It had been a long night; he was tired, a little hungover and not to mention irritated. After the lengthy discussion with his lawyers that comprised mainly of his unbending demands and their arguments, they came to the conclusion that it would be best he hire a divorce attorney. Recommendation in hand he had to wait till morning before calling. So, with his trusted friends Pinot Grigio and CNN, he settled in for the night.
As the first hint of sunlight crept through the living room windows, Jon stumbled through the hall with more than a few muttered curses. After finding the Advil in the medicine cabinet and starting the coffee machine he placed a call to the office of Mr. Travis Yetterman, supposedly the best divorce attorney in the state of New Jersey as well as New York.
Jon was grateful he was put straight through when he called, he explained his situation and listened as Mr. Yetterman explained his options.
"You're kidding me, right? Basically, either way I'm fucked?"
At this point in his hangover from hell, Jon thought that the lawyer was lucky to even be able to negotiate with him.
"No. What I said Mr. Bongiovi is that your best option would be to file in the State of New Jersey, to attract less publicity. Then, a No-Fault as opposed to a Fault divorce would keep it from becoming a long court battle, something I'm sure you don’t want.”
"No. It is not what I want." Jon's voice was stern.
"As I was saying you have two options with a No-Fault;
Option 1- Separation - You or your spouse must have lived separately for at least 18 consecutive months before the filing of the divorce complaint.
Or
Option 2- Irreconcilable differences, where you or your spouse must have experienced irreconcilable differences for a period of 6 months, and these differences make it clear that the marriage should be dissolved.
Jon ran his fingers through his hair "And which one of those would you suggest?"
"Either is fine. The latter choice is the more feasible. It's not long and drawn out and if both parties agree with such things as custody and dividing assets, it's the one I would suggest to all my clients. Is that possible?"
"You have a better chance of meeting God than that happening" Jon ground out as he pounded out the cigarette in the clay ashtray Stephanie had made him. "Let’s just say we are still working out a few things."
"Mr. Bongiovi let me reiterate it would be most beneficial to have those things worked out before we file. It will make the filing go smoothly if you did."
"I understand. As far the children are concerned, we agree on shared custody, that much I know for sure. It is the assets that we disagree on, she is requesting half of everything." Jon pushed back his chair and stood to lean against his desk.
"I see..." Mr. Yetterman paused.
"I am not a cruel man, Mr. Yetterman. I fully intend on making sure my family is well taking care of."
"I don't doubt that. Now that you have decided on which state you would like me to file the dissolution of marriage in, why don't I put together the papers needed and send them to you? In the meantime, maybe you and your spouse can try to come to an arrangement.
"Sounds good. I have just one more question. Once everything is said and done, how long until it the divorce is final?"
"Once your spouse is served, she has thirty-five days to file a response, that is if she chooses to. If she does, we are looking at two, maybe three months total. If she waives the thirty-five days, two weeks to a month depending on how busy the courts are.
"Thank you, Mr. Yetterman. If you can get me those papers ASAP, I'd really appreciate it."
"I will start on them today. You will be hearing from me soon Mr. Bongiovi. Good-bye."
"Good-bye." Jon waited for the line to go dead before slamming down the receiver.
Jon didn't see the door open as he threw the glass paperweight Fuck!
"Whoaaa!" Richie said as he ducked behind the door to shield his face from the weight that went smashing down the hallway behind him.
"Shit! Richie. Sorry. When did you get here?"
"About five minutes ago. Lidia said you were in here. I can come back?"
"Nah. Come on in. I didn’t realize Lidia was here too.”
"She's in the kitchen. Who's got you all riled up this early in the morning?" Richie looked toward the phone on the desk.
"Douchebag lawyers." Jon stepped from behind the desk to greet his friend.
"What flavor douchebag we talking about?" Richie extended his hand. "By the way, it's good to see ya.”
Jon accepted Richie's hand as he pulled him in for a brotherly hug "Yeah you too. And that would be the divorce flavor."
"You mean the boring old vanilla mixed with chunks of sleaze balls?"
"You can say that again. I swear Rich, I survived 25 years in this business and it's going to be this divorce that'll kill me."
"Nah bro, if I can come out alive, so can you. Mind me asking what's going on? Let’s head to the kitchen? I can use a cuppa coffee." Richie walked towards the door.
"You don't know the half of it. The two walked down the narrowed hallway, the walls lined with photos of the kids.
"That bad?"
"Let's see, beside Dottie wanting half of everything, she's also demanding that I keep our relationship a secret till its final."
"Shit man that is rough. How long can that be?" Richie went straight to the coffee machine as they entered the kitchen. Helping himself he asked Jon if he wanted one.
"Yeah, please. That's the kicker. According to my lawyer I have two options if I want to keep it out of court. First is proof of separation for eighteen months, second being irreconcilable differences for at least six months and we need to agree on everything."
"Then what's the problem. You easily had differences for six months and then some." Richie handed him his coffee.
"That would be my choice. But you didn't see Dorothea, she is beyond mad, she knows it's Ari and has been all this time."
"And you're thinking she will drag this out?" Richie set his cup and his forearms down on the island.
"Not in court, but she will fight me tooth and nail first. And you know how I feel about my money, so I haven't worked that one out yet. I still need to call my accountant."
"Listen bro, divorce isn't all champagne and roses, take it from me. The bite of a scorned woman is a nasty one, you need to give Dee a little time, the sting is still fresh for her. She knows how things have been and that this was always a possibility, but knowing it and it actually happening are two different things. This isn't just some little fling. You had to know it wouldn't be a walk in the park, not even for you."
"I'm not that big of an asshole, I know she's hurting, heck I am too. We have been through a lot and just because I'm not in love with her doesn't me I don't care. She will always hold a place in my heart. And then I worry about Ari, you've lived through it all, I'm worried how she will handle it all. The press, the waiting, the kids, I'm not even sure how the kids will handle all this." Jon opened the drawer and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He knew he should cut back to preserve his voice, but he needed some kinda of vice and drinking this early would only lead to a horrible mess.
"I'd say you have a full plate buddy. Maybe it is good we are heading out on the road, you will have that shit to keep you distracted." Richie rolled his eyes. "Seriously, all joking aside, give it some time. It will work itself out. I’m thinking what you need is a boy’s night out and I know this nice little place, not too far from here. Whaddya say?"
"From your lips to Gods ears. Not sure I’d be good company though."
"Don't be an old man, I said it was close. I was talking about The Shoe Inn. Teek will be here in a few hours, we can call Lemma and tell him to get his ass here and order some food. It will be just like old times."
"That I could do. The kids are staying at my Mom’s and I want to see them before she takes them home so after that I’m in for some good company.
"Do they know yet?"
"No. We agreed to wait until after the holidays. As far as they are concerned I'm out here working."
"Good idea. Mind if I tag-along, I'd love to see them?"
"Sure. Just let me hit the shower and we'll go."
"Sounds like a plan. I'm going to check in with Ma and Ava." Richie pulled out his phone.
"S'kay I won't be long."
Jon left Richie in the kitchen and headed upstairs, feeling a little better than he did when he woke up. It felt good to talk to him, they had always been there for one another. He knew Richie was right and he needed to give this some time. He would wait a few days and then he would try and talk with Dorothea again.
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