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“And she slapped you?”
A bit bewildered, “Yes.”
“And you didn’t slap her back?”
“No, of course not!”
“And then she told you to get out!”
“Yeah. She even got the suitcase out of the closet and started throwing my stuff in it.”
“Mitchie, let me ask you:” Staring intently at him, “Do you want to go through with this? Do you really want to be with me? To marry me?”
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Chicago, Illinois
November 14, 1963
Without a moment’s hesitation. “To marry you, Lizzie? Yes!” Taking her hand, “I absolutely want to marry you!”
Reaching across the table, rubbing his cheek, “I’m glad… You have a lawyer?”
Lawyer! Sensing a twitch in his stomach. “Yes. But I think I’d rather use whoever you used.”
“Good! Leonard’s really good…”
“Money, though? I don’t know if I can afford…”
“He’s reasonable. For what you’re getting, Leonard’s very reasonable, and I’ll help you.”
“Lizzie, I don’t want to take your money! I don’t want you to have to support me!”
“Mitchie, I’m making plenty of money now, and if we’re going to be together, married together, than what’s mine is yours and if you’re unhappy then I’ll be unhappy and I really want both of us to be happy… “Thinking of his children, “At least as happy as you can be considering the circumstances.”
Looking at the clock on the wall, “He’s probably out to lunch now, so I’ll call in a little while… You sure you want me to?”
“Yes, sure, I’ve got to!”
“This may not be as bad as you… we thought.”
“Why? What do you mean?”
“One time you came home from work and she had all your clothes packed with a note telling you to get out, right!”
“Yeah. That was a terrible day.”
“Mitch, this is the second time she threw you out of your own home, right?”
Beginning to understand what Elizabeth was getting at. “Yes.”
“And one other time she even… While you were out working, she had someone move all of your furniture out of your home and… Mitchie, your wife kidnapped…”
“Kidnapped?”
“Yes, kidnapped! Your wife took your baby while you were out working to earn a living! She took your baby and ran away and hid out someplace without letting you know where they… where your son was! And you tried to find them… You did everything you could to find them but couldn’t and you didn’t see Mikey for a few months, right?”
Nodding his head. “Yes, for two and a half months.”
“Mitch,” Elizabeth said angrily, “Marsha can’t keep doing that to you!” Her voice rising, “Throwing you out of your own home! Running away with your child and hiding! She can’t keep doing that! And she hit you, too, right?”
In the time he’d know her, he’d never heard Elizabeth raise her voice. A bit taken back by her anger, he nodded his head.
“No one knows about us, you and me, right?”
“Only my folks, and probably my brothers by now.”
“So? So now you’re sick and tired of being thrown out of your own home and want a divorce… All you’ve got to do is deny being with me.”
“What about my folks? If they’re called to testify…”
“Divorce courts don’t call for juries, so they probably won’t be asked to testify.”
“The lawyer, he’ll know about us.”
“Well,” peeling the pulp off a section of the orange, “yeah,” biting it in half, “but he’s your lawyer and what he knows or thinks won’t have a thing to do with how he represents you.”
Watching Elizabeth chew, knowing he’d need her with him, at least at the beginning to give him the strength to go through with this, Mitchell said nothing.
Swallowing, glancing at the clock, “The hell with it! If he’s not in, I’ll leave a message for him to call.”
Going from the kitchen to the bedroom, returning in a minute with a small, leather bound book, lifting the phone, Elizabeth dialed a number.
“Ida, good morning. It’s Elizabeth Herzon, uh, Lipshitz.”
“Elizabeth, nice to hear from you. How are you?”
“Fine, thank you… You?”
“Good… You want to speak to Mister Leonard?”
“Yes, please, if he’s in.”
“He is. Hold on.”
A few seconds later, “Elizabeth, how are you?”
“Fine, Mister Leonard, thank you… I’ve a, uh, friend that needs a lawyer.”
“What’s your friend’s name?”
“Lipensky.”
Writing on a yellow, legal size pad, “LIPENSKY?”
“Yes. Mitchell Lipensky.”
“He’s there now, with you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why don’t you let me speak to him, Elizabeth.”
“Mitch…” motioning with the phone, “Mister Leonard wants to talk to you.”
Standing, his eyes still on Elizabeth, taking the phone, “Mister Leonard, good morning.”
“Morning, Mister Lipensky. What action are you pursuing?”
“What action?”
“Yes. What do you want an attorney for?”
“A, uh…” finding it hard to say the word, “Divorce.”
“Have you spoken to another lawyer about this?”
“No. This happened just this morning and you’re the first, uh, only one.”
“Where do you and Mrs. Lipensky live?”
“Des Plaines.”
“Any children?”
“Yes, sir; three.”
The line silent a moment, “Will your wife contest this?”
“I don’t know, sir. But she threw me out again and told me she wanted a divorce.”
“Again? This has happened before?”
“Yes, now’s the third time.”
“Mister Lipensky, can you afford an attorney?”
“I’ve talked to Liz, uh Elizabeth,” still looking at her, “and she said you were very fair.”
“Mister Lipensky,” Leonard asked again, “can you afford an attorney?”
Holding his hand over the mouthpiece, “He wants to know if I can afford him,” he whispered to Elizabeth.
Nodding her head affirmatively. “Tell him yes.”
“Yes, sir, I can.”
“Hold on, Mister Lipensky, I’ll switch you back to Ida for an appointment.”
“Thank you.”
The line silent… “Mister Lipensky.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Looking through the appointment book. “How’s this Friday, the twenty-second look to you at, uh, noon?”
His stomach jumping, feeling a fathomless sadness, Friday? My God, he thought, this is really happening! “Friday?” Shrugging his shoulders, nodding his head, “Sure,” he said softly, Friday’s fine.”
“Okay then,” Ida said, “we’ll see you at noon on Friday.”
“ Yes, ma’am… Bye.”
Standing closely, “You sure this is what you want, Mitch?”
Smelling the scent of Elizabeth’s cologne, sensing the heat of her body, “I love you, Lizzie.” His arms about her waist, “I want to be with you.”
“I want you with me, too, honey. I love you, Mitchie.”
His arms tightening, “I love you!” His mouth on her mouth, the kiss hard, impassioned.
“Mitchie,” feeling the passion, sensing her mounting passion, “you want to go to bed, Mitchie?”
Yes, Liz. Please, let’s go to bed.”
****
Prolonged foreplay out of the question on this day, unable to hold back, his penis entering the trimmed triangle of dark blonde pubic hair, stopping a moment to gaze at the sight of the woman beneath him, at her face, at the spread of her naturally laying breasts, “I love you, Liz.’
Lying beneath, her thighs open to him, her eyes half closed, the light color of her nipples turning a deeper shade. “Me too, honey,” Elizabeth said, moving her pelvis upward.
Feeling the warmth, feeling the heat…
“I love you.”
Moving deeper…
Moving in cadence…
The only sound their movement and the ragged sounds of breathing.
Her thighs now widely spread from side to side…
Meeting his thrusts…
Her breath catching…
Her thighs now tightening about his waist…
“Oh, God!”
His eyes tightly shut, his mind going to a much thinner, darkhaired woman…
Oh, my God!
He was with Marsha, within Marsha…
“Oh, my God!”
Dropping onto her chest, her breasts now melding onto his chest.
His mouth going to her mouth…
Tongues moving in cadence with the short, pumping motion of hips and pelvis…
Oh, God!
Her eyes tightly shut, with one hard, final upward pelvic motion, Elizabeth stopped all movement.
And other than the hard, spasmodic pulsing, so did Mitchell.
Opening her eyes, “Mitchie, I love you.”
Opening his eyes, expecting brown eyes, looking into the green eyes of this woman that…
Shaking his head, bringing himself back to reality, “I love you, Lizzie.”
During moments of release, as a sexual orgasm will momentarily relieve the pain of a headache or sore tooth, immediately after, so then does the pain return.
On this day, however, his mind in turmoil, there was not even a momentary release of pain for Mitchell Lipensky.
