SHOCK
I was in for my annual physical – every August. This year it was being done by a new doctor. My old guy had retired. The new one was a young woman – Marian Wellner. She was a pert red-head, maybe early thirties. I was a little reluctant to have her do the physical. Part of it involved intimate physical contact, and I wondered about embarrassment.
Dr. Wellner’s nurse had done a lot of the preliminary things, like blood pressure, EKG, and taking stock of my ability to recall book, apple, table after a few minutes. I always worried about that one.
But this time I was worried about being basically naked with a young woman, an attractive young woman. I needn’t have worried. I was so worried that there was no chance of arousal. When we were done that part, she smiled at me and said, “Well, I bet you’re happy that’s done.”
“Yes. I am. Thanks.” I smiled back at her.
The remainder of the exam was routine. My blood work was great, and everything checked out.
As we were about to part, she asked, “You have three children?’
“Yes. Two boys and a girl.”
“Did you adopt?”
“No.”
“In vitero?”
“Why have you asked?”
She flushed. “Well, I’m new and I went over all your records before this meeting.”
“Oh.”
“You…well never mind. Thanks for being so prompt.” She was flailing.
“You need to explain, Doctor. It’s my body.”
“Mr. Miller, you have a condition. You’ve been infertile since birth.”
Mr. Miller – that’s me Ted Miller. “Oh.”
“No one told you?”
“No. Please make copies of all my medical records.” I was now about as shocked as it was possible to be.
“Sure. Sorry. I should have kept quiet.”
“No. Not at all. Apparently too many people have kept quiet.”
I got the records in about thirty minutes. Meanwhile, I thought about it. I was forty-eight. I had been married for twenty-six years, to Melissa. We have three children, Brad, twenty-four, Mary, twenty-two, and William, twenty. At least I thought we had three children.
Brad was married, with a son on the way. Mary just graduated from college and William was a rising junior. I wondered who their real father was. But, as I considered it, I found that I was unconvinced about what Dr. Wellner had said. All three looked somewhat like me. Somewhat.
When they brought the records, I took them to my office and scanned them all. I looked at various possibilities for checking what she had said. I called a college buddy of mine who was a doctor in New York. He called me back in an hour. He was Mark Madden, a urologist. Close enough.
I said, “Hi, Mark. I need a consult. But not in person. And I need strict confidentiality.”
“Tell me about it.” I did.
“Email me the records, and I’ll go over them this afternoon.”
“Done, and please send a bill. The favor is doing it quickly.”
He called me back at three-thirty.
“Ted. You had a condition at birth which caused infertility. I assume that you have not done anything about it.”
“Didn’t know about it.”
“Well, then, when you were born, and diagnosed, there was nothing to be done. In the last ten years, we have a method for helping.”
“Can you send me a primer on that, Mark?”
“Sure. I’ll email it to you in ten. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, Ted. Don’t you have kids?”
“Yes. Well, I thought so.”
“Oh. Oh. I see. Good luck with that.”
I hung up from that call and made a call to a DNA lab. I arranged for them to send me some kits – that day. They arrived at five o’clock.
I stuffed them into my brief case and started home.
My youngest, William was still home from school, and would leave the next week. As I considered it, it seemed to me that testing one of the kids was enough. Will was home when I got there, reading in the living room. Melissa was cooking. She usually got home early from her job, selling real estate, through an agency owned by my older brother Robert. I smelled fish. Cooking, that is.
The three of us ate crusted cod and a salad. Good food. I believe Mel noticed my reticence, but Will maybe not.
Mell is also forty-eight. She’s gained not a pound since college, where we met. She has dark brown hair and eyes, like me. She’s 5’8″, 130, and quite pretty.
As Mel and I were cleaning up, I filched a glass that Will had used at dinner. Later I took it upstairs and rubbed the rim with the swab I had. Then I went to Will’s room and got some hairs from his brush. And I swabbed the neckline of a t-shirt in his dirty clothes basket. Also, his sneakers. I swabbed my cheek, sealed all the stuff into envelopes and stuck it in my case.
Will went out that evening, and when he left, Mel asked me, “What’s going on with you, Ted? You’re subdued. You had your physical. Is something wrong?”
“Nope. Healthy as ever. I guess I had some nerves about the new doctor.”
“How was she?”
“Good. Pretty. I was nervous, you know.”
She laughed. She had an infectious laugh. “You didn’t get hard, did you?”
“No. Too nervous. About getting hard.”
“Well, I see her next week. I’ll ask her. Just to check.”
“Uh huh.” I walked away.
That night she wanted sex, and I told her that I was not feeling so hot. She accepted that, somewhat gracefully. Me turning her down was unusual.
The next day I took the DNA samples to the lab myself. I paid for a quick turnaround. They said they’d have something by Friday – two days.
I went to work. I’m a lawyer for an investment bank. Basically, I run the in-house team of six other attorneys. We’re located in D.C. – close to the regulatory action. I’ve been at this work for twenty-two years, and I make a very good living. I also have stock options that, if cashed in, would be worth a very tidy sum.
I confess that I was distracted at work. Nevertheless, things that needed to be done were done. I had bicycled into work and I biked back. The exercise, I thought, would calm me down.
Mel was not home when I got there at six. She’d left a note that there were sandwiches and a salad in the fridge. She was going to a showing, and then maybe for a girl’s night out. I normally wouldn’t have thought much of this. She did do both of those things with some regularity. But now, no trust at all. I ran a phone locator on her phone. It wasn’t at a nightclub. It was at a motel out by the Fairfax line.
I ate, and spoke to Will some about school coming up. He was looking forward to it. The summer had been only okay for him. He worked at a bike repair shop, and made decent money. Bu he’d broken up with his girlfriend, Lisa, and was a little down.
I went to bed early. Mel got in at eleven, and slipped int bed soon after. No shower. But she shied away some when I tried to snuggle. I was doing it to see what she’d do. I knew she’d been cheating – just not with whom. I was not about to try to have sex with her.
I got up early the next day and biked to work again. I showered up there, and started right in. It was a busy morning. At one, I got a call from the DNA lab. The emailed me a report. But over the phone the tech told me that the Will samples belonged to my nephew.
I almost fainted. I had one sibling – Robert. He was three years older than I. All through my childhood, he’d helped me out. He and I were about the same size – 6′ and medium build. He was a good athlete in school, and played basketball at his university. He wasn’t a star, but he played.
He got out of school and went right into selling real estate. He did well, and started his own firm. He married Glenda Wilson, his college sweetheart, and they had three children. All three were out of college and working.
About four years ago Melissa went to work for his firm. She had been doing substitute teaching until then. I made good money, and she didn’t have to work. But Will was old enough to see to himself after school, and she wanted something more interesting. That’s what she said, anyway.
At this time, I had absolutely no faith in anything she said.
After I got the DNA news, I sat and pondered what could have happened. All three of my kids had birthdays in late September. I calculated back from than and would up at about Christmas. When Mel and I decided to have a family, she went off the pill. We tried for a couple of months before the last Christmas before Brad came along. There was a big family gathering at Christmas, as usual, and Rob and his family were there. And I recalled that after Christmas for that year and many after that, Mel and her friend Linda Green went off on a week long ‘meditation retreat.’ They’d leave on Boxing Day and return on New Years’. Some years they stayed an extra week. The retreat was supposed to have been at a facility up in the West Virginia mountains.
When Brad came along, Mel did not go on the retreat the next year. But the year after, she did. Mary came along that next September.
When Mary was nursing, no retreat. But when she was fifteen months, Mel and Linda went again. Will came along the next September.
The retreats continued for a number of years. I thought about it. They stopped when Mel went to work for Rob.
Linda Green had been Mel’s best buddy since college. She had taken a position with Rob’s new firm when he started it. So, the three of them worked together, and had for some time.
That weekend was when we took Will back to college. I rented a van and we had a nice two hour drive on Saturday. We ate lunch with Will, and helped him move into an apartment he was sharing with his good friend Mike Watson. After that, Mel and I waved goodbye and drove off.
I confess that, when it was only the two of us, I went tight lipped. Eventually Mel noticed.
She said, “What? You haven’t said two words to me.” She looked worried.
“I have a lot on my mind, Mel. A lot. Not something I’m going to discuss now.”
“So. A mystery. Ted, you aren’t lying about the physical, are you?”
“No. Leave it, Mel. That’s my best advice for now.”
For the rest of the ride – about an hour – we didn’t say much. I dropped her off and returned the van. I went to a local bar, had a beer. Thought more.
I couldn’t see any way that Mel had done some medical procedure to get pregnant by Rob. That meant only one thing. They’d fucked. Repeatedly, and for years. It was probably Rob that Mel had met at the motel.
As I was sitting in the bar, all at once, I was as angry as I’d ever been. You know how they talk about seeing red. It seemed that way. Everything I looked at had a strange tint to it. I frightened the bar tender, a young woman. I tossed a ten on the bar and walked out. I had a couple of friends that I’d play cards and tennis with. Ned Barth was my closest buddy. I drove over to his house. He and Mel had never gotten along well. His wife Sadie was not close with Mel at all. Their kids were also gone to school. So, when I rang the bell, Sadie answered. Ned was right there.
Right away they saw that I was in bad shape. Ned had a small gym in a garage out back.
I said, “I need to use the bag, Ned.” Ned and I did self-defense courses at a small gym near our house. I knew he had the bag, because I hit it once a week.
“Sure.”
He and I went out back. I put on some gloves, and I went at his heavy bag like my life depended on busting it. Ned just watched. After the initial frenzy, I was more systematic about it. And I went on hitting and kicking until I dropped.
Ned picked me up and helped me toward his house.
I fell onto a chaise lounge on his deck. Sadie brought me some water.
When I was a little recovered, I started to sob.
Ned asked, “Is someone dead, or hurt?”
“No. Not yet.” My sob turned into a growl.
The two of them were smart enough to let me be. After ten minutes, Ned brought a beer. Sadie sat down next to me.
She said, “Now you’ve done all that, you have to tell us.”
I made them promise to keep mum. The I laid it all out for them.
Both of them were appalled. Ned said, “How…I mean without telling you. And – your parents must have known.”
“I thought of that. The medicals from when I was a kid were plain about the condition. They knew.”
Sadie, said, “What are you going to do?”
“Dunno for sure. Not take it lying down.”
“Please don’t go off like you did on the bag. Jail is not a good place.”
“I won’t. I guess I better go on home. She’ll be worried, and I want to avoid a confrontation. For now.”
I drove back to my house. Mel was right at the door.
“Where have you been? I was so worried.”
“I stopped for a beer, and met Ned. I went to his house to do some bag work. Sorry, I should have called.”
I went up for a shower and we had a light meal. Sunday, we went for a picnic in the local park, and did some roller skating. But neither night did we have sex. Mel seemed disappointed Sunday, and perplexed.
I was up early and off to work without waking her. I made an appointment with a lawyer in the next building, and I went to our bank. I also visited HR for my firm, to switch direct deposit and the beneficiary of my retirement account, (That turned out to be difficult.)
The lawyer let me know about divorce in our state. But she – Millie Stanton – also said that I had been defrauded by my wife and brother. Maybe I could use that.
I had her draw up the divorce petition, with alternate grounds. But she wouldn’t have Mel served until I gave her the go ahead.
That night I put a tracking program on Mel’s cell phone. It was on my plan, and I could get her texts, and the numbers she called. I also dropped three small sound recorders at my house – kitchen, bedroom and living room. One went into her car.
I asked Mel to make arrangements for a cookout at our place, with Rob and Glenda – Friday night.
Monday and Tuesday I stayed late at work, telling Mel that there was a big matter for me to handle.
Wednesday, I went home on time. We had a nice dinner and I put on a good face. No sex, though. Mel was obviously disappointed.
Later I downloaded all the material from the recorders and checked her phone. When Mel went to sleep, I listened. I didn’t have very much to go over. No one was home in the daytime, and Mel didn’t talk to herself.
She had one call to Rob’s cell, and one to my mom’s. My mom was widowed five years before. She was seventy-eight and lived about thirty minutes away, in the house where I grew up.
The call to her came first. I heard Mel’s side.
“Mom, have you heard from Tim lately?” Pause.
‘Well, he seems off. He had a physical, and since then he’s off.” Pause
“I don’t know. Just checking. Okay.”
The call to Rob was next.
“Rob, it’s Mel.” Pause.
“No, we can’t do that this week. You guys are coming over Friday. And Tim is acting funny.”
Pause. “I don’t know. I can’t see any way he knows anything.” Pause. “Look, we’re careful, and anyway, I believe he got bad news from the physical.” Pause. “Okay. See you babe.”
The substance of that conversation was the effective end to my marriage. They were still at it. It had occurred to me that, at first, they may have thought they were doing me a favor. But, really, no matter what they thought, I was going to punish them as much as I could.
Rob and Glenda arrived ay six-thirty on Friday. Mel and I had a meal cooking – grilled burgers and fries, salad. While we were doing that, I studiously ignored Mel. She noticed, but said nothing.
When the doorbell rang, she looked at me and said, “I hope you’re not going to be in a bad mood all night, Tim.”
I said nothing, and answered the door.
Rob and Glenda greeted me. Glenda gave ma a hug. Rob started to do the same, but I turned away.
I got them drinks – beer for Rob, white wine for Glenda. We sat around on the patio – all four of us.
I said, “I’m divorcing you, Mel. You’ll be served the divorce petition Monday. Rob, I’m suing you for back child support for all the years I raised and paid for your children’s upbringing.”
Mel started sobbing. Rob got up and stood over me.
“You jerk. You jerk. I’m gonna fuck you up!”
Glenda was staring. Rob tried to hit me as I sat on a porch chair. I shoved backward, away from him, and flipped off over the chair. I stood up and said, “You’re pissed? You hypocritical asshole. C’mon. Let’s do this.”
He snarled at me and charged, swinging. I went under his fist, and punched him in the gut. He was not nearly as fit as I was. The punch cost him his breath. No matter. I hit him in the gut again. I didn’t hear the screaming from Mel.
I kept hitting Rob until he sagged onto my shoulder. Then I kneed him in the balls, and dropped him onto the patio.
I turned. Glenda had risen, but was only staring at Mel as she rushed to Rob’s side. He was conscious, groaning.
Mel looked up at me, “You had no reason to hurt Rob. None. You’re a savage. You might have killed him.” She was still sobbing.
“I still might. And you’re not safe either. You conniving bitch.”
Mel turned white at my threat. She slowly backed away from Rob.
I snarled at her. “Pick this piece of shit up and get him out of my sight. You have maybe a minute before I do him for good.”
Mel tried to get Rob up. She had trouble with his dead weight. She looked at Glenda.
Mel said, “Help me with him, Glenda.”
Glenda had recovered some. She just said, “No. The two of you are on your own. I agree you’re a bitch.”
Mel pulled Rob up onto a patio couch. She got him into a fireman’s carry and disappeared into the kitchen, staggering.
I looked at Glenda. “You didn’t know?”
“No. No. I had some suspicions about Rob over the years. But not about Mel.”
“I believe they’re still at it. Maybe she’s fucking some other guys as well. I don’t know.”
I heard the garage door go up. I walked inside and peered out the front door. Mel had Rob in the passenger seat of her SUV. She drove off.
Glenda came inside. She was a nice-looking woman, blonde, forty-six. She was dressed well for the dinner party. But she was crying, and her make-up was not looking so good.
I looked at her. “More wine?”
“Nah. Can you explain all this to me?”
I did. She sat at the kitchen table. When I got to the post-Christmas retreats, Glenda said, “Rob always went off for a winter ski trip then. I hate skiing. I stayed home with Mark.” Mark was her son.
I said, “I wonder where they really went.”
She replied, “Who cares? This is all too much for me.”
“I’m sorry, Glenda. I thought you knew.”
“Are you divorcing, for real?”
“Sure. Never a doubt.”
I told Glenda that she could stay over, sleep in the guest room. She accepted. Then we started talking about the past, and when and where Rob and Mel might be getting together now. I had played her the tape of Mel’s call to Rob. It left little doubt that their affair continued to this day.
At ten o’clock we ate burgers. We talked some more about practical stuff, like where we would all live. I had a line on an apartment near work. I assumed that Mel and I would split the money, including the house proceeds. For right now, I was staying here.
Glenda decided to go upstairs to bed. I followed her, to see about the guest room. It was ready to go. I got her a towel, and a toothbrush. As I was leaving, she said, “I always liked you, Tim. I never liked Mel much. She seemed to think I was on some lower level. I guess I know why, now.”
I waved to her and closed the door.
The next morning, I was up and about. The police hadn’t come for me. My guess was that neither Rob nor Mel wanted any public report.
I asked Glenda what she intended to do. She said she’d go to her mother’s house until Rob vacated theirs. I gave her my lawyer’s email address, and told her to see her for some insight. Her car was still there. I asked if she wanted me to accompany her to get more of her things. She did. So, I got a pistol out of my gun safe and followed her car over to their house. Mel’s car wasn’t there.
Glenda and I went inside. No one was there. I began to wonder how badly I had hurt the asshole. I hoped he’d been admitted to some low life hospital where he’d get a C-diff infection and die from dehydration. Or whatever.
Glenda sat down. She said, “I wonder where they are.”
“Let me check.” I ran the phone locator again. As I did, I wondered why Mel hadn’t noticed it the first time. This time her phone was at Cambria Hospital. I called the hospital and asked if Rob was there. I was told that he had been admitted.
I let Glenda know. She decided to stay at her house and change the locks. So, I went to Home Depot and got a bunch of new hardware. Some for her, some for me. I spent the morning installing hers. I gave her the keys, and left her there. But I was feeling sorry for her, and I told her I’d like to come back. She agreed. She said she’d cook.
I finished changing the locks at my house, and had extra keys made for me and Glenda. I got back to her house at four o’clock. As I walked in, I had a call on my cell phone. It was from Detective William James. He wanted to speak to me.
I said, “I’m at 204 Western Street. Mrs. Glenda Miller is here as well.”
“She’s the other witness? The victim’s wife?”
“He wasn’t a victim, Detective. And yes, that’s who she is. Are you coming over?”
“I can be there in fifteen minutes.”
He was a light complected African-American, short and wide. He wore a nice suit, and had expensive loafers on.
Glenda let him in the front door, and he introduced himself.
Then he asked, “Are you two…cozy?”
She said, “No. It’s our spoused who’re screwing. Not us.” Then she looked at me. “Yet.” She said it flat, like it was going to happen.
James stared at her, then at me. He said, “Maybe you’ll get lucky, man.”
I said, “Maybe.” Looking at Glenda. She did not look away. I didn’t think it was the best approach to the police interview.
James said, “I’d like to speak to Mrs. Miller first.”
Glenda ushered him back to the rear patio, and I saw him start the recorder on his phone.
They spoke for almost twenty minutes. Then Glenda came inside, and waved me out to the patio. As I passed, she whispered. “I meant that.”
Her open proposition was a true distraction. I’d aways liked her, and liked her looks. But I wasn’t one to stray. Yet.
The detective told me he was recording, and had me go through what happened. I started with the discovery that my kids were really Rob’s, and that I’d only found out lately. I described the Friday dinner, and his reaction. I also described our fight. I was as accurate as I could be.
When I was finished, he asked, “How did you find this out?”
“I don’t want to discuss that. Suffice it to say that no one snitched. It was happenstance.”
“Okay. Well, Mr. Miller, your account jibes pretty well with those of the wives. I haven’t interviewed your brother yet.”
“Why?”
“Because after I spoke to your wife, it seemed like he was the aggressor, and you responded. And he isn’t in very good shape now. He’ll have to stay a day or so for tests.”
I asked, “Testes tests?”
He stared hard at me. “Not really a joke. The knee to the balls is the one thing that might get you in trouble.” But then he turned away and smiled.
“What happens now?”
“I write this up, and send it to the Commonwealth’s Attorney. She decides. I will speak to your brother.”
Detective James rose and I walked him into the house, where Glenda joined us as we walked to the front. As he left the doorway, he turned and looked at us. “I hope you two have a nice evening.”
Then he walked off to his auto.
Glenda closed the door. She stood directly in front of me, tilted her head up, and slightly to the side. She said, “Dinner is a heavy salad in the fridge. No rush.” She said it in a voice that left no doubt what she wanted from me. I don’t know how women do that.
I kissed her. It was an open invitation, and I saw no reason to turn her down. She melted into me and our kisses took us to a couch. She pulled me down onto her. She was frantic, and I responded.
I stood up and over her as I stripped. She shucked her dress. She wore no bra, and her panties were nothing but a thong. Later I thought that she had planned this out, and dressed for seduction. It sure worked out well. She grabbed my cock when it came out, sank to her knees and started licking it, sucking it, squeezing it. I growled.
I picked her up and put her onto the couch. She spread her legs for me and pulled her thong aside. She said nothing, just groaned as I entered her. It was not loving sex. It was pure lust. I pumped into her over and over, bringing her to several orgasms. Then I could hold out no longer, and I shot my load deep into her. She was grunting as she pushed back at me.
The we were finished. I rolled off her, and she got slowly up. She took off her thong. It was pink. She handed it to me. She said, “A souvenir. Of our first time.” She smiled at me. She was a total slut then. I approved.
She took my hand and led me to the kitchen. We had dinner and went upstairs. She said, “I know maybe what we’re doing is some rebound thing. But that’s okay with me.”
“Me, too.” I rubbed her clit as I fucked her from behind. Then we showered up and fooled around until I got erect again. When that happened, she mounted me and rode me for quite some time. She had a series of rolling orgasms. I started sucking on her tits, which were bigger than Mel’s. More sensitive, too. She had a massive orgasm when I sucked on them. I did as well.
At that point, our middle-aged bodies needed sleep, and got it. I woke up first. I was in the master bedroom shower soaping up when she came in with me. That resulted in anther bout. We soaped each other up and dried each other off. Then we got each other off.
Then we showered again. And had some breakfast. It was Sunday. We both wondered what was going on with our spouses. But neither was a church person.
I checked Mel’s phone location. She was at my mother’s house. That only reminded me that I had to have a discussion with my mother, who had likely had some role in my cuckolding.
I brought that up with Glenda.
She said, “I’m not really sure about any of this. You know, how it happened. Maybe it makes no difference.”
“It makes a difference to me if my mom had something to do with it. And I also need to speak to Mel. Maybe she went home and couldn’t get in. But she has made no effort to see me or communicate.”
“Probably they’re getting their stories straight.”
“I’m heading over there. You wanna come?”
“I always want to come. I’m a natural slut. You’ve brought hat out in me.” She laughed.
“Are you going with me to my Mom’s?”
“Yes. Why not? We can make it obvious – what we’ve done.”
“Yeah. What good is revenge sex if the cheaters don’t know about it?” We both laughed.
We pulled up ay my Mom’s house – Shirley Miller. Mel’s car was there. Glenda and I went onto the porch, and my mom opened the door.
“Go away, Tim. You hurt Rob.”
“Rob needed to get hurt. Anyway, he tried to punch me. I’m here to find out how much you had to do with this. If I turn around and leave, I won’t be back – ever.”
She let me in. Glenda followed me.
Mel was sitting in the kitchen. She saw me, and then she saw Glenda. She knew right away.
She said, “You bitch. Didn’t wait long, did you?”
“No. Why should I wait. Your boyfriend can’t get me off anymore. But your husband sure can.”
Mel got up fast, but I dragged her away. My mom yelled at us to stop.
She looked at me and said, “Tim, you may have screwed everything up when you went with Glenda.”
“No. I’m a free agent now, and so is she. I guess Mel and Rob have always had that. Me and Glenda have a lot of catching up to do. We had a good start.”
Mel said, “You need to listen to me and your mom. We can….get things out I the open, and maybe heal.”
Tim looked back and forth between his wife and mother. “I’m listening.”
Shirley looked at Mel. Mel said, “We wanted children – you and me. But when we started to try, you mom told me you were….sterile. No kids. You didn’t know.”
Shirley said, “But I had a solution – Rob. Rob could get Mel pregnant, and you’d never know.”
I said, “And you decided this without mentioning it to me.”
Shirley said, “Your father wanted to talk it out amongst all of us. He was overruled. It was three to one.”
“Yeah, the two cheaters and you against Dad.”
“We priced out various methods. Medical ones. They were all too expensive and time consuming. And…. You’d have to know you were raising Rob’s children.”
Mel said, “So we reluctantly decided to….do it the natural way.”
I said, “And you lied and snuck off and fucked for a week. Two weeks once. And you had a great time, right, Mel?”
She looked down. She said, “Once we got over the initial…hesitance, I did have a great time. I won’t lie about it. And it worked.”
I said, “Worked all three times. And you looked forward to your times with Rob.”
Mel said, “Yes. I did. He’s a good man.”
Glenda said, “Oh, is he? What about me, bitch? He lied and fucked around on me.”
Shirley said, “We decided you might not agree.”
Glenda scowled. “You were absolutely correct. I wouldn’t have agreed then, and I don’t agree now. You’ve caused at least my divorce. I bet Tim’s, too.”
Mel said, “No one needs to get divorced. Neither one of you knew squat, and you were both happy until now. What happened?”
“My physical. The doctor told me I’d been sterile from birth. I had DNA on William.”
Mel looked down. “Now you know it all, Tim. We can get past it. You love those kids. You love me.”
I said, “But Mel, the two of you just kept fucking. After three kids, you kept it up, until you went to work for his firm. And I bet you never stopped.”
Glenda growled, “Well, bitch? How many times have you and Rob fucked in the last year?”
Shirley stared at Mel. “Mel? Please tell me it isn’t so. Mel?”
“We fell in love. We were compatible – in bed and out. So, we kept meeting.”
I said, “Yeah, like last week at the Shady Pines Motel.”
Mel looked shocked. “Did you hire a detective?”
“Just ran the locator on your phone.”
Mel said, “We….we can stop. We will stop. It’s you I want, Tim.”
Glenda said, “I want him, too. You can go off with your big love interest. No going back.”
Shirley, who had been standing, sat abruptly on a kitchen chair. She didn’t look good. I said, “Mom, are you okay?”
She started crying. “What have I done. My God.”
Glenda said, “Secrets and lies only bring more secrets and lies. You should have let Tim know from the start.”
Mel said, “None of our kids would exist, then. So, maybe Shirley didn’t do so bad.”
I looked at Mel. “You’re missing the point, Mel. You and Rob and my mom have schemed and plotted and betrayed me. Looking back, my life seems like a big false façade. You’ve stolen my life from me. Hollowed it out. My whole life was a lie!”
I sat, too. A deep sadness filled me. Mel stepped to me. I pushed her away. I sobbed, “Never again, Mel. Never again.”
Glenda hugged me from behind. All of us were crying. Finally, I got up and Glenda and I left the others. No one followed us out.
When we got back to her house, we weren’t in the mood for much. I helped her weed the garden, and I mowed the lawn. We had lunch. We started talking after that.
I asked, “Glenda, are you sure about the divorce. I mean, you and Rob have been together….”
Glenda said, “Well, recall what you said about them taking away your life. I feel like that. I’ll see your lawyer tomorrow. We can go together. But I can’t see any way back. It’s been too long and too evil.”
I said, “That’s what I believe. I have to think about the kids. Will I…..I guess if there’s a divorce, they’ll have to know why. How do I tell them?”
“Call them. Or do an email and tell them to call.”
That’s what I did. I spent the afternoon writing an email to my three children. The gist of it, after I laid out the facts, was that they would always be my children. To me, they’d always be the people that I’d raised and loved. I sent it off, and told them all to call.
My cell phone beeped in just over an hour. It was my daughter, Mary. She said, “Dad, are you okay?”
“I will be. But what about you. It’s a lot to take in.”
“I only know I love you, and you’re my Dad, forever. I….I can’t think what to do about Mom. She….and Gram….how could they?”
“Gram thought she was doing me a favor. She didn’t know that the two of them were a permanent thing. Your Mom? I’ll never forgive her. Never. What you do is up to you.”
“I won’t know what to do for a while.”
“Well, in many ways I hope you come to some semi-amicable solution. I guess I hope that.”
“Yeah. A tough one. Well, I just wanted to talk to you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
We hung up. Two minutes later Brad called and we had a similar conversation. William called at eleven, when he had read the email. He was a little more withdrawn than the other two. He said, “I…when I was home and everyone else went to school, I saw some things about Mom. I passed them off. But I should have spoken to someone about it. I’m sorry, Dad.”
“No reason to mope. It’s over. You were in a tough spot, and you didn’t know about all this.”
We finished our talk in a few minutes. Will was not sounding good. He was close to his mother. Had been, at least. I wondered how much he really knew about her and Rob.
Glenda was out in her kitchen, looking through an old photo album. I joined her. There were all kinds of pictures of her family, growing up, and of mine as well. In a short time we were both sobbing.
She said, “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.”
“No, we have to face what’s been lost.” I put my arm around her, and gave her a big, friendly hug. We looked at more memories. Then we went up to bed. We slept together, but there was no sex.
We went to the lawyer Monday morning. Millie Stanton was not comfortable speaking to both of us at once. We insisted.
She was a large woman in her late fifties, with a fifties’ bouffant hairdo. Gray hair, but a no-nonsense attitude. I liked her, despite her hair.
She explained the basics of divorce in the state, and said that adultery was one ground for divorce, but not now favored. However, she said that our situation went way beyond normal. We worked out a plan to file for divorce, each of us, and for me to sue Rob for back child support. Millie wasn’t comfortable with Glenda being there for that, because Rob’s finances were bound up with hers. Millie said that she’d file something about that. Or she could wait to sue Rob until after the decree.
I asked to have Mel served at work, and at the same time as Rob. Wednesday was to be the day.
I took Glenda around to her bank so she could make some attempt to segregate their assets. That took a while, and we had a late lunch at Bersoni’s Italian. We got back to her place at four. I decided to roll by my house, and she came along.
No one had messed with the new locks. We went inside. She looked around, seeing again what had been very familiar to her for many years.
I turned around and she was right there, with that look. She said, “I want you to fuck me on her bed. Now. Please.”
I could only oblige such an earnest request. I simply picked her up and carried her upstairs. I tossed her onto the big bed in the master bedroom. She was laughing.
She said, “You’re such a brute. And strong. No way Rob could do that.”
She stood and stripped off her clothes, as I did. Naked, we collapsed back onto the bed. Then it went slowly. It was weird for me, at first. To be fucking another woman in this bed. But I got over it quickly when Glenda swallowed my hard cock.
She was a banshee. She rolled me onto my back and mounted me. And she just took what she wanted. She had an orgasm at the end that was so intense that she swooned, and I almost did, too, as I came up inside her.
We lay there after. Some time passed and she said, “That was so great. Taking the bitch’s husband on her own bed. It can’t get getter than that.”
I smiled and said, “What a vindictive slut you are.”
“Yes. And all to your benefit. Well…mine mostly. But you liked it.”
“Sure did. We’ve reached the apogee in revenge sex.”
Now she laughed. “Yep. All downhill from here.”
But, it wasn’t downhill at all. We fucked away the night, until we could go no more.
In the morning, before work, I made love to her. Gentle love. She was crying in the shower after, and so was I. But we dressed and went to work. Glenda took one of Mel’s work outfits. More revenge, I assumed. It was a little tight up top.
Mel called me at work. She said, “I need to get into the house to get stuff. I’m here at work in a ratty dress.”
“I can meet you at the house at six. Is Rob out of the hospital?”
“No. He has to have a procedure. You fucked him up good.”
“Where are you staying?”
“At your mom’s house. I’m in your old room. Ironic. Where are you and the bitch staying?”
“Here and there.”
“You have to give up one of the houses. What happens when Rob gets out?”
“Not my problem. Have you heard from the kids?”
“No. Did you…..what have you done?”
“I sent them an email account of what happened. And I spoke to them on the phone.”
“Oh, Tim. They’ll hate me. They haven’t called. None of them.”
“You know you deserve…….”
“Fuck you!” She shouted it. I disconnected.
I met Mel at the house at six. She was on time, an amazing development. She got out of her car, and I unlocked the door. She went upstairs. There was a scream.
“You fucked her on my bed. I can smell it. I can’t believe you’d do that.”
I walked up. I said, “She wanted to do it. Revenge for taking her husband. Not enough, if you ask me.”
Mel’s fury leaked out of her. She gathered some clothes, and I helped her carry them down. She had a bag for toiletries.
When she had loaded up, without noticing the missing garment that Glenda wore, she asked me, “Is there some chance we can….”
“No. None at all. I meant every word I said, Mel. We’re done.”
She looked deflated, but not surprised. She said, “I really did start out wanting a nice family, like any wife. It seemed the best way. But then it went off the rails. I apologize for that.”
“I do not accept that apology. There is nothing you can do to make up for having another guy’s kids, and cheating for years. Sorry doesn’t come close. And I don’t believe you are sorry.”
She got into her car and drove away. She was served at work the next day. Glenda had Rob served at the hospital.
My mom called after lunch. She said, “Tim, do you…did you have to be so quick with the papers? If you cool off, maybe things can settle back.”
“Not happening, mom. She’s been fucking fucking Rob all these years.”
“Tim!”
“Don’t ‘Tim’ me, mom. And remember who started this shit.”
“Oh, I remember. Until last week it worked out fine.”
I said goodbye.
I hadn’t decided what to do about her. After all, she caused all of it. Save us from do-gooders!
Rob got out of the hospital on Friday. He couldn’t go back to his house, because Glenda would kill him with his own gun. He ended up at our mom’s house. And Mel was there as well. I cared not a whit about them keeping on, even if it was in my old room – or his. But if my mom was allowing them to do it, she was dead to me.
I talked it over with Glenda. She and I decided to see what was what. I still had a key to the house. We waited until two am. I drove us over there, used the key to open the back door. I had a pistol, in case of attack.
Glenda waited downstairs while I snuck up and peeked into my old room. I believed that was where they’d be, because it had a double bed. Rob’s didn’t.
Both of them were there. I had my phone ready, and I snapped on the light to take a few pictures. There was screaming, mostly by Mel. She was naked. Rob was as well, but he had a big bandage around his lower rib area. He couldn’t move well. Mel just pulled up the covers.
My mom came running down the hall. She saw me.