38 comments/ 111871 views/ 16 favorites Coal Miner Pt. 01 By: DG Hear This story will be submitted in four parts. A big thank you goes out to my editors LadyCibelle and Techsan whom always make my stories a better read. Also thanks to Jake Rivers for his extra inspiration. Chapter 1: I've been a coal miner for the last thirty years. At fifty-one years old, I've seen it all, or at least an awful lot of it. I worked in the deep mine for twenty years until one day I was trapped in a collapsed mine. After that, I went into strip mining. It was also the end of my marriage of seventeen years. I've been divorced for the last nine years. If it weren't for being trapped in the mine, I never would have known about Brenda cheating on me. I'll tell you a little about it later. Right now, I want to talk about these idiot college kids that have nothing better to do than to picket our facility. They do it every year to honor Earth Day. We can expect them to start their picketing about a week before Earth Day and be there until the weekend after it ends. They really have no idea what they are doing or why they're doing it. They feel it has something to do with protecting the minerals in the earth. I headed up to my truck as they were yelling at us miners, calling us all types of obscene names. We're all used to it and don't pay a lot of attention. Some of the younger miners always want to go and argue with the students. We older guys know better. Confrontation is not what our corporations want. They know it will just draw more negativity and the reporters will start showing up. As long as we leave the students be, the less chance of a confrontation with them. We, that's a few of my miner friends and I, headed over to the local pub for a few beers like we do most nights after work. It's just good to unwind for an hour or so after a hard day's work, and believe me mining is hard work. We always get into discussions about political issues or things like this Earth Day crap. Don't get me wrong here; we want a nice decent clean earth as much as the next guy does. It's just that we don't think a lot of the young people understand exactly how things work. Them standing out there with a picket sign isn't going to close the whole mining industry and if it ever did, our world would cease to exist like it does today. Talking about third world countries, we'd be a fourth world country. One of my friends, Mike, wanted to lighten up the conversation so he told us about one of the e-mails he got the day before. It was about what some of the words women use really mean. He pulled the e-mail out of his pocket and began reading it to us. Here's what Mike told us: It was titled 'Nine Words Women Use'. (1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up. (2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house. (3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine. (4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don 't Do It! (5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.) (6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake. (7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say, 'you're welcome' ... that will bring on a 'whatever'). (8) Whatever: Is a woman's way of saying F@!K YOU! (9) Don't worry about it: I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3. We all laughed. The married guys said they lived with the language daily. I was remembering back to when I was married to Brenda. I'd have to say that his word explanations were pretty much on the mark. After another beer, we all headed to our respective homes. Of course, I headed to my apartment where I've lived for the last nine years. I was used to living alone. Every once in a while I'd go visit one of my daughters. They were both married now and I was a grandpa three times now. Cheryl, my oldest had two kids, and Sue, my youngest had a son. I guess it's about time to tell you about my mining accident and my cheating wife. I'll go back to when we met. It was quite a few years back. I had just turned twenty-one and a friend of mine said he was going to take me to a wild party for my birthday. Every weekend some of the colleges throw parties. They wanted you to be a student and my friend Jerry was. I had just started working in the deep mine but I was the same age as a lot of the students. I have to say that this was one wild party. Drinking and loud music were everywhere. I saw a few people smoking a little weed. I tried it once and didn't like it. It gave me a headache. Anyway, the more people drank, the louder and more obnoxious they became. The girls were doing these sexy dances and the guys were doing their best to get some free feels. As the night rolled on there were a number of couples going to different rooms. I figured it was to have sex. A few did it right there in front of everyone. I was standing there watching a girl giving this guy a blowjob when I was tapped on the shoulder. "Hi! Are you Rob?" It was a nice looking woman that I had watched getting felt up a little earlier. "Yes, I'm Rob. What can I do for you?" I smiled. "Your friend Jerry told me it's your twenty-first birthday today. Is that true?" "As a matter of fact it is; and who might you be?" I asked. "I'm Brenda. I'm a senior here at State. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday." She leaned over and kissed me. It was then I felt her tongue pressing against my lips and opened my mouth. By instinct, I reached around and put my hands on her ass, and pulled her into me. She was kissing me harder and I was pulling her against my increasing hard-on. "Come with me, Rob," she said. I didn't say a word as she took me by the hand and we went upstairs into someone's room. She locked the door, came back, and kissed me again. I reached between us and undid her belt, and unzipped her jeans. I turned her around with her back to me and slid my hand down her tummy and inside of her panties. I continued over a trimmed bush and sank my fingers over a moist pussy. She was lightly moaning. I was as hard as a rock now pushing up against her ass. I pulled my hand out of her panties and started removing my jeans. At the same time, she stripped down to her bra and panties, a matching pink set. I had my shirt, shoes and pants off as she turned and got on her knees in front of me. She pulled my briefs down over my hard-on and down my legs. I quickly kicked them off as she grabbed hold of my cock and slipped it between her lips. What can I say? Getting a blowjob from a good-looking woman was great. She was two years older than me, I found out later. After I came, she told me it was my turn to do her. She lay across the bed and I put my head between her legs. I did my best as she held my head into place. I licked, sucked and tongued her as best I could. She was getting wetter and wetter. She released my head and got up in the middle of the bed. I mounted her and we began a sexual marathon, for me at least. I must have come four times over the next two hours. We rested a while and then I went looking for my buddy Jerry who was passed out in the living room with his face buried between a brunette's legs. Brenda, my newfound friend, helped me get Jerry up and out to our car. Luckily, because of all the sex I had, I didn't drink much. I kissed Brenda goodbye and told her I would love to see her again sometime. She told me she usually went to the parties and would keep her eye out for me. I drove over to Jerry's dorm and helped him in. We both crashed until the following morning. I spent the night in dreamland thinking about Brenda. It was the best sex that I had in my life; at least to that date. The next morning I thanked Jerry for inviting me along. He told me I could come anytime I wanted. He would let me know when there was a party. I'd have to pay my own way from now on, he laughed. I asked him about Brenda and he told me she was a really fun girl. They were friends but that he never made it with her. She usually preferred the seniors or at least older guys. She asked him who I was when we had arrived, and when he told her it was my birthday; she took it from there. I had to work the mines most weekends so I wasn't able to go with Jerry very often. I did get a Saturday off and went my second time. Of course, I looked for Brenda. I saw her sitting on a guy's lap and got just a bit depressed until she looked up and saw me. She got off his lap and came over, and laid a hell of a kiss on me. "Welcome back, Rob. I looked for you every week but I figured it was just a one-time thing with you. I asked Jerry about you and he told me you were a coal miner; is that true?" "Yep! I'm in the deep mines and work the late shift. I finally got a weekend off and I had to see you again. You've been on my mind ever since we met." "Same here," said Brenda. We spent the night together and had sex the whole night this time. I've been with a few women in my life, but none can even come close to what Brenda and I had together. She did things to me that I only thought happened in movies. Was it possible to fall in love with someone because of the sex? I never felt this way about any women before. I did make it back to one more party before she graduated. We told each other that maybe we could keep in touch. I found out that she was from a town only twenty-five miles from where I lived. I got her phone number and told her we could see each other once in awhile. She told me she would like that. I was back working, then on my next Saturday off after her graduation from college I called Brenda. She said she was happy to hear from me and we set up a date. She told me all about herself. She was twenty-four years old and was now a secretary for a large firm in her town. She was living with her parents but was getting her own apartment very soon. She graduated from high school and went to State College. She said she has had boyfriends in the past but for some reason wasn't ready to settle down. We had been dating about six months. I talked to her at least every other day and tried to see her at least twice a week. Once she got her apartment, we spent a lot of our free time in her bed. I hadn't been with another woman since we had been seeing each other. She told me she turned down dates and that I was the only one she wanted to be with. I knew I was falling in love with her. She was in my thoughts every single day. I wanted to ask her to marry me but I was somewhat afraid of her past. I knew she lived a wild life during her college years. Hell, I was part of it. One day after we went to a movie and ended up in bed, she asked me what was the matter. She said she knew something was bothering me. "Brenda, I'm in love with you but..." "That's a good thing, isn't it?" she interrupted me. "You see, I'm in love with you too. I have been for quite sometime. So, what's the problem?" "Honey, it's your past. I know you been with a lot of other guys and..." "What? And you haven't been with other women? I haven't had sex with any man since we've been together. I sowed my oats, just like you did. It's the twenty-first century. Men and women are supposed to be equal; or don't you feel that way?" "No, I mean yes, hell I mean no. Damn it. Brenda, I can forget your past as long as it stays your past. I have no desire for any other women. You're the one I want to be with." "...and you're the only one I want to be with. We can make this work. I love you, Robert Mathais, and only you." Shortly after our little talk, we got married. Everything was great. She went off the pill and within the next four years, we had our two beautiful daughters. Brenda worked part-time after the birth of the girls. She was a great mother and wife. I continued to work at the mines and my spare time was devoted to my family. We had a lot of family time while the girls were growing up. Of course, a couple of evenings a week Brenda and I had our own fun. We enjoyed our private sex life to the fullest. That was until the girls started high school and Brenda decided to go back to work full time. I worked the late shift in the deep mines and Brenda worked the day shift at her office job. One of us was always there for the girls but we didn't get to spend much time together. When we were home together, the girls were usually around. We did a lot of kissing and hugging but our sexual togetherness was less than once a month. To make matters even worse. I was put on a seven to seven shift. I started at seven in the evening till seven in the morning. I also had to work every other Saturday. The money was good but my love life wasn't doing so well. I knew that Brenda wasn't as lovable as she once was either. I figured her work was getting to her too and I didn't want to upset her. I know she had been going out with her girlfriends more often. I could hardly blame her. Joyce and Ellen were both married also so I didn't think any hanky-panky was going on. One Saturday evening as I was leaving for work, I kissed the girls goodnight and told them I would see them in the morning. Brenda was getting dressed to go have a couple of drinks with her girlfriends. She had on her matching black panties and bra; she looked sexy sitting there. She told me she would probably be home by eleven. She just needed to get out for a little while. I kissed her goodbye and headed out the door. There were eight of us guys working this one area of the mine together. We were down in the mine maybe two hours when we heard a sudden roar and a huge cloud of black smoke. An area of the mine had collapsed and we were trapped. The only lights that we had were those on our helmets. We were scared shitless. We looked at each other and I could see a few of the guys were hurt. It was hard to see how bad. I went to try to stand and fell back down. Either my leg was badly bruised or broken. It hurt like hell. We were stuck in a small area of about eight feet by eight feet. We had our water bucket but we didn't have any food. We did our best to try to assess our condition. Three of us were hurt. Four others said they thought they were okay but scared and pretty shaken up. That's when we saw that Charlie wasn't moving. He was in the door-well when the collapse occurred, and he was struck in the head when one of the rafters fell. We believed he was dead. One of the guys checked for a pulse but there wasn't any. We knew we had to keep calm and hope that help would soon arrive. Joe, one of the guys, held up our air line, which was severed in the collapse. That meant that we had a very limited amount of air. We spent most of our time just trying to keep calm and wait for help to arrive. We were too far down to be able to work our way out. Besides, we had no idea how bad the mine had collapsed. To the best of our knowledge, we were cut off from the rest of the world. Let me tell you that your family is the first thing that goes through your mind. Your whole life with them flashes before you. I thought of Brenda and how happy we were when we found out she was pregnant. You think of the times you yelled at your kids and wish you could take them back. Yes, some of us had tears, wondering if we'd ever see our families again. We were down there about three hours when we heard a noise. Joe thought it might be another collapse. "No, Joe, that's a large drill. My guess is they located us. We just might make it." The next thing we saw was a large drill coming through an adjacent wall. We could see a large tube being pushed through. We knew someone was going to be pumping air to us. Within another twenty minutes, we could feel the air coming into our porthole of the room. It was another three hours before we were freed from our hole. The only part of the mine to collapse was the area we were in. They were able to come in the main shaft and build it up, and remove the piles of dirt, rock and coal and make it to us. We were taken out one by one on stretchers. The other two hurt miners were taken up first, followed by Charles who was indeed dead. Then three of the healthy miners were sent up and then Joe told me to go up next and he would come up last. We were the two senior men in our operation. It was dark except for the lights shining toward the mine entrance. I heard cheering when I was brought up. Everyone's family was there waiting for them. I was taken over to a makeshift dispensary area. My two daughters ran up to me and gave me a big hug. They were both crying. Behind them was my sister, Betty, who brought them to see me. When I asked about Brenda, Betty said they called her cell phone but it was turned off and they didn't know where she was. All of us miners were transported to the hospital. We were to be kept at least overnight to be checked out. One miner had a broken arm and the other a broken leg. The other four had bruises but were able to clean themselves up and would probably be released in the morning. As for me, I had some extremely bad bruises on my thigh and shin. My leg was sprained but not broken. The doctor told me I would probably have to stay in the hospital for a couple of days but would be using crutches for a couple of weeks. Betty and the girls came in to talk to me after my diagnosis and I told them I would see them in the morning. Of course, they told me they loved me and all three kissed me and hugged me. I know that Betty could see I was concerned where Brenda was but knew better than to mention it. After all, I had just escaped death. The doctor had given me some painkillers and I went to sleep, but not before thinking about where my wife was. The next morning (which was only a few hours later) I awoke and Brenda was sitting in a chair with tears in her eyes. I wasn't sure what to ask her about where she was the night before so I just came out and asked. "Brenda, where were you last night? Betty and the girls were here but I didn't see you." "I'm so sorry, Honey. I was out with my girlfriends from work and just lost all track of time. When I got home, I saw the note the girls left and came to the hospital as soon as I could get here. When I arrived, they wouldn't let me up to see you. They said you weren't in intensive care so I couldn't visit with you till this morning. I came as soon as I could. How are you feeling?" It wasn't over yet. I thought for now that it was best not to argue about it. There are very few places she could have been until four in the morning, and I was going to find out where it was. "I'm bruised up pretty bad and my ankle is sprained. I'll probably be on crutches for a week or two. Charlie was killed you know. Mel has a broken leg. The other guys are bruised up some. I sure feel bad for Charlie's family. They were all there when Charlie was brought out of the mine. Where were you again that they didn't have a TV on?" Coal Miner Pt. 01 "Rob, forget about me for now. I'm here now for you; that's what counts. We just have to work on getting you well. It's the only thing that is important now." She leaned over and lightly kissed me. I knew she was hiding something. I needed to know what it was. When I was going to mention it again, my daughters came in to see me. Betty had brought them in. They hugged and kissed me and were crying. They were the sweetest daughters any man could want. I would have to give Brenda credit for the way they were brought up. She was a great mother. The doctor told me I could go home on Monday and Brenda said she would take the day off to pick me up at the hospital. Betty told her there was no reason for her to miss work. She would be by to pick me up seeing she didn't work outside the home. So, that's what we did. Betty came by and dropped me off at the house, and came in and we talked for a while. She knew something was bothering me. I knew she knew it was me wondering where Brenda was that night. "Rob, I don't know where Brenda was that night. Just give her the benefit of the doubt. Talk to her, and see what she has to say. Don't let it eat at you this way. Call me if you need anything." After all the advice, Betty went home. I was on crutches but I wanted to look around the house and see if I could figure anything out myself. It was as though I feared the worst about Brenda not being there for me. I was hobbling around the house and finding that I could move pretty good. The first place I checked was the clothes hamper. I remember reading stories where the women would leave evidence in their hamper. I remember the bra and panties she wore that evening. I had kissed her goodbye before going to work. When I looked in the hamper there was her bra. It didn't hold any evidence, but where were the matching panties? I looked through the clothes hamper and under the bed. Where were they? I looked in her dresser drawer and there they were; all washed and clean. I was wondering why a woman would come home and quickly wash out her undies and put them away so soon. They would have to have been soiled. Brenda wasn't in the habit of coming home and washing her lingerie. Even if she was, why didn't she wash her bra also? No, she was covering up something. She had to have washed them out right when she got home from her night with the girls or yesterday after coming home from the hospital after visiting me. My stomach was beginning to get upset. This wasn't enough to accuse her of being unfaithful. I have to tell you that I really hope to God that I was wrong. I looked at all our phones at the caller ID's. All past messages had been erased except for the calls made yesterday. I felt this sixth sense or something. I made my way down to the basement. It was extremely hard going down the stairs with crutches. Hardly anyone hung out in our basement anymore. It was like a big storage room where we kept all our junk. I remembered that years ago we put a phone down there before we moved the washer and dryer upstairs just in case we were down there when it rang. If I remembered correctly, it had a caller ID also. I made my way over to it and glance at the ID. Sixty messages, it meant that no one had ever bothered to erase any message we received on it. Once a message was received, it erased the oldest message. It had messages dating back over a month. Whenever we got a call from the same person, it showed the latest and displayed how many times calls came through. Most of the calls were from family and friends. When I got to last Friday's calls, the day before my accident I noticed a call from a Brian Cooter. It was a cell phone call and it said twelve calls. That meant that this Brian person had called the house twelve times over a period of time. I had no idea when the first call was received but the last one came Friday. I found another call from Brian and Nancy Cooter. It must have been their home number. It was listed four times. Last one was a week ago. I wondered who Brian and Nancy were. I never remember Brenda ever mentioning their names. I jotted down their numbers and headed back upstairs. Damn it was hard using crutches on the stairway. Before long, my daughters came in from school and covered me with hug and kisses. I was a lucky father to have such wonderful and caring girls. They told me they had homework to do and usually did it when they first got home. Cheryl brought me a beer from the fridge while Sue gently lifted up my foot and put it on an ottoman. They kissed me one more time and headed in their room to do their homework. They had TV and a computer in their room and I could hear the music blasting. We had a safer Internet for them so they couldn't go on adult sites. Besides, Brenda checked their Internet history regularly to make sure everything was fine. I knew Brenda would be home within an hour. I decided to call her friend Joyce's house. She supposedly went out with Brenda on Saturday. Her son Mitchell answered the phone. "Hello," he said. "Hi, Mitch. This is Uncle Rob. How are ya doing?" I asked. He called us aunt and uncle since our families were close and it was a way of being respectful. "Hi, Uncle Rob. How are you doing? Aunt Brenda called here yesterday and told mom all about your accident. Are you okay?" "I'm a little bruised-up and have a sprained ankle but I'll live," I laughed. "Uncle Rob, mom and dad aren't home yet. I just got in from school. Do you want me to have them call you back?" "No, I just called to let you guys know about the accident. I didn't know Brenda called yesterday," I replied. "We knew about it Saturday, Uncle Rob. Dad and I were watching the news and they were telling all about it. They wouldn't give out the name of the miners until the families were notified. Dad and I saw Cheryl and Sue on the TV. We knew you had to be one of the miners." "So you figured I was one of them?" I asked. "Yeah, when mom came in we pointed to Cheryl and Sue in the background to mom. She put her hands over her face and got nervous and started crying." "Your mom was home, Mitch? What time was that?" I asked. "I guess it was around eleven thirty. It was right after the sports. After the sports, they went live to the mining site again. We stayed up pretty late but they said it would be a few hours before they would know anything. Me and dad finally went to bed, but we prayed for you, Uncle Rob. Mom stayed up and was making phone calls. I don't know who she was trying to call. She woke me and dad up at six in the morning and said that you were fine but in the hospital." "Thanks for the prayers, Mitch. I'm sure they helped. Just tell your parents I called to let them know I'm fine." After I hung up the phone, my stomach was almost cramping. If Joyce was home at eleven thirty, who was Brenda with? When Brenda got home, she told me I didn't look very good. I told her I didn't feel very good either. She offered to call the doctor and I told her it wasn't the bruises or sprain that hurt. It was the unanswered questions that were working my insides. She said she had no idea what I was talking about. I told her I needed to talk to her alone where the girls didn't overhear. It was very personal. Brenda looked very nervous. She got up and went to see the girls. They were going over to their girlfriends for a little bit so Brenda and I could talk. After they left, Brenda asked, "OK, Rob, what is this all about? Me not being at the mine? I told you I was out with the girls and the minute I knew about the accident I went to the hospital and they wouldn't let me in. So what is so unanswered?" she asked. "For starters, your panties. I watched you get dressed Saturday and you were wearing your black panty set." She looked at me just a bit nervous. "You went looking for my panties? What is wrong with you? Do you think I was out cheating on you or something? You know I would never do that." She really looked nervous. "The damn panties are in the drawer if you cared to look." "I saw them there. That's what first bothered me. You washed them. When did you do that?" "For Christ's sake, Rob. You accuse me for washing my underwear. What's got into you? In case you have to know, I washed clothes Sunday." "No, you didn't. The hamper is full. Even your matching bra that you wore is still in the dirty clothes. I think you washed your underwear because you had stains in them." "Go call Joyce. She's my best friend. Go ask her and see what she has to say. I'm really getting fed up with these accusations, Rob. I'm sorry you got hurt, I'm sorry I wasn't there when they dug you out, but I didn't have an affair. We were just out later than usual, that's all. I dropped Joyce off and saw the message when I got home and went to the hospital as soon as I could." "I called Joyce. She wasn't home so I talked to Mitch. He told me he and his dad were watching the news and saw Cheryl and Sue on TV. They pointed them out to Joyce when she got home at eleven-thirty. Is Mitch lying to me?" I could see tears kind of forming in the corner of her eyes. "Please, Rob, just let it go. You're getting better and we're together. Isn't that all that matters now?" "So, you did cheat on me. Who was he? Do I know him? How long has this been going on? You were even going to have Joyce lie for you. How low can you get?" Brenda was crying now. "It was a mistake, Rob. I didn't realize what was happening. I was flirting and the next thing I know I was like in college again. I'm so sorry, Rob. It was only the one time. Please forgive me and let's put it in the past. I promise you it will never happen again. Please, Rob, if not for me, do it for the girls and our family." I was torn at this point but was holding it together. Could I forgive her? After all, she has been my life. I thought to myself if this was a one-time thing, maybe; but if she had done it before, our marriage would be over. So I needed to know more. "Rob, say something, please say something," asked Brenda. "What's his name?" I asked. "You know, the bastard you fucked." "Please, Rob, let it go. I promise you it will never happen again. Nothing will be gained by bringing other people into this. I was at fault and I'm paying the price right now." I was looking at a very scared Brenda. I stared at her face for what seemed like minutes but was probably only a few seconds. "Who is Brian Cooter?" I asked. Brenda turned white and her mouth opened but no sounds were coming out. I figured I just hit home. "Where...who...how...oh God," she was now crying." "Are you going to tell me about your friend Brian or do I need to talk to him personally? I have his cell number and his home phone where he lives with his wife Nancy. Which one should I call?" "Please, Rob, it's over. Don't bring his family into this. I've been seeing Rob for a few months. Last Saturday I ended it with him. It truly is over, Rob." She went on to tell me the story on how they met up again. Apparently, he was one of her lovers from State and was a salesman for the company she worked for. He just lived in the next town over, about twenty-five miles away. She pleaded with me to forgive her and made God knows how many promises. I told her I needed time to think and that I would be staying in the spare room for now. I really didn't want to see her or talk to her. I was still on crutches and wasn't the most mobile. When the girls came home they saw their mom crying and came to talk to me. I told them that their mother and I had a big argument and that we might be separating. It really hurt them. They kept asking me why? And I told them it was up to their mother to explain it to them, but I told them, "Your mother broke her wedding vows." I might not have mentioned it but I was a quiet man and held most things in. For the next week, Brenda went to work and came home and tried to act normal but it wasn't working. My sister Betty came over and I told her the story and she cried and asked me what I was going to do? I explained to her that I loved Brenda but I could never trust her again and that I was going to get a divorce. One day Joyce came over to talk with me. She tried to tell me how broken up Brenda was about her mistakes and she really did break it off with Rob. I, in turn, explained to Joyce that if it had been the one time, I just might have been able to get by it, but I knew that it had gone on for months. Joyce broke down and cried. "I told her she was so stupid but she didn't listen," said Joyce. "She just had to fall into the old college day trap. God, I'm so sorry, Rob. You two were so great together. I know Brenda loves you more than anything, and just made a few stupid mistakes. Please try to forgive her," asked a crying Joyce. "So you know, she really was breaking it off with Brian the day of your accident. I called her as soon as I heard of the accident and tried to get hold of her. She had her cell phone off." As soon as my leg healed enough to walk on, I moved out. I stayed with my sister Betty for a week while I looked for an apartment close to home. I wanted to be close to my daughters who were the innocents in this sordid affair. Brenda and the girls cried. They asked me if I was just getting away for a while to think. I explained to the girls that I had filed for a divorce under irreconcilable differences. It would be final in about four months. I knew of no reason why I would change my mind. The girls were teenagers and Brenda did tell them about her fling and how wrong she was. The girls loved their mom but really hated what she had done. They didn't talk to her unless they had to for months. I did get my apartment with two bedrooms so the girls could stay if they ever wanted to. I went back to work but decided to work the day shift as well as work the strip mine as opposed to the deep mine. I was glad to get back to work. It really helped to fill the voids in my life. I had my buddies to hang with after work and I always saw my daughters on a regular basis. The week before my divorce was final, Brenda showed up at my apartment one evening. We hadn't talked much since I left home. I let her in; I loved her but I also hated her. "Rob, I needed to give it a last shot. I really do love you and I know we can get past this. I promise to be the best wife ever. Please reconsider and let's give it another try." "Brenda, I love you. I guess they'll always be a place in my heart for you. I could never, ever trust you again. It would be impossible. You cheated on me and then lied over and over about it." "I was scared and it truly was over. I just wanted to get past..." "Brenda, you told me you didn't have an affair. Then you got caught and told me it was only the one time. Now I know it went on for months. As I've said, I will never be able to trust you again and I'm not about to put my life through a living hell wondering if you're being honest with me. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is." Brenda stood up and cried as she left. I had tears in my eyes also. I really did love her and it was seventeen years of marriage down the drain. * Chapter 2 (out soon) Brenda tells her story, please look for it Thank you for reading my stories Comments are always welcome. DG Hear Coal Miner Pt. 02 You may want to read Part one before reading this part. Again, thanks to my editors, LadyCibelle and Techsan for making my stories a much better read. Chapter 2 Brenda Speaks I need to let everyone know how stupid I was. I had a wonderful man that I truly loved, in fact, I still love him but I know I'll never have him again. We've been divorced nine years now. It all happened because I thought I could go back in time and live a couple of college days over again. I'm such a stupid woman. To began I should tell you I was a normal teenager. My parents were somewhat strict and kept a close eye on me. When I finally graduated from high school, I decided that I was going to live the wild college life I always saw in the movies. To be honest with you it was a fun life. The problem is sometime in our life we have to pay for our mistakes or experiences. I've been paying for mine for the last nine years. I lost the only man I have ever loved. Life does go on and I'm doing the best I can. I have two wonderful married daughters and three grandchildren that I love. I'll go back to my college life, that's where I became promiscuous. I started doing the party scene. I had brains so I didn't need to study a lot. My grades were always good so I'd had no problem academically. I started to party heavily in my sophomore year. I didn't drink a lot and didn't need to. I decided to hell with my moral side, I was going to party. I lost my virginity at the first party I went to. I was told it would hurt like hell but it didn't. Maybe because I wanted it to happen so badly. I lost it to a junior at the time named Brian Cooter. He played football and was kind of sexy. He started kissing me and we were dancing when he put his hands on my ass. I just let him do it. There was sex going on all around us but I wasn't ready to get nude in front of everyone so Brian took me up to one of the rooms. He didn't take long to take off my jeans and panties. When I told him it was my first time, he acted shocked and told me he would be gentle. He laid me in the middle of the bed and mounted me. I felt his cock enter me. There was a slight sting and then I felt a flood of emotions. I was now a woman. I should mention that I was on the pill but I also made my partners wear condoms. I didn't want any STD's, but I did want to have sex. It was okay for the first time but I actually thought it would be better. I did come and, of course, it made Brian feel like some kind of hero. I never could understand that about men. We went back downstairs and socialized with the other people. I thought that was enough sex for my first time. I went to parties almost every week. I was with Brian for about three weeks. After that, I went with other guys. Sex with Brian wasn't that big of a deal. I don't want to even guess how many men I have been with. To be honest, I have done a couple of three ways and even have been with a couple of women. I just wanted to say I tried it all. One time I drank a little more than usual and a guy took my ass. I have to say, I hated it. It just hurt too much and I wasn't into pain. The only person to ever have my ass after that was my husband, Rob. He was so gentle and he used KY Jelly and took his time. He made it at least bearable, even though it still wasn't my thing. Every once in awhile, we did the anal thing; maybe love had something to do with it. I have to say I never loved any man but Rob. The first time I met him, a friend of his told me it was his twenty-first birthday. I danced with him and he just felt so good. I don't know why I did it but I took him up the stairs and had sex with him. He was so different from most other guys. It was more like he was doing it for me than for himself. I guess more like lovers than just two people having sex. I never had anyone like that in my life before. It was always someone just wanting sex. We'd do it and then go our separate ways. With Rob, it just seemed so different. I was somewhat disappointed when I didn't see him at the parties. I saw his friend Jerry; he told me Rob was a coal miner and had to work a lot of weekends. I was happy when he finally showed up at a party a month or so later. I forgot who I was with, but I know I jumped off his lap so I could be with Rob. After that, we started dating when I moved back to my hometown. Once I got my own apartment, he would come over at least twice a week and we would make love. I mean it; we made love, not just screwed. I knew I was falling for him in a big way. Once we started dating, I quit going out with anyone else. I had many chances but I didn't want anyone but Rob. I know he was worried about my past but I was just a woman exploring her life. I knew I could settle down with the right man and Rob was that man. We got married and within a few years our daughters were born. They made us a total family. We did everything together. It seemed that we had the perfect life. I do have to admit that I wondered about other men. I flirted a little, like most women do. I wasn't a nun, but I wasn't a slut either. I never cheated on Rob. That was until our daughters started high school and I went back to work in the office. Rob was working these long hours and we weren't doing much of anything together. After a while, I was getting bored with being home all the time and started going out with my two best friends on Saturdays when Rob had to work. We would take in a movie or go to a lounge and have a couple of drinks. Once in a while, we were asked to dance and we did. It was all done in fun until Brian Cooter came into the picture. As I mentioned earlier, Brian was my first sexual encounter. He was a salesman for our firm and would come into town at least twice a month. We began to kid each other and talked about what we used to do. I would be lying if I said I wasn't affected by our conversations. He asked me out a couple of times and I declined, telling him that I was a very happily married woman. Besides, he was a married man himself. He always laughed it off and said maybe some day we could reminisce. Well, that someday happened; he heard us girls talking about our girls' night out and showed up at our table. He danced with all of us and when Joyce said she had to get home, we got up to leave since she was our driver. Brian asked me to stay and have one more drink with him and he promised to take me straight home. Why I said yes, I don't know. Sally kind of gave me a look but didn't say anything. After all, we've been friends for years and she knew I never cheated on Rob. After she left, Brian ordered more drinks and I know I had too many. We were on the dance floor and he said it was just like old times and slid his hands down to my ass. God, why didn't I stop it then and there, and put an end to it? One thing led to another and we kissed. When we went to his car, he kissed me some more. He drove over to his motel room and we went in. It was so wrong but it was just like in the old days and we had sex. It was good and I wanted it. He told me it felt so much better without a condom as he let loose in me. It was after he came that I felt remorse set in. I had cheated on Rob. After Brian dropped me off at home, I cried. I thought I was a better woman than that. Joyce asked me about staying at the lounge the next day and I just told her that Brian was an old friend from college and that he took me right home. I even lied to my best friend about the affair. Something told me she knew better but didn't push the issue. Now I wish she would have. Maybe, just maybe it would have made a difference. Brian started calling me at home every once in a while, asking me to meet him again. I kept telling him no, that the last time was a mistake. I avoided him at work whenever he came in. I wasn't dealing with the situation very well. I should have ended it but I guess I liked the idea of being wanted by an old boyfriend. Our company had a retirement party for one of our vice-presidents. I wanted Rob to go with me but he said he wasn't going to take a day off for someone he didn't even know. It really aggravated me because we didn't argue very often. Well, I guess you can figure out what happened. I went alone. I hung around with Joyce and Ellen but Brian was there. I can't blame it on the drinking this time. As the party broke up, Brian came up to me and started his flirting with me. I was mad at Rob but didn't think I would be foolish enough to cheat on him again. Brian asked me to just sit in his van and talk with him a while. We talked and he put his hand on my leg. Why didn't I just remove it and get out of the van, and go home? I didn't, and when he slid his hand up my leg, I just let it happen. I haven't fucked in a car in over eighteen years. I just went with it. I removed my panties and let him finger me to an orgasm. We then moved back to the seat in back and I mounted him. Staring him in the face while he fucked me. Yes, there was no love, just a raw fuck. I drove home afterwards wondering what was the matter with me. Why was I doing this? I had a good marriage, a decent husband and two wonderful daughters. Why was I taking a gamble to possibly lose it all? I was just so confused. I knew I had to stop before I ruined my life. Brian kept calling me. He even called me from his home. I saw his name on the caller ID. I got worried that Rob might see his name on it, so every night I would go through all the phones and erase all the ID's. I told Brian it was over. The idea that I got away with being bad was no longer fun. It scared me and it wasn't worth it. Brian told me that if we got together one more time that he would leave me alone. Why I went along with him, I really don't know. We had a girls' night out coming up and I told Joyce that I would drive myself. She knew what was going on and told me she wasn't going to cover for me. Rob was too nice of a guy to cheat on. I told her that I was breaking it off with Brian that night. I was through cheating on Rob. Even though it was a bit exciting, it also made me a slut wife, which is a title I never wanted. I kissed my kids and Rob goodbye, and headed out to meet Joyce. Of course, Brian was there but Joyce refused to sit with him. After she went home, I went with Brian to his room for the last time. We did it all. I even let him have my ass; he was no Rob and it hurt like hell. When we were finished, he said he didn't think he would give me up. I screamed and yelled at him that he promised he would leave me alone after this time. He laughed and said he wasn't ready to quit, and just maybe he'd tell my husband if I didn't continue having sex with him. That was when I saw for the first time what kind of a man he was. I slapped him and told him that if he hurt my marriage that I would tell his wife. I had his home phone number. He took a few steps toward me and I kicked him hard where it counts and he went down screaming. He called me a bitch and said he wasn't through with me. He said he knew I would be back. He was wrong. I now realized that I had made the biggest mistake of my life. I prayed to God that I could get home, clean up and get to bed before Rob got home. I actually wondered if I should tell him about the affair, just in case Brian ever told him. I was crying when I got home. There was a message on the fridge. "Mom! Dad is trapped in the mine. Please come as soon as you can." I was devastated. I hit the answering machine and I had five messages from Joyce telling me about Rob being trapped. I quickly took off my dress and put on a pair of jeans and as I got to the door, the girls arrived home, asking me where I had been. They told me Rob was all right and in the hospital. I told them I was going over to the hospital to see him. They told me visiting hours were over but I had to go and try. When I got to the hospital, the nurse told me that I couldn't visit with him right then. He wasn't in intensive care so I would have to wait till regular visiting hours. She did say that he was bruised and had a sprained ankle but otherwise was fine. That in itself was a relief to me. I walked into the hospital chapel and said a prayer for him and then sat down and cried. Instead of being there for him, I was out fucking another man that I now hated. It wasn't only his fault; I was just as much to blame. Here I was telling my daughters to just say no to drugs and I couldn't do it for the sake of my marriage. I made a promise to God that I would never cheat on Rob again. When I arrived back home, my daughters were sleeping. I took a hot shower and changed into my nightgown, and threw my bra and panties into the hamper. I saw cum stains in my panties and took them back out of the hamper, and washed them out by hand. I couldn't sleep. I tried but my mind was a mess. After a couple of hours of lying there, I got up and got dressed to go back to the hospital. After seeing and talking to Rob I was scared. I didn't know if I was strong enough to hide the affair from him. I had no reasonable answer as to why I wasn't there at the mine. I arrived home and called Joyce, and told her everything that went on with Brian except for the amount of sex we had. I explained that it was over and that I slapped and kicked Brian. I begged her to tell Rob that I was with her. I really felt bad asking my best friend to lie for me. She told me she would think about it but I had better be through with Brian. I thanked her and promised that my cheating days were over. I put my panties back in the drawer and erased any messages on the answering machine and caller ID's. I wanted to skip work on Monday and be there to pick up Rob but he told me that his sister Betty would be there and there was no reason for me to miss work. Monday was hard on me. I was told that Brian wasn't feeling good and had gone home that morning. It meant he wouldn't be around for maybe a month. I thanked God for that. I didn't want to face him so soon after Saturday's incident. You all know what happened next. Rob questioned me about my panties and asked me if I knew Nancy and Brian Cooter. I had no idea where he got their name. I tried to cover it up and told him to call Joyce; he told me he did and talked to Mitch, Joyce's son. I admitted that it had happened but told him it was a one-time thing. I was so confused and he sat there levelheaded and caught me in one lie after another. I finally admitted everything to him. I asked for his forgiveness but he told me he was moving out at the end of the week. It was up to me to tell our daughters that I cheated. I know I lost a lot of their respect that day and even though we get along now, I know they hold the breaking up of our family against me. They are right; I have no one else to blame for my stupidity. After Rob moved out, I tried a number of times to talk with him. He wasn't about to change his mind about a divorce. How could I blame him? I love him so much but I know there is nothing I could do to let him know how sorry I am. A week before our divorce I pleaded with him one more time. He told me he loved me and always will have a place for me in his heart but he could never trust me again and he wasn't going through life wondering if his wife was faithful to him. I left his apartment crying, knowing I had lost the one person I loved most in this world. Since our divorce, I have worked my job and stayed home most of the time. I see Rob at family events and we are always nice to each other. We were both there when our daughters got married. It felt strange but good when I danced with him. He always asks me if I'm all right and if I need anything. He's even come over and did a few house repairs for me. He won't ever come when I'm home alone. When our grandchildren were born, we were both there. He was one happy grandfather. I cry every time I think of the foolishness that caused an end to my marriage. I had it all and gave it up for a fuck! How stupid can a woman be? I went to counseling. I was getting feelings of depression that I had trouble handling. The doctors helped me. I'm also much closer to my daughters and grandkids too. I think my daughters know how much I regret my actions and have forgiven me a little. Maybe it will keep them from making the same stupid mistake. I have dated once in awhile, and I have to say many of the men are very nice but they can't hold a candle to Rob. I don't know if I'll ever get serious about another man. If I ever do get married again, I can guarantee that my husband will have the most faithful women ever. Chapter 3 Rob continues his story Rob here: Let me get back and tell you what happened the day of the divorce. I found out that this prick, Brian, was still bothering Brenda. I still loved Brenda; I just couldn't be married to her. I was pissed when Joyce called me and said this asshole still bothered Brenda and she didn't want anything to do with him. I told her I'd take are of it. You need to know that I don't talk to Brenda very often since I moved out. I loved her too much and was afraid I'd go back to her and I didn't want to be a cuckold husband who couldn't trust his wife. I signed the divorce papers and left before she showed up with her lawyer. We had a decent agreement. She kept the house and, of course, the girls stayed with her. I had access to my daughters anytime I wanted. I saw them all the time and after the divorce, I kept in touch with them nearly daily. I paid child support but didn't pay any alimony. Brenda got paid well in her job. My kids did not go without. In fact, I probably bought them too much. Anyway, after signing the divorce papers I was really pissed and felt down. I decided to go see this asshole who was responsible for my divorce. I had previously found out where he lived, and found some information on what he drove and where he hung out. I called his home and his wife told me he was at the main office and wouldn't be home until the next day. I thanked her and hung up. That meant he was in my town. I found out what motel he usually stayed at when in town and, of course, I knew the bars and lounges in the area. He had never met me unless it was at one of the parties while he was at State. I went into the lounge of the motel he was staying at. I had seen his car parked on the side of the building where the trash dumpsters were kept. There was a back exit to the lounge there. I figured that if he picked up a woman, he could make a quick exit without being seen by too many people. I ordered a beer and sat at a corner table. The place had a lot of people in it. I was wondering if this Brian fellow was one of them. I lucked out when I saw a couple come in. I heard the bartender say, "Hello, Mr. Cooter, welcome back. What can I get for you and the little lady?" So here he was with another woman. They sat at a table not far from me. I watched as he was making small talk with this woman. I noticed she had a wedding ring on her finger. I also knew it wasn't his wife since she told me not more than an hour ago that he was out of town. By the conversation, it sounded like he was talking business, but at the same time trying to hit on this young married woman. I decided it wasn't going to go his way tonight. I finished my second beer and walked out the back exit. On my way past his car, I kicked it enough to make the car alarm go off. I then went and hid next to the dumpster where I found a nice two by four about four feet long. The alarm must have gone off for five minutes before Brian came out to check it. He hit the button on his key chain and the alarm shut off. He turned to go back in but it was an exit only. He was getting ready to go around the building when I hit him across the back with the two by four. He went down and I kicked him again and again. I had put on some leather gloves earlier and I reached down and worked him over. When I got done with him, his face was a mess. I ended the assault by giving him a foot in the groin. I was fairly sure he never got a good look at me. Coal Miner Pt. 02 He wouldn't be having any more kids or using that part of his anatomy for quite a while if at all. I threw the two by four in the dumpster and walked away and got in my truck. For all I knew he was dead and I really didn't care. When I got home from work the next day my phone was ringing off the hook. I answered it and it was Brenda. "Rob, please tell me it wasn't you." "Brenda?" I asked questioningly. "Why are you calling me? What are you talking about, was it me? I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you okay? Do you need something?" She just started talking. "Brian was nearly beaten to death yesterday. He was still unconscious today and they had to do surgery before he would lose his...you know." "What the fuck does that have to do with me? I hope the motherfucker dies a slow death. I have no sympathy for the cocksucker. He's your fucking lover, not mine." "Rob! He's not my lover. I don't like him either. I was just afraid that if you were involved you might get in trouble. Believe me; I'm not worried about him." "So, what happened? Was he fucking someone's wife, and the husband did something about it, unlike me?" "Please, Rob, don't say things like that. I can tell you he was with Emmie; she's a new woman at the office. It was her that found him. Apparently, she was doing some reports for him and he was going to take her to dinner. She mentioned a car alarm went off and Brian went to check to see if it was his and never came back in. She got a bit worried and she and the bartender went out and found him. They said he was a mess and barely breathing." "Good for him. Glad to see that he got his just due. You always hear it's going to happen, but it's nice to know it actually happened. Look, Brenda, I don't know the guy and I don't want to know him. It's just nice to know that maybe he won't be bothering you anymore." "What? Rob? How did you know he was bothering me?" "Look, like you said, let it go. I just hear things. Well, I have things to do. If you ever need something, let me know and say hi to the girls for me." I hung up before she could say anything else. I did hear from Joyce a few days later and she told me that Brian had to have his scrotum removed. Too bad, he was able to keep his pecker. I should have kicked him again. When he was finally able to talk, he said that he was knocked down and at least two guys beat the shit out of him and robbed him. He never got a look at their faces. He said it all happened too fast. When Joyce got through telling me all about the incident she said, "Thank you." When I asked her why she was thanking me, I could hear the smile in her voice. She said, "You know." So I just replied, "You're welcome." She told me again that Brenda lost a really good man. I didn't want to go there so I just said my goodbyes. Life goes on. ------------------- Over the last nine years, I stayed in contact with Brenda because of our daughters. We were always civil to each other and for some reason we were always placed together at family events. I attended all the girls' functions through graduation and beyond. Of course, I was present, in fact I helped pay for both of their weddings. It was the only times I danced with Brenda and I have to say it felt good. I just wasn't going to let myself be fooled again. I was there for the birth of all my grandchildren. I sat there in the waiting room with Brenda. It was funny but she very rarely asked anything of me. There were a few times when Cheryl or Sue mentioned that their mom told them something was broken down in the house. Something like a leaky faucet or maybe an electric socket not working properly. I would go over when Brenda wasn't home and repair it for her. She would always call me the next day and thank me. Funny that she never asked for her key to the house back. I know it's somewhat of an odd relationship, but that's the way it was. We never kissed or went to dinner or dated in anyway. I would never go to her house when she was home alone. I figured she dated but no one had ever said anything to me. Of course, she was now a single woman and had every right to live her life the way she chose. It's just that she spent most of her free time with her daughters and grandchildren. I always knew she would be a good grandmother. Me on the other hand, I went on mining. My daughters told me I was a good father and I tried to be a good granddad. I would make sure I was there for any family doings, birthdays, and holidays. I figured I'd attend school functions when the Grandkids got old enough. I dated a number of women but couldn't find myself getting serious about them. Maybe it was having been burnt by Brenda or maybe I just couldn't find a woman I cared for as much as I did the ex-wife. Sex with the women was good but again not equal to the memories I had with my ex-wife. There was always someone trying to fix me up with different woman. You would have thought there was a shortage of men in the world. Maybe they just thought I was safe and had a good job. I really don't know. The only people not trying to fix me up were my daughters, sister and Brenda and my mutual friends. They must have thought that someday Brenda and I would be back together. Not much chance of that; it's been nine years and I held my ground. Let me get back to my story and tell you about the Earth Day protesters and exactly what happened. * Part 3 to follow shortly Thank you for reading my story DG Hear Coal Miner Pt. 03 You may want to read Parts 1 & 2 before reading this part. Again, a big ‘Thank You' to LadyCibelle and Techsan for making my story a much better read. Chapter 4 The Lecture We, my fellow miners and I, worked the mines by day and always stopped off for a few brews before going home. As we left, we would see those damn kids with their picket signs. I remember saying someone ought to educate them in what coal really does for them as we left the parking lot. We were drinking our beers when Mike said after giving his wife that e-mail about what wives say, she had one for him. Just to let you know, Mike and his wife Racene get along great. I think I could honestly say that they have always been faithful to each other. They are always throwing little digs at each other in a joking way of course. Mike reached in his pocket and pulled out his e-mail. He didn't like the casserole, and he didn't like my cake. He said my biscuits were too hard... not like his mother used to make. I didn't perk the coffee right, he didn't like the stew, I didn't mend his socks, the way his mother used to do, I pondered for an answer; I was looking for a clue. Then I turned and smacked the crap out of him... Like his mother used to do. After reading his joke from his wife, he pointed to his cheek and laughed. He told us that's where she beat the crap out of him. He and Racene had a marriage like Brenda and I used to have. I often remembered the happy times. As we drank our beers, Matt Markly, one of our mine's head honchos came in. He was an alright guy and was pretty honest with us. He offered to buy the next round. Of course, we all accepted. He looked over at me. "Rob, we heard you say today that someone ought to teach the protestors a little about the coal industry. We talked with the college and for Earth Day this year we are sending a representative to talk to the students about coal. We would like you to be the instructor." "Whoa, Matt, I'm no teacher. I'm a coal miner and proud of it." "Exactly, Rob! It's why we would like you to do it. It would be different hearing it from a miner's point of view. These students don't need some stuffed shirt telling them about the coal industry. Besides, it will give you a chance to speak your piece. Hell, they'll probably be only a dozen or so students show up, but you can say whatever you want, within reason of course." The other guys sided with Matt and told me I should do it. They began calling me the teacher. I don't know why but I told Matt I would do it. He told me I had two days to prepare. "Holy Shit! That's not much time, Matt." "Just speak from the heart, Rob. You know the mines better than anyone does. If you need some facts and figures, come into the office library and get what you need." Matt bought us one more round and thanked me for doing the company a favor. I went home and started to put some kind of presentation together. I thought to myself, I don't talk much but when I do, I open it wide enough to put my foot into it. I went into the library the next day and got myself some more facts and figures. I needed a little proof to show these students how important our industry is to their daily lives. The day I headed over to the college, I had found out that a lumber/tree expert had talked to the group a couple of days earlier. I walked into the college and asked what room the meeting was being held in. A student looked at me kind of weird and pointed to the auditorium. My God, I thought Matt said a dozen students. The auditorium held hundreds of people and was already half full with more students arriving every minute. A nice lady came up to me and introduced herself as Ms. Angela Smiley. She explained to me that I was the last speaker for the Earth Day week celebration. She promised me that, if any students got out of hand, they knew that they would be expelled from college. There were a few remarks made by Ms Smiley about Earth Day and what it meant, when it began and so on. Then, Ms. Smiley introduced me as Robert Mathais from the coal industry. I was a nervous wreck. If Matt were here now, I would wring his neck. There were a few sparse claps from the audience as I approached the podium. I told them about myself and let them know that I had been a coal miner for over thirty years. I was proud of what the coal industry had done for America. One person kind of yelled out something about ‘ruining the earth'. I told him I would get to that topic as well. I decided to give them a little history lesson. I began by tell them about the use of coal. I used facts out of the library and had some transparencies made to flash on the viewing board behind me. I began my speech: "About 30% of all fossil fuel consumed in the United States is used to make electricity. Conversely, most electricity, about 70%, produced in the US is generated using fossil fuels, especially coal. Typically, the coal from one or more mines is transported by railroad or barge to a steam generating plant. Turbine generators utilize the steam to generate electricity at high voltage. This electricity is transformed (by a transformer) to a higher voltage for transmission over a power network to industrial, commercial and residential users. Near the users it is transformed again, down to a low voltage, where it is distributed to the users via the familiar distribution system of poles and overhead wires." I could tell that they wanted to know more about the coal ruining the earth. I explained to them first why we burned or used coal. "Most coal mined in the United States is burned to make electricity. About one billion tons per year goes to Electricity Production. Most people do not realize that when they use electricity, they are probably also using coal. Of the coal that is not used to make electricity, most is used to make steam for heating, as coke in steel making, or is exported. In developing countries, half the world's population depends on coal for heat. "Let me put this in plain English that most of you may understand. We, the people - that's me and you - are what consume the coal. You want your iPod, your Wii game? Do you watch television? How about a computer, does anyone here own a computer? How about those CD's and DVD's? What do you listen and watch them on?" "As I've mentioned to you, everything time you use electricity, you use coal since it is where the power companies get their fuel. You want to stop the coal companies from digging coal. Then get rid of everything you own that uses electricity. "Tell your local hospital that they don't need all that equipment to save lives. What about the city? Tell them they don't need those lights that keep you safe at night. You need to look at the ways that coal has improved your life and your families' lives throughout the centuries. I can go on and on and tell you what the coal industry has meant to the world, but I think you might be getting the picture." When I was finished a student stood up and said, "What you say is true but look what you have done to the earth." "Let me be honest with you. I agree, many years ago that the earth was raped of many of its resources and the land left desolate. Today we have programs to make the mining areas reclaim the property to look as good or even better than it did before." I put on some slides showing how the mining industry has reclaimed many sites. While the pictures were flashing on the screen behind me, I read from a mining article I found in the library. I skipped through it and just highlighted a few important elements of it. "Reclamation is a process of systematically restoring mined land to productive uses, a kind of landscape plastic surgery that transforms former coal mines into productive, attractive, and useful areas. Until 1947, when Ohio's first surface-mining law was passed, surface mining was unregulated. In 1949, the Ohio Division of Reclamation (now the Division of Mineral Resources Management) was created and charged with administering the new reclamation laws. However, Ohio's surface-mining law was amended many times, and in 1972, became one of the nation's strictest laws regulating active surface mining. "Before a company may begin surface mining, it must specify how topsoil, water conditions, vegetation, wildlife, and archaeological resources will be protected, in addition to outlining how the land will be mined and reclaimed. Also, the coal company must post a bond of $2,500 per acre to insure that successful land reclamation. "Furthermore, for each ton of coal mined, Ohio coal operators pay federal and state severance taxes to be used in reclaiming abandoned mined lands. The federal severance tax is 35 cents per ton for surface-mined coal and 15 cents per ton for deep-mined coal; the state severance tax is 9 cents per ton. Reclamation of abandoned mined lands can cost $10,000 per acre, whereas the cost of reclaiming land concurrent with mining is $1,000-3,000 per acre. "Today's coal operator must comply with many regulations. However, in spite of increasing regulations and cost to today's coal operator to perform acceptable reclamation, numerous coal operators demonstrate that a business can be profitable and at the same time restore mined land to usefulness and productivity." I further told the student that since I've been mining, the company I worked for has planted over a half million trees. So in the future, the generations to come will have the same if not better land on which to live. In summing up, I told them that they controlled their future. If they thought there was too much coal being mined that they and all of their friends and family could all stop using anything electrical in their lives. There would be no need to mine coal if it wasn't being used. I finished by telling them that I figured that a lot of what I said would go in one ear and out the other but if nothing else, they knew that they were responsible for the use of any coal that was mined. I did receive applause when I finished. I looked over to the side and saw Matt clapping for me. He must have come in while I was talking. At least I got a chance to speak my piece. A few students came up to me afterwards and thanked me for the lesson. For some reason they never put the coal industry and electric together. One woman came up to me and told me thank you. She went on to tell me her father was a miner also but had retired around ten years ago. Her name was Mary and she looked to be in her late thirties to early forties. She asked me if I would mind if she took me to lunch and further discussed mining. It was lunchtime so I took her up on her offer. I drove to a small restaurant in the city and we talked. We did very little talking about mining. I found out she was recently divorced and had two grown children. I missed her age by a mile. She said she was forty-nine but I'd swear she looked much younger. After her divorce, she decided to go back to school and take up secretarial work. When she heard that someone was coming in to talk about mining, she was intrigued since her dad was a miner. She was a very nice looking woman and easy to talk to. I explained to her that I had been divorced for nine years now and a little about working in both the deep and strip mines. I didn't tell her anything about why Brenda and I were divorced. After our talk, she asked me if I would call her some time and we could get together. I went ahead and paid for the lunch and dropped her off at her vehicle. I was still the type of man that paid for the woman's dinner. Some people call it chauvinistic; I call it respect for the woman. I did get Mary's cell phone number and gave seeing her again some thought. We seemed to have a lot in common with both of us divorced and having two grown kids. Of course, her dad being a miner she understood a lot of what we go through. I went back to the mines the next day and of course, I was teased like crazy. I was being called everything from Teacher Rob to Doctor Rob. I was called up to the office and they thanked me for putting a positive light on our industry. After the meeting, Matt told me that in three days we would be doing some demolition. It was also actually Earth Day and the press and TV crews would be there for the actual explosion and seeing the mining company starting the resurfacing. What it entailed was that one of the mines that we were finished mining we set dynamite charges to cave it in so no one could get caught in any crevices or well holes of any kind. You would be surprised how many wells and holes we come across in strip mining. After the demolition, we then resurface the land and start planting trees. I was one of the senior members of the demolition crew and would be setting the charges first thing that morning. We were going to wait till late afternoon before doing the exploding. They wanted the good TV exposure. I went home that evening and decided to give Mary a call. I asked her out for dinner. We talked and ended up going dancing for a while. We had a couple of drinks but we didn't get intoxicated. I told her about the demolition we would be doing on Monday. She told me it always bothered her when she saw her dad going underground. I knew then that even though she knew about my work that me being a miner would be hard on her. What she needed right now was just a friend. While on the dance floor she had her arms around my neck and pulled me to her and kissed me. It felt good and I kissed her back. We sat at our table and she asked me if I would have a problem being intimate with her. I asked her if she was sure that's what she wanted. She smiled and said, "Yes." We went to a motel outside of town where no one would know either of us. She told me she just needed to be loved. Her husband had an affair with a young girl and she told me she just felt old. I explained to her that she was far from old and very desirable. I just put on a corner lamp for minimal light and she went to take off her clothes. I asked her to let me do it. I slowly unbuttoned her blouse and began kissing her neck, pulling her blouse off her shoulders. Even though I hardly knew her, I was going to treat her as though I was totally in love with her. As I kissed her neck, I undid her bra. She had nice breasts and I bent over and took each one in my mouth and slowly sucked her nipples to hardness. She had on jeans and I unbuckled and unzipped them, pulled them over her hips and let them fall to the floor. Now all she had on was her panties. She was a full figured woman but far from being fat. Not that it would have made a difference. I wanted her to know that she was still very much desirable. I got on my knees and pulled her panties down over her hips and down her thighs and down to the floor. I pushed her lightly so she sat on the edge of the bed. I asked her to lie back as I buried my face into her muff. "My God, oh my God, it feels so good," I heard her say. I raised her legs and put them over my shoulder, and ate her out. I kissed and tongued her pussy. She reached down and spread her pussy lips to give me much better access. She began to buck into my face and grabbed my head and I felt her coming. "Oh, shit! Oh, shit, I'm coming, I'm coming." First she said it, then she did it as her juices soaked my face. She smiled at me as I quickly undressed and got on the bed with her. She moved to the middle of the bed and spread her legs wide to give me plenty of room to mount her. She was built very similar to Brenda and even had the same color of hair. I had to wonder if that was one of the things that drew me to her. I took my hardened cock and rubbed it up and down the entrance of her very wet pussy. I would watch my cock head slowly disappear as I went over her opening. I could hear her grasp for breath wondering when I was going to push it in. I could feel her pushing up against me every time my cockhead got to her pussy opening. "Put it in please, Rob. I want to be fucked," said Mary. On the next motion, I started pushing it in a little at a time. Mary was moaning and groaning and really letting herself go. Dammit, she was so much like Brenda. I couldn't get her out of my mind as I started fucking Mary harder and harder. God, it felt so good. I felt Mary come again under me. She squealed and screamed out. I wasn't ready to come yet so I just held my cock deep into her while she pushed up hard and I felt her spasms squeezing my cock. Again, I remembered Brenda was able to do the same thing. I had to wonder what was wrong with this woman's husband that he was such an idiot. Why would he need to cheat if he had a woman this hot at home waiting for him? After her last climax, I rolled over on my back and she saw my cock was still hard. She got up and lowered herself slowly down over my shaft. Shit, she was good. Maybe it'd just been so long since I'd been with a woman who needed it this bad. She rode me and I could see her juices coating my cock. I felt myself getting ready to come and told Mary. "Just come, Rob, shoot your load as deep and hard as you want." I did just that. I grabbed hold of her hips and let myself come as hard as I could ever remember. Why did thoughts of Brenda keep coming into my mind? Mary was a very desirable and nice woman. We rested and a couple of hours later we had a repeat session. She even gave me oral sex. If the circumstances were right, I could really love this woman. At least sexually, I felt that way. I knew that me being a coal miner would be a major problem for her. We woke up the next morning and had sex one more time before showering. After we checked out of the motel, I took her out for breakfast. She told me she had a few things she needed to tell me. I looked at her and wondered what it might be. I was sure we both knew that we couldn't become an item seeing me being a coal miner bothered her. "Rob, my name is Mary Nancy Cooter. Please don't get mad at me; let me explain. I never met your wife but Brian cheated on me with a number of women, her being one of them. After he was beat up severely quite a few years ago I found out some of the women that he had cheated with. "Most of what I have told you is true. After I found out he had cheated on me and that was probably why he lost his manhood, I asked for a divorce. He was a no good son-of-a-bitch. I did go ahead and raised my kids without much help from him. He had to pay both alimony and child support. Once my kids turned eighteen, the child support stopped. "My supervisor told me I could get a much better job with a higher wage if I would take some classes and get a BA degree, so that's what I did or am doing. I'll have my degree in a few months. I am already doing part of my new job but the salary increase will come when I finish my degree work. "I heard that a coal miner was going to speak on the ecology at the University and I wanted to hear it. My father was a coal miner. I want you to know I didn't lie to you about anything other than the younger woman thing and it was probably true too. "When I heard your name it rang a bell. I put two and two together and figured it was my husband who helped ruin your marriage. I did not intend to sleep with you. After I heard you speak, and the sincerity in your voice, I wanted to meet you. After that, I guess it was somewhat revenge and part of me wanting to get to know you that led to this encounter. "I have to say that your wife – rather, ex-wife - is a fool to give up a man like you for a romp with Brian. No man has ever made me feel more like a woman or come so many times as you did. Funny thing is you still love her. You called me Brenda twice during our lovemaking. It was love making that we had. It was so much better than just sex." Coal Miner Pt. 03 "Mary, I'm lost for words. You were so wonderful and I'm sorry about the name mistake. It's just that... just that you remind me so much of her. Maybe that is what Brian saw too." "No, Brian was just a skirt chaser, you're a true lover. I just wish I had met you before Brenda did. I could guarantee I would have never cheated on you," she smiled. "If you ever just need someone to talk to or make love to, call me." After being with Mary/Nancy, all I can say is that Brian was a real jerk. Yet again Brenda was back in my thoughts after nine years. I went over after dropping off Mary to see my daughters and my grandchildren. I stopped at Cheryl's and then I went over to Sue's. I told them about the demolition that I had to do the next day. Of course, they told me to be careful. I explained to them that I'd done it hundreds of times and that I would be careful. I wanted to ask them how their mother was doing but decided against it. * End of part 3 Part 4 the conclusion out shortly Thank you for reading my story Comments are welcome and appreciated. DG Hear Coal Miner Pt. 04 I want to thank my editors, LadyCibelle and Techsan, who always make my story a much better read. You probably should read the first three parts of this story first. Chapter 5: The Demolition On Monday morning, I headed to work and it was Mike, Joe and I who were going to set the explosives. It was funny, when we got there, there were only three protesters. After all, this was Earth Day and a week ago, there were twenty protesters bothering us. Maybe my talk did some good. These three probably were just there to watch us. A few hours from now, there would probably be hundreds of people watching the actual explosion. We had a chain link fence to keep people as far away from the area as possible. There were a dozen warning signs posted also. We didn't want to take any chances of anyone getting hurt. It was a very delicate operation, and I was lowered into several holes to place the explosive charges. It was unbelievable how many underground shafts were under this strip mine. It was a very dangerous area. That is why it needed to be caved in, less someone would later be involved in an accidental cave-in if the ground were to give-way We were done in time for lunch and went to get a bite to eat. We completely locked up the area and went to lunch. We had about four hours before we would do our actual demolition for the TV cameras. People like to watch the explosion. We wanted to show them we cared and how we reclaimed the area afterwards; the grading and planting of trees. We were at the dining tent when we heard a woman calling for help. She was running toward our tent saying her friends fell in the hole. We had no idea what she was talking about. We told her to slow down so we could understand her. It was the female student who was picketing with two other male friends. We finally figured out what she was saying. After we left our demolition site, her two friends climbed the fence to get a closer look at the site. She heard them scream and disappear. She thought they might have fallen into one of the wells. Joe, Mike and I jumped up, got in our six wheeler with the girl, and told her to point out exactly where she saw her friends go down. It was the area that we would be caving-in. I got out of the cart and walked slowly over to where she thought they had fallen in. The ground there was very soft and I crawled over to the opening. The girl told me that the boys were Jason and Brad, so I called out to them. "Jason, Brad, can you hear me?" A few seconds later, I heard a voice. "Help me, get me out of here. We're trapped in this hole and can't get out." "Calm down. We're here to help you but it's going to take some time. Are you Jason or Brad?" "I'm Jason. Brad isn't moving. I think he might be dead." "Easy now, Jason, you're in panic mode. You need to calm down. Can you feel if Brad has a pulse? You can feel it by his neck or his wrist. Will you do that for me, please?" "Yes, I feel a pulse but he isn't moving." "Ok, he's just unconscious. He'll be alright." I really had no idea if he was alright or not but I couldn't let Jason get any worse." I sent Mike and Joe after the crane and told them to take the girl to the guards until the police arrived. We needed to know exactly what happened. I told Jason that it would be a while until the guys came back with the crane but I would stay there with him and talk to him. I was able to shine a flashlight down the hole and see the two boys. I know they were two college students but they were acting like kids. They sure lacked common sense. We found out later that they were both drinking beer all night and were still drinking this morning. They had told each other how brave they were and weren't afraid to see how far they could go near the demolition site. The girl with them told them how immature they were but they went anyway. Being drunk probably helped break their fall seeing they were so relaxed. I had asked Jason if he had anything broken or was bleeding. He said he didn't think so but he felt numb. They had fallen about thirty feet. I was hoping that between being drunk and maybe bumping his head that Brad might be alright too. I heard Jason say, "Aw, shit!" "What is it, Jason? Are you okay?" He slurred out the words, "I pissed myself. Please get me out of here." "It will just be a few more minutes, Jason. Please do your best to keep calm." Mike and Joe were back with the crane. Joe got it as close as he could. Because of the weight of it, he was about thirty yards from the hole. He lowered the boom to where I was. I stood up, put a harness around my chest, and hooked it up to the lowering chain. The only problem was there wasn't much room in the hole. I would have to lower myself and put another harness on the boys. Mike helped me get ready. I put on a set of headphones so I could keep in contact with Joe who was operating the crane. I put on a hard hat and took another one down with me as well as another halter. I was slowly lowered into the hole. I looked at the sides as I went down. There were two very loose beams that bothered me; if they were to fall into the hole, they could kill us. I wanted to get the unconscious Brad out first but drunken Jason was still in panic mode, so I put the hard-hat and harness on him first. He was more of a hindrance than a help. I told him to be still and not move around while he was being pulled up. Also, he should make sure he didn't touch the sides of the well. I didn't want him kicking loose any beams. I told Joe to go ahead and lift Jason out of the hole. It was a few minutes later when I told Joe to send down the harness and hard hat for Brad. Joe told me that there was a large crowd of people outside the fence. Apparently, the TV station caught wind of the story and was already set up filming. Mike said that they had checked out Jason and he was bruised a little from the fall but otherwise was fine but drunk. He also told me that he did more than piss himself. I heard Mike give a slight laugh. I wasn't sure what to do about Brad. Since he was unconscious and I wasn't a doctor, he could have a neck injury or internal injuries. Lifting him by a harness without a basket stretcher could be fatal to him. I called up to Mike and Joe and told them to send down a basket stretcher instead of a harness. The mining company has them available for emergencies. It would take a little longer to go get one but better safe than sorry. Joe lowered the basket. When I received it, I cautiously rolled an unconscious Brad into it. I did my best to strap him in so he wouldn't be able to move. I figured he was just drunk but couldn't take any chances. It didn't look like he had anything broken. I told Joe to go ahead and pull him out. As he was being pulled out, he began to come to or wake up and started kicking about. He had no idea where he was or what was happening to him. I yelled to him to stop kicking but he was drunk and scared. He was moving way to much and the stretcher hit one of the loose beams and it came crashing down. I screamed out as it hit the lower part of my leg. "AHHGGG!" "Rob, are you okay?" I heard both Joe and Mike yell out. "No, I'm not. This stretcher knocked a beam loose and I'm sure it broke my leg. The pain will be here shortly. Get this kid out. Mike, I'm sorry, fellow, but you will need to come down and get this beam off me. I can't budge it. Chapter 6: The Conclusion. I saw Mike coming down with a separate chain to wrap around the beam. He secured it and told Joe to raise it very slowly, because it was on my leg and that my leg was broken. We watched as the beam was raised and moved out of sight. As the beam was raised, I felt the searing pain in my leg. The basket stretcher came back down. Mike helped me into the stretcher. After fastening me in the basket Mike told Joe that we would be coming up together so he could control the movement of the basket. Joe pulled us both out at the same time. This wasn't usually the way we brought people out, but Mike wanted to get me out as soon as possible and to keep the basket away from the other beams. When we got out, there were paramedics waiting for us. There were crowds of people gathered cheering for Mike and me. I could feel the throbbing in my lower leg. I looked over at the crowd of cheering spectators and saw my two daughters and behind them was their mother waiting and crying. Once the paramedics got my leg stabilized for the trip to the hospital, my family came to me. I looked over at Brenda who was crying. She said, "I might have not been here for you last time but I'm here for you now." She even gave me a kiss before I was taken to the hospital. The paramedics gave me drugs for the pain and I passed out. It was late that evening before I remembered anything. I do know from the hospital staff that my daughters and Brenda were there the whole day. I wasn't sure what to do or think. Brenda came in as soon as they let her. I asked her about the two boys and she said that they were both bruised but otherwise were fine. They were two drunken students that just didn't have any common sense. She turned the TV on the news channel and said they were playing this all day. I saw a film of the boys being pulled out and then Mike and me together. According to the news, I was a hero for saving the students and Mike was a hero for going after me. I looked over at Brenda and she still had tears in her eyes. I started to get more visitors so she stepped out for a few minutes. Mike and Joe both stopped in and told me they finished the demolition after I was taken to the hospital. The dozers and graders were already leveling off the land. The tree planting crews would start tomorrow. They told me that because of the accident, people were still at the site looking at the grounds. I thanked both guys for saving me. They told me that it was just part of the job, and laughed. They truly were real friends that I've known most of my life. Mike looked at me. I knew he wanted to say something. "Come out with it, Mike. What do you have to say?" "Brenda was there from the minute she heard you were in the pit. I've never interfered in your affairs, but I have to tell you that this woman loves you. That's all I've got to say." From anyone else I would have gotten pissed at them, but I knew Mike too well. He always was one guy I totally respected. I thanked the guys for coming and they told me they would be around to see me. According to the doctors, I would be off for quite a few months. I had no idea how long it would be but I didn't much care about having my leg in the air like this. Cheryl and Sue came in next. They kissed and hugged me and told me everything would be fine. They were working out the plans. All I had to do was get well. I remember telling them thank you but I honestly had no idea what they were talking about. My sister Betty and her husband were there to see me and we talked about my new hero status. It was starting to get embarrassing. Visiting hours were about over and Brenda came back into the room. I looked at her as she sat down in the chair and pulled an ottoman to her legs and covered her legs with a small comforter. "Brenda, visiting hours are over. What are you doing?" She smiled at me. "I talked with the doctor and he said I could stay here tonight. I told him I was your wife and showed him we had the same last name." "Why don't you go home to your big comfortable bed instead of sleeping in a chair?" "Because you're here, if you really have to know. Now try to get some sleep. You'll probably have a lot of visitors tomorrow." I didn't argue with her or say anything. I just closed my eyes and went to sleep. I thought I heard the words, "I love you" before falling asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I awoke the next morning, I saw a smiling Brenda drinking a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Sleepy Head," she said. "How are you feeling? Anything I can get you?" "Your coffee sure does smell good," I replied. "My leg hurts and is damn near numb. I can't turn or anything but I guess I'll have to live with it for awhile." I found myself talking to her like an old friend. Must have been the drugs, I thought. She went and got me a cup of coffee and a straw. She told me the way I was laying I'd spill it all over myself. She even put in a couple of ice cubes so I wouldn't burn my mouth. I asked her about her work and she told me she told her boss that I was hurt when she left yesterday and said she would be off for a couple of days. We were talking about the accident when my breakfast arrived. The nurse had to scoot me up in a sitting position so I could eat. She did lower my leg a little. It hurt like hell and it took everything I had not to scream out. Shortly after I finished eating, the doctor came in and explained my condition. My leg around the calf area was crushed and my ankle area was sprained again but it didn't make much difference at this point. I would be in the hospital for a week to make sure it was healing properly and it would have to stay raised up in a sling. He told me that it would probably stay in some type of cast for two to three months in which I would have to stay off of it. After that, I would be going through physical therapy until it was strong again. He had put two pins in my leg. "Doc, what about work and going to the bathroom?" I inquired. "Well, as far as work is concerned, you won't be going back for five or six months depending on your healing. As far as the restroom goes, you can urinate in the bottle. As for a bowel movement, that's one of the reasons you'll be in the hospital for a week. You will need help. Once you go home you can use the bottle for urinating in and use crutches to make it to the rest room unless you have a porta-potty like we do here." I couldn't help seeing the little smirk on Brenda's face. She knew I was one of those guys that tried to do everything himself and there was no way I could handle all of this. I really was concerned. I was sitting there thinking about my living dilemma when Cheryl and Sue arrived. "Hi, Dad," they both said. Then Cheryl started talking and asking me how I was doing. They never failed to give me a hug and a kiss. Brenda told the girls that, while they were there, she was going to go home, take a shower, and clean up. She told them she would be back in a couple of hours. "Rob, don't forget to behave and do what you're told. I'll see you in a couple of hours. If you need anything, I'm sure Cheryl and Sue will help you out." She squeezed my hand and smiled at me and left. For some reason I thought she would lean over and kiss me. I didn't know what my problem was. The girls were talking to me and Sue said that I looked like I had a problem. Damn. These girls were as smart as their mother. "What is it, Dad? Maybe we can help. That's what we're here for," said Cheryl. "Well, if you have to know; the doctor told me I would be here for about a week and then I'd probably be bedridden for a couple of weeks and on crutches for at least a few months. I'm just not sure how I'm going to do it." "Dad," said Sue. "We told you yesterday not to worry because we got you covered. Don't you ever listen to us?" she smiled. "I remember you saying it but I didn't have any idea what you were talking about. Are you guys looking for a nurse or someone to help me out? I honestly don't know if I can handle this situation alone." "Dad, you're moving back in with mom," said Sue. "What? No way! You girls know how I feel about that. No, I can't do it. Besides your mother would have a hissy fit if I was staying at her place. I hardly think she would go along with that." "Dad, it was mom's idea. She explained it to us and it makes the most sense. The day you're released from the hospital you'll be going to mom's. She is having a room set up for you with one of those porta-pots like you have here. She has already applied for two weeks' vacation to help get you through the critical time. After that, either Cheryl or I will be there during the day with you, and Mom said she'll take care of you in the evenings," said Sue. "I don't know, girls. Isn't there some other way?" I asked. "No, Dad, there isn't. You can't be left by yourself and we can't afford a nurse twenty-four hours a day. What's the matter, Dad, afraid of Mom?" smiled Cheryl. "No, I'm not afraid of your mother. Look, we're not getting back together. As soon as I'm able to walk, I'm going back to my apartment. Do you understand?" I asked. "Yeah, right, Dad, we understand," said Sue. For some reason Mike's word list for women came into my mind. The way Sue said "Right" sure sounded like it should be on that list. I don't think her right meant right. The girls changed the subject and started telling me about my grandkids. They told me how I would see them most every day while I was staying at their mom's house. That part made me happy. I loved watching them play but I knew I wouldn't be able to hold them for a while. While we were talking, two women who I didn't know walked in. "Are you Mr. Mathais?" they asked. "Yes, ladies, what can I do for you?" One of them spoke. "I'm Betty Porter, Jason's mother, and this is Marsha Watts. She's Brad's mother. We just wanted to stop in and thank you for saving our sons' life. We're so sorry for the way they acted and of course endangering your life. We want you to know that we are going to punish them when they come home. We're going to take away everything they own." "Thank you, ladies. You might want to find out where they are getting their alcohol. After all, they are only nineteen and were quite drunk. If they weren't drinking, I'm sure they wouldn't have acted the way they did. I want to thank you both for coming in to see me. I know that wasn't easy." I introduced them to Cheryl and Sue and they apologized to them also. They all talked for a few minutes and then the ladies left. I had a number of visitors all day long. After Brenda came back, the girls went home to take care of their own families. I should mention that the boys were found guilty of trespassing. The company did file charges but said the penalty should be community service. The judge went along with the idea and gave both boys sixty hours of community service. They are planting trees for our company. They were also told if they were found drinking again, they would serve six months in jail. A little while later when Brenda came back, I told her I had a problem and Brenda asked me what it was. I told her I had to take a dump and had no idea what to do. I sure didn't want to shit my bed. Brenda went out and got a male nurse who came in and lowered my leg and was going to help me sit on the Porta-pot. I asked Brenda if she would leave the room for a few minutes. She gave me one of those 'you've got to be kidding' stares, pulled the curtain, and closed the door. My leg hurt like hell trying to maneuver myself on the pot. I was sure glad I had the nurse there to help. I was a little embarrassed but the nurse said I'd get used to it. I finally got my ass wiped and the nurse helped me back into bed. Brenda came back in while the nurse emptied the pot into the toilet. That's when I asked her if she was sure she wanted me in her house. I knew that it would have to be her to help me in the situations like this. I had to admit that I wouldn't be able to move around till my leg healed. "Rob, you are going to need help. We both know that and so do the girls. Yes, I am willing to help take care of you and help you get back on your feet," she told me. "I hate to bring this up but you know I'm not going to remarry you, don't you?" She looked at me and answered, "Sure, that's fine." She then said she was going to get a cup of coffee. Coal Miner Pt. 04 Sure, that's fine was what she said. Again, I had to wonder if those were any of the words from Mike's list. Sure and fine when said by Brenda wasn't at all believable. I figured by the time I got out of this hospital Brenda and my daughters would have a whole new set of words. I was just too worn out and hurt too much to argue with them. My friend Mike came in and I asked him about his word list of women's words. He told me he carried it with him so when he talked to his wife, he had something to refer to. "Are Right and Fine on that list?" I asked Mike. "Right isn't but I have a feeling it should be. I heard Racene say it a few times and it meant I was wrong. Fine is on the list but means we're not done talking about it," laughed Mike. He went ahead and added 'right' to his list. I had a number of visitors throughout the day and was glad when visiting hours were over. Lying there seemed to take a lot out of me. The nurse came in and gave me my pills and then Brenda came in. "What are you doing? Aren't you going home tonight?" "No, I'm staying one more night. I'll have to go home tomorrow night because I have to get up for work. I just wanted to make sure you are okay." "Brenda, I want to thank you for..." "I know, Rob. Just get some rest. Goodnight," she said as she lay back in her chair. I couldn't help thinking about her. I didn't have much control over what was going on in my life. It's hard to believe that she was still there for me. It's been over nine years since our divorce. The next morning I woke up and there was Brenda sleeping. I must have made some noise and woke her up. "Everything all right, Rob?" she asked. "Not really. I have to piss like a racehorse and I can't reach that stupid bottle." She got up and got the jug for me. I was lying on my back and could hardly see my damn dick. Brenda laughed at my predicament, came over, lifted up my hospital gown, pulled my dick out and held it inside the lip of the jug. I felt kind of funny having Brenda hold my dick. "Don't worry, Rob. It's not something that I haven't seen before," she smiled. I let loose and began to piss. Damn, it actually felt good. There was my ex-wife holding my dick in the jug. When I was finished, she began to jack me off a little. I felt myself starting to get a little hard. "Hey, stop that. What do you think you're doing?" I asked. She laughed, "Don't you always shake it a few times after you piss?" "Yeah! I shake it, not pump it," I laughed. She tucked my cock back under my gown and covered me back up. She was emptying the jug into the toilet when the nurse came in with my breakfast. Brenda walked over to the sink and washed her hands. Again, I had visitors all day. I didn't realize I had so many friends. Even some of our joint friends like Joyce and Ellen came to see me. Matt, my boss, came in and told me to take all the time I needed to recuperate. He said that I had done more for the advancement of the coal industry than anyone in recent years. First, I did the lecture and then saved the lives of two students. Before he left, he told me I had a visitor at the mine. It was the woman from the lecture; she came to see me. "You mean the teacher, Ms. Smiley?" I asked. "No, the other one that you had lunch with. She said her name was Mary and to tell you hi and she hopes you're doing okay. She said her offer still stands." Brenda had walked back in the room and I think overheard the end of the conversation with Matt. She'd known Matt for a number of years and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. They exchanged a few pleasantries and Matt left. Brenda was about half smiling at me. "So what offer did this woman Mary make you?" I came out and told her the truth. "She said if I needed anyone to talk to or have sex with, she was available." Without missing a beat Brenda said, "Heck, I can do both of those things for you, and probably better," she laughed. I dropped the subject. I think I had just lost another round. Before going home that evening, Brenda took my piss bottle and put it where I could reach it. She told me she knew I would want it first thing in the morning. She knew me as well as I knew myself. Before she left, she kissed me on the forehead. "Night, Rob. Hope you get a good night's sleep. I'll see you after work tomorrow." The next morning I found myself looking at the empty chair and for the first time felt a ping of sadness that she wasn't there. I reached over and used the urinating jug Brenda put where I could reach it and set it on the rolling cart for the nurse to empty when she came in. Everything went about the same for the next few days. My daughters and friends stopped by every day to see me. Brenda stopped in every evening after work and stayed till visiting hours were over. One day the doctor told me I was going home the following day. I was allowed to lower my leg but I had to keep it on pillows and raised up. I had to stay off of it. My two sons picked me up at the hospital. They helped me into a wheelchair and into one of their vans. My daughters sure picked some decent guys. When we got to Brenda's house, they used the wheelchair to get me into the house. The house wasn't really wheelchair accessible so after we got inside they carried me to the bedroom and helped me onto the bed. "Brenda, this is your room. I can't take your bedroom." "Rob, just go with the flow. I'm sleeping in the guest room, Sue's old bedroom. My room was the biggest and it also has a TV set in it. You'll be spending the best part of the next two weeks in it," said Brenda. Cheryl spoke up. "Dad! Mom, Sue and I know what's best for you. We have everything planned out. All you have to do is rest and get well. After that cast comes off then you'll have to go to physical therapy till you can strengthen that leg. Don't worry, we'll be with you then too," she smiled at me. I had tears in my eyes thinking about the support I was getting from my family. For the next two weeks, Brenda was there for me twenty-four hours a day. She made me breakfast, lunch and dinner. She remembered all my favorite foods. She would sit on the bed with me in the evenings and we would watch TV together. She had a DVD player and rented movies that she knew I would like. One day she laughed when she handed me 'Coal Miner's Daughter'. I was so dependent on her. She was there for me. She never mentioned anything negative about the past. We did talk a lot about our kids growing up and how proud we were of them. We decided that we did a good job. Of course, Brenda was the main influence. The girls were so much like her. I wanted to mention that Brenda did everything for me including wiping my ass when I had trouble doing it a couple of times. She would make jokes about emptying the porta-pot so I wouldn't feel bad about it. She got a kick out of giving me sponge baths spending a little more time than necessary on parts of my anatomy. I remember the first time she came into the room in the morning. She had just gotten out of the shower and had a robe on. She took it off and dropped it to the floor. She was totally naked. I said, "Brenda, what are you doing?" "Getting dressed, stupid. All my clothes just happen to be in this room. If you don't want to watch me then close your eyes," she smiled. "There's nothing new here. You've seen it all before." Again, I was lost for words. I didn't close my eyes as I watched her get dressed. It was something I looked forward to. Every morning she would take a shower and I would listen to her sing. She had the nicest voice. She would then come into the room take off her robe and get dressed. The two weeks flew by and I was finally able to stand up on my good leg. I could make it to the couch in the living room but again, I had to raise my leg and put it on pillows. Brenda had started back to work but she made sure I was okay before leaving in the morning. Within two hours, one of my daughters would be there to be with me. They always had my grandkids with them. The phone rang one day and a man asked for Brenda. I told him that she was at work and wouldn't be home till five. He seemed a little put out that a man had answered the phone. I wanted to ask Sue about him in the worst way but didn't want to act jealous. After all, Brenda and I had been divorced going on ten years. "Who was on the phone, Dad?" asked Sue. "Some guy named Bill wanted to speak to your mother." "Oh, I was supposed to take that call. Sorry, Dad." "What do you mean you were supposed to take it? Who's Bill?" "Okay, Dad, I'll tell you. Mom has gone out a couple of times with him. She told me that if he called to tell him that she's back with her husband and not to call anymore." "I told you we're not getting back together. I'm just staying here till I'm able to go to my apartment. Doesn't anyone listen to me?" "I forgot to tell you, Dad, that we sub-leased your apartment." "What? Where am I supposed to live? I can't stay here forever." "Dad, you have four months left on your lease. We sub-leased it till the end of your lease. That way you don't have to pay the rent. Phil and Bob (my sons) are going over tonight to get most of your personal things. We told the lessee that he could use the furniture and some of the other stuff for an extra hundred a month. "If in four months you want your apartment back, it's yours. Dad, be honest with yourself. Do you really want to leave mom again? Of course the choice is totally yours. We just figured it would save you a lot of money since you're not staying there right now." She didn't ask for an answer but I knew it would be something I'd have to think about. When Brenda came home, she apologized for Bill's call. She told me he was a nice guy but was looking for a wife and she wasn't available. She never said why. Life went on like this for another month. I was eventually able to use the crutches and use the toilet. You don't know how good that feels until you're not able to. Life was pretty good for me. I got to see a lot of my friends and then of course seeing my daughters and their families almost daily was great. The sad yet happy part was that these last two months, even with the broken leg, was probably the best two months of my life in the last ten years. Being around Brenda made me realize how much I still loved her. Saturday night the phone rang. Brenda and I had just eaten a great dinner that she had made and we were getting ready to watch a movie. She said hello and got up and walked in the kitchen to talk. I couldn't help it; I had to listen to what she was saying. I put the TV on mute. "No, not tonight. I'm here with Rob and we're getting ready to watch a movie. No, I don't think so. Okay, have a nice time and I'll talk to you tomorrow." I quickly took the TV off mute when Brenda came back in smiling. "I know you were listening. Do you want to know who it was?" "Was it Bill?" I asked. Brenda laughed. "I broke it off with Bill a month ago shortly after you talked to him. It was Joyce. Tonight was our girls' night out and she wanted to know if I was going." "You should have gone out. You've been stuck in here with me for two months now. You go and have a nice time." I said it but I really wanted her to stay with me and watch a movie. "I told Joyce that if I had to choose between a night out with the girls or watching a movie with you, I'd pick you," she smiled At that point I was thinking about the last couple of months. At no time did she try to kiss me or talk about sex. I was wondering if she was waiting for me to make a move. We cuddled some but nothing really sexual unless I count her dressing in front of me every morning. I have to say I loved watching her and she knew it. She got up and put in a movie for us to see. She made sure my leg was propped up and sat next to me on the couch. It was a little different this time. She was holding my hand. I didn't say anything. After about an hour, she put the movie on pause and said she was going to make us some popcorn. We somewhat cuddled and ate the popcorn while watching the movie. When it was over, I hobbled into the bedroom and got ready for bed. I heard Brenda closing up the house and then she was singing in the shower. It was odd. She had a ritual of always taking a shower in the morning. I know, I've been watching her every day for the past two months. I was lying on the bed in my briefs and had my leg on a pillow when Brenda came into the room. She dropped the robe and came over to the side of the bed. She was stark naked. I saw her take out a pair of scissors and she came over to me. I didn't know what to think as she cut off my briefs. "Brenda, what the hell is going on? Why did you cut off my underwear?" She put the scissors back and came back over and started jacking me off. "I wanted you naked but didn't want to disturb your leg. I'm going to make love to you whether you like it or not. I told you that you didn't have to marry me again but I never said that you couldn't make love to me." She bent over and took my cock in her mouth. God, now I remembered how no woman could even come close to the things Brenda did to me. She had me as hard as a rock and carefully climbed up and straddled me. Slowly she lowered herself down on my cock. I did everything I could not to disturb my leg but it wasn't easy. She was doing all the up and down movements. Thank God, she was on top of me. It helped hold me down. I had my hands to play with her breasts, which I did. She was moaning and groaning telling me how much she loved me and missed making love to me. I felt myself coming and I knew Brenda was there too. She lowered herself all the way down as I shot what seemed like a continuous load into her. What she could do with that pussy of hers! I felt it spasm and squeeze my cock till she milked me dry. She got off and went into the bathroom. I had taken my pills and fell asleep and when I woke up the next morning, there was Brenda cuddled up next to me lying on my arm. She never looked more content. I don't know where we are going from here. I really did love her but also needed her. If the last ten years have taught me anything, it was not fun living alone. I might have to break my promise not to re-marry her. I do love her with all my heart. Only time will tell what happens next. * This is the conclusion to my story. Thank you for reading it. Comments and feedback are appreciated. DG Hear