Through the cracks

Chapter Eleven

When she reached the front door, a sense of unease settled over her. She opened the door with reluctance, expecting Millie just to find Waltraut standing in front of her. Waltraut is Lucas's mother and if anyone thinks that Lucas is ill-mannered and rude, they must meet his mother to understand why. She is eighty years old but still does yoga and thinks she is still young and pretty. She does not care to say things that hurt people and the children are not very fond of her. The only people she really likes and adores are her son Lucas and her grandson Jayden. Millie and Iris avoid her as much as they can. Jayden will take her for coffee and cake when he comes to visit as he feels sorry for her being so alone . She married Luca's stepfather, who was an Englishman, after his German biological father left her when she was expecting Lucas. He never knew his real father and after his stepfather passed away when Lucas was six years old, she raised Lucas on her own. Lucas even has his stepfather's surname.

She marches into the house uninvited and says that Lucas told her that Ava was at home as she was looking for her at work. She sat down and Ava offered her coffee. They drank their coffee in silence.

“He told me “ Waltraut broke the silence with these words and Ava looked up with a faint smile and replied:

”I am glad he did”.

She is taken by surprise when Waltraut says:

“Why would you want to throw away all the years that you have been together ? Why couldn't you just remain married in name for the children's sake? There are a lot of people that have that arrangement, and it works very well for them. It will also not hurt if you lose a little weight, you know ", she steams on.

"I can see you lost a little bit, but you could still lose more….. "

Ava stopped listening and started counting to ten. She has always respected the old witch as it is Lucas' mother after all, and she is not going to start fighting with her now. That is more than he ever did for her parents. Whilst she always handled her mother-in-law with respect -even when she felt like slapping her, Lucas was sometimes very rude and disrespectful towards her parents, who were always just nice and loving towards him.

She just promises Waltraut that she will think about it. Just to get rid of her. After another cup of coffee and cake – which Ava only served Waltraut as Ava had rather not eat in front of her mother-in-law – she finally left and Ava had never been so relieved to see Waltraut go.

“ Unbelievable” Ava thought. She wonders what Lucas told his mother about the divorce and the new family-she has never been a good grandmother and Ava does not think she is going to start being one now. It is sickening that he tried to use his old senile mother to convince her not to divorce him but to allow him to have two families. Lucas is very aware of her love for him, but he underestimates her tolerance and determination not to share him with another woman and family. She would rather never see him again.

Ava decides to contact her lawyer tomorrow for an appointment to discuss the fact that Lucas brought his girlfriend into their house and allowed her to pack Avá‘s belongings into boxes. Ava does not know whether she is extremely mad or extremely sad that Lucas could disrespect her like that. Of all the things he has done so far, this is the one thing she will never forgive.

She phones all her children and informs them that she is back home. Millie wants to know when she will be at work again, and she promises her to start working on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning at eight o’clock, Ava receives a call from Jones and Associates, Mr Jones’s secretary, asking if Ava would be available for an appointment with Mr Jones. Ava wanted to make an appointment anyway and agreed to come to their offices at ten.

She realizes that she only has two hours to get ready. She wonders why she feels nervous and excited at the same time. She wants to look her absolute best for this appointment. Last time she saw Mr Jones she was a mess and cried so much her makeup was ruined, and she must have looked terrible. She wants to make a better impression this time. She does not know why it is so important for her to look her best and she cannot decide what to wear and wishes she had more time to get ready. She decides to wear a green linen dress and her best black heels. She takes extra care with her make-up and hair and feels good about her appearance when she closes the front door behind her and walks to her car.

When she arrives at the offices of Jones and Associates, the secretary takes her to the boardroom and says that Mr Jones will be with her shortly. She offered Ava something to drink and Ava asked for still water. The secretary is an older lady. She is friendly but very professional and Ava estimated her age at about fifty-something. Her hair is natural gray, and she looks stylish and put-together. Ava is glad that she is a mature lady with a comforting presence. Ava also noticed a wedding band on her finger. Ava wondered why she had these strange thoughts about Mr Jones’s secretary. Surely it is none of her business what her secretary looks like. Maybe Ava feels more comfortable with a woman older than herself after Lucas’s choice of a new partner.

How the hell was Ava supposed to compete with a girl so much younger than herself? Every time she thinks of them together, she feels sick to her stomach. This should have been a good season of their lives, but she has been forced to start over-not her choice and not her fault. Surely, he will wake up one morning and realize that he has destroyed his entire life- and for what? Good s*x? I doubt she is that incredible in the sack. Ava thinks. A midlife crisis or boredom with his marriage is one thing, but he could have been honest about his feelings-not starting a new family right under his nose.

“I am sorry I made you wait”. A deep male voice interrupted Ava's bitter thoughts. She looked up and blushed as she looked into his green eyes:

What is wrong with me? Ava wondered, and she stuttered:

“Don’t worry. I did not wait that long.”

"So just an update, Lucas defended the divorce summons and the proposed settlement attached through his lawyers. He also made a counter-claim against you for the two properties in your name. He also made claims that you had been separated for years and were only keeping up appearances and that you were the one who refused to give him a divorce. Furthermore, he claims that he will have the business audited as you misappropriated funds from him." he said calmly, but seriously.

'Son-of-a-b***h!" Ava got ready to get worked up again.

"Do not take these claims so personally, all you have to do is prove him wrong. You can prove him wrong? Right?", he asked to make sure.

"Yes I can, but why do I need to prove my innocence? If he is making false allegations against me, then can he prove it? I cannot believe he is just blatantly lying like that. Who the hell am I married to ?" she asked.

"If it goes to court, yes, then he will have to." he reassured her.

When I came back from the North last week, he and his new girlfriend had packed up all of my belongings. I caught him in the act! I want a restraining order against him to keep him from coming to the house until we have settled in court." Ava stated angrily.

"Did you call the police when you came to find them packing up your things? If so that would help with proving the fact," he asked curiously.

"No, I didn't notice at first", Ava responded.

"How so, I thought you said you caught him red-handed?" James asked with a confused look on his face.

"Well, I found him in the house and he seduced me. It was only after he left I realized what they had done. If I came back a day later all my stuff would have been gone," she explained. She feels very guilty and uncomfortable admitting this to Mr Jones but realize she has to be very honest if she wants him to help her. He needs all the facts.

"Ava, I am sorry for having to ask this, but are the two of you still intimate? Do you still believe there is a chance that you and Lucas at some point in the future might reconcile again? Sometimes, spouses would start to fight and things eventually work out for them. I am only asking because if we proceed with this matter, and you end up back together, you will both lose a lot of money unnecessarily.", he asked in a very serious tone. He wondered why he felt so disappointed and uncomfortable that she was still sleeping with Lucas. He is still her husband after all.