Teacher's Pets

"Can I be there when she gets served?" Chuck asked.

"Why the hell not," Bob said. They laughed, and enjoyed the rest of their meal.

Chuck went home and decided to catch the evening news to see what was being said. Sure enough, there were several reports on a number of cable outlets, one of which told of Nancy's arrest and an alleged plot to involve a minor child in her activities. The rest of the evening was filled with panel discussions about teachers having sex with students. Most agreed with the state's zero-tolerance policy but a few panelists took the position that it shouldn't matter if the students were 18 or over and consented to the relationship.

Disgusted, Chuck turned the television off, checked his voicemail and found several messages from reporters asking for comments. He erased them and went to bed.

The next day, he arranged to have Nancy's car towed home. It was an expensive proposition, especially after paying a hefty impound fee, but he figured it had to be done and he didn't want to ask anyone else for help.

He then went to a local Home Depot to buy new door locks. He changed out all the locks on the doors and the combination to the garage door. That afternoon, Bob called to let him know the paperwork for his divorce was ready. Chuck locked up and headed for his office.

"This is pretty straightforward," Bob said. "We're filing on the grounds of adultery, which is permissible in this state. Considering that your wife is in custody pending a trial for multiple charges, we're offering no support whatsoever and we're asking that you have full custody giving her no contact considering her plot to drug the kids. Additionally, we're not going to ask for any support from her as long as she is incarcerated. Naturally, we're demanding that she surrender her rings and revert to her maiden name."

"What about property and her belongings?" Chuck asked.

"The vacation home was given to you by your parents and your name is the only one on the deed, so that's not a problem. The judge will probably allow you to stay in the main house due to the children, but it is considered community property. We're asking that you be allowed to give Nancy one half of the equity in it if she wants and she can have her personal property -- clothes, things like that. She'll also be entitled to some of the money you have currently on hand. Normally, that's divided 50-50, but given the circumstances, we're asking for a 70-30 split, with you getting 70 percent. Does that work?" he asked.

Chuck considered his options. They bought the house shortly after getting married and still owed about $100,000 on it. He knew his home as it stood was worth about $250,000. He figured that if he had to, he could scrape together $75,000 in cash, but that would put a huge dent in his share of the savings.

"Yeah, let's do it," he said. "I just want her out of my life and out of the kids' lives." Bob nodded.

"Okay," he said. "I'll get this filed first thing in the morning and give you a call so you can join the process server at the jail."

All that done, Chuck grabbed a bite to eat and headed home. There were several more calls from reporters, but he erased all of them. He called the kids and brought them and Nora up to date and promised to drive out Monday after serving Nancy.

He went to bed that night missing Nancy, but got over it as soon as he thought about what she wanted to do to his children. The next morning, he got up bright and early, showered, shaved and dressed. He caught some news as he drank his coffee but nothing new was said about Nancy's case.

About 9:30, Bob called to inform him the papers had been officially filed and the process server was waiting to meet him at the county jail. He drove to the jail, parked his car and looked around for someone with a packet of paperwork. He spotted a man wearing a khaki jacket carrying an envelope and figured that would be the process server. The man spotted him at the same time and began walking toward him.

"Chuck Hurley?" he asked as he extended his hand. Chuck nodded his head.

"Yes, I'm Chuck," he said. "You have the divorce papers?"

"Right here. Let's go do this, okay?" he asked.

"Sure," Chuck said. They went into the jail and asked to see Nancy. The desk officer picked up a phone and turned back to them after speaking to another officer.

"Visiting room is right over there," the officer said, pointing to a metal door.

They walked through the door and took a seat at a window. Nancy was brought in, wearing an orange jumpsuit. Her wrists and ankles were cuffed and the chains were connected to another chain that went around her waist. The correction officer sat her down and took the packet from Bob so she could inspect it. Satisfied that it was only legal paperwork, she handed it to Nancy, who glanced at the first page.

"Nancy Hurley?" the server asked. She nodded her head.

"Yes, I'm Nancy," she said.

"You've been served," he said, standing up. Chuck remained as the server left. Nancy was sobbing as she looked at the paperwork.

"Why, Chuck?" she asked. "I don't want a divorce."

"Come on, Nancy, you're not that stupid. Did you honestly think I would be okay with you screwing those two kids? Did you think I was going to do nothing while you let our daughter get molested. I warned you, but you didn't listen," he said.

"I'll see you in court," he said, standing up.

"Sign the papers, Nancy. Don't make things worse than they need to be. Your activities will be brought out in court, but I don't think you want everyone seeing videos," he added.

"Okay, Chuck. I'm sorry," she said through her tears. "I'll sign them and get them back to you."

Chuck left as Nancy sat in her chair sobbing. He called his children and brought them up to date. Then he went home, grabbed some clothes and drove out to the vacation home.

He spent the rest of the week with the children at the vacation home and the Jennings did all they could to keep his mind off his problems. The hardest thing was explaining to the children why their mother couldn't be with them.

"I'm sorry, kids, but your mother did something very bad and she has to be held accountable for what she did," he told them. Maybe later, after they grew up, he would tell them the whole story.

Nancy's trial went on for almost a whole month, and the story of her plot to drug the children and let the two boys have their way with Jenny all came out. Eventually, she and the boys were found guilty on all counts and sentenced.

The two boys were sentenced to 30 years each for their part in the plot against Jenny. Nancy received two 20-year sentences for her relationships -- one sentence for each of the two boys. Those would be served concurrently.

She was also given an extra 30 years for the charges related to her scheme against Jenny. The judge said those 30 years would be served after the 20. In all, she would be in jail for 50 years with no possibility of parole. Additionally, she was fired from her job, her credentials pulled and she was labeled a sex offender. By the time she got out of prison, she would be 87 years old. She was also ordered to stay away from all children, even her own.

The divorce went even better for Chuck. Given Nancy's sentence, the judge gave Chuck even more of the assets than he requested, ordering the settlement money to be placed in a trust. Half would be paid out to Julie over her 50 years in prison and the rest would be given to her after her release, assuming she was still alive.

Nancy saw Chuck and the kids for the last time at the divorce hearing, which took place the day after her sentencing. She didn't look good in her orange jumpsuit and said nothing as the judge issued his decree. When the judge pounded the gavel signaling the end of the hearing, she looked at Chuck and the kids with tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed. Chuck and the children said nothing, but watched as the officers took her to prison.

Chuck took the kids out for lunch before taking them home. He won and the children were safe, but in his mind, it was something of a Pyrrhic victory and he really didn't feel like celebrating. After all, he had spent so much of his life with Nancy. Jenny, seeing his sadness, encouraged him to find a good woman.

"There's lots of women out there who would love to rock your world, Dad," she said. Chuck hugged her tight.

"Maybe," he said. "Right now, you kids are my life."

Several months later, he met Marilyn at a school function. It turned out she had divorced a cheating husband and also had a daughter who was Jenny's age. They dated for some time and after getting the thumbs-up from all the children involved, they married and became one big, happy family.

"You don't teach math, do you?" Chuck asked one day after a wild romp in his bed.

"No," she said, "but I'd like to spend the rest of my life teaching you a thing or two." They laughed and kissed.

Two months later, they married.