The Doorbell Test was over.
I thought the hardest part had already happened.
I was wrong.
Over the next few days, my inbox filled with emails from Claire, my attorney.
Up until then, I was still thinking like a husband trying to explain what had happened.
Claire was preparing me for something else.
Litigation.
For the first time, nobody was asking who was right.
They were asking what could be proven.
Case File
Attorney Correspondence (Edited for relevance.)
Claire: They are alleging that you have a drinking problem and that you showed up drunk the other week. We knew that allegation was coming.
Claire: The doorbell cam footage isn’t anything major, but the text messages are bad. They do not make you look good and do nothing to discredit the drinking allegation.
Claire: Do not do this again. Assume that anything you put into writing or say to your wife can and will be used against you. Talk about logistics and ask for updates on your daughter. That’s it.
Claire: Your wife wants to amend the divorce petition to include drinking and adultery allegations.
Claire: Whether or not you have a drinking problem is somewhat besides the point. That is the allegation.
Claire: If the allegations are false, let’s create the facts we need to disprove them. I recommend taking a PEth test.
I read the email several times.
Not because I disagreed with it.
Because my first thought was:
What the fuck is a PEth test?
I looked it up.
It was a blood test that measures alcohol consumption over roughly the previous two to four weeks.
