The baseball season started with the Good Guys in disarray. Naomi was abusing substances, Mitch and Naomi were still living in the same apartment, as Mitch had to be there for his children until the divorce was settled. On the side, whenever he could, Mitch tried to continue a relationship with Adrienne, who along with Mandy was his main support system. Adrienne was an incredibly loving individual, and, as Mitch came to learn, was so ticklish that she made Naomi look like the latter wasnt ticklish, as he now regularly tickled the latter with her clothes off. Tickling was really the furthest thing from anyone's mind, but the team still used it as a means of letting off steam. The season started on a down note, as the Good Guys dropped three straight series to start the season, as with all the troubles, no one's head was really into baseball. When it came time for the first road trip, and for a while, Mitch took the children to trusted friends who had husbands, and who wouldnt let Naomi get at or harm the children. Not that Naomi cared, she was out drinking, taking drugs, and partying every night, and often didnt even bother to see the children while Mitch was away. The Good Guys returned to Paradise with an under 500 record for a ten day homestand, a welcome respite from the rigors of the road. On the Monday after they returned home, a terrible thing happened. Naomi had stoppped taking care of anything, so it was up to Mitch to feed the children and get them to the sitter's before leaving for the ballpark. That day, he had gone to the market to buy food, with the intent of getting home long before the children to make sure Naomi wasnt alone with them at any time in case she was drunk or strung out on drugs. Long lines at the bank and the market, and a traffic jam, made Mitch terribly late getting home, and he worried that the children would get home and be in the apartment with Naomi alone. When Mitch went to try his key in the door, it didnt work! Apparently, Naomi, strung out as she was, had called a locksmith while Mitch was out, and barricaded Mitch out of the apartment! What was worse, is he heard the children's voices inside the apartment, and knew they were in there with the strung out Naomi! He banged on the door and screamed: "You let me in there this instant, woman, or I swear!" "You'll what, big shot? Now you cant get at your children, father of the year! Go away, and leave us alone, you wouldnt want me to take something and be under substance influence where I could do something to the kids, would you?" Naomi said. "You touch one hair on those children's heads, and I swear to God I'll kill you, you fucking dirty whore!" Mitch screamed. "That's it, Iam calling the cops, and they can come here and arrest you, then you'll be out of our lives forever!" He shouted. Mitch pulled out his cell phone, and called the police, who were there in less than five minutes. "She's got my children in there and wont let me in, she s a drug addict, everyone knows about her, please get my children away from that mad woman" Mitch cried. One of the officers knocked on the door: "Ms. Watts, this is the Nassau police, please open the door. Your husband wants to see his children, he claims they are in danger" "The children are fine, and so am I, so just tell him to go fuck off, and while youre at it, you go fuck off as well" Naomi said . "Miss Watts, if you dont open the door, we will break it down. We dont want anyone to get hurt. Please open the door" The cop said again. "No, everyone just go fuck off" Naomi shouted. "Okay, Miss Watts, you have given us no other alternative, we are going to break down the door" The officer said. "Please make sure my kids dont get hurt" Mitch said. "We have to get in there, or she may hurt them" the cop said. With that, the cops got the super to loosen the door from its hinges, and then kicked it in. When they did, they restrained Naomi, who went to lunge at Mitch: "Search her purse and the apartment, look at her eyes, she probably has drugs here" Mitch said. The cops hit the jackpot, finding Cocaine, and pot in the apartment and Naomi's purse. "Okay, Miss Watts, you are under arrest for child endangerment, possession of drugs, and failing to cooperate with an officer. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you, let's go" The cop said. As he hugged his children, Mitch seethed: "Get that bitch out of my sight" As she passed Mitch, she spit in his face. "Okay, lets add assault to those charges, Miss Watts, let's go" Naomi was taken to the police station, where she was fingerprinted, booked, and thrown into a holding cell. With her one phone call, Naomi called her lawyer, but since he was also Mitch's lawyer, he referred her to another lawyer. Mitch worried that Naomi would pay a fine and try to get at the children, so he pulled some strings and managed to keep her in jail for 24 hours. With the arrest and drug possession, both the team and commissioner of baseball had the right to suspend her without pay, but, with the situation with the children, and the uncertainity, waited before taking any action. Mitch gathered some things for himself and the children, and went to stay at Adrienne's apartment for a while, while he sorted out what to do. He also managed to convince security at the ballpark to arrest Naomi on sight if she was seen there. The morning after the incident, Mitch filed for divorce, he wanted to make sure Naomi could not clean out the bank accounts or use money for drugs, etc. His lawyer told the judge that due to Naomi's problems, and the fact that she was mentally unbalanced, he only wanted to provide enough money so she would be able to pay her rent and buy food, which he would provide for her, so she would have nothing extra for drugs and alcohol. The judge took that into account, and granted Mitch's lawyer's request. It was uncertain whether Naomi would serve jail time for the drug possession. The Carribean laws were very tough on such behavior. For her own well being, the courts froze all of Mitch's and Naomi's assets so she could not withdraw money for drugs or booze. She could sell items in the apartment to get money, but she would be looked upon unfavorably in court if she did so. As for Mitch, he would manage on his paycheck, and would taken loans from friends if need be until the mess was sorted out.
The Good Guys tried to play baseball during this whole mess, but it was a distraction for Mitch and the whole team. Another problem was the children, who were "Missing mommy" and wanted to call and see Naomi. Mitch told the children that Mommy was sick, and needed to get well before they could see her. The team helped by not issuing Naomi's paychecks to her, and holding them until the mess was sorted out. It was touchy, but there was a loophole that said they had the right to do this since she had been arrested and charged, and had violated the game's substance abuse laws. The pressure on Mitch was unreal. A single parent with two small children whose mother was a child endangerer and drug addict, a star baseball player on the field who was expected to perform for the team and the fans, and living with his children with another woman who was not their mother or his wife until the nightmare got ironed out. Things were very dark, but perhaps this was the turning point, and the beginning of better things. What would happen next? Stay tuned.
The End
The Good Guys tried to play baseball during this whole mess, but it was a distraction for Mitch and the whole team. Another problem was the children, who were "Missing mommy" and wanted to call and see Naomi. Mitch told the children that Mommy was sick, and needed to get well before they could see her. The team helped by not issuing Naomi's paychecks to her, and holding them until the mess was sorted out. It was touchy, but there was a loophole that said they had the right to do this since she had been arrested and charged, and had violated the game's substance abuse laws. The pressure on Mitch was unreal. A single parent with two small children whose mother was a child endangerer and drug addict, a star baseball player on the field who was expected to perform for the team and the fans, and living with his children with another woman who was not their mother or his wife until the nightmare got ironed out. Things were very dark, but perhaps this was the turning point, and the beginning of better things. What would happen next? Stay tuned.
The End
