Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2011 08:01:34 -0500
From: Jonothan Wolf <jwolf24450@gmail.com>
Subject: The Funny Thing Is... chapter 15

**Standard disclaimer applies. This is purely fiction (if based only
slightly on actual events). Don't read if you shouldn't because you're
under 18 or live in a backwards area. This is a continuation of The List.
It isn't necessary to read The List, but it would help in understanding
characters and references. I appreciate any and all feedback, so please
email me at jwolf24450@gmail.com. Enjoy the story!


        The Funny Thing Is... Some Things Are Decided for You

        We make them every day. Decisions. Some are big. Some are small,
but it's our decisions that make our lives different from the next
guy's. But there are those times when, no matter what we decide, someone
will get hurt. There is no win/win decision. Quite frankly, I was in a
position where making the decision was the hard part. And eventually, if
you wait too long, those decisions are made for you.
	"What the hell are you doing?"
	"What?"
	"Why are you telling me this?"
	"Because, Chase, I think you deserve to know what actually happened
while you were gone."
	I watched the hurt take over his face as he shook his head.
	"No," he replied. "You're doing this because you want me to walk
away. You want me to break up with you so that you don't have to."
	"That's just not true," I replied.
	"Then what?" he shouted. "Why now? Why after all of this are you
telling me that you're still in love with Kyle? Why couldn't you tell me
weeks ago, Cooper?"
	It was the first time in a very long time Chase had used my name
and not some romantic sounding faux-French nickname.
	"Chase, I'm just leveling with you."
	"Okay. Let's level. Do you want out of this?"
	I shrugged my shoulders and fought back the urge to scream. What
the hell was I doing? I was finally where I wanted to be with the person I
wanted to be with, and I was throwing it all down the drain. And for what?
	For Kyle.
	Because I didn't feel right being happy while he sat at home alone
and miserable because of me.
	"It's a yes or no answer, Cooper," he spat, his words pricking me
like a thousand little needles. It was rare for Chase to get worked up, but
when he did, it was frightening.
	"No," I said. I shook my head. "I don't know."
	"Who the fuck is supposed to know?!" he shouted. I could feel the
vibration from his booming voice. I sat down opposite him on the couch and
looked him straight in the eye.
	"I fought for you, Coop," he said, his voice lowering and evening
out. "I came all the way back here to fight for you. I've been living in a
miserable hotel. I took a job teaching kids I care nothing about, and I
left everything behind because I wanted to fight for you. All you have to
do is make a fucking decision."
	I watched him stand up and walk towards the door.
	"And for the record, you didn't call me either," he said, turning
back to me for one last dig. "Twenty years ago, you knew I was back in the
states and you sat around and waited, but you never picked up the goddamn
phone to call me either. I fought for you, gamin, and now it's your turn to
fight for us."
	I swallowed hard as the door slammed behind him, and I was once
again alone.
	I didn't even try to fight it that night. I popped a pain killer
for my headache and a Sominex to help me sleep, washing each down with a
different glass of wine. I put myself in a prescription induced coma so
that I wouldn't dwell on my obvious pain.
	I woke up the next day without an ounce of will to go about all
that I needed to accomplish. My lectures as of late had become anemic, and
instead of powering through like I had in the past, I showed both of my
classes a film that I was planning to show at the end of the week.
	I kept putting off all of the things I obviously needed to do,
simply because I didn't want to do them. I needed to talk to Devon about
the whole Chicago ordeal, but the thought of getting into another fight
deterred me from going to the Highland house after work. Dean Pepper had
left a message in my inbox asking me to come into his office first thing on
Tuesday morning and I knew if I went home I would do nothing but think
about that for the entire night.
	I knew I needed to call Chase, but I didn't know what to say. I
felt bad for hurting him, sure. No boyfriend wants to hear that you slept
with someone, let alone developed feelings for them. And my motive was as
transparent as crystal.
	So instead of doing any of the things I needed to do, I instead
called Bass and asked him if he wanted to catch dinner.
	"Yeah," he replied. "I'm just leaving the office. Let me call
Britney and make sure she doesn't have anything planned. I'll call you
right back."
	I poured myself a glass of wine and waited for him to call me back.
	"Alright, I'm on my way over," he said as I answered the
phone. "You're home right? Want to meet there?"
	"Yeah," I replied. "If you bring some beer over, I'll order in."
	"Okay. I'm stopping at Ace's right now and I'll see you soon."
	"Hey," I called into the phone before he had a chance to hang
up. "Did you tell Britney you were having dinner with me?"
	"What do you think, Cooper?" he replied. I could picture his face
looking at me like I'd just asked the world's dumbest question. I swallowed
the knot in my throat and tried not to feel too guilty about putting a
strain on another one of my friends' relationships.
	By the time Bass arrived, I'd called in for two Famous Ike's Philly
sandwiches and a platter of chili cheese fries. When I hung out with my one
and only straight friend, it was always grease, beer, and caloric regret in
the morning.
	"Berry Weiss for you and Stella for me," he said following me into
the apartment.
	"Food should be here soon," I told him. We each opened a beer and
sat at the bar.
	"So what's up?" he asked. I was glad he hadn't asked when I told
him I wanted to have dinner. It would have forced me to vocalize all of my
concerns over the phone, and it might have caused me to realize that I was
at fault across the board for every position I was currently in.
	"I don't know, I just... I sort of broke up with Chase last night,"
I said, ripping off the band aid and voicing the words for the first
time. I was broken up.
	Sebastian's face said it all.
	"How close had y'all gotten, really, though? I mean, none of us had
hung out with him since his reappearance. It couldn't have meant that
much."
	"I mean, none of you wanted to see him really, did you? I don't
know. I wasn't planning a long life with him already or anything, but I
could definitely picture it. I could feel it in my heart that it was right
being with him. So I guess we were pretty close."
	"So why'd you break it off?"
	The way Bass asked it, so matter-of-factly reminded me why our
friendship had survived for so long. He was always the voice of reason
without ever really needing to say much. He simply asked the right
questions until I figured out the right thing on my own. He wasn't over the
top in dealing with my drama. In his own straight arrow little way, he
grounded the rest of us, especially me.
	I blinked before I answered. "I met with Kyle last night to talk
about this custody issue and he said he ended things with Winston."
	"Okay."
	"You knew?"
	"Yeah, we texted this morning. He wants everyone at his
announcement party, by the way, so no plans on Saturday night."
	"Yeah, I know."
	"So you broke up with Chase because Kyle broke up with Winston?" I
shrugged in lieu of answering. "Does that mean you want to be with Kyle?"
	"Not necessarily," I said. It was at that perfect moment that the
door bell rang. I sprang up and retrieved our food from the door. It took
five minutes to set our food onto plates and settle on the couch with fresh
beers, but the last thought I had in my mind hadn't gone anywhere.
	"I don't necessarily want to be with Kyle," I said, letting my
emotions turn into words for the first time. "I just felt so guilty when he
told me why he couldn't get married to Winston. Like I was some sort of
roadblock or something. It didn't feel right going home to Chase after all
these years while Kyle sat at home alone."
	I waited for Sebastian to say something, but instead, he just took
another big bite out of his cheese steak.
	"Hello. I didn't bring you here to eat. I need advice."
	He nodded as he finished his bite, took a swig of beer, and then
cleared his throat.
	"What I just heard is that you're putting your life on hold because
you feel guilty that Kyle hasn't been able to move on. That's a load of
shit."
	My head shot up and I glared at him. I wasn't expecting that
reaction.
	"What?"
	"Do you want me to be completely honest with you?"
	I was nervous to say yes. I never knew what truth Bass would spill,
but I had to hear it.
	"Are you really going to sit there and put your life on the back
burner because of Kyle? Seriously? For the rest of your life? You aren't
responsible for his happiness, Cooper. He is. You aren't responsible for
the tension between Britney and me. I know you think this whole entire city
revolves around you, but believe it or not we're big boys. We make our own
beds. We are responsible for our own happiness."
	Hearing him say the words was supposed to lift some weight off my
shoulders, and it did to an extent. It made me think that maybe, just
maybe, I was allowed to think about myself. Maybe it wasn't my
responsibility to wait for Kyle to be happy, and maybe my decision to leave
Devon didn't have quite the ripple that I held in my head.
	Bass and I dished and talked for the next three hours and twelve
beers. By the time he left, he'd eased my anxiety over the great Kyle/Chase
debate. I still hadn't made a decision, but I was realizing that my choice
needed to be for me, and not the half dozen other people who would be
marginally affected.
	The two people I couldn't leave out of my decision, however, were
CJ and Liz, and that became abundantly clear the next morning when I
checked my email on the way to the SMU campus.
	To Cooper: Judge Sizemore is calling for a hearing tomorrow,
Wednesday, at nine a.m. He wants to meet with you, Devon, and your
representation first and then possibly bring the kids in after. It's pretty
unorthodox. I haven't heard of a preliminary meeting like this before. I'm
spending the day with our divorce and custody expert, but if you want to
swing by sometime tonight, I'd advise it. Kyle.
	It was the last thing I wanted to deal with that Tuesday, and yet
it was the most important. It almost made going to Dean Pepper's office
seem like a cakewalk in comparison.
	"Mr. Carpenter, have a seat," he said. I noticed him push a button
on his computer that I knew meant he was recording our session.
	"Please, Dean. You can still call me Cooper," I said, shaking his
hand and sitting down across his ancient cherry wood desk. "Why'd you need
to see me today?"
	He took a deep breath and I read the bad news across his face like
it had been written in giant print.
	"The President's office read your manuscript and they're pressuring
me to take action."
	"What sort of action?"
	"Cooper, I'm going to be straight with you," he said. The pun
wasn't lost in the slightest. "Hiring you was a risky move on my part. I
knew there would be questions; controversy. Some folks wouldn't like
it. But I thought that bringing someone in as different as you would serve
our students well. There's a metropolitan quality to Dallas life that some
of them rarely get to see growing up. However, the administration can't
support the way in which this particular manuscript depicts the
university."
	"With all due respect, is this going somewhere?" I asked. The
hearing with Sizemore was at the back of my mind and sitting there with
Dean Pepper was the last thing I wanted to be doing.
	"Yes, I'm sorry. This is the situation. The way I see it for the
both of us to come out of this unscathed, you have one of two choices. You
can either stop the release of the book."
	I blinked at him without responding, waiting for him to open door
number two.
	"Or, you can part ways with the university at the end of this
semester."
	I ran my tongue across my teeth and squinted across the desk. Those
didn't sound like options to me. Both avenues he left open resulted in me
losing some sort of job or another. As I sat there, looking at him look at
me with waiting eyes, I did a quick calculation in my mind. Teaching wasn't
my bread and butter, but it was a definite bank account booster. I knew for
a fact I had one of the larger contracts for all visiting professors
because Kyle had done such a great job negotiating it. A best selling
author goes for a high price in the classroom these days.
	On the opposite end of the board, giving up my contract with
Knowles was like filing for bankruptcy right then and there. They'd want
their advance back, meaning I'd have to sell my condo, most of my assets
and try to somehow live on a columnist's salary while proving to a judge
that I could support two kids. I wasn't even sure I could support myself if
I lost that contract.
	Both options would put a dent in my already rock bottom, bottom
line, and I couldn't see how I could make it without one or the other.
	"Um, that's a pretty drastic move," I replied finally. "Is there
nothing else that can be done?"
	Is there any way I can release this thing and keep my job? I asked
in more or less words. But I already knew the answer.
	"I really don't think there is."
	"But my contract isn't up for another year and a half," I said.
	"I'm afraid that the release of the book as-is will result in a
standards breach of your contract."
	"And that means..."
	"No severance, Cooper."
	The words felt like a prison sentence. I had dug myself into a
pretty deep hole and it didn't seem like there were very many ways out of
it. As I left Pepper's office feeling like I was already fired, I couldn't
help but wonder how judge Sizemore would size up my situation and declare
judgment when I found out I was about to be terminated.
	If I was the judge, I wouldn't give me my kids; that was for damn
sure. I couldn't make a decision about my life to save my life. I was on
the brink of losing my job. I was a mess.
	"You're a mess," I said to myself, looking at myself in my rearview
mirror. I tapped the steering wheel and said the words again, waiting for
the light on University Boulevard to turn green so I could cross the
highway and drive down to Wriggs and Streck.
	I kept saying it over and over to myself, sometimes out loud and
sometimes in my head.
	You're a fucking mess!
	As I sailed down Highway 75, I decided to do something about the
things I could control. I decided that if it came down to it, I'd leave SMU
and stick with Knowles. My contract there was worth more, and if The List
was a success, I could option a third book, maybe a life after marriage
book. Getting The List out successfully was the important part for my
career if I had to stop teaching.
	Secondly, I decided that I would make a choice, once and for
all. Not then in the car on the way to see Kyle, but soon. I put a deadline
on myself that by Friday afternoon, I would have chosen. I wouldn't go back
on my choice. It was time to be a big boy and decide which direction my
life was about to take.
	And although I hadn't made any productive moves, just making the
decisions to make productive moves put me several steps ahead of where I'd
been. I still couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I knew
it was there.
	"Hey, Coop," Kyle said, barely looking up from his computer when I
walked into his office. "Have a seat."
	He pointed at the couches on the far end of the room, but I sat
across from his desk instead. He looked up, pulled his glasses off and
smiled at me weakly.
	"So what does it all mean?"
	"Okay. Our divorce expert, Tyler, here at the firm is confident
that it's a going to be the case where they let the kids choose. Devon's
attorney has filed a response to our motion for full custody with a motion
of their own."
	"She knew we were going to file?"
	"Basically. It wasn't a surprise to them. She also knew the judge
would ask us to come in for a more informal discussion. Tyler seems to
think the judge is going to see if there's any way to do this without
taking it to court."
	"Mediation?"
	"Something like that. It's sort of like a binding arbitration
situation. If there is a decision reached, it'll be like there was a legal
ruling and no one can back out of it."
	"Okay," I replied, processing what Kyle was saying. As stressed out
as I was about everything else, I was determined to focus on what my friend
was saying. "So what's our game plan tomorrow?"
	"I'm pulling any evidence I can find that moving the kids out of
state and away from you would damage them developmentally in the long
run. It can work with CJ since he's only 13, but it seems like Liz is past
the age where this kind of thing could scar her for life."
	"Bullshit," I said. There was no way a scientist could put a number
on when a kid stopped needing her parents. The answer would always be
always. She would always need me, and I was prepared for that.
	"Cooper, trust me. I have four associates digging up any
information to disprove that," Kyle said with a raised eyebrow. "We're
going in there tomorrow with a file so deep, Kimberly Franklin will need
scuba gear to sift through it all."
	I was both impressed and slightly turned on by Kyle's
no-holds-barred ball busting demeanor. It felt good to know that he was
throwing his entire might behind my cause, and I appreciated it. I sat for
a minute wondering just how far past appreciation my feelings went.
	"Umm, okay. It sounds like everything is coming together then," I
sighed. There was no use sitting there micromanaging when I didn't even
understand what the fuck they were doing. "I should get going."
	"Yeah," he said. "It'll be a long night for us. But you get some
rest. Maybe go to dinner with Spencer or something, and I'll see you at the
courthouse at nine sharp."
	I nodded, stood up, and walked out.
	Kyle was right to suggest I call Spence. The last thing I wanted
was to go home to an empty apartment. Instead, I sent Spence a message, and
drove straight to his place.
	"The least you could have done for this emergency therapy session
is bring in some vodka," he said with a smile as he let me in.
	"You mean your distillery has finally gone dry?"
	"Oh no, my friend. My distillery runneth over." I smiled at the bad
joke and followed him into his casual bachelorized living room. The black
leather seats, white treated wood, and glass accents screamed `I'm single!'
and fit Spencer perfectly.
	"So tell me why you dumped the chump," I gave him a
look. "Sebastian called me. Way to not invite me to international beer
night."
	"Does Kyle know?"
	"Not yet," Spencer sighed. "But he'll find out eventually. What's
going on with you? I thought you were finally moving on."
	"I am. I was," I added quickly. "I just. I don't know. When Kyle
told me he was ending it with Winston and when I realized everything he had
done for me; there's a portion of my heart that keeps wanting him back."
	"Where the hell was that portion for twenty years when you could
have had him back, Cooper?"
	I shrugged like a little kid being scolded. And at that moment, I
felt like one. I felt like a stupid little kid who kept touching the stove
even though he knew it was hot. I had no business pining over Kyle again,
and yet there I was.
	"Look, I don't want to dwell on this `cause it'll just give me a
headache. If you and Kyle were going to be together, I feel like you
already would have been together. It's that simple."
	I digested what he said, and maybe my oldest friend was
right. Maybe it was that simple. Maybe I was trying to force a square peg
into a round hole. Maybe Kyle and I were like oil and vinegar. We could mix
for a while, but eventually we'd separate. As surprising as it was coming
from Spencer and Bass before him, maybe my future was with Chase.
	"I don't really feel like talking about this anymore," I said,
defeated. As much as I wasn't over the situation, I was over the
conversation. Before I could even get up and ask, Spencer poured us two
vodka tonics, finished with ice cold lemon wheels.
	"Tell me something to distract me from everything."
	"Um, okay. Well, you know the sports anchor on Fox, six o'clock?"
	"Yes," I said.
	Spencer leaned in close. "He has an asshole that just won't quit."
	"What?"
	"We met at the Reunion Tower on Saturday night and we got to
talking, drinking, flirting, blah, blah, blah. Took me to his apartment
overlooking the city, and bam. He let me fuck him."
	"Troy Davis is gay?"
	"Troy Davis is a big ole gay," Spencer said with a grin. It was a
secret that would have ignited the gay community. Troy Davis was a stud if
anyone had ever seen one. Rumor had it, in his earlier days, he'd posed for
a woman's skin calendar. Now, he was the sportscaster of choice for any gay
man who was into sports.
	"Did he tell you to keep it quiet?"
	"Yeah, he told me not to tell anyone," Spencer replied. "But he
also asked me out to dinner."
	The look of joy on my friend's face was unmistakable.
	"And I don't want you to ask me where this is going, either," he
added.
	"Oh, of course not. I'd never."
	"This is going to be too much fun. I thought about asking him to
Kyle's party, but I figure that's a little too high profile for him."
	I nodded and sipped. We continued to gossip about what other local
celebrities we could see being closet queens, and as our blood-alcohol
levels rose, so did our list. By the time I fell asleep with Spencer next
to me on his couch, I had successfully forgotten that my own personal D-Day
was only hours away.
	I woke up painfully early with a painful headache. I took an
aspirin and drank two full bottles of water before hopping in the shower. I
put on one of Spencer's thousand dollar suits, thankful that we'd retained
the ability to share clothes since our first days in college. By 7:30, I
was dressed and sipping coffee.
	Spencer woke up at a quarter after eight and ran around the
apartment trying to get court ready in fifteen minutes. I didn't expect him
and Bass to go that time around considering it was just a chat between
Devon and I, but they insisted. When we reached the courthouse, Bass and
Britney were whispering on a bench together and Kyle was flipping through
his tablet.
	"Hey, you look good," he said, barely glancing up at me. He looked
even better. His face was clean shaven, his hair slicked back, and his suit
slim and tight along his body. The stern look of someone working on
something important made his face look older and more distinguished at the
same time. He definitely had a vintage George Clooney vibe going on.
	I tapped my feet to fill the silence of the hall, waiting for the
judge to open his chambers to us. We'd all gotten there painfully early and
the fact that the man was painfully late made the whole thing that much
more painful.
	I knew that the kids had ridden in with Devon, but I wondered where
they were at that point. I was sure they were safe and sound, but I
couldn't help but feel a little uneasy at having not seen them since this
whole thing started.
	I wished there was a way I could intercept them before they went in
to speak to the judge. I wanted to tell them that I loved them, and that I
would love them no matter what happened. But I couldn't do that because I
had no clue where the hell they were.
	"So, Wriggs, when do you announce your candidacy?" Kimberly
Franklin asked from the other side of the judge's door. Her hair was pulled
back tight into a pony tail, creating a frighteningly wide-eyed look that
was hard to look at. Beside her, Devon sat next to Britney in the seat
since left vacant by Bass, who had joined our camp.
	"I'm not sure what you're talking about."
	"Don't be coy, Wriggs. The whispers are all over the
courthouse. You're making a bid for DA. I think it's charming."
	"Well then if it's true, I'd appreciate your vote," Kyle said
noncommittally. He was still looking down at his tablet as if he couldn't
be bothered by small talk. I thought for a second that he was probably
reading notes on how to effectively try a divorce case.
	"I'll have to hear your positions first," Franklin pressed on. She
looked like a ball buster but sounded like the annoying girl at a college
party who wouldn't take the hint.
	"Maybe I'll have Jason run them by you," Kyle said, looking up at
her with a smirk. I made a mental note to ask what the history between
Kimberly and Kyle's older brother there was, but before I could even come
up with a theory, the door opened and a male clerk came out.
	"The judge will see you now," he said. His voice was a mix between
a nurse calling you in to see the doctor and an executioner calling you in
to the gas chamber. Part of me wanted to run, but the other part of me knew
I had to stand there and fight this thing out.
	The four of us filed into the judge's chambers, leaving our
cheering squads on the sidelines. The room was large and cold. Everything
about it was chilling. From the maroon and black detailing to the diplomas
and awards perched high next to the ceiling. It was clear what the judge
did in his spare time by the three taxidermy deer heads and several hunting
trophies that peppered the maroon paneled walls.
	"Have a seat ladies and gentlemen," Sizemore said, pointing to four
badly upholstered leather chairs. The office, and the judge himself, seemed
out of date. "I'd like to extend my thanks for coming in on such short
notice. I know that all of you lead busy schedules."
	His voice was like velvet, the only comforting thing of the entire
space. The way he dropped the last syllable of every word and replaced his
`s' sounds with a hard `z' made him sound like a survivor of the old
southern gentry.
	"Now, let's get straight to it, shall we? My clerk here,
Mr. Michaels, will be taking notes if that's all right with everyone."
	We all nodded.
	"Now, Mr. Wriggs, I read your motion to repeal my temporary divorce
order on the grounds that circumstances have changed. What do you mean by
that, sir?"
	"Well your honor, the order was put into place before Ms. Ward
announced she was leaving the state of Texas to take up residence in
Illinois. Because such a move would drastically alter the children's
stability, we'd like you to take another look at the divorce order."
	"My decision on the matter was thorough to begin with, Wriggs. Do
you have any new evidence that your client can provide a more stable home
for Cooper James and Elizabeth than their mother can?"
	I glanced at Kyle. He glanced at me and swallowed.
	"Your honor, this new position that Ms. Ward has accepted comes
with extensive travel. I've spoken to her new employers myself and have
here an affidavit stating that the position would require 2-4 nights of
travel a week. Whereas Ms. Ward used to have a stay-at-home father to help
pick up the slack when she was out of town, if she moves to Chicago, she'll
forfeit that luxury."
	"Your honor, my client is prepared to hire full time staff to help
her care for the children while she's out of town. And let's not forget
that at 13 and 15, both kids require very little hands on supervision."
	The judge's face shot back at Kyle. He swallowed before he
responded.
	"I'm sorry, your honor, but that's simply not true. 13 and 15 are
incredibly impressionable ages. You'll see in section two of the evidence
packet I faxed over last night, studies show that parent/child interaction
at these pivotal ages result in lower juvenile behavior problems and in
higher grades and standardized testing results. If Ms. Franklin wants to
argue that it's okay for Ms. Ward to leave her kids with a nanny while she
traipses around the country, she's actually arguing that it's okay for
these kids to underachieve in a very big way."
	Kyle took a short pause and I thought he was done, but evidently,
he'd just started.
	"Furthermore, when said behavioral issues began to surface on two
separate occasions, Ms. Ward telephoned my client, ignoring the
stipulations of the Temporary Divorce Order, to assist her in dealing with
the matter. By circumventing the court's ruling, Ms. Ward was stating that
my client's presence isn't only important in the kid's lives, but also
paramount in providing proper discipline and guidance."
	I looked at Devon's camp and saw her whisper to Kimberly.
	"Your honor, both of those situations were isolated incidents."
	"Two isolated incidents since I last saw you, Ms. Franklin? Sounds
like the potential of a pattern to me."
	"I couldn't agree more your honor," Kyle added. "And what is she
going to do next time? Expect my client to hop on a plane to help her
discipline the kids?"
	I couldn't help but smirk slightly. It felt like we were
winning. Kyle continued to press on, describing to the judge how much more
stable it would be for the kids to stay with me in Dallas, close to their
school and extended family. He pointed out studies that showed single
parent families where that parent worked primarily from home resulted in a
quality of life that was far greater than a parent who worked full time in
an office. His case was clear. I had more time for them than Devon did.
	To her credit, Franklin did a great job of refuting Kyle's
arguments. She didn't tread down the tired `He's a gay semi-celebrity'
track any more, and instead, stuck to the cold hard facts. Kids need their
mother. Chicago would be different, but it would be fine. Devon could
provide for them.
	And then the conversation turned to money. The whole time the
lawyers dissected our financial situation, I sat in my seat, paranoid that
someone would bring up the fact that I was about to be fired. As it stood,
Franklin pointed out that Devon made more money than I did and that I'd
signed away any right to spousal support.
	"What about when she sells the practice?" I whispered to Kyle. He
shushed me, and pointed out to the judge that for years the family lived on
my salary alone and that we survived just fine.
	Listening to them reduce us to annual earning numbers made my head
hurt and I tried my best to stay in the conversation. I couldn't help my
mind wandering to what stuffy, badly lit room my kids were waiting in. For
a brief moment, I wished I could go back into time and prevent this whole
thing from ever happening.
	"This is the way I see it," Judge Sizemore said after both sides
had laid their case. He put both elbows on his desk and glared over his
half glasses at us. "With both Mr. Carpenter and Mizz Ward able to provide
a familial atmosphere for those two kids, it would be nearly impossible for
me to advocate one choice over another."
	I perked up in my seat and held on to every word he said.
	"The only recourse we have at this point is to ask the children
what they'd rather do. If they'd rather join their mother in Chicago, then
so be it. If they would rather stay in Dallas with their father, it's up to
them."
	I felt my heart rise and fall at the same time. Part of me was
ecstatic that it wasn't a flat out no. There was hope yet and that excited
me. The other part of me knew the danger of letting them pick. It meant one
could choose me and the other could choose Devon. Worse yet, both of them
could decide to go on this northern adventure and abandon me. At that
point, I wouldn't have the legal system to blame. It would all be on me.
	"I don't want to separate them," I said, bringing my mind back to
the situation. I realized that I had interrupted the judge just as he was
saying he would explain the procedure to the kids and then have another
hearing with them in two weeks.
	"I beg your pardon?"
	"Whatever they choose, I don't want them to separate."
	"Cooper, watch what you're saying," Kyle whispered. I knew what I
was saying. I was saying that Chase barely had a relationship with his
sister and mother because he'd chosen his dad over everything. I wasn't
going to do that to those two, not after they'd proven they could come
together. I didn't want it to sound like I needed an all or nothing
situation. However, I knew I had to protect my family from falling apart,
even if that meant letting them go.
	"That makes things a little more complicated, Mr. Carpenter," the
judge responded. I caught the smirk on Franklin's face out of the corner of
my eye.
	"Why? Can't you tell them, judge? Can't you tell them to come up
with a decision together?"
	"Cooper."
	"I know what will happen if we tear them apart. They're going to
lose a parent, that much we know," I said, unsure of where my voice was
coming from. I was so nervous, and my stomach was turning so fast, I felt
as if I was going to vomit at any minute. "I wouldn't be able to live with
myself if they lost each other, too."
	I heard Devon sniffle, but I refused to look in her direction. If I
saw her cry, I knew I'd cry.
	"I'll take it under advisement. I'll have my clerk escort the
children into my chambers."
	I saw Kyle stand up and I knew we were dismissed. He shook the
judge's hand and whispered something in his ear. I would have paid a
million bucks to know what he'd said.
	I sat outside in the corridor with my three closest friends waiting
for Sizemore to tell my kids that they had to pick. It took everything I
had not to look over at the girl's camp for fear I'd lose it again like I
did last time.
	"So, what's the verdict?" Spencer asked finally after fidgeting for
a few minutes.
	"The judge is going to let the kids pick."
	"That's good," Bass replied quickly. "That's good right?"
	"Sort of. Cooper here decided he only wanted the kids to pick if
they picked the same."
	I saw the look on Spencer's face. He thought I was retarded. To
him, having one kid stay with me was better than none. They weren't fucking
collectibles, I wanted to say, but I kept my cool. I knew I had done the
right thing by speaking up. Now I just needed that right thing to pay off.
	"Let's just say I couldn't be more excited that my daughter is
dating your son," I said somberly, looking at Sebastian. "He doesn't plan
to move to Chicago, does he?"
	"Over my dead body," my friend said with a smile.
	It felt like a dozen years passed before the kids were brought
out. I got to hug them briefly before they were whisked to the parking lot
and driven back to school.
	"I love you kiddos," I said to them both as I hugged them
goodbye. I knew it wasn't goodbye forever, but it sure did feel like
it. Two weeks would be here before I knew it, and before I knew it, they'd
be gone.
	Spencer drove me back to his place after the whole ordeal was over
with. Kyle offered to look after me, but Spence was quick to say I could
crash at his place for the night, cancelling his date with the news anchor
to be on Cooper-watch.
	"You don't have to do that," I said.
	"Are you kidding? Like I can go out and have fun knowing you're
sitting in your bathtub alone eyeing your straight razor. Hell no."
	I looked out the window and chuckled once at the terribly
inappropriate joke.
	"I know why you're doing this," I said.
	"Doing what?"
	"Taking me to your place."
	"Cooper."
	"I'm not going to sleep with him again," I said. It was easy to say
when he was halfway across downtown, but I wasn't even sure I believed the
words. Luckily for me, Spencer didn't respond. He simply pulled into his
parking spot and we walked up to his apartment.
	Whenever Spencer is instructed to cheer someone up, alcohol is
always on the menu. That night, it wasn't beer and cheese fries we were
after. Spencer brought out the big guns.
	Tequila.
	Before I could even change into a pair of my friend's sweat pants,
the Patron was out and chilling. Spencer followed me into the room and took
off his suit, replacing it with nothing but a pair of short running shorts.
	When we finally settled into his living room, mixing tequila with
agave nectar and lime juice, I knew it was going to be a long afternoon.
	"So who the fuck are you going to choose?" Spencer asked, point
blank after one drink and a tepid recap of what had happened in the judge's
chambers.
	"Huh?"
	"Oh, come on," Spencer said. "This is exactly where you were a
couple weeks ago. Kyle on the left and Chase on the right. Who are you
going to choose?"
	"Who said it's my choice?"
	"Cooper, it's always been your choice. For whatever reason, you get
these guys to go crazy over you."
	"I learned from you, remember," I said with a smirk and a jab.
	"Oh please. If even one guy was willing to turn his life upside
down for me, I wouldn't be the single one, would I?" He had a point
there. "The fact is, you dumped Chase the second Kyle was on the
market. You only slept with Kyle because it looked like you'd never have
Chase. What's next?"
	"I didn't dump Chase. I just... I told him I was conflicted."
	"And for three weeks while Kyle was getting married, you weren't
conflicted at all. You were as clear as a bell, buddy."
	"You're ridiculous," I squirmed.
	"No, I just know you. And I know you've already picked in your
mind, so spill it. Did seeing Kyle all sexy and official in his lawyer
costume do it for you again?"
	I smiled at Spencer. "If it did, would I have come home with you?"
	Spencer gave me a knowing look as he reached over and poured more
tequila into our glasses.
	"So you would have slept with him?"
	"You know me so well," I said, trying deliberately to be
difficult. "You tell me."
	"I'll tell you what I know. I know that you're scared out of your
mind and you always have been. You're nervous that something will actually
go right for you, Cooper. You've screwed enough things up you don't know
how to appreciate something that's working."
	I looked at him. I knew it was his honest, friendly assessment, no
matter how scathing. It was also true. I did screw things up because the
prospect of thing actually working out was foreign to me. I had been in
four major relationships in my life, and I had found a way to fuck up every
single one.
	"So tell me how I make something work, Spencer," I said, my
attitude surfacing involuntarily. I knew he was speaking the truth, but
that didn't mean I liked it. "Since you're the expert. Tell me. I was
honest with Kyle and he crushed me. I was honest with Chase and he
left. Assuming I do get to choose, who do I pick?"
	"That's easy. Who do you love?"
	"It's not that easy," I said, ready to stand up and get out of
there. I felt like Spencer was cornering me while I was already vulnerable.
	"It actually is. Ask yourself who you love and then you'll know who
to pick."
	"I love them both."
	"Really? Do you? Honestly?"
	"Yes."
	"Okay. Whatever you say," he said. He didn't believe me at all and
I could tell by his voice and his body language. I didn't reply, but simply
looked at him with my lips pursed. He looked back at me, raising an
eyebrow, and sipping his drink slowly.
	The silence was deafening. Listening to Spencer was like listening
to myself speak. We'd been on the same wavelength, unlike any other I'd
ever been on with anyone else, since we met. When it came to knowing
someone inside and out, I could honestly say that Spencer did.
	And that afternoon, over chilled tequila, I did what Spencer knew I
needed to do, and I made a decision.
	It took three more drinks and a lot of back and forth before I said
the name out loud. It took two more drinks and even more cajoling before I
agreed to have Spencer's driver take me to the guy I'd chosen. It took
nearly an entire bottle of liquid courage before I got into the car next to
Spencer and rode off, trying to salvage the relationship I'd known all
along that I had always wanted.
	When I stepped off the elevator and knocked on Chase's suite door,
I wondered what he'd say. Telling him I might still be in love with Kyle
could have very well been his deal breaker. I didn't expect him to open the
door and let me right back into his arms, but part of me did. We'd both
fucked up at different turns, and we'd both put the other through enough. I
was ready to lay all of that bullshit to rest and concentrate on what was
important: building a life together no matter what the future held.
	I knocked again after no one answered the door the first time. I
knew I had the right room. The same concierge that I had checked out with
recognized me in the lobby and told me Chase was staying in the same room
he'd occupied before. I knocked a third time, and just as the reality hit
me that sometimes plans don't always match up, and that I might be
returning to the car empty handed, the door creaked open.
	"Who are you?" I asked the stranger who opened Chase's door. He was
wrapped in a towel and steam from the bathroom billowed behind him.
	The guy was definitely sexy. He was a little taller than I was and
skinny, with dark features, and a brunette beard that was perfectly
manicured. He had a tattoo on his left chest, and several others on his
arm. The part of his body that wasn't covered by the plush hotel towel was
smooth and chiseled in al the right ways.
	"You're the one that knocked on my door while I was taking a
shower, so maybe I should be the one asking who you are." His voice was low
and soft, almost a whisper. It drew you in like a snake charm.
	"Um," I said, averting my eyes. "I guess I have the wrong door."
	I took a step back, but the stranger stopped me.
	"No wait. Who are you looking for?" he looked me up and down,
exuding a kind of sexuality that you didn't normally find in guys.
	"I'm looking for Chase. Is he still staying here?"
	"Who'd you say you are again?"
	"I'm Cooper," I replied, ready to bolt down the hallway at any
second.
	I watched the smile creep across the guy's face, and it literally
sent a chill down my spine.
	"Cooper," he extended his free hand. His smile grew wider and more
sinister. "I'm Morgan. It's nice to finally meet the guy who's been fucking
my husband."


I hope you're enjoying the series so far. More to come soon. As always,
comments and reviews are the only currency for Nifty writers, so your
feedback good or bad is always greatly appreciated. Contact me at
jwolf24450@gmail.com. Thanks again for reading my story!