FanStory.com - Anatomy of a Marriage Ch. 5by BethShelby

Marsha walked out of Trenton’s firm with the words of the senior law partner bouncing around in her head. Would Trenton agree to go in for treatment? What if he didn’t? It sounded like if he didn’t take this chance he was being offered, he might be out of a job. What would happen then? In spite of their apparent wealth, theirs was a house of cards. If the monthly payments stopped the family would be in bankruptcy. If he was having an affair, and their relationship ended in divorce, where would that leave her? How would she raise four children on her own?

The brief moment of relief she had felt at a possible solution was eroding fast. She sat in her car, wondering if she was in any condition to drive. “Get hold of yourself,” she scolded aloud. “You’re not an idiot. Surely you can find a job, if it comes to that. Your parents won’t let you and the children starve. You’ve got to take this one day at a time.”

She’d barely gotten home when Trenton called,“Hey, Babe, where were you earlier? I tried to call, and you didn’t answer.”

“I had a headache, so I turned the phone off for a while. When are you planning to be back home? Will it be a lot longer?”

“No, that’s why I was calling. I think we’ll wrap it up tomorrow. I’ll be in tomorrow evening. We can go out to eat if you want. Are you alright? You were acting kind of weird when I left. Why don’t you go ahead and make reservations whereever you want to go for around eight. I’ll have to drop Sheri off by her place.”

After they hung up, Marsha was surprised and relieved that Trenton sounded more like himself. If he was drinking, he was hiding it well, but then, he could drink a lot without appearing to be drunk. Am I imagining things? Maybe he’s not really an alcoholic. Bill could be wrong about him. Trenton will be furious if we do an intervention. Should I try to talk to Bill again and see if I could get him to hold up? He might be willing to stop drinking on his own if he thinks he could lose his job.

The following morning, Marsha got a call from Bill. Before she got a chance to express her doubts about the wisdom of going through with the intervention, he started telling her the arrangements were already made. “I’ve got it all set up with the treatment center. They have an opening, and they are sending a counselor out to facilitate the intervention. Trenton will be coming back today, so we need to get this finalized. We want to do it on Monday of next week. I’ve rented a suite at the Hilton. We would like everyone there at 3pm. You won’t have a problem with that, will you?”

“Yes, it is necessary if he is to continue as a partner with the firm. We have had several talks with him about his drinking. He has assured us that he has it under control, but it has become apparent that he doesn’t. We talked about that yesterday. You seemed to be on board with it then. I hope you aren’t having second thoughts. We’re counting on you. You need to make sure he doesn’t know about this. He will believe he is going to be meeting with a client when he goes into the hotel room. The element of surprise is essential.”

“I’m trying to get on board with it, but it isn’t easy. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get any indication of anything from me. I do have a lot of questions. I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be this quick.”

“I knew you would have questions. That is why I’m sending you some material over by courier right away. It will tell you everything you need to know about how this will go down. There will be a questionnaire you’ll fill out which will guide you and any others on how to go about this. You can write down what you plan to say to him in case you get emotional. These sessions can get intense. Also, how about your two older children? Only you would know if they need to be involved. It can be traumatic for young people. They don’t recommend anyone under 16 be there. You’ll need to talk to your kids and decide if even the older ones would be comfortable talking about how his drinking is affecting them.

“I hadn’t thought about them. My son is 17. He has expressed concern about his dad’s drinking. I’ll see what he says."

“Okay. If there is anyone else you think could help, let me know. I know his parents are living in another state. The material I’m sending over will include pictures and information about the treatment center. It’s about ten miles from here. They recommend that he stay there for a minimum of six weeks. You won’t be able to see him or contact him for a while. They will determine at what point you’ll be able to visit him. If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to call. While he’s gone, we will send his checks to you,"

When Marsha got off of the phone, it felt as though a cloud of fear and dread had descended on her. This was really happening. Six weeks was a long time. They’d never been apart for so long before. How was she to act when Trenton got back home tonight? She would need to wait about letting the children know what was about to happen or they might alert their father. She could depend on Joey not to say anything. She would call him aside and see how he felt about being there. Linsey was 16, but she was far too emotional.

Trenton arrived home at shortly past seven. Marsha had made the dinner reservations. He greeted her with a kiss and acted as though things were normal between them. He was likely going out of his way to pretend all was well. Before he had gone out of town, she had told him they needed to talk, but now, it wouldn’t do to risk confronting him with his recent behavior. She decided to put on an act as well. They chatted casually about the children and the possibility of having her family over for a meal.

Change would be coming soon enough. Now was not the time to rock the boat.

CHACACTERS:
Marsha Calson wife of Trenton age 43
Trenton Carlson husband and law partner 45
Joey Carlson son. Age 17
Linsey Carlson daughter age 16
Timothy Carlson son Age 14
Tracie Carlson daughter Age 12
Sheri Weldon Trenton's legal secretary age 26
Bill Cunningham senior law partner