27 comments/ 66456 views/ 32 favorites Also By: PTBzzzz There are places in this story where the same person is referred to as Missy, Mrs. Smith or Also. Please understand the names are to give the perspective of the person viewing her. There is no overt sex. If you are looking for a cheap thrill you will not find it in my stories. Hank Williams Jr stated once that he writes songs about subjects he knows. I write stories about what I understand the best; loving families, good neighbors and their pets. Be kind with your remarks, I reserve the right to remove those that are offensive. Me, Myself and I are totally responsible for any and all content in the stories I put out, be it good or bad. If you are an author on this site PLEASE enter your pen name into a search engine; look to see if your works are posted on any other sites. I have recently found my work on another site without my permission. I recognized many of your names on the same site. I have notified those who run this site about my findings. Please let them know if you find anything too. To give you a clue what to watch for look for sites that start with the word "SLUT....." * Her name was Marty, but everyone called her Missy. I can't remember a time when I did not know her. We were born about a month apart, I was older. Her family and mine attended the same church so we saw each other every week in Sunday School. Mom and Dad sang in the choir, I was always among the first to arrive. Missy was almost always the last to arrive. Each time she would look around the room and smile when she saw me. My name Is Timothy S McDougall, I answer to Tim. The first I remember her, other than Sundays, was when we were 3 years old. We started in a preschool program that year. There were about 40 of us in that school; there were so many new faces and I was nervous. Each day I arrived in the middle of the group; as usual Missy was the last to get there. On the first day, when she walked into the room and saw me she smiled and walked right over. The world got better then. After the first week of school we had made friends with most of those in our class; I tended to spend most of my time with the other boys and she did the same with the girls. Still when we first arrived we looked for each other. The day was just not right until we knew the other was there. In the early spring we were outside for recess and I heard a girl talking loudly "NO! I don't want you to kiss me! Leave me alone! Stop that!" I looked up and saw one of the 4 year old boys had backed Missy into a corner and would not let her out without a kiss. The other girls were holding back; afraid to try to intervene. I recognized the boy; he was referred to as Mighty Mike. He thought he ruled the playground. In reality he was a bully who did what he wanted, when he wanted. He was the largest child in the school. I walked over and told him to leave her alone. He responded "Make me." I took Missy's hand and gently tried to pull her away; he swung at me, hitting the side of my face. The punch did not hurt all that much and I swung back a few times. He fell down and started to cry. Of course, the teachers only saw my actions and carted me away to the office. I was held out of the group for the rest of the day. Missy and the other girls tried to tell the teacher what happened, they didn't listen. When my Dad came to pick me up that afternoon he was told I had beat up another boy on the playground. As we drove home he asked me for my side of the story. I told him "Mighty Mike would not leave Missy alone; he cornered her and demanded a kiss from her. I stood up for her and he swung at me. I only hit him 3 times to protect Missy and myself." He did not say anything; I felt as if he did not believe me. When we got home I ran to Mom and held her and cried. Why was she in the middle of making my favorite cookies, cocoanut and chocolate chip? She sat me at the table and gave me a warm one with a glass of milk. She then setup another place beside me and left to answer the front door. The next thing I knew Missy was there hugging me and calling me wonderful and crying. Then her mother and father came into the room. I got a hug from her mother and her father shook my hand. He spoke "Thank you for standing up for Missy today, you are a good young man and should be proud of yourself." Missy and I both got 2 cookies that day, before dinner! We all went out for pizza afterward. As we were finishing eating 2 sisters I recognized from school ran over to Missy and me and told her how she was lucky to have a hero as a friend. "So this is our young hero?" I heard from behind me. I turned to see their mother. She continued, "Since I picked them up, all my girls have talked about is how you protected their friend Missy today." "I only did what I had to do..." I was cut off by a big hug from the oldest sister, Sally. She said "Mighty Mike has been picking on everyone there as long as I have been there. He is not so mighty any more." I had trouble sleeping that night. Too many thoughts were pouring through my head. The next morning I did not want to go to school. Dad explained that both he and Mom had to go to work and everything would be OK. Mom took me in as usual. As we walked up the sidewalk I heard a girl squeal "That's him, he is here!" Things started to happen so fast that I had no idea what was going on. I heard a deep booming voice saying "Are you the little bastard who beat my son up?" I turned to look at the mountain that had spoken. The mountain reached for me. Mom pulled me away from his grasp. The 2 sisters from the night before came around the corner of the building with what looked like a General. The general turned out to be the Chief of Police in our town. The children inside started chanting "Sissy Mikey, Sissy Mikey!" over and over again. Mom tried to push the man away as he reached for me again. She tore skin off of his face with her nails and sunk them into his arm. The Chief blew his whistle and everything got deathly still. No one moved, we all looked at him. Finally he spoke "If you touch that boy or anyone else I will arrest you." "He beat up my son yesterday, I want HIM arrested." "The story I hear is your son deserved it by hitting him first." The mountain looked at his son and roared "Is this true?" Mikey pissed his pants right there. At once 16 children started to talk about how Mighty Mike was a bully and how he was mean to all the others, and how I was the only one who dared to stand up to him, and how I was a hero, and they all hated Mikey.... I doubt anyone took a breath. The chief blew his whistle again. Again there was silence and no movement. The mountain looked at his son and asked "Is this true?" Then he turned and pointed to the first child and said "I want to hear what all of you have to say, one at a time." As the mountain listened to all the children he got sadder and sadder and seemed to shrink. Finally he turned and spoke to his son "You owe all these children an apology. I have never been so disappointed in anyone in all my life." Slowly Mike, not so mighty anymore, approached me and through his tears he said "I am sorry for hitting you and picking on Missy, I was wrong to have done that." I held out my hand and slowly he reached out and shook it. I said "I accept your apology, please apologize to Missy too." All the children spoke with him and they all shook his hand. He left crying, never to be seen in town again. In our town there are 2 elementary schools, I went to one and Missy went to the other. We still saw each other in Sunday School. She smiled when she saw me for the first time each Sunday. I had a reputation all through school of not putting up with bullies. I only had to make an appearance and the bullies backed off. In Middle School Missy and I were reunited; we had many classes together. We walked together when we could. We ate lunch together every day. On Fridays, during lunch, the student council held a dance. Missy only danced a few times and only with me. By high school we were officially a couple. The night of the senior prom we gave each other our virginity. Throughout the summer we continued to make love, we agreed to be married after we completed college. I stayed at a local college and she went to State. We got together as often as we could on holidays and breaks. My junior year I was offered a good job for the summer; they kept me on part-time when school started in the fall. If my grades stayed up they would refund the tuition I had spent for the semester. That next spring I had enough for a down payment on the house we dreamed about, with the promise of full time work when I graduated I bought it. My senior year in college was tough; I figured Missy's was too. We called and spoke but she did not get back into town as often. When she did she was just tired. After settlement on the house I called and told her I had a surprise. I met her at her parents to pick her up and take her to see our house. She came to the door and was crying. There was a man behind her I had never seen before. She was clearly pregnant. I asked if it was mine, she burst into tears and shook her head "No." I said nothing. My world went dark; I did not hear her calling to me as I just turned around and left. I awoke the next morning down by the lake. I heard they were married the next week, I sent a card wishing her well. .I barely made it through school, the last 2 months I did next to nothing. I sold the house at a loss and left town after graduation. I settled into a different life about 200 miles to the east. My degree was in Mathematics, with a minor in accounting. I found work building houses as I had done my first 2 summers in college. I liked the physical labor and did a good job; within 5 years I had my own crew. The work took my mind off of my loss, eventually I thought about it less and less. One Friday the boss called me into his office "I have an employee who I think has the smarts to do the job, he just won't apply himself. I am going to give him one more chance working with you. If he can't or won't come around I will have to let him go." He asked his secretary to send Lance in. I turned around and saw a mountain behind me. He was a big, fluffy, soft mountain; but he was still a mountain. I was still standing when he sat down; seated in the chair he was still as tall as me. "Tim, this is Michael Smith. He goes by his middle name; Lance. Lance you are on your last chance with this company, if you can't cut it working on Tim's crew I will have to let you go. Lance nodded with a frown on his face, "Please, I need the job to pay for care for my father; he was injured in a traffic accident a few years back and can not work. I will do the best I can." He kept looking at me with a funny look on his face. As we left the meeting he asked how I got the little scar near my ear. "I got it in the only fight I have ever been in; it was way back in pre-school. I stood up to a bully for a friend, he took the first swing then I finished the fight." Lance started to cry "I thought it was you. I am truly sorry you got marked, I was stupid back then. I thought because I was bigger than most people I could do what I wanted. My father taught me that because I was big I had to be gentler than everyone else or I would be a pariah all my life." I thought back to when I got the scar, "Your father was the mountain I saw the next morning, you're Mighty Mike." He nodded. "I got marked too." He pulled his hair back off of his forehead and I saw the mark. "I guess we are even then." I said. "For the record, I forgave you for your actions when I shook your hand." "The rules on my crew are; everybody pulls their own weight, you do as you are told. If you are done with your work you help someone else, just as they will help you. If you come in stinking of alcohol, or filth, you will be sent home, 3 times you are gone. You will be a gentleman and treat everybody with respect. Follow the rules and there will be no problems" "Yes sir, Tim. Thank you for the shot. I promise I will not let you down." "You will be the low man on the crew; as you prove yourself you can move up. The first month or so you will work beside me; I want to see what you know and are capable of doing." "Thank you Tim. May I leave now? I need to pick up Dad at his daycare." "See you Monday." Monday evening I spoke with the boss "Lance wants to be called Mike again. I knew him in preschool, he went by Mike then. He is next to worthless on the site and a danger to himself and others. He was never trained to do the job." Shall I fire him? No! He has a brain; I will take the time to train him correctly. Our work might be a little slow for a few months but I believe he has the capability to do the job. I think he can be one of our best if he applies himself." "You are my best foreman; I will leave him in your hands. Keep me appraised." The work was only slow for a week or so. I had picked the right horse. The next Friday I drove home to see Mom and Dad. I told them all about Mike. The last thing I said was "He is a very smart fellow; people tend to talk down to him because he is so large. I may be the only person who can bring him around; since I am the first one who brought him down." Saturday morning I ran across Sally at the hardware store. She was the older of the 2 sisters in the pizza place so long ago. You remember; she was the daughter of the police chief. I asked how it was going with her fiancé, Bob. She told me they had been broken up for about 6 months and he moved away from town. I asked her if we could see each other and she smiled and nodded yes. I took her to dinner that evening; afterward we walked around the lake in the center of town. We talked about old friends. Finally she got around to Missy and asked what happened between us. I told her about the baby and her marriage. She was shocked to hear that. She told me that Missy was single and living just outside town, she had no children. Missy was a very popular teacher in her old elementary school. She was never seen around town on dates. The only time she was seen was in church or at work. Sally and I dated for a year, I proposed to her at midnight on New Years Eve; we were married the following spring. We had never discussed it but I found out she was a virgin on our honeymoon. We moved into the house I owned in my new hometown. Just after our second anniversary we had our first child; a girl we named Maria. 22 months later we had our second; a boy we named him Patrick. Mike proved to be a good worker and a steady learner; he now has a crew of his own. He and his Dad are frequent visitors in our home. They have proven themselves to be true gentlemen. Life was good for the next 3 years. Then my world fell apart for the second time. Shortly after New Years Sally came to me and said that Bob had recently bought a house in town and they ran into each other at the store. They got to talking and they still had feelings for each other. They had met a number of times and were certain they were still in love. As much as she loved me, she loved him more. I asked her to wait and see; but she filed for divorce, Bob filed for divorce from his wife and they were soon married. He owned a house on the next street over.. Since I was the sole owner of the house we lived in it remained mine. She took nothing and gave me primary custody of the children with the understanding that they could visit whenever they wanted. She only wanted to be with her true love. Sally and Bob seemed to be doing well. I had my children. Other than that my life was hell. I went to work, came home, took care of the children and just existed. In fact I only lived for my children. Shortly before Labor Day we were shopping for new school clothes when I heard a voice behind me. "Tim! Is that you?" I turned to see who was speaking and saw Missy. I introduced her, to Maria and Patrick, as an old friend. Missy said she was teaching in our town; she had moved here with her husband, but was recently divorced. She did not have any children, and was renting an apartment nearby. As we parted Maria and Patrick were whispering to each other. I asked what they were talking about, Maria just smiled. Patrick giggled and almost shouted "She likes you Daddy." I said nothing as we headed to the car and home. Finally after supper and bedtime stories as I tucked them into bed Maria asked "Why don't you like the lady today?" I told Maria that she was a special friend a long time ago, but that time was long over. Maria gave me a hug and said she loved me, and then lay down to sleep. The Wednesday after Labor Day I put Maria on her bus for the first day of school. She hugged me and went off to fight all the new dragons in kindergarten. That evening I picked up both children at preschool and we went out to McDonalds to celebrate the day. There was an after school program there too. As I was driving I asked who her teacher was. She responded "Mrs. Smith. She is a really nice lady. I had a good time today." "I am glad you like your school." The children in the back seat were whispering and pointing at me and giggling. "Do I have a frog on my head or something?" "No, we were talking about school." Maria responded. "OK, let me know when the frog gets here." They giggled. The second Tuesday in October was the first PTA meeting of the year. I left both children with their mother and went to see how Maria was progressing. There was a business meeting first and then there were appointments to see the teachers. I found out I was last to see Mrs. Smith so I looked around the school to see the rest of it. I had been the construction foreman a few years before. I liked what I saw. I was 3 minutes late to see her teacher. I walked in ready to apologize and stopped dead in my tracks, at a loss for words. Mrs. Smith pointed to the chair in front of her desk and asked me to sit. I did. "Maria is a bright child, her behavior is exemplary, and she is a leader in her class. The children all look up to her just like the children looked up to her daddy years ago." I nodded. "Tim, I need to talk to you and explain what happened years ago. I put you last tonight because you deserve an explanation about what happened. Can we go elsewhere and talk privately?" I nodded. "It is 8:05 now; may we meet at the coffee shop across from the school in about 20 minutes?" I nodded, then got up and left. I felt like my world was imploding. My ears were ringing, my hands were shaking and sweating, my throat was as dry as a desert. I took a booth in the farthest corner that I could find, ordered a coke and waited for all the old wounds to be reopened. As usual Missy was just barely on time. She sat across from me and took a sip of her coffee. We looked at each other, not a word was said. Finally I cleared my throat and opened my mouth to speak. Just before the words came out she squeaked "No! I have practiced what I wanted to say since we parted so many years ago. It just does not want to come out." We sat in silence for another 5 minutes. Slowly and quietly she began "It was all a bad dream back then. I went to a Christmas party on campus and had too much to drink. My roommate asked someone to get me home. John, that's the man you saw at Mom and Dad's that evening, was the one. The next morning I woke in his bed, we were naked. I just sat up and sobbed. He woke up and asked me who Tim was. Later, when I missed my period I knew I was in real trouble." She paused and took another sip of her coffee. I said nothing, just waited for her to continue. I could barely hear her as she continued. "I couldn't saddle you with my mistake. I insisted he marry me and make the child legitimate. We argued for months about that. Finally he gave in. A few weeks after I told you, the baby miscarried; now I did not have you or the child. He had the marriage annulled and disappeared. I never saw him again." Also Known As Tamsin It took less than twenty seconds to snare Amanda Haldane. It was a warm, humid summer afternoon. It was Wednesday, and everyone was off to work or college. Amanda's daughter Jenny was off to study her art course, and her husband Michael was at work. Amanda was 38, with wavy auburn hair, a slim body which she kept in trim with visits to Fitness First every Monday and Thursday. Her eyes were brown, her face a triangle with a little pointed chin, and pouty lips. She was wearing a plain white blouse, dark grey slacks and the slip - on house shoes with flat soles she always wore while cleaning about the house. Amanda herself had been cleaning her home when she saw the folded up note on the glass surface of the coffee table in the living room. The house had been scrubbed clean, top to bottom, by the time her work had brought her to this final room of the house, and to the mysterious piece of paper on the table, folded neatly in half. Amanda had been in the process of reaching for the note on the table when the telephone rang. Her hand hovered over the note as it rang a second, and then a third time. Amanda looked up, wondering if she could pick up the note, or if the person on the end of the line would hang up first. The phone rang again. Amanda sighed, straightened up. She'd go and answer the telephone first, then come back and read the note at leisure. If the phone call was from those damned telemarketers again, though, she'd spend a few moments roundly cursing the voice on the other end of the line first. THEN she'd read that note. By the time she got to the phone, it was on its sixth ring. Amanda picked up the receiver hurriedly; if it went on to a seventh or eight ring, the BT Call Minder service would take over, and the call would be redirected to an answerphone. And that, after Amanda had made a special effort to come and pick up the phone, would simply not do. Amanda placed the receiver to her ear. "Hello?" she asked. For a moment, all she could hear was music on the end of the line. Strange, she thought. There was a drawing in of breath on the end of the line. A male voice answered: a voice she'd never heard before. "Hello," the voice said ... ... in delicious, rich, smoky tones that made Amanda shiver all the way down her spine. "Er, who are you?" Amanda asked, after a moment during which she realised she'd involuntarily let out a gasp. "Am I talking to Mrs Amanda Juliet Haldane?" asked the man. Ah, thought Amanda. He is a telemarketer, after all. "Look, here, now, I don't want to buy a timeshare or double glazing off of you -" she snapped curtly down the line. "You are Amanda Juliet Haldane, then?" asked the man. "I must know." "Yes, I am," Amanda blurted, not knowing why she was suddenly seized by a compulsion to divulge her personal details. "But you'd already know that, wouldn't you? So why would you need to ask -" The voice paused a moment, then resumed: "Also known as Tamsin?" Amanda stopped speaking in mid - sentence, stood silently in the hallway, the handset held firmly to her ear as she trembled. And in that silence, the background music played on. "How did you know that?" Amanda asked. "You do go by the name of Tamsin, then?" replied the voice. "Yes." "On the 'Married But Looking For ... Fun' chatroom?" The voice carried an odd emphasis over the word "fun." A pause. "Yes." "And are you still looking for ... fun?" Again, the odd emphasis. Amanda gulped, began to blush. "Y - yes," she stammered, her heart beating more vigourously now. "But a- all I - I did was jus - just leave my - my name," she said. "I didn't leave any - anything else beh - behind to identify m - me, ohhh ..." Amanda felt a wave of sexual arousal course through her body. "Who - who are you ...?" she gasped. "Never mind that, Tamsin," replied the voice. "Tell me, truthfully, and hold nothing back. Do you still want ... fun?" Yet again, the emphasis. A knot of fear tightened in Amanda's solar plexus. What was this man asking her to do? She prayed he wasn't going to come in the door and ... at the thought of what he might do, the knot tightened further. Amanda's heart hammered wildly as the fear mixed with the strange sense of arousal. But something in the word "fun," or maybe it was that background music, just washed a wave of warmth throughout her body, bringing a flush and pinpricks of sweat to her face and neck, and melting the fear like a wash of warm water dissolving a hard lump of sugar. "Yes," Amanda breathed huskily, "fun." "Good, Tamsin," said the voice. "But first, you must tell me about yourself. What I will need to know. I will need some information before we can proceed. Will you tell me what I need to know, fully and truthfully?" "Yes," Amanda replied. "Even if it's so deeply personal that you'd never even dream of discussing it with a stranger?" added the voice. "Yes, anything," Amanda replied. "Anything." "Even secrets about yourself, Tamsin? Secrets so deep that you'd rather die rather than divulge them?" "At this point," Amanda breathed, "I'd tell you my bank account Pin number and my dirtiest sexual fantasy." "All in good time, Tamsin," the voice replied, calm and unruffled as he had been at the start of the conversation. "All in good time." There was a pause, during which time all Amanda could hear was that music in the background. There was a rustling sound, like somebody turning over papers. Then the indrawn breath again. "Let's begin. Tamsin, how old are you?" "I'm - I'm 38." "Oh, dear, Tamsin, I meant your age." "I'm ... I'm eighteen." "And your hair colour, Tamsin?" "Brunette." Amanda was auburn. "Tamsin, what is your favourite rock band?" "I love U2," Amanda said, wondering why. She couldn't fucking stand U2. Her breath caught. But Tamsin did ... "And now, I've got to ask you. Tamsin, do you smoke?" Amanda shook her head. She didn't smoke. Filthy habit. She opened her mouth to speak ... "Yes," she replied. "Have you been a smoker for long, Tamsin?" "Not really," replied Amanda. "Since my eighteenth, two weeks ago." "Do you love your husband?" the voice asked. "I think so," Amanda responded, amazed that she wasn't responding as 'Tamsin' this time. "You only think so?" the voice asked. "Well, I did when I married him - I thought I was in love with him, only -" "You disappoint me," said the voice. "The truth, now. Do you love your husband Michael, yes or no?" Amanda found herself trembling, trying to withhold the answer, but there was that strange compulsion to speak the truth; as though releasing the truth, however bitter, would bring relief from a still deeper inner pain. Her jaw unclenched of its own accord, and the answer rose up in her throat, emerging from her lips with a force beyond her volitional control: "No," she said. "No, I no longer love Michael." Gasping, Amanda leaned forwards, struggling for breath, propping herself up against the wall with her free arm for support. A pause. Then: "That's good, that's fine. Now let it all out. All of it. All of your hidden feelings. I want you to express them all." A wash of unwanted emotions emerged, in the wake of the public revelation. Anger, bitterness, fear, misery, ennui; all of these tore their way up through her vocal chords. Twenty years, they'd been married. Twenty years, of quietly raising Jenny, of being the perfect mother, of being Michael's perfect wife. Twenty years. When Amanda had been Tamsin's age, she vowed to see the river Ganges at Benares by the time she was thirty. Then she'd met Michael, and started dating him. They'd got married, and Jenny had followed a year later. Amanda'd spent her entire thirtieth year at home. She'd wanted to wander halfway around the world by the age of thirty; for twelve years, she'd not gone further than Benidorm, and the rest of the time, she'd not gone much further than the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom. Amanda struggled to hold the emotions back; but the emotions were too strong, too insistent. Clenching the handset in her fist like a bone weapon, she threw back her head and howled out her frustration as a single, long drawn - out primal scream of rage. Then she leaned forward again, sobs emerging from her; sobs of relief. The secret was finally, finally out. Slowly, the sobs died down, replaced by heavy, ragged breaths. Amanda heard a voice, faint and distant, calling her name calmly. After a while, she realised to her surprise that she was still clutching the handset; that the voice hadn't gone away; and that she still wanted to listen to him, after all that he'd just done to her. Her breath ragged, she put the phone back to her ear. "What are you doing to me, you bas-" "Be silent," said the voice, calmly, as if discussing the price of beef at the local Tesco's. Amanda fell silent, suddenly and completely, as if someone had flicked a mute switch inside her. It wasn't as if someone'd told her that her vocal chords had been paralysed. It was as if suddenly, speaking was the very last thing she ever wanted to do. Anything that would displease the voice was unthinkable. "Now," said the voice, "we will have some ... fun." Also Known As Tamsin "Can you remember anything else happening after joining that chatroom?" Jenny asked. "If you were that deeply programmed to be this Tamsin, they had to have done something to you, abducted you, maybe brainwashed you ..." "Don't," Amanda said, putting her fingers to Jenny's lips. "Bad enough to think I could've told Mike that I didn't love him, without me wondering if it was me speaking, or my programming." "Is it your programming, Mum?" Jenny asked. Eyes moist with tears, Amanda shook her head, turned away. "And what about me?" Jenny asked. "Have I been programmed? Why can't I remember anything? I don't remember putting my name down in any chatroom." "I don't know," Amanda said. "What gets me is that I didn't give the chatroom any details of my real identity; my real name, my address, telephone number ... our number's ex directory, anyway ..." Her eyes lit up suddenly. She raised her head suddenly, turned to face Jenny. "Why didn't I think of it before? I'll dial 1471!" She got up. Jenny shook her head. "Won't work," she said. "I already tried it." "And?" "Nothing," Jenny said. "The last number dialled was last night; my boyfriend Joe called me about eight pm. There's no record of any calls since then." Jenny raised a hand as Amanda began to interject. "There's another thing. BT says there was a major problem today. The local exchange got struck by a truck. The phones were actually down from about an hour before I arrived. They only got fixed half an hour ago." "What's that supposed to mean?" Amanda asked. "It means," Jenny replied, "that nobody could have made any calls into the house at the time you said. Nobody at all." Stunned, Amanda sat back in her chair. Presently, she took out another cigarette, lit it, handed a new one to Jenny. They smoked in silence for a while, lost in thought. "Frightening, isn't it?" Jenny asked. "Yeah," Amanda said. Jenny leaned forward, staring at the glass table between her and her mother. "What's that?" she asked. Amanda looked down, saw the note. "Oh yeah," she said. "Did you leave this for me?" she asked. "Only I forgot all about it when the phone rang." "I didn't leave you a note," Jenny said, as Amanda picked up the folded sheet of paper and opened it. "Maybe Dad left it for you ... Mum?" The note fell out of Amanda's trembling hands. She looked up at Jenny, as Jenny picked up the note from the floor, read it, gasped. The note had been sitting on the table since that afternoon, untouched and unnoticed. It simply read: "WE WILL CALL YOU AGAIN SOON, TAMSIN. YOU WILL HAVE A TASK TO PERFORM FOR US. YOU ... AND YOUR DAUGHTER." Also She sobbed softly for a minute and then drank again. "I think I was raped that night. I had behaved for the entire time I was there, until that night you were the only man I ever had. I loved you so much then, I still do." She broke down at that point. I held her hand. Slowly she calmed down and was able to finally speak again. "My life was empty without you. I found out you had moved on and married; that you had 2 wonderful children. I tried to forget about you, I never could." After another sip she continued. "I met a man who was going through the same thing. We dated for a while and got married. Tim, I never got over you! The marriage was wrong, for both Bob and I. He and I moved to town here about 4 years ago; shortly after that he ran into the real love of his life, divorced me and married her." "That would be Bob Smith?" "You know him." "He took my first wife from me." I replied. "They still live near me now." "Bob was even worse as a husband than John was. I hope he treats Sally a lot better than he did me. I only found out her name when I read the school paperwork for Maria." After a short silence she said "Bob blamed me for not giving him a child, we argued for the last 4 months we were together. I said we should both get tested to see what the problem was. He refused." I saw she had run out of steam. We sat there for a few minutes. Finally I spoke. "When I saw you pregnant that evening, everything I ever believed to be good and true was torn to shreds. I believed we would be a love for the ages; one of the pure true loves that could never be broken. I hated what you had done to us, but in my heart I still loved you more than myself. I was lost for about a half year; I stopped doing anything and barely finished college, finally I moved to a new town, here. I went back into construction work. I came home tired every night; I started to sleep well at night. I have done well here. Did you know I was the site foreman for the school you teach in?" Her eyes opened wide at that last statement. "I would like to say I got over you; there are some things about me that have changed. Some of those changes are not good. I was almost over many of those things when Sally left me for Bob. Now the main reason for me to live is those 2 precious children you saw me with. Without them I can not predict what I would have become. Now, they are my world, just like you were for years." "Tim, can we see each other again? I know I have hurt you terribly and regret it every day." "Missy, I need time to think this over. You have had time to think about what you want; this is all new for me. Also, I do not think it is wise if I date you while Maria is in your class. It could cause people to say untrue things about both of us." We parted that evening with the promise that we would talk at a later time. I came home to find the children in their own beds and Sally waiting for me in the kitchen. "I thought you might be a little later than you planned. I knew about Missy; but did not know how to tell you. I am sorry for all I put you through with the divorce and all. Maybe you can get back with her. I knew for the entire time we were together you had never gotten over her. It is tough when you have to share your bed with another woman's ghost." We talked for hours, before I finally fell asleep on the sofa. She locked the door on the way out. The last day of kindergarten they held a graduation ceremony. I sat in the back row. I was amazed when they explained how much the children had learned in a year. Maria insisted on being allowed to leave a card for Mrs. Smith, telling her what a great teacher she had been. She also insisted that Mrs. Smith be invited to the party we had scheduled the next Saturday. I told her if she could write it, she could invite her. The party was almost over and there was no sign or her beloved Mrs. Smith. Maria was sure she would come, she was heart broken. There was a slight knock on the door, the only one who heard it was the dog. Sammie ran to the door and sat and wagged her tail. Then she barked. I heard that and went to investigate. As I approached the door I heard another light rapping. I opened the door and Sammie sprang out to greet Mrs. Smith. Maria came over to welcome her to the party. They disappeared to make the rounds and introduce her to all the other guests. The last of the guests were about gone when I saw Mrs. Smith sitting in the corner talking to Maria. I was on the deck outside that window and listened to them talking. Maria was hearing the story about Mighty Mike and my rescue of the fair damsel in distress. I came back inside from saying goodbye to the other guests and saw Patrick asleep on the other end of the sofa. I gently suggested that it was time for bed. Maria begged me to allow her to hear the end of the story. I replied "OK, but don't take it too far." I looked at Missy as I said that. She smiled and nodded to affirm. I picked up Patrick and took him up to bed. As I descended the stairs the story ended. Maria whispered something to her teacher. She responded "Only if your Daddy says it is OK." Maria ran to me and begged "Can Mrs. Smith help tuck me in tonight?" "If you run up and get ready super fast, the answer is yes. Do not skip anything." She was back in record time; grabbing both of our hands and telling us she was ready for bed. As Maria lay down she looked me in the face and said "I always knew you were a hero!" I kissed her on the cheek; Mrs. Smith kissed the back of her hand. At the bottom of the stairs Missy turned to me and said "Do we have time to talk tonight? "I don't see why not." "First, your daughter is a wonderful child. I loved having her in my class for the last year. I will miss her next year." I smiled at her remarks. "I try to do the very best with both of them. I wanted 2 more but since the divorce it does not look good on that front." "Have you thought about our last conversation?" She asked. "Not much, just almost all the time." She smiled. "You do not know how glad I am that you are back in my life; even if a little bit, I felt so empty for so many years after you walked out of it years ago. I completely understand why you did. If we can be friends it would make me happy. I dare not ask for any more after what I put you through." "I would like to try being friends again. Something has been missing in my life too. I think that it is my best friend ever." We hugged for a moment then I directed her to the kitchen table. "Did you know that Mighty Mike was here this evening?" She gasped. "He was the nice gentleman who was pushing the older man in a wheel chair?" "He is huge." "Mike works with me; I taught him everything he knows. He now has his own crew and is doing well for himself." We talked about old times, our families, our jobs and even our hopes for the future. We did not dare to talk about being together. There was still too much baggage in the way. As she got ready to leave I walked her to the door. She turned to face me. I reached out and held her hand and said "It is good to have my best friend back in my life." I got a light kiss on the cheek, before she went out the door. After she drove off I turned out the lights and went to bed. The next morning when we returned from church we found Missy sitting on the steps petting the dog. "I left my purse here last night." She explained. Maria immediately asked if she could stay for lunch "...since she is already here." I invited her explaining we usually had soup and sandwiches after church on Sundays. She was delighted to accept. I sent Maria to find her an apron when she offered to assist; she was in her Sunday best. Maria came back with 3 aprons and proceeded to instruct us as to what we would fix for lunch. Patrick went to his room and played. Sally called just after we finished eating and asked what time the children would come over. Sunday afternoon is one of her times with them. Maria took the call. She asked if they could spend the night since there was no school the next day. Sally insisted on speaking to me. I told her it would be OK; she could drop them off at daycare in the morning. This made Sally very happy. The children both loved her and like to live the good life at their mother's house from time to time. We live a much simpler life at home. Missy helped clean up the dishes and we decided to go out for the day. We spent a lovely summer day in the park. By the end of the day we were walking arm in arm and beginning to feel a lot more comfortable around each other. For supper we went to a diner I liked; the food was good, plentiful and not expensive at all. As we parted she kissed me on the cheek and invited us all to her house for dinner the next Friday evening. I told her I thought it would be nice. This time we exchanged telephone numbers and I got her address too. The week went along fine until Thursday evening when Sally called and asked to have the children for the evening and next day. I reluctantly agreed to allow it. Then called Missy and told her the bad news. She insisted that I come over anyway. I was beginning to smell a setup by a certain 6 year old little girl. When I tucked her in that evening I asked about it. I could see she wanted to deny any parts of it. I looked at her sternly and said I wanted an answer. Maria burst out "She loves you so much and I love her too. She is such a nice lady. Please, Daddy, try to love her too." I told Maria "...that love can not be forced. There was a lot of hurt over the years because of how we broke up; it may take a while to get over it. We may not get over it enough to be more than friends. We need to take the time to learn to trust each other again." Maria begged me "Please try, you have been so much happier since she came into your life again." "I need time sweetheart; I just need time." I kissed her on the cheek and turned out the lights. When I turned at the doorway and looked she was asleep. "Time sweetheart, I just need time." She muttered "Thank you, Daddy. I love you." She cuddled up to Sammie and was out. The next evening at Missy's place I explained about Maria's conspiracy. Missy said "I like her even more now." The next Sunday Missy started to attend church with us. It became a ritual to go back for soup and sandwiches; then the children would go over to their mother's for the night. We spent time together for the next year and got closer than ever. The next year Patrick was due to be in kindergarten. Missy managed to get the first grade teacher to take kindergarten for a year and then switch back at the end of the year. She did not want anyone to call favorites because of our relationship. The school board accepted the decision. It was my turn to host Thanksgiving that year. Missy, Maria and I went all out on the dinner. Patrick made wonderful decorations for the walls and table. Everyone went home even more stuffed than the turkey had been. After putting the children to bed I called Missy into the living room. I hugged her and thanked her for all the help with dinner and clean up. I then reached into my pocket and pulled out a small bag. I looked down into her eyes and asked her to marry me. She threw he arms around my shoulders and sobbed for the longest time. When she could answer she looked into my eyes and just shook her head Yes. I pulled the diamond ring out of the bag. I asked "Do you remember this?" She saw the rings we had chosen so many years ago. She broke down again. After a while she asked "How long have you had this?" "I bought them my junior year in college. After I showed you the house that evening I was going to propose and make it official. I have all 3 pieces of the set. We may need to get them resized." I tried the ring on her finger, it fit perfectly. My wedding ring was going to be another issue. Missy spent the night in our guestroom. When Maria came in to wake me in the morning, I sent her to look in the guestroom and wake our company up. The shrieking woke Patrick up. He came stumbling into the hall from his bedroom only to be run over by Maria as she ran back to speak to me. We were married on the first day of spring, it happened to fall on a Saturday. It was a small wedding, only half of the town showed up. The children from school sang a lullaby for us. Mighty Mike was the best man; Missy wanted Maria to be her maid of honor. In lieu of presents we requested donations to the charity of their choosing. My boss insisted on giving us a 2 story addition to the house. We added a family room and 3 bedrooms. He also insisted on covering the cost of the reception. 2 days before the wedding Missy and I sat down with the children to decide what to call her. The meeting lasted 2 minutes. As Maria explained it she had a Mommy since she was born; now she was going to have another Mommy Also. Missy became Also that night As Maria explained it would make life easy as she could say "I love you Also. Or can we go to the store with you Also." Missy got pregnant in September. She was able to keep teaching until March when the twin boys became too much for her to handle and still teach. We named them Tim junior and Mike. I remember the conversation with Bob one evening; Missy said "I told you it was not me." Bob never did have any children The next year Mighty Mike finally married, I was his best man. At the reception he stood after the other toasting was done and called for one more. He said "I need to call for one more toast. This toast is to honor the man I consider my best friend in the world. He taught me honesty, humility, how to do my job correctly, how to be a gentleman and most importantly how to be a gracious person. He taught me to be gracious in winning and loosing. He taught me what family and friends are all about. Without his guiding hand I would not be the man I am today, and I certainly would never have met and married this lovely lady, the love of my life. Thank you Tim." I was floored at his eloquence and the kind things he had to say. Missy was expecting another child at the wedding; she stuck out so far that we had a rough time dancing. While Mike was off on his honeymoon I got the call one afternoon to go to the hospital. We had a little girl; we named her Katherine in honor of both of our mothers. We never had any more after her; the lord knows we tried though. Bob died the next year; he went in for open heart surgery and never came back out. His home was mortgaged to the hilt to cover his longing for toys. He loved his arcade games and remote control cars, planes and ships. He had to have the latest and best car. Sally had not worked since she married Bob. She was finding it difficult to get back into the workforce. Missy insisted that she come to live with us. She is nanny, housekeeper and all around good friend. There are now 2 Mommies in the house; the children call them First and Also. We sold off most of Bob's toys; Sally has all the money, I never asked how much. I became partner in the construction company. Then when the boss decided to retire he sold me his share for a dollar and a paycheck until he and his wife die. That is the least I can do for a man who gave me so much. Life was good for many years. Mike and his wife Crystal have 3 children; he is now operations manager at the company. His wife works in the emergency room at the hospital. My 2 oldest are in college, the 3 youngest are all in school too. The company is doing great. Missy and Sally are great friends and Sally is happy to be part of the family. Then there was the traffic accident. Missy was returning from school and was hit broadside by a tractor trailer, on the passenger side of the car. Mostly she was shaken pretty badly. The car was pushed in so far that it almost touched her in the drivers seat. The force of the impact popped her door open, the seatbelt and airbags did their jobs. You know how doctors are; they order tests to be sure about everything. Every test came back fine, but they did not want to release her. They were concerned about a previous skull fracture being a problem. The 4 ribs that had been broken some time in the past were not that big of a concern. I was dumbfounded. I called her parents, they were sure this was her first accident. Missy just told me it happened a long time ago in college and dropped it. They held her for 3 days. The last night Crystal visited her on her lunch time, they got to talking and Missy told how she came to miscarry her first child. Crystal promised she would not tell me the details. She never promised to not tell Mike. When Missy was released she spent 2 weeks at home. When she returned to work the school was decorated with banners welcoming her back. She had an assistant for the rest of the school year. At work Mike was staying away from me more and more. He looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. One Friday he stopped for a burger for lunch, the girl swore he ordered it with extra mustard. He went wild; he yelled and screamed, demanded his money back, demanded the manager step outside so they could talk. The policeman who was having lunch at the time had called for backup as soon as he started yelling. 3 more officers came flying into the place and ordered him to drop to the floor, he just glared at them. Finally he dropped to the floor; they cuffed him and arrested him and took him off to jail. Some patrons swore he was smiling as they carted him out. He refused to use his one call until late Sunday evening. He called me to say he would not be in until at least Wednesday; he told me where he was and then hung up. I swore I heard him laughing. I called crystal and told her, she just laughed and said I thought that was where he was. She thanked me and hung up. Monday afternoon Mike pled guilty to disturbing the peace, paid his $300 fine and walked out of court a free man. The only excuse he offered the judge was "...he was having a bad day." Tuesday evening just after supper there was a knock on the door. A detective showed his badge and asked for Missy. The detective asked if she knew a man by the name of John Tower. Missy recoiled slightly and then said she had many years ago. The detective looked at me and said "You are about 5 foot 10; we are looking for someone almost 7 feet tall with a shaved head." He went on to explain someone had assaulted this fellow John. They caught him after dark, duct taped him to a tree, nailed his hands, scrotum and foreskin to the tree. He also had a badly cracked skull and 4 broken ribs. The reason they came to see us was because the word Missy was cut into his forehead and a letter was stapled to his right ear explaining that this was in retribution for what he did to his wife Missy years ago. They asked if I knew anyone who might fit the description. I answered honestly "My best friend Mike, he is about 6 foot 8, but the last I saw he had a full head of hair and a beard." The next day Mike was back at work, hair and beard intact. He was all smiles and the weight of the world was no longer on his shoulders. He brought me a coffee and a honey wheat doughnut, my favorite. Mike stayed in the office all morning until the mail came; then he bolted out the door saying something about an appointment. On the top of the mail was a large brown envelope addressed to me. It was marked personal and confidential. The first thing I saw was a smaller envelope addressed to Missy. Then I saw a series of photographs showing the destruction of a man. They showed the results of a beating, then he was duct taped to a tree, his hands were nailed and then his genitals were nailed to the tree. I saw a close up of the carving in his forehead and the note stapled to his ear. The last page just said "Tell Missy things are almost even now." Also I almost missed the memory stick in the corner of the envelope. That evening after the children were asleep I gave Missy the envelope. Inside was a full confession of how John had drugged and raped her. He called her a goody two shoes. He went on to explain how he had pushed her from behind as she went down a set of steps in the apartment building they lived in. This resulted in the cracked skull, broken ribs and the miscarriage. The only picture Missy would look at was the one of his genitals nailed to the tree. I heard her mutter "...serves him right." We turned the photos and letter over to the police; we never heard what happened per our request. Later when I asked Mike if he knew anything about it he said he "...might know someone, who might know someone else, who might be able to fill in the blanks. Any way the bastard deserved it, he almost ended a perfect love."