148 comments/ 317458 views/ 237 favorites Trying to Reclaim My Marriage By: Slirpuff I wasn't trying to solve world hunger or settle the conflict in the Middle East. I was attempting to do something a lot more important, to me anyway. I was trying to figure out why or more so how the love had gone out of our marriage. I thought it would be a simple task to figure out the how or why and just reverse it and make it all better again. Well, that's the phrase my little daughter Kim uses when my wife puts on a bandage when she gets a cut or scrape. But, making it all better again between my wife Sue and I was going to take more than a bandage with little red balloons on it. However, I was going to give it my best shot. I didn't want to join the statistical group of one in two married couples divorcing but it looks like we're heading that way. Well, not if I can help it. To look at us we were the typical Ozzie and Harriet couple. Married almost eleven years with two kids. Our family consisted of Kim, six, Danny, eight, and a two year old golden retriever named Rusty. We live in a McMansion, as I call our oversized big box house that Sue just had to have, and much to my dismay we have the big McMortgage to go along with it. Sue works for Spencer and Thomas; a large accounting firm based out of Atlanta and was promoted to junior partner in January of last year. She's smart as hell and a workaholic when I don't watch her too closely. Me? I do custom paint jobs on motorcycles and cars. My work isn't seasonal like Sue's but it's usually feast or famine. A lot of weekends I put my tent up at either a car or bike show and grab jobs that way. Most of the time it seems word of mouth brings in much of my new business. When one of my paint jobs takes a trophy in a show, everyone always wants to know who did it. The winner directs them my way or gives them one of my cards. So, I go through a million custom painted business cards a year and although they're not cheap, they're well worth the cost. Shortly after Danny was born we came to the realization that Sue was going to be the main breadwinner in our family. She had a higher earning potential and it just made good economic sense for me to be home more often with the kids while she furthered her career. Did it hurt my pride or did I feel less a man? Hell no. At that point, I only wished Sue could make even more money. When our second, Kim, was born, I took over a bunch more duties especially when tax time rolled around. I became the chief cook and bottle washer not to mention maid and school mom. When the kids started grade school I always took the time to drive them and soon found I was picking up a couple of other kids in the neighborhood to boot. I didn't mind one bit. I just changed the hours of my business to open a half hour later and it was a done deal. The way I looked at it, marriage is a partnership and with both parties doing their share it ran like a well-oiled clock, or was supposed to anyway. Don't get me wrong, Sue worked hard especially after being promoted. She normally works from seven thirty in the morning and hardly ever gets home before six thirty in the evening. A lot of times I would feed the kids and have them ready for bed when she'd drag her butt in the door after seven or even eight o'clock at night. With a glass of wine and a kiss chaser, I'd warn up her dinner and sit with her while she ate. Afterwards I'd put the kids to bed while she wound down. I didn't look at myself as a martyr; this is what two people who loved each other do in a marriage. Did we have sex all the time? Not a chance. Hell, show me a guy who says he's getting enough and I'll show you a liar. If a guy gets it two to three times a week he wishes he could do it four. A guy who's getting it five times a week will still wonder what it would like to do it once a day. And a guy who's getting it seven times a week? Well we both know that's a fantasy and doesn't happen in the real world, especially to a couple that have little ones. I just say be thankful for what you're getting and take advantage of it when the opportunity arises. So our humble life went on. Things between us got strained and out of hand, starting with the night of Sue's promotion dinner. It's been a year since that night and I'm still angry about her attitude towards me from that night forward. I feel I'm kind of being taken for granted. It's like she believes she is superior and that being married to a lowly blue-collar man is now almost beneath her. If it wasn't for my two kids I would probably say the hell with it, but I'm not quite there yet. Driving back from a show in Atlanta I decide I'm going to give it one last shot because I know there's still something there that can be salvaged, that is if we both work at it. I start to think back to when we first said our I do's. I was twenty-two and she was twenty-three and a half; I always told her she robbed the cradle when she married me. She was out of college and working for an accounting firm in town. Me, I was running my own business painting cars and motorcycles. I was working out of my parent's detached garage, or what use to be their garage. I knew that I wasn't college material from the get go so I took all the auto paint courses the technical college offered. I learned not only the standard painting techniques but also the art of airbrushing. I was living hand to mouth, but was pretty happy with my life back then. I enjoyed going to car and bike shows because there were always great looking machines along with women who could stop traffic. That's where I met Sue. She was going with some guy named Kenny who was showing his car at one of the regional events. To him, on that particular day, it was all about the car. Sue was there to give him support, because isn't that what girlfriends do? However, with the show getting ready to start and him polishing and buffing like crazy, Sue was nothing more than an after thought or an imposition. I hadn't done her boyfriend's paint job but had painted two others that I thought stood a good chance to take it all. I was just standing back, away from all the madness watching, when she walked up along side of me. "Boys and their toys," she said louder than just a normal speaking voice sucking on some type of soda. "Excuse me?" "Kids, look at them. They're spending thousands of dollars on what? A pretty paint job that'll never see the light of day outside one of these swap meets." I corrected her. "Car shows, they're called car shows." "Whatever. It's just that it's not practical, that's all." "If you're not interested in the cars, what are you doing here?" "You see that greenish colored Chevy over there? That's my boyfriend's. We trailered it here behind his custom truck. Boys and their toys, I'll never understand it." "And let me guess, he doesn't treat you half as good as he treats his car, right?" "If he paid me one tenth of the amount of time he spends polishing that car of his, I'd be the happiest woman on earth. So, I'm here today to support my man; well that's what he told me I'm doing here anyway. What time does this thing end?" she said looking at her watch. "Well, the judging starts in about an hour and it'll probably take at least two and a half hours based on the number of cars entered. Then there's the tallying of the votes. Hell, you should be out of here in about four hours give or take a half an hour." "You're shitting me right?" "Sorry." I answered. She pulled out her phone, dialed someone and started yelling into it. "He told me a couple hours. No way in hell I'm going to wait around here all day even if he's going to take first place." "Just to let you know, he's not going to take first place either." "How do you know that? Are you one of the judges or something?" "Nope, but I painted two cars in the competition that look a hell of a lot better than his," I smiled at her tooting my own horn. She didn't appear impressed. "And pray tell, how much did you charge to paint those cars?" "Four to five thousand," I replied. "Each?" she now sounded a little more impressed. "Yes, each. Why are you so surprised? I even gave them ten percent off if they'd plug my shop and hand out my cards if they win." "Like I said, I'll never understand boys and their toys." She slurped down the last of her drink and put her big ass sunglasses on the top of her head, showing me her big brown eyes. Looking bored and disgusted, she then took off her sunglasses, tied up her shoulder length light brown hair into a ponytail and stuck her sunglasses back into her hair. "By the way, I'm Steve Moore," I said holding out my hand. "Sue Williams," she replied giving my hand a weak handshake. "Well, I've got to find my doofus boyfriend and tell him that I'm going to the mall while he does his male bonding thing. I'll be back to see how he does, I guess I owe him that much. Maybe I'll see you around." "Here, take one of my cards." I dug one out of my top pocket and handed it to her. "When he loses to me you can give him the card and tell him I predicted it. Maybe he'll want me to repaint his car for him." Sue looked at the card, front and back, before slipping it into the back pocket of her jeans. "Well, I guess I'll see you at the trophy thing." Sighing quietly she walked off. Not a bad looking booty but her breasts were way too small for my taste. I kind of snickered to myself, watching her walk away thinking about how she looked better walking away than coming towards me. Cute. Nice face and a killer ass. If she were a guy, they'd say she looked like a tall drink of water because she must have been all of a hundred and ten pounds and at least five foot eight inches tall, which was mostly leg. She was braless and I could just make out her tits through her designer tee shirt. She had nipples attached to bumps on her chest that reminded me of a high school girl who hadn't started to develop yet. Oh well, she was her boyfriend's problem; I had bigger things on my mind right now. It was a long hot afternoon. There weren't too many clouds in the sky and by late afternoon my shirt was sticking to me. It was wet from sweat. I could feel the sweat beads trickling down the sides of my face and down the center of my back. I took off my red ball cap, wiped my brow with the sleeve of my tee shirt and chuckled when I thought about what would happen if a summer rain shower came through. Sue was right; most of these cars never saw the light of day. They were either parked in some plush trailer or garage, only to see the sunlight at a function like this one. There's got to be over a million dollars worth of vehicles here I thought looking over the eight rows of show cars. One day I'd like to have a custom vehicle, something that would turn heads when I road by. Would I drive it every day? Damn straight. What's the point of having something like that if no one ever got to see it? I didn't want a China doll in a glass case, more so something that would draw attention, a chick magnet is what I want. Right now I didn't have a steady girlfriend and really wasn't even looking for one. But glancing around at some of the women here, I wouldn't want them either, way too high maintenance. The guys brought them here in their short hot pants and tiny tube tops so they could stand next to their car and draw a crowd. Looking over at her boyfriend's 1968 Chevy I noticed that Sue hadn't come back yet. With her boyfriend looking at his watch every so often, he didn't look any too happy either. Oh well, Sue would be the least of his worries when he didn't come in first; well, at least I hoped he didn't. With the judging done and the votes tabulated the presentations began. There were four classes and the winners of those faced off for the overall best in show. One of my cars was in the top four along with Sue's boyfriend's and two others that looked smoking hot to say the least. Why they intentionally dragged these awards ceremonies out I don't know because by now everyone was hot, sweaty and wanted it over and done with. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sue return and stand next to her boyfriend. "Get on with it," someone yelled from the back of the crowd and everyone cheered their approval. A great looking 1964 Ford truck with a candy apple red metallic paint job took fourth. I knew the guy who'd done the paint job and although he was all smiles I know exactly how he felt inside. A jet-black and fire engine red 2008 Corvette took third. I thought for sure it would be up for either first or second. That left Sue's boyfriend's green Chevy and my buddy's canary yellow and crimson gold Chrysler 300. As the tension mounted, I could see the excitement in both owners' faces. When my buddy's car won, I watched as he jumped around like a friggin' nut while a scowl came across the face of Kenny. The trophies for both first and second place were bigger than they needed to be, but the check for first place was what my buddy prized the most. He located me, gave me a big hug and went up to the stage to be honored as everyone clapped and gathered around his car. I was pumped and knew as a result I'd get at least one or two jobs out of this show. I stood next to my buddy's car while a few guys started to talk to me about cars they might be interested in getting painted. Sue's boyfriend didn't take losing well as he kicked at the ground swearing to himself. Although I couldn't hear what he was saying, it wasn't good by the look on his face. I saw Sue mouth the words, "it's just a damn car show," just before he went off on her. Then I saw Sue hand him my card and watched as he ripped it up into a million pieces and threw it back at her. With arms flailing she gave it right back to him. They now both started to make a scene. I thought about going to her rescue but figured it wasn't any of my concern. I was talking to a guy about a 2006 Honda he was looking to get painted, when I felt a hand on my shoulder; it was Sue. "You mind if I stand here with you? My boyfriend is being a total asshole and I don't want to be anywhere near him right now." "No problem; I guess he's a little mad about losing." "When I told him what you told me and handed him your card he said the whole thing was fixed. I guess I shouldn't have told him it wasn't the end of the world and that they would be other shows. That's when he ripped up your card and threw it at me." "All right I'll be your lord and protector," I told her going back to talking to the kid about his Honda and giving him a ballpark price. I never noticed that she had slipped her arm around me or heard when her boyfriend stormed over to where we were standing. The guy I was talking to sure as hell saw and heard, as his eyes got pretty wide and he took two steps backwards. "Sue, come on, we're getting the fuck out of here," Kenny roared at her. "You leave, I'll find my own way home. I don't think I want to be around someone who can't control his temper, or talks to me the way you do." I think he wanted to punch her and probably would have if I hadn't been there. I watched him ball up his fists and get even angrier. That's when I moved Sue behind me. I thought every blood vessel and vein in his face were going to burst through his skin as they went from cherry red to dark purple. I just stared at him waiting for what I thought was going to happen next. I was a good four inches shorter and probably forty pounds lighter than Kenny. I was kind of expecting to get my ass kicked when he surprised me. "Keep the bitch, she's not worth the trouble," he shouted at me storming back over to where his car was. I let out a sigh of relief; my body relaxed and the sweat stopped flowing out of every pore of my body. "Boys and their toys," is what she murmured again watching as he drove off. "Well, now you've got to give me a lift home, are you about done here?" she asked standing there with her arms crossed in front of her glaring at me through those big sunglasses. I started to understand how Kenny felt about now. I was just thankful to have avoided getting my ass kicked over this broad. "Will you give me a minute, I'm trying to pick up some business?" I told her starting to get a little annoyed at her myself. "Ok, I'll wait over there." She pointed to a stand of bleachers beside the stage. "When you're ready to leave just let me know," turning her back she walked away. I was done in just over half an hour. I must have given out a hundred cards and was feeling pretty good about myself when I remembered Sue. "You about ready to go?" I said with just the hint of a smile. "I was ready to leave at ten o'clock this morning," she shot back at me. We walked over to the parking lot and got into my 2004 Chevy S10 pickup. It had a hundred thousand miles on it, needed a paint job but most of all a good wash. "You paint cars like that, pointing at one show car leaving, and drive something like this?" "It's my work truck and if it's beneath you to ride in it, you can always walk home." "I didn't say I was above it, it's just that I thought you'd be driving, you know, something hot to show off your work." "I can't afford one of my own paint jobs right now nor do I want to. I stick most of my money back into my business this way I owe nothing to anyone." "That's really smart. I guess when business is slow you can weather the storm." "Exactly, and since I still live at home, my expenses are minimal. I do however have my eye on a little place and in about two to three years I'll be able to afford it. Until then, I'm building up my business, getting connected with the right people and working at getting better with each paint job I do." I imagine that might have surprised her a bit. "Thought I was a country bumpkin without a brain in my head, didn't you?" She didn't say a thing at first. "All right, so I thought you were just some good old country boy; sorry about that. You've really got your life all planned out. What does your girlfriend have to say about it?" "Not much, because I don't have one right now. Are you applying for the position? If you are, I'm taking applications." I gave Sue my best Paul Newman smile. I had his big baby blue eyes but none of the rest. I guess it didn't make much difference to Sue, because one month later we were officially girlfriend and boyfriend. Image that. We were one of the oddest couples around. The prissy college accountant and the blue-collar painter, but it worked for us for some reason. Maybe it was because I treated her like a real person and took the time to satisfy her needs. Whatever it was, our relationship flourished and we started saying the 'L' word to each other and talking about what would happen if we got married. I suppose this is probably not the greatest love story you have ever heard, but that's how we met and became a couple. Even though Sue had never seen the inside of a body shop she knew the principals of running a successful business. I'd like to say I owe all my success to my hard work or even a bit of luck, but I'd be lying. Sue pushed me to expand my business and to take chances I normally never would have. Some flopped but most didn't. Hell, she didn't even mind when we went out on dates in my old truck. She did require that my hands be always clean, which included getting rid of the paint under my fingernails when we went out, especially with her friends. "Sue, I'm a blue collar worker. I work with my hands all day long and they're going to get grimy and dirty; I don't work in a damn office like you." She gave me a cold stare. "Steve, you may be a blue collar worker like you say, but you don't have to look like one. You're also a successful business owner and sometimes you've got to wear that hat. I'm not asking you to put on airs, I'm just reminding you that people will look at you a lot differently when you wear a coat and tie verses a pair of tattered jeans." Trying to Reclaim My Marriage "Your friends not mine." That was the crux of it. I never went to college and most of my friends were like me, blue-collar hard working people who struggled to eek out a living. Her friends, on the other hand, were college educated, mostly well off and never associated with the likes of me unless they were hiring for a job they needed done that was beneath them. When we were alone though it was entirely different. We were in love and that was the most important thing in our life. I didn't love her for what she had more so for who she was. She wasn't perfect for me, far from it. And every once in a while she'd say something that would get stuck in my craw but then we'd look at one another and knew it didn't make a tinkers damn in the long run as long as we had each other. Her love was the most valuable thing I owned. The best way to describe our wedding is a combination of the have's and have not's. Her parents had money and mine didn't, simple as that. They never came right out and said I wasn't good enough for their daughter, but her dad did try to get me to ditch my idea of expanding my painting business. I guess he figured if I flopped, his daughter would end up supporting me. So I smiled, was gracious and did what a good husband did to keep piece in the family, I sucked it up when we were together. I don't know how many times I drew blood biting my tongue while I'd listen to him talk or spout out about this thing or that. "You ok?" Sue asked after a typical family gathering. "I thought you were going to blow a gasket at one point." "For once I'd like to see your dad get off his high horse and live like ninety percent of the rest of the world." "Steve, he started with nothing and built his business on his own. He just can't see why everyone else can't do the same thing. When he says most of the small business owners are just lazy, he really believes it. He worked 27/7 until he made it, now he's living off his success." "He was damn lucky and he had a father who gave him front money to start his business. I'm not saying he didn't work hard, but also having a father whose friends threw their business his way didn't hurt either." "If he wants to flaunt his money let him, he's earned that right. So what if he wants to spoil Danny and our new little girl," she said rubbing her belly. "It's just his way of trying to make it easier on us, that's all. Besides, having another mouth to feed will tax us even more since I'll be out of work for about four months. But, when I make partner, we'll be on easy street and won't need his money. You know I love you don't you?" That statement made all the difference to me in the world. "Now you're not playing fair. You know I'd do anything in the world for you. Besides, I like keeping you pregnant." "And pray tell why?" "Boobs. You've grown two sizes since you've been pregnant and I'm loving every minute of it," I snickering as she punched me in the arm. "Well, you had better enjoy these the next two months, because after this one is born we're done. We'll have our boy and girl. You'll have to go back to loving my boyish figure, like it or not." I put out my lower lip in a fake pout. "And mister there is no way in hell I'm going to get a boob job either. I like my small perky boobs, the ones you fell in love with, remember?" "Big or small, I'll love you either way," I said rubbing her belly. "And if you say we're done, you won't hear me complain either. You're my bride and I'll love you until the end of time." It was a corny phrase I'd heard in an old song but I felt it fit. I was happy, we were happy and that's all I ever wanted in our marriage. Four months after Kim was born Sue was back at work with a vengeance. I think she tried to make up for all the time she'd been out the first month she went back. Some nights I wondered if she was ever coming home. "Babes, you're burning the candle at both ends, you need to ease up a bit," I said with a concern only a caring husband and father could possess. "I don't want to get bumped out of my place in line. If everything goes my way, I'll be up for a partnership by the end of next year. That, my husband, will seal our future; there will be no more struggling after that." I didn't think we were doing so badly. We didn't have everything we both wanted but what couple did. I wasn't trying to keep up with the Jones, hell we already had more than three quarters of my friends. My business wasn't a huge success yet but it was growing every year. So like I said at the start of this, I began taking over more and more home and kid duties while Sue's hours did nothing but increase. When she made partner they had a big dinner for her. All the other partners, their wives and office staff were invited to the dinner and although it wasn't black tie, it was a dress up affair. I wore my suit, my one and only, and Sue went out and bought a new long dress. When she came down the stairs, she looked hotter than I'd seen her in years. I wanted to take her back upstairs, rip that dress off her and make love to her and told her as much. "Simmer down cowboy, you'll have your chance when we get home tonight since mom and dad are watching the kids. Right now let's just get there in one piece and then maybe later tonight we'll see what we can come up with," Sue said blowing me a kiss. The company's top senior partners were in attendance along with the others from her regional office. It wasn't a roast since everyone had nothing but good things to say about her. Sue was only one of three women junior partners and I was told she was being groomed to eventually become one of the senior partners. I guess having a woman as a manager shows all the other firms you are progressive and promote from within. It also didn't hurt to have a father who was wealthy and well connected either. The dinner was great, there was an open bar and I made sure not to over indulge, but it looked like I was the only one. It seems like when there is an open bar, people think they have to get their moneys worth. Let's just say the bartender was kept busy all night. Sue was passed around and spent most of the evening talking to one or more of the senior partners. She'd glance over and look at me every once in a while; I guess to make sure I wasn't getting too bored. I had nothing in common with any of them but did strike up a conversation with one of the senior partners about cars. He was from the corporate office in Atlanta, had a show car and was genuinely interested in what I had to say. About twenty minutes later however, my evening took a real dump. Like I said, some people should not drink or at least not get drunk. That's when their mouths get the better of them and before their brains have a chance to pull the words back. I heard a group of the male junior partners talking and if they hadn't been so loud and laughing about what they were saying I probably wouldn't have paid them any attention. "I guess we know who wears the pants in that family," one of them joked. "I heard he's nothing more than a maid. Takes the kids to school, does the laundry and all the cooking. Hell, I can't even get my wife to do all that for me," another joked. Being the gentleman I am, I tried to ignore them. "Shit, he's probably such a wimp that she dictates if and when they have sex." They were now laughing openly and loud. "Hell, he probably has some frilly thing on when she gets home just to entice her into giving him a little. But knowing the ice queen, she probably makes him beg before telling him "no"." As I said, some people just shouldn't drink. I was standing right behind the guy who made that last comment when his friends suddenly shut up and he turned around. "Just for your information, my wife, or the ice queen as you call her, could chew your ass up and spit you out on one of her bad days; I don't think I would mess with her." "I don't think my ass is what I had in mind for her to chew on," he goaded me on with a stupid smile on his face. The smile didn't last long. A knee to the groin and an uppercut under the chin and asshole was out cold lying on the floor. Seeing what happened to asshole his buddies scattered. All right, I guess I probably should have let his comments slide and just walked away from that drunk. But at the time, I wasn't thinking about the repercussions of my actions, only defending my wife's honor. It didn't go down like that though. Sue was at my side asking for an explanation while the drunken guy's friends tried to get him to his feet. "Sue, he was saying ugly things about you. I just couldn't let him slander you like that." "Don't you think I can take care of myself? You let a piss ant coerce you into causing a scene and ruining what was suppose to be my night, how could you?" she quietly berated me. "I want you to go over and apologize to him right now, do you hear me?" She was right it was her night. Sucking it up, I walked over to where he was standing. "I'm sorry I hit you but if I ever hear you say another word about my wife again, you won't get off so lucky." I was right the first time, some people should not drink because he got this grin on his face and said in too loud a voice that Sue probably gave a mean blowjob. Everyone around heard it this time. I glanced briefly over my shoulder at Sue and cleaned his clock. He wasn't getting up on his own any time soon. From there I walked out of the banquet hall doors, got in our car and drove home. All the way home I knew there was going to be hell to pay and I figured Sue riding home with someone else might cool her down; I was so very wrong. I'm glad I wasn't drunk and vulnerable when she got home or she probably would have killed me. She must have yelled at me for over an hour and a half explaining in detail what my little outburst cost her in credibility. "You had to have heard what he said, hell everyone had to have fucking heard it. And you wanted me to let that commit slide? I'm sorry, he may be a piss ant, but no one talks about my wife in that manner." "So what if everyone heard what a stupid drunk was spouting off. Did his words hurt me in the eyes of my bosses? Not a bit. But, your two outbursts sure as hell did. Now everyone is going to be talking about the new partner's husband who made a fool of himself at his wife's promotional dinner. I can just hear them now. We'd like to ask you and your husband to the next dinner, but we're afraid he might lose his temper again. That's what I'm going to have to contend with from now on." "Fine, I won't go to anymore of your fucking high brow dinners if I embarrass you that much. He's just fucking luckily that I didn't put him in the hospital." "Your lucky that he didn't press assault charges against you. If it wouldn't have been for one of the senior partners talking to him, you'd probably already be in jail," she yelled at me. I walked away as she continued ragging on me all the way up to our bedroom. "I suppose sex is out for tonight," I commented lightly in a kidding manner. It didn't go over well. I slept on the couch that night. I didn't go over with her to pick up our kids, because I knew she was still angry and would probably have to endure the wrath of her father when he found out what I had done. I couldn't win no matter what I did on this one. This started our free fall. From that night on the gap started getting bigger. She was right, she was invited to the dinners but I wasn't, or that's what she told me anyway. Sue started working longer and longer hours and when I complained, she said that if it wasn't for her paycheck what would we live on? Mine?" That was always said in a condescending tone. I guess she had a point. From that day forward I threw myself back into my work. If she was working late, I took the kids with me to the shop. I started teaching Danny what I did for a living and showed him some of my work in progress. "Wow dad, you painted this?" he said looking at the tank of a Harley I'd just finished. "It's beautiful." That made me feel good. When she started getting on me about taking the kids to my dirty shop, I told her that if she'd come home at a decent hour once in a while I wouldn't have to. That shut her up for a minute but she just found something else to bitch about. We were going downhill fast. When she went in on a Saturday and didn't get home until after eight we had a huge drag out fight. If it wasn't for the kids coming into our bedroom crying it probably would have gone on a lot longer. "See what you did? Now you've upset the children," she shouted accusingly at me. I wanted to punch her. After that, I spent most of my weekends away from the house. I'd hit a car or bike show and was doing everything possible to bring in new business. When I started doing experimental computer engineered graphics I picked up about ten percent more business. Sue gave me a hard time when I bought an Apple iMAC and updated my software. It had gotten to the point that I didn't care what she did or didn't think about anymore. And don't even ask about my miserable love life. I took Danny to a two-day regional bike show that I'd done over fifty new drawings for. I had seven custom painted tanks and three rear fenders on display. I did a couple of drawings I was kind of proud of and thought long and hard how I was going to present them to a certain group I knew would be there. With my folder in one hand and my son in the other, I walked up to the badest looking motherfucker I could find. He was the chapter president of the Warmonger motorcycle gang. Danny's eyes were as big as dinner plates and he kind of stayed behind me. "Excuse me," I said making sure I didn't tap him on the shoulder. "My name is Steve and I think I've got something you might be interested in." Immediately two big bruisers got in-between the two of us telling me in no uncertain terms I should be leaving about now. I wasn't giving up that easily. "Since most of the paint jobs on your bikes look like crap I just thought you'd like to see what a good paint job might look like." When one of the other members pushed me back and said to get the fuck away before I got hurt, I almost gave up. "I just thought a man of your stature might like something on his bike he can be really proud of." I gave him one more look and then turned my back on the group of ten bikers who everyone thought was going to kill me and bury my body in the street in front of them. Then I heard it, "let me see what you've got." I turned around, walked through the group and handed him my folder. He flipped through the first three and smiled. The son of a bitch smiled. "You do these?" I nodded and told him I did all my own design work. I knew which one had caught his eye. It was a picture of a badass biker on the back of his custom Harley that was being pulled by six hot naked women. I was thankful Danny had never seen it. It was something like Santa's sleigh on steroids or drugs. Everyone now started looking at my designs and snickering amongst themselves. I gave him a couple of cards and said I'd give him a great deal if he was interested. I thanked him for his time and before I could walk away he extended his hand and thanked me. His name was Sid, not Badass, Killer or Mad Dog like I thought. With a scared Danny in tow, I walked back to our tent knowing most people thought I was fucking crazy and lucky to still be alive. "That took balls. Jesus Christ, that took fucking balls to do what you did back there. You know your certifiable don't you? What were you thinking?" My friend Tim railed into me. "Everyone, including me, was waiting for the explosion." "You mean you wouldn't have jumped in to save me?" I replied looking at him innocently. "I would have saved your son and told Sue you just lost it and committed suicide." "She probably would have been sad because she'd have to find someone else to watch the kids." I probably shouldn't have said that right in front of Danny, but he was still recovering from what I'd done. That day I picked up three tank jobs and one maybe total bike paint job. "Dad, did you know those men today?" Danny asked sitting next to me on the way home. "They're just a couple of friend of mine that I haven't seen in quite a while. Why do you ask?" "Well, one guy said that we were going to get shot talking to those bad men." "Well, did we get shot? Did they hurt us in any way? See, you can't believe everything you hear people say." "Dad, did you see all the tattoos on their arms, and even the women there had a lot of them all over," he said looking at my arms. "How come you don't have any? Some of them were really cool." I was glad to see that Danny had recovered well. Dinner, on the other hand, didn't go quite as well. "Mom, you should have seen us," he said before I could stop him. "Dad just went up to these guys and started talking to them, they were something called the Warmongers. It was so cool, they had tattoos and everything." Sue looked at me, her eyes narrowed. "Steve, what the heck were you thinking?" "Nothing happened. See, we're still here. We weren't shot and have no stab wounds. I just gave them a couple of designs I thought they might be interested in, that's all." "Who are you approaching tomorrow? The Hell's Angels? Think about what you're doing for a change especially when you have our son with you." "I'm trying to build up my business, if you don't mind," I said more than a little sarcastically. "Steve. your job is to watch the kids when I'm working. I thought we agreed that I was the bread winner of the family." "That was before you tried to cut my nuts off and make me into a eunuch. My business is every bit as important as yours, partnership or no partnership. So, from now on if you're going to be late, find yourself a babysitter if you don't like me watching the kids." I left the table. I started getting my balls back. Sue refused to let me take Danny with me on Sunday. Something about me putting my son's life in danger. Business was slow Sunday and I was about to call it a day when I heard the roar of a lot of bikes coming down the street. When they pulled up to my tent I wasn't sure what was going to happen. "I've decided to take you up on your offer," Sid told me getting off his bike. "I want the one with the six women pulling the bike. But, I want it to start on the front fender with a big-breasted blonde girl on her knees and have it extend over the full length of the tank. Finally, on the rear fender I want a brunette pictured from the backside. Just make sure she has a nice round big ass." I was doing back flips inside my brain. It wasn't going to be cheap, but since I'd all ready done the artwork all I'd have to worry is about materials and labor. We finally came to terms on the price but Sid said that he wasn't going to pay a dime until it was done. I agreed. "How long is it going to take?" "It should take about two weeks, give or take a day or two. But, I don't want you to see it before it's done if you don't mind." He told me that he would drop his bike off at the shop tomorrow morning. I was in. I didn't say a word to Sue about it. She was giving me her holier than thou attitude and I was up to here with it. And no, I wasn't getting any great sex if that's what you were wondering. We did it once in a while but now I made Sue initiate it. I only refused her once; said I had a headache. She slammed the bathroom door so hard it knocked the mirror off the bedroom wall. I spent most of my days and nights in my shop over the next two weeks. When Sue would call me about dinner sometimes, I'd just tell her to eat without me. She'd get angry saying something about eating together as a family and then I'd remind her about the last couple of years and how often she was home for dinner. Now that she was the baby sitter, she could see what I'd gone through all those nights by myself. Trying to Reclaim My Marriage I had a few problems but I finished it up with one day to spare. It looked so good that I really didn't want to let it go. Tim and I took a million pictures at every angle possible. "Damn, I wish I could show it at the regional show in Atlanta next week," I told him. "It would take first place, hands down." Sid was there the following morning with just a few of his buddies. "Just fucking outstanding," were the first words out of his mouth as he walked around his bike smiling ear to ear. "Jesus fucking Christ you weren't fucking lying were you? Damn, it looks good." He said going on and on for about five minutes. "It's worth the two grand it's going to cost me, this is a fucking piece of art." "Got a question for you," I said hesitantly at first. "What would you say if I told you I'd give you this paint job for free if you'd do me one little favor?" "Depends, whom do you want me to kill?" he said laughing with his two friends. "There is a bike show in Atlanta this Saturday and I'd like to show your bike." "No fucking way, they don't like me in Atlanta." "You don't have to be there yourself, only your bike. I'll give you the paint job for free and if you win, you'll pocket another fifteen hundred," that got him thinking. "You can have someone else ride it there and register it under your name, that way you'll get the credit and the check if you win." "You think it's got a chance?" "What do you think?" He looked down at the bike and smiled. "Steve, let me think about it and get back to you," he said getting on his bike and starting it up. He could have told me to go to hell and just taken his bike and there wasn't a thing I could do about it but cry and be out two grand but I was hoping for something more. Wednesday my cell rang. "A friend of mine will be riding it there for me. I want you to meet them there, shine it up nice and pretty. I'm counting on taking first place, if you know what I mean." That's all he said because I knew what he meant. "Steve, we need to talk," were the first words out of Sue's mouth Wednesday night. "About what?" was my flip reply. "What do you mean about what? About us, the way our marriage is going." "What marriage? Right now I'm legally tied to a workaholic who thinks her shit doesn't stink and has no respect for me," I told her not holding back this time. "But you know what, I don't give a shit anymore." I really did, but wasn't going to tell her that. "Maybe we could get away this weekend and you know, reconnect." "Sorry, I've already made plans. How about the following weekend?" She didn't like that. "What could be more important than our marriage?" "Funny, I seem to remember asking the exact same question a year ago at a certain promotion dinner when I tried to standup for you. But that's right, I got cut off at the knees and told I was nothing better than a rough house, blue collar worker. Well, this blue collar worker has something more important to do this weekend than to listen to a whiney brat complain about how bad I've been treating her." I walked away from a shocked and angry wife. I gave her a wide berth and did what I needed to do for Saturday's show. I got there early and was surprised at who was riding Sid's bike; one hot tattooed woman. "Are you Steve?" she asked. "Yes and you're?" "Let's just say I'm a good friend of Sid's and leave it at that." I didn't press her for details. "He wants you to register it under your name, not his. Sid said he doesn't want or need any publicity or this bike tied directly to him, if you know what I mean." I did and didn't have any problem registering it under my name. They must have trailered it up to the show because it was as clean as when it left my shop. It still needed a couple of hours work but we had time. I did the best job I could; it would now be up to the judges. There probably were almost a thousand spectators and I knew some of the exhibitors but got the shock of my life when one of the senior partners of Sue's firm walked up. "Mr. Thomas," I said holding out my right hand as he walked up to me. "Steve, it's Bill," he told me with a firm handshake. "Now this is what I call a paint job," walking around the bike taking more than a few pictures. "How long did it take you?" "Two solid weeks," I replied watching the judge walk up with his clipboard. "You said you did good work but I had no idea to what degree. Is Sue and the kids up here with you?" "No, they're all back home. I want to say how sorry I am about the night of the dinner. I guess I kind of made an ass out of myself." He looked at me and didn't say a thing for a few seconds. "I suppose it wasn't the time or place, but I wish I had the guts to do what you did that night. That lad not only embarrassed himself but also our firm. Truthfully, I owe you the apology," he told me. "How about if we call it even and let it go at that?" We shook hands again. "Well, Steve, I hope you win and tell Sue I'm sorry I missed her. That wife of yours has a great future with our firm, that is unless she burns herself out. See if you can do something about that for me, will you?" With that said he walked away. With the judging done all we had to do is wait for the results. The girl who had brought the bike to Atlanta had changed into an outfit that showed all her physical attributes along with every tattoo and piercing. She was straddling the bike and more than one guy was snapping pictures. No one was surprised that my bike qualified for best in show. There was however some stiff competition and not just the paint jobs but also the bikes themselves. I kind of wished that we'd registered it under Sid's name. Who in their right mind would vote against him? When they named fourth and third place I held my breath. I wasn't even looking up at the stage or judge when they announced second place but Sid's girl was. "Holy fuck we won," she announced to the world. It didn't register for a minute or two but then my brain exploded. I picked up the trophy, the check and posed by the bike for a million pictures along with Sid's girl. I passed out all the cards I brought with me and wrote my name and phone number on a hundred others. I was asked a dozen or so questions about the bike itself and how it rode but passed most of them over to Sid's girl as she posed and smiled both on and off the bike. "Someone wants to talk to you," she said passing over her cell phone. "Hello, Steve here." "Son of a bitch, looks like you were right; I hear we won," I heard Sid say. "Great fucking job. Give everything to Donna and I'll see you Monday sometime." He hung up. I finally I knew her name. I hung around for another hour or so and milked everything I could from this win. I knew I would for sure make it into at least two magazines because of the press badges I saw a couple of the photographers wearing. I gave Donna the check and trophy and finally found out that she was Sid's baby sister. At almost five foot nine and about one fifty, she was far cry from being anyone's baby. The five and a half hour drive back from Atlanta felt like twenty. I was wired, tired and hungry as hell. I stopped at a Denny's and had a grand slam breakfast including two cups of coffee before hitting the road again. When my cell went off just after ten thirty it made me jump a mile because I had been deep in thought. "Where are you?" Sue asked. "About forty-five minutes out." "You get something to eat?" she asked as I thought she sounded almost concerned. "I stopped at Denny's so don't worry. I'll be home about eleven thirty give or take a half hour." "I'll wait up," she replied. "Sue go to bed, I'll see you in the morning," I said with an edge in my voice. "Well, drive carefully then." This was the nicest conversation we'd had in months. I ended up stopping once more for a bathroom break and another cup of coffee. I was home just after midnight, wired but home nonetheless. I took a quick shower and slipped into bed. From her breathing I knew she was awake, but I said nothing waiting for her to start. She didn't and we both fell asleep sometime after that. Sunday morning I was told we were having a bar-b-que at her parent's house. "Just fucking great, that's all I need," I thought to myself, but I said nothing. It was a fairly pleasant evening, that is, until her father started spouting off about something he knew basically nothing about at the dinner table. Everyone tried to ignore him as usual. Sue was talking to her mom; the kids had already finished and had asked to be excused, which left me as his only sounding board at the table. I was looking at the fancy tablecloth, the china and everything else around the room when I finally snapped and stood up. "Sally," I said addressing Sue's mother, "I don't know how you've managed to stay married to this arrogant son of a bitch for forty years, but you sure as hell have earned your place in heaven in doing so. If it had been me, I would have put a pillow over his head and smothered his ass years ago." Everyone sat there with their mouths wide open. "Sue, the kids and I are leaving in two minutes with or without you," I told her, tossing my flowery cloth napkin on the table. "I'd like to say it's been fun, but why lie." "You can't talk to me like that in my own house," her father bellowed standing up and trying to kill me with his eyes. "You're right, so I don't plan on ever coming back here again. I'm sorry Sally, but there is only so much a person can take, family or not. You coming. Sue?" I asked for the second time. She sat there still glued to her chair. "She's not going anywhere with a loser like you. Hell if it weren't for my daughter's job, you'd be living in a damn trailer. I begged her not to marry you. I told her that you'd never amount to anything, and I was right," Hank puffed up his chest. "Sue's just like her old man, she knows what she wants and she's going to get it no matter what." "Hank" I said turning to her father, "then I feel sorry for the two of you. You've got all this, but what do you really have? A wife who puts up with you only because she likes the easy life and is afraid to go out on her own and a daughter who will be bouncing around an empty house by herself when I dump her ass and take the kids with me. Then she'll truly be like you; alone and married to her job." "Get the hell out of my house," Hank screamed at me. "With pleasure." I grabbed the kids from the living room and piled them all in my wife's 320i BMW. "Sue, I'll leave the car at the house and since you're not there very often, I'll e-mail you the address so you don't get lost." I'd love to have burned rubber on their driveway, but her car didn't have that much pick up. "How come mom didn't come with?" Danny asked once we were in the car. "She wanted to stay and visit with your grandfather and grandmother." My phone started ringing shortly there after but I turned it off. "It's not safe to talk and drive," I told the kids and tossed the phone onto the passenger's seat. The kids and I grabbed just enough clothing for a couple of days. I explained we were going to visit my parents for a few days. I had a nice car in the garage but choose to take my work truck. It was mine, paid for and just seemed to fit my life style. "Mom, you're going to have guests for a couple of days, do you mind?" "Honey," my mom inquired with a question in her voice, "what did you do this time?" "Mom, why do you always assume that I was the one to do something wrong? I know I'm not perfect, but this time it wasn't me; well not totally anyway." "Well, come on over and we'll figure something out." Mom and dad's house was small, nothing like Sue's parents or even like Sue and mine. The kid's would be sleeping on air mattresses in the living room. I would be in my old boyhood room. When I told mom what I'd done she just shook her head. My dad smiled. "You lasted a lot longer than I would have in your shoes. I only wish I could have been there. I could have added a few things of my own." "Listen to the two of you. That is your wife's father you're talking about. Even though we may not care for the man, he is her father." "Not care for the man? Mom, he's an asshole. I can't believe I waited this long to tell him what I really thought of him." "And how about Sue? What are you going to do about her?" she asked standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. "Mom, I'm done with her. Everything is I, I, I and I'm tired of it. I've bent over backwards to make it easier on her but in doing so, I've lost her respect. She'll be much happier without me and I without her." "Son, do you really believe that?" I nodded yes but I wasn't totally positive. "You know, in the eyes of God you two will always be married." "Well, it'll be in his eyes only. I only hope I can find a way to get custody of the kids." My dad took this one. "Steve, that's going to be a tough one. You may be a good father, but the court sides with the mother in seventy-five percent of the cases. The best you can hope for is joint custody of some sort." I didn't know much but I knew my dad was most likely right, especially with her father's money. By now, Hank was probably on the phone with his attorney laying out his plan to take me down, I was fucked and I knew it. Pride can be both a good thing but also a bad thing as it was in my case. Add in a stubborn streak a mile wide and you've got the makings of a real disaster on your hands; and that's what happened. I would look back over the last year and the only word that came to mind was sucker! Sue tried to call me all evening Sunday but she was the last person I wanted to talk to. I took my kids to school on Monday and even swung through the neighborhood to pick up the children I normally took to school. I made a mental note to call them tonight because today was the last day I'd be chaffering everyone around. I'd put my business on the back burner and it was high time I did something for me. Sid was waiting for me when I pulled up to my shop. "What the fuck? You have bankers hours or something?" he joked. I wasn't in the greatest mood but I wasn't about to piss this man off. "Well, I told you that your bike would place high. I'd hoped for a win, but would have been satisfied with second place at that show," I told him. "Did you see the size of the trophy? Also, your sister has the first place check." "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Maybe we should go inside," he said motioning towards the door. I unlocked the door, turned on the lights and grabbed us two chairs. "The check is made out to you and I want you to keep it. You did the work and it's only right that you get paid something for what you did. I've got a fucking awesome paint job and anyone who asks me about it I'll tell them where I got it. Two of my fellow brothers saw your work and want you to do a custom paint job on their bikes. Not as elaborate but something nice anyway. I gave them your card so expect a call. I would like all of this kept on the Q.T. if you don't mind. We don't like people to know what we do, if you know what I mean?" "No problem. Just have them pay me in cash and it never happened." "You seem like a nice guy, you do great work but you don't seem to be afraid of us like most people, why is that." "This is nothing more than business. You've got your life, I've got mine and if we can help each other out, all the better." He smiled, we shook hands and two minutes later he was gone. At least I got more than expected out of the deal. I kept my cell phone off over the next three days and let my answering machine pickup all my office calls. Every night when I went over to moms she yelled at me for not calling Sue. "Steve, you're being an ass. Call your wife and work this out, you've got two kids, remember?" I knew I had two kids, but my gonads were almost fully restored and I wasn't about to go back to being the subservient Steve of the last year. If Sue was such a big girl, let her handle the shit I'd been doing for the last couple of years. So, it went for about two weeks. I called my kids at about three thirty most days and had to maneuver around one or another babysitter. They said that they missed me and that their mom was angry all the time; so what else was new. They asked when I was coming home and I told them I didn't know but that I loved them to death. I was wet sanding a gas tank when a girl walked through the front door. She was short, cute and was looking for someone named Steve. I had been getting a lot of inquiries lately and my dance card was getting pretty full. "I'm Steve, what can I do for you today?" I asked her with a smile. "You've been served," she said with almost a sorry look on her face and walked out the door. I didn't expect that, at least not this soon. I threw it on my desk and went back to work. I had three things to prep tonight before I left and it looked like it was going to be a long night. I didn't finish up much before eleven o'clock. "I was just finishing up my coffee when my mom came into the kitchen. "Morning honey, what time did you get home last night?" "Late," was all I said. "Well, see if you can get home a little earlier tonight. I'm planning on making meatloaf with all the fixing and it's nowhere as good heated back up in the microwave." "I'll do my best," I said kissing her on the forehead. I made it home almost in time but the next three nights were as late if not later than the night before. I was almost living at my shop and made sure I always had a change of clothes and a stocked refrigerator full of beer. I suppose you're wondering if I looked at the papers, never opened them. I knew she had at least one high-powered lawyer, probably two, and I had just enough money to pay expenses and put something away for my kids. Over the next two weeks I got two other deliveries from the same legal office. I did notice one thing though, the packages were getting heavier. "When were you going to tell me?" my mom hit me with that question as I walked through the door. "Tell you what?" "About the divorce." "Oh, I guess that's what's in those large manila envelopes I've been receiving," I said getting a cold Corona from the refrigerator. "You haven't opened them?" "Mom, what's the point? If she wants a divorce she's going to get one whether I want one or not. Her prick of a father can hire the best legal minds in town so if that's what she wants, I'd be a fool to fight it." "Haven't you at least tried to talk to her?" "Mom, what's the point? I did my best and I guess it wasn't good enough for her. I'm done trying to be Mr. Perfect. It's my time now." "Ok, how about your two kids? Don't you think Danny and Kim deserve to have a say in what happens?' "I talk to them a couple of times a week. Don't you think I know it's going to be hard on them? But I think it'll be harder on them if we continue living the way we were." Mom knew I was right. I didn't want a divorce but I had run out of options. Sue had picked her work and dad over me and I couldn't live like that. The following night I was taking a break when the phone started to ring. I wasn't going to answer it and was going to let my machine pick it up but thought what the hell, I couldn't hide from her forever. "Sue, what do you want?" I asked in almost an annoyed tone of voice. "Steve, I know you got the papers, you were supposed to respond in seventy- two hours," she said in an equally annoyed tone. "I've been pretty busy lately and I guess I haven't had a chance to look at them yet." "You haven't even looked at them yet? Steve, it's been over three weeks." "And your point? Look, if you want a damn divorce, just do it ok. I won't fight it. Just let me know when it's over and when I can see my kids, that's all." Trying to Reclaim My Marriage "Don't you even care about us? Don't you even miss me a little?" I could tell she was crying. "Think about it Sue. How many nights were you home for dinner over the last year? And when you were physically there most of the time you were mentally elsewhere. The kids and I developed our own life without you. You made the money, I played the mom and the kids missed out on having two parents. I don't want to fight anymore. I'm just tired of the whole thing. Do what you want and like I said, just let me know when it's officially over." I knew she was bawling I could hear it in the background. Did I still love her? I think maybe I did, but it had been such a long time since we'd been happy. Maybe we could try again but like I said earlier I couldn't do it by myself. Somewhere over the next five minutes I heard her start to say something but then stop. "Sue, if you don't mind, can I speak to the kids?" "Steve, I'm not at home, I'm still at work." "Figures; nothing changes does it?" I hung up and called my kids. Three things happened over the next week that had a huge impact on my life going forward; two of which I didn't hear about until much later. Sue and her mother and father were having dinner together in her parent's formal dining room. "Steve really said that?" her father asked. "This is going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. We'll take that little prick for everything he's got and maybe get you some alimony to boot," he said laughing out loud. "Hank, will you just shut the fuck up for a change," Sally yelled hitting the table with both of her hands. Sue and Hank both looked up at her in total amazement. "Hank, if after forty years of marriage I didn't have such a high tolerance for assholes, I would have divorced you years ago." "Mother!" A surprised Sue called out. "Sue, my only regret is that I didn't bitch slap you when you started acting just like your father. You've become a self-centered, arrogant, selfish woman and I'm almost ashamed to call you my daughter." Hank stood up and yelled, "Sally, that's enough." "Hank. sit down, that is if you can get your head out of your damn ass. Sweetheart, whether you believe it or not, your father is dead wrong about Steve. He wasn't the lucky one in your marriage, you were. You should have been kissing his ass every day for what he did for you, but you, like your father, were blind to what was going around you. That man put his career on a back burner so he could support you the way he did. And when he stood up for you, you lambasted him and made it seem like he'd done something wrong. You and your father are cut from the same mold I'm sorry to say. Just like you, your father was never around. How I got pregnant with you is still a mystery to me. Hell, I thought I'd have to ask his brother to do me because he was never home. So, get your divorce, rake him over the coals but he was right about one thing. When the kids get a little older they'll dump you for him and all you'll have left is a big empty house, a great job and distant memories to keep you warm. Don't make the same mistake I made. So with that said, I've lost my appetite and I'm going up to my room, alone," she said glaring at her husband. The two of them watched Sally as she walked out of the room. "I think your mother's drunk." "Dad, she wasn't even drinking," Sue said still in shock at what had happened. Two days later, the other shoe dropped. An e-mail came out from the corporate offices in Atlanta; it was from Mr. William Thomas one of the senior partners. "I'd just like to congratulate one of our junior partners on her husband's first place win at the Atlanta regional bike show last month. Sue's husband Steve did one of the most outstanding paint jobs I've ever seen. Even though it may have been a bit risqué for some, nonetheless it was a true work of art and he should be congratulated on his work. The board is even considering sponsoring him at next year's Atlanta auto show and having him spruce up the company logo. Attached are pictures of the paint job that won. However, if you are offended by naked images please do not open the attachment." Sue looked at the screen and never even blinked. She opened the attachment and looked at the pictures that he'd taken. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that the girl on the front fender bore more than a casual resemblance to her; but with a lot bigger boobs. Connie walked into Sue's office and shut the door. "He doesn't know about you divorcing Steve, does he?" "Connie, no one knows in this office knows outside of you." "What are you going to do now?" "Connie, I don't even know what I'm even doing about my own divorce. I thought I had all the answers and now I'm not even sure about the questions. If he'd just talk to me for once." "If it was me, I'd just go over there in person. This way he couldn't hang up on you." "I don't even know what to say anymore, even if he would talk to me." "Tell him you've been a real ass and you'll fuck him until he won't be able to walk; that always works for me." "I think it's going to take a lot more than that this time," Sue said closing her briefcase. As I said, three things happened. By special delivery I received two more packages. How much more paper work does it take to reverse the words 'I do' anyway? However, these weren't from Sue's attorney. The first one was from Easy Rider Magazine. It showed me the layout and the byline that would be running in next months issue on the Atlanta show. The article showed a picture of me with the trophy and one of Donna on the bike; it was labeled beauty and the beast. It read that a Warmonger's bike had taken best in show and it even called out Donna by name. It seems that more than one person had recognized who she was. I was fucked. The article from Iron Horse Magazine was pretty much the same. Both said what a great paint job I'd done, but mentioned that a member of the Warmonger motorcycle gang owned the bike. If Donna had just stayed in the background nobody would have ever known, now it would be out there for the world to read about. So much for keeping it a secret and I knew Sid was not going to be happy camper. I decided to cut out early and was getting ready to lock up when Sue's BMW pulled into the parking lot. Shit, what else could go wrong today? "Steve, if you've got a minute I'd like to talk to you." She was in her three-piece suit looking both hot and professional at the same time. "I'm impressed, I thought it would take at least a couple more months for it to be final. I guess when you have money there are no limits to what you can do," I told her sarcastically, trying to get in the first shot before she told me how bad she'd fucked me over in the courts. "Can we talk like two adults for a change without all the pot shots?" "Sue come on in, this way I can get the lube ready so it won't hurt so much." I continued to attack and she frowned. "It was a joke all right. I remember a time when you would have thought that was funny too." She glanced over at my desk. "You still haven't opened them up, have you?" "Nope, no reason. You want something to drink? I've got water and maybe a Coke, but it won't be diet." "You got a beer?" That took me by surprise. "Two Corona's coming up." I went over my refrigerator, and handed her one. I took two big gulps of the other before I spoke, "now that we've got the pleasantries out of the way, what do you want?" "I've stopped the divorce proceedings," she announced taking a small drink out of the bottle. "So, what does that have to do with me? I've moved on and am pretty happy with my life right now," I shot back trying to regain the upper edge. "My business is growing, I've got my work coming out in two magazines next month and for once everything is going my way." "In other words you don't miss our old life? Me and the kids?" "The kids yes, you no," I lied. "How can I miss some self-centered bitch who was never there? Someone who demanded to wear the pants in the family but who didn't have the cock or balls to back it up." "I guess I deserved that and probably a lot more, but that doesn't mean I didn't love you, that I don't love you still" she whispered, with her eyes tearing up she took another sip of beer. "How can you possibly love someone who you don't think of as your equal or don't respect?" "I respected you, it's just that I kind of took advantage of you." "Kind of? Kind of? Who are we fucking kidding? You tried to walk all over me and for a long time I let you. I thought to keep peace in the family I should just suck it up. That's when you tried to cut my nuts off; and probably would have if I didn't finally put you and your fucking father in your place." "Let's leave my father out of this, he's having his own set of problems right now." "Be still my heart," I said with a big smile now on my face. "Now, I'm asking you again; what do you want?" "To try again." "No way; been there done that. Sue, you don't have a clue what it takes to have the type of marriage I'm looking for. The days of me being your personal servant are dead and gone," I was now close to shouting at her. "Can't you show me how to be the kind of wife you want? Can't we at least try? I think you still care for me, how much I'm not sure, but what will it hurt to give it another shot? If it doesn't work, well then we'll join the ranks of the 'also were married' and move on with our lives." "Sue, you don't have a clue what you're asking. I'll never go back to what we had," I said, really considering it for the first time. "It'll be done on my terms." "Our terms," she replied immediately. "I'm not going to lose myself in this either. We do it as equal partners or nothing." I was starting to think this over. "Well, I've got to go and pick up the kids. Dinner is at six thirty if you're interested. The kids would like to see you, but that's your choice; no pressure." "Yeah right, no pressure," I thought to myself. She took two more sips before putting the bottle down. She came over, gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked out to her car. Still had a great ass that even a business suit couldn't hide. All right, my curiosity and my dick got the better of me. I walked in at twenty minutes after six and declared, "let's eat." Sue and I didn't say much as the kids updated me on every detail of their lives since birth, I guess not knowing if I was going to stay or when they'd see me again they made damn sure I knew all about them. I told Sue I'd help with dishes but she said the kids came first. We finished catching up and I got them ready for bed or should I say, I wrestled with them until they tired themselves out by nine o'clock. A kiss for each and it was lights out. Sue was sitting in the kitchen sipping on a glass of wine. "As wild as they were, I don't know how you got them to go to bed." "I just did what every good father does; I threatened them." She smiled. "Well, come to any decision yet?" she asked I think half expecting me to say I wanted a divorce. "I've got a list of conditions that must be met before I say yes or no." I proceeded to pull a full-page list out of my pocket. "I typed them up because you probably wouldn't have been able to read my handwriting," I passed the sheet to her across the table. She smiled after reading the first couple of items and then looked shocked when she got to the tough ones. "I'll agree to all but the last item. They're my parents and although you and my dad don't see eye to eye," she began before I interrupted her. "I can't stand the son of a bitch." "Like I said, even though you and my father don't see eye to eye on every item, he is our children's grandfather and I won't cut them out of his life. You don't have to come with me, but I will let the children visit with them. And, if he's not allowed in our house for now, I'll go along with that." My conditions didn't contain anything unreasonable, just common sense items that most married couples took fore granted. But we weren't like most other married couples, not yet anyway. "You spending the night or going home to your mom's?" Sue asked quietly but her eyes said that she was hoping against hope I'd stay. "Do you want me to stay?" "What do you think?" she replied. "Well, then ask me, why don't you?" "What do you mean ask you? I shouldn't have to ask my husband to spend the night with his wife." "Sue, we haven't been a true husband and wife for over a year. I think you've looked at it more of a master and slave type of relationship. So, I'm going to say it one more time, if you want me to stay all you have to do is ask." Women can be so dumb at times. "Damn it. All right! Stephen Moore, would you like to spend the night with your wife, Susan Moore?" She said with real intensity and just a hint of sarcasms. "See, was that so hard? Yes, I'd love to spend the night, thank you for asking." "Asshole," she said under her breath and it wasn't said in a nice way either. Since most of my clothes were still in the house, I took a long shower, shaved and found something appropriate to wear. I was half expecting Sue to join me in the shower but figured she was still a little annoyed with me. Oh well, we had plenty of time when she got into bed to get reacquainted. I could see her in the bathroom from my position on our bed. She washed her face, flossed and brushed her teeth and when I saw what she had on my heart stopped beating fast anymore. She was wearing her 'don't even ask me for sex outfit.' It was an oversized tee shirt, crew socks and grandma underpants. Her hair was tied up on top of her head in an old lady bun. "What?" she asked when she saw the expression on my face. "Nothing," I said turning over and giving her my back. I guess I hadn't expected great sex tonight or even a blowjob, but the least she could have done is to tease me a little. It appeared that nothing had really changed, not yet anyway. "Look, we've got some real issues to resolve before we go back to doing the thing we both enjoy. I don't want you back for a booty call or because you have an itch that needs scratching, I want my husband back and you want a new wife, which isn't going to happen over night. So, if you just want a quick fuck, here it is," she said now lying back spreading her legs. "But if you're looking for more, like I am, it's going to take more than one dinner at home." She kissed me and I held her until the kids started jumping on the bed in the morning. My kids were happy to be having breakfast with me again. "Can you take the kids to school this morning?" "No problem, I'd love to sweetheart." At least she asked for once. "Don't worry, I won't be late tonight. I plan on picking up Chinese on my way home from work if that's all right with you?" "I don't have any other plans for tonight, so that should work." I didn't like the look she gave me but I overlooked it. This was going to be a lot harder than I thought. "Looks like we're going to have to start from square one all over again." When she gave me a peck on the lips and started to walk out I yelled to her. "I can get more affection from a hooker over on Ninth Street." When Kim asked what a hooker was, Sue came over and gave me a nice kiss and a little tongue. "Now that's what I call a goodbye kiss. I'd probably have to pay at least twenty buck for one like that," I said teasing her. She wasn't amused. Like I said, it wasn't going to happen overnight. With the kids dropped off at school, I opened my shop and had two messages already on my machine. One was checking on the status of a job I'd started and the other just said to keep open a slot for him at about nine thirty. He didn't leave a name and I just figured it was someone who wanted a quote on a job. I heard the bikes over the air compressor of my airbrush. I stopped, purged my lines and waited for them to come in. Jesus Christ. The first guy was big enough to create an eclipse of the sun if he walked in front of it and his friend who about a head shorter was almost as wide. "Can I help you guys?" I asked. "I think Sid told you we'd be around," the shorter of the two spoke. They weren't wearing their colors but they still looked menacing with or without them. "Right," I said regaining my composure. "What kind of painting are you interested in?" "Why don't you show us what you can do?" the taller one asked. "Ok, why don't you come over here and I'll show you all the drawings I've done to date," motioning them both over to my computer as I clicked on my picture file. "Start here and just click on the down arrow, that will take you to the next picture. I think I've got about a hundred and twenty-five there. If you need me, I'll be over by my paint booth," I said pointing over my shoulder. I was spraying a clear coat on a front fender when they called over to me. For the second time I cleaned out the lines. Wiping off my hands I walked over to where they were sitting. "You've done some nice work here," he said motioning to the picture of the screen. It was a picture of a tall redhead with a snake wrapped around her. "I want her to be a blonde and have bigger tits." "No problem, I can handle that." His buddy just wanted a custom paint job. No pictures, no flames just a blue and black metallic paint job. Thank goodness I got an easy one for a change. I shot them a price and neither one flinched; probably could have gotten more. I told them that I'd do one at a time and needed a week for the paint job and about five days for just the tank picture. "If you want to just drop off the tank, I might be able to do it quicker and if you want to disassemble and reassemble the bike, I'll cut my price by twenty-five percent." Both agreed to those options. Now the tough one. "I need to get a hold of Sid or Donna. Some things come up I think he should be made aware of," I told the two and watched as they looked at one another. "He can call or come over to the shop, but I need to talk to him and soon. Just tell him it has something to do with the Atlanta show." I gave them each another card. Maybe Sid wouldn't care but on the other hand, I didn't want him to get blind-sided. Especially if he knew that I knew about it in advance. Dinner was pleasant and the kids weren't nearly as wild tonight. Because it was Friday night they got to stay up later so we all watched a mover together in the living room. I liked Harry Potter myself and it was my kid's favorite. I think Sue thought it was juvenile but seemed at least a bit interested anyway. By ten o'clock the movie was done, we cleaned up the snacks and everyone headed upstairs. I was laying ten to one odds Sue would come out in something a lot sexier than last night. Did I want sex with her, hell yes, but was going to make her ask me for it; I was done begging for just a sniff of her pussy. I'd started wearing a new type of protective glove in the shop so my hands were now a lot cleaner. They still weren't smooth as a baby's bottom but a far cry from what they'd previously been. When she beat me to the bed and was waiting on me tonight I was a little surprised. I brought out the latest issue of Iron Horse and was looking at the fold out of the girl on the bike of the month when she started looking at me. In the almost ten years I'd known Sue, she'd been the aggressor only once, and that was after a party when she'd had way too much to drink. It was at an old friend of mine's house and we were one of ten couples there. Sue, like always, was Miss Prim and Proper especially in what she'd wear. When two of my buddies' wife's started to try and make her jealous she started drinking more. She never said a word about what was going on, but instead got blitzed. On the way home she was all over me asking me if I thought she was as hot as those two sluts that were all over me all night. Trying to Reclaim My Marriage "Babes, you're my wife, the mother of my kids and I love you to death," I told her. When she slurred something about their big tits I kind of laughed. When I told her she had the cutest booblets around I think she got a little upset. "They may not be the biggest tits in the world, but they're perky and I still don't have to wear a bra if I don't want to," and she pulled off the one she was wearing. "See, they'll even bounce when I do this," then she started jumping up and down on the front seat on her knees. The only problem was the driver in the car next to us was getting a great show too as he cruised next to us at the same speed. I laughed, he laughed and gave me a thumbs up before finally speeding away. I carried her in the house, stripped her down and we both hopped into the shower. There was a lot of kissing and finger action and I knew my window of opportunity was closing fast. I figured I had twenty minutes before she passed out or fell asleep. I chased her to the bed and after a lot of foreplay kissing she took over. She gave me a not too bad a blow job, a great lap dance, and finally slipped me into her pussy and fucked the shit out of me cowgirl style. I only wished I had gotten this on fucking tape because the next morning she remembered none of the previous night. Tonight I was hoping for the same. "If you put away that magazine maybe we could fool around a bit tonight," she said moving towards me. She was wearing a short top and had on almost see through bikini panties and best of all no socks like last night. Jokes have a time and a place but the bedroom is normally not the place and when your wife is making ga ga eyes at you, it sure is hell not the right time. We were getting into it hot and heavy and I decided to make a small joke. I must have been bitten by the stupid bug to do something this dumb. Well, we were kissing and swapping a ton of spit when she started rubbing my dick. Ok, open mouth, insert foot and close mouth. "Oh Donna, that feels so good," I whispered into her ear. She stopped, looked at me with a shocked look on her face; I had this stupid grin on mine. "Sue, it was a joke," I told her. All right, she didn't see the humor in it as she slammed her pillow against my head not once but at least three times. Then, through clenched teeth she laced into me. "You son of a bitch, who in the hell is Donna?" Again I tried to explain it was just a joke, but by now she was seeing red. "This is Donna," I said taking out one of the manila envelopes by the side of my bed. 'Beauty and the Beast.' Sue recognized the bike from Bill's e-mail from Atlanta, but none of his pictures included Donna. She was there hanging out for the whole world to see. "So this is what you did in Atlanta? You picked up some slut at the bike show?" "Hon, it was the owner of the bike's sister," I said while she studied the picture even turning on the overhead light to get a better look. "You like this kind of woman? More than you do me?" As I said, some men just go brain dead at certain times in their lives. "Sue, think about it. I married you didn't I? I can't say she's not interesting to look at, but I'm in love with you. However, if you got a tattoo here or her," I said touching her breast and ass, "you'd look extra hot." "In your dreams mister. I like this body just the way it is, and if you don't well I can think of ten or twenty guys that would love to see what was under my work clothes." She'd given it back to me, and then some. "So, shall we try this again or do you have any other stupid comments you'd like to make?" I kept my mouth shut this time; that is until my tongue ventured out to reacquaint itself with Sue's pussy. We both got off, but it wasn't quite the same. It was going to take time for us to get back to where we were, but at least it was a start. "I've got about an hour's worth of work at the shop I need to do this morning," I informed Sue Saturday during breakfast. "I've got two tanks to prep so I can shoot them Monday morning." "Why don't we all go this morning and then hit the mall when you're done. I haven't watched you work in forever and it's stupid for you to go there and then come back all this way when the mall is on that side of town." I wasn't going to object. I was wet sanding the two gas tanks by hand when I heard the bikes pull up. Sue was walking around the office and Kim and Danny were playing games on my computer when Sid walked through the door, and he wasn't smiling. I'd brought the two magazine layouts back to the shop and wasn't sure how I was going to break the news to him. I walked over to him. "Good morning Sid," I said tentatively. "I already heard about it, but I understand you have the actual magazine layouts." I went over to the table by my desk and grabbed both envelopes and handed them to him. "Jesus fucking Christ," he said and not softly. Just at that moment Sue walked out of the office. Walking to the door, he opened it and bellowed, "Donna get your ass in here." Donna came bounding in dressed in denim and leather showing more than a little skin. I watched Sue trying to take in what was happening. "You dumb bitch, you just had to get in the pictures didn't you. It's going to be out there for the whole fucking world to see. No matter where I fucking go now, people are going to know because you couldn't keep your tits off my bike." Sue now was standing next to me looking at the two of them. "Sid, it's not like you don't have another fucking bike," Donna yelled back at him. "Ok, now what am I suppose to do with this fucking bike. Anyone who sees it will be looking for me," he shot back at her. "I don't need the fucking notoriety that'll go along with the bike now." "Why don't you sell it to us?" Sue said watching the two of them argue. "Sell the bike to my husband and he'll tell both magazines that he owns it, not you. That way you'll keep your privacy and we'll have something to display at the shows." "Sue, please stay out of this." I was surprised at what she had just suggested. "How much can it be worth? Ten to fifteen thousand?" "Sweetheart, I've got twenty-five in the customization alone," Sid snarled back at her. "Well, we'll give you twenty-five and Steve will do another custom paint job on any of your other bikes free of charge. But this time we won't publicize what we do." Everyone was looking at Sue. "It's a good business deal all around. Everyone gets something out of it and no one gets stuck." I noticed our kids were standing next to their mother or more so just behind her. I wasn't sure how this was going to all play out. I like the idea; hell, I loved the idea of buying his bike but wasn't sure what Sid thought of the idea. "Can you design something similar to what you did last time?" "Anything you want," I said with a smile on my face. Sue started talking to Donna about something. It took over an hour to get all the details straight and how the money and paper work would change hands. In the end I'd have to design something pretty special to makeup for the problem Donna had caused. "Did they hurt?" my daughter Kim asked Donna as she touched the tattoos on her stomach. "Just a little," she said with a smile. "You sure have a lot of them and my mommy doesn't have any," Kim was trying to raise up Sue's shirt while Donna started to laugh. "If you want, I'll take your mommy with me and we'll put a whole bunch of pretty ones on her tummy." I could read Sue's eyes from across the room. That wasn't going to happen, well, not in my lifetime anyway. With the negotiations done, Sid left with Donna on the back of their other bike. I wheeled in the new addition to our family and just stared at it; it was mine. "I can't see what is so special about this bike outside of your paint job," she said throwing a leg over it. It was a custom shovelhead with a rigid frame and a hard tail. It had a Springer front end with about a thirty-nine degree rake. It had three spoke mag wheels front and back with a set of California handle bars. The only gauges it had were a tach and speedometer but the high bars worried me. I'd ridden a bike with them on just once, and after about a half hour my arms started to get awfully tired. The passenger's seat was nothing more than a pee pad attached to the rear fender. And it was all mine. "Look, a picture of mommy," Kim said pointing at the girl on the front fender. "No honey, that's not mommy," Sue said looking at the naked woman wearing just a thong on the fender. Then she took a second look. "Holy shit!" I was dead meat. All right, the brown hair was longer and Sue sure as hell didn't possess the attributes of that girl, but Kim was right, it was her face on that girl. I had used an old picture of Sue and embellished it. This is how you see me in your warped mind? This is how you'd like me to look?" she asked. "I guess I'd leave off the harness." Sue couldn't take her eyes off the picture and finally admitted it did look hot, in a slutty sort of way. Little by little we struggled our way back. I worked harder on my business and she cut back on her hours. Was everything perfect? Not by a long shot but neither one of us was giving up at this point. Thursday night Sue announced that the kids were spending the weekend with her parents, something about theme parks and the beach. "I need you to make sure you're home on time, because you're taking me to a new restaurant for dinner tonight." Crap, the last thing I wanted to do was get dressed for dinner at the end of the week. However, I sucked it up, smiled and told her I would be honored to escort her to dinner maybe with a bit of sarcasm, but also with a big smile on my face. There was no way I was going to push my luck today especially looking at a kid free weekend. I'd been riding my new bike on and off to work most days and today was no exception. On my way home I filled up with gas and everyone there ogled the bike and especially the paint job. I always made sure I had business cards on me because Sue found a way to write off the bike totally as a business expense. "I pulled into the garage walked into the kitchen and about had a heart attack at what I saw. There before me was the hottest motorcycle momma I'd ever seen. Long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, jean shorts that were just high enough to hide her jewels, knee high leather boots, and a tube top that covered just the essentials. She had more tattoos than most hard-core bikers. She was sipping on a Corona but best of all she was standing right there before me in my own kitchen. I walked up to her, grabbed the beer and took a long swallow before taking her in my arms and kissing her. She stuck her tongue all the way down my throat telling me that she knew other tricks with that tongue. When we pulled into Shady Oaks the other fifty bikers couldn't take their eyes off us. They gathered around to look at my bike while I took my date inside and found an empty table way in the back. Her big breasts felt good in my hands. We traded spit until our burgers came. We shared two beers and left when she told me that she was warming up dessert rubbing her almost bare pussy on my leg. I felt her naked arms around me as she pushed her tits into my back. These weren't thirty-four A cup breasts, more like thirty-eight double D's. When we got back to my place I went to get one last Corona. She stopped me and said she has something a lot tastier to suck on and she scooted up on the kitchen table. I stripped her and ate her right there on the kitchen table. She'd been right; her pussy was warmed up and the juices flowed down the back of my throat. I was just about to put the meat to her when she slid off the table, leaving a wet trail, and went down on her knees. All right, I don't have a ten-inch cock but what I do have disappeared down her lovely throat. Did I think she would swallow? I didn't have a clue but I never gave her the chance to pull off my dick as I pumped two loads into her hungry mouth but she never let up. She licked and sucked me until I got hard again. I bent her over the table and took her from behind. Damn this girl was tight. I gave her everything I had. When she started to yell for me to fuck her harder, I grabbed hold of her hips and slammed her even harder. She was like a bitch in heat when she finally let loose and clamped down on my dick. I gave her what I had left in me. We sprawled across the table starting to come down. When she did a one eighty and started eating my face I knew I wouldn't be ready for at least a half an hour. I licked her pierced nipple and pulled on her clit ring and asked if she wanted a shower. She led me by my dick to my shower, lathering me up paying particular attention to my dick. When she dropped down on her knees and tried to get me hard I told her she was wasting her time, give me twenty more minutes I pleaded. She led me to my queen size bed and pushed me back. "If you can't get it up, I hope at least your tongue can." She put her shaved pussy on my lips. I licked, sucked and fingered her until she begged me to stop, but we continued for about five minutes more. With both of us totally drained we finally took a breather. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" "Better," I said kissing her again tossing her hairpiece onto her dresser. How long will the henna tattoos last?" "A couple more days depending on how often they're washed." "Well they do look hot. By the way, nice touch with the boobs. How did you keep them up?" "They're built right into the top. You can find the craziest things on line if you know where to look," she said giving me another kiss. "Did you see the looks we got tonight? I thought for a while a couple of guys were going to fight you for me." "They would have had one hell of a fight on their hands," I said with a grin. "Next time not so slutty. You're supposed to be my girl, not some ho off the street. Maybe I'll have someone take pictures of us next time and send them up to Bill in Atlanta." "Over my dead body." "Don't forget, tomorrow is dress up night with the senior partners in my office. No grit, no grime and a lot of spit shine." I guess one good turn deserves another. We're a couple again, and is Sue going to get a boob job for me? Not a chance in hell. But like I just said, we're happy and we're both working on it full time for a change. We went back to where we first started all those years ago and got back some of the magic that was missing in our marriage. We now know what is really important in our lives and make family decisions together for the good of the family. Will we make it, not a doubt in my mind especially after she told me that she'd quit her job if it came to a choice between the two of us. So now when my friends ask me what I see in her, I tell them I see a loving wife and mother and a badass biker chick under that three-piece suit. They think I'm nuts and they probably are right but I wouldn't change a thing now that I've got back the woman that couldn't tell the difference between a swap meet and a car show.