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Modern Day Marriage

By: StangStar06



Thanks to mikothebaby for editing this story.

* * * * * *

Betty Sutton scanned the bar around her nervously. Though she'd done this many times before, she was always worried that she'd run into someone she knew. The chances of that were remote since she'd picked a meeting place that was a half hour's drive away from her neighborhood, but you couldn't be too careful. Only stupid people weren't careful, but that was why stupid people got caught.

Betty didn't want to run into anyone she knew. The chances of them telling or simply mentioning to her husband that they'd seen her and where, were something she didn't want to take a chance on.

Her husband, Travis, was busy helping someone at work with some kind of problem or other tonight, so this was a perfect opportunity for Betty. Not that she needed many opportunities or that they were hard to find. She usually scheduled her trysts for the daytime hours when her husband, Travis, was at work. But the opportunity for a rare night time assignation was too good to pass up.

Betty loved Travis with all or her heart and she'd never do anything to risk her marriage. She intended to grow old with Travis, and spend their golden years traveling and visiting their grandkids, as soon as they had some. Losing Travis was simply not on the menu for her.

Betty and Travis had been married for twenty years. She knew everything about him. She was sure that she knew her husband better than he knew himself. But the fact of the matter was that they were in a rut. Travis hadn't seen it yet but they were. Betty was also smart enough to know that every marriage went through peaks and valleys.

Betty knew that her best friend's marriage had broken up for just that reason. Her aunt and uncle had ended their marriage for the same thing. After being together for so long things just got a bit stale. Being a smarter than average woman, Betty realized that things in the modern day marriage were far different from what our ancestors had to face.

There was no longer the need to fight for survival or fight and work very hard just to scratch out a living. In the modern era, people also lived a lot longer and were far more isolated from their peers than ever before. It was really silly. In the old days people lived on tracts of land and might be separated from their neighbors by relatively large distances. Even then, though they didn't live very close to each other, they all got together regularly at churches or other social events.

In the modern era, people lived much closer together, but in many cases didn't even know their neighbor's names let alone socialize with them. There were people who lived right next door to each other for years and had never spoken to each other.

The modern era had also brought with it a degree of flexibility in morals. Betty loved Travis and she didn't want their marriage to end, so she saw nothing wrong with the occasional piece on the side. In her mind, all it did was to spice up her relationship with her husband. It was no threat what so ever to their marriage. She even had clearly defined rules about what she did and how she went about it.

Rule number one was that there were no repeat visits. She only had one time meetings. That way there was no danger of emotional entanglements. This was only sex. All of her emotional feelings were reserved for her husband. Rule number two was that any sex she had was never anything that she wouldn't do or hadn't already done with Travis. Travis gave her more than sex, he made love to her. So there was no way that she'd ever short change him or hold out on him. If she wanted to try something new sexually, it had to be with someone she trusted not to hurt her. That meant it had to be Travis. 

Rule number three was that nothing she ever did could ever be instead of spending time with Travis. Her marriage was the number one thing in her life. It super ceded everything else. So if she'd planned on doing something or meeting someone and Travis happened to come home, Travis won. She simply didn't go. If she was meeting someone and Travis called, she went home, immediately, in mid stroke if necessary. Travis came first.

The last rule was that she never, ever did anything at home. There was no way she could ever disrespect her husband by doing anything in his home. Betty also didn't intend to do this forever. It was only a temporary thing. Travis was working very hard to get a promotion that would increase their security and lessen his work load. With his workload lessened, they'd have more time to devote to each other. Then she would start doing things to put the spark back in the bedroom. But for her to unload on Travis right now while he was busting his ass for both of them was unfair. So being a modern woman in a modern day marriage, Betty simply subcontracted out some of Travis' duties.

It wasn't that Travis wasn't capable. He was just under a lot of stress. He hardly ever had time to relax. But when they did take time off, it was wonderful. Betty remembered back only four months previous when they'd gone to Hawaii. It was the best time in her life. She'd also noticed that a lot of the women there had paid a lot of attention to her husband, but as usual the big dope had only noticed her.

Betty used Craig's list to meet people. She never used her real name. She never placed an ad herself. She only responded to ads placed by other people. That way there were no records for anyone to ever find. Betty never responded to ads placed by men who were looking for casual sex or quick hookups. She knew that those types of men were predators. She only responded to ads from men who were looking for long time relationships, even though she wasn't interested in them for more than a quick fuck. It did seem like a shitty thing to do to them, but they could always say no. Not one of them ever had. Betty also never found her men on her home computer. She went to the library and used one of their free public computers. She also set up another email address and never accessed that account either at home or on her cell phone. She covered all of her bases, but she was still nervous. You just couldn't be too careful.

* * * * * *

"But Trav, What if she doesn't like me?" asked Gary Lynch for the third time.

"Gary, you're a great guy. You just need to get out there and meet someone," answered Travis. "I'm sure she'll like you. After all, she answered your ad and you sent her a picture. If she didn't like you, she wouldn't have agreed to go out with you."

Travis shook his head again. The quirks and idiosyncrasies of dating in the modern era perplexed him. Travis was an old school guy. He was glad he hadn't had all of the pressures that Gary was going through. He'd met his wife, Betty, at college and they'd been together ever since. They'd raised two kids who were both in college themselves now. Let the modern day kids deal with the modern day problems. Travis still loved Betty so much it was crazy. Sure she was no spring chicken. Her ass was getting a bit wide and her boobs sagged a little, but those things just endeared her to him even more. He remembered sitting on their bed while she stared at herself in the mirror and discovered the crow's feet by her eyes or her first few gray hairs mixed in with the black. 

She'd been devastated until he grabbed her around her waist, pulled her panties down around her ankles and fucked her until both of them were too tired to move. Of course, they missed dinner at the restaurant they'd been getting dressed for, but it had been a magical night.

The next morning Travis asked her what she thought of his car. 

"Travis, are you thinking about getting another Mustang?" Betty asked him in shock. "The new ones do look a lot like the old classic ones that we grew up with."

"Sweetie, my Terminator can still run rings around most of those cars. She's got a supercharger and is far more aerodynamic. It's the perfect car for me," Travis said, referring to his 2003 Mustang SVT Cobra. "With all of the upgrades we've done, that car puts out nearly 600 horsepower and weighs less than the newer cars. Except for all of that fancy electronic shit they cram in there nowadays, it's just a better car."

"Plus there's the fact that I know every minute scratch and blemish in her paint. I was there for them so they're all like memories we share. It's the perfect car for me. Unless it was destroyed, I'll never need another car," he said.

"Then why the hell did you bring it up?" asked Betty. "I know all about your car honey. I know how much you love it and prefer it over newer cars even though it's almost 10 years old. It may not be the perfect car to anyone else, but it's the perfect car for you. As far as I know, no one else has ever driven it, so I don't think anyone else would know how good or bad it is. I can't even drive it since I can't drive a stick. But if it's perfect to you, that's all that matters."

Travis was smiling at Betty as she sat there in the mirror trying to decide whether or not to dye her hair.

"I brought it up because we're not really talking about my car, Betty," said Travis. "We're talking about you. I love you the same way I love that car. You're perfect the way you are. It doesn't matter if you're getting a bit older or what anyone else sees in you. Okay, you may not be the perfect twenty year old that you were when we met, but I love you and you're the only one I want. I know every scratch and blemish and gray hair on your paint too. And I'm glad and proud that you're all mine. I'd never replace you unless you were dead or destroyed either."

Betty had started crying and ran over to him when he said that. She'd taken her clothes off and gotten back in bed with him and they'd started again. This time their coupling was more romantic and less hurried. They were both late for work. Travis still considered himself lucky. He had Betty in his life to give him a good foundation. It was so much easier for a man to go out and bring home the bacon when he had someone to bring the bacon home to. Gary was a great young man. That was why Travis wanted to help him get a good foundation in his life too. Having the right woman in his life would not only help to make Gary more focused, it would make him happier too.

"Gary, you're going to do fine," said Travis.

"Trav, you have to come with me," said Gary. "At least just come for the beginning. You can hide in the crowd and text me if I'm acting too nervous or anything. I can also call or text you if I'm nervous or need help."

Travis nodded his head in silent agreement.

A half hour later, Travis, in his Mustang was following Gary's Kia down the road. As he looked at the car, Travis knew that he had to have another talk with Gary. Gary needed to get rid of that fucking car ASAP. A man's car should say something about him. And a gray Kia just said all the wrong things about Gary.

The restaurant that Gary, or the woman he was meeting had picked, was a fairly nice one. It didn't appear to be overly expensive, but it was nice. That said several things about the woman. One was that she wasn't after Gary's money. And second that she did have good taste. If only the place wasn't so fucking far out of town.

Travis waited a few minutes after Gary went in so no one would think they were together. He got a seat in a shaded corner near the bar and ordered a beer.

He watched as Gary looked around the room. At first Travis couldn't see the woman because Gary was blocking his view of her. They were chatting and he saw Gary pull out his phone. Travis felt the buzzing of his iPhone and looked at the screen. He had a text from Gary. It read, "She's older than I expected. And not quite as pretty, but she seems nice. Should I stay?"

Travis texted his own message back to Gary. "Think of this as practice. Practice making conversation and practice becoming comfortable with new people. Leave your phone on and record the conversation and the whole date. Tomorrow we can go over what you said so you don't make mistakes when you find the one you really want. Besides you might get lucky."

Within a few moments Gary had texted another message to Travis. "Okay, will do. Gotta go, I told her I was texting a friend at work to tell him I won't be back tonight. She wants to go somewhere more private."

Travis hunched down in his seat as he noticed Gary standing up. He tried to get a good look at the woman and finally caught a glimpse of her face. His heart stopped beating as he realized that the woman at Gary's table was his wife. What the fuck was Betty doing here? Why was she going out with Gary? Was this some kind of joke that Betty and Gary were playing him?

By the time that Travis got his brain in gear, Betty and Gary had left the restaurant. Travis got up to run after them, but was stopped by the waiter who brought him his beer. Travis paid for the beer and ran outside but Gary and Betty were already gone.

Travis slowly walked to his car and tried to open the door. He pulled on the door handle several times before he remembered that he had to unlock it before it would open. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the car and then got into it.

He started the car and for the first time failed to enjoy the throaty growl of the car's engine and exhaust system. Most of the time Travis didn't turn on the radio in the car and left the window down, he enjoyed hearing the sounds the car made, more than any music.

Tonight was different though. Travis never even noticed the car's engine. He sat there in the parking lot for a long time before he realized it. There was only one thing on his mind and it was a question. "Why?"

Travis had hours before he was supposed to be home and he had a lot of thinking to do. It was obvious to him that he had several major decisions in his life to make. No good deed goes unpunished, he thought. He'd started out trying to help Gary bring some stability into his life and lost the stability in his own.

He'd wanted to help Gary find a good woman to love, instead of some floozy. In exchange, he'd discovered that the woman he'd spent half of his own life loving wasn't who he'd thought she was. It now appeared that half of Travis' life had been wasted. He'd thought that he was the one who would give Gary the benefit of his experience, only to find out that he was the one who needed answers.

He had only questions now. How long had Betty been doing this? Why was she doing it? Didn't she love him?

He had no idea of how to handle this or what to do about it. He turned on the radio for some background music and heard news instead. "On this date back in 1975, the greatest tragedy on the great lakes occurred when the Edmund..." Travis changed the station. He didn't want to become even more depressed. He drove down by the riverfront and watched the blowing of the fall winds create ripples and waves on the black water.

A huge freighter passed by him nearly silently. He almost missed it, lost in his thoughts until the big ship sounded its horn. The big ship was trying to tell him something, but Travis couldn't figure it out for the life of him.

* * * * * *

Betty Sutton pulled into her driveway thinking about how nice a time she'd had with the young man she'd met. He hadn't been a sexual dynamo, but he'd been willing and able to perform. If she had the time to train him, someday he might be as good as her husband was. He wasn't a brute and just out to get himself off. He seemed to genuinely care that she enjoyed herself. That was one of the reasons that she only picked guys who were looking for a relationship. Suddenly an alarm bell went off in Betty's head. Her empty driveway wasn't empty. Travis' bright red Mustang was pulled in right in front of the house. He wasn't due home for an hour.

Betty felt herself begin to perspire as she put her key in the lock and went into the house. She looked around for Travis and didn't find him. He was outside on the deck. He was drinking a Dos Equis and staring up at the moon. She'd already showered at the motel so she went out and sat next to him.

"Hi Honey," she said. "I didn't expect you back for a while. I can make you something to eat if you'd like."

"I'm not hungry," he said.

He hadn't asked her where she'd been, so Betty didn't say anything about it either. Why start trying to lie to him when it wasn't necessary. There seemed to be something off about her husband though. For one thing, for the past twenty years, if he wasn't pissed about something he always kissed her or touched her whenever they were close together. It didn't matter if he hadn't seen her all day or it had only been five minutes, he always kissed her or stroked her hand.

He'd told her that he was only that way with her. He also told her that it was because if anything happened to either one of them, he didn't want their lives to end and have his regret be that he hadn't kissed her goodbye before one or both of them died.

He just sat there looking up at the sky and thinking. It was eerie. She scooted over closer to him, expecting him to wrap his arms around her. Travis just sat there staring upwards. She scooted still closer and smiled at him. The movement put them so close together that her right hip was touching his left one. He didn't move away from her, which was good, but he didn't hug her or grab her or even do anything to acknowledge her presence.

Betty was sure that something was wrong then, but she didn't know what to do. Being a direct person she simply asked.

"Travis, is something wrong?"

He didn't say a word. He just stared up into the sky as if she hadn't spoken.

Betty was on the verge of panic. Did he know? How could he know? She'd been so careful. There was no way he could have found out.

She sat beside him for another five minutes and then had an idea. "I'm cold," she said. 

"Maybe you should get a jacket or go inside," he said. His voice was monotone. It didn't carry any anger, but the usual animation and tone wasn't there either. 

"Travis, let's go to bed, Honey," she said.

"I'm not tired," he said.

"I'm not either," she said smiling at him and grabbing his hand.

"I'll be there in a little while," he said.

Betty was confused and concerned. Her sex life with Travis wasn't as hot as she wanted it to be. But until this moment, he'd never turned her down either. Something was definitely wrong. On the other hand, she knew Travis better than anyone else on the planet. If he knew what she'd done, he'd have been pissed. He'd have been screaming and demanding to know who the guy was. He was angry about something but she was pretty sure that he didn't know about what she'd done.

She got up and went towards their house. "I'll be waiting for you, Honey," she said. "Don't be long."

As soon as she got into the house, Betty took another shower. She took a really long one this time. She washed her hair and made sure there was no section of her body that was untouched by soap inside or out. Then she blow dried her short hair and got into their bed naked to wait for Travis.

She thought back over their lives together. The last time he'd gotten into a funk like this it was due to stress. He'd been considering leaving the job he'd been working for. It had been a big decision because instead of staying at a place he'd worked in for a while, he'd been considering moving to a different company. If it hadn't worked it would have affected not only him, but her and their children as well. Travis was always very careful where the family's well-being was at stake. He always put her and their kids first. She needed to reassure him that whatever was wrong they'd face it together.

She also needed to make sure that things were okay between them too. She drifted off to sleep with worries of her own.

When she woke up the next day, she was still alone in her bed. She looked out the window and Travis' Mustang was gone. She dialed his cell phone and waited. She heard the phone ring as she waited for her call to connect. Downstairs she heard music. It was familiar. The song was Van Halen's "Ain't talking bout love." It was one of Travis' favorites and also his ring tone. As she walked down the stairs, she saw his phone on the stereo in the living room. 


Modern Day Marriage



Travis must really be out of sorts. He never left that fucking iPhone anywhere. If they were going on vacation he took the phone with him. She dialed his office. Travis' assistant Melissa answered the phone. Betty had never liked Melissa. They were total opposites. Where Betty was middle aged and beginning the down swing, Melissa was only twenty four. She'd started working for Travis right out of college and seemed to get prettier every day.

Betty had short, dark hair. Melissa had long, rich, chestnut brown hair with blonde highlights.

Betty was voluptuous and curvy. Melissa was slim and toned. The thing that Betty hated the most about the girl was that she was totally devoted to Travis the same way that Betty was. Melissa had even turned down a chance at a promotion last year to stay with Travis. That had put Betty's ears up. Not that she had anything to worry about. Betty had made friends with several of the people who worked in Travis' company. If anything had been going on, she'd know about it. She had heard that Melissa flirted with Travis all the time, but Travis never seemed to notice it or do anything about it. 

Betty had considered asking Travis to get another assistant, but thought better about it. For one thing, Travis had never shown any intention of cheating on her with Melissa or anyone else. And secondly if Melissa was gone, then her replacement might also go after Travis and be more successful. Lastly, there was the fact that if Melissa was interested in Travis, she'd make sure that no other woman around them got close to him. So Melissa, without knowing it, became Betty's guard dog. 

Betty had also maintained a courteous though icy relationship with Melissa.

"Melissa, when Travis gets there, have him call me," said Betty.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Sutton," said Melissa. "Travis is already here. He came in early for the big meeting. He's probably going to be tied up all day. From what I've heard, there's a good chance that the meeting will keep them here late tonight and even continue for most of tomorrow. You'd probably have a better chance of speaking to him when he comes home tonight than I will, but I'll tell him you called."

That's what this is all about, thought Betty. There's obviously something really important going on at Travis' job. It's something that has him really nervous. He shouldn't be. He could get another job easily. And maybe if he did he wouldn't have to work so hard.

That news put Betty's mind at ease, but she was still pissed off at Melissa. As soon as the girl finished telling Betty what she had to say she'd hung up the phone. She didn't give Betty a chance to reply to what she'd said or even say goodbye.

There was another very subtle dig that the girl had thrown. She'd called Betty, Mrs. Sutton. Calling her Mrs. Sutton implied that she and Betty were casual acquaintances or just people who knew each other from the job but were not close. This was despite the fact that Melissa had been in their home several times for parties or celebrations that had nothing to do with work. Betty had often told Melissa to call her Betty. The girl's refusal to do that was insulting because it sent the message that Melissa simply didn't want to be Betty's friend.

On the other hand, she called Travis by his first name. And even the way she said, "Travis," was so familiar. It was almost like the girl's mouth was having an orgasm just saying it. Betty might have to rethink having her husband get another assistant.

* * * * * *

Melissa's expression as she hung up the phone was evil. If looks could kill, Melissa would have been tried and found guilty of Betty's murder within moments. As she headed back towards the door that separated Travis' office from hers someone came into her office. It was Barney Clark. Barney was an account manager. He often came into the office on the pretense of needing to discuss something or other with Travis.

Barney took one look at Melissa, in her short skirt and audibly gulped. She snapped her head around to look at him and his eyes got visible larger as her mane of hair settled onto her shoulders.

"Is there something I could do for you Mr. Clark?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"No, I just stopped by to ask Travis a couple of questions about the new line of products," he said. Melissa knew it was bullshit. Travis only handled corporate accounts. He probably had no idea of anything specific about any of the company's products. It simply wasn't his job. 

"I'll tell him that you stopped by," she said, smiling brightly. "He's in a meeting right now with Gary. "

"Okay, thanks," said Clark. He watched as Melissa turned to go to check on Travis. He got his wish. She turned and he got the treat of watching her ass moving up and down like two cats fighting under her skirt. Ordinarily Melissa would have waited until he left, but she had to find out what was going on with Travis.

Before she got to the door, it opened and Travis and Gary came out. She noticed that as soon as the door had begun to open, Barney Clark had scurried out of the office like a cockroach when someone turns on a light.

"Thanks for your help, Travis," smiled Gary. "It's great to have a mentor like you." Melissa noticed that Gary was smiling happily and Travis looked even worse than he did when he first walked in. Gary was a mousy little man, that Melissa simply had no time for. He wasn't creepy or weird but he just seemed dull to her. Today was different though. Gary was smiling from ear to ear like a schoolboy who'd gotten his first piece. He'd even walked straight up to her and looked her in the face, when he'd come into Travis' office. Something had turned the titmouse into a tiger.

Gary looked straight into her eyes and smiled at her as he walked away from Travis. Melissa got ready to follow Travis back into his inner office and was surprised when Gary blocked her way.

"Melissa, are you busy tonight?" asked Gary looking in straight into her cleavage.

"Gary," snapped Melissa sharply. "My eyes are up here. And I'm busy EVERY night." Then she walked around him and followed Travis into his office, or tried to because she found that his door was locked.

Melissa knocked softly on Travis' door. When he didn't answer or open it, she used the key she had for emergencies and opened it herself. She quietly walked into the office and was unprepared for what she found. 

Travis had come in very early this morning, which in itself was unusual. But then he'd told her that if Betty called, to tell her that he'd be tied up in meetings all day. That told her that he and his wife were probably having a tiff of some sort. 

If Travis and Betty were arguing, there was no doubt which side Melissa would be on. But seeing Travis, who was usually a rock, with his head down on his desk, pissed Melissa off even more than Betty's phone call did.

I'll kill that bitch, thought Melissa. She walked around the desk and started to gently rub Travis' back and shoulders. She did that for a long time, reveling in the unusual closeness and the intimacy of the act. To most observers it wouldn't seem very inappropriate, but the feelings it brought to Melissa, who had been in love with her boss for years, had her nether regions in an uproar.

"Thanks, Mel," said Travis. He gently touched her hand and that set off a new set of tingles running through her body.

"Trav, what did she do now?" asked Melissa. 

"It's not something, I want to talk about," said Travis.

"Bullshit," snapped Melissa. "Anything that has you this upset is my business. We're a team. If your head isn't in the game, the whole team suffers. So if I'm going to suffer, I want to know why. Besides, you told that twit, Gary. And I've known you and worked for you a lot longer than he has. You're going to start hurting my feelings here."

"Gary doesn't know," spat Travis. "I trust you more than anyone, Mel. You already know that."

Melissa inwardly loved the fact that he'd said that he trusted her more than anyone. He hadn't said more than anyone except Betty or placed any sort of caveats on his statement. He trusted HER more than anyone. Her heart was doing back flips.

"Then Travis, out with it; maybe I can help," she said. At times like this, her southern accent came to the fore and her voice cracked just a bit.

Travis hesitated and then began speaking. "I think...well, I know...Betty is cheating on me," he said. Melissa was shocked. She walked out of Travis' office and into her own outer office. She closed and locked the door. Then she locked the door to Travis' inner office as well. She crossed the room again and hugged Travis. It was something she'd done before but never like this.

Their hugs before this had always been just a tad above professional. Usually when they landed a big account or successfully completed an assignment, Travis would give her a friendly little hug. Melissa worked so hard, partly because she lived for those hugs. But this one was different and it made her feel guilty. Travis was feeling awful. His emotional well being was in jeopardy and she was pressing herself into him, molding her body to his like a two dollar whore. She backed off a bit. One part of her mind was really concerned for Travis. She had loved him so much and for so long that she didn't want him to go through anything painful. But the other part of her mind saw this as her opportunity.

Melissa was very smart and plans and parameters raced through her brain at the speed of light, even as she sat Travis down in the chair and begged him to explain it to her.

She was smart enough not to say what she was really feeling. She didn't jump up and say "Travis, I need the day off so I can go and kick your wife's fat ass." She also didn't say, "You don't need her when you have me." Melissa just sat and held his hand. She knew that when he was ready he'd tell her.

"Yesterday, Gary came to me for some advice," began Travis. "I've been trying to get him to relax more and have more of a life outside of the job. At the rate he's going, he's going to burn out before he's thirty."

Shit, thought Melissa. I was sure he was already over thirty.

"Anyway, he told me that he'd placed one of those singles ads on Craigslist. He was really nervous about meeting the woman and he wanted some pointers on what to do and what not to do," said Travis.

I knew that bastard was pathetic, thought Melissa, as she rubbed Travis' hand. But I didn't know he was that desperate. Craigslist, my God, how sleazy can you get? Next time he stares at my boobs I'll probably have to wipe them down.

"I really think that Gary has potential. He just needs to learn to relax and be himself. He needs to develop more confidence," said Travis.

Oh boy, he has more confidence now, thought Melissa. He did actually ask me out this morning. That was a first. Usually he just stares.

"So I agreed to go with him and observe him on his date. At least until he felt comfortable," said Travis.

"That was really nice of you, Trav," said Melissa.

"I really wish I hadn't," said Travis. His voice broke and Melissa could really tell that this was hard for him.

"If I hadn't gone, I never would have known," said Travis.

Alarm bells stated going off in Melissa's head. She squeezed Travis' hand just a little harder.

"Gary's date turned out to be Betty," said Travis, sadly. "And it wasn't just dinner. Once she met him, they didn't waste any time getting out of there. They didn't even eat dinner. She just took him to a motel and fucked him. It obviously isn't the first time she's done this. Gary said she wasn't nervous at all. He said the waiters at the restaurant knew her and the people at the motel."

Melissa was floored. Her mind was racing. Maybe she would go over to Travis' house and kick Betty's ass. The satisfaction she'd get from hurting that bitch for hurting Travis would be worth going to jail for assault. 

Melissa realized that she had to let Travis make all of the decisions, here. Her job was just to be there and support him and help put the pieces back together, no matter what he wanted to do. She knew though, that her opinion was that Travis needed to divorce Betty. But realistically, Melissa thought that Travis should divorce Betty for anything as serious as a stray fart, so nothing was new there.

"But why would Gary fuck Betty?" asked Melissa. "It doesn't make any sense. You went with him to help him out and he stabs you in the back. Plus, please don't take this the wrong way, but Betty is kind of old. Even for someone as desperate as Gary."

"Mel, you have to remember," said Travis. "Gary has never been to my house. He's never met Betty. The only pictures he's ever seen of her are those pictures over there on the wall. They were taken over ten years ago. Her hair was a different color and she's uhm, filled out a bit since then."

"He had no idea that the woman who answered his ad was my wife," said Travis. "And I didn't get a good look at her until they got ready to leave. By the time I got outside the restaurant, they'd already left."

"Maybe he's was lying about them having sex," offered Melissa. "Guys always lie about that."

"No such luck," said Travis. "I told him to tape their conversation on his iPhone. That way if he did or said anything stupid, we could go over it. So on his next date, whether it was with her or someone else he'd do better. Gary got so nervous that he forgot to turn his phone off. He recorded everything. And it wasn't his fault. Gary was so nervous, he was a perfect gentleman. She asked him to go to the motel. She was the one making all of the moves."

"Don't worry about it," snapped Melissa. "We'll fire Gary and divorce her cheating ass. We'll..." Melissa stopped abruptly. She'd allowed her anger to make her more aggressive than she should have been.

"I'm sorry Travis," she said. "I'm just so pissed that she would do this to you. We'll handle this however you want to."

"Mel, I've thought about this for a long time," said Travis. "None of this is Gary's fault. He had no idea that Betty was married to me. And if you listen to the tape, you can tell that she was the one in the driver's seat."

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Melissa. "Should I start looking for divorce lawyers or marriage counselors?"

"To tell you the truth, I just don't know," said Travis. "I guess maybe it's because I've had this on my plate for less than twenty four hours. I'm just shell shocked. I'm surprised and hurt and a whole bunch of things that I can't even begin to describe."

"Mel, I never thought I'd be in this position. I never thought that Betty would do anything like this. I really believed that she loved me. I thought that we'd spend the rest of our lives together. Sometimes when I hear about people's marriages breaking up, I understand all of that modern shit, but I always thought that the only way for Betty and me to not be married would be if one of us died."

"I guess I've always thought about what I'd do if Betty passed on before me. You know, whether I'd start dating, or just grow old taking care of my grandkids," said Travis.

"So what would you do?" asked Melissa. "The dating thing sounds right up your alley."

"Ooh, you don't need to know the answer to that," said Travis.

"I really wish I could feel something right now," he said. "But to be truthful, all I feel is numb. I'm hurt, and I'm upset at Betty. But it isn't even really anger. All I feel right now is nothing. I wish I could just get really pissed at her and yell and scream and get this out and try to decided what to do. I'm sure that in time I will. So maybe you'd better get me one of each?"

"One of each?" asked Melissa, she'd been listening to every word he said but she still didn't know what he was asking for.

"Yep," said Travis. "I need a marriage counselor AND a divorce lawyer. You pick them."

Melissa nodded her head and sent all of that pretty hair tumbling about her shoulders. She already had a plan in mind. She had to find out who was the very, very best divorce lawyer in the state. Maybe she'd find the very best divorce lawyer in the country. Then she needed to find the very, very shittiest marriage counselor in the world. Maybe just for good measure she needed the shittiest marriage counselor in the universe. 

She wanted someone so bad that he just gave up and told all of his clients to just get the fucking divorce. Maybe she could find someone who was so bad that he failed to even show up for the appointments he scheduled. She'd get right on that.

* * * * * *

Melissa took Travis to lunch that day. She took him to Pizza Hut. She still laughed about that because someone of Travis' age and income level really should go to a restaurant that wasn't the same one he'd loved when he was a teenager. But his boyish side was only one of the things she loved about him. And if she played her cards right, she'd have the opportunity to discover a whole lot more of them.

While they ate, Melissa just listened to Travis talk. She listened to him talking about how he'd met Betty and all of the things he loved about her. As the conversation went on though, he began to bring up some of the things he hated about his wife as well. Melissa filed all of the information away for future use. She spent a lot of her time touching him and gently rubbing and stroking him, both physically and mentally. She just wanted him to feel loved and cared about.

Before they finished lunch she gave him both the counselor's and the lawyer's contact information.

A few hours later, Travis' cobra pulled into his driveway. He walked into the house and right past Betty without saying anything.

* * * * * *

Betty turned off the TV and got up as soon as she heard Travis' Mustang in the driveway. She'd spent the entire afternoon cooking his favorite dinner. She'd dressed in one of Travis favorite outfits that she had too. She wanted him to feel comfortable and maybe then he'd tell her what was going on. It couldn't be that bad. Sure he had a lot of years invested in this job and she knew that good jobs were hard to come by. But with Travis' skills and experience, it wouldn't be very difficult for him to get another job. Besides they had a substantial amount of money saved up over the years. They'd be fine either way.

Betty turned and smiled as the door opened. Travis didn't even look at her. He just walked right by her and up the stairs. She stood there for a second with the smile frozen on her lips. Then she got angry. Travis had never treated her this badly in all of their years together. If he'd treated her like that they never would have gotten married and Betty wasn't going to put up with it now.

She ran upstairs to their bedroom and slipped on the last step. She fell flat on her face in front of their bedroom, tearing her dress. She was even angrier now. The dress had been one of her favorites as well as one of Travis'. She opened up the door and stalked into their bedroom, to find it empty. She looked into the connected bathroom and it was empty too.

Finally she tried the guest room and there was her husband lying on his back looking up at the ceiling.

"Travis," she screamed. Her anger about ruining the dress and her husband's strange behavior over rode her sense of reason and she started yelling at him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Travis simply looked at her as if she was crazy. Sometimes it takes a lot of abuse or a pattern of behavior to shock a person into action; sometimes not. Sometimes it can be the tiniest thing that upsets the balance one way or another. Betty's actions the previous night had weakened her marriage far more than she knew. Travis had been vacillating between confronting her and just writing her actions off as a one-time thing and moving on.

He didn't feel good about letting her get away with it. But at the same time, he wasn't sure that he wanted a divorce either. Betty screaming at him was the straw that broke the camel's back. Travis suddenly sat up on the end of the bed and just smiled.   




Modern Day Marriage



Betty saw the smile and totally misread it. 

"What's so funny, Honey?" she asked.

"You," said Travis.

Betty was shocked. She couldn't figure out what was going on. Travis suddenly just got up and walked into their bedroom. He went right into his closet and started packing his clothes.

"Are you going out of town on business again?" asked Betty. "Is this one of the trips that I can go on with you?"

"No, to both questions," said Travis calmly.

"Then why are you packing?" asked Betty.

"If you think about it, I'm pretty sure you can figure it out, Betty," said Travis.

Betty just stood by and watched him. He was taking everything that he could pack. He was moving quickly and very confidently.

"It's that little bitch at your office isn't it?" snapped Betty. "You're fucking her and now you want to move in with her." Travis just turned around and stared at Betty as if she'd grown a second head.

"This has nothing to do with Melissa," said Travis. "I'm not having sex with her and I never have. But you never know what might happen in the future."

"I knew it was about her," snapped Betty. "I want you to fire that little bitch first thing in the morning. She's always had the hots for you."

"It's a good thing someone does," said Travis.

"Travis, you idiot," snapped Betty. "I'm not holding out on you. I had my period last week. You know how sore I get during that time. Yesterday was the first day that I could do anything and I tried to get you to make love to me when you got home. You turned me down, remember. So if you're pissed off about not getting any, you'd better grow the fuck up."

She walked over in front of him. "I want you just as much as you want me, but after twenty years together you'd think you'd know how my cycle works," she yelled. "Maybe the reason that you don't is because I'm not important to you. I'm just someone you can come home and fuck whenever you want and however you want. If I can't fuck you, then I'm no good to you. Is that it, Travis?"

Travis just continued packing. "Well Travis, if that's what you want. Here it is," said Betty. She pulled her dress over her head and pulled down her panties. "Come and get it Travis."

The thought of Travis just taking her was actually getting Betty kind of hot. She laid down on the bed and spread her legs and started to rub her own vagina. Travis didn't even slow down. He grabbed the suitcases he'd packed and headed down the stairs. Betty jumped off of the bed still naked and followed him, screaming all the way.

She got to the bottom of the staircase just in time to hear the door slam. She opened the door and stepped out onto their front porch, with her naked breasts swinging freely. She was just in time to see the mail carrier step up onto her porch. He stared at her. Betty processed the situation and decided that he'd already seen her so she went after Travis. She grabbed for the handle of his car door and missed, just as he drove off.

Betty slowly walked back inside her house, wondering what the hell had gotten into Travis. A flash of something white caught her eye and she looked down on the floor. It was a business card that must've fallen out of Travis' pocket. 

As she looked at the card, she realized that she'd pushed Travis too far. He was probably suffering from some kind of stress induced break down. The card was for a counselor who handled marital and emotional therapy. Her poor baby was so stressed out that he'd had to seek a therapist and she'd just started yelling at him. All of the pressure he was facing at work and the pressures they were having at home too had just taken their toll on him. 

He'd just wanted some alone time when he came home. He'd simply gone upstairs and laid down on the fucking bed and she'd gone crazy. She had to find him and get him to come home. 

She called him on his cell phone and then remembered that it was still on the counter. She had no way to contact him until he calmed down so she decided to just stay home and sit by the phone. When he calmed down, he'd call her. They'd been married for twenty years and neither of them would even know how to live without the other. She'd just give him a day or two to calm down before she went crazy.

She did call the counselor and try to find out what was wrong with Travis. Once she'd convinced the counselor that she was Travis' wife, he still couldn't give her any information on Travis or what he was going to be treated for. But the counselor told her that if Travis gave his permission she might be involved.

Two days later, Betty called Travis' office. She didn't want to speak to Travis, unless he was ready. She really wanted to talk to that useless young cunt who worked for Travis. "Hello, Melissa," began Betty. "I nee..." Betty heard nothing but the dial tone. They must've been cut off. It probably wasn't that they'd been cut off. Even after all of the time that she'd worked for Travis, that stupid bitch probably couldn't work the phone system correctly yet.

Betty called back. "Melissa, I..." Dial tone again. Melissa had simply hung up on Betty. Not once but twice. Just wait until Travis found out what she'd done. He'd fire that stupid girl immediately. Betty grabbed her coat and her purse and drove over to Travis's office. She took the elevator up to his floor and walked into his office.

Melissa barely looked up when Betty came in.

"Why the fuck did you hang up on me?" snapped Betty. "Get your shit. You're fired."

"You can't fire me, Mrs. Sutton. You don't work here," said Melissa.

"Nope, but Travis can. And as soon as I come out of his office, he will," said Betty.

"Do you have an appointment?" asked Melissa.

"I don't need a fucking appointment to see my own husband you stupid bitch," snapped Betty. Melissa pushed a button on her intercom and just smiled. "There's no need to try to smile and be nice now," spat Betty. Melissa just continued to smile. Betty walked past her and went to Travis' door. She turned the handle and found that it was locked.

"Do you have the key to this fucking door?" asked Betty. Melissa smiled and nodded her head. "Well why are you sitting there looking stupid? Open this fucking door, you retard." Just as Betty started her rant, two large security men walked into the office.

"Uhm, ma'am, there's no reason for language like that," said the first security man.

"Hey Melvin," said Melissa. He nodded at her and smiled. "She wants to see Travis, but she doesn't have an appointment. He also left me instructions that he didn't want to accept any calls from her. Plus there's the fact that he isn't even in the building right now. He's seeing his lawyer. Could you please escort her out of here?"

"We both heard her verbally assault you?" said the second security man. "Would you like to press charges? We could hold her until the police get here."

"I like that idea," smiled Melissa. "They probably won't do more than take her down to the station, but that way there will be documentation of the way she's acting. Thanks."

The two men escorted Betty out of the room. "You're going to pay for this, you little bitch," screamed Betty. Several of the people in the office heard her and saw her being taken out of the office. She turned back towards Melissa and the security men each grabbed an arm and pulled her away.

Several people came out of their own offices to see what was going on. One of them was Gary. He saw Betty being led out of Travis' office and heard her yelling and screaming. When his eyes met Betty's, she went silent. Gary in turn stared at her. As the security men took her away, he went straight into Travis' office to talk to Melissa.

"Who was that woman?" he asked Melissa. "Why was she here?"

Melissa looked at Gary vehemently. Gary nearly jumped back when he saw the venom in her glance. "What did I ever do to you?" he asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You didn't have to do anything to me," snapped Melissa. "Close the door." Gary followed Melissa into Travis' inner office.

"We probably shouldn't be in here if Travis isn't here," said Gary meekly. Gary had the idea that Melissa had brought him into the office for something illicit. He wasn't opposed to the idea, but he'd rather do it in a place where his job wasn't on the line.

"You know maybe we should wait," he said. "A lot of people saw us come in here and close the door. Who knows what they'll think we're doing." He smiled at her and looked down at her breasts again. Suddenly he noticed that she was just standing there watching him staring at her.

"Sorry," he said. "But you're just so..."

"Gary, shut the fuck up," snapped Melissa. "How can one man be so stupid...so clueless and still function?"

"Wha...?" said Gary

"Gary, I don't mind you staring at my tits," smiled Melissa. "Just as long as you realize that it's a waste of your fucking time. There is no chance at all, that you will ever do anything but look. I am totally not attracted to you. If you were the last man on earth, I'd go lesbian. For as long as I can remember you've been staring at me like some weird old pervert. But you're not a weird old pervert, you're worse. You're a healthy man who's roughly my age. Why aren't you out there finding someone who is interested in you?"

Gary's mouth dropped open and he just stared at her.

"Gary, the only reason that I haven't reported you to HR yet, is because for some reason that I simply can't understand, Travis likes you. He thinks that you have a lot of potential. Whether you know it or not half of the opportunities you've been given in the company, he set up for you. Early on when you first hired in, he went to bat for you and got you a better client list. When you fucked up, he was the one telling them that they needed to give you a chance to grow and develop. And after all of that, Gary, how did you pay him back? You stabbed him in the back, Gary. You hurt Travis worse than he's ever been hurt in his life."

Gary's eyes got even bigger. "Wha...?" he repeated. "What did I do?"

"Gary, what we're about to talk about, you can't tell anyone. If I even hear about it from anyone else in the company, I'll go straight to HR. I'll tell them about you perving on me and making this a hostile workplace so fast that you'll go to sleep one night and wake up fired. Do you understand?" asked Melissa.

Gary nodded his head solemnly.

"Gary, you're a doofus. You're fairly smart; un-focused and unimaginative, but smart. You have absolutely no luck with women, because you're a doofus. So you put an ad in Craigslist of all places," said Melissa. She just stopped and shook her head. 

"Gary, why not go to a legitimate dating service? Okay, forget about it. That's your business. Anyway what type of women do you think answer those ads? Do you think you're going to find some angel advertising in the personals? Most of those women are broken in some way or they're just sluts. Occasionally, you'll find some older woman who's either divorced or looking to cheat on her husband."

Gary slumped down on the desk. His new found confidence was waning.

"So Gary, the woman you went out with wasn't out to fall in love with you or anyone else. She was just cruising for some strange dick. Now you're caught in the middle of what may end up being a divorce case, Gary. She has a husband and two kids. Is that what's made you so proud and cocksure lately Gary? You feel really good because you got your little dick wet finally, not realizing that you destroyed a family in the process."

Gary's head dropped onto his chest. He looked up and his entire expression had changed. "But, I..." he began.

"You didn't know, right, Gary?" asked Melissa. "It's not your fault, right? You probably also don't know that her husband found out what she'd done. You probably weren't the first one she cheated with if it makes you feel any better, Gary. But you were the worst one, Gary."

"Why am I the worst..." began Gary again. Before he could even say the rest of his thought, Melissa came across the office and got into his face. For a fleeting moment Gary felt fear. He'd been sure that she was going to hit him. Gary couldn't understand why she was so angry at him.

"Because you're the one who got caught, dumb ass," snapped Melissa. "It doesn't matter if that old whore had fucked fifty guys. None of them hurt her husband because he didn't know about them. You, Gary are the one who, as usual, fucked up and destroyed the family."

"Melissa, I'm sorry," said Gary. His voice sounded as if he was on the verge of tears. Melissa just glared at him.

"I didn't do this on purpose. I'm just like everyone else. I'm lonely and I'm fucking tired of being alone. I was just looking for someone to..." said Gary, his voice broke and tears formed in the corner of his eyes.

"They'd been married for twenty years, Gary. Damn you. I wanted it over but not like this. I didn't want him to hurt this bad. God Damn it I'd give anything to put them back together again. I don't mind waiting for him, he's worth it." Melissa was mumbling now and beginning to cry herself.

"What does this have to do with you, Melissa?" asked Gary. "Is that woman related to you?"

"No dumb ass," said Melissa. "Do you even know what her name is?"

"Of course," said Gary. "Her name is Ginger. Ginger Grant," said Gary.

"Gary, you dumb ass," snapped Melissa. "Ginger Grant was the redhead on Gilligan's Island. That woman's name is Betty Sutton. She's Travis' wife."

Gary slumped down even further on the desk. In the position he assumed, it appeared that he had no spine or any bone structure. He started blubbering. "I didn't know. I didn't know," he said, over and over again.

The phone on Melissa's desk rang shattering the moment. Melissa ran out to her desk and grabbed it. She spoke for a few moments and Gary couldn't make out any of her conversation. Then she came back into the office and looked at Gary.

"Gary, get out of here," she said. "That was Travis. He's on his way in. I told him to stop by his house and pick up his phone while the bitch isn't there, but that shouldn't take him more than about 15 minutes. Go do some work."

"But I have to tell him how sorry I am," said Gary. "And I'm sorry for staring at you all of those times too. I'll never do it again. It's just that you're so pretty and..."

"Gary, you don't stare at me because I'm pretty," said Melissa. "If you did you'd be staring at my face. It's not your fault and you're not the only one around here who does it. There are even three types of you perverts. Type one, stare at my boobs. Type two, stare at my ass. And type three, stare at my legs. Maybe I was just venting at you for all of them. I guess that's just how most guys are."

"But you are pretty," Gary said. "Really pretty..."

"Gary, what color are my eyes?" asked Melissa, closing her eyes as she said it.

"Uhm, blue?" asked Gary.

"Gary, my eyes are brown, like my hair. Did you even notice that I had eyes? Or did you think they were the same color as my nipples?" asked Melissa. "Travis doesn't blame you for what happened. Right now he's still in shock. He's hurting really bad, but he doesn't know what he intends to do. And the bitch, as far as I know, doesn't know that he knows. Did you give her your phone number?"

Gary nodded. 

"Well when the police get done with her, which shouldn't be very long, she'll call you. If you do want to do something for Travis, don't let her know that Travis knows. As a matter of fact, don't even let her know that you know Travis," said Melissa. "It's a very big company with a lot of employees. There's a very good chance that both of you could work here without knowing each other."

Gary nodded his head and went back to his own office.

* * * * * *

Betty Sutton was pissed. She was angrier than she'd ever been in her life. Just as she drove onto her street she noticed Travis' Mustang pulling out of their driveway and heading in the opposite direction. She'd tried calling him from the police station, but she remembered that he didn't have his phone. 

The police hadn't charged her with anything. But they'd documented the complaint against her and warned her to stay away from Melissa. Now that Betty had calmed down, she realized that she'd handled things badly. The easiest way to handle that cunt would be to wait a few days for Travis to get over his funk and then she'd do what she should have done from the beginning.

She'd get Travis in bed and after she fucked the shit out of him, ask him to get another assistant. It was time for Melissa to learn her fucking place. Betty and Travis had been together for twenty years. They had children together and a great life. Travis was in some kind of funk right now, but every marriage went through its ups and downs. That was the norm in a modern day marriage.

The bottom line was that she loved Travis and he loved her, case closed.

Betty went into the house. She'd been so angry last night that she'd neglected to put the food away. All of the time that she'd spent making that meal and all of the money she'd spent on the meat and the other ingredients had been wasted.

She walked up the stairs and took a shower. She came out of the shower and settled down naked on her bed. She was so tired. She needed a nap. All of the drama that she'd had that morning had been draining.

* * * * * *

When Travis walked into his office, he felt a little better. It was like the aftermath of a gunshot. At first it hurts like hell. The pain is so intense that it blocks out all other sensation and all other stimuli. But a few hours later, it just becomes a deep, sharp ache. Betty's betrayal still hurt like hell, but it was just a deep, sharp aching. He could still feel it very badly but it no longer blocked out everything else that was going on.

He saw Melissa sitting at her desk, answering the phone. She hung up the phone and wrote something down on a note pad. Travis waved at her and noticed for the first time that she was glaring at him.

He walked into his office and was about to sit down at his desk when he heard the door slam behind him. The door slammed so hard that it shook the walls.

He reacted like a startled deer and jumped back nearly a foot. He turned around and noticed that it had been Melissa who slammed his door. She was standing in front of him, breathing so hard she was nearly hyperventilating. Travis tried really hard not to notice that each breath cause her breasts to rise and fall and the sight was magnificent.

"The guards told me some of what happened, Mel. I'm really sorry," said Travis. "You shouldn't have to put up with that from Betty or anyone else. You have a right to be angry."

"Who cares about your idiot wife," snapped Melissa. "I'm angry at you."

"What did I do?" asked Gary.

"Why the fuck are you staying in some flea bag motel, Travis?" screamed Melissa.

"Melissa, I was going to tell you, because I know you're worried," began Travis. "I've done a lot of thinking and I left Betty last night."

"Travis, I Googled the motel you called from. It's not a good place for you. There are probably hookers there and you're too vulnerable right now. I have to put you someplace safe," said Melissa.

"But..." began Travis.

"But nothing," snapped Melissa. "Did you go to the therapist to try to save this fiasco?"

"Nope, I went to the lawyer, to try to end this fiasco," said Travis quietly. Melissa sadly and silently shook her head.

"You can tell me about it over lunch, Trav. You're buying," she said as she softly closed the door. The door didn't quite close correctly anymore. She'd have to get someone from the maintenance department up here to fix it. She walked past her desk and went into the office supply closet. She took a deep breath and finally let her true feelings show. "Hell yes," she said silently, as she pumped her fist.




Modern Day Marriage



A short time later, Melissa was staring across a lunch table at Travis. They'd gone to Red Lobster for lunch. It was Melissa's favorite restaurant. She knew that Travis preferred Texas Roadhouse, but it was shrimp fest time. Melissa got the endless shrimp buffet and Travis, running true to form, got a steak.

"Honey, you're not going to enjoy that steak," laughed Melissa. "Why order steak at a seafood place? We'll go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Tell me about your visit to the lawyer."

"To be honest, it was eye opening," said Travis. "I went in expecting to tell him how she cheated on me and hear about how I'd get to keep the bulk of our assets. He very quickly made me realize that it doesn't matter who did what. Justice and the law are not only two completely separate entities, but they don't live in the same neighborhood and they don't like each other very much."

"Betty could hang out a sign on my front porch that says, "Will fuck for food," and spend most of the day bent over with her dress around her waist entertaining sailors. In the eyes of the law, she'd still be entitled to half of our assets. If she was fucking the sailors for free, even after giving her half of everything we own, I'd have to pay her alimony."

"That isn't fair," said Melissa.

"This isn't about fairness," said Travis. "This is about the law."

About twenty minutes before the end of the workday, Melissa took some papers into Travis' office for his signature.

"We're leaving soon," she said. "We need to go by your sleazy fleabag motel and get your stuff."

"Why?" asked Travis. Melissa's eyes flashed at him again and he remembered her anger from earlier in the day.

"I already told you I found a better place for you to stay," said Melissa. "We'll move your stuff, get you settled in and then you can take me to dinner."

Travis nodded his head in agreement. He noticed that Melissa's anger was gone and her smile lit up the room when he agreed with her.

Travis wanted to do something. Anything would be better than going back to his motel room again. His iPhone had already rung twice that afternoon. Both times it had been Betty. Both times he'd let the calls go to voicemail and then deleted the messages without listening to them completely. In both cases she'd started out saying something like she didn't know what was wrong with him. She obviously still had no idea that he knew what she'd been doing.

Melissa followed Travis back to his motel. She kept looking around at everything and shaking her head. She looked through all of his stuff even his underwear drawer. When he'd loaded all his stuff back into his suitcases and them, back in the trunk of his car and his backseat, they left. 

Travis had noticed that Melissa had been taking notes the whole time. He wondered what she'd been taking notes on. This time he followed her to the newer, better motel she'd found for him. They stopped in front of a large, well lit, beautifully designed building. 

Melissa got out of her car and grabbed one of Travis' suitcases. Travis thought that she must know the manager of the building. It looked like she'd found him an apartment. They took the elevator up to the fifth floor and Melissa pulled out her keys and opened the door.

Travis looked around and found himself inside a beautifully furnished apartment. "Who lives here?" he asked.

"We do," said Melissa. Travis opened his mouth to start telling Melissa that he couldn't possibly stay with her, and saw her eyes flash again.

"But..." he began.

"We'll talk at dinner," said Melissa. "Until then put your stuff in my spare bedroom. It's the one on the right."

Travis put his suitcases down in the room that Melissa had showed him. He knew that he shouldn't even think about it. It would probably be better for him to just go home until he could find another place.

Ten minutes later they were in Travis' Mustang flying down the freeway. They'd agreed not to talk about work, Betty or anything serious until after dinner. Until then they were just two friends out to have a nice dinner. Their problems would still be there after they'd eaten.

An hour or so later Melissa looked across the table and smiled at Travis. "I'm pissed at you," she said.

"What for this time?" he asked.

"This was the best steak I've ever had," she snapped. "Why are you always taking me to Red Lobster?'

"I thought Red Lobster was your favorite," said Travis.

"It WAS," smiled Melissa. "Okay, Hon, we can start the serious talk now."

"Melissa, I appreciate the offer, but I can't stay with you," said Travis. "And you should probably know that this afternoon I had a chance to think the whole thing over and I'm not divorcing Betty."

Melissa looked hurt. "You're staying with her after what she did to you?" asked Betty softly.

"Hell no," snapped Travis. "I just don't see any reason to give that bitch half of what I worked so hard for. For twenty years, I've given her everything she asked for. I've been there for her through thick and thin and this is what I got in return. Think about all of the chances I had to cheat on her. But I never did. So if the law isn't on my side, then I'm just going to leave her. She can have the house, but good luck trying to pay for it. Besides, I'm probably not going to ever get married again so I don't need a divorce. Fuck her."

"Travis, what does that have to do with you staying with me?" asked Melissa.

"Melissa, you're a beautiful young woman. You don't need some crusty, bitter, middle aged guy cramping your style. Plus, what will people think about you living with a man?" he asked.

"Travis, you asshole, did you think I was doing this out of the goodness of my heart?" asked Melissa. "I have my reasons for wanting you to stay with me. Trust me, I'm getting something out of it. You're not going anywhere until I say that you can. You need to be protected."

Melissa looked into Travis' eyes and didn't blink. Travis stared back at her and for a long moment neither would back down and then...Travis blinked. "Glad we got that settled," said Melissa.

Over the next few weeks, Betty called Travis every day. He never spoke to her. He spoke to his kids when they called and he even spoke to his parents and hiss when they called, but he didn't explain any of his reasons for not going home. Finally Betty began making up her own reasons. She was sure that Travis had found another woman. How the hell could he cheat on her after twenty years of marriage?

She got a lawyer and filed for divorce. She didn't really want a divorce and told her lawyer as much. Her plan was to make Travis come back to her by threatening the divorce. At the worst case scenario he'd have to come to a meeting so they could talk. The meeting was scheduled for November 29th. Five days after Thanksgiving.

Betty had also tried calling Gary. He also refused to take her calls. That had surprised her. Even when she hinted that she might be interested in a repeat performance, he hung up on her. It really didn't matter to Betty. He hadn't been very experienced in bed anyway. She'd only intended for him to be a one night stand. She just hadn't had a chance to find someone else. 

Finally, she got a break. Her mother called her and reminded her about Thanksgiving dinner. They usually alternated whose home they'd spend Thanksgiving at. One year it was with Travis' parents. The next year it was with Betty's parents and the other years it was at Travis and Betty's house.

This year it was Betty's parent's turn. Travis and Betty's daughter Becky wasn't coming. She was spending the holiday with her boyfriend's family. So it would be Betty and Travis, plus her parents, their son Steven and his girlfriend and Betty's sister Debbie and her husband.

An intimate family get together would be the perfect chance for her to talk to Travis and work out their issues. She missed him so much she could hardly stand it. The good thing was that Betty's mother told her that she'd spoken to Travis and he was going to come. Of course, she'd told Travis that Betty wasn't going to be there, but it was a well-intentioned lie. Betty's mom figured that if she got them back together all would be forgiven in the end. So Betty had her shot. She had to make sure that she was looking her best for the dinner. 

Normally, Betty looked at Thanksgiving as just another holiday, but this one would be special. She intended to go all out to get her husband back. Then she'd actually have something to be thankful for. Strangely enough, Travis moving out had affected her in ways that she'd never have suspected. When Travis was home, she'd had her little flings to add spice to her sex life. She did them mostly to add excitement and spice to her life. There hadn't been anything wrong with her and Travis' sex life; she just wanted more of it and more variety.

But since Travis left her, she hadn't gone out once. Now that she had all of the time in the world for her dalliances, she simply had no interest in them. The main focus of her life was trying to get the man that she'd loved for over twenty back at any cost.

She couldn't go to his job because the security guards wouldn't let her in. She'd thought about getting an appointment with someone in the building, but what did she need at a corporate sales company. She thought about getting that guy Gary to make an appointment for her. Then she could just wait for that bitch Melissa to leave the office or catch Travis on his way in or out.

But every time she tried to get Gary on the phone, he just hung up on her. It was strange that before they had sex, Gary spoke to her on the phone all the time. Once they'd done it, he didn't want to have shit to do with her. She'd met a few guys like that in college but she'd been sure that men had evolved past that by now. The problem was that she expected every man to treat her like Travis had. She wondered why he was letting his problems, whatever they were, separate them. 

She still didn't know why he'd left. She'd gone over it in her mind several times. Travis had been suffering from some kind of stress disorder related to work. He'd come home and gotten angry at her for something really stupid but she didn't know what it was. Then Travis had simply pulled up stakes and left her. The only information she had on him over the past three weeks had come from her children and now from her mother. 

Her daughter did seem upset that Travis seemed to have a woman wherever he was staying. The thought that he'd cheat on her hurt Betty badly, but she still wanted him back. Travis somehow seemed to associate his stress with her. It was as if he thought that Betty was responsible for all of the stress in his life. 

If Travis did have a woman with him, Betty would forgive him since he probably wasn't in his right mind. But he'd have to cut the relationship off immediately. There was no room in their marriage for cheating. In the back of her mind, Betty thought about what she'd been doing. But her little flings were different. There was no emotional connection between her and any of them. She only saw each guy once. It was only sex. The only man she actually loved was Travis. 

What Travis was doing, on the other hand, was wrong. It seemed that he was only seeing one woman and her daughter Becky made it seem like the woman was living with Travis. Becky had told her mother that she'd called her father back late one evening and a woman had picked up his cell phone. Her voice sounded familiar but Becky didn't know who she was. The woman had told Becky that her father was in the shower and that she'd have him call her back ASAP.

Anyway, whatever was going on with Travis would be sorted out in just a few days at the Thanksgiving dinner. Betty was surprised how much she was looking forward to getting this taken care of. Maybe he'd even come back home with her that night. Betty hadn't had sex with anyone other than her vibrator since Gary. She didn't miss sex. She missed making love with her husband. Thanksgiving couldn't come soon enough.

* * * * * *

"Mel, shouldn't you uhm, put some clothes on?" said Travis. Melissa was perched on the arm of Travis' chair wearing only a very tight T-shirt and a very tiny pair of panties. Travis was having trouble not staring at her and he was sure she could see his hard on.

"Well that's a first," laughed Melissa. "Honestly, Travis, I don't think I've ever had a man tell me that before. Besides, there's only the two of us here. I had clothes on all day long at work. Now that we're home I want to relax. If you weren't here, I probably wouldn't be wearing this much."

Travis looked at Melissa. He couldn't help looking at her. Melissa was slim and short. She was also beautiful. While her breasts were large, they weren't huge. In fact, they were probably smaller than Betty's and Betty had only average sized breasts. The difference was that Melissa was so small that it made them seem huge. You could actually see her breasts, just the edges of them, from behind her because her torso was so slim.

Her waist was so tiny that Travis could get both of his hands around it and have his fingers touch. Her hips flared out from that tiny waist and her butt curved away from her spine dangerously. She had long coltish legs and she always wore heels. Travis looked away from Melissa before his eyes got him into trouble.

In the three weeks since he'd moved in with Melissa, things had moved very quickly. He'd begun looking for an apartment of his own several times, but always stopped. The first time, he'd picked up one of those apartment hunters brochures. He'd left it on the kitchen table so he'd remember to go through it when he got home.

When he got home, the brochure was gone. He'd bought another one and it disappeared too. He found a couple of websites and saved them in his favorites. He'd even bookmarked a couple of apartments to look at. When he went back to look at them again, they'd been removed from his favorites. He'd begun to suspect that Melissa had something to do with it.

Before he could confront her about it, he'd been contacted by a lawyer who represented Betty. The lawyer was trying to convince him to accept counseling or be faced with divorcing Betty. His lawyer had spoken to Betty and her lawyer and was convinced that it was a ploy to get him to meet with Betty. 

Travis' lawyer explained to him that if he let Betty file, there were some advantages he could gain. Their first meeting was scheduled for a few days after Thanksgiving.

In the meantime Travis and Melissa were together nearly twenty-four hours a day. They ate together, they worked together and they relaxed together. The only thing they weren't doing at that point was sleeping together. 

They went out several times a week to restaurants or shows, but most nights they just sat and talked on their balcony or watched TV together.

"Mel, we kind of need to talk," said Travis. "And what you're wearing makes it hard for me to say what I have to say."

Melissa jumped up and put on a robe. "Okay, Travis Sir, is this better, Sir?" she asked giving him a mock salute.

Even the robe couldn't disguise Melissa's body but it was a start. She sat down across from him on the couch and her robe gapped open revealing an expanse of tanned legs that made Travis' pants get tighter in the crotch.

"Melissa, you've done so much for me that I can probably never repay you," began Travis. "But I'm beginning to think that I'm taking advantage of you. I'm kind of forcing you to put your life on hold. You're twenty four years old. You should be out dating and getting a taste of life. Not being stuck in your apartment with me, working out your daddy issues."

For the briefest second, Travis saw that incandescent anger flash across Melissa's features, then she smiled at him and her legs gapped open a trifle more.

"Travis, if you think that you're taking advantage of me, then you can pay half of the rent. If you weren't here I'd have to pay it anyway. Plus there's the fact that you've spent more in the past three weeks taking me out to dinner than I spend in groceries. Your being here makes me feel protected and not so lonely. Despite what you think, you being here didn't put my life on hold. In fact, I feel like my life has finally begun. I know how old I am. When you were my age you already had a kid didn't you?" Travis nodded.

"So that means that maybe it is time for me to get serious about things too and I have. Travis, I am dating someone. He's someone you see all the time. You just don't know that we're dating. And I'm enjoying my life immeasurably. You just don't see it yet. I don't see myself as being stuck here with you at all. I enjoy the time we spend together more than anything. And Travis, daddy issues are for girls who either never knew their fathers, or didn't have the relationship they'd have liked with their fathers. My daddy was a wonderful man. He loved me and I loved him too. He died of cancer my second year in college. My relationship with you has nothing to do with him or any father fixation. If a girl felt the way about her father that I feel about you, they'd have to rewrite the incest laws across the country. Do you have anything else to whine about?" Travis gulped and then nodded.

"Well, spit it out," she purred. "We're wasting our TV time."

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving dinner?" asked Travis.

"Usually, I either go and spend it with my sister and her family, or I go out with friends," said Melissa. "I was hoping that maybe we could just spend Thanksgiving cooking and relaxing together. I really like doing that."

"Uhm, Christmas, or maybe next year, if we're not married," said Travis. Then realizing what he'd just said, he tried to correct it. "I mean if neither one of us isn't married to anyone. Not, uhm, us being married to each other."

Melissa just smiled. She decided to let him off the hook this time so she could see what he wanted to do.

"Okay Travis, what did you have in mind?" she asked. Travis explained the whole dinner with Betty's parents scenario and who he thought would be there. In the back of her mind, Melissa was certain that though Travis had been told that Betty wouldn't be there, she would be.

"Okay, I'll go," she smiled. "But remember two things. One, I'm only doing this for you. And two, you owe me one." Travis nodded his head and smiled.

"Are we all done with the serious talk du jour?" asked Melissa. Travis nodded his head vigorously. He'd never in his life won an argument with Betty, and he could see that he'd probably never win one with Melissa either. He considered it a victory that she'd let him have the few points he'd won in this one. Did he actually win any?

"Good then I can get comfortable again," she said. Melissa shrugged off the robe and put her long legs across Travis' lap. Then she reached for the remote and flicked the TV on. "I assume we're watching your Top Gear show first, right?" she asked. She was referring to Travis' favorite TV show. 

She was really happy with the way that things were turning out. Maybe now he'd stop trying to move out of her apartment. At least until they were ready to move into a bigger place together. He'd also said we a couple of times which was a major victory.

"Travis, honey, do you want a beer?" she asked. As he nodded, she unhooked her legs from his and went to the kitchen. She didn't miss the tent in his pants as she left. It would only be a matter of time she thought.

She brought Travis a cold Dos Equis Amber and a Pepsi for herself. Then she settled down on the couch with him. This time she scooted even closer to him. She draped her upper thighs and butt over him so she was almost sitting in his lap and wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders.

As they watched the three older English hosts of the show go through their crazy antics while testing all of the outrageous cars they reviewed on the show, Melissa whispered into Travis' ear and nailed him.




Modern Day Marriage



"Travis, about next year's Thanksgiving dinner? What if, we were married...to each other?"

* * * * * *

Betty looked over her outfit one last time before she left to go to her mother's house. She'd picked her outfit with whimsy in mind, but also with very serious intentions. Her dress was a deep red with a wide white belt. The belt cinched her waist in a bit and gave her figure a very much needed lift. It really didn't matter what she wore, Travis loved her anyway. But she wanted to wear something that would show him what he hadn't been taking advantage of for the last few weeks. As a finishing touch, she had a Santa hat perched on her head at a sexy angle. 

She'd even gotten some early season Mistletoe to hold over his head to entice him to kiss her. With any luck, she'd be bringing her husband home with her tonight and hopefully to stay. Then they could call off the divorce and have a serious talk about what was wrong with Travis. She could also find out if she'd done anything to trigger it. 

Her sister had speculated that maybe it was one of those things that men went through when they reached a certain age. Some of them dyed their hair, some of them bought a sports car and others decided to climb a mountain or run a marathon. She hoped that was all it was. 

At any rate, she needed to spend more time trying to make Travis happy and make their marriage work. Maybe she should spend less time trying to arrange her little side visits and more time trying to spice up her and Travis' sex life. She hadn't been with anyone since that Gary creep and she was so horny she'd probably fuck Travis in her parent's bedroom if they left it unattended. As horny as she was though, it had to be Travis. She missed him more than she could ever say.

She was pretty sure that he really didn't want a divorce either. He hadn't taken any money out of their accounts and he hadn't filed for a divorce. His leaving her had hurt her badly though. But in the grand scheme of things, they were going to be together forever anyway so it didn't really hurt them. In fact, it may have made their relationship stronger. If Travis missed her half as much as she missed him, they'd probably never be apart again.

She could only think of one thing that she wanted him to do in order for her to forgive him. He had to either fire that bitch Melissa, or make her apologize to Betty. Betty was sure that Melissa would rather quit than apologize to her, so it would be the same either way. That little bitch was just too interested in Travis for Betty's liking. That shit had gone on for far too long. It was time to stop it.

Betty got into her car and drove to her mother's house. When she went up to the door, it was opened by her brother, Kevin. Betty still had trouble figuring out why the hell her sister had married Kevin. He was overweight and dorky. He also hadn't had a job in over four years. He spent all of his time either playing video games or reading comic books. 

Strangely enough, he'd turned down a job working in a comic book store. He'd said something about not wanting to dilute his passion for the art form by accepting money. It made absolutely no fucking sense. He stood in that same fucking store for hours every Wednesday when the new comics came out. He argued about the same books and discussed the same fucking characters with the same other nerds. Why couldn't he do it and get paid for it. At least if he was working in the store, he'd be bringing home a little bit of money for doing it. Now he did it for free.

"Hey Betty, looking good," said Kevin.

"Look Kevin," snapped Betty. "Travis is coming over today too. Please don't drive him off by talking about Lord of the fucking Rings or Harry Pothead. Can we spend just one holiday like normal people? Can you talk about football or something normal guys like instead of Goomdorf's magic sword of tranquility or any of that shit?"

Kevin almost shut the door in Betty's face. She barged in and walked right by him. "Bitch," he said under his breath. "No wonder Travis left you."

Debbie walked into the room and hugged Betty. "I thought you weren't coming," said Debbie.

"Mom told everyone that to get Travis to come," smiled Betty.

"Geez, you guys should have told me at least," whined Debbie.

"Why so you could have told everyone?" asked Betty. "Sooner or later you'd have told someone who Travis knows and they'd have told him and Travis wouldn't have come."

"But I look like a cow," said Debbie. "Travis is a real cutie. If I'd known he was coming I could have dressed up, like you did."

"Debbie, Travis is my husband. I dressed up because we're having problems and I need to get him back. Kind of like when Conan the Nerdbarian over there, left you and went back to living in his mom's basement, a couple of years ago," said Betty.

Debbie just smiled, "Yep, but my honey is back now and things are better than ever."

"How?" asked Betty. "You started putting pressure on him because you were working double shifts at the hospital to pay your mortgage. He was sitting home on his fat ass eating bonbons and reading comics. He didn't even keep the house clean. Plus you had to pay for all of his fucking comic books. You wanted him to get a job to take some of the pressure off of you. Remember you needed more income because you were thinking about having a baby."

"But Betty that was before I realized how things really worked," said Debbie.

"Oh shit, I have to hear this," said Betty. "Does he have a job now?"

"Well no," said Debbie. "But I had to look at our relationship in real world terms. Kevin doesn't beat me. He doesn't go out and fuck other women. Him being home all the time means that I don't have to worry about someone breaking into our house. And I don't need to have a baby because I've already got Kevin and he's a big kid at heart."

"You tell her honey," said Kevin, from somewhere in the house.

"You two deserve each other," smirked Betty.

Betty went into the kitchen to see her mother. Her mom turned and smiled when Betty entered the room.

"Hi, Betty," she said. "I'm glad you're here. I need you to..."

"Sorry mom. You'd better get Deb to do it. I can't afford to get anything on this dress. I need to look good when Travis gets here. I just came in to find out if you had any wine chilled already."

Her mother just looked at Betty and bit her lip.

Betty went back into the living room just in time to see her son arrive. To say she was shocked was an understatement. Her son had changed over the past ten weeks that he'd been away at school. He'd gained a few pounds. Well more than a few actually. He'd begun to look a bit like Kevin. Except that he had tattoos. Her clean shaven, conservative son, now had a shaved head, a full beard and tattoos all over every inch of exposed skin on his arms. And for a big guy his arms were disproportionately small. He looked like a beach ball with pipe cleaners for arms. He even had a tattoo on his neck. Why the fuck would anyone get a tattoo on their neck.

Betty needed to exchange her glass of wine for something much stronger. When Travis got there she was sure he'd shit a brick. Think about all of the money they were wasting putting their son through college for him to start looking like he should be in the circus. Good luck getting a job looking like that she thought.

Then there was the girl he brought with him. She looked sick. She was very thin with no boobs or butt. She was dressed from heads to toe in black. Her dress was so long it dragged on the ground. At least she only had one tattoo. Unfortunately it was an upside down pentacle and it was also in the center of her forehead. The girl looked like she'd never seen the sun. When she first walked in she was wearing a veil. The veil was made of black lace and she took it off when she first came in. 

Betty decided that as weird as her son looked, he was lucky to have the girl. Maybe she shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This girl could be the future mother of her grandchildren.

Betty went over and introduced herself. The girl smiled at Betty and that was when things got worse. As the girl smiled Betty noticed that she had fangs.

"Uhm, honey?" asked Betty. "What is going on with your teeth?" Betty thought that they were those Halloween type vampire fangs. 

"My dentist did it for me," said the girl in the deepest voice that Betty had ever heard. Betty was no longer even sure that the girl was actually a she. "I'll keep these until my real fangs grow in," the girl continued. Betty didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She'd be really glad when Travis got there.

Hey, Dad," Betty said across the room to her dad who was watching the football game. Her dad raised his glass and Betty wondered what he was drinking. Whatever it was she needed some of it.

"Where's Travis?" asked her dad.

"Uhm we're taking a little break, Dad," said Betty.

"What did you do to him?" asked her dad. 

At that moment Debbie, who was talking to Betty's son, Steve, and his girlfriend, Anastasia, screamed. "You did what?" she shrieked.

Debbie walked away from the pair and back into the kitchen. Betty went over to her son and his girlfriend. She was glad to be away from her father. She couldn't believe that her own father thought that it was her fault that Travis had left her.

"Steven, what did you say to your aunt?" asked Betty.

"Oh Mom, I just told her how we'd both had our useless reproductive organs modified," said Steve.

Betty spit her wine all over her son's face and Anastasia's dress. She had trouble breathing and started gasping. The wine had gone down the wrong pipe.

When she got her breath back, she repeated her sister's question equally loudly, "You did what?" she screamed.

"It's no big deal," said Steve. "It was just a little snip. I got a vasectomy and Anna got her tubes tied. It didn't matter anyway because she can't have kids. I could fuck her every day and shoot loads of spunk all over her and through her and it would never have worked because she's a vampire. Vampires can't have kids, ya know."

Betty heard her father chuckling from across the room. She just stood there and wondered what the fuck had happened to her son. "Is it reversible?" she asked. Steve just shrugged his shoulders.

Betty went across the room and sat down by her father. "What are you drinking, dad?" she asked. 

"Jack Daniels," he said, tipping his glass at her. "So now my only hope for great-grandkids depends on your daughter," he said.

They listened as Kevin argued with Anastasia over who had the most supernatural powers. Anastasia, because she was a vampire or Kevin, who now claimed to be a third level Warlock of the dark tower.

Anastasia told him that she'd had more time to develop her powers since she was over five hundred years old.

Betty and her father both looked at each other and he took a big gulp of the liquor in his glass.

"You'd think that in five hundred years, she'd have grown at least SOME titties," said her father. "I'm just saying."

Just then the doorbell rang. "This is a great Thanksgiving," said Kevin, as he got up to answer the door. We have a Warlock, a Vampire, a tattooed guy, Betty is a Bitch and now we have Travis who..."

The room got quiet as Kevin stopped talking in mid sentence.

"Travis who, what?" snapped Betty. She arranged herself on the arm of her dad's chair trying to look as sexy as she could.

"He, uhm brought his own...uhm," said Kevin.

"His own what moron?" asked Betty.

"His own goddess," said Kevin dreamily.

Travis stepped into the room followed by Melissa, who held tightly onto his hand. Things seemed to go into slow motion at that point. Betty saw that Travis had brought Melissa with him and fell off of the arm of the chair in surprise. Her father, who hardly ever got out of his chair, caught a glance of Melissa, got up and walked over to the doorway. 

Steven saw her, and started trying to cover up the tattoos on his arms. Debbie came down the stairs to see Travis and froze in her tracks when she saw Melissa. Anastasia bared her fangs at Melissa and hissed. Finally, Betty's mother came out of the kitchen to see why the house had gone so quiet all of a sudden.

"Hi Travis," said Betty's mom. "It's about time you got here. And who is this?"

"Hi Mom, this is Melissa," said Travis, as if it explained everything. Melissa stepped forward and gave Betty's mom a bottle of wine that she and Travis had picked up and took a box from Travis.

"It's a holiday angel food cake," said Melissa.

"Did you make it from your own food?" asked Kevin, gushing.

"Can I help you in the kitchen?" asked Melissa. 

Betty's mom smiled broadly. "You sure can," she said, taking Melissa's hand and leading her into the kitchen.

"Why the fuck did you bring her?" hissed Debbie.

"Your mom said I could bring someone," said Travis and shrugged his shoulders. "She's someone."

"Come on over here, Travis. Let's watch some football," said Betty's dad. "Boy is she hot."

Twenty minutes later the living room was quiet except for the sounds of the TV. Travis and his soon to be ex father were having a great time watching Michigan State get killed by Iowa.

Across the room, Steven, Kevin, Betty, Debbie and Anastasia were all staring into the kitchen at Melissa.

"She's beautiful," said Steven.

"She's unreal, said Kevin, which earned him a kick in the shin from his wife. 

"She's a fucking skank," said Debbie.

"I hate her fucking guts," said Betty.

"I'd do her," said Anastasia.

Twenty minutes later Melissa came out of the kitchen and wandered into the living room. It was a wonder that she managed to navigate the floor in her high heels without slipping on one of Kevin and Steve's puddles of drool.

She perched on the arm of Travis' chair as Betty had on her father's an hour before. She leaned over Travis and her head nestled on his shoulder. Betty started across the room after her but was pulled up short by Debbie.

"I know you're pissed sis," said Debbie. "But don't fuck up mom and dad's Thanksgiving. Wait until after dinner. Then I'll pull her to the side and ask her about her clothes or something and you can have your talk with Travis."

A short time later they'd all gathered around the dinner table. The table was spread beautifully with all kinds of enticing food. A golden brown turkey glistened in the center of the table. There was a ham off to the side. A large steaming bowl of mashed potatoes with a gravy boat near it sat directly in front of Kevin.

Betty's father stood up to say grace but was interrupted. "Hey Anastasia, you can't eat this kind of food. Remember, you're supposed to be a fucking vampire," said Kevin. 

"Kevin, honey, shut up," said Debbie. Across the table Anastasia just looked pissed. Then it started. Betty noticed that Melissa and Travis were holding hands. She couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed the gravy boat and flung it at Melissa who somehow avoided all of the soupy brown liquid. She quickly grabbed a biscuit and flung it across the table as hard as she could. It caught Betty right between the eyes. The butter on top of the biscuit smudged Betty's makeup and she screamed. She grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and flung it at Melissa who ducked behind Travis.

Betty realized that she'd thrown mashed potatoes on her husband and screamed again. Anastasia took that opportunity to throw a handful of green beans at Kevin. 

The beans and the sauce they'd been prepared in were still very hot as they splashed in Kevin's face. The large uncoordinated man was incensed. He got up from the table, quickly ran around it and grabbed one of the legs off of the turkey and started beating Anastasia with it. Steven got up and tried to pull his uncle off of his girlfriend and the two men ended up wrestling on the floor, inadvertently rolling over the would be vampire who was trapped under them.

By this time Betty and Melissa had gotten up and were walking around the table towards each other as well. Debbie again tried to restrain her sister, who had started the whole mess. Betty was so incensed at Melissa that she back handed her own sister in an effort to get free. Melissa had decided by then that she was tired of being on the receiving end of Betty's attention. She grabbed the bowl of cranberry sauce and flung the entire bowl at Betty.

The bowl didn't travel well and ended up on the floor off target, but the sauce drenched Betty, ruining her outfit, her hair and her face. Betty also tripped on the slippery mess and ended up falling on her ass.

All across the room there was chaos. Only Travis and Betty's parents weren't involved. Betty's dad went to the china cabinet and opened the first drawer and reached for something way in the back. His hand emerged with a pistol that he fired once into the ceiling to get everyone's attention.

The sound of the gunshot immediately halted everyone in place.

"God damn it. Stop this shit right now," yelled Betty's father. "Look at what you've done."

"She started it," claimed Betty pointing at Melissa.

"Betty, it was you who threw gravy at her and started this," said Debbie.

"I was only reacting to what she did," snapped Betty. "She was holding my husband's hand in front of us."

"Don't you mean ex husband," said Melissa. "You filed for a divorce from him. That makes him a free agent."

Around the table everyone gasped in shock.

"Is that true Mom?" asked Steven.

Betty nodded her head and kept her eyes down. "I don't want a divorce," she screamed. Her voice was on the verge of breaking down. "I only did it because your father moved out. I needed to get his attention so we could talk. There was never going to be a divorce."

"There was always going to be a divorce," said Travis. "You just filed before I was ready to."

"But why would you want to divorce me, honey?" asked Betty. "I love you."

"Yeah," said Travis. "You love me so much that you've been cheating on me for months. I know that Gary wasn't the first time Betty. You broke my heart. You should have known that if I found out about your cheating there'd be no hope for us."

All around the table everyone got quiet. Nothing was said for a few moments and then Betty's father broke the silence.

"Betty, he's not telling the truth is he?"

Betty couldn't meet her father's gaze. "It was only sex, Dad," she said in a very quiet voice. "It didn't mean anything. There was no love involved. I just wanted a little something extra. It had no bearing on my marriage. Travis is the only man I've ever loved and there's no way I'll let that little bitch have him."

"Something extra," snapped Debbie. "Betty you're a God damned fool. As much as I love Kevin's lazy ass, quirks and all, I'd die to have what you just fucked up."

"Hey," said Kevin.

"Shut up Kevin," said Debbie. "Travis loves you, or loved you, Betty. He talked about you like you were something special. And he worked his ass off trying to give you everything you asked for. For years you've bragged about how good he was in bed. Were you lying?"

"No," said Betty. "It's just that...well lately he's been so tired from what goes on at work that we cut down to only doing it three or four times a week and I kind of need more. Not that any of the guys I went out with were as good as he was. I just thought that until we could talk about it I'd get some extra on the side."

"I'll take four times a week," said Melissa.

"How often are you guys doing it now?" asked Debbie.

"We aren't," said Melissa. "Yet."

"But..." said Betty. "I thought that..."

"Betty, you aren't wrong. I've been in love with Travis for years. But we haven't done anything sexual at all," began Melissa.

"Yet," said Travis, who hadn't said much until then.

"Travis loved you with all of his heart," said Melissa. "I knew that it would take him a long time to get over you. But you hurt him so bad that he has trust issues now. I think deep down inside he really just wanted some way that he could get back with you and still keep his pride. I think that he never imagined that he could be happy with anyone else."