At The Golf Range

Ted put his driver back in his bag and looked out at the setting sun on the edge of the driving range. He felt empty and low. Should he have taken the advice of his attorney and sent the divorce documents over to Carol with a process server? He cringed at the thought of her first reaction on viewing the papers.

He tried so many times to have her hear him when he told her privately as well as in couples therapy that he felt he's done all he can to do his part in the relationship but his heart just wasn't in it anymore. When the big change happened and he lost his job with SitKo, the company he'd been with for the last 10 years, his inner life was upended. With more time at home and to focus on his fading relationship with Carol, he knew he'd have to make a decision that would be painful for both of them.

Sure, he could have stayed in the marriage for another 10 years. It was a comfortable place to be but he felt like they were just living parallel lives and their hearts were empty of each other.

As he walked back to his car and opened the trunk to drop in his golf bag, the sound of the clubs hitting the trunk floor made him have a flashback of meeting Carol for the first time. He remembered Carol was with her best girlfriend Jane. Jane dragged the reluctant Carol to a golf course Ted used to frequent. Carol and Jane were both trying to shove Jane's clubs into the back of Carol's worn out VW bug. While they struggled, he put on his best man to the rescue aura and offered to assist. The women gratefully obliged. Since it was a hot June day, they all reached consensus to go back to the club's lounge and have a beer. Phone numbers were exchanged and a week later Ted and Carol were dating.

How he felt then and how he felt now about Carol seemed worlds apart. Ted got into his car and sat for a while thinking about the direction he and Carol's life will now take. He always felt protective of Carol and even now, he felt like a jerk by taking a step to end a marriage that just wasn't working for either of them.

Ted's lawyer assured him that waiting any longer would only keep Ted in emotional and financial limbo. The lawyer felt that since Ted made it clear to Carol over a year ago that he and Carol were going their separate ways, the date of separation listed on his petition for divorce should be set at that earlier date. Another thing the lawyer explained to Ted was that any work Ted was doing to develop software and applications for Apple with his best friend and business buddy Geoff should be treated as his own separate property and not as an asset that the marriage was entitled to share.

Ted's parents were sad he made the choice to end the marriage. They really cared for Carol and hoped to have grand kids soon. Ted sighed. The sun was almost gone. He had to catch up with his business partner for a quick meeting about their application design for Apple. He couldn't help but keep thinking about how Carol must have reacted when she got the papers. Feeling a mixture of guilt and relief that he started taking control over his life, Ted steered the car down the lane and onto the darkening road.

Ted and Carol's Fictional Divorce Using Real California Law

Carol could not catch her breath. The papers she held slipped out of her hands and slid quietly to the floor. Ted filed for divorce. She felt shocked and numb all at the same time. How could he do this? The process server that tapped on the door simply handed the envelope to her after asking her if she was Carol Williams. He had nothing else to say and turned heel and headed out to the street.

Before opening the envelope, Carol knew something was up but just didn't want to believe that her trial separation from Ted would come to this. Nothing was terribly wrong with the relationship, it just seemed that neither of them really had the time for each other anymore. Carol spent much of her time either at her full time job or volunteering at the local animal shelter. Ted was very active in working part time after being laid off from his full time job a few months ago and, when he wasn't trying to work with his best friend Cliff on developing a software application he planned to pitch to Apple, he was at the gym or on the golf course.

The divorce papers seemed foreign and terrifying. Carol picked them up off the floor and looked at them again with more focus. The petition was some kind of pre printed form that you fill out. The first page had basic information like the date of their marriage 10 years ago and a date Ted claimed was their separation date.

Carol went into numb mode again....Ted listed the separation date as over 1 year ago and shortly after their 9 year anniversary! Carol was confused. Ted moved out to stay at his parents only a few weeks ago. Why was he claiming they separated almost a year ago? Was Ted lying to her when he said he just needed some space and wanted a time out by staying with his folks?

She needed time to think...and needed time to find an attorney.

California Divorce as Told by Ted and Carol