The Divorceary

Chapter 3: A Trip Down Memory Lane

Chapter 3: A Trip Down Memory LaneJason waited for Howard to pull out of the parking lot before he placed a twenty-dollar bill on the table and left. They had done it again. No, he had done it again. He had gone for the jugular, and to his surprise, Howard had not. Howard had fussed at him, and put him in his place, but he had not really said anything nasty. As a matter of fact, he had said the opposite. He had said that the war was over, that he hadn’t been fighting for a while.

Was that true? Had Jason just gone after him because…well, because what? Because he was mad that Howard had bought a new car? Howard had the right to buy a new car. What he did with his palimony was his business. Was he mad at Howard because Howard had already planned Jane’s birthday? No, Howard was right. He didn’t know anything about what the kids wanted for their birthdays, and he was always kind of relieved that Howard handled these kinds of things. Jason was a loving father, and their kids were the world to him, but Howard was the one who always took care of these things, and Jason was damned grateful for that. Anyway, planning Jane’s party wasn’t why he had called Howard, that was just the excuse he had used. His real reason had been…well, what had it been? He had just wanted to see Howard, to check on him, make sure he was okay, right? There was nothing wrong with that, was there? People looked after their exes all the time. Hell, he was looking after Howard financially, he might as well do it in other ways.

No, that wasn’t fair. Howard was right. He had done a lot to get that business going, and he had been the company’s first investor, stretching his teacher salary to support them and the business those first few years. It hadn’t been a lot of money, but it had been enough to get them started, and to let them survive. Of course, the money from Howard’s parents, the money they used on the kids, the house, and the business, well, that had been a lot. Also, how many clients had they gotten over the years because Howard was good at sneaking in business plugs at little league games, dance recitals, or PTSA meetings? Not to mention the Pride festivals Howard had reminded him of. Howard had sat at their booth drumming up business while looking like the masculine equivalent of Jackie O. Kind of like he looked today, Jason thought.

Suddenly, Jason wondered where Howard was going looking so smashing. Of course, he always looked handsome, but today he had shone. Surely, that wasn’t just for their coffee that Howard had gotten dressed so nicely. Jason imagined that there were a lot of men who found Howard attractive, and the idea pissed him off.

He started to get off on the exit that would lead to his apartment, but then he went one exit up. No harm could come from going by the old house for just a second. If Howard had gone home, he would be in the house by now, and it had been almost ten years, so he was fairly certain that none of the neighbors knew his Hummer. Anyway, it wasn’t like he was just going by there to find out if Howard had gone directly home, or if someone had met him there. Of course, if he found that out along the way, well, it didn’t hurt to know these things about the other father of one’s children.

He slowed down as he got to the house. f**k! The garage door was closed, and Jason knew that Edgar was parked in there. Outside, still in the driveway, sat Howard in his Jag. Jason could only see him from behind, but the top was still down, and it looked like Howard was doing that crazy breathing he always did when he was stressed. But what the hell could have stressed him out that much?

Jason realized the answer to his own question as he mumbled, “Really?”

The idea that he had made Howard this upset sent a tinge of sadness right across his heart, and then Jason was angry with himself. After it set in for a minute though, the idea made Jason smile. It was nice to know that he still had some effect on Howard. Jason turned around down the street, and as he passed the house again on his way out of the neighborhood, he noticed that the top of Jaguar was up and that Howard was nowhere to be seen. He had gone in. Jason surveyed the yard. It was still beautiful, and as always, Howard kept a wide variety of colorful flowers spaced throughout the property in the same flowerbeds they had dug together. He glanced at the house one more time, and then the Jag. Now, he had a plan.