50 comments/ 65119 views/ 14 favorites Girls are Prettier at Closing Time By: woodmanone There is very little sex in this story. A story of an unexpected love that grew and grew, and the aftermath. Just a few words to those who are hateful and insulting with their comments. I don't mind that you don't like the story line, or the grammar, or the spelling, or the punctuation. All of that can be used to improve my writing. The insults to me and my characters are uncalled for. Let me suggest to you, that if you don't like happy endings, don't read my stories. Most will have happy endings. Maybe it's because I'm out of touch with the real world, as some have suggested, or maybe it's because I am really happy in my life. Don't know, don't care. For you haters out there, use your power of censorship and don't read my stories. For the people who have suggestions about my stories please keep your comments coming. Thank you. * I am sitting here in the waiting room of our local hospital hoping for good news. As I wait, I think back to what has brought me here. This is that story. Hi there, I am Charley. I just turned 26 years old, am in good health, and I am in pretty good physical shape. At 6 feet 1 and 210 pounds, I am a little over average in size. My face wouldn't launch a thousands ships, but it wouldn't sink any, either. I'm a decent looking guy you wouldn't be ashamed to be seen with. I am married to Bobbie (Roberta actually) who is 24. She is very lovely, at least I think so. Bobbie is about 5 feet 8 inches, weight of 130 with long auburn hair and green eyes. She has a smoking body, all and all a very nice package. It wasn't always that way. I will get into that statement a little later. We met while going to college and believe me it wasn't love at first sight. I was sort of a jock; second string basketball, second string running back on the football team, but starting second baseman for the baseball team. All and all not bad, but I wasn't a big man on campus (BMOC), although I was a big man in my fraternity. You see, I was one of only about ten members not on academic probation. Our fraternity was sort of like Delta Tau Chi (That's the fraternity in the movie "Animal House". The ones that were always on double secret probation). We didn't mean to be such screw ups, it just sort of happened that way. There was a general attitude that college was for having parties, not for getting an education. I had other ideas about education but I still liked to party a lot; so I did both. Good grades, a well rounded history in student activities, and being a fraternity member (Even Delta) would show up to my advantage on my resume. Employers look for that sort of thing in applicants for entry level positions. My appetite for parties and loyalty to a frat brother is what put me in the position I am in today. Let me explain. Most of our frat was at the mixer given by the girls of Tri Kappa sorority and doing our best to make it the hit of the season. I was in attendance and holding court on my throne. That means I was at a table with some of my frat brothers trying to drink the place out of alcohol of any kind. (except schnapps, I can't stand it). My frat brother, James, who is also my best friend was asking for my help. It seemed he had a chance to have cardinal knowledge of a certain coed by the name of Judy, but she had a roommate with her. He needed me to bird dog the roommate and keep her busy while he explored the frame of the beautiful Judy. "Charley, you owe me bud. Remember Gloria last semester? Who was it that kept her best friend busy inside while you took Gloria outside to show her the back seat of your car? Return the favor please." "You right James, I do owe you for your help with Gloria. However, Gloria's best friend was hardly a dog. In fact, I think I should have stuck with the friend. Gloria was not the stuff fantasies are made of. She was not as turned on as she acted once we got out to my car. Her whole act was just a tease and I went home alone. You got to nail the friend that night, so it was I that actually did the favor." "Come on Charley, give me a break here. I need your help." "Okay, I was just busting your chops a little. Where is this roomy of Judy's?" James pointed to a girl standing by herself on the other side of the dance floor. "That's her with the dark green jumper. See her?" "Son of a bitch. She has got to be the homeliest girl in the entire school. You can't really expect me to squire her around can you? It would ruin my reputation. People would laugh at me." "You owe me Charley. How about it? Will you help out your best friend or not?" "Okay, okay, but this makes me one up on you. You big ass." "Great, see you later." James went to gather up his prize for the night and left me to handle her roomy. If you haven't guessed by now the roomy was Roberta. (The Bobbie part came later). She wasn't a dog by any means, just unkempt if you know what I mean. The hair was dull looking and stringy, she was wearing glasses, and she wore no make up at all. There was no fashion sense at all. The green jumper she wore was almost floor length and out of date by at least 10 years. Oh well, I had promised. I walked over to Roberta and offered her a cup of punch from the buffet table. I introduced myself and asked her name. She seemed a little shocked that I was talking to her. She told me her name and we chatted for a few minutes. Really, I talked and she gave one or two word responses. Boy do you owe me big time James, I thought, this gal is barely awake. I continued to try and get her to open up a little and being the charming fellow I am, she started to warm up. The music was soft and slow; so I ask her to dance. She was a better at talking than she was at dancing. After about a minute of stepping on each others toes, we decided to sit at a table and talk some more. I suggested a drink to break the ice a little. After a couple of hours of sitting, talking and drinking we were so settled it was a miracle that we could walk. She was drinking because she was nervous and I was drinking because I was with her instead of some little honey. The more I drank, the better she looked. (There is a country song by Mickey Gilly, called "The girls all get prettier at closing time" that explains this phenomena). By the time I offered to walk her back to her apartment she looked hot to my alcohol infected brain. The evening got a little hazy after that. The next morning I woke up around 10:30. My right arm was asleep and I couldn't seem to move it. I looked over discovered a body laying on my arm. Who the hell is that, I thought? She rolled over on her back and I was staring at Roberta. What the hell went on last night? How much did I have to drink? I couldn't remember anything but bits and pieces of the previous evening. Roberta slowing opened her eyes and looked at me. She screamed and jumped out of bed. She screamed again when she realized she was nude. "What am I doing here?" she demanded. She looked around for her clothes; when she couldn't find them she started to freak out again. "Don't scream again, my head is pounding," I pleaded. "Use my robe, it's on the door behind you." She turned around, grabbed my robe and put it on. When she turned around I saw maybe the best ass at school. The robe was a little large on her but at least she stopped screaming. "What went on last night? What did you do to me? Did you take advantage of me?" "Hold it, stop. I remember us having a pretty good time, once you took off that jumper. As far as me taking advantage of you, it may have been the other way round. We came to my room to get some music cds you wanted to borrow. When we started to leave, I gave you a little kiss and the next thing I knew I was on my back on the bed. You were on top of me trying to take off my shirt. After that we just did what comes naturally." (Let me add here, that when that ugly jumper of Roberta's came off, it uncovered one of the best bodies I have ever seen. For a little while that body was all mine. I had made the most of my opportunity). "I don't believe you. Your must have seduced me. I would never do anything like that." Roberta clothes had been thrown around the room; as we were talking she had been picking them up. She went into the bathroom and dressed. She came out fully attired and went to the door. She turned a last time and said, "You keep your mouth shut about this, you hear me?" "I don't want anyone to know about this either. My reputation would never recover." She slammed to door on the way out which didn't help my head at all. Guess she was pretty worked up. I got out of bed, finished my morning routine, and went looking for James. He wasn't in the frat house, so I called his cell. He answered right away. "Hey Charley, what the hell went on with you and Roberta last night? I'm at Judy's and Roberta just came crying saying something about she was ruined." "We had a lot to drink at the mixed and came by my place. Woke up in bed together and judging from the evidence and what little I can remember we had a hell of a sexy night. Why should she be crying, I'm the one who is going to be laughed at by all the brothers?" "Charley you don't understand. Her parents are very strict and now that she isn't a virgin anymore, Roberta thinks she won't be able to ever go home to them." "I'm sorry for her, but everything we did was consensual. She wasn't force to do anything. In fact she was very enthusiastic and took the lead several times. Tell her I won't say anything about last night. No one else has any need to know what happened." "Okay Charley, I hope this stops right here, but I don't have a good feeling about it." Maybe James was physic or something. Two months later as I came from my last class of the day, I found Roberta sitting on the steps of the Delta house waiting for me. Oh shit, I thought when I saw her; this doesn't look good. "Hello Roberta. I haven't seen you around campus lately. How are you." Things were a little awkward. "I'm pregnant Charley and I don't know what to do. It has to be yours. I was a virgin until that night. I called my family to tell them and my dad called me whore and a slut and hung up on me. When I called back the next day, my mother told me that she no longer had a daughter." I didn't know Roberta that well. I didn't really like her, except for that banging body; but when I heard about her family I felt a deep anger start building in my chest. How could parents treat their daughter that way? She needed help and support from her family; they just tossed her out like she was garbage. Those assholes! "Roberta, I will help you in anyway I can. What do you need from me?"Do you want to have the baby, do you want an abortion, what do you want?" "Charley, I can't get an abortion, I just can't." "Okay Roberta, I'm here for you. When do you want to get married?' "Married? You don't want to marry me; you and I don't love each other." Roberta got up to leave after saying that. "Roberta, there is a song that goes "What's love got to do with it?" Those words fit this situation. The baby and you need support, at least until after the birth. If you want a divorce after the baby is born, I will give you one and pay child support. At least the baby will have a name and a chance at life. So what do you say, will you marry me Roberta?" "Why would you do this Charley? I didn't come here to trap you or anything, I just wanted you to know." "This won't sound very flattering, but here goes. My dad is pretty old school and he taught me the values that his father taught him. One of the most important things I learned from Dad is you are responsible for you own actions. Also you always face up to your responsibilities. Us being pregnant is a result of my actions. I will do what is right, because that's what I believe. This isn't only for you and the baby, but for me too." "You are a good person Charley. Okay let's get married. The sooner the better as time is a major consideration." She seemed to come alive and a beautiful smile lit up her face. I called my dad and mom and gave them the "good"news. As always they were very supportive and wanted to know how they could help. Of course, I got a few "Oh Charley how could you be so careless" and other pearls of wisdom, but then they jumped in to help with both feet. When I told my mom how Roberta's parents had treated her, she said that poor little girl. Mom then took over. She called Roberta the next day and talked for hours. Between Mom, Judy, and Roberta they had a wedding planned and set up in one week after the big news. My family came into town and got to meet the bride to be in person. Roberta was an instant hit with both of my parents. For two days before the wedding, I didn't see Roberta. We talked on the phone a few times but no personal contact. Thanks Mom. I thought that since the damage had already been done sexually speaking, I might talk Roberta into a rematch. I know, I'm an ass, so sue me. She was fantastic that night so you really can't blame me for trying. The wedding took place in a little chapel that was almost too perfect. Flowers and decorations turned it into a fairy land. My father was my best man and Judy stood up for Roberta. As my dad and I stood at the altar waiting, he turned to me and said, "I am very proud of you son. You are facing your responsibilities like a man. Just wanted you to know how I felt." "Thanks Dad, I'm just doing what I was taught. Thank you for that too." God were we sappy, both of us had tears in our eyes. Then the music started. I was about to get married. I turned to face the church and then saw Roberta coming down the aisle. There may have been prettier girls on campus, but if so I hadn't seen them. Roberta was stunning. She actually had on a wedding dress.(It was my mom's) Her auburn hair was beautiful as was her make up .(My mom's work, that's why I didn't see Roberta for two days). Apparently she had gotten contacts as her glasses were gone. All at once, I began to think this marriage wasn't such a bad idea. My dad had called Roberta's family to introduce himself and invite them to the wedding. Her father refused to have anything to do with her or her wedding, calling her a Jezebel and harlot. Roberta was given away by James. As she took my hand and we faced the minister, I said to her, "Bobbie, you are so beautiful I can't believe you are real." "Bobbie, she asked?" Her smile again lit up her face and melted my heart. "Yes. You are much too beautiful to be a Roberta," I answered her. It was a very small reception with just the wedding party and a few select friends. I kept my frat brothers away, by promising to buy the keg at the next party. The last thing we needed was those wild men at the reception. We passed up on any type of honeymoon, considering the circumstances. We spent the rest of the weekend moving into our new apartment. I must have the best parents in history. My dad and mom picked out a small apartment close to campus for us and paid the rent and utilities for a year. The baby would be born before the lease expired. I also would graduate about the same time and decisions about where to live could be made then. I spent the next seven months going to classes, working and taking care of Bobbie. She finished her semester of classes and then dropped out. She had her hands full being pregnant,taking care of me, and making a home in our small apartment. Bobbie took better care of herself after we got married. She would comb and brush her hair, wear a little make up, and began to wear more flattering clothes. Those clothes soon turned into maternity wear, but no more floor length ugly jumpers. Bobbie always had a meal cooking or ready when I got home. She made sure that there was always beer in the fridge and the little snacks that I like were always on hand. ( I gave up the hard stuff after what happened the night I met Bobbie). Life wasn't too bad during that period of time. I believed Bobbie was in love with me from our wedding day on. Probably because I stepped up when her parents left her high and dry and took care of her. Something strange and wonderful happened during those seven months; living together and waiting for the baby. I fell in love with my wife. I had gotten married because it was the right thing to do and to face my responsibilities. Love wasn't involved at that point. I didn't know Bobbie well enough to even like her, much less love her. That all changed during that seven months prior to the birth of our son. I couldn't wait to get home, no more stopping for a beer after work or classes; my wife was waiting for me and I wanted to see and be with her. Our son was born almost exactly to the day nine months after that wild night. Bobbie had a few problems with the birth, so I wasn't in the room; Sorry for the problems but I didn't miss being in the room at all, I'm squeamish about stuff like that. Both Bobbie and the baby turned out fine and we had a family. We named the boy "Raymond James"; Ray after my dad and James after the drunken bum that pushed us together that first night. Bobbie got back on her feet pretty quickly after the problems she had. Things had gotten back to normal, as normal as they can be with a new baby. About a month after bringing Ray home, I noticed a growing tenseness in our happy little home. Bobbie seemed nervous and a little sad; the only time she seemed normal was with the baby. She didn't come to greet me at the door or kiss me hello like before. She used to always grin or laugh at my poor attempts of humor, but not now. I had read about something called "postpartum depression" and wondered if this was what was wrong. I talked to my mom and she said to not pressure Bobbie, just be there for her. Mom's advice seemed sound, so I followed it for six more weeks and then couldn't stand for Bobbie to be so unhappy. Against all advice and suggestions , I confronted Bobbie. "Bobbie, is there something bothering you.? You seem sad, withdrawn, and unhappy," I asked her one evening after dinner. "No, I'm fine. Everything is okay. I guess I'm just tired." "Everything is not fine. What the hell is going on? What did I do or not do to cause you to react this way? Please talk to me Bobbie." She hung her head and tears started to drip off her cheeks. Bobbie seemed to be miserable and sobs began to shake her body. Finally she got hold of herself and looked at me. I had never seen anyone that sad or hurt. "I'm just waiting for the day you say you want a divorce and leave Ray and me," Bobbie told me. "What? What the hell are you talking about? I'm not leaving you guys. Where did you get that idea?" I was getting a little worked up. "When you ask me to marry you, you said you would support me at least until the baby was born and he had a name. Well Ray has been born, he has your name and I am waiting for you to go. That's why I've been so sad." "GO? GO? Are you nuts? Why would I go. You and Ray are the lights of my life. Look Bobbie I guess I haven't told you, I thought you knew. I love you, and now Ray, more than anything. I couldn't leave; it would be like cutting out part of my heart. You are stuck with me." Things got much better around our place after that, starting with that night. Bobbie had gained some weight while pregnant (about 35 pounds) and had not lost it. It seemed to bother her, as she had always been slender. I wanted to help her, but you have to be careful how you approach a weight problem with a woman. Especially your wife. My wonderful brain came up with a plan. Guess I hadn't killed all the brain cells with alcohol after all. After dinner one evening, I grabbed my gut and said, "Jesus, I have gotten as big as a house. I need to get back in shape. Thing I will look into a gym around here. Maybe we could get a family plan and you could come too. It would get you out of the house a little and give you a break from being a mommy 24/7. Judy would love to babysit, and if she doesn't I will make James do it. What do you thing?" Girls are Prettier at Closing Time (See how my diabolical mind works. No mention of fat or weight just a motivation to get out. Sometimes I even impress myself.) My scheme worked like a charm. We began to use the gym two nights a week. Actually I started to enjoy it for myself. I started to lose the love handles and get back to my fighting weight. Bobbie really took to the gym. She started going with me, a little hesitate at first: then she started to see results and became serious about her workouts. The gym had a day care center, and Bobbie would take Ray with her. She would go on the two nights with me, and sometimes she would go on her own during the day. The "baby weight" began to melt off. After two weeks Bobbie had lost 10 pounds and started to firm up. I decided to give her a reward for all her hard work. I sent her to a all day spa for a complete styling makeover and to be pampered. I took a day off to watch Ray so she could really relax and enjoy. When she was done for the day she called and Ray and I drove over to pick her up. Leaning on the fender of the car with Ray in his carrier at my feet, I looked up and a vision of beauty walking toward me. Bobbie looked so great it made my heart pound and my eyes water up. Bobbie came to me and asked, "How do I look? Do you like it?" I sputtered and stammered and finally got out, "You look wonderful." "Thank you, and thank you for my reward. I had a wonderful day being pampered, prepped, and fawned over by the spa. Let's go home so I can show you the total makeover." "What I see here is total, I think," I stated. Bobbie leaned close to me and said, "I had a bikini wax, not just a bikini was but a Brazilian wax. There is not a hair on my body below my eye brows." "Let's go. What are we waiting for? I can't wait to see if I approve of this procedure." By the way, I did approve, very much so. Bobbie continued to bloom: working out at the gym with me and on her own, learning how to style her hair from Judy and my mother, and also getting tips on how to dress from them. She had started taking some classes again, most were for practical reasons than working on a degree. They were mostly classes concerning property and real estate. Bobbie had mentioned she might like to try working in that field after Ray started school. Things were going extremely well. Ray was a good baby; always happy with very little crying and a joy to be with. My job was going good, I was now a buyer and inventory control manager. We had bought and moved into a three bedroom home by this time. The apartment had been nice, but this was our first home. When Ray started school, Bobbie ask me what I thought about about her going to work. I believed it would help her to grow and was all for it. I knew I would have to help around the house and with Ray more, but I could handle the extra load. A small realtor hired Bobbie. The company handled mostly residential properties but did dabble in commercial real estate also. She became involved in the commercial side. Again, Bobbie seemed to blossom. During dinner she would talk about her job, the people she worked with and how interesting it all was. All the aspects of commercial real estate just fascinated her. She would talk on and on about this deal or that building code and many other things about her job. Sometimes she realized I wasn't getting a word in edge wise and apologize for talking so much. It didn't bother me and I told her so. I was glad she was enjoying her work. It gave her something to talk about besides the baby or a soap opera or the little problems around the house. As I said before, she blossomed and grew as a person. Bobbie had been at the agency for 5 months when the company was bought by a nationally known realtor. Things began to change about 3 months after the buy out. My wife didn't talk about her co-workers or the work very much anymore. She also seemed a little more tense and when I asked, she would say nothing was wrong, she was just tired. I seemed to get on her nerves with my little jokes; this was a surprise as she had always laughed and groaned at my jokes and puns before. She seemed to be on a roller coaster in her moods at home. One day she was on edge and snapped at me and the next couple of days she couldn't have been more loving. One day she wouldn't want to be near me or talk to me anymore that she had to.The next she couldn't touch me or tell me how much she loved me enough. All and all, it was a strange life we were living. One day she would be a caring, loving, and and a joy to be with. The next day she would be a moody and short tempered bitch that I didn't want to be around. She had long since lost the excess weight but liked the sleek and toned body her workouts at the gym gave her. Bobbie stopped going to the gym; she stopped going with me or on her own. Our sex life had also suffered during this period. We still had sex, but it seemed to be more of a chore for her than a pleasure to be enjoyed. The frequency also declined. I thought, oh well, it's the new job and responsibilities that are causing the stress and moodiness. The good days must mean things were going well at her job; the bad days mean things weren't going as good. Ray and I quietly tolerated the bad days when Bobbie was less than a nice person and looked forward to the good days when she was the lady we loved. I thought things would even out and we would be the perfect family unit again. This situation had gone on for about a month, when it came to a head. I had taken Ray to Mickey D's for an early dinner. Things at home were on the "bad" cycle and I knew Bobbie wouldn't be cooking that night. Ray had a happy meal and I had the joy of watching him be excited by the toy that came with the meal. After he had finished eating, we went to the play area as we always did. He didn't want to leave me side and seemed very clingy. "What's wrong buddy, don't you want to play?" "No daddy, I just want to be with you. Daddy why doesn't mommy like us anymore?" His question floored me. "Mommy still loves us Ray. Why did you ask me that?" "Mommy is always mad about something and she doesn't play with me anymore. This morning she told me to leave her alone, that she was busy." "Don't worry buddy, mommy still loves you. She has just forgotten that she does. I will reminder her tonight. Okay?" "Okay Daddy. Can I go play now?" I nodded and he ran to join the other kids playing in the big plastic balls. My son's mental process was wonderful. Got a problem? Go to dad and he will fix it. Problem solved, let's go play. My stomach was beginning to churn and I felt anger like I had never felt form in my chest. I thought I would blow a fuse, but then calmed down. Ray was with me and I needed to stay calm for him. I would handle the problem this evening, after he was in bed. Ray and I went home and played together for a while, before Bobbie came in. It was about an hour later than she normally got home. I remarked that is was a long day and asked her if she wanted something to eat. She just grunted a no, went to change her clothes, returned to the living room, flopped down on the couch and turned on the T V. There was no greeting to Ray or me, she just ignored us. I played with Ray for another hour or so and then gave him a bath and put on his pajamas for bed. Before he went to bed, he went to say good night to Bobbie. She just patted him on the head and said good night. No hug, no kiss, no attention for the boy. I put Ray to bed and waited for a half an hour; then I confronted Bobbie. "What the hell is wrong with you? You can't be bothered to show a little love to Ray, not to mention me? We need to talk about what is going on with you before it mushrooms into something really bad." "I'm just tired. This has been a hard week at work and I'm distracted. Nothing is going on and things will get better soon." "Bullshit, I have heard this song and dance for the last month. Now, I'm tired. I'm tired of this whole situation and it comes to an end tonight. If that job is stressing you out so much that you ignore your family, then quit." "Quit, quit? How can you ask me to quit? I am about to be promoted and get a big raise. I can't quit now, now when I'm starting to make good money and be appreciated for my work. I just need to push a little more and I will have my own department. How can you ask me to quit now?" "It's easy. If I have a choice of you making more money and us having our happy family back, I choose our family. Look at your paycheck and look at mine. We don't have to have your salary; my check can pay for everything we need. The money you make is nice to have but I would rather have our life back than to have the extras that your check can bring us." "So that's it. You are jealous of my success and want me to be dependant on you for everything." "God damn you Bobbie. That's not it. No one is more proud of what you have accomplished than me, but your preoccupation with your job is ruining our life. You are too stressed or busy for your son. You are too stressed or busy for me. Is your success at that place worth losing your child and husband?" This shit can't go on, we need to solve this problem while it can still be solved. Ray needs his mother back and I need my wife." "Oh God, Charley. I'm sorry, I didn't realize things had gotten that bad; I promise to do better. There is a big reorganization going on at the agency and I want the new department being formed. Please just let me get thru this push at work and things will be back to normal. Please Charley, I need your support for a little longer." "Bobbie I love you and have always supported you. Okay, I will chill for a while. Remember what I said, things are bad. Ray and I would rather have our Bobbie back than some department head. Get your act together honey." "Thank you Charley. Let's go to bed and see if I can do something to help make it up to you." I was up for that, in more ways than one. The tension around our home did disappear, or most of it, after our talk. Bobbie was still stressed and a little moody at times, but she didn't let it spill over into her interaction with Ray or me. Our home was very close to normal again. We were back to normal for about seven weeks, then things started going south again. This time I was more aware of the changes. I had learned my lesson earlier and wasn't going to let the problems build to a breaking point again. First change I noticed, Bobbie became more stressed out. She tried not to let it show, but she was moody and very quite. Then she started to go back to the gym, but by herself leaving me to babysit Ray. I suggested we go together as the gym had a daycare center. She said she preferred to concentrate on her workout without the socializing with me or anyone else.Her previous workouts had only been for a hour, sometimes 90 minutes. Now Bobbie would be gone for 3 or 4 hours, "working out" and be didn't want to talk much when she came home. Second change I noticed was Bobbie's make up. She had always felt that with make up "less was more" and had a natural look. Now she was using a lot more make up, more lip gloss, rouge, eyeliner, mascara and other things I know nothing about. She didn't look like a slut, but it sure wasn't the natural look anymore. Third change I noticed was the way she dressed. Bobbie had always worn slacks,nice tops, and sometimes a slack suit to work; she would wear shoes with low heels with her slack outfits, she was on her feet a lot and they were comfortable. Now she had started to wear skirts and blouses. The skirts weren't overly short, around the top of her knees, but they weren't slacks. Her blouses would have the top two or three buttons undone and offered a small amount of cleavage. The heels she wore were called CFM pumps in some circles. No way they would be comfortable if you were on your feet all day. She didn't dress like a slut by any means; it was just a bit more sexy than before. Fourth change I noticed was the time spent away from home. Bobbie left work around 3:30 and picked Ray up from the after school day care. Now most days, she would call to say she was going to be late and ask me to pick him up. I got off work at 5:00 so Ray was at daycare for an extra hour and a half. Bobbie would usually get home about a half an hour after Ray and I. There were a few times she didn't get home until 7:00 or 8:00. I always ask her about being late and she always said a big project had come up at work or some such excuse. Fifth change I noticed: When the new company took over, a new manager was brought in to run the agency. Bobbie had at first talked about the changes he was making. Jack was stream lining the agency and getting rid of the "deadwood" as he called it. She seemed to admire his business sense and knowledge. No mention had been made about Jack for the last few weeks. I ask her about him once and she made some off hand remark and that was it. Okay, what do we have here? Moody swings, more make up, dressing in a more sexy manner, not wanting me at the gym with her for the 3 or 4 hours she would be gone, staying late at work more often and no mention of Jack, the super new manager. These all added up to something I couldn't believe of her. Was Bobbie having an affair and cheating on our marriage? I didn't want to even think that was what was going on. I trusted her, but the signs were all there. There is an old saying, "Trust but Verify"; I intended to follow that advice. Bobbie's normal night at the gym was Wednesday, so the next gym night, I had Judy babysit with Ray, (remember Judy? She and James had moved in together and were talking about marriage). I went to the gym to "verify" her attendance. Okay, I went to spy on her and see what was going on or who she was meeting. She was working out, but with an intensity I had never seen before. This was no easy work out like before. I wondered if she was going to enter a contest to see who could work out the hardest. In addition to her work out, she was taking a self defense class. This class alone was a very hard work out. What the hell? Okay, I had verified her story about gym night. What about the late nights at work? That was the next item to check out. I waited until the next time she called and said she would be very late and decided to "verify" again. I call Judy and James and they stepped up to the plate to help again. I had to be infringing on their lives but they helped anyway.Don't you just love good friends? Around 6:30 I drove to agency office Bobbie worked in. Most of the building was dark, but one office in the back had light showing thru the window. The shades were down and I couldn't see into the room. That wasn't going to stop me; I was going to find out what was happening in that office. One of my frat brothers had been very talented in picking locks, it came in handy for stealing tests and such; he had given lessons and I paid attention in class. I went to a side door and picked the lock, opened the door and stepped inside. There security alarm had not been set yet as someone was still in the offices. I listened first, then moved toward the back office and peeked around the side of the door. The office was more like a large conference room with a long table. On that table were a lot of papers, plot maps, blue prints, and photos. Jack and Bobbie were standing together on one side of the table. I couldn't hear what Jack was saying, but he was certainly pitching something. Bobbie leaned over to read some paper and Jack stepped to her side and put his hand on her shoulder. She moved away to another part of the table and began looking at a something else. Jack again came to her side. He looked down at what she was reading, said something to her and covered her hand with his. Bobbie pulled her hand away and again moved to another part of the table. Jack followed her this time too. You have heard stories of a boss chasing a secretary around the office, well this was sort of a slow motion chase around that table. Every time Jack would get close to Bobbie and touch her or say something to her, she would move away from him to another part of the table. Finally Jack seemed to have Bobbie cornered between the end of the table and the wall. He reached out and put both arms around her shoulders and gave her a long hug. Bobbie seemed to be frozen, she didn't move other than to hang her head a little. I decided this had gone on long enough. If she welcomed these advances by shit head, I was going to confront her; if she didn't want his advances, I was going to confront him, physically. Neither of them saw or heard me enter the room. Before I had taken more than a couple of steps, Jack leaned over and kissed Bobbie on the cheek. She came unglued and pulled away from him. She hit him in the nose, hit him in the throat, and then kicked him in the groin. Every time she hit him his hands would go to that spot. His hands dropped to his groin, Bobbie stepped to the side and kicked the side of his knee and he dropped to the floor. I was almost all the way across the room by now, I had started forward quickly when I saw the kiss. Now I could hear Bobbie yelling at Jack. My wife certainly has a colorful vocabulary I didn't know she had. She berated him for touching her, for the sexual pressure he had put on her, and all using some of the choicest language I have ever heard. Man or woman. He was called everything but a human and then she kicked him in the groin again. After the final kick she turned away from him. I guess she was going to leave. When she turned she saw me standing there and just froze. "Oh shit," I heard and then, "What are you doing here?" "I came to get you to take a break and eat a light supper with me," I told her. See I didn't kill all my brain cells with alcohol, I came up with that answer right away. Guess it's a good thing I came, considering." "How did you get in? The doors are all locked, I saw Jack double lock them." "He must have missed the side door, it was open and I just walked in." Of course I didn't tell Bobbie that I had picked the lock. "What is going on Bobbie? Is this your idea of a late business meeting or is this monkey business? What the hell is happening?" "I'm sorry you saw what happened, but I'm glad you're here. I know it's a trite saying but it's not what you think, really it isn't. Please let's go home and I will tell you everything. Please." "Okay, I'll go by and pick up Ray and meet you at home. Within the hour Bobbie, not a minute later. Okay?" "Okay see you at home." Ray was already asleep when I got to James and Judy's place and they suggested he go ahead and spend the night. They said they knew Bobbie and I had some talking to do. How did they know that? Guess Bobbie and I aren't as clever as we thought. Thank God for good friends. I must have got home right after Bobbie as she had just taken her blazer off and was removing her high heels. I heard her mumble something about not having to torture herself with those anymore. She went to the kitchen and got a couple of beers and followed me to to the family room. We sat down facing each other. "Okay fill me in on what I saw and everything else," I ordered. "Charley, what you saw tonight has been coming for a long time. I thought I could handle everything myself, but tonight things came to a head and I just blew up. Sorry, I'm pretty sure I lost my job tonight." "I don't give a shit about your job. If losing that job will make our life better than it has been lately, good riddance. We don't need the money that bad. Talk to me." "As you know, when Jack came to manager the agency, I was pumped up. Finally someone who wasn't part of the good old boy network. I was impressed. Just shows you first impressions are not always the way things really are. Jack had been there for about two weeks and called me into his office. He said he was going to weed out the deadwood and make the office more efficient. He wanted me to be "nice to him" and he would see that I wasn't part of the deadwood." It wasn't said in so many words, but the implication was there. Girls are Prettier at Closing Time "Why didn't you tell him to fuck off and quit? You don't have to put up with stuff like that. That's sexual harassment, you could have his balls." "Watch your language please," Bobbie requested. "Me, watch my language. After what I heard at the office, I may have you wash your mouth out with soap." "Yeah, I guess I was a little excited. Sorry." "Go on with your story please." "After that first meeting, he keep making suggestive comments to me, but never when anyone else could here. It would have been his word against mine. I felt that the head office would believe someone who had been with the company for years over a women on the job for just a few months. That's why I never actually thought of pursuing a sexual harassment complaint. It began slowly but the requests for me to stay late began. I got out of some of them, by using the gym, and your and Ray as excuses to keep them at a minimum, but I couldn't get out of all of them. I worked so hard at the gym because I was so frustrated. He kept dangling the chance to be the head of the new department in front of me. As you noticed I became stressed out and very moody at home. I am so sorry about that Charley. You are a saint for putting up with me." "Not a saint, just a guy in love with his wife. I would probably had let it ride for a lot longer, except for your actions toward Ray. Those actions and Ray asking me why you didn't love us anymore, forced me to confront you." "Ray asked that? Oh,my God, I had no idea I let it get that bad. My poor baby. My poor babies, both of you. I'm so sorry Charley, please forgive me." "Go on with your story." "Well, after our talk, I made an effort to be more cheerful at home. I was, wasn't I Charley? Jack came to me about a month after our talk and suggest I wear dresses and skirts around the office. His logic was that I would be meeting important customers and should dress to impress, as he said. I could see the logic; I didn't have to like the double standard but I could understand it. That was when I started to wear skirts, blouses, and heels. Damn, I hated those heels. He also asked me to use more make up to enhance my face, he said. After a couple of weeks, Jack told me I should were shorter skirts and lower cut blouses to charm the clients. I told him that our agency and talent would have to charm those clients and I wasn't going to put on a peep show for anyone. I listened and acted on some of Jack's "suggestions" because the big reorganization was about to be made. I thought if I did the work, the head office would see how good I was and give the new department to run. "Tonight was to put the finishing touches to the plan and submit it tomorrow to the head office. Jack followed me around the table touching me, saying I should be glad to work "under" him, let's go to his private office and discuss his plans for me, and that I should be nicer to him. He said he could make or break my career. When he cornered me and put his arms around me, he made the first solid offer. Nothing hidden, all out in the open. Jack told me that if I would sleep with him, he would make sure that I got the new department to run." "I stood there with his arms around me trying not to react. It was my hope that if I just stood there he would back off a little. When he kissed me, I blew up. All my hard work, all those extras hours, all those days and nights fending him off; all of this and that asshole had the nerve to actually kiss me. The next thing I knew he was on the floor moaning in pain. I guess I snapped. Well that brings you up to date on my actions over the last few months. I'm really am sorry Charley. "Why didn't you come to me for help or advice when this started?" I asked. "I wanted to do something on my own. Don't you see. I had never stood on my own in anything. When we met and I got pregnant, you were there to take care of me. A lot of guys would have used money to meet their obligations, but not my Charley. You offered yourself, not money, but you. A lot of guys would have just said tough luck girl and booked. Not my Charley, you stepped up, took responsibility, and made everything okay. You see, I have been taken care of by you and your family, so I never had to stand on my own. I wanted to accomplish something by my work and talents. Can you see what I mean?" Bobbie looked at me begging for understanding with her eyes. "I understand, but you had Ray and took care of him and me after his birth.That was something on your own." "Yes I gave birth to our beautiful son; but for some months after his birth it was you, your mom, and Judy that took care of me. I was so down because I thought you were going to leave me. I had fallen head over heels in love with you by that time and couldn't bear the thought of losing you. Then you professing your love for me and Ray just brought out the sunshine again and I got better. It was still you taking care of me." "Yeah, well, I was stupid for not telling you that I loved you earlier. I thought you would know by the way I acted. It would have been better to tell you." "When you did tell me, it meant even more. You not only told me you showed me. The scheme to get me to work out to lose the weight was typical of the love you have for me. Instead of saying, hey you need to lose that weight gain, you came up with a way to make it seem like it was a family thing. Yeah, I knew what you were doing and I loved you even more because of it." "So much for the plans of men. I thought I was being so slick about that." "Well so much for the plans of women too. Mine didn't work out quite the way I thought it would. I'm glad it's over and we will just do the best we can from here on. No more of this moody stuff and all that. By the way, what were you doing there tonight?" I don't believe that bull about a supper break either." Again, I wasn't as slick as I thought. "Truth is I was spying on you."I guess I shouldn't admit this, but I watched one of your workouts at the gym, amazing. I also saw you in your self defense class; after tonight I guess you passed with honors." I didn't like the changes going on, the way you dressed, the make up, and the working late. I decided to put an end to what ever was going on. One way or another, tonight was to be the finale of the whole thing. I was going to kick his ass or kick you out if you were having an affair." "Seriously?" "As a heart attack. I had the chorus and the song was over as far as I was concerned. Tonight was it." "What now, Charley?" "We go back to our lives and raise our boy. However tonight we have a unique opportunity. Ray is at Judy's for tonight and we have the house to ourselves. Give you any ideas?" Bobbie started to laugh and take off her clothes as she headed to the bedroom. I was close on her heels. It was our mission to make up for all the loving we had missed over the last couple of months. We didn't make up for it all, but we sure put a dent in the deficit. Bobbie decided not to go to her office the next day and I called work and took a vacation day. We spent the morning together, then went and picked up Ray. Bobbie spent the rest of the day getting close to her boys again. I let a week go by before I took the first step of my plan. A call to Bobbie's office, or former office, gave me the info that Jack was in meetings all day. I talked to Grace, an old timer that had helped Bobbie when she first started at the agency, and found out that Jack was really just sitting in his office. I thanked Grace for the help and asked her not to tell Jack I had called. After getting an okay from my boss I took the rest of the day off for personal reasons. My personal reason was that I wasn't going to let that asshole, Jack, get away with what he tried to do. When I showed up at the his office, his secretary tried to tell me he wasn't in. I told her I was Bobbie's husband and Jack could talk to me or talk to the police and our attorney. His choice. Almost at once I was taken to the conference room, the same room where I observed Bobbie doing her impression of Ali on Jack. I waited about 2 minutes and Jack walked into the room. "Hey asshole," I greeted him. "You better have a seat, this is going to tough on you." "What are you talking about?" "Do you remember the night Bobbie kicked you ass? Do you remember when you told her she had to sleep with you to get the promotion she deserved? Do you remember that night, asshole." "I remember the night when Bobbie attacked me for no reason." "So that's the way your going to play it, huh?" Well let me enlighten you Jack. Bobbie had a tape recorder going the whole time. All your comments made that night are on tape. Now what do you have to say, shithead?" This way all a colossal bluff that could blow up in my face. There was no tape, but I had to make Jack believe there was for my plan to work. Jack seemed to deflate then. He hung his head and shook it back and forth. "What do you want?" he asked. "You ready? Maybe you better take notes, because if all of these demands aren't met you will be out of work at the very least. There may be jail time here too, not sure about that but we can let the police worry about it." "Okay, okay, I get it. You have me by the short hair here. What do you want?" "Here we go Jack. You will call Bobbie and apologize for your actions; and you better be convincing. You will tell her that if she will come back to the agency she will be made manager of the new department. She deserves it anyway. Next you will contact the head office and demand to be transferred to another office, I don't care where. You can use personal reasons to get it approved. Next you will name Grace as your replacement. The head office will listen pay attention to your recommendation. You with me so far Jack. "Yes, anything else?" "No that's about it. Let me tell you the alternatives if you don't follow my requests. Bobbie and I will sue you and the company, using the sexual harassment laws, for everything my blood sucking leech of an attorney thinks he can get. Check him out, he has quite the rep. His name is James Dooley. (My frat brother, my friend, and Judy's fiance). After that you will be lucky to get a job washing cars. In addition, if you don't do all this, I will give you a beating that will make your daddy hurt. If you think Bobbie hurt you that night, you are in for an education of pain from me. Do you understand you piece of shit?" "You win, I will do all those things you asked. How do I know you won't use the tape anyway?" "I give you my word, the day you leave town call me. You can meet me on you way out of town and I will give you the tape. We will be all square then. One last thing, no one is to know about what went on in our meeting today. I don't want Grace, Bobbie, anyone in this office or the head office to know about this. This is a deal breaker so be careful. Give me ten minutes head start and then call Bobbie." About 45 minutes later my cell phone rang. I looked and saw the caller was Bobbie. When I answered she was crying and talking so fast I couldn't understand her. I got her to calm down and got her to tell me nothing was wrong with her or Ray. Telling her to wait that I would be home in 15 minutes. I wanted to see her face when she gave me the news. I had to remember to act surprised. Bobbie was so happy she could hardly get out the words. "Charley, Jack called me and said he was wrong and that he was sorry. He asked me to come back to work and offered me the new department, said I should have gotten it anyway. He is also going to transfer out of this office so I won't have to work with him, and he is going to name Grace as his replacement starting tomorrow. Isn't it wonderful? I'm so happy. I finally did something on my own. Oh Charley, hold me." At this point she began to cry. I took her in my arms and let her get it all out. "That's great honey. I'm so proud of you; all you hard work paid off after a few little bumps. Go call my mom and dad, they will want to here all about this." Bobbie finally step out of my hug and went to call my mom and dad. I was sure James and Judy were going to get a call too. I stood there trying to keep the look of satisfaction off my face. Bobbie needed to believe in herself and didn't need to know my part in all this. My thanks was the look on her face and her being as happy as she was. Ten days after my meeting, Jack called me to tell me he was leaving town today. I made arrangements to meet him at the diner out by the interstate to give him the tape. I pulled into the parking lot by Jack's car and got out. He came over to meet me and asked for the tape. I took a tape cassette out of my pocket and stripped a section of the tape out of its holder; then I lit it with a lighter. Tape is very flammable and it burned right away. I then ground it into the dirt. "Satisfied Jack? By the way there is one more little thing." "Yeah, I'm satisfied. I don't know what else you want, I have done everything." "Just this Jack." I hit him with a right cross that Mike Tyson would be proud of. He didn't stagger, or take a step back; he dropped like he had been hit with a wrecking ball. I stepped over him and looked at him. His nose was bleeding and possibly broken, his top lip was starting to swell already, and apparently he had bitten his bottom lip. All and all, he was quite a mess. "I just couldn't let you get away with putting hands on my wife. Now we are done. You can go now, if you're able. Good bye Jack, don't come back." (That was another thing my dad taught me, you never let anyone shit on you or yours). There was one more part of my plan that wasn't going be as easy as Jack. I told Bobbie I had to go on a short business trip. This wasn't unusual so she wasn't upset or suspicious. I made a trip to her home town and met her parents. I introduced myself, at first they refused to talk to me, but I won them over.(I told them I would sit on their front porch and knock on the door every ten minute until they agreed to see me). They finally let me in, it took almost an hour. I told them that as a young man I had done a bad thing, had sex with their daughter while we were both drinking and got her pregnant. My father raised me to be responsible for my actions and I had married Bobbie. They didn't know she went by Bobbie now. At first I had just wanted to meet my obligations to her, but as the months went on I fell in love with her. When our son Ray was born, I was the happiest that I had ever been. I had brought several things with me to show them. I showed them our marriage license, and a current picture of Bobbie, sorry Roberta. There were pictures of Bobbie and I, Bobbie, I and Ray, and several pictures of their grandson Ray. I asked them to forgive a wayward young man that had grown into a good husband and father. Before I left, both her mother and father had thawed a lot and promised to answer any letters Bobbie, sorry Roberta would write. It was time to heal the wound. The pictures of Ray did the trick I think. I have written them a few times to keep them up to date. A story with a happy ending. Everyone got what they want, except Jack. Bobbie had turned herself into a beautiful women, wife, and mother. She got the job she had worked so hard for, even if there was a short delay, and had a great son. I had married a girl out of duty and found myself deeply in love with a woman. I had a family I was happy with and proud of. It's not quite the end; we, Bobbie and I, got something else we wanted. A new addition to our family. So here I am in hospital reliving the story of how I got here. I am waiting to hear about our new daughter and my wife. Yes, Bobbie got pregnant again, I think it was the night of the big blow up over her job. Anyway Bobbie is having a few problems again and I am waiting for news. I break out of my trance as I see a nurse coming toward me. "How are they? How is Bobbie? Is everything okay?" I babbled on and on. "Everyone is just fine. No problems, we decided to take some extra precautions after the trouble your wife had last time. You daughter is just fine and very beautiful. So relax, it will be a few minutes before you can see them." I turned to the people in the waiting room with me. Facing me are my mom/dad, James and Judy, Grace and her husband and someone Bobbie won't expect to see. Her mother and father are both here. They finally decided they have punished Roberta and themselves long enough. Ray has met them and is happy to have another Grandpa and Grandma to spoil him. I am waiting to be allowed to see my Bobbie and our new daughter. Bobbie and I will have to name her soon. I sort of like Emily Judith, after my mom and Bobbie's best friend. Life goes on.