Chapter 12
While I could see ahead to the horizon, the road was cratered with potholes. Tina was still not a free woman. If we continued with the procedure while she was still married, the child would not be mine. Her husband had disappeared and she had to track him down through his relatives.
He was in another state when Tina filed her petition, which was fine. But he was also in jail. My mind raced. My only contact with America’s ‘correctional institutions’, as they optimistically call them, was through a prisoner called Jeff to whom I had been writing for the past ten years via a UK organisation called ‘Lifelines’. It exists to put people who have nothing to look forward to in their lives in touch with those who will maintain a correspondence with them. He was on Death Row awaiting the ultimate correction—execution. Through Jeff’s letters, I had acquired an awareness of the inhuman conditions in these places and the sort of people they contained. What sort of criminal was Mr P? I was, albeit at one remove, dealing with criminality.
In the event, it was both a disappointment and relief. He had turned himself in for unpaid fines.
Divorce is a big step for a family. While the idea might not have bothered Mr P, what might her children say about it? The answer came post haste. Vivian e-mailed me in May 2000:
Tina was worried about what her sons might think. She sat them down and spoke with them. Their reaction was very interesting. They thought that it was a good thing because it was the first good or smart thing Dad had done in a long time. I think Tina is doing a fine job with these boys on her own. Definitely better than if their Dad had stayed in the picture.
Although Tina was no maverick, it was clear her husband was. I would be much happier when he was no longer an issue. It took what seemed like ages. The following month, Vivian again e-mailed me. The date of freedom for Tina was set for May 15, 2000. Once joined in holy matrimony, they were now in an odd piece of US legalese to be ‘bifurcated’, assured Vivian.
Tina says hello and wants you to know she has been diligent in trying to get these papers done. She is in awe at the box of medicines that have arrived at her house. She called asking how much goes where and how often. There are a lot of big needles that will be used daily for 3 months. She’s OK now, just taken aback a little. Ta ta for now.
There I was interfering in these people’s lives. Lives that were very different from my own. Criminality, jail, bifurcation. What sort of maelstrom was I being sucked into? On and on the saga went. The papers were lost by the court. Then they were found. The summer was approaching. People were going on holiday. It felt as though nothing would ever happen. Then on 6 July 2000 the message came from Vivian’s office, ‘Vivian asked me to pass on some information to you. Tina’s divorce papers went through and everything is done. A transfer is scheduled for next Thursday.’ After weeks of inactivity, events were moving rapidly.
The relief was huge. I could feel my baby becoming more of a reality.
Vivian wrote a few days later: ‘Edie did well. 11 is a great number. We’ll have plenty for this x-fer and some to spare. Tina’s uterine lining is nice and thick. We have a room booked for her at the Hilton on Mission Bay for Thursday and Friday night with a late checkout time on Saturday. She is taking off work until Monday. So far everything is looking very good and going as it should. On the 19th or 20th Tina will have the blood test that will indicate if you are expecting, have a bun in the oven, in a family way, etc.’
Everything was starting to happen.