A Day in the Life S1:E3

I picked up the phone and dialed my wife. No answer. I waited about a half hour and then dialed again. She picked up and greeted me as if nothing was going on. As if she had no knowledge that she had just served me divorce papers on my job.

"What's the meaning of all this?" I tried to keep my cool.

I was too surprised and hurt to even be mad or upset. My hands were trembling. My mouth was dry. I was perspiring as I tried to keep some sense of composure on the phone. She nonchalantly said, "Nothing. Why do you ask?" "Are yo kidding me?" I thought to myself. She's playing games. But trying to maintain my cool, I replied "You served me divorce papers on my job."

"Yes. You knew those papers were coming," she calmly says. She never raised her voice. Neither did her voice ever crack. She never shed a tear. She never looked back for me. The worse part about it all, is that I couldn't even tell you when she walked away.

I replied, "Yes, you said that you wanted a divorce. And you left our home just days ago. But I didn't know when you were actually going to file paperwork. Nor would I have ever expected to receive notice at my job." You already know what her response was. "My attorney asked me for an address where the notice was certain to get to you. She asked for the best address to reach you at. I know that you work most of the time, so the best address would have been your work address," she answered.

That entire phone conversation got nowhere, but then again, where did I think it was going to go anyway? I sat alone in my house, trying to makes heads or tails of the papers. I'm not an attorney. I never studied law. But I apparently have a court date. What should I do? How can this all be happening to me?

I turned to my friend for help, Google. I tried to look up legal terms and divorce proceedings. It was all Greek - or perhaps it was harder to understand than Greek. The day went by and the following morning, I thought I would try to gain more understanding with the new day.

Nothing could have prepared me for her next move.

I received a phone call from her attorney's office. "Hello," I answered. "Hello," the lady's voice on the other side began. "Is this Mr. Smith?" "Yes, it is. Who's this?" "This is Ashley, calling from Attorney Brown's office. I just wanted to let you know that an Ex Parte has been filed and you have a court time set for 2 pm this afternoon." "Wait. What?" I thought. "This has to be some kind of prank. Some little scheme to play mind games with me." The lady was not very helpful, but she was definitely right - I did have court that day at 2 pm. I have never even so much as heard of an Ex Parte before. I had to request time off from work and be at the court house that afternoon.

Once I arrived in court, things didn't get any better. I had no attorney. It was only me. Not because I had a specialized set of skills, not because I had years of training for this, but I was alone only because I had no clue what was going on.

If only there had been someone to guide me. If only there had been an organization of some sort to offer me help along this journey - a journey that I was forced on. Oh how I wish I had only known a little more, a little better, then I would have avoided a lot of the pain and turmoil that was to come later.

But I didn't know better, so into the court room I walked.

"Are you ready Mrs. Brown?" I hear the judge ask my wife's attorney. "Yes, Your Honor," she replies. "Call the case," says the judge. Another lady says, "Case number 555, 876, Smith versus Smith on an Ex Parte." I would later learn that the person who called the case was the docket clerk. The judge says, "Make your appearance before the court." My wife's attorney replies, "Stephanie Brown on behalf of my client India Smith." I didn't know what I was supposed to say, but apparently it was fine because I was never asked to say anything anyway. The attorney continues, "This matter comes into the court pursuant to an Ex Parte filed by my client, Your Honor."

All I could think at this point was, "What's happening right now and what's about to happen next?"