No Team To Root For (7) Barrett was in the bathroom when he heard the doorbell ring. His watch read 11:55 pm. He walked to the landing and listened. After the second ring, Janet opened the door. "Come in." "I'm sorry I'm so late, but your lights were on." said the youthful sounding female voice. "The party is tonight --- isn't it?" Barrett took a step down, straining his ears. Who the hell would come visiting this late? "Yes. The party is --- was tonight." Janet's hostile tone was all too familiar. "I really do apologize, but an old boyfriend stopped by." "I see." Barrett was dying to see his wife's expression. "I probably should have called." "Oh --- it's okay." Yeah, thought Barrett, I'll bet! "Oh. Well --- uh --- where is everyone?" The young voice asked. Barrett took another step down. Janet took a deep breath. "That's a long story." Then she quickly changed the subject. "Would you like some coffee?" "Oh, please don't bother." "It's no bother. It's made. There are a couple of TV tables set up in the living room. Make yourself at home. I'll join you in a sec-ond." Janet's footsteps clicked towards the kitchen. Barrett began descending the stairs. Halfway down, he stopped, wondering who the attractive young lady was standing in the en-tryway. It had to be the extra person Janet invited over. Jodi --- something or other. Barrett inched closer to get a better look, but not close enough for him to be seen. He watched the staccato movements from the indirect light of the chandelier give her auburn hair a silken glow. The outline of her nipples protruded through her thin silky blouse. The hem of her black skirt ended above her knees, revealing shapely model-slim legs. Her nose looked perfect. Her coral red lips looked warm, soft, and moist. He couldn't see her eyes but he knew they were gor-geous. Barrett couldn't take his eyes off her. As he began to mentally un-dress her, his pulse started racing and he realized that he had an erection! He stopped, aware of how ridiculous he would look if he came downstairs with a bulge in his pants. He knew he had to think of something else --- anything. He closed his eyes and tried to picture Lysle's expression as Ralph trumped his ace. That did it! "Hello." Barrett was at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh." Jodi turned around, startled. "Hello." "I'm Barrett. Barrett Jessop. This my house. I live here." He could not stop staring. "Nice to meet you. My name is Jodi Bartless." "So you and my wife work together at the library." Barrett tried desperately not to stare. He found it impossible. "Yes." Her eyes roamed all over the small area, avoiding any vis-ual contact. "You have a lovely home." "Thank you." Barrett's made his smile wide and sincere. "I'm glad you like it." The entryway had rich marble floors surrounded by smoked glass walls. There was a large ornate chandelier directly above. The plush navy carpeting and the matching drapes were elegantly and taste-fully coordinated. Jodi couldn't help but be impressed with the af-fluency. There followed several seconds of silence disturbed only by the clinking of glasses in the kitchen. Barrett met Jodi's green eyes. He had guessed right. They were gorgeous! "You have beautiful eyes." Barrett had not planned to say it. "Oh --- thank you." "Well." said Janet suddenly emerging from the kitchen. She was holding a tray with three cups of coffee on it. "Here we are." She set the tray on a small table along with a creamer and a bowl of sugar. They all sat down in the living room, a TV tray before them. "So, Barrett. You like her eyes." Janet spoke sarcastically, look-ing at the cup in her hand. He should have known that she wouldn't miss a beat! Janet didn't give him a chance to respond. She spoke to Jodi softly. "You see, Jodi, my husband is an optometrist. So naturally, the first thing he notices about a person is their eyes." Janet's phony smile returned as broad as ever. Thanks for the Godddamn explanation, Janet! "That's right. Occupational hazard." He took a quiet sip of coffee. There followed another brief period of silence. Barrett could feel the penetrating heat of Janet's eyes burning into the side of his head as she glared at him over her coffee cup. "I see," said Jodi. "Well, my eyes are fine." She put down her cup. "But if I do have any problems I'll be sure and call you." "Please do." answered Barrett, his eyes still riveted to Jodi's. "I'll be there." Jodi and Barrett both smiled. Janet did not. Janet cleared her throat. "So, Jodi, did you ever find that missing book?" Jodi thought for a moment. "Oh --- Tradition and Change?" "Yes." Janet's smile faded for a moment, then reappeared. "That's the one." Jodi thought for a moment. " As a matter of fact I did. It was stuck between two copies of Changing Tradition." "Well, the names are very similar. I could see how that could happen." Barrett continued to sip his coffee silently. "I knew it would turn up. Things do get misplaced so easily at times." Then after a brief pause, Jodi asked, "Are you going to help out next week?" Janet looked at her cup and took a final sip. "I don't know yet." Jodi nodded. Then she turned to Janet with a big smile on her face. "Maybe you could teach me to play canasta some time." Barrett smiled at Jodi. Janet answered evenly. "Maybe." After another long silence, Jodi said as she looked at her watch. "It's getting late. I should be running along." Then she stood, gently moving the TV table aside. "It was nice meeting you, Barrett." Barrett got up and bumped the table, almost knocking it over. The cup teetered on the edge, and he grabbed at it clumsily. "It was nice meeting you too, Jodi." Janet stood and smiled forcibly. She walked Jodi to the door. "Thanks for inviting me. Next time I'll try and come earlier. Goodby." There won't be a next time, thought Barrett Janet slammed the door as soon as Jodi had left. Then she turned back in and glared at her husband. Okay, thought Barrett, here it comes! " Why are you looking at me like that?" As if I don't know! Janet didn't answer at first, but walked past Barrett headed for the kitchen. Then she turned to him again, still glaring. "Did you enjoy flirting with her?" She put the dishes on the counter. "Flirting?" "Does she --- excite you? Does she --- turn you on?" She came back into the living room and got the cream and sugar. "Well, does she?" You betcha! "Janet, I hardly know her. She happens to be attrac-tive. So what?" Janet took the cream and sugar into the kitchen then quickly re-entered the living room. She looked at Barrett a moment before she answered. "Yes. She is attractive. Is that why you were slobbering over her?" "Goddamn it, Janet! I wasn't slobbering!" Barrett wondered if maybe this was the right time for the confrontation after all. What have I got to lose? No guts, no glory! "All that crap about her eyes." Janet's voice rose quickly. "You have beautiful eyes!" she said mockingly. "I suppose you don't call that flirting!" She walked closer to Barrett. "Maybe you'd like to take her to bed!" "I was just being nice. I was being complimentary. I was being cordial. I was being a good host! Isn't that how you want me to act when we have guests?" You bitch! I'm through explaining! And I'm through apologizing! "Don't give me that shit! When the hell were you ever complimentary or cordial to anyone in your entire life?" Barrett wanted to applaud his wife's taunting suggestion of taking Jodi to bed. His errant thoughts kept darting back and forth be-tween Jodi's enticing green eyes and Janet's accusatory glare. A glimmer of a possible meaningful relationship versus his token mar-riage. "Barrett. We have nothing more to discuss." Janet turned toward the kitchen, then stopped and again confronted her husband. The glare was now a smirk. "This just isn't your day, is it? First Ralph and now Jodi." She laughed smugly as she went back into the kitchen to finish cleaning up. Barrett was as furious with his own meekness as he was with Janet's glibness. Anger! An emotion Barrett was too familiar with. This is it, Barrett! Tell her. Tell her it's over! Tell her the fucking marriage is over. TELL HER! Barrett Jessop raced up the steps, threw open the bathroom door, and scowled at the immaculate interior: the spotless commode, the spotless countertop, the spotless sink. Then seized by a moment of irrational fury, he undid his pants and urinated over the entire bath-room. When he had finished, he just stood there --- gawking for several seconds in disbelief. He knew that what he had done in a brief moment of insanity was childish, stupid, and disgusting. The result was going to be catastrophic. "Oh my God! What have I done?" But it was too late. He walked into the bedroom, sat down on the edge of the bed and waited. Well, you wanted a confrontation and now you're going to get one. The time has come. The moment has arrived. Barrett --- get set! Janet would have to initiate the impending battle. And by remain-ing calm and rational, he would emerge victorious. He had it all fig-ured out! He sat on the edge of his bed fifteen minutes before he heard Janet come up the stairs. Then he heard her walk into the bathroom. The bloodcurdling scream was inevitable. Barrett was ready! Janet burst into the room, her eyes wide and her face colorless. She was trembling and breathing as if she were hyperventilating. "You filthy son-of-a-bitch! You filthy dirty son-of-a-bitch!" Janet was screaming hysterically. "How could you? HOW COULD YOU?" Barrett didn't look at Janet and he didn't respond. He wasn't go-ing to allow himself to be sucked into a shouting contest. He'd waited a long time for this moment and was not about to blow an opportunity to end his marriage. "I would make you clean it up, if you had any God-given brains to know how!" She was still hysterical. Barrett, however, intended to remain calm. "How could you?" Janet's hysteria now gave way to choked sobs. "How could you?" Barrett stood up, his gaze still directed away from Janet. He chose his words carefully. "I need to talk to you about something." Barrett stood straight, hands clasped behind his back. Janet sat down on her bed, choking back the tears. Barrett continued. "I've said it before and I'm saying it again. I am not happy with our marriage." He paused to clear his throat. "I said I am not happy with our marriage." Janet's lack of response was not what Barrett expected. He had expected a loud and violent clash between one who was rational and one who was irrational. A chilly silence was not part of his plan. "I said --- " Barrett began louder. "I heard what you said!" Janet interrupted. Barrett cleared his throat again. "I feel that our relationship has deteriorated to a point --- " "Well! Is that a fact?" Janet stood. Barrett turned towards her and their eyes locked fiercely. Hostility consumed the atmosphere. "Well, well, well! Now is that a fact?" repeated Janet who had completely regained her com-posure. "Yes! That --- that's a fact." Barrett backed off.. Things were not going as smoothly as he had hoped. "I want a divorce!" He had in-tended to build up to the crescendo. But instead he just blurted it out. Shit! "You WHAT?" Janet yelled. "I --- I want a divorce." In a matter of seconds Barrett went from being Peter stalking the wolf to being Peter eaten by the wolf. "Oh --- I get it!" Janet sneered. "So that's your scheme, is it?" She walked up to Barrett with conviction --- almost over-confidence. "You spread your --- your damn filth all over my bath-room and then you have the unmitigated gall to try and intimidate me into giving you a divorce!" Janet spoke softly but firmly. "Well, hot shot, it won't work! Just who the hell do you think you're deal-ing with? Some weak and spineless bimbo?" Then she poked Bar-rett in the shoulder with her forefinger, punching him with each word. "You can piss in every room in the house and it still won't work --- hotshot!" Janet had taken complete control. Barrett couldn't believe it. "Now you listen, Janet --- " He took a step back. "No, Goddamn it! You listen. And you listen good!" She was pointing her finger at him, aiming it right between his eyes. "I hap-pen to agree with you. I think our marriage is lousy most of the time --- but tolerable enough of the time. But with or without you, I do like my lifestyle. I like my freedom. I like what I do. I especially like doing what I want, when I want." She put her hands on her hips and sneered again. "And I like the money. No, it's not as much as Ronni gets from Lysle, but for me it's plenty." She took a deep breath. Barrett felt as if he were fight-ing for his life, but he remained silent. Janet continued. "So, I'm sat-isfied. You see, I do have the best of both worlds --- don't I?" For several minutes neither spoke. Barrett sat down on the edge of his bed and spoke quietly. "Maybe if we'd have had children, we --- " "Damnit, Barrett! The doctor said I couldn't --- remember?" "I know, but --- " "Why do you keep throwing that miscarriage in my face?' I'm not going to feel sorry for her! Janet went on. "Do you honestly think a child would have helped?" Barrett couldn't respond. His tongue felt glued to his upper pal-ate. Janet paused and sat down on the edge of her bed. "We've dis-cussed all of this before, Barrett." She looked at her husband. He was looking at the wall. "I don't think I ever truly loved you. But at one time I did care about you --- believe it or not!" She took an-other breath, then spoke casually. "But now I hate your guts! I hate the way you walk. I hate the way you talk. As far as I'm concerned, you're a free ride through life. Other than that, you're a big noth-ing!" Barrett tried to absorb what he was hearing, but he couldn't. He tried to respond to a fury inside him that was making him tremble, but he couldn't. He wanted desperately to go back on the offensive and make his wife reel with fright, but he couldn't. Instead, he merely folded his hands and continued to look away. His insides felt like jello. Janet stood and looked down at him. "So --- hotshot, if you are contemplating a divorce or even a separation, tough shit! Forget it!" She casually picked up a pile of clean clothes and continued to scream the words into Barrett's ear. He winced noticeably. Then she lowered her voice. The smirk was back. "You see, I am willing to live this life of --- lies. Whether or not you are is of no impor-tance to me. None!" Janet walked closer to Barrett until their bod-ies almost touched. She continued: confident, strong, totally in con-trol. "But I will tell you right now. If this so-called marriage of ours ends, I promise that I will do everything in my power to make your life a living hell! Not only will you lose the house and everything in it --- including the six Lladros, but you will also have to pay me a ton of alimony. And you can kiss most, if not all, of your retirement money goodbye --- because you'll need every cent of it. In short --- any thought of divorce will cost you a small fortune!" She contin-ued to look at him venomously, while his gaze remained directed at an imaginary spot on the far wall. "I bet you didn't think I could be such a bitch, did you?" Bitch is a good word. Cunt is better! Janet, towels in hand, didn't wait for a reply and headed out of the bedroom. As she got to the door, she hesitated. Then she turned back to Barrett and added, "So you better think about it. You bet-ter think about it real good!" Then she said as an afterthought, smirking, "And besides, I'm Catholic --- remember? We tend to frown on divorce." She waited again. "Well, husband --- dear. What do you have to say now?" Barrett couldn't think of what to say. "Just as I thought. Nothing --- as usual!" With that, Janet took the towels into the bathroom to undertake the Herculean task of cleaning up the mess. And Barrett acqui-esced to the grim reality that he had once again come in second. Barrett continued to sit on the edge of his bed, staring into noth-ingness for what seemed like hours. His stomach was turning more somersaults and adding cartwheels --- up and down, back and forth. His hands were clammy and his pulse was out of control. The confrontation had come and gone. And Barrett's intense de-sires to express his feelings suddenly had no meaning. Nothing had changed! Congratulations, Barrett! You fucked up again! What in the hell does it take, for Christ's sake? You had control of the situation. It was in the fucking palm of your fucking hand! And you let it slip through. You let it all get away. Goddamn it! "And what is this shit about being Catholic?" He yelled in the di-rection of the bathroom. He got up slowly from the bed and went downstairs to his family room. It was 3:00 am. He sat down in the easy chair. The room was messy. He would clean it tomorrow. He closed his eyes and tried to collect his thoughts. He knew all about divorced men who ended up moving out of their own house. They lost everything they possessed to the wife --- or ex-wife. Then the divorced husband --- or ex-husband moved into a cheap two-bit apartment, because that's all the poor son-of-a-bitch could afford! There was no doubt in his mind. He didn't want to be married to Janet anymore. But how could he go through a 'messy' divorce and sacrifice everything he had worked so hard for all of his life? If that happened, Barrett would end up the big loser. There had to be a better solution. But he was too tired to think about it anymore to-night. He fell asleep in the chair. As soon as he awoke, he looked at his watch. It was 6:00 am. He tiptoed upstairs to the bedroom. The last thing he wanted was to awaken Janet, knowing as always, that he could actually sleep in the same room with his wife without having to get near her. He quietly changed into his new silk pajamas and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. The bathroom was once again im-maculate. This time he'd be careful to leave it as clean and sterile as he found it. He would not ignite another explosive encounter. He tiptoed back to the bedroom and quietly crawled into his own bed. Janet was on her stomach breathing softly. Barrett turned away as his thoughts centered on Jodi. He closed his eyes and visualized her silken hair, her sensuous eyes, and her beautiful body. His erection was swift. And as he fantasized making love to her, he masturbated into the sheets. * The next few weeks at the Jessop household were spent in si-lence. If Barrett and Janet had something to say, they would leave a note: A reminder about a TV repairman coming, or a plumber calling, or a bill due. Janet added another canasta night. Now they never saw each other at all. For the optometrist, it was a situation that was suitable and at best tolerable. But it was only temporary. And until he found a bet-ter and more permanent solution, it would have to make do. It was a situation he would have to live with. * BOOK TWO JODI
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