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I’d like to thank Kenjisato again for editing and my friends for input. ual activity only involves characters over the age of 18. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Random Names have been used to protect the innocent and my bank account.
MayDecember Teachers
A workaholic changes and finds love.
Friday evening, I am sitting on my back deck, my two dogs keeping me company. Looking out over my hot tub and pool, this is my kingdom. It is what I have left after divorces— yes, more than one. I have a son, and two stepdaughters, who in my later years, would give me grandchildren, but now at thirtyfour I was single. My name is Dan Taylor, and for the last twelve years, I have been a teacher and coach. Coaching has kept me in shape because I work out with my players.
How I got to this place.
I lost two wives because I worked too much— teaching, coaching, summer job, postgrad work and union work.
I finished my master’s and I had just about finished my PhD during my second marriage. My thoughts were to get my PhD, and then kick back and teach easy subjects (not really easy, but easy for me to teach). But my plan was too late for either of my wives. I guess I lost both due to not paying enough attention to them in the present, in their eyes. I was constantly looking long term and not taking care of them in the right now. In my eyes, I wanted our forever to be as comfortable as could be; my mistake, but they thought they found a trade up, but their trade up was not to be so.
The first wife, Jan, became a pariah in her career. When our divorce became known, it was because she had an affair with a guy from work. From work! She was fired and it followed her to every job she applied for. She never regained the type of position where she was trusted with any managerial duties. I felt sorry for Jan.
*********
I used my head… during the divorce from my second wife.
Even giving attention to my son, Johnny, and stepdaughters, Ruby and Holly, was not good enough for my second exwife. She hooked up with a guy that she thought was going places. He was a parent of two girls in our neighborhood, they met at our kid’s school. She shared her frustrations of marriage with this bastard, and he zeroed in on her. He knew just what to say, he groomed her and was able to turn her against me.
During the divorce, I was persona non grata because her soontobe newhusband dreamed up reasons to keep my son away from me. I was accused of hitting and bruising my son! I was not able to see my son without supervision! I said fuck that! I am not a criminal, I will not allow my son to see me treated that way! I did call him and send him little gifts. For five months, I did not see my son, that was when the psychologist said there was no way I would hurt my son! And was able to see my son using the ordinary pattern of visitation, which sucks, ’til the new custody agreement was filed!
It made me a part time dad!
My shining star. The agreement:
I wrote the divorce custody agreement, you see I had the summer off and I spent the time doing research, not having the kids to watch, I was free to do it, karma does work in strange ways.
The custody agreement, I would get my son every Wednesday, pretty standard, and on the first and third weekend of each month, not the every other weekend that was prevalent. The problem with every other weekend was if one parent wanted to complain they could say, “You had him last weekend!” Cops, on a civil standby, could not tell who had the child the weekend before! With my plan, all a cop would have to do was look at a calendar to see what was the first or third weekend. My weekend custody would include any holiday on Monday or Friday.
The reason I mentioned the police was that I had to use the police for ‘civil standbys’ when I picked up my son, (to protect myself from false accusations). It is not the cops’ job to interpret wordy custody orders. Listing the first and third weekend of each month is concise. If Saturday or Sunday was the first day of the month, that was the first weekend! His mother, now Mrs. Ann Felli, did not catch on, (almost all threeday holidays are on the first or third weekend of the month), I got Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday, Presidents’ Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, almost all of the threeday weekends. Memorial Day weekend was hers, this made her new asshole husband Paul mad. I informed Paul’s ex, Denise, that I had Johnny on the first and third weekend, she was able to get the second and fourth weekend, to tell the truth she did it just screw with him, since my stepdaughters’ dad had died a couple of years before, they were never completely free of kids!
Paul had custody of his two daughters who were about the same ages as my stepdaughters. I told Denise the way I was set up— Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter (aka spring break). I let Denise know, she took the exact opposite on the holiday schedule, it did not make them happy, but mostly Paul, why? Because it was fair to Denise and I, maybe more fair to us!
Paul kept Ann away from her family which was okay with my former inlaws because they hated him. I kept a friendship with her brother ’til the day he died.
My oldest stepdaughter Ruby called me and told me that they were going to leave for the threeday Labor Day holiday weekend, with Johnny before I would get to their house. I called a friend who was a cop in the city police department, Sergeant William Johnson, Bill, and asked him if he could give me a ‘civil standby’ while I picked up Johnny two hours early at his school. I was on Johnny’s pickup list (court ordered). Paul and Ann were going to pick him up, but only an hour early. I still had to wait for him to get some school and ‘homework’ together (As much homework as a kindergartener could have).
The office had no reason to not let him go with me. Like always, I had my court paperwork with me, just in case. Bill checked it over and made sure it was totally legal.
Minutes later, as I was coming out the door, Ann and Paul drove up; Ruby had a Cheshire cat smile on her face in the back seat. Luckily, Ann and Paul did not see her smile. I had told my stepdaughter to erase all our texts and call records with me to keep her out of trouble.
Paul started to yell that I was kidnapping Johnny!
Just then, Bill walked out of the office and Paul immediately tried to tell Bill I was kidnapping Johnny, (my own son?). Bill looked at him and asked (knowing the correct answer already), “Well, who has custody of him this weekend?”
Ann and Paul both said, “We do.”
I said, “I have the paperwork right here, sir.”
Bill took the paperwork (which he had read just minutes before) and reread the custody agreement signed by both Ann, me, and the Judge! He took out a pocket calendar and pointed to the weekend and said, “This is the first weekend. It says here, it is the father’s weekend… You may go, Mr. Taylor.”
Paul said, “This is a joke.”
Sergeant Bill turned to Paul, and asked him, “Sir, have you been drinking?”
“Shit no!” was Paul’s answer.
Ann knew enough that if Paul kept cussing on the school grounds, he’d be in big trouble. Little did I know this was just an added reason for the two of them to fight with each other. As I found out from Ruby, things were not too happy in the Felli household.
Bill told me he almost arrested Paul for disorderly conduct (for cussing at a school).
Friday
I took Johnny to my parents’ home.
Mom always went all out for her then only grandchild, until the divorce my stepdaughters were treated by her like full grandchildren.
I went full ‘Disneyland daddy’ on him. Mom made Johnny’s favorite dinner. I took him to the movies, and we saw the latest kids movie. I know it was kind of underhanded. It was not like I was into spoiling him every weekend, but I knew Paul would try to have Ann badmouth me. Kindergarteners will choose a ‘Disneyland daddy’ every time.
Saturday
I took him fishing. He caught two big trout. “Daddy, I didn’t even get a bite fishing with him.”
Lately, Johnny stopped using Paul’s name. One reason was Paul was just mean.
The first fish he hooked, he got excited and asked me to help him.
“Johnny you can do it!” He needed to land this fish by himself. My little man was going to take a first step into selfreliance.
I just grabbed a net and told him to keep pulling his rod and cranking, He fought the fish like an apprehensive fiveyearold boy, but landed it with only my net help. Johnny started jumping up and down and giggling like a kid on Christmas morning! I got the biggest hug. Johnny was quick to rebait his hook. I had to slow him down so he did not hook himself. Within thirty minutes, Johnny hooked another one. He remembered what I had said to him on the first fish, and landed it like he’d been fishing for decades!
I only showed him how to clean fish, because I was not ready to let him use the sharp fillet knife. I iced them down. I decided to let him bring them back to Ann’s house and let her cook them for him— wink, wink.
Sunday
We went for a hike. I gave him a smallsize backpack. We saw a bunch of wild animals— a couple of rabbits Thumper, a deer Bambi, a porcupine Morkubine, a couple raccoons Meeko and friend in a dumpster at a campground, and in the distance, we saw a bear cub Baloo, but I knew mama would be nearby, so I kept us as far away from it as possible. Johnny named them all… ain’t Disney great?
By the time we got back to the car, Johnny was ready for rest time (a nap), and on the drive home, he fell fast asleep.
Monday
We had a great time playing board games, and card games; just kids games— Old Maid, Spades, Candyland, etc., and he spent more time with his grandparents. He was tired when I took him home, but he was going to carry his fish into the house and was going to ask Ann to cook them.
I asked Bill for another civil standby. Bill couldn’t make it, he was busy but had another cop to do it. I met with the cop a block away and told him the Reader’s Digest version of what happened on Friday. He told me that Sergeant Bill had clued him in. He parked across the street where his dash cam could view the front yard and front door. I jumped the gun and walked up to the front door before the cop could get out of his cruiser.
I hugged Johnny, knocked, and the door opened.
Paul stepped out and started yelling, “You are trespassing! I am calling the police.”
I said, “Go ahead!” turned to leave, and he angrily grabbed me.
Johnny screamed, “Leave my daddy alone!” He dropped his fish, and he kicked Paul in the shin.
Paul let go of me and hit Johnny with a fist!
I turned and drew back my fist to hit Paul, and the cop yelled, “Freeze!”
The cop put both of us in cuffs and called in back up. Sergeant Bill showed up with Sergeant Ashley Johnson. I heard Ann yelling at Paul. Both my stepdaughters got ballsy, and asked, “Are you OK, daddy?” looking right at me.
I answered, “I am okay, girls, you need to go into the house to be safe.”
Ann said, “Don’t tell my girls what to do!”
Sergeant Johnson then told the girls to go into the house.
The cop on the ‘civil standby’ gave a verbal report to Sergeant Bill and Sergeant Johnson. Bill took the cuffs off me. Sergeant Bill called in another sergeant since he knew me. The new sergeant became the crime scene supervisor (CSS), and asked me if I wanted to press charges against Paul. He already was going to be charged with child abuse and assault on a minor, assault on me with his grab of my arm since the ‘civil standby’ cop had witnessed all of it and had it on video!
I said, “Let me talk to my son and my exwife.”
Johnny broke from Ann and ran to me, and buried his face in my chest crying.
I whispered to him, “What do you want to do about Paul hitting you?”
“Put him in time out!” Johnny said, with conviction.
I turned to Ann as she walked up to me. With the CSS Sergeant standing next to us, I asked Ann, “Has Paul ever hit Johnny before?” …The question was unanswered…
I told the CSS Sergeant, “Yes! I will press charges!”
At that time, one of the cops looked at where Paul had hit Johnny. My poor son had quite a red spot that maybe was starting to bruise. A fiveyearold crying just made it worse for poor old Paul.
Something is up.
Just then, Ruby came out of the house and asked Sergeant Johnson to follow her into the house. In about ten minutes, Sergeant Johnson came out of the house and talked to the CSS Sergeant. The CSS Sergeant went to Sergeant Bill, and Sergeant Johnson escorted my stepdaughters, Ruby, and Holly, one at a time, into the house. The girls each came out with a backpack full of PJs and school clothes.
Sergeant Johnson said, “Mrs. Felli, I will escort you in to get a change of clothes. Your house is now a crime scene.”
My ex began talking to the female cop in hushed tones.
About thirty minutes later, a car showed up and a Child Protective Services investigator (CPSI) stepped out. The CSS Sergeant explained it was standard procedure to call CPS with minor children involved; Sergeant Bill talked to her.
Ms. Becky Allen, CPSI, came over to me. “Can Johnny stay with you for a while?”
“Yes, we have joint custody, he has a room at my house, and I can get him to school.”
“Let me talk to your exwife, to see if it would be possible for your stepdaughters to stay with you overnight; it may be late before your ex will get home, she must be interviewed,” Ms. Allen asked me. “Unfortunately, I may have to take Mr. Felli’s girls into Child Protective Services care,” Ms. Allen added.
I informed Ms. Allen, “You know his exwife gets visitation with his girls.”
Paul’s exwife, Denise, and I got to know each other just because of our paths crossing. We would talk about our kids, our marriages and our divorces over coffee.
Just then another car pulled up— it was Denise. One of her girls had called her. Denise looked confused; the CPSI asked me about his ex. I gave her a quick explanation of what had happened in Paul and Denise’s marriage and divorce. I called her over and introduced the two women. I walked away.
Then Ms. Becky Allen made an executive decision. She asked Denise if she could take her girls. Denise wholeheartedly agreed!
I heard Ann say, “You are kidding me,” to the crime scene supervisor.
Bill came over and informed me, “It seems Ruby stumbled on Paul’s collection of porn on the family computer. It included kiddie porn on the computer. Since your stepdaughter ‘invited’ Sergeant Johnson in, we should not have any problems with the evidence.”
“Holy shit!” was my reply.
Ann walked silently with her head down to me, and asked me if I could help her by watching Ruby and Holly.
“Yes, I will, but Ann, I think Johnny needs to just stay with me from now on. We will talk about it later when things calm down.” I was not going to be a bastard, so I also said, “I’ll take the girls, Ann. You know I have enough extra bedrooms for the girls so if you get away from the interview late you can stay in one, too.”
I took all three kids to my place, fed them and later tucked them in— Johnny in his bed, the girls in the queen bedroom, and that left the single bed in my home office for Ann. At about 1:55am, there was a knock on my door. It was Ann, and I told her she could use the single room.
Ann said, “Thank you.” After a brief pause, she inquired, “Why are you being so nice?”
“I love Johnny, I love the girls… I did love you… But your disrespect was too much.”
Ann broke into a fulloutandout bawl. And went off to sleep in my office.
The next morning, I got up and fixed breakfast for three kids and two adults; all three kids came into the kitchen dressed for school. When they finished eating, Ann sent the kids out of the kitchen.
“Daniel, I am so ashamed of how I have treated you. I don’t know why I ever listened to Paul. He talked me into divorcing you, he knew just what to say. I have been going to counseling since before Paul and I were married a year. I was too ashamed to admit what a bad decision I had made. Yesterday was the last straw. I did not know he had porn, but I should have known… he always wanted me to dress up like a schoolgirl, a y volleyball player, like a cheerleader, et cetera… when we… well …when we had .”
“Too bad you didn’t go to counseling with me during the divorce, we might have stayed together. But, Ann, I can never forget the disrespect you showed me. The accusations of child abuse you tried to get me arrested for, you knew damngoodandwell I would never abuse Johnny. I have already forgiven you, but never again will I ever be able to love you as a wife. Yes, I said as a wife, I love you as an exwife and mother of my son. I wish you luck. I WILL be keeping Johnny for good. He does not need the turmoil!”
“I guess you are right,” Ann agreed.
“If you’d like, I can take the girls for a while.”
“No, I think I need to give them some ‘mom time’. I am taking the week off.”
“Well, they will always be welcome here.”
“I will be seeing the lawyer tomorrow.”
“Are you going to use the lawyer you used in our divorce? You know he was Paul’s lawyer with his first divorce?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I wouldn’t use him, I found out from my divorced fathers’ group, he is known as a ‘fathers’ lawyer’, that is why I got such a good custody agreement, which your lawyer agreed to it twohundred percent!”
“Son of a bitch! Paul said he was a great lawyer,” Ann lamented.
“For men… Paul strikes again. Ever think of how Paul got custody of his girls? Did you think Denise was really that bad of a mom? Did you ever think Paul was lying?”
Ann had a lightbulb moment. “I should have known he sold me a bill of goods about his ex.”
I found out from my divorced fathers’ group, the name of a real bitchofaprowomen’s lawyer and gave Ann her name. Screw Paul!
*********
The cops got a search warrant for Paul’s work computer (he worked at a big nationally known electronics and computer company) and they found some more porn and a bunch was kiddie porn! there, too. He got fired from his very, very highpaying job. His work hi was now tainted, (Aw, poor Paul).
Paul did not have the money or time to fight a divorce, kiddie porn charges, child abuse charges, and the two assault charges, on me and Johnny, at the same time.
Ann’s new lawyer did some legal maneuver where the lawyer she used in our divorce could not represent Paul.
Paul petitioned to get some of the charges lowered with a plea agreement. The district attorney stood her ground on the kiddie porn. I also stood my ground and told the DA that the child abuse and assault on a minor charges had to remain. And the assault on me? Well, fuck him, I said NO when the DA asked me if I wanted to lower the charges.
He got six months in jail, plus an eighteenmonth sentence of weekends in lock up and home arrest; he could only go to work and home, when and if he got a new job. He had to make ‘appointments’ to go to the grocery store. He had to register as a offender, aka pervert, He also was put on probation for five years, more on that later.
Ann divorced his ass, she got the house, the cabin on The Rim, the better car, and alimony, as soon as he started working again.
ero