enamoured of a man inquiring about it. They were emphasising the philosophy of women-only staff to create a relaxed environment for the clientele.

"It might also make their husbands a bit more relaxed too," I said.

"How so?"

"Well there are plenty of stories about women falling for their trainer or coach. If the staff are women, the husbands might be less threatened."

"I wouldn't have thought you would have anything to feel threatened about," her tone changed. She smiled, scenting genuine interest. "I'm Stephanie Walters. The exhibition is closing in ten minutes; perhaps we could discuss this over a drink?" So we did. And a nightcap in my room.

Next morning I awoke feeling much more like the young Naval officer I once was. I hadn't sought out feminine company since Diane and I had separated. It wasn't for want of interest, but more down to family necessity. The kids came first. Now, I decided that it was time to use the weekends when they were with their mother to develop a social life.

The conference was concluded successfully and I returned with the revised specifications. There was a message waiting for me to contact Milla.

"Jack, that little meeting you had with Sergeant Henshaw?"

"Yes."

"I think he may have been tipping their hand to us."

"What do you mean?"

"We have been invited to a meeting with Assistant Chief Constable Wilson, seems they want to discuss the case."

"An ACC getting involved in a domestic? Seems a bit too much gun."

"That's exactly what I thought. They are either trying to sweep it under the carpet or are trying to bully us into accepting something."

"Has Wilson not heard of you?" I laughed.

"If he hasn't, he will wish someone had warned him."

"Make the arrangements, Milla, and we'll get together to thrash out our position."

"I'll give you a ring and let you know when." 

*****

Over the next few days, the serendipity of my visit to the franchising exhibition kept playing on my mind. Whilst my antipathy to Peter, and my initial desire to keel-haul him from stem to stern, had subsided, it was not in my nature to see any crime go unpunished. Nor was it in my nature to allow a sleight against my family to go un-avenged. Diane and Peter had both hurt my children and me. In hurting my children and me, they had hurt my parents. 

I was the witness to the days and nights of anxiety suffered by Harry and Georgie, trying to come to terms with the way their world was ripped apart. Not their mother. Peter may have been seduced by Diane, but he was a big boy who could work out for himself that getting involved with a married woman and mother would impact on her children. As such he had to accept the consequences of those actions. The more I thought of it, the more it seemed the business opportunity had dropped into my lap. I phoned Stephanie and opened negotiations.

Her company basically provided all the equipment and training required to set up the gym, but I would need premises. They provided basic specifications and once I had identified a suitable location, they would arrange for their contractor to fit it out. I had David check the contracts. Once he was satisfied all I had to do was find the finance. 

Jack and Diane Chapter 16

Autumn was turning to winter, and the first frosts hinted of a cold season. My plan was to get the gym up and running for the New Year and all those resolutions. Once more though, the fates conspired for me.

Initially there had been two co-owners of the boutique in which Diane worked, Lavinia and Aisha. I was able to buy into it when they planned on expanding. That was the share that made up part of my divorce settlement. Lavinia's husband was planning to retire at fifty, so they could travel before they got too old. She told Diane and Aisha that she intended to sell her share of the business and gave them first refusal. 

I found this out through the usual sources; little ears. One weekend, Harry and Georgie overheard Diane and Peter discussing the opportunity. 

"Daddy! Mummy is going to sell our house!" declaimed Georgie.

"Mummy can't sell this house. It belongs to Granny and Granda," I told her.

"No. Not this house. Our house. In Devon. Don't let her Daddy." 

"Well I can't really stop her selling it darling. It belongs to Mummy now, not me."

"She wants to buy Mrs Pritchard's share of the boutique Dad," offered Harry. "She wants to retire next year."

"She probably needs the money so she can buy the business, Georgie."

"But Daddy, it's our happy place. We have our holidays there, all together. Don't let her wreck that too!" The tears shone in her eyes. 

That hurt. After everything she had put the kids through this was another thing eroding their happy memories of us as a family. Just one more thing making them feel that they didn't matter to her. Now, I knew that wasn't the case, but that is not how the children saw it. Once more I saw the pain she was causing them and she couldn't. This was all about her and the devil take the hindmost. Inside I seethed. To the children I had to present calm and reason.

"Mummy has to look to the future, sweetheart. She wants to have a job to make money to take you on holidays and do her share of looking after you."

"She wouldn't have to sell our house if she hadn't left us!" Georgie stormed out of the kitchen and went to her room.

I looked at Harry. "She's really angry with Mum. She thinks she's forgotten about us. Mum talked of nothing else all weekend."

"I'm sorry son, but I can't stop her selling the house. And someday you and Georgie won't want to spend so much time with your parents, anymore."

"Yeah, but she doesn't have to push us out of her life all the time, Dad."

"She's not. She needs to plan for the future, Harry."

"Well like Georgie said, she wouldn't have to if she hadn't pushed you out first. She's changed. It's all about her, Dad. Everything." It was Harry's turn to come close to tears.

"I really can't stop her son. The house became her property in the divorce. She can sell it if she wants."

"Then you could buy it." 

"I'm not sure I could afford it, Harry. You know I've been looking at the idea of setting up a gym so I can be at home a bit more for you both."

"And where are we going to sail and fish when you're with us?" Kids really know how to hit below the belt.

"I'll think about it son. But I really don't see how at the moment. So I'm not making any promises. OK?"

"OK, Dad, I understand."

*****

So I thought about it. In a way I wanted it back anyway. Georgie was right. It was our happy place. It held my best memories. It was where I got to spend most time with the children as they grew up. Suddenly, I was incandescent with rage that Diane could dispose of us so readily.

I was heavily committed, financially, to the gym. I had signed the contract the previous week. I had a good hard look at my finances, and I just couldn't stretch to the likely price. However, this was for the children, so I switched into naval thinking. If I couldn't match the price, could I make the price match what I had? 

The house was old, on the coast, and over the years I had only done enough to make it useable as a summer retreat. The truth was that it really could do with a complete refurbishment. Maybe if it needed a bit more refurbishment the price would be nearer my money. As a former damage control officer, I knew how much a ship fears water and the damage it can create in a short time. I also knew the poor condition of the pipe work in the house. 

The children would be spending the weekend with their mother again. I had nothing planned … 'til now. I spent the week organising the equipment I needed. One of the advantages of working in the construction industry. 

Diane collected Harry and Georgie from school on Friday. First thing on Saturday I was at the yard to collect the works van. Everything I needed was loaded. I had done this many times before, as when working on the stables. As long as everything was in working order or breakages reported, competent staff could "hire" company equipment. And since it was only "hired" to competent operators, they were responsible for any health and safety issues.

Five hours of constant driving got me to the Plymouth house by way of Bristol. There was no signboard, indicating an impending sale. So, there was less chance of any speculative viewers. I parked at the back of the house, got out and put on a pair of work gloves. As ever, the key was in its usual hiding place. I still had my own, but wasn't sure if Diane would have had the locks changed. She hadn't, as it turned out. I stretched out after the journey, before donning a pair of work gloves, unloading a small ladder, and an industrial pipe freezing kit. 

I carried everything into the roof space, and within minutes I had found a corroded section of pipe fed directly from the header tank. I froze a long section of it, slowly. The usual purpose is to simply freeze a plug to allow work to be carried out on the pipe. That way the ice doesn't swell and burst the pipe. By freezing it slowly along a long section, you can make the pipe swell. If it swells enough, it will burst. This used to be common in winter, in houses where the pipes weren't properly lagged. Even more likely in a section of corroded pipe. Once it had frozen hard I allowed the central section to thaw slowly, while the rest of the water column was still frozen solid. As it came up the point of thawing, the pipe split. 

I removed all the equipment, ensured the stopcocks were open, locked the house and left, using a route to join the motorway outside Southampton. It was nine o'clock before I was back to the yard to collect my car. I picked up a biryani from my favourite Indian restaurant and headed home.

Sitting in the kitchen I was enjoying the meal with a lager, mulling over my actions. Dispassionately I felt I should feel some shame for what I had done, but there were no regrets whatsoever. Diane had hurt the children and then hurt them again. I was furious with her insensitivity to them. This was retribution for that. She would still get money, just not as much as she hoped.

Diane delivered the children back on Sunday afternoon.

"Harry says you want to buy the house in Devon off me."

"Actually, Georgie told me you were thinking of selling. Harry asked me if I would buy. They have a lot of fond memories of it."

"Well who knows? I might give you a discount for a cash sale; if you can get near my price," she sneered. I had just told her the children wanted it because of the memories it held for them and she comes of with that? If I'd had any compunction about my actions, that would have been enough to clear my conscience. As it was it simply convinced me I had done the right thing.

"For them, I'll try." The flicker in her eyes told me I'd hit home with that.

"Well I was thinking of putting it on the market around December, you know, catch people when they are thinking of next year's holidays."

"Let me know before you do anything. I'll see if I can match your price, or offer a cash deal." 

"Yes, yes I'll do that. I need the money to buy out Lavinia. I suppose I wouldn't have been offered the chance if you hadn't bought the share in the business in the first place." She turned just as she got to her car and I swear her eyes were unusually shiny. Good! She fucking deserved it. Then she drove off.

*****

After the short, sharp, cold snap, Monday promised a warmer, autumnal, week. I was barely into the office before Milla phoned. "Jack, how are you fixed on Friday? The police have asked if we can meet to discuss your arrest."

"About time. I'll clear my diary. Just let me know when and where."

"How are Harry and Georgie?"

"So-so. Diane and Aisha have been offered Lavinia's share of the boutique. She is thinking of selling the Plymouth house to get the money. The kids see it as her writing out another part of their lives."

"Are they taking it hard?"

"They are a bit. Even Harry."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to see if I can raise the money to buy it off her. A quick sale, for cash."

"What about the gym? You've signed the contract, haven't you?"

"Yes. I'll have to wait and see the valuation before I know for sure."

Jack and Diane Chapter 17.

That week became one of the busiest I've ever had. Diane phoned back on Monday afternoon to let me know we where invited to meet ACC Wilson at half past eleven, on Friday, at his offices. Tuesday, the estate agent I was using, phoned to ask me to have a look at some premises he thought would suit the gym project, that afternoon, and the project I was working on was brought forward, with a commencement date two weeks ahead. 

I met Ray, the estate agent, and decided he had found the perfect location for the gym. I told him to go ahead with the lease and phoned David on my return to the office, to let him get moving on it. Then I phoned Stephanie to let her know. She got on to organising the fitting out. 

Wednesday, and Thursday, were meetings with all the departments to get the new contract moving.

Then Friday hove into view. I met Milla at her offices and we took a taxi to the police headquarters. We were shown into a conference room where ACC Wilson was sitting on one side of the table, flanked by the Divisional Superintendent, his deputy, a Chief Inspector and a solicitor acting for the police.

Wilson started. "Mr Winters I realise that you were the subject of a rather unfortunate incident. I'm sure you understand that even a well run force like ours can be let down by the hasty actions of an officer under stress. Nevertheless, we will, of course, take disciplinary action against Constable Graham, and she will receive additional training before being returned to duty."




Jack and Diane Ch. 15-18



I glanced at Camilla. I could see her bridle at this buffoon. I really couldn't understand how this imbecile had got to where he was. He wouldn't have got past the Navy selection board. 

He continued. "I have been authorised to make an ex gratia payment for your inconvenience. Our solicitor, Mr Chambers has the details, and some documents for you to sign. This would, of course all be confidential and without prejudice." He smiled expansively, confident in a job well done. Chambers brought the documents and placed them in front of me, proffering his pen.

Milla went to speak. I put my hand to her arm to stop her. I wanted this moment. I let the papers lie unread.

"So if I had hit Constable Graham would you be having a nice little chat with me about paying her a couple of thousand pounds, then we'll all forget about it? Or would you be all over the papers and television ranting on about assaults on police officers, and demanding I be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law? You think you can buy my silence for less than I can make in a day? Tell me this, how much will it cost you to defend this in court? How much damage will that court case cost you in bad publicity?" I leant forward towards the Assistant Chief Constable, "And do you think any of your careers would survive it?" I looked at Milla. 

"Gentlemen unless you have anything more to offer I think we are finished here. When you are prepared to produce an equitable settlement, please contact my office," she said. With that we left.

We waited until we were outside. As we walked to the car I could no longer contain my incredulity. "Where did they get that imbecile? A Sub Lieutenant fresh out of Britannia College has more sense."

"It's endemic in the police, they seem to give them special insensitivity training."

"That's as maybe, Milla, but that was just incompetent."

"I rather liked the comparison you made, between what they expected you to accept from them, and how they would treat you if the circumstances were reversed." 

As we drove I continued. "I can't believe they intend to put her back on the job. If I had used a spray and a baton on her, I'd be looking at ten years at least."

"Well they are going to have to come back to me with a better offer. What do you want out of it?"

"Quite frankly if they had told me they were disciplining her and throwing her out of the force I would have been satisfied. After that though, I feel pretty damned insulted. I'd like to see Wilson and that other pair carpeted, but I don't really see that happening." I thought about it. "She's not fit to be a police officer. She misused her position in Devon to gather information. That was bad supervision down there. I want her out of the force."

"What about the settlement?"

"Well we didn't make a claim to begin with. To be honest I don't think I would have bothered about one, but after that derisory offer, I want you to push for whatever you can get out of the bastards. Do you think we could make a claim on behalf of Harry and Georgie?"

"On what basis?"

"You're the lawyer Milla. Emotional distress for being left alone in the house or something?"

"That could get very messy, but I might be able to use it as leverage. Alex Chambers is a decent guy. I'll talk to him"

"Ok Milla, I leave it in your capable hands. Whatever you can get might make the difference between buying the house for them. Screw the fuckers into the ground. Make sure the Chief Constable has to know about it."

"I'm fairly certain he does. Wilson is being used to distance him from any trouble. I'll have a look at previous settlements to get an idea of how much to go for."

"Well, remember the kids were left unprotected, and if it wasn't for my parents being so close they could have been on their own for hours. And I was slung in a cell without appropriate medical treatment as well. Lay it on thick."

"Oh, I will, Jack. I'll pin them to the wall."

"How's Simon? I haven't seen him since we went hacking."

"He's great. He's retiring from the bench shortly."

"I'm sure he'll be glad to. What are you going to do then?"

"That'll be a bridge we'll cross when we come to it. But I think I'm looking forward to moving on."

"Are you going to give up the practice?"

"I might. I'll maybe look for something less taxing, that I don't wind up taking home with me."

"Any ideas?"

"Well I was thinking a boutique, but that market seems to be pretty well sewn up," she laughed.

With that we arrived back at Camilla's offices.

"Lunch?" I offered.

"That would be nice. I'll just drop my briefcase in the office first." 

"Are your briefs in it?"

"Get your mind out of my underwear, you dirty bugger!"

I gave her my best injured ingenuous look. "You're a lawyer; don't you call your case notes "Briefs"?"

"That's not what you meant, and you know it!"

I didn't bother going into the office after lunch. I phoned Mum and told her I would pick the kids up from school. They were pleased with the surprise. We spent the afternoon tending to the horses.

*****

That evening, Diane phoned. "I'm meeting an estate agent at the Plymouth house tomorrow morning. I won't be able to take Harry and Georgie for the weekend."

"Maybe you could take them with you. Let them see it again before you sell it."

"I'll do that some other time. I'm just going straight down and back up again. It wouldn't be much fun for them." 

"I suppose that's true," I conceded. I didn't actually want them to see the house in the state it was likely to be in. 

"Let me speak to them, I'll let them know I'll see them on Sunday."

I put the children on the line.

"Brill," said Georgie, when she came off the phone with her mother. "Can we go hacking tomorrow Daddy?" 

"Certainly," I said. "What do you want to do Harry?"

"I think I'd like to do that too, Dad."

Something got in my eye and made it water.

*****

Fortunately, Saturday was a beautiful autumn day. We stopped for lunch at the same pub as usual letting the horses loose in the adjoining field. We had just ordered when my phone rang.

"Jack! There's a burst pipe! The house is a mess. What do I do?"

"Where's the burst?" As if I didn't know. Schadenfreude filled me with malicious joy.

"I don't know. The ceilings are down."

"Is it from the bathroom or hot tank?"

"I don't know. The bedroom ceilings are down it seems to be coming from the attic."

"OK. Check and see if the main stopcock is open."

"Where is that?"

"You didn't turn it off last time you were down then? It is in the kitchen. The mains feed pipe runs up the wall in the corner on behind the backdoor. There is a tap on it. Turn it off." 

"You always did those things. I didn't know about it."

"Diane, if you remember I had to tell you about it the first time you went down after the divorce." She rang off.

"What's up Dad?"

"There's a burst pipe in the Devon house. The ceilings are down."

"What does that mean, Daddy?"

"It means your Mum is going to have to spend a lot of money to fix it, or she's not going to get as much money when she sells the house." My phone rang again.

"Jack, that hasn't stopped the water."

"It's probably just the water lying everywhere. Can you hear it running in the pipes?"

"I don't know. How do I tell?"

"Put your ear to the pipe and tell me if you hear a hissing sound."

"No, I don't hear anything. The estate agent is here now. What'll I do?"

"How should I know? It's up to you. Get him to give you a valuation as it is and an estimate of what it would be worth if you had it fixed up, I suppose."

"Could you come down?"

"Diane, we are hacking. We've stopped for lunch. We won't be home for hours, and then I would have to drive down. Why don't you get Peter to come down?"

"He wouldn't be able to do anything. Please, Jack?"

"Look, we'll all come down tomorrow, and see what we can do. Book yourself into a bed and breakfast or something and we'll meet you there."

In a small voice she said "OK, I'll see you tomorrow."

Somehow I didn't feel as triumphant as I thought I would. The moment of exultation at her misfortune, had been replaced with empathy for her pain. I didn't feel the same joy at being with the children on the return ride.

*****

Next morning we were up early and on the road by eight. We made good time and were at the house by lunchtime. It was a mess. Diane was very sad. 

"The estate agent said the place is only worth about a hundred and fifty thousand in this state. He said I would have got about two hundred or more if it was in decent condition."

"Well, check with your insurers on Monday. They can get it repaired and you'll probably get more than that with it freshly painted …" 

"What am I going to do Jack? I need the money to buy Lavinia out. A hundred and fifty would probably be enough for her share and portion of the stock. But I need the money quickly. Who knows how long the insurers will take to put it to rights?"

"Let me have a look around." The children wanted to get inside to see the damage, but I wasn't about to let them any further than the door in case anything came down on them. The water was off, but there wasn't really anything more I could do than secure the property. "Best leave it to the insurers," I told her, "let's go down to the beach before we go home."

We went to the beach for a while, and then had a late lunch of fish and chips before hitting the road. Harry decided to travel with his mother, just to keep her company on the journey.

For the first few miles Georgie was a pensive. Then she spoke. "Can you fix it Daddy?"

"Fix what darling?"

"Our house. Can you?"

"I'm sure I could, love, but it's your Mummy's house now and she wants to sell it."

"But you could buy it Daddy and fix it for us. I like my holidays in our house. Please, Daddy?"

"Houses cost a lot of money, Georgie, I don't know if I have enough."

"Mummy said it wasn't worth as much now. If you buy it now you won't need so much money. Harry and me can help fix it."

"Harry and I, you are talking about you doing something," I corrected her, "Sweetie, I don't want to tell you I can and then let you down."

"You can keep my pocket money, Daddy. I'm sure Harry would let you keep his too."

I had to stifle a laugh. Somehow I knew he would, too, just for his little sister. "You can't ask him that, boys need money for all sorts of things. It wouldn't be fair for him to go out with his friends and have nothing to spend when they are all doing things. Imagine how he would feel if they were going swimming or something and he couldn't go. He would be all embarrassed and that wouldn't be fair. They would make fun of him, wouldn't they?"

"I suppose …"

"Tell you what. I'll look at things and see what I can do, but I'm not going to make a promise I can't keep. OK?"

"I know you'll do it, Daddy." I didn't quite share her confidence, but her words had stiffened my resolve to try. 

Jack and Diane Chapter 18.

I heard nothing from Milla until Wednesday. "Jack, Alex Chambers was in with me yesterday. I think we have an agreement that will suit you. Can you call in to discuss it with me?"

"Yes, I could call in about four, if that suits?"

"That's fine. I'll see you then."

I was on site most of the day and left in time to meet Milla. She cut to the chase immediately.

"Alex basically asked me what we wanted to make this all go away. He didn't put it in exactly those words, though. He was skirting around hoping we weren't going to press for a prosecution. So I asked what he was offering as a settlement. His first offer was twenty thousand, so I laughed at him and told him that the way they had dragged it out that wouldn't cover my fees this far."

"Christ, I knew you were at the top of the tree but I'll be hard pushed to cover much more Milla."

"Don't be silly, they'll end up paying my fees and David's for that matter."

"David's?"

"Yes, he was your brief when you were arrested in the first place. I'll make sure they are covered as well."

"OK, so what's this agreement you have thrashed out?"

"Graham will be discharged from the force; she'll forfeit all gratuities and pension rights. If she doesn't accept that she'll be prosecuted."

"Hang on; she has a track record of trying to get even with me for her father. That's going to give her more reason to hate me."

"Jack, if she tries anything, this will all come out and she'll go to jail. She will not want that, believe me."

"Fair enough. I just want to be able to get on with my life. It's been on hold for long enough. Get the papers drawn up and I'll sign them."

"Don't you want to know the settlement figure?"

"I'm sure you'll have done the best deal possible, I didn't go into this for the money." Milla looked a little crestfallen. "OK, OK, of course I want to know. I just don't want to appear mercenary about it."

"One hundred and twenty five thousand."

"WHAT?"

"You heard."

"How the hell did you manage that? That's about ten times what I thought."

"When I mentioned I was also acting for Harry and Georgie after them being left on their own, he caved in. Basically what I've done is forfeited all other claims, including pursuing Graham for damages. That's why she's going to have to forfeit her gratuities and pension rights. You aren't the only one who wants to get on with their life. Everyone at her station knows how she set up the young probationer who came out with her. I'm pretty sure it'll be round the whole force by now. No-one will want to work with her."

"That's true. It was the same in the Navy."

"Anyway, those rights are going to offset the settlement. As I say, the whole thing goes away."

"And your fees, and David's?"

"They pay them. If this had gone to court you can guarantee they wouldn't see change out of half a million."

"Shit!"

"Look. They'd be paying for at least two barristers, theirs and ours. I'm sure Graham would retain someone as well, and as her employer they could be stuck with that bill. All we would have to do is retain two more for Harry and Georgie and they'd be totally screwed. Alex knows that. This is a good deal for them. Don't forget, we could also go after the Devon force. I'm sure we could prove they broke the Data Protection Act and haul them into it too. And that would be megabucks paying for computer experts, never mind having to give them access to the police system."

"You put that to Alex Chambers, didn't you?"

"Oh yes!" she grinned. "When I said one hundred and twenty five thou, I think he'd have written the cheque there and then, but he had to put it to the ACC first. Alex knows they haven't a leg to stand on. We have a meeting with the police again on Friday. I've made it for two o'clock. Can you make it?"

"Damn sure I'll make it. Diane wants to sell the house in Devon. The kids are really cut up about her selling off their childhood. They feel she is cutting them out of her life even more. That money might just allow me to buy it back."

"You loved that place, didn't you?"

"True. There was something more special about the time I spent down there when the children were younger. It was a little idyll; an oasis."

"How is the gym going?"

"On target to open on January the first."

"How is the hunt for staff going?"

"Fine. The franchisers have interviewed for coaching staff, but it is up to me to organise the administration and ancillary staff."

"Can you get time off to interview for them?"

"No, I've retained a recruitment agency, although I have final say on the management positions. It gives me a bit of protection from the sex discrimination legislation."

"Why do you need that?"

"It's a women only gym? I don't want male staff?"

"Good point. The courts have started interpreting it in favour of men now, too."

"I'll hold evening interviews for the senior positions, but they'll be pre-selected by the agency. Actually there are only the manager's positions to fill."

"How are you making sure you have enough staff to cover all the shifts?" 

"The franchisers have a rota worked out. We'll use a combination of full time staff, job sharing, and part-time working."

"Quite the modern employer, aren't we? What prompted you to go into the ladies-only gym business, as if I couldn't guess?" I smiled, knowingly.

"I remember you very well when we were children, Jack. No-one ever got one over you," she put her hand on my forearm, "or your friends." Tears glistered her eyes, unshed. I leant in and gently kissed her. She returned the compliment with an embrace that turned me to stone, well one bit of me anyway. I held her close. "Sometimes, Jack, I wish …" I placed my fingertip to her lips.

"Shhh. It would never have worked between us. You know that."

"It could. I could make it work, Jack."

"No, Milla, it would not be fair to either of us. We would lose each other forever."

"Oh Jack! You always knew what was right for us. I love you so."

"I know. I love you too." I gave her my handkerchief. Yes, I still carry one. Knowing Milla as I do I recognised there was more to this than meets the eye. "Would you like to come home with me for supper with us?"

"I would like that very much."

Preparing supper gave Milla and me a chance to sort out details of the settlement, like when I would get the money. We also discussed the possible, or as it may now be, probable, purchase of the house in Devon.

"What exactly happened, Jack?"

"A burst pipe. It must have happened during the cold snap."

"I didn't think it got that cold in Devon." Milla looked at me with the same look she gave me in the office when she asked why I purchased the gym franchise.

"Fuck's sake, Milla! Not everything is my doing. Anyway, the usual method is arson. It's a damn sight easier. And it could easily be explained away as vagrants or hooligans." I'm not entirely sure she was convinced. But then, she probably knew more about me than anyone else, with the possible exception of David.

"You should be able to afford it with comfort, now though. Kinda convenient, don't you think?" 

"Look! I know you are a lawyer with a particularly jaundiced view of men, but if she gets her insurers to re-instate it, the price probably be further out of reach."

"Maybe not now."

"Stop trying to wind me up." 

"I'll get Harry and Georgie."

After supper the children went to their rooms, and Milla and I settled down in front of the moving wallpaper. "OK, Milla. Spill."

"Simon and I are getting divorced."

"And it has hit you harder than you expected."

Milla looked at me, "How did you know?"

"Your gaiety is a bit forced, and you were looking, despondently, at Harry and Georgie. Look you can't live with together as long as you and Simon have without getting attached to one another. What are you both going to do?"

"I told you Simon is retiring, didn't I?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he's talking about moving to the south of France."

"What about the house?"

"I'm buying his share. We bought it to take advantage of the rising market. We shared all the expenses, but kept everything else separate."

"It's a bit much for one. But it's a new start for you."

"It's a bit much for two, to be honest, but it will give us a decent lump of capital."

"So you are going to sell it?"

"Eventually. Well I suppose I'll head on and let you have time with the youngsters."

After she left I knew that my friend would need a lot of support for a while.

*****

Thursday brought two phone calls. The first from Milla confirmed the terms of the settlement. She asked if I could call into her office on Friday at eleven to sign the agreement. The second was from Diane.

"Jack, I've heard from the insurers. They are being difficult."

"Why? It should be a straight forward claim."




Jack and Diane Ch. 15-18



"They wanted to know why the leak wasn't detected for so long. I explained we had closed it up for the winter. They said the policy didn't cover the house being empty for more than two weeks, without prior notification."

"That's nonsense. I took the policy out as a holiday home; I paid the extra premiums so it would be covered over the winter."

"Oh! Is that why the renewal was so expensive?"

"What did you do Diane?"

"Well after the renewal came in I got other quotes. I took one that was a lot cheaper."

"Did you tell them it was a second home and wasn't occupied full time?"

"No."

"Well they have probably given you a standard policy then. Have they made any sort of an offer?"

"No, they just said it wasn't covered."

"In that case they are probably right. I don't see any way round it unless you did it through an agent who gave you bad advice?"

"No, I did it online."

"Then they'll have everything recorded. Did they send policy documents?"

"Yes."

"Bring them with you tomorrow when you pick up the children. I'll look at them over the weekend."

*****

I called in with Milla on Friday morning on my way to a site meeting. Alex Chambers was already there. We exchanged pleasantries, signed the papers and Alex handed me a cheque for one hundred and twenty five thousand pounds.

"I didn't expect that. I thought you would have to get the police to transfer it to you, then you to Milla before it got to me."

"Normally, yes. In this case Milla gave me enough ammunition to scare the shit out of them. I told them to give me a cheque to finalise the whole thing. Wilson tried to bluster but the Chief over-ruled him. I haven't a clue how he got where he did. Anyway, it was the least I could do for a fellow former serviceman. I was in the army." He offered his hand, we shook, and he left.

"Told you he was a decent guy."

"Do you know what he was in?"

"Paratroops. He was invalided out after a jump went wrong."

"That explains it."

***** 

Diane dropped off the policy when she collected the kids. I had an early tee time with David the next morning so I left them for later.

David arrived bright and early. I loaded the bag into his boot and we set off.

"So, you're off to the South of France, then."

"Maybe. Depends on selling my share of the firm."

"I take it Harry, Georgie and I can still visit?"

"Err, what about explaining it to them?"

"Georgie has known for the past eighteen months. She saw the pair of you being a little over friendly at one of the summer barbeques. She told Harry and he gave her the big brother explanation. He told me and I made sure they understood. You can hide nothing from children."

"I would never have guessed."

"You will always be Uncle David."

"You have two unusually well balanced and tolerant young people there."

*****

I didn't get a chance to check the policy until Sunday lunch time. It was as I thought. She had bought an ordinary house policy. 

"Well?"

"Unfortunately, it is a standard policy, Diane. They are absolutely right. Unless you inform them that the house will be unoccupied they won't cover it."

"Oh, no! I can't afford repairs and I need to let Lavinia know if I'm going to take up the option. Aisha has her share organised. You said you might be interested in buying it?"

"Diane, I've just had a lot of expenses recently, remember? I don't have quite as much capital as I had. I told you it would depend entirely on the price."

"The estate agent said about a hundred and sixty thousand, as it sits, but if I could sell it quickly to you, I'd take one hundred and fifty five?"

"When would you need to know?"

"End of the month?"

"I'll let you know." 

*****

It was hard not to gloat, although I will admit, it was tinged with a little guilt. That passed as soon as I saw the children.

"Well how was your weekend?" I wasn't really all that interested in what they did with their mother and Peter, but I was interested in them. I wanted to make sure nothing was upsetting them.

"Peter and Mum don't seem too happy at the moment."

"Harry, what goes on between you Mum and Peter is no business of mine."

"Just thought you'd be interested. Peter thinks a new gym is opening up soon. Mum is all wrapped up in trying to buy out the boutique, and doesn't have any time for him."

"So you didn't see much of him?"

"Actually he was with us all day Saturday. Mum went down to Plymouth and didn't get back till after tea. He took us swimming in the morning and the museum in the afternoon. He was good fun, till Mum got back." Harry smiled insightfully, and headed off to his room.

So, all is not sunshine and roses for the lovebirds. Oh, how my heart ached for them … not!



Jack and Diane Ch. 19-21



Jack and Diane Chapter 19. 

So. One door had closed. I needed a period of reassessment. I no longer had the threat of a prosecution hanging over me. That actually came as a surprise. Up until that moment, it hadn't occurred to me that I could have been taken to court. That rocked me for a moment. But it was over. I needed to take stock.

The first thing I realised was that I was still simply responding to events. I had been so busy juggling everything that I had just gone with the flow. There were some things I needed to take in hand, and one I had to stop taking in hand.

As they say, when one door closes, another opens. Closing that door allowed me to open one. I was now in the position to buy the house off Diane. She wanted one hundred and fifty five thousand, so I thought I would give her what she asked. It would close the deal quickly, but more importantly give her the money she needed to buy the share of the boutique. That would keep her busy and out of my hair. From what Harry was suggesting, that would also put a little more pressure on the relationship between her and Peter.

Thinking of Diane and relationships made me think of the children. We still had social services hanging over us. Zoe my have wound down the inspections, but the whole idea still rankled with me. I would have to speak to Milla about that one too.

Next was the gym. I needed to check with the agency about the management positions. I wanted them filled as soon as possible. In particular I wanted at least one filled so I could get on with advertising, processing memberships and general administration. That should introduce a little more stress into paradise.

My job was also on the agenda. Whilst I hadn't dropped anything, I hadn't been giving one hundred percent, what with so many office call with Camilla and the police. I had made as many as possible while I was on site calls and late afternoons. But not all. No-one was rattling my cage, mainly because I had put the hours in on the preparation and had my crew well on-side. I had to be seen clock punching.

Finally, I had been so busy with all the above and my domestic duties, my social life had been severely curtailed. Golf did not count. It was time I got on the circuit.

*****

Monday was very busy. Two projects had moved into the installation phase, and I had to brief the team on all the systems testing to be done. Additionally, a subcontractor ripped up a geothermal installation on a private residential project we had running. Since it was intended to be a showpiece for expansion into that market, I was called to a site meeting after lunch. As usual every man and his dog turned up. While everyone was getting their two penn'oth in, I took the manufacturers rep to the side.

"Tell me about it?"

"Clear back about six feet either side of the damage, and joint in new pipe."

"Is it a big job?"

"About two minutes per joint. You'll spend more time clearing the top covering, simply because you don't want to damage more pipe. Take the top of with a digger and then the last bit by hand. We designed it with this in mind."

"When can you get a jointer onto it?"

If you have everything cleared back this afternoon, I'll have him here at eight in the morning. Then as long as it takes you to backfill. I should be re-instated by lunchtime. It's really not a big deal." 

"OK, I'll get the foreman onto it." Which I did.

We returned to the group, and the Ivan, project manager button-holed me. "Right Jack this falls into your perview. How do we get round it and how long is it going to set us back."

"I've spoken to Bill, the manufacturers engineer. We clear back. He'll have a jointer here tomorrow morning, and we should have it backfilled by lunchtime."

Ivan looked at Bill. "Jack has his boys on it now. This part of the system is really no different from a mains water supply."

Ivan looked nonplussed. "Right, excellent, well, thanks everyone for attending. I think we've resolved everything."

Bill and I headed back to the cars. "That can be put in pretty much anywhere can't it?" I asked.

Yes, if you have enough ground to extract heat from. The only technical bit is the heat transfer. It's a piece of piss really."

"I might just be contacting you about a couple of installations."

"For yourself?"

"Yes."

"The price will be right, especially if we can use it in promo literature."

"But of course."

There was no way I would get back to the office before five so I phoned my P.A. and let her know everything was sorted and I would see her in the morning. Then I called in with Milla.

*****

"I hope I'm not interrupting?"

"Not at all. What can I do for you?"

"A couple of things. Once the money comes through from the police I'm going to buy the house from Diane. I'll phone her tonight to agree the price. Can you get the conveyencing sorted out?"

"No problem, I would imagine she'll use Alan. What else?"

"Can we get the social services off my back?"

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem, now the police have dropped the charges. It would help if they charged Diane with false reporting, but I doubt you want to put in a complaint?"

"No I just want the whole thing over and done with."

"I'll get hold of Sam Willis, the inspector, and see what is happening. It might take a day or two depending on his shifts."

"Fine. It's about time I kick started the rest of my life so how about a night on the town?"

"Sounds good to me, how about David?"

"Of course. The more the merrier."

"I hope you are not reverting to your youth. I don't think I could keep up with your antics again."

"No, I'm built for comfort, not speed now."

"Right, just let me know where and when."

I went home, made supper, got school work done, settled the horses and the kids to bed, before phoning Diane.

"Hello, Diane, it's Jack."

"Are the children OK?" she asked anxiously. 

That makes a change, I thought. "Yes they are fine. I'm phoning about the house. Have you heard from the insurers?"

"I was on with them most of the morning. I don't think they are going to budge."

"Are you still prepared to sell it as it is?"

"I don't see I have much option. I need to get it moving or I'll miss the chance for the boutique."

"Well if you are happy enough, I'll take it, if the price is right."

"I can't let it go for less than a hundred and fifty five."

"I think I can do that, but it might be a month before I can complete."

"That would be OK. I need to let Lavinia know as soon as possible so she doesn't go to the market."

"Suits me. I'll let Milla know. Will you be using Alan?"

"Yes" 

"Right, get him to phone Milla and we'll get it moving."

"I will. And, Jack? Thank you. I made the biggest mistake of my life when I lost you."

You didn't lose me bitch, you dumped all over me and our children, I thought, but my words didn't reflect that. "It's past Diane. We need to move on. For ourselves, as much as for Harry and Georgie."

"I know. You've done as much as anyone could to ease things through. I don't think anyone could have been as magnanimous in the circumstances."

"We couldn't let the children down any more than we already had." Again my thoughts were very different. I wasn't finished with Diane and Peter yet.

"You didn't let them down. I did. But I appreciate you not rubbing my face in it. Goodnight, Jack. I really am sorry for everything."

"So am I Diane, Goodnight."

Despondently, I hung up the phone. I started soul searching again. I just could not find anything that I had done wrong. I could only think that Diane was not who I thought she was. I was forced to ask if she had ever loved me, or was I just a means to an end for her. More and more I was forced to think she was one hell of an actress. And that hurt more than anything. I tidied up before retiring. That night was possibly the worst night's sleep I'd ever had.

*****

It was Thursday before I heard from Milla.

"Jack, I've heard from Alex and from Alan. The money from the settlement will be in my account tomorrow week. If you could deposit the difference with me to clear by then, we can close the house purchase the same day."

"No problem. Give me the account details and I get it transferred." She did so.

"Next thing, I spoke the police. Sam Willis has spoken to Zoe Aristedes and told her there is no case for you to answer. He is sending her the paperwork. As soon as she gets it they will close your file. Sam is dealing with it himself and will deliver it by hand tomorrow. You should here from social services eventually."

"Heaven knows when that will be."

"I think it will be sooner rather than later. Zoe wants it off her plate as soon as possible."

"Good. So how about next Friday for our night on the town?"

"Sounds good. I'll let David know. Is it OK if Simon is there?"

"Of course it is, as long as you can handle it?"

"I'm a big girl, Jack. We've been together for a long time. We were comfortable together. It's hard to close a chapter of your life and face the unknown."

"You have lots of friends to support you Milly. I'm always here."

"Oh Jack, I'm sorry. That was thoughtless of me."

"No, you were there for me. I'll always be here for you too."

"I know. I love you for that."

"Right, before we both get maudlin, I'd better get back to work."

"Me too. Let me know where we are going."

"I will. Bye."

No sooner was I off the phone than the recruiting agency phoned to ask if I could call with them on Saturday to interview prospective candidates. Since I wanted tat moving too I naturally said yes. I was to be there at nine thirty.

Harry and Georgie were spending the weekend with me, so I arranged for my Mum to sit with them. I turned up at the offices of the agency at half nine and the recruiter discussed the candidates with me and the sorts of questions I was allowed to ask. Employment legislation prevented me asking about things like the possibility of pregnancy, as this could be construed as discrimination. I was left with a script of questions on qualifications that were already answered in their applications and a couple to allow them to tell me why they thought they were suitable for the job. I was not allowed to ask supplementals to anything that fell out from that, and I had to ask all candidates the same questions. There was no way to get to know any personal details to see how they would fit in with other people. No wonder business was having trouble getting the right people. It occurred to me that I should have had a chat with our HR people before hand. 

I was given the applications to read through before the candidates were shown in, and two stood out immediately. Jenny Henshaw, and Zoe Aristedes. Henshaw is not that common a surname, and there couldn't be two Zoe Aristedes in town. That might just make those interviews a little difficult. 

Jack and Diane Chapter 20. 

I had four people to interview before I got to Zoe. When she walked through the door she was rather surprised to find me as the interviewer. I had discovered from her application that she had a Degree in Social science but with credits in business administration. I went through the script and her answers were pretty much the same as the previous applicants until I got to the last two questions.

"Why do you think you will be suited to this job?"

"I have an extensive knowledge of management systems and personnel management in difficult situations. Additionally I have wide experience of dealing with the public face to face. I will be able to create rotas to ensure coverage throughout your opening hours and deal with staff and clients in a professional and diplomatic manner.

"Have you any additional information you would like to give me in support of your application?" 

"Well, as you know I am currently working for social services. I am looking for a new opportunity with potential to develop. I think this venture could be the first of a chain of women's gyms in the area and I would like the chance to be in at the start of the project. That, and I want to get out from below the dead hand of local government." 

"Well thank you for coming today Ms Aristedes. I'm sure we'll be in touch.

The next interviewee was Jenny Henshaw. Her C.V. revealed a number of jobs in general management posts around various places that just happened to coincide with naval bases. Although she did not have a degree, she had various certificates and diplomas in computer skills and business studies. They also seemed to be from colleges in the same places. I theorised that she had taken them to fill her time while Jimmy was at sea. I also noted that she had three children, all at secondary school.

The interview was pretty much a carbon copy of the preceeding one, again until the last two questions.

"Why do you think you will be suited to this job?"

"I am able to provide flexibility in working hours both in the evenings and weekends. I have a lot of experience of dealing with the public, and I am familiar with a number of computer applications."

"Have you any additional information you would like to give me in support of your application?"

"I will not be adding to my family." She looked directly at me as she said it.

I had one more interview after that, and then I discussed the applicants with the recruiter from the agency. We concluded that of the seven, only three really came up to the mark. They were Zoe, Jenny, and a woman called Sandra Fitzpatrick. That left me one person short, but I thought with the three I could get the systems up and running and continue the search for a fourth person. We agreed that the job offers would go out on Monday.

*****

I phoned Jimmy Henshaw. 

"Jimmy, Jack Winters. Is your wife called Jenny by any chance?"

"Yes, boss. Are you by any chance the Mr Winters interviewing for staff for a new gym?"

"Yes, I am. Is she there?"

"No, she's away to collect the eldest from rugby."

"Well you can tell her she's got the job if she wants it."

"Thank you very much. She's going to wonder how I know. I suppose I'll have to tell her who Mr Winters is. I don't think she made the association. She only met you once I think, after my accident. And you looked like shit."

"Thanks for that. Look, I've decided to get out on the scene, now I'm officially single. I'm meeting a few friends in the White Hart in town next Friday. There's a band and a small dance floor. It might be a chance for me to get to know my new staff. Fancy coming?"

"Thanks, I would. We haven't got out much lately. And that is my free weekend."

"Would Sam Willis be interested. I suggested we might meet in a more amenable situation."

"I'm sure he would. He's a pretty good guy. You'd like him. I'll ask him. I take it it's OK if he brings his wife?"

"Naturally."

"See you then, then."

"Dead on, Jack. See you then."

*****

All three job offers were accepted. I thought since Jenny was going to be there on Friday night, it might be an idea to invite Zoe and Sandra and their partners. 

Diane picked up the children for the weekend, and I called a taxi. Naturally I was first there, a penalty of military training. Since the next to arrive was Sandra and her husband, Quon. I reverted to my best cocktail party mode, quickly discovering Quon was Hong Kong Chinese, since I had been there on a deep sea cruise, I had something I was able talk to him about. Jimmy arrived next with Jenny and Sam and his wife, Bryony. Since Jimmy had been crew on the same trip, he was able to talk to Quon while I got to know the ladies. 

Gradually everyone arrived, including a number of old friends who had been invited by David and Milla. We filled quite a bit of the bar but there were plenty of others there too. Most of the clientele were in their very late twenties to mid fourties. And there were quite a few groups of women. The band played a few sets and I danced with most of the women in our group. The drink flowed and we were all having a good time when the lead singer announced an open mike, for anyone who fancied singing. There was the usual couple of drunks giving off key renditions of "Hound-dog" or "My Way". 

Then Jimmy started agitating for me to take a turn. Milla, David, Simon and one or two of my old friends started nagging me into it too. The band spotted it and I was pinged. I had little choice. I asked picked up a guitar and if they could play my party piece and asked if they could play my party piece, "I've been everywhere". I saw the look exchamged between the band members. They had more than their doubts. But I suppose the've seen numerous wannabes crash and burn. I counted them in, and launched into my version. The same one Diane had heard all those years ago. The bar stopped. When we finished there was a cheer from the crowd and the band was congratulating me, asking if I had anything else. I asked if they knew "May you never" by John Martyn. Since they didn't I picked up an acoustic and launched into that following it with "Take it Easy" the Ralph McTell number not the Eagles song. They went down a storm. I handed the guitar back, and returned to my seat. 

Our little group was congratulating me and asking what else I could play when the waitress arrived over with a drink for me. "Where'd this come from?"

"Those two over there," the waitress indicated two women I estimated to be in their early thirties and rather tasty.

Sod it, I thought. Might as well give it a go. So I went over. "Thank you for the drink, ladies."

"Thank you for the entertainment. You've a pretty good singing voice."

"All compliments gratefully received. As you can see I'm with some friends, would you like to join us?" And they did.

I went to the toilet and as I was coming out a guy approached me. "That was a pretty good little set you did there."

"Thanks. I'm a bit rusty, but it comes back once you get up there."

"Look, my name is Doug Dellow, I'm a promoter. I work with the band and a few others. If you are interested ..." he proffered a card, "... I could get you a few gigs on the folk circuit. Or if you play other styles I can do that too."

"Sure."

"No, straight up. You could do alright. If you don't believe me ask Big Charlie, the singer. Think about it. It could be like Dire Straights said."

"Sorry, I'm not with you there?"

"Money for nothing and your chicks for free."

He walked into the mens toilet. As I returned to my table, some of the women aspoke to me, telling me they enjoyed my performance. When I rejoined my friends, the two girls were straight over to me. I thought to myself, maybe there was something in what he said.

The night progressed. I circulated, but seemed to have two shadows, Sandra and Quon were the first to leave, as they had children, but gradually the party thinned out until it was just Milla, Simon, David, Jimmy and Jenny, Sam Willis and Bryony, my shadows, Abbi and Karyn, Zoe Aristedes, and me.

"Well you certainly know how to throw a party, Jack," said Zoe.

"Nothing to do with me. A party is the people."

"But some one has to start it," said Abbi.

"Anyone fancy a curry," said Jimmy.

"Damn right," I said. Milla, David Simon and Zoe all bowed out. The rest of us went to the best Indian restaurant in town. During the meal, I learned that Jenny Henshaw was going back to work now that their youngest was in secondary school. Bryony was also on the look out for a job, but only part-time. I told her to give me a ring. Abbi and Karyn both worked in a bank. After the meal, Jimmy, Sam and their wives thanked me for inviting them and left. I was left with Abbi and Karyn. I offered to share a taxi to see them home. They agreed, but when we arrived at Karyn's flat, they both got out and asked if I would like a coffee. I think I thought about it, but all I'm sure of is the grin on the face of the taxi driver. And I don't think it was the size of the tip.




Jack and Diane Ch. 19-21



Next morning I awoke, a little disorientated, unable to move my arms. It took me a moment to figure out what had happened the previous night. The girls started to stir and I thought, "chicks for free."

I had breakfast with the girls, and Karyn offered to run me home. As we drove she offered to drop Abbi off, but she said she would go with us "to keep Karyn company on the trip back."

When we pulled up Peter's car was at the front of the house. Diane was coming out the front door with Harry. As I got out, Abbi got out of the back and slid into the seat I had just vacated. Diane's face was an absolute picture.

"Hiya, Harry, going fishing?"

"Yeah, Peter is taking me while Mum takes Georgie shopping. We just called in to pick up my new rod. Did you have a good night Dad?" with a grin I'm glad his mother couldn't see. There is little hidden from a fifteen year old boy.

"Not bad. Your aunt Milla and uncle David and Simon were there."

"Oh. Were they?" 

I turned to wave to the girls as they drove off. Karyn leant out the drivers window to blow a kiss. I didn't know whether to cringe or crow. Diane gave me the foulest look as she said sweetly, "Come on Harry, we need to get going."

I had a fucking excellent rest of the day. 

Jack and Diane Chapter 21. 

The rest of that weekend I was on a high. On Monday I phoned Zoe, Sandra, and Jenny, arranging to meet them all on Wednesday evening at the gym. We thrashed through various matters. Zoe needed to give a months notice before she could start, but Jenny and Sandra were available more or less immediately to work part-time while their children were at school. They agreed to get the advertising and membership up and running before Christmas. Sandra had a contact at the local radio station and organised an interview and radio ad campaign. Since I didn't have the time to do the interview, and since it was a women only gym, Sandra and Jenny agreed to do the interview. That kept me out of the limelight and wouldn't alert Peter or Diane to what I was doing.

"We don't have enough management and reception staff to cover our opening hours, working seven days a week, at the moment." Jenny offered. "Bryony is very interested but she only wants to work part-time."

"If we took her on, would the four of you be able to cover the tasks," I asked.

"Well Zoe and I can cover most of the daytime hours, Jenny prefers to fit her hours round Jimmy's shifts. Bryony would probably prefer that too. It would ease the child care." Sandra put in.

"Now that's an idea" I suggested, "how about a creche?"

"Let's walk before we run. No point in increasing costs before we know it is giving us a return." That from Jenny.

Zoe was concentrating on the total staffing. "Look, I know there is a lot to cover, but actual management is not going to demand a lot of time so we can double up as reception staff. There are enough trainers to give us one person throughout the day. If membership increases we can recruit more but I think we have enough. I'll draw up a rota, while Jenny and Sandra get the publicity under way. We need maintenance and cleaning but I think we can use contractors for that. As Jenny says, we go with what we've got, until we see we need more. Oh, and we need an emergency evacuation plan."

From Sandra "When does the equipment arrive?" 

"Next week. The franchisers have that all organised and once it is in they will give everyone the necessary coaching."

"Well I think we need to be there for that too. Best to know in case someone is misusing it"

I became fairly redundant in the conversation. The trio had a fairly good handle on what needed done.

"OK from Monday we kick of the recruiting, and we open on the first of January, with taster sessions for the first week."

"Yes, but on production of the flyer. Otherwise we have no control of it. Have you thought of a website, Jack?" asked Jenny. 

"No, I hadn't to be honest."

"I can set up a basic presence fairly quickly. We can develop it later."

I gave the girls keys for the building, and we wound up the meeting. From the buzz they were generating, I was very confident that they would make the project a success.

As we were leaving, Zoe stopped me. "Thank you for not holding the child protection case against me, Jack. I really appreciate you giving me this opportunity."

"Zoe, you were caught in the middle of something not of your making. You did your job and used your common sense. There's nothing more to be said. But I have to ask, why are you leaving social services?"

"I've been doing that for fifteen years. Quite honestly, I'm burned out. It isn't the job I went in to do. It is bound down with politically correct bureaucracy, arse covering and box ticking. In other hands, your case could so easily have become a witch-hunt."

"So I'm lucky it fell in your lap?"

"Partly, but Sam Willis warned me there was more to it. Somehow I don't think he'll go too far in the police. He thinks for himself."

"I know what you mean. He doesn't toe the party line."

"Exactly."

***** The house purchase went through without any hiccups. Diane now had the money to buy the share in the boutique. Peter was pushed into the background, and his concerns about his gym were starting to fray his nerves. Naturally, Diane was caught up in her own little world and had no time for him. Additionally, having the children around him so often didn't help. Things came to a head just before Christmas, and he told Diane to get out. She had nowhere to go except the flat above the shop. It had been used for storing stock. Now she had to get it habitable. There was only one bedroom so she couldn't take the children at weekends. They didn't seem to mind. 

The weather was still fairly mild, so I got hold of an old caravan and parked it in the garden of the house in Plymouth. The kids and I took a couple of weekends down there so I could get the inside cleared out. I didn't want the house to get any worse. Once we got the rubbish out I restored the electricity and hired a couple of dehumidifiers to dry it out a bit before the bad weather set in. Harry and Georgie really enjoyed the adventure of staying in the van, but we needed extra thick quilts at night. ***** December ran through into January. Bryony had come on board and between the four of them, the gym opened on January the first with a queue outside the door. Membership applications were steady. We also had a pay per use system in operation. I didn't appear at the opening, leaving it to Bryony, Jenny, Sandra and Zoe. As expected the first month was hectic. What surprised me was that the usage figures remained high. We actually broke even in the first quarter.

I was still going to Peter's gym and noted the change in clientele. There were fewer women about. Also the gym itself was starting to look a little "tired". It was definitely in need of refurbishment. 

"You could do with a bit of a makeover Peter."

"Yeah. We've lost a bit of business to that new women only place, and my partners aren't to keen on spending the money to bring us up to the same standard. To be honest they aren't actually interested in the gym as such. They are more interested in it as a business. They won't try to develop it, they just want the income stream. If I could buy them out I would."

"Surely if the business is sound, you could get a bank loan."

"It is sound enough, but they are stripping the profits out for other projects."

"Even so, they should show it is viable."

"Yes, but I would have to buy them out, have the money to refurbish the place and buy new equipment. That is one of the reasons that new place has attracted so many of the female customers away. And since it is a franchise they'll replace it as soon as it looks tired. The franchisers buy equipment in bulk and get it at a fraction of what we would have to pay."

It wasn't just the gym that looked "tired". The pressure was taking its toll on Peter as well.

It wasn't just the exercise that left me with a spring in my step that day.

*****

My plans for my social life had taken a bit of a hit since the Harry and Georgie were at home a bit more. But I had been thinking about the night in the White Hart. I had checked out the Yellow Pages and DD Music Promotions was a bona fide company. So to fill the dark evenings, I had started practicing again on the piano and guitar. Harry and Georgie joined me. I had taught them a bit when they were younger. 

I phoned Doug more out of curiosity than anything else, and he agreed to get me a couple of gigs at local folk clubs, just to see how things went. So I became the guy that sings to an empty room on a Tuesday night. First on the bill, filling, while the room does the same. There was no money in it, usually just enough for petrol, but I was developing a bit of stagecraft. 

However! I would hang around the bar after a gig and there were always some ladies who wanted to talk to one of the acts; especially one who had all his own teeth. I wasn't actually to bad looking. Granted my self confidence had dipped when Diane left me, but I wasn't to bad looking for my age. Maybe not at my fighting weight but trim enough, and fairly well turned out. Being approached by the occasional woman though was helping. 

I had done about four gigs when, "Jack, it's Doug. I'll make this quick. How do you think it's going?"

"I really wouldn't know. I'm really only a warm up act."

"Well, the places I've sent you are pretty discerning. If you are crap, they'll be down on me asking why I sent you. As it is all four have asked for you back and offered Fridays and Saturdays. That's big brownie points. Its time you decided whether you want to give it a serious crack. I know you have kids, a job and all that, but I can work round all that. If you are interested I think you should consider getting an agent. Think about it and let me know."

The past year had been one of the most emotionally demanding of my life. During it all, I had barely had any time to think about what I wanted my future to be. Everything I had done was reactive. Even setting up the gym and buying the house were reactions to what Diane had done, particularly to me, and to a lesser extent, the children. Suddenly I had been presented with an opportunity that was for me alone. I was in my mid forties, being given an opportunity that any twenty year old would grab with both hands. 

I needed to think this through. I still had Harry and Georgie to consider, but I could see no reason why I couldn't fit gigging around the weekends that they were with their mother. First I needed to talk to them.

Sitting around the table at supper I opened, "You know I've done a couple of gigs at some folk clubs."

"Yeah Dad, maybe you should try some real music. You might get somewhere." Harry had a very broad musical taste.

"There is a market out there for it. In fact the guy that booked me has suggested I get an agent, because he thinks I can get better gigs."

"That's fantastic Daddy. You've got to go for it," Georgie enthused. 

"Hold your horses, young lady, there's something more important I have to consider. You pair. I'm not about to do something that means I have less time to spend with you."

"Dad, first off it isn't as if you are going professional. You don't have to gig every weekend, you can pick and choose which ones you do, can't you?"

"I don't know son. I haven't checked it out. You are the first to know about it. I wanted to talk to you both first."

"Couldn't you do it on the weekends when we are with Mummy?" asked Georgie.

"There's a lot of things to think about. There's you, but there's also the horses. Your Granny and Granda can't do it all for us all the time."

"OK, Dad but it all depends on when the gigs are, and all that. I can stay with Granny for one night and Mum can pick me up from there. Anyway, there isn't much space in her new flat. And I'm sure Auntie Milla would help."

"We can't ask your aunt Milla to do that. She has her own life to live."

The conversation went on for a while. Basically the children wanted me to go for it.

"Anyway Dad, the other thing I was going to say is, maybe I can play with you someday."

"And me." said Georgie.

That clinched it. If they wanted to be round me playing music, it might just be the example that would give Harry an alternative to the services; which, at the moment seemed to be his aim. My next port of call was David. This was right up his street.

*****

So it was that I started a second career as a folk singer. Monday to Friday, I was an engineer. The girls ran the gym, I signed the cheques. At weekends I was trailing around folk clubs, meeting other musicians, and a lot of ladies. I was surprised just how many women were turned on by musicians. I could pick and choose how much horizontal exercise I got most weekends. It was rather like my time in the Navy.

Whilst music now took up many weekends, I also found time to start refurbishing the house. I would take Harry and Georgie with me most times. Milla joined us occasionally too, now her divorce had come through. I had replaced all the timber, and took the opportunity to rewire and re-plumb the whole house. I also redesigned the interior, installing en-suite shower rooms to the bedrooms. I employed a plasterer. I know my limitations. And eventually we painted inside and out.

The children were seeing less of Diane. She and Aisha, were determined to expand the boutique, and had started visiting trade shows; often overseas. Diane, in particular, made a point of attending functions to be seen with the right people. She also used those people as advertisements for the boutique. She became consumed by that above all else, getting caught up in the whole glamour lifestyle. She also seemed to get bitten by the size zero bug and started to lose too much weight; to the extent that she was becoming ill tempered with the children. Unfortunately that was the least of my concerns. Her weight fixation was starting to affect Georgie. I mentioned this in passing to Milla.

"I think you should have a word with Diane about that, Jack."

"I've tried, Milla. It's like talking to a brick wall. She seems completely unreasonable. It's like she doesn't want to hear a word I'm saying."

"You have to get through to her somehow. Georgie is at a very impressionable age."

"I know. She's the age you were when the other girls started bullying you."

"Yes and if it hadn't been for you being my "boyfriend" I don't think I would ever have made it through to Uni."

"Let's not go there, again, Milla. You are who you are. Anyway, I thought you had taken up with Zoe?"

"You heard about that?"

"I see Zoe all the time. She works for me, after all. Is it meant to be a secret or something?"

"No. Anyway, back to Georgie, if you can't get through to Diane, you might have to deny her access."

"Wouldn't that negate the arbitration?"

"No. She is becoming a risk to Georgie's wellbeing. If needs be, we can get a court order. I'll talk it over with Zoe if you don't mind?"

"No, I don't. The last thing I want is her becoming anorexic or bulimic." 

***** 

And talking of anorexics, Peter was starting to look as if he was on the way to becoming one. The gym continued to deteriorate. His principals just were not prepared to plough any money into what they saw as a failing business, thereby accelerating the decline. He lost almost all his female clientele and only kept the rest of his customers because of his proximity to the town centre. 

***** 

Over winter and spring, I did as many clubs as I could. I had no intention of spending an entire weekend travelling to and from performances, but I found I was gradually moving up the pecking order. The other factor was that the children were not staying over with Diane at all. She would see them the odd Saturday, but more likely, on Sunday. Having them for the whole weekend was interfering with her image. Auntie Milla stepped into the breach. She would act as a stay over babysitter on the nights that my parents couldn't take Harry and Georgie. 

Then I got invitations to perform at a couple of minor festivals. I grabbed those. They were not as big as Cambridge, but they were the places to be seen if you hoped to get an invite. Naturally Harry and Georgie came along, as did my fan club from the gym and the legal and law enforcing communities. Folk festivals are family affairs. We had a great time together, and the youngsters got to play in master classes. 

Everything seemed to come to a head the weekend of the Plymouth Folk Festival. We had all gone down to stay in what had become known as Georgie's house. There weren't enough bedrooms so every room in the house became a bedroom, and the caravan was pressed into use as well. We had a great time, me playing, and everyone else soaking up the atmosphere. We rounded it of with a massive barbeque in the garden on Sunday afternoon and we headed home about four, arriving by half-nine. There was a police diversion in force in the town centre, we were redirected past Peter's gym, and there it was. "FOR SALE. As a going concern." Clearly, Lover Boy had not been able to raise the funding. I tried not to gloat.

It got better when I finally got home and checked the post. I had made it. I had an invitation to perform at next years Cambridge Folk Festival

Then, next morning, at work, Jimmy Henshaw phoned me. 

"Jack, how's it going?"

"Not too bad at all. You saw the "For Sale" sign on the gym?"

"Yeah. I thought that might have brightened your evening. I've something else for you, but I don't know whether it is good or bad news. The accident that caused the diversion was caused by your ex wife."

"Shit! Is she OK?"

"Yes, she's fine. Seatbelt and airbag bruises. But she hit two other cars. A bus swerved to avoid them, mounted the pavement, and ran into a shopfront."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"The bus driver was concussed. Luckily, it was out of service and there were no passengers onboard. The drivers of the other vehicles had similar injuries to Diane."

"Was she drunk?"

"No, she was on her mobile. She's looking at jail time."

"Oh shit. How the hell am I going to tell the kids?"

"It'll be a while before it comes to court. You'll be able to prepare them. And by the way, you didn't hear that from me."

"No problems. Doubtless it'll be on the local news anyway. Thanks Jimmy. I'll see you later. Will you and Jenny be at the Four-in-Hand tomorrow?"

"No, I start nights tonight. I had called in to leave in a file and checked the occurrence book, like I always do. I thought you might want to know."

*****

Diane's case took three months to come to court, and when it did, I got a shock. Diane just did not learn. She hadn't informed her insurers of the three points on her licence. When they got the bill for a BMW, a Merc, her Range Rover, a bus, a building, damaged stock, and loss of trade, they squirmed until they found a get-out clause. The failure to declare was just what they were looking for. It meant that all claims were forwarded to the Motor Insurers Bureau, who pay out to victims of untraced hit-and-runs, under-insured or uninsured drivers. They also try to recover those payments. Not only did Diane get twelve months, but she was forced to put her share of the boutique up for sale. I told Milla.

*****

So! That was it. The sound of a cell door closing behind my ex-wife was the sound of the door closing on the story of Jack and Diane. I wondered what lay behind the opening door. One thing I do know.

Women like musicians ... a lot.