Page 78 of The Wrong Guy
No, he won’t. Judge Hobner is enjoying every second of this. He’s a small-town, family-court judge whose most exciting days are adoptions, divorces, and child-support hearings. Something this salacious, with him at the helm as the big man in charge? He’s eating this shit up. But throwing around his power—and his phallic gavel—is par for the course.
But his words have the intended effect, and the gallery quiets. A little.
He picks up the decree and begins to read again. “Okay, as to Ford Construction Company—” Judge Hobner stumbles over his words and jerks his eyes up to Jed. “Is this right?”
“Afraid so, Your Honor,” Jed responds.
I can feel the audience leaning forward, eager to hear what’s so unusual in the decree.
The judge tilts his head in disbelief, but keeps going. “The Ford Construction Company will also be divided seventy-thirty, with a specific list of properties and assets to be allocated there as well.”
A murmur works its way through everyone in the room, but this time Judge Hobner doesn’t try to stop it. I think he understands that no one can be quiet after hearing that.
Oliver stands. “Your Honor?” He waits for the judge’s permission to speak and then says, “Please note the clause stating that Mr. Ford retains the usage rights for the name Ford Construction, and there will not be a noncompete in place. Additionally, we’ve included a copy of the corporate name-change filing, setting up the existing company as CDF Construction.” Thankfully, she decided to go with a more respectable name, not Chrissy’s Construction.
Oliver sits, giving Chrissy a reassuring nod.
“Let the record reflect those clauses and addendum,” the judge tells the court reporter. To the two people sitting on opposite sides of the courtroom, he advises, “This is one of the most one-sided divorce decrees I’ve ever seen, and leaves Mrs. Ford with a significantly larger portion of the marital assets. Is this agreeable to you, Mr. Ford?”
As Jed rises, he shoots a wounded look at Chrissy. “Yes, Your Honor. I’ve done some things that Chrissy didn’t deserve, and now ... I just want us both to move on. I want my own life”—he turns to smile at Lucy, who lays a hand on her belly but doesn’t return the smile—“and I want Chrissy to be happy in hers.”
“Jesus, it’s getting deep in here,” I hiss in Jesse’s ear, and he chuckles softly. “You know as well as I do that Jed doesn’t think he’s done a damn thing wrong. Ever. But saying I traded in my wife of thirty years for a younger model doesn’t exactly set you up to be the bastion of respectability for the town, does it?”
“And you, Mrs. Ford? I take it these terms are agreeable to you as well?” the judge asks.
Chrissy nods, not even rising to answer.
Judge Hobner takes one more glance through the decree, holding several pages up at a time as he scans again and again. “Okay, your funeral,” he tells Jed. “Divorce decree accepted as presented. Case closed.”
And with a sharp bang of the gavel this time, everything changes.
“It’s done?” Chrissy asks Oliver, wanting to be sure before she gloats.
Oliver grins, probably congratulating himself on the big win. “Yep, it’s finalized.”
“Woo-hoo!” she screeches, losing any and all attempts she was making at being well-behaved. “Fuck you, Jed!”
The shout is full of relief and joy. And freedom after years of being under Jed’s thumb. The gallery is talking among themselves, some even laughing, despite Judge Hobner banging his gavel repeatedly at Chrissy’s outburst. “Quiet down!”
But no one pays him any mind, in shock at Jed’s capitulation to his now-ex-wife.
Jed turns around and reaches out to Lucy, who stands to step forward. It’s the only thing that could get this crowd to focus, as they look to Chrissy for her reaction to the two lovebirds.
The air thickens with anticipation, but rather than Lucy consoling Jed, she walks the few steps to Chrissy’s side.
“Oh, shit,” someone says.
“Here we go,” someone else adds.
I swear there are probably betting odds—in Chrissy’s favor, she’s shown her crazy quite a bit lately and Lucy’s pregnant; in Lucy’s favor, youth and that mama-bear instinct.
The two women stare at each other for an awkwardly long moment where we all hold our breaths, and then they ... hug. Tears of happiness stream down both of their faces as they laugh, and Chrissy exclaims, “We did it!”
“What?” Jed blusters, jumping up from his seat. “What’s going on?”
Lucy looks at Jed, letting the adoring veil drop from her gaze. “I know.”
Two simple words, but with them, everyone realizes there’s more going on than a simple divorce today. Even Jed.