98 comments/ 163522 views/ 12 favorites We Made A Really Big Mistake By: Slirpuff I want to thank Wolf Vixen for her help with catching all my errors. This story is all fiction but asks the question "What would you do if." Some will like it, others won't because everyone has their own tastes and ideas of what is right. I can't believe I actually did it. I'd been drinking but wasn't drunk, or did I do it out of revenge because my wife was cheating on me, quite the contrary. Our sex life before this was completely satisfying and we usually did it four times a week even with a three year old in the house. I wasn't unhappy and wasn't out there looking for an affair, it just happened; or that's what I've been telling myself for the last two months. Now I can't even look my wife in the eye, I'm depressed as hell and considering telling her what I did, even though it'll probably end my marriage. I know what you're saying, why fuck up a good marriage because of a one-time lapse in judgment, especially since I don't plan on making that mistake ever again. But with my wife, Shannon, it's black or white and no gray areas. Once a cheater always a cheater is her motto. Hell it was over before I even finished, but I guess that wouldn't make any difference to my wife if she was to find out, but there's no way that's ever going to happen. The woman in question is three states away and will never in a million years run into her. Hell, I only met her twice and how she talked me into doing it I'll never know. I was supposed to be helping her out and now I've put my marriage in the toilet in the process. I know I'm babbling on, but I don't know what to do anymore and my wife keeps asking me what the heck is wrong with me and why don't I love her anymore. You see the worst part about this whole thing, is every time I try to perform in bed now I go limp. I've tried everything, even getting drunk to block out what I did but nothing works, literally. All in all, I've basically fucked up my life but good. Shannon and I had been happily married for five years. I met her when she was on the rebound from a boyfriend she dumped for cheating on her; sound familiar? She had gone with the guy for almost a year and they were getting serious. Then he did a typical stupid guy thing. Went to a stag, got drunk and one of the strippers gave him a blowjob. Somehow it got back to Shannon, one of the other guys opened his big mouth, and she dropped him like a hot potato. It happened so fast he never saw it coming. No discussion, no sympathy, she just slammed the door and they were history. We met at a party and had a pretty good time that night. So much so, we started going out and within three months were exclusive. She saw me about two weeks later having coffee with an old girl friend. She never said a thing about it until Friday night when I tried to get a little friendly. She'd been cool all evening and when I tried to kiss her she stopped me. "You sure it's me you want to be kissing? Maybe you'd prefer someone a little taller with, lets say, blonde hair." Shannon has dark brown hair. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "I saw you out with your ex-girl friend Steve. What am I, not enough woman for you all of a sudden? What are you doing? Getting a little extra from her on the side when I'm at class? You men are all alike. You just can't keep your dick in your pants can you?" she screamed at me. I just stared at her in amazement. "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked for the second time. "I saw you Steve. I saw you with Tammy Tuesday night. Do you deny it?" she, now said standing with her arms crossed in front of her. "No, I was having a cup of coffee with her, that's all. I stopped in, saw her sitting there and went over to say hi. There was no kissing and I sure as hell didn't screw her on the damn table," I said more than annoyed. "Why in the hell didn't you just come up and say something right then and there instead of letting it fester all week? For Christ's sake, I love you Shannon, I'd never cheat on you," I said giving her a big hug. "If you want, we'll go see Tammy together and you can get her side of it, if that's what it takes." "I'm sorry Steve," Shannon said looking into my eyes. "It's just that I didn't want to get hooked up with a guy I can't trust again, I'm sorry," she said kissing me. She was sorry, and she more than made it up to me that night. It wasn't makeup sex, more like rape, but I loved every minute of it. After that night, it was never brought up again. We progressed and a year later we tied the knot in front of God and everyone. We pledged ourselves to one another and were as happy as two people could be. When Danny came along we were the family we'd both dreamed of. The only thing that was missing was the cute little house with the white picket fence and we got that a year and a half later. Damn it, we had it all. With my BS in business, I was working as a coordinator between our purchasing staff and the field installation crews. I scheduled the workflow and materials to the jobsites; and was pretty good at it. I was detailed oriented and had a knack for dealing with difficult customers. I was always looking for potential problems and in that way; I was never caught off guard. We were always on time and sometimes even under budget. The only problem was every couple of weeks I had to visit one jobsite or another. I was, at the most, gone one night maybe two. It was a small price to pay for the money I was bringing home. Shannon was working, about three quarter of the time, at a small law firm and her mother was more than happy to care for Danny when she was at work. Sound like the perfect life? It was until my trip two months ago. The project had just finished up and I was doing a final inspection prior to the state inspectors visit. I found a few minor problems and had to call two guys back to fix them. I called work, then Shannon and told everyone I'd be out an extra day, but not to worry I'd make sure everything was completed before I left. So now I had nothing to do for the next two days but twiddle my thumbs until the repairs and inspection were done. The hotel had a nice bar and restaurant so at 5:30 I was sitting in the bar sipping a cool one when she walked in. She wasn't a knockout but not bad looking either. She looked to be some where around my age, twenty-eight, and even from twenty feet away you could tell she was stressed. She sat on a stool about three down from me and ordered a glass of wine. She chugged that one down and ordered another. "Looks like some ones not having a good day," I thought to myself as I glanced up at the TV behind the bar, watching the news. When she started quietly sobbing, I tried hard not to pay attention, but finally when I glanced over, our eyes met and that's all it took. "You alright?" I asked. At first she said nothing just looking at her empty wine glass before starting to sob again. "No, I don't think I'm ever going to be alright ever again," she said softly looking at me like a puppy caught in the rain. I knew I should have run, but being the nice guy and having a soft spot for puppies I told the bartender to get her another wine and moved over to the stool next to her. "You ok?" I asked again. "Not really, I'm having a really bad day and I don't know what to do," she told me. "My name is Steve, Steve Moore," I said. "And you are?" "Mrs. Chris Martin, or I was until a couple of hours ago," she sobbed. "Now I'm not so sure anymore," she said with tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, I don't want to bother you with my problems." "Don't be silly Chris, maybe I can help," I told her opening up a door I should have left closed. We talked for the next hour and a half while she told me her tale of woe. I suggested we have dinner because I told her she shouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach. By 9:00 I'd heard it all. Her husband, Keith, was a salesman and had been having an affair for the last couple of months with a customer he was calling on. Chris said Keith came clean and told her everything about it, but that his customer was giving him a hard time about breaking it off. She wanted to continue the affair and went so far as to threaten her husband with telling his boss about it. "I know he didn't intentionally do it, but even now he doesn't understand what it's done to me. He keeps telling me to get over it, and that we need to move on and put it in past," she told me. "But he doesn't understand the pain it's caused me. Every time I think about it, I feel like someone's punched me in the gut. I don't know how I'm ever going to get over it?" she kept saying to me. I knew I should have kept my mouth shut and just listened. Hell, that's all she was doing, using me as a soundboard to get it off her chest before she went nuts. By 10:30, she said it was time for her to get some sleep. She'd taken a room at the hotel if for no other reason than to try and get some sleep, because all they did at home was argue. "Maybe I'll see you at breakfast," Chris told me as we went to our separate rooms. I called Shannon and told her I missed her and I'd see her in two days. I don't know why, but I never said anything about Chris. Maybe it was because I thought Shannon wouldn't approve of me having that type of a discussion with another married woman, I don't know. Whatever the reason, I now wish I had said something. Maybe then it would have raised a red flag and brought me to my senses. I did see Chris at breakfast. "You look a lot better this morning," I said as I was just finishing my coffee. "Thanks to you I got my first good nights sleep in a week." "I'm glad I could help. You going back home today?" I asked. "Nope, I've got my room for one more night and for the first time I'm starting to think straight and see how I want to handle my situation," she told me. "Maybe I'll see you later and we can talk again," Chris said with a smile. "I'd like that. What's say we meet at the bar around 6:00?" "It's a date," Chris replied. "Well, I've got to go and finish my inspections today so I can get the heck out of here tomorrow morning. See you later," I said walking out. Believe it or not, I thought nothing about meeting Chris for dinner. It was going to be nice to have a little company while out on the road. Sometimes you go a little nuts eating alone every night and spending your evenings in front of the boob tube. Little did I know Chris was developing a plan to pay her husband back for cheating on her, which I'm sad to say, included me. The repairs and additions were all done by 3:00 that afternoon. The state inspector hit the jobsite just before 4:00 pm and was gone by 5:30 without finding a single problem; it was time to celebrate. I called the office and gave them the good news and just before 6:00 I called Shannon and told her I'd see her tomorrow. "I've missed you so much hon," I told her. "Let's plan on going to dinner tomorrow night so get a sitter for Danny, we've got a lot to celebrate," I told her. Looking at the time, I said I had to go and would be home somewhere in the area of 2:00 pm and hung up. When I saw Chris I was still walking on air, and even she seemed to be in a better mood tonight. We had two drinks before dinner and a bottle or two of wine with dinner. Everything was going great until Chris told me about her plan. "I've finally figured out a way to pay Keith back for what he did," Chris told me. "He still doesn't seem to feel the full impact of what he's done and keeps telling me to get over it and for the sake of the kids to move forward, but I've got another idea," she said sipping her wine. "But Steve I'm going to need your help," she told me. "What are you planning?" I asked. "A little payback, something where he'll think twice before cheating on me again." "I don't think you should go there Chris. Two wrongs don't make it right," I warned her. "I'm not going to do it for real, I'm going to stage it, film it and send it to him," Chris said filling her wine glass again. "That's where you come in Steve." "Chris, I've got a bad feeling about this. I don't think anything good can come of this," I said as I tried to reason with her. "What's he going to do to me? Divorce me for cheating on him? Come on Steve, this is my one chance to let him know what it feels like to be cheated on. Besides, I'm not really going to do it, I'm only going to pretend to," she explained to me. "Chris I know I said I would help you, but this is pushing it, besides I would never cheat on Shannon," I tried to tell her. "And you're not going to. I've got my digital camera and we just need to get into my bed and pretend that we're doing it. This way I get my revenge and you keep your virtue intact. Come on Steve, it'll be fun," Chris said with a wicked smile. "How often do you get propositioned by a good looking blonde anyway?" she asked. I knew I should have said no, thanked her for the nice evening and went back to my room to pack up for my flight home tomorrow, but I didn't. The more she talked the more it sounded like it was no big deal. I don't remember actually saying yes, but the next thing I knew we were in her room setting up the camera and bed. "Steve lie on the bed so I can adjust the camera," she told me. "Pull off the blankets and just leave the sheets and pillows on the bed," she instructed as she put two books under the camera to raise it up to a height just above the bed. She tested it out taking about ten seconds of video, reviewed it and we were ready. "I need one more glass of wine before we do this," I told Chris as I though to myself this was no big thing. "Pour me a glass too," Chris said as she took off her jacket. "To operation revenge," she said as she held up her glass. "Chris, let's get this over with," I told her as I started taking off my shirt. "Steve, I hope you don't embarrass easily, because I'm going to have to remove my top to make it look real," she said letting her skirt drop to the floor and removing her panty hose before starting to take off her blouse. "I feel so naughty," she said as she took another sip of wine. "I feel like I'm in one of those porno movies," I told her. "Lights, action, the tape is rolling," I said with a laugh as I got down to my briefs. "Make sure you take off the sound in case one of us laughs," I told her still taking this lightly. "Good catch," Chris said as she shut off the sound and got ready. "You get into bed first, this way I can start it and make my grand entrance," she told me. "After that, we'll just play it by ear and when we're finished, I'll just turn off the bedside light," she told me. I got into bed and made a joke by jumping up and down on the bed yelling," get that hot body over here, we've got a lot action scenes to do in the next fifteen minutes," with a laugh, I got under the sheet. "Steve, pull the sheet back on my side of the bed," she told me. "I've taken my bra off and I'm going to have to remove my panties too, no one goes to bed with clothes on if there going to have sex," she told me as she stood there completely naked looking at me. "Holy shit, she's a knockout. On a scale of one to ten, her body is about an eleven. What the hell could her husband be thinking, screwing around on her, she is beautiful," I said to myself trying not to get a hard on, but was failing miserably. "Here I come," Chris, said as she slowly strolled to the bed, pausing for a brief moment before sliding under the sheets. "Ok Steve, kiss me and make it look good and follow my lead after that," she told me as she turned a little sideways so the camera could catch all the action. What started off as a little kiss went to one with a lot of tongue and spit after about a minute as she tossed her hair back and buried her face onto mine. When she placed my hand on her breast and told me to caress it and to twist her nipples, I never said no, or that this was going too far; but it was just a movie right? However, I was now rock hard and was starting to get more than a little hot and bothered. We continued for another couple of minutes until Chris fed me a nipple and told me to roll my tongue around it before taking it between my lips. I followed her instructions like a star struck teenager as she started to rub my dick under the covers with her leg as I sucked on her nipples. She laid back, spread her legs, and told me to go down between her legs like I was eating her out. "Just put your head down there and I'll rub the back of your head like I'm getting ready to climax," she said pushing my head lower. With my face in her crotch, I noticed it was shaved smooth and was glistening with beads of liquid as I put one hand under each butt cheek and placed my lips right on her pussy. At this point, Chris had both of her hands on my head as she now moved my lips across her cunt. I thought wouldn't it would be a lark or maybe a cruel joke to tease her a little bit, so I gave her clit a lick or two with the tip of my tongue. "Oh my God," she said as her body shuttered. "For Christ's sake don't stop," Chris yelled to me as she increased the pressure on the back of my head. "Now what the hell do I do?" I thought to myself and then made the wrong decision; I kept licking and now started sucking on her clit as Chris went wild thrashing below me. "It'll look real on the tape, and I can live with what I'm doing," I thought to myself. When I pushed two fingers into her, she let loose with a scream and reached for the headboard. "Too bad we didn't have sound turn on for that scream," I said to myself as she continued climaxing as I worked on her wet pussy. This wasn't real I kept saying to myself as I did things I knew weren't right, but I did them anyway. As I said before, "it wasn't me, it was an actor making a porno film," but that suddenly changed. Chris was still up there in the clouds when she flipped me over, whipped out my dick and started giving me the best blowjob I'd ever had. Oh my God, it felt so wonderful I didn't want it to end. She was taking me all the way down her throat and was almost sucking in the boys when she got down to my pubes. I kept saying to myself I was going to stop her, but I didn't. I was now caught up in the moment as I reached down and started playing with her breasts, tweaking her nipples. When I was just about ready to tell her to stop, Chris put the final nail into my coffin. She moved up to my waist and impaled herself onto my dick, as she now played with her own clit moving up and down on me. My real brain, not the one in the head of my dick, finally kicked in, letting me know this was now cheating plain and simple but it was too late. "Chris we can't be doing this," is all I got out before my dick started shooting off and she screamed again in ecstasy. It didn't take more than a second or two to realize what I'd done as my dick shrank immediately with Chris above me still feeling the effects of her latest orgasm. I turned off the sidelight and it was over, really over. "Oh my God Steve, I'm so sorry, it looks like we got caught up in the excitement," Chris said looking for her robe as I started to get dressed. "It's all my fault, I should never have talked you into it," she said trying to apologize seeing that I wasn't happy. "No, it was my own fault especially when I let it get out of hand," I told her as I put on my pants and finally my shoes. "I hope you and your husband make it, but I don't know if I'd show him that tape if I were you." "I feel so bad about this Steve. Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of it on one hand, but I got you involved with my problems where as I should have just kept my mouth shut," she said trying to console me. "Don't worry I'll live. But if you don't mind, I need to get back to my room and pack up for my flight home tomorrow morning." We Made A Really Big Mistake She gave me a hug and kiss on my cheek as she watched me walk down the hall. After twenty minutes in the shower I still could smell her pussy on me, or at least I thought I did. I guess I had that smell etched into my brain as I tried to justify what I'd done by saying to myself that I did it to help Chris out. Yeah right. If I would have left my tongue in my mouth and not let her blow me I might somehow believe it, but not after all that happened. I was beating myself up for cheating on my wife, the love of my life and trying to figure out how was I going to face her. I got no sleep that night and was in a daze walking through the airport the next morning. I replayed last night's events over and over in my mind until that was all I was thinking about. The flight was way too short; I needed more time to figure what the hell I was going to do. The hour-long ride from the airport wasn't much better and when I pulled into my driveway I was thankful Shannon wasn't there. I unpacked and put my dirty clothes in the hamper. I'd thrown away the briefs I'd worn that night and nothing else smelled even vaguely like Chris. I brushed my teeth for the twentieth time since last night and even rinsed my mouth and the outside of my lips with mouthwash, but I could still taste her. Shannon ran into the house kissing and hugging me all the while telling me how much she'd missed me and all I did was give her this stupid smile. She asked if I was up to a little extra curricular activity or did I want to wait until after dinner? I lied and said I had a few things to finish before work tomorrow and wasn't feeling quite right. "God, I hope you're not coming down with that flu that's going around," she said feeling my forehead. "You don't feel warm, but just to be on the safe side, finish up what you need to and get into bed. Let's forget going out tonight, I'll bring you up some soup and if your feeling better later maybe you'll let me take advantage of you like you know I can." "Hell, I just need a little time at home to get my head around this," I said to myself. "It's not like I was looking for it, it found me. Besides, it'll never happen again and Chris was history," I kept saying to myself; and for a while I almost believed it. Two days later I was in bed waiting for my wife to come out of the bathroom. I was going to make love to her with such intensity that she'd never let me leave town again. I was hard as a rock and when she came out totally naked I almost lost it she looked so good. I pulled the sheet back on her side and when Shannon yelled, "Here I come," my brain and dick shut down. "Fuck, that's exactly what Chris had said." We kissed; I licked and ate her pussy until she screamed with pleasure and then nothing. I was playing with a wet fucking noodle. Shannon tried to give me a blowjob, but all I thought about was Chris sucking me off, an it went nowhere. "Maybe you're still sick," Shannon said. "If you want I can work on you until you get off," she told me but I begged off. "We'll pick this up in a few days when I'm better," I told her. "Maybe you shouldn't kiss me either, I wouldn't want you to catch this and give it to Danny. This weekend I'll make it up to you," I said not believing a word that was coming out of my mouth. Shannon kissed me on the head and told me to get a good night sleep, but that didn't happen tonight or any night there after. So for the next two months my body shut down. I was moody, depressed and basically a walking dead man. I could get her off with my fingers and tongue but I couldn't get it up. I couldn't get Chris out of my head and even went to hypnotist to try and block out the memory of that night, but it didn't work. Shannon made me get a full physical and when nothing was found, she wanted me to go to a shrink. I told her no that I could work it out, but she got pissed. "Damn it Steve, it's been over two months. If you could have worked it out, you would have done it by now," she told me. "I'm making you an appointment." She wasn't taking no for an answer. Believe it or not, it did help to talk to someone about that night. He understood why I did it, but not why I let it get out of hand. I convinced both him and myself that I still loved Shannon and Danny and he finally talked me into coming clean and we agreed Friday was to be the day; that is until something happened at dinner Thursday night. We'd been invited, by my boss and his wife, to dinner Thursday night, something like a thank you dinner for all the hard work I'd done. I was feeling pretty good with my decision and was almost looking forward to Friday. The meal was fabulous, the conversation was light and we even danced a half dozen times. Just before we were about to leave, Shannon closed the door on tomorrow night's discussion. Looking on the dance floor she recognized someone we'd both known years ago. "Steve, look," Shannon, said pointing to a man dancing with a good-looking woman. "There's that asshole Bill and his slut of the month. He was married to a good friend of ours before she caught him fooling around. Mandy tossed his ass to the curb and took him for whatever she could. If it was me, I'd gotten his balls too. A man who cheats on his wife is no better than whale shit," she announced to our group. My boss and his wife agreed with her and I just sat there with that stupid look on my face for the umpteenth time. I was fucking dead. "Steve you need to change doctors," Shannon yelled at me a week later. "The one you're going to isn't fixing your problem. Maybe you should try that little blue pill they advertise on the TV, maybe it'll work for you," she said now grasping at straws. I knew what my problem was, and knew how to fix it, but I wasn't ready for that just yet; but I was close. I use to get her off anyway possible, but now she stopped asking. Hell, we hardly kissed any more. When I went to cuddle with her Tuesday, she pulled away for the first time in our marriage. And yes, I did try the little blue pill and for a while I thought we'd solved our problem but them I went limp as always. A couple of week's later Shannon started going out at night with a few friends from work. She started staying out later and later and when I said something about it, she said that she needed time away from Danny and me to unwind. I was losing her, hell I'd already lost her in my book. The following week I said the hell with it, I was finished; this had to end. Shannon had gone out with her friends and told me not to wait up because she'd be home late. "Shannon I'll be waiting up for you when you get home," I told her as I watched her leave with her friends. 11:00, 12:00, 1:00 am came and went and no Shannon. I was frantic and ready to call the police when she walked into the door or should I saw staggered into the door with a tall dark haired man holding her up. "Steve this is Roger. Roger this is my husband," she said slurring her words. "Roger is going to fuck me again tonight because you can't any more and I need it bad. I told him that it's ok with you, so if you don't mind, we'll get to it," she said leaning against the wall. "You have three seconds to leave before I kill you," I told Roger. He was gone in less than two. "Now look what you've done. How do you expect me to get laid if you chase them all away," she said looking at me. "Come on Shannon, time for bed," I said almost carrying her up the stairs. I started to undress her but she fought me at every turn. "I can undress myself, I don't need your damn help," she said as I watched her take her clothes off. When she got down to her bra and panties I saw it, I saw it all. She had hickies on her breasts and her panties were soaked. "Oops your weren't supposed to see that," she said now covering her mouth as she swayed more than a little bit. "I guess I went a little too far tonight," she said looking at her pussy as she took her soaked panties off. "Well if you weren't going to use it, I found someone who would, and it felt wonderful," she shouted at me. I pushed her back and onto the bed. "What are you going to do now big man, are you going to slap me around for getting something you can't give me? You limped dick prick." I guess I went nuts. I ripped off my shirt as buttons went flying all over the room as she continued to taunt me. "Oh I'm so scared," she said reaching into her night table. "Here, if you need something long and hard, I've got a vibrator," she said tossing it to me with a laugh. For the first time in months I got hard. I got so damn hard I think I actually grew an inch or two. I took the vibrator and stuck it into the bedroom wall, as Shannon's eyes got real wide. I threw off my pants, jumped on the bed and fucked the shit out of my wife for the first time in months. I rammed my cock home in one stroke as her eyes bugged out. There was no need for lubrication because she still had someone else's semen still dripping out of her cunt. Shannon was still tight so the guy couldn't have been that large. It wasn't rape, but it was a far cry from the lovemaking we'd had over the last five years. I slammed away at her well-used pussy taunting her now. "If this what you want you slut? How do I compare to Roger? I know he fucked you bareback like this, maybe your carrying his kid now?" I yelled as I pounded her pussy with all the anger I'd been keeping inside for the last horrible months. I think she climaxed, I know I sure as hell did as I shot load after load into her now full cunt before pulling out. "What the fuck did I just do?" I asked myself. I felt sick and ran into the bathroom and tossed my dinner and what was left of my marriage into the shitter. Shannon was now totally out of it thank God. I was done and so was my marriage. I got cleaned up and went to the hall closet. I got down two big suitcases and tossed them on the bedroom floor. I filled them with as much as they could hold. "I'll send for the rest of my shit later," I said to myself as I closed them up and dragged them out into the hall. I took one more look at Shannon. She was now lying on the bed naked in a pool of fluids still looking beautiful to me though. I threw a sheet over her and went into my son's room. I kissed him on the head being careful not to wake him. "I'm sorry Danny, I never meant to hurt you and your mother," I whispered to him as I closed the door. I loaded up my car and then went back into the den, grabbed a pad of paper and sat at the kitchen table. For the next hour and a half I spilled my guts out onto the paper. I told Shannon about Chris and what we did that night. I tried to explain myself and even told her that I was going to tell her a dozen times but kept chickening out. 'I'm not even going to ask for a second chance because I know how you feel about cheaters, I've heard it so many times I know the line by heart. You'd never really forgive me, and it would always be an issue that would be thrown up in my face every time I came home late or we got into an argument. You'd always be wondering if I was cheating on you when I was out of town and I don't think right now our marriage is strong enough to survive it, I'm sorry to say. Nothing you could possibly say to me could compare with what I've said to myself over the last couple of months. I've beaten myself down so much I've got nothing left inside anymore. I will, however, not abandon you and Danny. I maybe a cheater but not a total louse. You two will still be on my insurance and medical. All my checks, from now on, will go directly into our or should I say your checking account. That way you will have more than enough money to take care of everything. Find an attorney and tell him to draw up the divorce papers and I'll sign them; I know you'll be fair. I'll talk to my brothers about moving my stuff out of the house as soon as possible so you won't have to worry about it.' I apologized for letting it go this far and finally said I didn't blame her for finding someone else. "It was my fault and my fault alone for driving you into someone else's arms. I just want to say I'm sorry for what I put you through and that I'll always love you and Danny." I signed it, sealed it and put my wedding ring and cell phone on top of the envelope and went on with my life. The following morning I was waiting for my boss to arrive. "Steve, what's up, I thought you were on your way to Charlotte this morning," he said to me. "I'm leaving in a couple of minutes, I just have a few things to do with H.R. before I left," I told him. "I plan on doing a full east coast swing of all the jobsites starting this week. It'll take me about seven weeks but that will leave everyone else available in the office for other projects." "Shannon will have my ass if I let you do that," he replied. I gave him a two-cent recap of my current position and told him I needed the time away to get my act together and start my life again. "I'm sorry about you and Shannon. You guys were so happy, but if this is what you need to do, so be it. So, keep in touch and if you need anything let me know personally." We shook hands and we each went our own way. I instructed H.R. to direct deposit my weekly checks into my checking account at least until I got back. I took an expense draw to cover meals, hotels and after giving my secretary, Cary, my new cell phone number I was off. I would normally fly, but with making nine stops and renting cars, it was easier and cheaper for me to take my own car. The first two weeks were rough and it took all my strength to keep focused on what I was there to do. I called or e-mailed Cary every other day to update her on the jobs and she'd tell me that either my parents or Shannon had called and needed to talk to me. Like always, I told her to just take a message and I'd get back to them when I was able. My parents didn't understand how I could just walk away from my wife and child, I guess Shannon hadn't told them the real reason yet, no matter. I just said it was my decision and to back off. Dad did, but not mom. Shannon just left short messages that she wanted to talk to me, but I thought what was the point. Trust was a huge issue with her and I'd blown that big time. After a couple of weeks I half expected paperwork but Cary said I had nothing waiting for me, yet anyway. The next three weeks were much easier. I caught a few errors and had to scramble more than once to get everything done. An irate customer was going to cancel a job and it took me two days to convince him otherwise. "Give me a week and if you're still not satisfied, I'll pull off my crew and we'll part ways," I told him. The crew and I worked twelve to fourteen hour days to finish on time. Hell, I had to overnight more than one part, but in the end it was worth it. "Steve, I didn't think you could do it, but I'm happily surprised you did, and a day early at that," he said shaking my hand. "You're a man of your word and I've expressed my satisfaction to both my boss and yours," he said offering to take me out for drinks after work. "I'd love to, but I'm heading out tonight and drinking and driving is one mistake I'm not about to make. I'd made enough over the last few months," I said to myself. The last four jobs went as smooth as butter. Cary and I went over each the day before I got there so I knew exactly what to expect. The crews all started to call me the energizer bunny because when I hit the jobsite I never stopped until the project was done, and done right. "Isn't it time for you to go back to the home office?" my foreman Kenny said to me one night. "Don't you have someone at home that's waiting for you to get back," he said with a laugh ribbing me. "Use to, don't any more," I told him. "Sorry Steve, it was supposed to be a joke," he said. It was, only it was on me. It took me a total of eight weeks to finish all the jobs. I had one inspection left to do before heading back home and I was dead tired. I'd lost probably ten pounds over the last four months and thought with eating out on the road I'd gain it back but had lost probably another five. "No more love handles," I said looking in the mirror before going down to eat. I was sitting at a table by myself when a short redhead walked over to my table. "Do you mind if I join you? I've been on the road for two weeks and I'm tired of eating alone," she told me. I stood up, pulled out a chair and handed her my menu. "The steaks and seafood are top notch, but stay away from the chicken," I told her. We talked for about two hours. She told me that she was married and had two kids at home. I told her that I had one at home but was separated and was probably getting a divorce. I gave her the ten-cent tour of my life, including Chris, and she said she was sorry to hear it. The one thing she did tell me was to touch base with Shannon because maybe she'd had a change of heart; she didn't know Shannon. We parted after dinner and I wished her the best and she me. It was a six hour drive to my last inspection and the state inspector was there waiting for me. We went over the drawings, specifications and I finally started up the conveyors and everything for him. After a couple of hours he signed off on the project, we shook hands and I was done. Eight weeks, nine jobs and I was done and exhausted, but my boss was elated. "Take a couple of days off and I'll see you Monday," he told me. "I hope you got your head around your problem, because there aren't any more inspections for at least a month," he said snickering. I told him I was going to take the scenic route home and headed back to the hotel. I packed up, checked out of the hotel and started the eighteen-hour trek towards home, or what used to be home. I called Cary and told her I wouldn't see her until Monday morning and she asked if I'd called Shannon. When I told her no, she gave it to me with both barrels. "You've been gone for over eight weeks and haven't called her yet? Are you nuts? She's called you every week and left a message for you to call her and you didn't? You really are an asshole boss," she told me. "Easy Cary, you're treading on thin ice here," I replied. "Oh by the way, did I get any packages while I was out?" I asked. "Nope. Besides all the crap mail and a few invoices, you'd never know you've been gone for two months," she told me. "Just what do you do?" she said now joking with me. "If I wasn't so tired, I'd think of a good comeback, but I just want to get home and sleep for two days straight and get drunk, not necessarily in that order," I told her. We said our goodbyes and I drove for another eight hours before stopping for the night. The Best Western was nice, but didn't have a restaurant attached, so I made the trip downtown. I grabbed a quick bite at a Denny's and took a tour of the town. The strip bar called to me. It was very dark inside and it took me more than a few minutes for my eyes to adjust. A Corona and a few munchies and I was set for the next hour. One by one the girls danced, stripped and did more than a few moves with the pole on stage. Hell, they were in better shape than I thought. A few tried to hustle me for drinks, but I turned them all down. When the last girl in the rotation hit the stage I thought it was Shannon. If she hadn't been a Redhead and about four inches taller I would have sworn it was her. She moved up and down the pole as guys stuffed tips into her bottoms as the extremely large bouncer watched. At the end of her number, I told the bartender I wanted to buy her a drink. "Hey sailor, I hear you want to buy me a drink," she said as she introduced herself. "My name is Candy, because I'm so sweet I'd melt in your mouth." "And I bet you would," I replied asking her to name her poison. We both knew the bottle contained nothing but over priced tea, but what the hell. We Made A Really Big Mistake "You looked good up there, been doing this long," I asked. "Too long. I hopefully have one year left and then after that I can go back to being a wife and mother again," she told me. "You're married?" "Yep, seven years this September and I've got a five year old girl. I'd show you a picture but these outfits don't have pockets," she said lifting her top and then dropping it. "What made you want to buy me a drink, you didn't buy any of the other girls one; I was watching," she said sipping on her tea. "You look a lot like my wife, hell, you could be sisters for Christ's sake," I told her pulling out an old picture of Shannon out of my wallet. "Hells bells, we do look a lot alike," she said smiling. "And by the look on your face you miss her. On your way home to see her?" she asked. "Separated," I replied. "I did something really dumb and kind of fucked it up." "Too bad, but a woman that looks this good would probably forgive one mistake, if it was only one," she said looking at me as I nodded yes. "Well then, get the hell out of here and go home and patch things up. And if it doesn't work, then at least you can say you tried," she told me. And I followed her advice. I checked out of my room and got on the road again. It was almost 2:30 am when I hit town. My house was dark and I remembered I didn't even have a key any more; I'd left it with every thing else on the counter a couple of months ago. So, I took a deep breath and rang the bell. "What the hell was I thinking," I said to myself when nothing happened. When the front light came on and I saw Shannon peek out the window I was scared shitless. She opened the door, took one look and slammed it in my face and turned off the light. "Guess I got my answer," I told myself as I turned around and walked down the sidewalk before the door opened up again. "That's it? You're leaving? Steve, you really are a fucking wimp," she yelled at me from the door. "I don't need this shit, Shannon, why don't you fuck yourself," I replied as I opened my car door and started to get in. A second later she was out the door and standing next to my car. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm still mad. Come on in and let's talk, please," she said pleading with me. "Go on in, and I'll be there in a second," I said as I reached in the back seat for my overnight bag. "Well, time to bear the lion in her den," I said locking my car door. I went in and dropped my bag by the door and went looking for Shannon; she was in the kitchen heating up some hot water. "You look tired, you want some coffee?" she asked. "Not really, what I need most is some place to crash. If you don't have a problem with it, I'll sleep on the couch tonight and we can talk in the morning," I told her. "Steve, I've got to be to work early tomorrow. Why don't you get some rest and tomorrow you can watch Danny and reconnect with him. When I get home from work we can talk, ok?" "Sounds good to me." I got a blanket and pillow out of the closet and before I knew it, I was out like a light. When I woke up, Shannon was gone but she'd left me coffee and a bagel. Danny came bounding down the stairs and screamed when he saw me. We hugged and I kissed him as he kept asking me question after question. He spent the next half an hour telling me, in great detail, what he'd been up to. "I stay with grandma sometimes, I've got a new bike, mom took me to Chucky Cheese, can we go there tonight?" he asked. "We'll talk to mom when she get's home," I replied. We had breakfast; I helped him dress and finally turned on the television for him. We watched cartoons and after lunch I put in a Disney DVD, which we watched on the couch together. When I told him it was naptime, he asked if I was going to be there when he woke up. I told him yes, gave him a big kiss and tucked him in bed. For the next half hour I looked around the house. Not much had changed. The grass needed cutting; the BBQ grill was dirty as hell and the rest of my clothes were still in my closet. "Shit, why hadn't my brother done the one thing I'd asked of him?" "Hi mom," I said as she answered the phone. "I just got back into town last night and wanted you to know," I told her. "Why didn't Dave pickup my clothes like I asked?" "I told him not to," my mother replied. "If you want to end your marriage then you're going to have to do it yourself," she said in a stubborn voice. "You really need to talk to Shannon and see your son damn it," she said in a much louder voice. "I'm with Danny right now and Shannon's at work. I plan on talking to her later tonight," I told her. "Good, you're finally listening to me," she said as only my mother could. "Yes mother," I said as she gave me more and more advice. "Mom, I have to go, Danny's getting up. I'll call you tomorrow," I told her. "Steve honey, just listen to her and don't lose your temper," was her final advise before hanging up. I showered, shaved and almost felt human again until I walked back into the bedroom and saw the vibrator still sticking out of the wall. That brought back all the memories from that night. Shannon bringing that guy home, the sex we'd had that night, all the emotions started flooding back and my brain started screaming at me again. "What the hell was I thinking coming back here? It's going to get ugly tonight and I've finally come to grips with what I did. I've beaten myself up enough, no more," I thought to myself. "We just need to finalize it and both move on," I told myself, as I got dressed. I was sitting on the bed, putting on my shoes when my emotions overtook me again. I looked around at what use to be our bedroom, put my head in my hands and cried, hell I wept like a baby. I was happy, we were happy and I'd screwed up. Maybe if I'd talked to her right away we could have worked it out. Unlikely, but there would have been a chance, not now. Too much had happened. I was throwing the rest of my clothes from my closet on the bed when I saw Shannon in the doorway. "Leaving again? I thought we were going to talk," she asked. "What's the point Shannon," I said without even looking at her. "You'll never forgive me, hell, I'll never be able to forgive myself," I said tossing a shirt across the room in anger. "How about Danny, you going to walk away from him too? What do I tell him this time? That his dad didn't have the balls to tell him he was leaving again. That he just slithered out under the door like a fucking snake; is that what you want me to say to him?" she asked. "Tell him what you want, you're going to anyway," I said getting a little angry at her statements. "You don't want to talk about it? You just want to toss our marriage on the scrap heap without trying again?" Shannon asked. "Look, you know what I did. I didn't plan it, it just happened. I was so distraught that it about killed me. And if I didn't kill our marriage, you sure put it into cardiac arrest," I told her. "So we both cheated, we're even and now we can rebuild our marriage." "Yeah right, two cheaters trying to make another go of it. The only problem, is that you cheated on me with Roger before you even knew what I'd done; and that night wasn't the first time for you either," I said waiting for her reaction. "I only did it that one night. Sure I'd danced and maybe kissed a few guys but never went all the way until that night, and I was drunk." "I guess not drunk enough not to bring him home for round two. And what was that all about Shannon? Were you planning on rubbing my nose in it? Showing me that you could pickup a guy and fuck him in our damn bed? What did you think I was going to do, let you cuckold me in my own fucking house," I shouted at her. "I don't know," she screamed back at me. "I was drunk and it felt so good to have a man in my arms, someone who wanted me, someone who wanted to fuck me; and yes it felt good God damn it. It'd been over four months and I needed it," she said trying to explain her actions. "And it's not like you were going to do anything in the foreseeable future." "And what were you going to do the on the next girl's night out? Have a gang bang with a couple of guys? I may have fucked up our marriage for which I'll never forgive myself, but you gave up on it too," I said sitting back on the bed. "I'm just tired and have no more fight left in me," I told her. We just stood there looking at each other. Neither one of us had anything to say. If it wasn't for Danny running into our room I don't have a clue what we'd done next. His mouth was going a mile a minute telling his mom that dad said we were going to Chucky Cheese tonight so we all had to get ready. He came over and gave me another hug and taking my hand, he told me that he wanted to watch the Disney movie again with me. I looked at Shannon and went downstairs with him. Kids never forget a thing, especially if it's something they want. We ended up at Chucky Cheese whether we wanted to be there or not. It was quiet between us and it seemed we were talking to each other through Danny now. When we got back home and Shannon told him it was time for bed, he grabbed my hand. "Daddy, come on, mommy said we have to get ready for bed," as he led me into his room. I got him undressed, washed up and into bed. "Daddy, I'm going to make breakfast for you tomorrow," he told me. "I love you daddy," he said putting his head down for the night. I wanted to fucking cry. "Why don't you stay in the spare room until we figure this out," Shannon suggested. "This way Danny can be happy if just for a little while,' she said red eyed. I agreed and moved my shit into our spare bedroom. And for the next week we lived as a fake happily married couple. "Are you going out Friday?" Shannon asked Friday morning. "Nope, just going to spend the night here, why?" "I was going to go out with a few friends after work." She told me. "If you're going out to get laid, do it some where else; don't bring him home that's all I ask," I told her. "What do you think I am, some fucking slut? For your information I haven't been with anyone since that night," she spit at me. "Unlike you." "Sorry to disappoint you Shannon, I haven't been with anyone since that last night when I had Roger's sloppy seconds," I replied. "As I said, do what you want, just not here," I said just before I left for work. If nothing else work was going well. Word of mouth on my last marathon trip was that I'd saved the company a ton of money and was getting bumped upstairs. I heard nothing was for sure but my prospects looked good. Shannon came home about 11:30 Friday night and was looking hotter than I'd seen her in a long time. I was reading the paper in the living room when she came in. Hell, lets be honest, I was waiting up for her. "Have fun?" I asked. "I guess. What time did Danny lay down?" "I put him down at 8:00 but he didn't finally fall asleep until almost a quarter to nine," I told her. "You want some coffee or something?" I asked. "No, I'm a little tired and I think I'll just turn in. Goodnight," she said walking upstairs. I locked up and followed her upstairs. I took off my pants and shirt and threw them in the hamper. In my boxers I went down to check on Danny. As I passed Shannon's bedroom I kind of looked in. She was naked getting into the shower. I got hard instantly. "Looks like it still works," I said as I went into my room and slipped into bed. She probably had sex and needed a shower to clean up. "Lucky bastard," I said to myself as I fell asleep. We did family things the entire weekend. We went to the zoo; down by the lake and Sunday we were going to have a BBQ. The one thing I did notice since I'd been back was that Shannon was now a real lush. She had a drink before dinner, usually a bottle of wine with dinner and at least two to three drinks before bed. More than once I thought I'd have to carry her up the stairs and put her to bed. Sunday she was half blasted before dinner. "Steve you want a drink?" she asked, I'm making a pitcher of Salty Dogs. "No thanks, I think I'll just have a beer," I replied. "Your loss," she said as I heard the blender crunching the ice. How many had she had, I hadn't a clue, but by the time I got Danny to bed, the pitcher was empty and she was sitting at the kitchen table with her head resting on the table. "Shit, she's blasted," I said to myself as I finished cleaning up. "Looks like I'm going to have to put her to bed tonight," I said pulling her up from her chair. "I can walk," she said falling on the floor. "Yeah right," I said picking her up off the floor and carrying her to her room. I gently laid her on the bed and took her sandals off. When she tried to sit up and take off her blouse she fell back on the bed. I unbuttoned it, and worked her arms out before pulling it all the way off. I undid her shorts and pulled those down next. I figured I'd better take her bra off. "Hell, it wasn't something I'd never seen anyway." "God damn she was still beautiful," I said to myself as I sat on the bed next to her. She was out like a light so I did something I probably shouldn't have done considering the circumstances; I kissed her, not once but a couple of times. "I still love you Shannon, and I think I always will," I said kissing her again and touching her breasts. I remembered the last time we'd done it, and I wasn't going to do that again. I kissed her one more time, licked both nipples and covered her with a sheet. "Damn," is all I said as I walked back to my room with a raging hard on. Monday morning Shannon just kept looking at me, and I didn't have a clue why. After dinner Monday night and after Danny was in his bed, drink in hand, she asked me if I enjoyed undressing her Sunday night. "Did you get a little friendly with me? I didn't notice any deposits so I guess it didn't go too far; too bad, you probably would have liked it," she said downing the last of her drink. "You use to anyway." "Last time was a mistake. I was angry and took advantage of you and I'm sorry about that," I told her. "Well I wasn't, and it looks like you finally solved your problem," she said getting another drink. "Yeah, it only took my wife cheating to put the lead back into my dick," I said and then regretted it immediately. "Shannon I'm sorry," I started to say but the damage was already done. "Fuck you Steve. If you'd been man enough to take care of business at home, I wouldn't have had to go out and find someone else. So kiss my ass you sanctimonies dick," she yelled going upstairs. "Well that went well," I said slumping into my chair. "When I finally went up to my room, I could hear Shannon crying in her bedroom. I probably should have tried to apologize again but just quietly snuck into my room and stared at the ceiling until I fell asleep. What the hell we were doing wasn't clear to either of us. I waited for her to file and I think she did the same. We were pleasant to each other and a couple of times over the next month it was like we were before all this shit happened and then one of us would say something stupid and we'd be back at each others throats again. I was losing patience. When I found out I got the promotion I was pumped. I was now in charge of all the field crews. It wasn't a hell of a lot more money, but I finally didn't have to travel every couple of weeks anymore. "We're planning a little dinner for you Saturday night. Nothing big, just the managers and the field supervisors," my boss told me. "So I'll expect you and Shannon at Tony's at 8:00, and congratulations again," he told me shaking my hand. "You earned it." "Are you doing anything Saturday night?" I asked her that night. "Why?" she replied. "We've been invited to a dinner my boss is throwing," I told her being carefully not to mention why. "Do you want me to go with you?" "It would be nice if you came, only if you want to though," I told her. "Alright I'll go. What time and where is it?" she asked. I gave her the details and we had a pleasant week together. She was easing up on the booze and I actually was starting to enjoy being home again. "This just might work," I told myself. Saturday when she came downstairs, Shannon took my breath away; she was gorgeous. "I picked up this little number, what do you think?" she asked. "You look beautiful," I said which brought a smile to her face. It was a little quiet in the car as we drove. We talked about bullshit for lack of a better word. "I'm glad you asked me," she finally said as we arrived at Tony's. Everyone was patting me on the back and congratulating me as Shannon looked on with this puzzled look on her face. At dinner my boss made a little speech saying what a good job I'd done and at least I'd be staying home from now on looking at Shannon "What the hells going on?" she asked. I told her about my promotion and instead of being happy; she got this cross look on her face. "And you were going to tell me when?" she asked. "How about if I hadn't come, would you just left a note on the damn kitchen table again?" she said, now a little pissed. "I just thought it would be a nice surprise for you tonight. I don't have to go on the road anymore," I told her. "How long have you known about it?" she asked. "Since Tuesday," I replied. "So I have to hear the big news from your boss and it looks like I'm the last to know as usual," she said getting up and walking over to the bar. "Guess that didn't go over well," I said to myself as I thanked a few people. "I guess in retrospect I probably should have said something before we got here, but I thought she'd be happy for me. I guess to her it looked like I was keeping secrets again; I just can't win," I finally said to myself as I looked for Shannon. Within an hour she was feeling no pain and was swaying to the music from the DJ. I probably should have gone over by her, but I just watched from a distance as one then another guy asked her to dance. I was drinking and when the last guy put his hands on her ass I stormed out onto the dance floor and dragged him off her. "Get your damn hands off my wife," I told him a little too loud. "And Shannon, if you're bound and determined to get laid tonight, at least have the courtesy not to do it in front of me," I told her. The slap came from somewhere out in left field but I felt the sting and the heat on my cheek almost immediately. The last thing I remember seeing was Shannon running out of the room and Ronnie apologizing for laying his hands on her ass. "Steve, I wasn't doing anything honest. I'd never fuck with your wife man, you've got to believe me Steve," he said but I wasn't listening anymore, but looking for Shannon. She was gone, not just from the hall, but from Tony's as well. How she got home I hadn't a clue all I remember is driving home and trying to apologize through the locked bedroom door, but with the exception of a few sobs it was quiet. She didn't come out of the room until just after 11:00 and her eyes were beet red. "I want you out of here today. I don't give a fuck where you go, just leave and take all your shit with you. I never want to see you again." With that said she went back upstairs. My brothers and I spent Sunday afternoon moving my shit out. I don't know if Shannon was still in her bedroom or if she'd gone over to her mothers to pick up Danny. I'd fucked up it looks like for the last time. I left her a note saying how sorry I was, and I probably should have said something to her before the dinner but I thought she'd be happy I no longer had to travel. Guess I was wrong. This time I had nothing to leave with the note. My mom gave me holy hell for the next two weeks. "You'd better get on your damn hands and knees and beg her to take your sorry ass back," she told me. I told her it was too late for that. My dad didn't comment other than to say that we never talked about our problems, and he was right. We Made A Really Big Mistake I was served with divorce papers two weeks later. I wasn't surprised she was using the law firm she worked for but what did surprise me though, were the conditions of the divorce papers. She wanted everything. It was so one sided, it was almost laughable, but wasn't. I tried to call her and ask her what the hell she was doing, but she wouldn't take my calls. Using the law firm that our company uses, I was able to get the paperwork together to counter sue in about two weeks. I decided to push it to the limit by asking for everything she did, but full custody and the reason being adultery and alcoholism. Two could play those games. This time she called me screaming that I was the one who cheated and that since she didn't state adultery as a condition why did I? I just told her that I was going to let my attorney handle it and hung up on her. The tit for tat had begun. It got ugly real fast because I wasn't going to back down on any of my conditions. I told my attorney that I didn't care if it took ten years, she started it but I would finish it. My attorney did gain me visitation privileges for every other weekend and I took full advantage of it. Shannon would drop Danny off at my parent's house and I would pick him up from there. "Shannon wants to know why you're being such an ass," my mom asked one Friday night when I went to pick up Danny. "She just wants to move on with her life and you're fighting her at every turn." "Mom, she started it. I came back to try and save our marriage and she went nuts on me. She was the one to file first and asked for everything including a pound of flesh from me," I said maybe a little too loud. "Honey, she explained that one of the over zealous attorneys convinced her that if she asked for everything then she could always negotiate for less later. She's sorry that it happened that way. And why did you claim adultery? Shannon would never cheat on you?" my mom told me. "Mom, we both cheated." I told her the ugly story as she sat there with her mouth wide open. "You both need to sit down and talk. This has gone too far already. Think about what it's doing to Danny. You two let your egos get the better of you and now your both digging in your heels, and it's not pretty," she chastised me. I told her not to get in the middle, but mom never listened, especially if she thought she was right. So it went on for the next couple of weeks. Work was busy and I'd started getting into a schedule that was starting to work, at least for me. I was putting in too many hours and my boss was the first one to say something. "Steve, back it off. You can't solve the world's problems in the first couple of months. I can't let my star burn out in the first six months. Get your head straight and I don't want you putting in more than nine hours a day, and that's an order," he said with a smile walking out of my office. After work Bob invited me out for drinks. "Come on buddy, let's get the hell out of here and unwind. I'll even buy the first round," he told me throwing me my coat. The place wasn't packed, but filling up fast. Thursday night was always a big night. Hell people figured they could always survive Friday even with a hang over. We were on our second beer when I saw her at the bar. Shannon was slamming down the drinks, which had become her trademark, and the guy next to her was making sure her glass was always full. He was pretty damn big and was always trying to touch her as she continued to fight off his advances. What caught my eye was that he kept looking at his two buddies at the table behind them, and then I saw it. Shannon had just been given a new drink and when her head was turned the guy slipped something into her drink. Before I could get to my feet, Shannon had raised it to her lips and started to drink as the guy got this shit eating grin on his face. It took me only ten steps to get to the bar. He never knew what hit him. My half full bottle broke across his forehead as he went down in a lump. "You fucking asshole," I yelled. I shouted to the bartender to call the cops and get an ambulance because he'd put something in my wife's drink. His two buddies disappeared by the time I'd turned around. The bouncers were dragging the piece of shit to the back as Shannon just sat there with a wide-eyed look on her face, but not for long. Within a couple of minutes she went woozy and I had to carry her to the back office and put her on a couch. The cops took her glass as evidence, handcuffed the guy and put him in the back of the squad car. The paramedics had already arrived and searching the dick heads pockets, found what he'd given her. With an I.V. started, they carried her away I gave the cops my statement as Bob looked on. In twenty minutes I was done and out in the parking lot. "You going to the hospital?" Bob asked me. "Nope, she's not going to be lucid for a while and there's nothing I can do," I told him. "She owes you big time. If you hadn't been watching her, there's no telling what they would have done to her," Bob told me as a news crew showed up. Must have been a slow night. I got my fifteen seconds of fame. The news at ten showed me and as I explained what happened. I still referred to Shannon as my wife, which wasn't a lie, and said that I hoped that the cops would catch the two accomplices that got away. Within a half hour, I was on the way back to my quiet apartment. "My mom called and wanted to know all the details and even Shannon's parents called to thank me, which didn't surprise me because I always liked them. They told me they were sorry about Shannon and I, and I told them not anymore than I was. I finally took my phone off the hook because I really didn't want to talk to anyone further. At work everyone thought I was a hero, thanks to Bob and the evening news. I told everyone thank you but enough was enough and that we all had jobs to do. By noon the excitement had died down and by 2:00 everything was back to normal, what ever that was any more. A week later, the police called to say they'd caught the other two and that Shannon was pressing charges. Believe it or not, I was told that the guy I'd hit with the beer bottle was pressing charges of battery on me. They told me not to worry because most likely the judge would probably throw it out and it was. All three took pleas and only the guy who'd actually put it in her drink was going to do any time. Life went on after everything died down. "Steve, Shannon's withdrawn her divorce petition," my lawyer said on Wednesday. "No reason was given, do you still want to proceed with your?" he asked. "Put it on hold for now, and I'll get back to you later," I told him as I pondered what to do next. Saturday Danny was wired to say the least. He told me about the new games his grandma had given him and that every Tuesday and Thursday grandma was taking him out to dinner. "Looks like Shannon was back at it," I said to myself with disgust. "I thought she'd learned the last time, but I guess she no longer cared." We went to the movies that afternoon and Sunday we spent the day by the apartment pool. I'd bought him an inflatable vest and he was having the time of his life jumping into the water and bouncing up and down like a cork in the shallow end of the pool. I was tired of Chucky Cheese so we had our own BBQ with hotdogs and by 7:30 we were heading over to moms to drop him off. "I love you daddy," he said as we got to moms. "When are you coming home?" he asked. What do you say to a four year old when he asks something like that? I was going to lay the groundwork of mommy and daddy getting a divorce when he told me that mommy cries every night. "Daddy come home so mommy won't cry anymore." He said giving me a hug. I told him soon and gave him over to mom. "Shannon's on her way, you want to stick around?" she asked. My look at her said it all. "Just thought I'd ask. You're going to have to talk to her eventually and since you're both too stubborn to listen, I just thought I'd maybe help a little," she told me. "Mom, Shannon filed first. She never gave me the chance to apologize or explain what happened. I'm just tired of all the bull shit and fighting. If she wants to talk to me she knows where I live," I said leaving before I got even more upset. "Why is it always the guys fault when something like this happens," I thought to myself as I drove home. Wednesday I got an e-mail from Shannon at work. "Dinner Friday at the house. 7:00 and bring a gift for Danny. Unless I hear back from you, I'll assume you're coming. "July 1st?" I said to myself. "What the hell was July 1st?" It wasn't his birthday or anything else and I was stumped. I replied that I'd be there and for the next twenty-four hours I went nuts trying to think what I'd forgotten. Finally I just gave up and picked up something on my way to the house. "I guess I'll find out when I get there." I knocked on the door and Shannon answered it and at least she didn't slam it in my face this time. Dinner was on the table and Danny grabbed my hand and led me to my chair. "I helped mom make dinner," he told me proudly as he sat in his big boy chair. Dinner was quiet as we talked about bullshit items as usual. How was my new job going, her parents had just come back from a cruise, the potato pie recipe was one my mom had given her and so our dinner went. When we finished, I help with the dishes or should I say, I helped Danny carry the dishes to the dishwasher. The desserts were a pecan pie, ice cream and thank God coffee. The one thing I did noticed, was that Shannon hadn't had a drink all night. Maybe she'd had a couple before I got there, but she didn't look even a little bit drunk. I was thankful for that. I gave Danny his present. Ripping it open in three seconds flat he saw that it was the new Disney movie. He was excited and took me by the hand to the living room and told me to put it in. Sitting down on the couch, he went into the kitchen and pulled Shannon out and sat her next to me. For the next ninety minutes the cartoon played, but neither one of us watched. We were too busy glancing at one another. Danny wanted to watch it again, but Shannon told him it was past his bedtime and that he needed to get ready for bed. Again he took me by the hand to his room as we got him ready for bed. I kissed him goodnight after reading him the same book twice; luckily it was short. I turned off the light, shut the door and went down to the kitchen. Shannon was sitting at the kitchen table sipping on a cup of coffee. I went over to the pot and poured myself one and sat down across from her. "I just want to say how sorry I am," she started. I was hurt the night of your dinner that you didn't tell me in advance and that everyone knew but me. I guess I should have remembered it was your night not mine and gotten over it. Instead I got drunk and didn't even realize what was going on. You've got to believe me when I say that the last thing on my mind was picking someone up at your dinner. I was angry with you, but I'm not a total idiot. What you said to me cut me to the core. You could have thought it, but you didn't have to say it out loud in front of God and everyone else there. You made me look like a damn slut and I hated you for that. I thought we were starting to work it out and after that I just wanted you gone. "Shannon, I let my brain get ahead of my mouth. I wasn't thinking and I regretted it as soon as it came out of my mouth. I guess saying I'm sorry has become something I'm having to do a lot of lately," I told her. "I like to say, how did our lives get this screwed up, but I already know how. I guess I should have come clean when I came home that Friday, it's just that I didn't want to lose you, that's all." "If you did, I know I would have been angry, but how angry I'll never know. Letting it go on for so long, I thought you didn't love me anymore. I was positive you were having an affair and after a while it no longer made a difference to me any more. I just started pulling away from you waiting for the other shoe to drop," she said as her eyes teared up. "Roger was a huge mistake plain and simple. I don't know why I brought him home, probably to make you mad enough to fight for me. Instead you just walked away and left me to decide what to do next; so I did nothing. I knew you'd have to come back eventually so I just decided to bide my time and have it out with you when you came back. Then every thing got complicated again; I'm so sorry she said starting to cry. "My dad was right, we never sat down and talked. We just avoided the issues and threw insults at each other," I told her, sitting there looking at her. "What do you want Shannon? Where do we go from here?" I asked. "Steve, I want another shot at it, and if we fail, well at least we tried. I've sworn off the alcohol, which became my crutch, and as you know I cancelled all the divorce paperwork. I don't know if we can get it together but damn it, I want to try if you're willing." I got up from my chain and went over and pulled her into my arms. We didn't kiss or express our love for each other; we just stood there holding each other for the longest time. "You need to move back in and I don't mean into the guest room either. If we're going to try again, it has to be as husband and wife all the way, no more games," she told me as I held her hand. I'd love to say we made mad passionate love that night and I made the earth move for Shannon but that didn't happen. We did kiss, but I went home that night and moved partially back in the following day. I wasn't sure if it was going to work, so I kept my apartment. That was our first disagreement. "If you know that you've got a place to go if things get too rough it'll never work. Dump the apartment if you're serious about trying," she told me. A week later it was gone. We started therapy a week later because we didn't have a clue where to start and didn't want to make the same mistakes all over again. We got angry, we cried and yelled at one another but we got over it. The hurt was still there, but with time even that started to fade As Shannon once said in a session, "Steve I forgive you for what you did, it's just that it's going to take me a while to forget, but I'm working on that." We made love three days after I moved back in. It was awkward at best and lasted only about twenty minutes the fist time. I was so sexed up that I almost shot off as soon as I got into her pussy. The second time that night was much, much slower and better. Besides in therapy, we agreed never to bring up Roger and Chris. Are we going to make it? I think so, because we're committed to our marriage again, but it's still going to take work. We take one night a week now and talk, really talk. It's usually done in bed and after wards we find that the sex is out of this world. I guess for us, talking is one hell of an aphrodisiac And July 1st? That was the night Danny was conceived years ago. I think she wanted to do it again that night and if I'd remembered, we probably would have.