"Come on Renee, we could both use a weekend away. You know I don't get much time away from this place."
"Monica if you want to get away, we can go to Dallas or San Antonio. I might even be able to find somewhere further for the weekend and we can go shopping. Why does it have to be church stuff? You know I can't stand religious retreats," Renee complained bitterly.
"You haven't been to one how would you know? All I'm asking is for you to give it a chance. Shock upon shock you may enjoy the people and the subject. It is not all about religion, it is about living a Christian life and relying on God for guidance," Monica assured her.
Renee smiled nervously this was way out of her comfort zone. She had never been a church-going person neither had Monica until recently. Maybe she figured it would help with the problems she is having with her hellion kids. She could be hoping God will solve her problems because she sure the hell can't. What she has done so far doesn't seem to be working.
Looking around Monica's living room, she wondered what God had done for her lately. They have too many freaking kids and too little money. Where was the hand of God in this situation?
"Ok, sure, if it means that much to you, I'll go as long as Martin is Ok with it," Renee dropped in that qualifier and that was her out. If he scoffed at the idea, she would tell her no.
"It is just the weekend, has he said anything about plans?" Monica asked she couldn't stand that jerk of a husband she had. He keeps such tight control over her, and she doesn't see it. He thinks he is so above them that he might catch poor if he got too close.
"No, but he is possessive with my time as you know."
"I do know, but it would be nice to spend some time with you. You know we are all we have now. Mom is gone, Dad is long gone, it is just us to carry on now, and we have to stick together," Monica said pulling at her heartstrings with the crap life they lived.
"I know," Renee told her, knowing that their mother's death affected Monica more than she did. She hadn't seen her mother in eight years before her death. They fought over Martin and the age difference before they married. So, she walked away from her and her under-inspiring life. Who was she to criticize her decision to marry Martin? She was a mother of two by the time she was seventeen and living the life of a gutter snipe and dragging her daughters along with her from one man to the next. Renee lucked out her father was cute worthless but cute apparently. Her mother always told her she looked like him. Monica's was only worthless, and they both took after their different fathers and looked nothing alike. Thank God her mother got some disease and lost the ability to have more children young because nothing else was slowing her down. You would think after so many years she would have to grow up.
By the time she voiced her opinion of Martin, Renee was so tired of people referring to her choice of men that she cut her mother out of her life completely. She found it surprisingly easy and as the years went by, she barely thought about her. Now that she is gone, it is devastating to Monica and Renee barely took notice. She paid to bury her but what else is new, she pays for everything.
She had told Monica she was wasting her time trying to help her mother. The woman was a drunk and would die one. Proving her right a few years later she died at the ripe old age of forty-five. She was found dead, choked in her vomit lying on the kitchen floor after an all-night drunk. A combination of whiskey and Oxy was her favorite cocktail and it did her in. That was how she partied and now she is no more. She finally accomplished her life's goal and thank God she didn't take anyone else with her.
That part of her life was over and gone the day she slammed out of her mother's trailer many years ago. She has proved how wrong her mother was. She has a good marriage lifestyle and home to envy to prove how wrong she was. Her only regret was she never saw her home before she died. But she would be damned if she was going to invite her to her house and stink it up with that cigarettes, and alcohol stench, she carried around with her. That bitter stench made her stomach lurch every time they talked.
"Ok, I'll see you Friday at 3:00 in front of your church, but I'm taking my car. If you want to ride with me that will be fine," Renee told her collecting her purse. There was no way in hell she was riding in that converted school bus to some church camp. She says it is an hour and a half away. She would be ready to pull her hair out by the end of that ride.
She knew the kids would be coming home soon and she didn't want to hang around any longer. They pulled at her heartstrings, and it always ended up costing her way too much money. Her trying to fulfill their requests for things they think they need desperately. They think Aunt Renee is an ATM dispenser. She wanted to take them away from this lifestyle and give them a chance to make a better life. The two older ones are young teens, but they were already following in their father's footsteps, drinking, carousing, and causing trouble in the neighborhood.
Her husband would never allow them to stay in their house. He called them thugs and worried that they would steal them blind if he allowed them in his home. She may have all the best intentions for them, but she would have to divorce Martin to be able to help them any more than she already has. She already knows throwing money at them does no good. She blew twenty thousand on them years ago. She has also paid a few trailer payments under the table for her sister when she called crying, they couldn't make it that month. For some reason, her husband couldn't make enough money to make a payment and drink.
Children had become a struggle between Martin and her lately. He felt he was too old, and she was getting older and needed to get on with life. For her future, she saw at least one child in it and her clock was ticking quite loudly. For now, working on Martin to let her go for the weekend with her sister was her focus. The baby fight would have to wait until she gets home. He keeps a close eye on her birth control pills pack. She had heard him open the case, ticking her off that he didn't trust her. He was very concerned about where she was and what she was doing at all times. At first, she found it sweet and endearing, but as the years have gone by it has become annoying to her. It is not like she is cheating on him; he was her everything her only and she had no plans to change that.
She has realized now that people were right about the daddy complex after years of denying it. When Martin came along her self-esteem was very low. She didn't date at all in college. Boys looked, some smiled, but Renee never encouraged them. She felt like white trash with nothing to offer. Her nice clothes and her higher education didn't hide her low-class upbringing in her mind, so she kept to herself. She turned eighteen and was old enough to buy a car, she met a handsome older man at the dealership, and he swept her off her feet. At the time she was flattered by his attention and the way he kept track of her every move. The older she gets the less she likes his scrutiny.
She does know how to get him to work with her hook or crook she will get what she wants. She wants a baby, and he is going to give her one soon whether he is for it or not. He has put her off long enough so discarded pills will be her answer. The pill will be missing from the pack that doesn't mean she swallowed it. There is a 1 percent fail rate warning on every pack. She could be a one percenter. Whoops Honey.
Renee sat in the living room she was all fluffed, sugared, perfumed, and clean waiting for Martin to come home. She knew him and he likes the baby butt smooth mound look. She was glad she had an appointment with Cheryl that afternoon. He would spend a lot of time down there if it was clean. She also knew if he was sedated, he would be more willing to let her go off this weekend. Why she was trying so hard to go she was not sure. Maybe to prove she could still get her way. With his last Viagra pill sitting in a candy dish on the bedside table, she was ready for him.
Hearing the garage door open she stood and walked toward the kitchen. She wore the silk-flowered robe he bought her last month during one of his numerous overnight trips. She had it loosely belted with the front opened to her navel. The seduction was on as he walked in the door.
"Well hello sweetie have you been waiting for me?" Martin teased seeing how she was decked out and he seemed eager to feast on her. He was smiling as he sat the bags of dinner down on the counter.
He has a deal with a local restaurant that kept his credit card numbers on file and they would bring out their dinner to his car when he drove up every night. Renee didn't cook and he never encouraged her to learn. This system worked out for them; they received the specialty of the house every day. But she planned to be the special tonight. With the way it smelled maybe dessert instead, she just realized how hungry she was as she approached him. Most days she just snacked on carrots waiting for him to bring dinner.
"I take it I'm having something else for dinner tonight," Martin teased taking her into his arms.
"Well, it sounds good to me, I'm all clean for you," she said and moved the robe to show her child-like mound and watched his lusty smile spread across his face.
"Oh, you have been very busy, come here," he whispered walking her towards the stairs. Being lifted into his arms, she could taste the day on his lips. The cigar taste told her Mike's wife had their baby today and someone had a birthday if the taste of the cake was correct. Martin slipped his hands under the robe scooped her thighs in his hands and lifted her spreading her legs as she wrapped them around his waist. He carried her up to their room, spotting the little blue pill on the nightstand, he dropped her on the bed and watched as she spread her legs, he reached for the pill and made his way to the bathroom to down that pill. He knew he had thirty minutes before a raging hard-on would need to be sedated. Meanwhile, he would work her over until she was begging for what he had for her. This has been their love life lately and it has been quite satisfying for both.
An hour later he asked, "So when will you be coming back," he asked and ran his hand over her bare thigh.
Ok, she got his permission and a warning not to expect him to start going to church. She laughed because she told her sister the same thing.
*
The decision to meet on the highway was made Thursday night. Renee was beginning to think they were planning the great escape. Monica thought it was dumb for her to drive to north Austin and then drive right back. She said they would have them flash their lights and honk the horn when they got to the William Cannon exit and she could follow them from there.
The funny thing is they were going to be driving down the Devil's Backbone to this religious retreat. A road named for the high ridge they built the road on in the hill country of Texas to that religious retreat. The views were tremendous of the valleys and hills. They were striking, but the drive was dangerous with all the hills and dips on a two-lane road. The fear of someone trying to pass at you kept you on edge and no one passed anyone, which made the trip longer. Finally, the bus turned on a gravel road that told her they were getting close. Twelve other vehicles filled with women turned behind her. She was not the only one who didn't want to ride in the old, renovated school bus up here. She thought this was a heavily traveled road, but it was all the other ladies coming to this place. With dust flying all around her stone cabins came into view. What looked to be a large meeting hall loomed over the whole place. It looked cozy and friendly, so why was Renee's heart pounding so hard? The urge to go home was overwhelming her, but she told Monica she would come so she parked.
Their group alone was about forty women. She could see fresh dust rising so more were coming as she stepped out of her car. Monica was at her side immediately she knew Renee was out of her comfort zone big time, so she appreciated her coming to her rescue.
"We are going to go stake a claim to a bed, dresser and once we do that it should be dinner time, and then we will have a bible session some singing, and then bedtime for the whole group," Monica told her as she clung to Renee's arm so she wouldn't run. That told Renee that she had lied, it would be the church every minute.
A few of the newly arrived women looked familiar to her. Possibly she knows them from shopping or the dealership she was not sure. That is one of the many faults Martin has pointed out to her. Remembering names was one of her biggest faults. He thinks she doesn't bother to remember people's names or faces because so many came and went in her young life, and she gave up trying. They were just faces flowing in the house that she hoped didn't bother her. People's names became unimportant to her. It might be true, but people had to be around her for a while before she bothered to be friendly. In her mother's world being friendly with the people she hung around with was dangerous.
Now Monica was introducing her to dozens of people and their names flee as soon as they are spoken. She smiles and shakes hands and acts interested, but she isn't. Her interest was how to get out of this place. It had been a big mistake to come to this thing and she should have known Monica would lie and con her into coming. She knows she is not comfortable in large groups adding church to it and she is panicked.
"Renee it is so good to see you again and out here is a surprise," the woman she thought she knew said. Racking her brain to remember her, "Yeah, nice to see you again and I'm bad at names I'm sorry,"
"No problem, I'm Lisa Barber my husband works for your husband in the finance department."
"Oh yes, I remember you now. Nice to see you again how are the finances at work?" She teased.
"They have lots of loans going out, so cars are selling is what I have heard," she told her as if she was clueless.
"Perfect that is what I want to hear," Renee told her as they followed the other women to the cabins. Monica grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the back of the cabin. She was taking too much time talking. The walls were lined with bunk beds and then rows of other space four feet apart filled the rest of the space. Monica chose a bunk five down from the rather large bathroom, slamming her suitcase on the lower bunk. She looked up indicating Renee's bed was the upper bunk.
"Oh, that is not fair," Renee complained as the other lower bunks close by were claimed all around them. She groaned as the possibility disappeared quickly.
Dinner was baked beans with sliced hot dogs at least that is what they were supposed to be, cornbread, and for dessert apple pie. What she would have expected to be fed at camp if she ever had the opportunity to go to one as a kid. Once they dropped the remains of dinner into the garbage cans she needed to stop and let go of some of her iced tea.
"No, I think she is clueless. Rick says he is out so many hours during the week or go for the day completely, going God knows where and doing what?" a woman gossiped with another woman as Renee sat in the stall listening.
"Does it have to be other women, maybe he is gambling or something, drink is always something a man of his age does a lot."
Renee listened and felt sorry for whomever they were talking about and heard the door open, and the talking continued as they walked out. She was so glad she didn't have to worry about her husband. He was a good man all any woman could ask for.
*
A hand waving in a sea of women caught her attention. Shifting down the aisle of chairs she plopped down next to her sister wondering why she was there. Renee didn't have a religious bone in her body. She felt it was for suckers and people with no hope. She had everything going for her and didn't need some invisible being to help her. But she was respectful of other believers and sat quietly as the others around her raised their hands and called out Lord Jesus after every sentence this preacher said. Lord Jesus, she wanted to go home. An hour and a half later they were sent back to the bunkhouse like good little women who have learned their lesson for the night. Renee had picked three of her perfectly manicured nails clean and had two more well on their way by the time she was standing at the end of the bunk getting ready to climb to the top.
At 2:00 in the morning, she knew it was two because half a dozen people told her as they grumbled at her for waking them up. She lay on her side on the floor as she contemplated whether her tailbone was broken and was impressed, she was not screaming. A sleepy trip to the bathroom was needed and she forgot where she was and landed hard on the floor from her tree-top perch, she was forced to sleep in. All Monica did was roll over and grumble. Rolling to her knees, she grabbed the wood on her lovely 2 by 4 bunk bed and pulled herself up using each slat to pull up higher. Walking stiff-legged she made it to the bathroom and sat down gingerly on the toilet. With her elbows on her knees, she sat and contemplated what the hell she was doing here. Why had she let her sister talk her into this? She drags her into her world, thinking her world is better than the one Renee had created for herself. She held out her hands and whispered, "Trailer park or mini-mansion. A drunken, butt crack plumber husband, or rich, sexy, successful husband who owns his own business," she whispered, "I think I'll keep my life. Sorry, Monica."
She went back to bed until the activities in the room made it impossible to sleep. The sun was barely out, and these crazy ass women were all smiles and had sunshine shooting out of their butts. Lord Jesus, she was not in the mood plus her butt and shoulders hurt from the fall. She was lucky she hadn't broken anything she lamented. Talk of pancakes, sausage, bacon, and eggs turned her stomach. She hadn't eaten like that since she left home. No wonder most of the women here are fat. She hoped they had some granola-type cereal, skim milk, or some fruit, or she wouldn't be eating. She hadn't touched dinner and only nibbled on the pie. It tasted store-bought as a reject from last month.
Well, if nothing else she would lose some weight this weekend she thought, trying to see the brighter side as she dressed sensibly so she didn't stand out in the sea of dull overweight women. No wonder they needed to go to a seminar on how to keep their man. They should let her teach it she quipped. Lose some weight, spread your legs, and laugh at his jokes. That pretty much clinches it for most men.
A tiny box of cornflakes and who knows what percentage of milk was the best she could do. She ate quietly as the others gorged on the fattening breakfast talking about last night's message. An inspirational seminar on how to honor your husband she heard was the after-breakfast stomach turner. She couldn't believe these women had to be told how to treat their husbands. Answers why that one was cheating on his wife she thought smugly as she chipped the paint off her pinky fingernail. She knew how to keep a husband her body was his anytime he wanted it. And vice versa. Sure, sometimes it had to be staged a little after all he was getting older. Half of the damn commercials on TV are about male erectile dysfunction so he is normal as the next man his age.
They were given an hour of free time before lunch. Renee walked the perimeter of the grounds, just needing to get away from the so nice women. That was until the rattle of a snake off in the distance made her run for the bunkhouse. She had never seen one in person but had seen enough nature shows to know not to mess with one. Winded and ready to tell her scare to Monica she found her trying to take a nap. "I was wondering where you took off to," she said with her eyes half open.
"Oh, I almost got bitten by a rattlesnake it was right by my foot," Renee exaggerated as she was prone to. The attention seeker she is.
"Well, that will teach you to wander off. You should stay with the rest of us," Monica warned.
"Well, thank you for your concern dear sister," Renee snapped. "I'm out of here, I didn't want to come anyway." Renee looked around and noticed several women glaring at her. "Don't worry; I'm out of here ladies. Far be it for me to mess up your Kumbaya, Zen weekend," she snapped.
*
Renee drove an hour and a half and kept expecting to see the highway in front of her. Nothing looked familiar to her. She does realize she was following someone before, but she must have done something wrong. She should have been back to Highway 35 by now. "Ok stupid give it a few more minutes and then turn around. She was happy she filled her car with gas before she left yesterday.
She thought about calling Martin, but he didn't know his way around this area either. What was she going to tell him, 'Oh I'm out here by some big rocks and there was a scary dip about a mile back?" Movement caught her attention and she realized it was an overpass. "Yes," she shouted as a highway came into view.
The I10 signs threw her. This was not right it should be I35 pulling into the intersection all the signs pointed to San Antonio or Abilene, "where the hell was Austin," she shouted, "Oh my God, I'm so lost." She didn't know what to do as a person honked their horn behind her forcing her to make a decision. Taking a left, she headed for San Antonio at least she could follow the highway back to far south Austin. She knew I10 ran below Austin, and she would see signs to Austin it would cross I35 at some point. Where the hell was, she, she questioned.
It was dark and she was exhausted, and halfway down another tank of gas, when she finally exited the highway. In another twenty minutes, she would be home. It took her all day to make it home plus another full tank of gas as she looped around San Antonio.
"I guess it is payback for leaving the retreat early," she lamented as she pulled into her garage breathing a sigh of relief so glad to be home. She heard music playing too loudly for Martin's taste and a bit too hip-hop for him. She stopped in her tracks as she walked through the kitchen making the corner to the living room. What the hell?!
*
"I stood right in the doorway to our living room and watched them. She was giving him a good blow job by his reaction. He was enjoying what she was doing. That is something I don't like to do; it is a Happy Birthday type of thing for me. Anyway, I left without a word. Now he is saying it didn't happen and that I must have dreamt it. That is why I woke up in a hotel this morning and I must have dreamt that too," she said sarcastically. "That was my downfall. I should have spoken up at the time, but I just wanted to leave," she said, sitting back and drinking her glass of ginseng tea. She was talking with her long-time friends from college. A few have been divorced and knew all the tricks and she needed their help. She planned to take him to the cleaners. How dare he cheat on her was her main reaction.
"You know we were going to try to have a baby starting after this pill packet was finished. Thank God we didn't have one already. So now I get half of everything we have made in the last nine years. Boy, I hope that girl was worth it. And if it was a hooker, she sure cost him a hell of a lot," she told the group of friends at the table. She didn't care if she had shocked them with her blunt talk she was pissed.
It was a coincidence she had this luncheon scheduled already and needed to vent to her friends. A few were already bringing up male friends she needed to meet. She was not listening she was too angry. She didn't need another two-timing stabbing man messing up her life.
She was not a religious person she had only gone along with her sister to that religious retreat for the weekend because she had begged her. Probably thought she would find God like she has. Renee left early because she was bored out of her mind. Thank God she had driven herself to the place up in the hill country outside of Austin Texas. I mean what self-respecting woman sleeps in a bunk bed? Renee rolled the events out to her friends. If she hadn't gone with her sister this wouldn't have happened. Getting lost hadn't helped either. Her friends jumped on her to pull her out of that it was her fault insanity she was falling. Her friend asked, "How is he getting a blowjob from some twit your fault."
But then again, he has been going on a lot of overnight trips she reminded herself. 'Oh, honey Mike needs me to help with the staffing problem; he is having in San Antonio. Oh, honey, Bob needs help with a fleet sale he has never done one before in Midland.' How difficult could it be to sell cars? Now she was putting two and two together and what a fool she has been. Nine years of marriage out the window. Well, that is what she gets for marrying a handsome, smooth-talking car salesman.
At least he was a good one and bought his franchise six years back. It was a nice one. He picked up one of the many that closed during the 2008 bailout crisis. He is a Democrat much to her disgust. That was another thing she hadn't realized before she married him.
She was a diehard Republican, sure Bush had messed up a few things; but Barney Frank was the cause of the downfall of the housing market, the banking industry dived, and he was a Democrat. That she didn't understand. Why her husband was a Democrat since he lives such a Republican life, she had no idea.
Her head was spinning by the task ahead, but she now has three business cards in her hand all donated by her friends at the table during her Monday luncheon. The cards are from some of Austin's finest divorce lawyers. Now all she needs is a quiet place to sit and make an appointment with one of them.
She had been stashing away money for their tenth wedding anniversary for years. She planned to surprise him next year if there was no baby on the way, with a cruise or world tour. It would be something exciting for them to do and spend some time together no bottom line in the way. She had been so excited at the prospects for them.
She had been making withdrawals of a hundred to five hundred or more each transaction for years. If he complained about her spending habits, she would complain right back about how expensive it was to dress like an owner's wife. That would shut him up. He wouldn't notice if she had a new dress or ten new pairs of shoes if she looked good on his arm that was all he cared about.
She knew she was a trophy wife to start with she was twenty-seven years his junior. Someone he took pride in showing off as his beautiful young wife. She played the part well and their business thrived in the affluent South Austin area.
He was a handsome man. You could call his looks debonair. With his Pierce Bronson type of good looks, he built his business. He still had it after all these years. He wasn't as tall, but he was handsome. He was getting a little salt and pepper on the sides of his dark brown hair. He had green eyes with flecks of gold on the outside margins of his pupils.
They had sex all the time she was always a willing partner. Something most men could not say about their wives of nine years. But most of them had kids, dogs, and Little League to contend with, all the things she craved.
She met him at the dealership where she went to buy a car. It was the same car she is still driving today. Her friends thought she was crazy falling in love with that old man, but she did. He took notice when she paid cash for her new car. That should have been her first clue. He said and did everything right to win her over all those years ago. Why he had to cheat was beyond her. The man was not deprived. Ok sure she was not a fan of blow jobs but if he asked, she would have done it.
Her grandmother died, leaving her a large inheritance from an insurance policy she carried for years. During an ill-timed trip to her mailbox on the rural road where she lived for years, she met up with a drunken driver. A neighbor found her in her driveway when she came home from work. It was a sad and horrible story that doubled the policy because it was an accident.
Renee was left the money and she used it for a college fund and a life. She also had her grandmother's small house that she rented out to a couple for years. So, at sixteen, she dove head first into graduating early knowing she could leave her drunken mother's care and her attentive boyfriends spurred her on.
She took summer classes and finished up in what was to be her junior year. She went off to college and got a degree in marketing by the time she was twenty. At first, she worried that Martin was after her money; but once she visited his home, she could see he had money of his own. It shocked her to think a car salesman could make that much money. Martin was already talking about buying his dealership so she thought she could help with her degree to promote it and the money she had left from her grandmother's death. They made all kinds of plans to accomplish that dream and three years into their marriage he sold his house and put most of their things in storage. Then they started saving everything they made for the franchise while they lived in a small one-bedroom apartment. She worked at a small community-based newspaper setting up ads but made decent money.
Maybe it was a father fetish as her friends teased, but they married when she was nineteen right before she graduated. Now at twenty-nine, she was about to be a divorcée if she could find a good lawyer.
*
"This is Renee Blankenship I would like to make an appointment to talk to a lawyer about a divorce," Renee said sitting in a cheap hotel with the three-card sitting in front of her.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Blankenship, we have already been retained by Mr. Blankenship," the smug voice on the other end of the line told her. Ok, maybe it was not smug she just didn't want to hear what she had to say.
"Oh Ok, thank you," Renee said now she knew who his lawyer was, and she pulled out the other card and dialed.
"What do you mean he is his lawyer? Dan Shear is his lawyer," she shouted at the person on the other end of the line. Had he gone out and paid all the decent lawyers a hundred bucks as a retainer? Again, her head spun at his audacity. She called every attorney that advertised divorce in the phone book, and he had them all in his pocket. "Did he think I would not divorce him if I had no attorney?" She screamed at the dead phone line.
If she must, she will go online and find one in Dallas so it is a five-hour drive. Hell, she'll move there, there was nothing to keep her here. Her sister Monica was married, with five kids, a plumber for a husband, and her religion she didn't need her around. If she saw her once a month, they were doing good. Her few friends she meets for lunch, once a month, she could drive in for that day. The idea sounds good to her just get the hell out of here.
Every time she thinks of him all she sees is that blonde-haired bimbo's head bobbing up and down over the arm of the chair.
Renee sat in her hotel room the thought of staying with her sister churned her stomach. They lived in far North Austin in a single-wide trailer in a tacky trailer park while Renee lived in the same neighborhood as Sandra Bullock. No, a moderate-priced hotel was good enough for now. She was not poor she can do this.
She sat on the floor with one of those mini bottles of vodka in her hand, taking slow sips and contemplating her life. She had never been a drinker. At social events, she could nurse a glass of wine all evening. Visions of her mother flashed in her mind as she smelled the bottle she brought to her lips. The TV in the next room was blaring and so was hers. She may have to upgrade if that person continues to have that room. The Zoomba Law Services ad came on TV telling her they have a lawyer standing by to answer all her legal questions. She jumped up and grabbed the pad of paper by the phone and before the ad went off, she scribbled the number down.
"Maybe they can help me," she yelled to the noisy next room the effects of the alcohol spurring her on with her belligerent behavior.
On the other side of her hotel room, the headboard started hitting the wall in a rhythmic pattern. Renee sat down and cried for the first time since this whole thing started, she let the misery pour out. How could he have done this to her? He had shattered her world and was trying to control her as usual. He had her so under his control that all it took was a look and she bent to his will. "Not again," she screamed into the room.
"It said twenty-four hours a day and it was only eleven-thirty," she said, looking at the cheap alarm clock sitting on the nightstand. "They should be glad I had this brainstorm now and not at three in the morning," she sniffed trying to control what could have been a jerking sob if she would just let go. She couldn't believe he had done this to her. He couldn't have asked for a more perfect wife and then he pulls this crap.
She pulled out her phone and dialed the number. "Yes, I need an attorney for a divorce and saw your ad on TV just now. I need a good attorney," she told the lady who answered the phone with hopes she could find her one.
"Yes, ma'am, all our attorneys are good if you would give me a moment. Yes, I see you're in Texas." Renee assumed she had caller ID she didn't think her accent was that strong. "Let me connect you with one of our really good divorce lawyers in Texas," she said, and elevator music came on to entertain her while she waited. Humming along with Moon River she took a few more sips from her little bottle as she waited.
"Yes, hello, this is Dusty Malone attorney at law how can I help you."
Oh, Dusty, I like it a good old country name. "Yes, I'm Renee Blankenship and I need a divorce and it looks like it could be messy."
"Could I call you Renee? How so?" He asked, sounding so young to her.
"First he has put every attorney worth anything in Austin on retainer to keep me from finding an attorney, second we own property, and third I caught him cheating on me and he is saying it was a dream," she ended that part with a frustrated screech.
"Yes, it does sound like you have a problem," Dusty said as he reached for a yellow tablet, he kept all around his apartment. He had been trying to go to sleep and had only notified the service provider he was looking for a new client this afternoon. His last client won her case and was just waiting for the checks to be handed over in the morning to her.
"I do, where are you? I live in Austin the operator just said she would connect me with a lawyer in Texas and as you know it is a large state," Renee said pointing out the obvious.
"Yes, ma'am, I'm in Houston," he said, figuring that would put a stop to this conversation. The main referral office is in New Jersey, where everything is close together. But he likes the clients he finds with them. Most were ill-equipped to know what to do in a divorce situation or lawsuit. He likes that he can swoop in and take over and make sure they weren't walked all over.
Houston wasn't bad she liked going there she could jump on I10 or 290 and be there in no time. She had gone that way the other night. It was one of those; Oh, shit nights and turned around again. "What part of Houston?" She asked.
"Off I10 in Katy the West Houston area," he told her.
"Perfect when do you think you would have time to discuss my case?" She asked, knowing if she could find her way home over the weekend a quick trip down I10 would be easy.
"Anytime basically; I have an appointment in the morning, but that should be over by nine-thirty," Dusty told her shocked she was willing to drive that far; but then again, she couldn't find an attorney in Austin. They must have money for him to be able to do that. Retaining an attorney is not cheap.
"How about eleven or so? I can get up fairly early and drive down easy," Renee offered. If nothing else she could get out of town for a few days and away from her noisy neighbors, maybe even find a different hotel when she returns.
"Would you like to meet me at Landry's Seafood around eleven-thirty and we could have lunch and talk there."
"Perfect it is off Westgate on I10 right?"
"Yes," Dusty said impressed she knew the city so well.
"I'll be wearing a red dress, my hair is blond, and long. I'm hard to miss," she told him confidently knowing exactly what she would wear. She had gone home Monday after lunch and collected her things before Martin could change the locks. At least she assumed he would he is that tacky. She wanted to set that fricken chair he was sitting in on fire, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her locked up for arson. She also has a lot of money locked up in that house so better judgment prevailed.
"Ok, sounds good,d, and don't worry we will work this out," Dusty said trying to reassure her.
She sighed as she hung up the phone. She was already worried she was wasting her time he sounded so young. "Oh well, at least I'll get out of this town and out of this room," she shouted to the noisy adjoining rooms.
She was used to complaining about how far away everything was in her house. Now her life was contained in these four walls and that dinky bathroom. What a brat she has become from the crappie trailer park, she was raised in, to a mini-mansion, to a no-tell motel, "Oh God, what if Martin brought his whore's here. What if I contracted something from one of them?" She screamed and started to freak out; she pulled out her phone and looked up Planned Parenthood in the Katy area.
She didn't want to have to go too far into Houston, but they could do a quick check. She wouldn't want her regular doctor to find out that she had something. "I will kill him if I do have something. He is my one and only," she said as she began to worry the polish off the rest of her nails. She jotted that address down to the closest one along with Dusty Malone's name. "I hope he is as cute as he sounds," she said as she wrote his name again with a flowery flair. She was going to be free soon. No more disdainful looks from Martin if she got too much attention from other men. "What the hell did he expect, he sent me out to grab men's attention," she complained, she could do that easily, but then he would get mad when she did. "The man is an idiot," she told her bottle as she finished it setting it next to the other three empties. They hadn't worked at all shutting down her thoughts.