One Hundred and Seventy Seven

Justin and his wife are in some kind of legal dispute.  I don’t know what kind, and apparently neither does he.   

He and Tatiana are both presenting their cases to a judge in Ukraine, but neither of them is in Ukraine.  Justin emails his answers to the judge’s questions from Canberra, and Tatiana emails her answers to her lawyer (Justin says he doesn’t need a lawyer) in Kiev from wherever she is.

I asked him if Tatiana is suing him for divorce, and he’s contesting it, but he wouldn’t say yes and he wouldn’t say no.  I asked him if he’s suing her for divorce, and she’s contesting it, and got the same (non)answer.  Perhaps this is due to some peculiarity of the Ukrainian legal system that I don't know about (Justin doesn’t seem to know much about it, either, which is why I keep urging him to get a lawyer).  Perhaps it’s due to the fact that he doesn’t seem to know what he wants.

He says he wants to stay married, and that’s why he makes lists of all the things he’s done for Tatiana - all the gifts he’s given her during their marriage - and emails them to the judge.  He also mocks her for making lists of all the things she's done for him - all the gifts she’s given him during their marriage - and emailing them to the judge.  Justin says the judge is too smart to be taken in by her ploy.  Can he really be this obtuse?  Of course he can.  Why should he be the exception?

I’m sure Justin wants to stay married.  Not because he loves Tatiana, but because he wants order in his life.  And Tatiana, after a bad first marriage, no longer believes in love and wants only order as well.

The greatest thing
You'll ever learn
Is how to love
And be loved in return.

Love is one of those things, like freedom or god, that people claim to believe exists, and want more than anything else; but few experience it, so most eventually settle for order.   

What does Justin want from me?  Why does he keep telephoning me from the other side of the world to tell me his problems?  Is it because he thinks I don’t judge him, the way Tatiana seems to?  But I have judged him, just as I have judged them all, and found them all not guilty by reason of insanity.