Apt 10193, Evening, Jane and Shila
Having found a note in her mailbox requesting a meeting, Jane was outside Shila's door at the appointed time, nervous yes, but hoping it was good news. She tapped a little timidly on the door, then pulled herself together and knocked a little harder.
Shila answered the door in a flowing outfit made of several layers of sheer material when she answered the door, glasses on her forehead. "Hello, Jane! How are you?" She stepped back and aside, silently inviting her in.
"A little nervous? I mean, I hope it's good news, but, I'm kind of prepared for it not to be?" Jane walked into the apartment, and paused in the living room doorway. "And I'd almost forgotten we were doing this, so it was a bit of a surprise when you called."
"It'll be okay, I promise. We have a couple of options, and I just wanted you to make the decision. Besides, you're lovely company and I don't get out often." Then she grinned. "And this way I can write off the cost of the food as a business expense," she confessed.
"Really? Really OK?" Jane looked hopeful, being reminded that she might be able to get free, well, it was a nice thought, but not one she was banking on right now. "Food? What food? I could have bought up some home baked cookies if you wanted?"
Jane chuckled, mentally adding Shila to her list of cookie bake recipients and settled onto a sofa.
"I ordered delivery. Chinese, a family-style dinner for two. A bunch of different things just in case you end up allergic to something or don't like anything."
"That sounds nice, I can't remember when I last had Chinese, but, so far as I know I'm not allergic to anything." Jane relaxed slightly, "I have to say, I wasn't expecting food like that, but, well, if you're hungry and it can be written off, why not?"
Shila grinned. "Good. It should arrive in about five minutes. In the meantime, can I get you anything to drink?" She was putting off talking business until the food arrived.
"Tea would be nice?" Jane very rarely drank anything other than tea, water, fruit juice or milk, sometimes she'd have a soda if she was in the mood. "Can I help? Do anything?"
"Hell, no, girl. Just sit and relax." She grinned as she said it. "You're my guest, take a load off."
"Well, if you're sure?" Jane smiled, and settled deeper into the couch. "Although I'm more than happy to help if you want?"
"No, you sit and be a proper guest," she grinned over her shoulder as she headed to the kitchen to start up the water. With the water heating up, the buzzer announced the guard was on his way up with the food. "Talk about timing!"
Jane snickered softly, and smoothed the fabric of her long brown skirt. The dull brown looked kind of out of place in Shila's apartment with it's exotic African feel. Idly Jane wondered if she should perhaps buy some new clothes. Perhaps she should talk to Jazz about that at their next cooking lesson, er, not burning down the Manor lesson even.
Shila bustled out of the kitchen to get the brown paper bags with the tiny white cartons inside, signed the slip, kept a copy (etc etc); then brought out a couple of nice china plates and some silverware to eat with ... of course there was also the chopsticks. Shila never touched hers, with an embarassed smile. "I can't get the hang of these ..."
There was a wide variety of food; everything from peking duck to orange chicken to sweet and sour to chicken fried rice and barbecue pork.
"I never tried, I'm not clever enough to use things like that really, take way too much coordination." Jane knew the minute she'd said it that it was one of John's things, that he would have said it, but, it was too late to pull it back now, it was out there. She blushed and her head dropped forward. "But a fork I can handle. That's easier."
Shila gave her a Look, silently. She knew the reaction. She made a split-second decision. "Tell you what, girl: We'll both try 'em together, then after the meeting's over and we can enjoy a glass of wine, we can laugh at ourselves, and no one but us will know it ever happened. Deal?" she asked with a rakish, daring grin.
Jane looked up, catching the tail end of the look, it was that more than anything else that had her agreeing, "OK, but, please don't get mad if I make a mess?" She grinned, "And seeing as it's your apartment, I won't get mad if you do?"
Shila grinned. "Hey, I'm the one daring us into this. If anything happens, it's all my fault. And it's usually pretty easy to clean stuff out of these hides anyway."
The water kettle started whistling so Shila brought it out on a hotpad with some (gasp!) Lipton tea bags and a mug for Jane. "I can't remember - do you use milk and sugar, or honey, or anything?"
"Oh, just a little milk, thanks." Jane had to smile, even as she popped a tea bag into the mug and then filled it with boiling water. "I would say I'm too fat to take sugar, but, I get the impression that's another of John's unkindnesses."
She shook her head slightly, that bikini Jazz had helped her buy was three sizes smaller than her last swimsuit.
Shila got both milk and sugar. Just in case. When she sat down, she looked at the instructions on the outside of the wrapper on the chopsticks, carefully extracted the bits of bamboo, and began to try to imitate the drawings. She was unaware that her tongue stuck out slightly as she focused.
Jane added milk to her tea, leaving the sugar to one side, and then stirred it until it was the right colour for her liking. Removing the teabag she hurried to the kitchen to dispose of it, then returned and unwrapped her own chopsticks. "Now, how does it say to do this?" She studied the instructions just as carefully, and tried to mimic the way she was supposed to hold them. They felt awkward in her hand, but, she looked up at Shila, and had to smile, "So, shall we try this then?"
Shila grinned back. "Or murder the food trying!" Fail. Fail. Succ--No, fail. Only about now, Shila was failing because she was laughing at herself like a school girl.
Jane was also giggling, and had as yet not succeeded in eating anything either. But it was fun trying, and impossible to feel bad about it with Shila laughing just as much as she was. "This is crazy, and yet, I am determined, to eat something with these things." She was not sure that she could, but, she was managing to pick up the odd piece, they just slipped from between the sticks before getting anywhere near her mouth.
Shila pretended to look around, then stabbed at a bit of sweet-and-sour deep-fry with the tip of one of her chopsticks. "Ha! I figured it out!" Well, not really, but she was able to get the morsel to her mouth without dropping it this time.
Jane laughed, "I think that's cheating!" Her own chopsticks were twisting around a piece of chicken, and finally she got a grip on it, cupping her other hand under it as she lifted it, only to have it drop into her hand just inches from her lips. Quickly though she ate it off her hand, snickering softly as she licked the sauce from her palm.
"I don't see anything on the instructions that says you can't stab your food ..." Shila countered, like any good lawyer would. Nonetheless she went back to trying to pincer the food rather than kill it again.
Jane continued to try as well, finally managing to get just the right balance between grip and relaxed hold to lift a sliver of pork up to her mouth and get it inside. Chewing it she smiled triumphantly, and after swallowing she had to laugh, "I did it! I ate something!!" It sounded daft even to her, but for such a minor achievement it felt like a massive success.
"Hooray!" Shila cheered her on, dropping the bit of food she'd been trying, and a chopstick. It fell to the table with a soft clatter. Shila retaliated at its defection by sticking her tongue out at it. Then she picked it up again and worked at getting it back in the proper grip.
"You can do it Shila, come on!" Jane was now struggling of course to get a grip on a piece of chicken, but she did at least have the knowledge that she could do it, and that spurred her on.
With many looks between her fingers and the illustrations, she tried again. With shaky motions, she imitated the pinch and tried with a mushroom from the stir-fry. Flat, she figured she could do. With a herculean effort, she managed to get it to her lips and sucked it in before she could fail again. "Yay!"
The chicken refused to be eaten, escaping time and time again, but with Shila's triumph, Jane figured maybe enough was enough, "We both did it, yaay! Now, how about we eat with forks before it gets cold? We can practice some more later?"
Shila considered for maybe a millisecond. "Agreed. But we tell the world we were successful and leave it at that."
Jane nodded pretty much immediately, "But we have been successful, that's not even a lie." She grinned, "We successfully ate chinese food with choptsicks! Go us!"
"Go us!" she returned, making it a toast with her water. She started using her fork with gusto (and relief).
Jane picked up her own fork, and took a sip of her tea, then tucked into the food. It was certainly easier to eat with a fork, and pretty soon she was feeling absolutely stuffed. However, there was a large amount of food had disappeared between them! With a sigh she set her fork down, "Oh that was good, I should order from that chinese for myself, I am absolutely stuffed, thank-you."
"I'll give you their menu. Now that the meal's done, I have a choice to offer you. We can go there directly and begin the process ourselves, or I can hire someone ... a group of people I have a connection to ... to serve him with the summons to the divorce court. Speaking of which, we can run the case here or there. I'd suggest there, actually. California's a lot more liberal in their dispensation to the woman than this state is."
"Oh, er, there as much as possible? I want to keep here out of the equation if I can? I, well, I really don't want him knowing where I live now, and I have a life here, Albeit a quiet life, but, it's more than I've had since I left him." Jane plucked at the fabric of her skirt, looking down. "I don't want him ruining it."
"All right. Do you want to head down there now, or wait until the court date itself? How much time can you take off before you get into trouble, would be the biggest decider there, I think."
"The less time I have to spend away from here the better. We can wait right?" Jane looked up a little worriedly, "But will I be safe there?"
"He won't know where you are, I won't be in the same hotel with you, and I'll have bodyguards around you for protection."
"Oh, good, I mean, yes, that's good." The last time Jane had seen anything about bodyguards they were all large men, just about her least favourite kind of person.
Jane'd likely shit a brick (as Shila's friends would say) when she saw who Shila was negotiating with for the bodyguard service. Street gang members. Some of 'em large, but a couple of 'em were small and feral looking. Shila was calling in some pretty big favors for this one.
"So I'll get the service ready to serve him, and we'll shoot for the twentieth of March; gives my friends plenty of time to get it to him. Sound good?"
"I, um, yes, I guess so? I wouldn't have to be out there for long though would I? I mean, my job, and, I don't want to be there." Jane looked up, her face somewhat paler than it had been, because oh god this was really happening, and suddenly she was more terrified of John's reactions than at any time before. This was, after all, for keeps.
"Once it's in motion, no. Not long at all, unless he fights it. He probably will ... but sometimes they know to cut their losses."
Jane wasn't sure that John would want to just walk away, he certainly hadn't seemed inclined to let her go. "I don't want to be out there, and I, well, I don't want to have to see him any more than strictly necessary? Never on my own."
"Absolutely. Once you're there, you are to have no contact with him without me present. And you'll never be in the same room with him without either a bodyguard or police officers in the room." Shila's voice and tone were rock-solid. If John tried anything untoward, he'd find himself with a sudden face-full of Shila in full lawyer mode, assuming her friends didn't beat her to the punch.
Jane nodded, Shila sounded so reassuring, and yet, Jane knew John was unlikely to be anything but, regardless of who was in the room. "How soon would we have to go? I'll need to book leave if it's allowable?"
"Well, if we can get him served with the papers, you'd be gone beginning the 20th of March. If not, then you wouldn't have to go until not only do we have a court date, but also his having been served with notification of the date. Sometimes men can be pretty good at avoiding servers."
"If you can get an attractive woman to do it, he'll probably be too busy chasing her to worry about what she's serving him with." Yeah, a trace of bitterness was in her voice, but then, John had never really bothered to hide his affairs, or his opinion on Jane's looks being deficient.
"Oh, I think the people I've picked out will be able to get his attention." She grinned. "I wouldn't let a defenseless girl do it. Anyone who's coming into arm's distance from him will be able to break him into little bits."
"I wouldn't want anyone else being at risk, no," Jane shook her head slightly, "I just don't think he's going to appreciate it whoever does it, but the more attractive a female the less awkward it would be."
"Don't worry about it," Shila reassured Jane one more time. "You won't even have to hear about it. You won't be there and neither will I. The job calls for a pro."
Jane smiled a little nervously, "Thanks, I just, suddenly it seems so real again, I'm worried about what he might say, or do, and I'm dreading having to see him again. For any reason."
She reached across to take Jane's hand. "He won't be able to hurt you ever again, Jane. I swear it."
"I really hope not, but, until it's over? I won't be sure of that," she paused briefly, "it's not that I don't trust you, or your people, but, I really don't and can't trust John."
Shila nodded again. "I understand. Do you have any questions for me?"
"I'm still not sure on the process? I mean, it's all about the paperwork right? So, why do I have to go out there? See him?" Jane was actually shaking a little at the thought, "I mean, can't I stay here?"
"You'll have to go before a judge if he chooses to fight it."
"Oh," Jane didn't know what John was going to do, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know either, but, "I can't help worrying that he's not going to just let me go, he's going to fight it, but, I have no idea really what's going to happen and I think that worries me more. The not knowing?"
"What will happen is this: He fights it, we go to court two times: The first time to achieve the divorce on our terms and the second to file a civil suit against him for the abuse to take everything we didn't get from him in the divorce."
"Right, everything? I mean, I don't even know if he's worth much, but, can I be that mean?" Jane didn't think so.
"Girl, even if you can't, I can. And I will. Think about OJ Simpson. Even though they couldn't get him convicted of the deaths, the families managed to sue him for every penny he had, even though he fought them every step of the way."
"Well, I guess since quite a bit of his starting out funds was my inheritance from my parents, that it might be a good idea. I mean, I never saw a penny of that, he said he'd taken care of everything and then, well, somehow he wound up using it all for his own things." Jane hadn't appreciated that much, she had wanted to get something to remember her parents by, and he'd not only used all the money but sold everything they'd owned without even asking her if any of it meant anything to her. It still hurt, but now it roused a little anger with it, her smile was a little tight, and a spark of something flashed in her eyes briefly, "I think I'd definitely like to try for everything though, he took so much from me, in so many ways. I'd like a little payback."
"You'll get it, I promise." The normally soft brown of Shila's eyes hardened as she smiled grimly back at her client.
Idly Jane picked at the remains of her chinese food, "How soon? Do we have dates yet? I need to know so I can book holiday."
"Our first try will be the 20th, but I can't guarantee we'll be able to get it then, I'm sorry."
"Of March? Wow, so fast, I never, um, what if I can't get leave that quickly?" Jane went wide eyed at the thought, but then, she wanted this divorce. Wanted it very badly, and time was ticking on that trust fund.
"Do what you can to get it," Shila advised. "It's legal, so most places will give it to you. Just tell them you have to be in court on that day."
"I guess that would do it, I can only hope they'll let me go, but, I will ask. Quickly." Jane smiled and pushed the plate slightly away from her, she was absolutely stuffed.
"If you prefer, I can ask the court to move the first attempt date back?" Shila asked.
"No, let me see if I can get leave first. Otherwise, well it's a lot of hassle right? What with getting out there and all." Jane wanted to be as little trouble a possible, she just didn't know how to go about it much, other than stay out of the way and be invisible.
"It's about what you can do, Jane. If it takes me a little effort, it takes effort. I'm used to it, it's my job."
"I'll ask, really I will, 20th March right? When will we need to leave? And how would we travel?" Jane suddenly had more worries, money wasn't exactly tight anymore, but she didn't want to go wasting any of it on luxuries, but San Diego was a very long way away, and a plane was more likely to be Shila's choice over a greyhound bus.
"I'd want to leave a couple of days before, but you'd only need to leave the night of the 19th. I'll have a hotel already by the time you arrived."
"I could be back on the 21st? Or should I leave a couple of days in case?" Jane worried over it. The whole flying thing, the court thing, and she wondered, just what am I supposed to wear? "Um, any recommendations on wardrobe?"
"Again, it depends. You'd more than likely be back the next day if we can't serve him, or if he refuses to show up. If he does, you could be weeks or months at this."
"Oh, I don't know if they'd let me keep my job, I don't have that much leave I don't think." Jane frowned a little, "Not to mention how much will a hotel cost for that amount of time? I don't know that I can afford all this." Yes, there was a hint of panic in Jane's voice, she hadn't thought it would happen this fast, or start to sound so expensive.