1 comments/ 24212 views/ 1 favorites Relentless By: PKOC The door banged against the coat rack as they walk in, eliciting a giggle from the tangle of bodies that was two coeds. One winter coat made it's way out of the mess and onto the rack, revealing a smiling blond for a brief second before she was swallowed by the much larger, green coated member of the pair. A few seconds later, the green coat lowers from the top down to show her bent slightly backwards under him for a kiss, as her hands run down his arms to push his coat off. She manages to grab the coat before it hits the floor, then breaks off the kiss for a second, to turn and place the coat on the rack. As she does, her partner pushes himself into her back, enfolding her in his arms and dragging his lips across her neck. Her head lolls to the right, and he draws back just a little before sinking his teeth into the tender flesh left exposed. Her hands drop to his thighs, clenching as she leans back into him. Breaking off from her neck, his hand slides up to entangle in her hair, turning her head to face him. His voice rumbles out, thick and deep with desires, "And just how d'u think we're going to get to your room at this rate?" She moans slightly as she peels herself away from him, then holds his hand behind her as she guides him down the hall. His eyes stayed glued on her ass as it sways down the hall, at one point she looks over her shoulder at him, grinning slightly when she notices what he's looking at. She stops at the very end of the hall, then bends over at the waist to take off her shoes. Hooking his hands in the waistband of her blue jeans, he starts pulling them down and off her rounded ass. Her thong slides into view, springing back into place from where it had been dragged down by the jeans, the tiny black T of fabric leading down between her firm cheeks. Straightening up, her jeans hanging just below her hips, thong still hanging out, she pushes open the door and walks into the room. Stepping out of his shoes, he follows, stripping off his shirt to reveal a black wife beater underneath. He throws the shirt across the room, landing it on the bed under the window, while she starts pulling out her earrings, leaving the large silver hoops on the little wooden nightstand in front of her mirror. Turning, he grabs her, his hands coming up to to press against her breasts, and then sliding down to her hips. He takes a deep breath, and presses forward with his chest so that she is forced to lean forward onto that little nightstand underneath the mirror. Her hands drop the earring and it clatters off onto the floor. She looks up at herself when the earring stops moving, seeming not to recognize the creature of lust reflecting back at her from the mirror, lips parted, eyes glazed over. His hands move slowly around her hips and back to her ass, thumbs sliding like twin fires underneath the waistband of her jeans. Slowly pulling the jeans down to her knees, he unzips and drops his pants while she steps from side to side, trying to loose her jeans the rest of the way. Before she finishes, his cock springs up, loosened when his jeans drop, and bobbing into place through the fly in his boxers. Her breath catches and her knees go weak as it rubs between her legs. His fingers qiuckly moved her thong to the side before they line his cock up. Running the head up and down her lips just a couple times to spread her out, he presses just the head in. Her eyes close, then burst back open while she moans as his cock starts a slow descent into her body. Her arms and neck tense, holding her in place while he presses all the way in. Finally her moan dies off as he bottoms out in her. She pants quietly for just a couple seconds before he starts. One quick slap to the ass, and then he's fucking her. Each thrust bottoming out, before pulling back until just the head teases her lips. Every moan expertly pushed from her lips as he pulls her hips back onto his cock. Soon enough she's getting loud, her blond hair bouncing as it frames her beautiful face from where she's looking up at him in the mirror. His hand slides up to grasp her hair, making sure to turn her face towards the door. Wanting her to know that her roommates can hear her, wanting her to know that the door was wide open on purpose. She doesn't say a thing, just starts biting her lip, crying out each time as he starts to spank her. His other hand comes down onto her ass with loud smacks. Pulling her head back around with her hair, he slows his strokes, changing the angle so that he's above her ass, driving down into her g spot and sliding across it on every stroke. His hands wrap under her, caressing her tits through her green tank top, the tiny strings holding it up stretching under the fucking she's getting. The moans she's making change to longer, lower notes with every thrust. Her legs start trembling slightly when he lets go of her nipples, then pulls her hips hard back into him, his fingers digging into her hips again.. She cries out sharply, and he smiles, knowing the roommates had to have heard that one. Pulling back hard again, he pistons harshly into her. Her feet almost leaving the ground with every thrust. As her moans get louder, he pounds harder, and soon, on an outstroke, he pulls back too far and pops out. She immediately trembles and collapses onto the nightstand, barely able to hold herself up. Grabbing her before she falls all the way, he deposits her on the desk. Listening to the breath coming between her parted lips, accompanied by slight moans, looking at her brow, still furrowed in almost painful pleasure, he decides she's ok. Ditching the rest of his clothing, and pulling off her thong as well, he steps between her legs, driving his cock back into her in one smooth stroke. Once again, her head lolls back, this time she's moaning in almost painful ecstasy as his cock rubs against her sensitive clit on the entire way in. Out of reflex, her legs wrap up and around him, the knee socks oddly out of place during such an aggressive fuck. Picking her up off the desk, he walks out the door. She starts struggling as he heads past the bathroom to the kitchen. It may have been 3:00 at nite, but that doesn't mean her roomates didn't ever getup in the middle of the night. In fact, one was notorious for fixing ramen noodles at odd hours. Ignoring her sweaty limbs rubbing against him, he sets her on a stool in the kitchen, leaning her back against the counter. She's forced to hold onto the counter to keep her balance, and he immediately rocks the stool back with his first thrust. She nearly yells as he takes her, her legs wrapped around him, not sure whether to pull him tighter or push him away. A primal rhythm soon reverberates through the apartment. The slap of skin on skin, the clump of the stool legs coming back down to rest, and her yelp of pleasure with each thrust. Looking down at his cock pistoning in and out of here she stares at where they're joined together. Pulling out of her again, he rubs up across the top of her slit, then down and back up into her, bottoming out in one quick push. Pulling back across her clit again, he smirks at her lust filled cry, and starts pounding again, almost as though he's trying to see if he can knock her off the stool and onto the ground. Her hands tighten on the countertop, each thrust pushes her sock covered legs up a little bit higher, making them bounce like a wobbleheaded doll. Tiring of waiting for the stool to come back to rest before he can thrust again, he picks her up, his body starting to show fatigue, veins lacing his biceps while her carries her to the couch. Throwing her down, he pulls her legs up and together, then crosses them at the ankles to make her tighter for him. Her pants change to moans as he lines himself up, and then to another long and loud moan as he bottoms out in her. The increased tightness seems to finally slow him down. Each stroke becoming increasingly erratic as her moans fill the room again. His body starts clenching, and he presses hard into her as he pulls her legs apart, holding each one behind the knee as he prepares to finish. When he pulls back she nearly screeches at him, her sensitive clit rubbing against him the entire way out. His hips reverse in a spasm and he sinks back into her. Another thrust and her hips are pushing up into his, even as her face clenches and her nails sink painfully into the forearms of the arms holding her legs. It sounds like he's stabbing her, but every time he sinks into her, her hips rise up to meet him. Soon enough his thrusts become out of control, both of their faces tense and he starts coming, pushing forward as hard as he can, his cock pumping deep inside of her. He pulls back a little bit, pulling another scream from her lips, then pushes back forward again. Each pulse of his cock causes her to moan from deep in her throat as she tries to come down. Each time his hips pull his cock out of her, she tries to push him off, but each time he pushes forward she welcomes him again. Finally convulsing slowly with all of his weight on her, the two bodies start to relax, until he's laying on top of her, her knees still up by her tits. Gently disconnecting from her, he disappears into the hallway, then returns after the sound of a shower starting reaches around the corner. He gently picks her up from where she lays, exhausted beyond her power to move, cum slowly leaking out of her. Carrying her like a precious heirloom, he heads towards the shower to clean her up for bed. -Will Relentless Thanks to the Hip and Knee doctor for editing assistance. There is no sex in this story. Sorry. * I was married for eighteen years and I still didn't know my wife. I guess it was my fault for not trying harder. We seemed to get along fine, but there was no real connection. I never felt that she was the love of my life, and I got this feeling that it was reciprocal, but we were compatible enough to have had three teenaged kids. I worked in a major auto insurance company claims department. It was an office job with nice benefits. In three years, I would have vested retirement benefits. We owned our own home, but the mortgage was more than the present appraised value. Noreen was a good spouse in all of the usual ways. Because of the three kids, she was a stay-at-home wife. The house was always clean, the clothes washed and ironed, and the meals cooked superbly. All of the house work must have been good exercise because she still had the same fine figure she had when we met in high school. Neither one of us was interested in college. We married a year after I joined National Consolidated Insurance. Noreen wanted to get away from her parents and be on her own. I wanted regular sex. Since we were comfortable with each other, it seemed like a good match. Unfortunately, there was no mad, passionate, storybook romance involved. The sex was always good. Up until now, I never felt that there were any problems between us, especially in that area. I guess I was wrong. It started at one of those God-awful company parties. I didn't dance, but Noreen did. I had no trouble allowing her full freedom, just so that she wouldn't bother me. I spent the evening sitting with a few of the other non-dancing spouses. The unmarried guys kept the wives and single girls busy on the dance floor most of the night. The only problem seemed to be that she danced more times with Dirk Franklin than I felt was necessary. He was a good dancer, but he was also a player with a big mouth. Several times during the night, I would lose track of Noreen for a few moments, but she always showed up again. It was not a real fun night for me, but that was the sacrifice that I made so that my wife could kick up her heels a little. The best part was the sex when we got home. A little bit of booze made a big difference in her bedroom performance. It made the time at the gathering more tolerable. That night was especially good. Monday morning at work, washed it all away. The first few hours were fine, but then I started to notice that several of the guys were glancing my way, and some were snickering. I paid a little more attention and discovered that Dirk was freely chatting about his recent conquest. Twice he looked my way and smiled, or should I say smirked at me. Dirk and I are not that close. I don't like the guy and I didn't appreciate what he was doing. It was just before lunch when I got to corner one of my more trusted co-workers in the copy room. "Barry, what the hell is going on with Dirk? If that son-of-a-bitch grins at me one more time I am going to clock him." "I'm not sure if it is true or not, John, but he is bragging to everyone that he hooked up with Noreen on Saturday night." "That's bullshit. There is no way that Noreen would let him get near her." "That's what I thought, but he has a pair of panties that he claims are hers. He is showing them to all the guys and even letting them sniff them." "How would he get her panties? It doesn't make sense." "John, he claims that she gave them to him after he did her in one of the hotel conference rooms." "Did you see them?" "Yeah. They were silk. Grey or silver color." "Thanks Barry. Don't say anything to anyone. I owe you one." If Barry had said the panties were red or black, I would have just laughed it off, but I had been there when Noreen got dressed for the party. She put on her favorite silver, silk lingerie set. I got the bra and panties for her, on Valentine's day this year. About twenty minutes later, I noticed Dirk heading towards the men's room. He had a lot of coffee this morning. I was right behind him. I wasn't big on playground talk. There was no way that I was going to confront Dirk and ask him, or tell him to stop spreading lies about my wife. For one reason, I was no longer sure that they were lies. If I did confront him, it would probably put him on his guard. I didn't want that. The simplest way to approach the problem would be to slam his head into the tile wall in front of the urinal. Because I was a gentleman, I waited until he was done and then slammed my fist square into his nose, as soon as he turned around. Something made a popping noise and I got blood all over my shirt. That pissed me off, so I hit him again while he was bent over, holding his nose. Dirk was a big guy, but he offered no resistance and made no attempt to defend himself or to fight back. I found the pair of silk panties in his pocket and gave him two hefty kicks to the crotch area. I noticed that he was throwing up as I left the lavatory. I left for an early lunch and when I returned, I found out that my employment with National Consolidated Insurance had been terminated. Dirk had been taken to the hospital. It took them less than twenty minutes to finish the outprocessing, and I was history. Today was grocery day. I was sitting at the kitchen table when Noreen pulled into the garage. I looked up as she walked into the kitchen with several grocery bags. "Hi, Honey. What are you doing home in the middle of the day? Are you sick or something?" I didn't answer as she placed the plastic sacks on the countertop. "Do you want to help me get the rest of this stuff in?" I still did not reply, so she went back into the garage. She returned with six more bags, but did not say anything as she set them at the end of the table. "Something is wrong, John. I can tell. Why are you home?" She started to empty the bags as she talked. "I got fired." "That doesn't make sense. Why would they fire you?" I sat there trying to figure out how to open the conversation. It is not a strong point with me. Finally, I just tossed the panties across the table to her. "Oh, God no!" Noreen sat down as soon as she saw them and put both of her hands to her head. "No! No! No! This is not happening." I watched my wife start to cry. Not a whimper or a wailing, but something in between. "They are covered in dried cum. Can you explain that to me?" The intensity of the crying seemed to increase after my question. She put her head down on the table and all I could hear was her quietly mumbling over and over: "No! No! No!" I waited patiently for almost a minute. My wife made an attempt to wipe the tears from her face and then looked at me. "I am sorry, John. Really sorry. It was a mistake. I had too much to drink and I made a mistake." "Bullshit. You weren't that drunk. You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you?" "No, John. You have to believe me. It was a mistake: a bad mistake. There is nothing between Dirk and me. Honest. I am really, really sorry." "If it was a mistake, why didn't you tell me about it when it happened?" "I didn't want you to find out. I didn't want to hurt you." "If you didn't want me to find out, why did you have to do it with the biggest blabbermouth in the whole company?" "He promised not to say anything to anybody." "Boy, are you stupid. He was letting every guy in the building sniff your panties this morning. Why were you dumb enough to let him have them?" "I didn't let him have them. I gave them to him so that he could throw them away. I had used them to wipe myself and couldn't put them back on." "What were you wiping, Noreen? Why did you use a pair of thirty dollar panties to clean yourself?" "John. I am sorry. It never should have happened." "Do you mean that I never should have found out about it, or that you never should have done it?" "Both. Damn it. I screwed up, John. What do you want me to say?" "What were you wiping, Noreen? You never answered me." "He didn't have a condom. He came in me. I had to clean it up and the panties were the only thing that was handy." "That's just swell. How am I supposed to react to that? Do you really expect me to say that I forgive you?" "No." "How about a reason? Can you give me a reason why you did it, and don't give that bullshit about being drunk? I don't buy that for a minute." "No. I wasn't that drunk. Dirk and I were having a good time all evening. He is a good dancer and a lot of fun. He knows the right things to say to a girl: things that make you feel good about yourself." "So the two of you just wandered off to one of the empty conference rooms and made mad, passionate love?" "No. It wasn't like that." "How was it?" "Don't make me do this, John. Don't make me talk about it." "Did you blow him, Noreen? Did you suck his cock?" "No, damn it. No. He pulled down my panties and bent me over one of the tables. He was inside of me less than a minute and then he came. I didn't get a thing out of it. He poked me and it was over, just like that. It took me longer to clean myself up." "That is what you have me for, isn't it?" "What do you mean?" "You know damn well what I mean. What is the first thing that you did when we got home? Tell me, Noreen. What did you get me to do when we got to the bedroom?" "No, John. That had nothing to do with what Dirk and I did. Honest." "We were no sooner in bed when you got on top of me for a sixty-nine. You just finished letting Dirk come in you and then you rub your dirty, hairy snatch all over my face. Was that the excitement that you were looking for and didn't get from Dirk?" "John. No. It wasn't like that." "Bullshit. You had a screaming orgasm while I was licking another man's seed out of your box. That must have really turned you on. It was bad enough that you screwed him, but you came home and then rubbed it in my face. You didn't shower first. You didn't even wash yourself. I am getting sick just thinking about it. Do you really think that I can forgive you for that?" "That wasn't it, John. I was horny as hell. Dirk gave me no satisfaction at all. You always do. All I could think about was getting home so that I could get you into bed. I wanted you, John. I needed you." "Sorry, but that is not how I see it." "John, you are making too much out of this. It was nothing. It means nothing. We can get past this." "Noreen, do you really think that it was nothing? I lost my job. I lost my pension. I lost my wife and I lost my kids. I guess it meant nothing to you, but it was everything to me." My wife just sat and looked at me as I got out of my chair. "I have to leave now. The police will probably be here shortly. I don't want to talk to them right now." "What are the police coming for? What else is going on John?" "I am afraid that I hurt your lover a little when I recovered your panties for you. That's why they fired me. I am sure that the police have a statement from Dirk by now. Hell, I might get to spend a couple of months in jail just so that you could have a one minute fuck. Thanks a lot, dear." "Where are you going? What am I supposed to do?" "I don't know where I will be. I loaded all of my stuff in the car while you were shopping. I'll call you later." She looked as if she was going to turn on the waterworks again. I turned before going out the door. "I am leaving it up to you to explain what happened to the kids. If you lie or slant the truth, I can guarantee that you will regret it." There was enough money in the bank accounts to last for at least six months. Before leaving town, I paid off all of the credit cards and cancelled them. She could spend the money any way that she wanted to or had to, but I did not want to see the plastic get maxed out. I was sure that she would take care of the kids. In a couple of weeks they would be out of school for the summer. I didn't know if that would make things easier for Noreen or harder. I had no idea what I was going to do when the money ran out. I wasn't even sure if I could collect unemployment or not, since I was fired for cause. The first night, I stayed with my brother in Schuylkill Haven. He had a small tree service and was more than willing to put me on under the table, until I could find something permanent. I moved into a small, one-bedroom, furnished apartment the next day, that included utilities. It even had a boot-leg cable hook-up. I had my phone turned off since I had left the house. I didn't feel like taking any calls, but I knew that I would have to talk to the kids sooner or later. Working for Robbie was easy, but not extremely satisfying. The other three guys were all skilled at tree climbing, as well as operating the cherry picker and stump grinder. My task was to function as a gofer for them. They seemed to appreciate the efforts and they were more than willing to teach me all the little tricks and skills. I kept busy and tried my best to forget about the problem with Noreen. The only thing that I knew for certain was that I would be filing for divorce as soon as possible. Terry was my oldest daughter. She was smart and cute as a button. In two months she would be graduating from high school and starting a dental technician program at the local community college. Brian would be going into the marines as soon as he finished school next year. Sal-Sal still had two years to go, and all she wanted to do was get married and have kids. At one time, she had wanted to be a teacher, but I think she outgrew that. They were all good kids. Brian ran cross-county because he felt it would help him build up endurance for his career in the service. Terry spent her down time as a candy striper at one of the local hospitals. I am not sure, but I think that Sal-Sal invented Twitter. If she didn't invent it, she damn sure perfected it. The only contact that I had with any of the kids was through Terry. I didn't feel comfortable discussing any of the family problems with Sal-Sal because she was too young and Brian didn't want to talk about it at all. Noreen sat the kids down as a group after I left. She told them why I was gone and apparently didn't hold anything back. Brian immediately left the room and was no longer talking to his mother. Sal-Sal just sat and cried. Terry was the only one of the three that was open to any sort of conversation concerning the separation. Noreen refused to give Terry an explanation for why it happened. She just related it, without elaborating. I filed for the divorce and things started to get nasty. Terry called to let me know that their mother had started going out in the evenings, several times a week. She was usually drunk when she came home. Terry said that it began right after the divorce papers were served. The kids were doing their best to avoid Noreen, but her actions were still having a bad effect on the family as a whole. There was no man involved, as far as Terry knew. Brian was not talking to his mother and Sal-Sal was spending all her time whining. Terry was the only one who was communicating with Noreen at all, and it was usually quite limited. I didn't like it, but as long as Noreen wasn't bringing guys home, I didn't feel that I should be sticking my nose into it. Things really turned to crap a week later. I was out on a job with Josh and Jimmy, two of the climbers. They were up top lopping off limbs and I was working on the ground feeding the chipper. Things seemed to be going fairly well until I was approached by two guys who pulled up in a dual-wheeled Dodge Ram. It was normal for people to talk to us while we were working. They usually were interested in finding out what we did and what the rates were. I always had a supply of Robbie's business cards in my shirt pocket for such occasions. As I handed a card to one of the visitors, the second one cold-cocked me to the side of the head. It was sudden, unexpected, and achieved the results that he was looking for. I was down on all fours, trying to clear my head, when they started working me over with their boots. There was no time to think, plan, or make any defensive moves. They had successfully immobilized me before I realized what happened. The best that I could do was to curl up in a ball and try to minimize the damage. I am not sure how long it went on, but it stopped as suddenly as it started. Josh was trying to get me to sit up. I focused my eyes, to the best of my abilities, and noticed that Jimmy was on his cell phone and the Dodge was leaving. I hurt like hell. The worst part was not being able to breathe. Every time I tried to inhale, a sharp pain shot across my right side. It was my first broken rib. It was then that I noticed that the bigger of the two guys was on the ground beside me. His head was a bloody mess. Jimmy and Josh noticed what was going on and tried to get down to help me as soon as they could. To speed things up a little, Josh lowered his chain saw by the tether rope and swung it at the guys kicking me. The dangling Stihl chain saw caught the bigger of the two guys along side of his head, and it looked as if he had lost an ear. His buddy wasted no time in getting the hell out of there. Even though the chain saw was not actually running, it left a hell of a gash in the 'baboon's' head. He started moving around after a few minutes and Jimmy gave him a good kick in the nuts. Other than the one sucker punch to the side of my head, all of the other damage was to my body. I just sat still without moving until the EMT unit arrived. I refused to ride in the back of the same ambulance unit as the guy who attack me, so the local police ended up transporting him in the back of the squad car. Robbie was at the hospital by the time that I got there. Goon number one had a bad gash on the side of his head. It didn't take his ear off, but it really mangled the hell out of it. I didn't feel that bad, but the doctor and Robbie insisted that I stay overnight. The cops grabbed goon number two in the Dodge Ram before he got five miles away. After enjoying a mediocre supper, I settled in for the night; but not for long. It was almost One AM when my cell phone started ringing. Who the hell would be calling me at that hour? If fact, who would be calling me at all? "Dad. It's Terry. We have a problem and we need your help." "I don't think I can help you right now, but what the hell is so important that you have to call in the middle of the night?" "Mom is in jail and somebody has to post bail for her." "What is she in jail for?" "She wrecked the car, and they gave her a DUI." "Is she all right? Did she get hurt?" "Not really, but the car is in pretty bad shape. She wiped out about six parked cars before hitting a fire hydrant." "Was she alone?" "Yeah. I don't know anything else. They won't release her until some sort of bond or bail money is put up. I didn't know what else to do, so I called you." "Terry. We have a small problem. I am not at home right now. I am in the Pottsville Memorial Hospital. I got hurt on the job today, and the doctor wanted to keep me overnight. I am Okay, but I can't leave. Maybe you should call your Aunt Sarah? She would probably be more than happy to help your mother." "What's wrong? Why are you in the hospital?" "I got two cracked ribs. They have me wrapped up like a mummy and I don't know if I can even drive. I'll be fine, so don't worry about me. I just need a few days rest." I didn't see any need to tell her how the accident occurred. She had enough problems of her own right now. "Is there anything that I can do for you?" "See if you can find out a little more about what happened to your mother. I am just a bit curious." Relentless "Okay. I'll call you tomorrow afternoon and see how things are going." Robbie gave me a ride to the apartment and stocked up the freezer with a bunch of microwave TV dinners. I told him to get me a couple of six-packs, but all I got was some RC Cola. I could get around enough to use the bathroom and feed myself. Unfortunately, I was forced to watch the Adam Sandler filmfest all day. Just before dark, Terry called. Noreen had been out drinking with some people that worked at National Consolidated. I thought that this was interesting since I didn't work there anymore. I had no idea that she had any friends of her own that worked there, other than Dirk. They were just starting to party pretty good when the police showed up and arrested Dirk. Noreen got extremely upset and started drinking more than usual. At closing time, she refused to call a cab or let anyone else drive her home. Terry could not find out why Dirk had been arrested or why Noreen went bananas when it happened. We talked for a few more minutes. Terry was glad to hear that I was home and that I was taking care of myself. They wanted to come up to see me, but didn't have a car. Sarah had bailed my wife out, but Noreen didn't come home. Terry gave me Sarah's phone number. "Sarah, It's John. What the hell is going on?" "Your wife is a mess, John, and it is all your damn fault." "Whoa. Hold up a minute Sarah. Why is this all my fault?" "You left her, that's why. You left her with three kids and just ran off. Who the hell do you think you are?" "Aw, come on, Sarah. You know me better than that. Why would I just get up one morning, quit my job, and leave my wife and kids? Does that make any sense to you?" "Noreen said that you were fired and that you were taking it out on her." "Did she say why I got fired?" "She said that you beat up a guy at work because she danced with him at a company party." "Sarah. She didn't dance with him: she screwed him. Right at the party. Did she tell you that?" There was a short pause. "No. She didn't tell me anything like that." "I didn't hit the guy for dancing with your sister. I hit him because he fucked her and then bragged about it to everyone in the damn company. She even gave him her panties as a token of her appreciation." There was no response from the other end. "Did she say why her boyfriend had gotten arrested last night?" "No, but she indicated that you had something to do with it." Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the apartment door. "Sarah, I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow." The policeman at my door was one ugly dude and he was also my brother. "Come on in Toby. It's always good to see family. Do you want a beer? " "Sure, anything cold is okay." There was a cold Fosters hidden behind all the cola that Robbie had brought. I had an RC because of the pain pills. "John, we got the guy that set you up down at the station. The two guys he hired to clobber you were more than happy to roll on him." "I assume it was Dirk Franklin?" "That's right. I guess you know him?" "He has been messing around with Noreen. I tried to convince him to stop, but I guess he wasn't inclined that way." "He has admitted to everything, so it will save us the expense and trouble of a trial. The judge will be sentencing him and his two buddies on Friday. I am not sure, but I am guessing he will get two to three years, probably right here in the county jail." "That is good news." Toby couldn't help snickering. "You are going to get some payback, aren't you, John?" "With the help from a few friends, I hope so." "You aren't going to get me in any trouble are you?" "It sounds like you are volunteering to help, Toby." "You would read it that way. I got to go. If you want to talk to this guy, he will be in the city lockup until the sentencing." "I'll stop by tomorrow morning. By the way, how is Sally? Are you taking care of my sister?" "I think it is the other way around. She is taking care of me. " The hardest part of getting to the police station was getting in and out of the truck. I didn't know which was worse: being trussed up like a mummy or not being able to bend my body. Dirk had a big smirk on his face when I entered the room. "Looks like you are hurting a little there Mister Esterly. Did you trip on a tree branch?" He seemed to enjoy the grimace on my face as I sat down. "Welcome to Schuylkill County, Dirk. This is my turf and I am going to see to it that you enjoy yourself while you are here." "I don't think so, John. I will be leaving here on Friday for a short vacation." "Was it worth it?" "Not for the pussy, but it was to see you wrapped up like a turkey. Looks like you lost your job and your wife. Was it worth it to you?" "I don't understand the question. I never did anything to you that you didn't deserve." "You should have just left it alone. I was the better man, and I still am." "I guess my wife felt that way too. Well, she is all yours now. I hope that you enjoy her." "Oh, I will. By the way, I enjoyed her three times since you left. One time, it was in your bed at home while the kids were at school. You really pissed her off when you served her with the divorce papers." The son-of-a-bitch was doing his best to aggravate me. If the judge decided to let him serve his time at a state prison, I would have a harder time paying him back. The District Attorney's office was on the third floor and the old courthouse building didn't have an elevator. Not exactly wheelchair accessible. It seems like one of the do-gooder organizations would have taken care of that by now. "John Esterly. I heard that you were back in town." Elizabeth Vargas graduated at the head of our high school class. She went to Penn State on a full scholarship and ended up with a law degree. She married the captain of the football team, who was the only guy in our class to go to the US Air Force Academy. It was a perfect match, except Captain Phillip Vargas went and got himself killed in an automobile accident before they were married ten years. The next five minutes were filled with chatter about the good old times. I felt awkward talking to her. She was one of the elite crowd and I was one of the background players. I smiled and tried to be polite. I was looking for a graceful way out. "Well, it has been nice talking with you Elizabeth. I recently moved back to town and heard that you were working here and I just wanted to say hello." With a sheepish smile I stood up to leave. "Sit down John." The polite chit-chat was over. "You are here about Dirk Franklin, aren't you?" "Yes, but when I saw you here, I decided that it was not a good idea." I felt like a beached whale trying to get back into the water. "I was assigned the case, John, so I know a little bit about what is going on. It is cut and dry. He is going to jail. What did you want to talk about?" "I guess that was it. I just wanted to make sure that he got what was coming to him." Elizabeth Vargas leaned back in her chair and smiled at me. It was sort of funny, because you usually envision big burly guys doing that. "You are starting to piss me off, John. I don't like that." I found myself fiddling with my fingers and staring at the floor. This was a problem that I didn't feel comfortable discussing with a woman, especially one like Elizabeth. She wasn't going to let go of it. "Dirk Franklin hurt me pretty bad. Because of him, I lost my job, my wife, and my children. I just wanted to see to it that his incarceration time was not a vacation." "Do you want him to stay in county or go to state?" "Do I have a choice?" "I can't keep him over two years at county. If I give him more than that, I can send him to one of the state facilities." She noticed me smile. "I think two years right here would be fine." With a little effort, I stood up again. This time she didn't stop me, but as I turned, she said. "John, can you meet me for lunch at Screpsi's about noon?" I nodded, and when I gave her another small smile, she smiled back. It might be an interesting lunch. I did a little shopping after I left the courthouse. I got a nice shirt and a new pair of dress pants. All I had previously brought with me were work clothes. I also got a case of beer. I decided that if I had to make a choice between pills and beer, the beer would win. I wasn't sure if lunch would be business or pleasure. It was the latter. Elizabeth moved back home after Phillip was killed. It appeared that she was getting some sort of government compensation, but still needed to work. She had a sixteen year old son, Phillip Junior, who she referred to as "Twoey". After he was born, they decided that they didn't want to call him Junior or Phillip, so they settled on Twoey. It was difficult to get much personal information from her without seeming to pry, so I just let her tell me what she wanted me to know. I didn't say anything at all about my situation, because I was afraid of coming across as a wimp. At the present time, my self-esteem was a little low, so I felt a strong need for protection. Before Elizabeth left to go back to work, she told me not to worry about the upcoming sentencing. The smile on my face quickly faded when I arrived home. My three kids were sitting on the porch with suitcases and duffle bags. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" Nobody wanted to answer me. "How did you find out where I was living?" Brian decided to break the ice. "Uncle Robbie gave us the address." "I don't see a car. How did you get here?" "Aunt Sarah brought us, but she couldn't stay." Brian stood up as I reached the porch. "Get that case of beer out of the car, will yah? It is a pain for me to lift it." Terry helped me into the house. It really wasn't necessary, but I could understand why it looked like I needed help. Brian put the beer in the kitchen and Sal-Sal got everyone a cold RC. I didn't know how long they were out there before I got back. "And just why did Aunt Sarah drive you all up here?" "She said it was the best thing to do under the circumstances." Brian was still doing the talking. He was answering my questions, but I still wasn't learning anything. I took a big swig of soda and wished I had bought cold instead of instead of warm beer. "What circumstances?" Brian didn't want to answer. The three of them sat there looking at each other. Finally, Terry spoke. "Sal-Sal came home from school early a couple of days ago and saw mom having sex with some guy in your bedroom." "Great! Just frappin great! Did she know who the guy was?" Sal-Sal was sitting right there. I could have asked her directly, but somehow it didn't seem right. "She didn't know his name, but said it was a guy that you worked with." I looked over at my youngest daughter. "What did you do, Hun?" "I watched for a couple of minutes. I have seen people having sex before on the Internet, but it is a lot different when it is your mother with a strange man. It was sort of gross. I left and went back to school." "Did your mother know you were there?" "I don't think so. She had her eyes closed most of the time." In anger, I threw the empty sodacan across the room. It bounced around like a kid's toy. "Did you kids have lunch?" "No." "Terry, how about ordering us a couple of pizzas?" While the kids were getting their stuff put away, I called my lawyer and instructed him to redo the divorce papers so that I would get full custody. It was a long-shot, but I decided to go for it. I followed that up with a call to Sarah. She was no longer talking to her sister and did not support her in any manner. When the kids called her for help, she insisted that they come to stay with me, and even volunteered to drive them. It felt good to have an ally of sorts. Sarah had already told Noreen where the kids were, and why. The pizza turned out to be an early supper. We talked a while about other things, and then they all left me alone while they went to bed. I found another cold Foster's in the back of the fridge. The new ones were cool, but cold is better. I took a pain pill with the beer, hoping that it would knock me out. It worked. Friday came and the sentences were pronounced. Dirk only got a year, but he would have to serve it in the county jail. He would probably be out in six months. Normally that would be a good thing, but not in Dirk's case. His two goons got six months, minus time served. Sometimes, I don't understand the justice system, but I was pleased with the outcome overall. Saturday was busy. The entire day was spent getting the kids settled in. Although they brought a lot of stuff with them, each of them realized that they had forgotten things as the day went on. An afternoon trip to Walmart hit my wallet pretty hard, but it was necessary. By the end of the day, things had normalized as much as possible. Nobody seemed to be missing Noreen. After we got home, I realized that I was running out of the pain pills, so I started increasing my beer consumption. I wasn't planning on driving or running any heavy equipment. I was trying to get the cobwebs out of my head the next morning, when I heard Toby talking with the kids. I pulled on my jeans, but instead of a pain pill, I just popped two aspirins. I had to wean myself eventually. My entrance into the kitchen was met with a good bit of razzing. I got little sympathy from my family for my afflictions. The consensus seemed to be that I was guzzling the beer because I wanted to, not because I had to. They were correct of course. Terry poured me a hot cup of coffee as I plopped down at the table, and then all three kids wandered off as if they knew that Toby and I had to talk. "We got a small problem, John." I had just gotten used to the fact that everything was settled and Toby had to hit me with something new. I tried to take a swig of the black coffee, but it was too hot. I put the mug down on the table with a sigh. "Okay, Toby. Hit me. What is the new dilemma?" "Saturday morning, the guards found Dirk Franklin in the laundry room at the prison. Somebody beat the crap out of him. In addition to a smashed up face, he had several broken ribs and other internal injuries that we were not able to diagnose. This kind of thing doesn't happen at our place too often." "Wow. It sure didn't take him long to piss off his new friends." "We don't think it was anybody new." Toby noticed me smiling as I tried another sip of my morning brew. It was still hot, but better. "It seemed that somebody let it slip that Dirk had rolled over on his hired help in order to get a break on his sentence. Even though his goons got less time than he did, they were not really pleased with the news. We don't have any proof that they did it, and to be honest with you, there is not a whole lot of interest in pursuing the matter." I got up and refilled Toby's cup. He noticed that I was still smiling. "That's the good part, John." The coffee was perfect now, but the grin on my face had vanished. "They had to transport Dirk to the hospital in Allentown. There was a guard on him, but sometime last night Dirk disappeared. Nobody knows when or how. The staff did not think that he would be able to leave on his own, but it appears that they were wrong." I never finished the coffee. I just got up and poured it down the sink. Toby sat quietly as I stood there looking out of the kitchen window. There was no view to see, just the brick wall of the house next store. It didn't matter what I was looking at. I never really felt threatened by Dirk, but the thought of him walking free irritated me. After a few moments I heard my brother get out of his chair. "John, I'll keep you posted on what is going on. If I hear anything at all, I'll let you know." I was still staring at that brick wall, as I heard the back door close. "Dad, do you want me to scramble you a couple of eggs?" "That would be great, Terry. Let me take a quick shower first." That afternoon, I called Sarah. She had not heard from Noreen and had no idea where she might be. I didn't know if that was good news or bad news. Things began to normalize. My injuries healed nicely. I got a job as a claims adjuster for a small company in Tamaqua; it was an easy commute. The kids had no trouble getting settled in. We were spending more time with Elizabeth and her son. Twoey and Brian seemed to hit it off and I think I saw Terry checking him out a few times. Although most of the time I spent with Elizabeth was in open gatherings and with our respective families, we also started to have a few special dinner dates and occasional movies. Every two weeks, I had Toby deliver a couple of cartons of cigarettes to the guys who had beaten me up. There was never any conversation between us, but there was an understanding. Toby said that they seemed to comprehend what the hell I was doing. If everything worked out as I hoped it would, it would be worth the money. Cigarettes aren't cheap anymore. Sarah and I never heard from Noreen. Was she back with Dirk or someplace else? And then one day, my two adversaries were unceremoniously released from confinement and promptly disappeared. Three months later, I received notice that my divorce was final and that I had custody of Brian and Sal-Sal. Terry was no longer considered a juvenile. She was attending a dental technician school in Reading. Elizabeth and I started spending more time together. As all of this was going on, I still could not shake the thought that somewhere out there, Dirk Franklin was lurking around. Was he still carrying some type of grudge or had he moved on? I could never be sure and it constantly bothered me. I got a job working for a small independent auto insurance company in Pottsville. Six months later, Elizabeth and I were quietly married. The only stipulation to our marriage was that she keep her previous name of Vargas. She had several reasons for wanting to do this and I could not fault her about it. Elizabeth found out that Noreen was working and living at the Salvation Army in downtown Philadelphia. Although we never actually saw her again, she did start sending birthday cards to the children. Then I started getting the cards. They came at odd times; Flag day, Veterans day, Arbor day. They always said the same thing; "THINKING ABOUT YOU! D.F." Of course I showed them to Elizabeth, but we never really knew what to do about them. They came from different places along the Eastern seaboard. At first I discarded them, but as more of them arrived, I became more concerned. Dirk Franklin was like a cockroach that I had no idea how to get rid of. Elizabeth did the best that she could to keep my temper under control. I appreciated her support, but felt helpless. The card that I received about two weeks before Christmas was more ominous than the others. "I HAVE A SPECIAL PRESENT FOR YOU. SEE YOU SOON. D.F." Dirk had never shown any inclination to hurt any of the children, but I couldn't be sure if he was still thinking that way. I found myself constantly worrying about Elizabeth and the kids. He was gone; out of my life, and he was still making me miserable. All I could do was wait and be prepared for his arrival. Things finally came to an end two days before Christmas. It was a simple generic greeting card, but inside was a newspaper clipping from the Baltimore Sun. "The body of a man identified as Dirk Franklin was found today in a burned out vehicle near the Glen Gary Brick Factory. Police were unable to determine the actual cause of death due to the condition of the body; etc. etc." The card wasn't signed. It simply said; "THANKS FOR THE CIGARETTES!"