132 comments/ 179046 views/ 15 favorites What Would You Do Now? By: woodmanone My first try at writing. I haven't taken the time to find an editor so I am sure the writing could be better. I would welcome constructive suggestions and how you liked the story. Thanks This is your "almost" typical story of a cheating wife, an unsuspecting husband, and a decision to be made concerning the marriage. However, there are some circumstances which may not allow me to follow all the so called normal reactions and responses to the affair or affairs. (Who knows how many men or how many times before I found out?) Let me set the stage as to what has happened and ask for your help on what I should do. My wife (Jenny) and I (William, not Bill or Will, but William) have been married a long time. Thirty years, and we lived together for four years before marriage. Both of us had been married and divorced before we met. Jenny and I raised my son from my previous marriage and now have a grandson. We are now in our golden years, I am 64 and she just turned 60. Neither of us have movie star looks; Jenny is very petite, with pixie like looks and has the cutest rear I have ever seen and a great body of a woman 20 years younger. My wife is precious to me but I am the only person who thinks she is the most beautiful women in the world. It's because I love and cherish her so much. I'm sure she feels the same way about me. It is evident in the way we care for and treat each other. We are best friends and confidants. So what is the problem, you might ask. My loving, caring, cherished wife is sleeping with other men. I say men though it might be just one man, the one I caught her with. Let me give you a little background on myself and what has caused the problem I am facing. I am 64, average height, and a little overweight. I have had a heart condition for about eight years and am on several medications. One of the side effects of some of these medicines is an inability to maintain an erection for very long. We are very loving to each other, with a lot of kissing, hugging and grab ass; but I am unable to perform a good old fashioned screwing. Aye, there's the rub, my wife has always been a big fan of intercourse. So for eight years she has had to depend on some toys (which she really doesn't care for much) and oral gratification. This was fine for a while, but apparently not for a steady diet. I am sort of retired, I have a small business that keeps me busy 2 days a week, but my wife is still working. Thank God. Don't know how we would have made it without her excellent salary and health insurance. The company she works for has meetings at least every quarter, sometimes more, and she has to travel to the district office for these meetings. She is usually gone just two or three days. Fly out on a Thursday morning and back on Saturday evening. Once a year, there is a big district meeting, to which the spouses are invited and the company foots the bill. We fly out on Wednesday and return on Saturday or Sunday. Very nice, I go and play golf for two days while my wife goes to meetings. It was at the big meeting where I began to notice something was just not right. After checking into our room on Wednesday, we went down to lobby bar to relax and wait for dinner. The meetings and my golf would start the next day. We were sitting at the bar when one of her co-workers walked up to us. I hadn't met him before as he worked at the district office. He walked behind Jenny and put both hands on her shoulders and began a gentle massage. Jenny leaned forward to remove his hands and said "Henry, this is my husband William. Honey this is Henry Jackson, he is my counterpart at the district office." Henry is a nice looking man around six feet and 200 lbs and about 40 to 45. I shook hands with Henry and said I was glad to meet him and that Jenny had mentioned him and what a good manager he was. Henry said "Please to meet you Willie, I didn't realize that Jenny's husband was quite this old; no wonder." "Excuse me", I said, "my name is William, it was my grandfather's name and I prefer not to disrespect his memory by shortening it, and what do you mean "no wonder." "Oh sorry, and nothing at all, see you all at dinner" he replied with a smirk on his face. After he left, I turned to Jenny and asked "What the hell was that about? He treats you like his property by putting his hands all over you, disrespects me and made that comment, "No wonder. What did he mean by that, Jenny? What the fuck is going on? Is there something more I need to know about this Henry?" A shadow past over Jenny's face and then she recovered and said that Henry was just awkward with people and didn't mean anything and after all he did say he was sorry. His wife didn't come to this meeting and he is just a little lonely. "Forget about him and let's just enjoy our drinks and our dinner before going up to our room." I didn't want to let it go, but decided maybe I was just tired from the flight and was over reacting. However, it kept hovering in the back of my mind. We went up to our room and I gave my wife a sexy massage and ran a hot bath for her. While I was starting her bath the phone beside the bed rang and Jenny picked it up, and I overheard the following: "What are you doing calling my room and why were you so disrespectful to William downstairs? Yes, yes, I can't wait much longer either, but we have to be careful. I don't want to ruin my marriage so you behave until tomorrow afternoon, okay Henry?" As she came into the bathroom, I ask "Who was on the phone?" She said it was the front desk wanting to know if everything was okay in the room and did we need anything. Son of a bitch, she lied right to my face, son of a bitch. "How long are your meetings tomorrow? If you can slip away in the afternoon, I will give up golf and spend the day with you looking around the city." Jenny answered that the meetings would go until about 5 and drinks and dinner at 6 so I should go ahead and enjoy my golf game. Now I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm not totally stupid and had a feeling there were things going on that I needed to check out. I told Jenny that my game would start at 10 tomorrow and I would eat lunch at the course and be back to the hotel between 4 and 5. That would give me time to get ready for dinner. The next morning Jenny got dressed in a nice business pants suit and as she left for her meetings, kissed me and told me to enjoy my game. Well you know I didn't go to play golf that day. I just left the hotel around 10 and drove around until about 1. I returned to the hotel and as I walked into the lobby saw a group of my wife's co-workers at the bar. The bar is an oval with service from all sides and I sat in a sort of undercover spot and listened to the talk. I heard their plans for the afternoon. I also heard them talking about some of the workers having a party in the private room at the hotel's lounge and they should be more careful as some of them had their spouses along on this trip. One of the guys I knew, said Henry had better cool it, as her husband is here, not like what they had been doing at the quarterly meetings One lady said it was different at the quarterly meetings because no spouses came to those and the people could party hardy. Of course I had to check out this private party after the event at the bar yesterday and hearing Henry's name. I walked into the lounge and went to the door to the private room and tried to open it. The door would not open and the bartender said it was locked for a private party. I walked over to the bar and laid a fifty dollar bill on the bar and asked "Is there any way that the lock on the door had broken and didn't work?" He just smiled at me, picked up the money and said give me 5 minutes. I got a beer and sat at a table for 10 minutes or so. I don't know how I managed to wait as long as I did, but got up and tried the door again. Apparently the lock had malfunctioned and the door opened. As I started to enter the room the bartender said "Be careful I heard the guy say he used to box in the golden gloves." I told him I wasn't going to cause any trouble; I just wanted to check out some things. I slowly opened the door and peeked around the corner. The were about three couples in the room in various stages of undress. The couple I was looking for was behind a table in the dimly lit corner. Henry was sitting in a big chair and Jenny was straddling his lap facing him. She was no longer wearing the pants suit but had changed to a very short skirt and an almost see thru blouse and no bra. Her top was almost totally open and her nipples were trying to push out thru the blouse. Henry was stroking her breast with one hand and running his other hand up and down her leg, going under her skirt sometimes. A pair of black lace panties was thrown on the table in front of them. My Jenny, my wife, my best friend, the love of my life and my soul mate was fucking around with another man. I wondered if I was having a heart attack as there was a pounding in my chest and I felt like I would upchuck. I slowly began to feel better, but felt a tremendous white anger begin to surface. I always carry a digital camera on these trips to take pictures of the golf courses I play. I had the camera with me now, I took it out of my pocket, set it for low light and took several pictures. Then I slipped out of the room. What do I do now? Should I rush in and confront them, should I wait and get my revenge later? What? My friend the bartender looked up and said "Sorry dude." "I assume that one of the ladies is your wife or girlfriend." I asked him when they came in and he answered "About 12:30 and asked for the private room. They have done this before." He said I looked like I could use a drink and I ordered a double bourbon. He sat it on the bar and said "On the house." I laid another fifty on the bar and asked "Would you call my room when they leave?" He slid the fifty back to me and he said he would be glad to. " Went thru the same thing myself about a year ago." I went back to my room to wait for his call. I got the call that they were leaving about 4. Time enough for her to clean up the evidence of her "Afternoon Delight" I thought. She didn't see me as she rushed into our room; I was at the seating area of the room which you can't see from the bed area. She began to change back into the pants suit that was laying on the bed. I said "Hi Honey, how was your meeting?" Jenny jumped about a foot into the air. "Oh, you back already" Jenny said. She looked a little flushed and very nervous and tried to hide that she was changing back into the pants suit. " Yeah, I tweaked my back a little bit and decided to call it a day, should be okay by tomorrow" I offered. Then I remarked, "I see you changed your outfit, I thought you looked very nice this morning when you left. "Oh, I spilled something on the pants and changed between sessions. Have you already showered for dinner", she asked. "Yeah, I'll go down to the bar and wait for you, see you in a bit". I got up and gave her a kiss and started toward the door. I opened the door and remembered I had left my card key on the desk, closed the door and started back into the room when I heard her on the phone. She was telling someone that I had come back early and they would not be having another drink together liked they had planned, but they could have a few dances after dinner. Opening and closing the door very quietly I went down to the bar and ordered double bourbon and sat at a table. Jenny came down to join me and we went in to dinner. A few minutes later, my pal Henry walked by us to the bar and got a drink. "Hey Henry, why don't you join us?", I suggested. He looked a little uneasy, but agreed and sat down at our table. "Henry and Jenny let me show you the pictures I took today on my travels. I placed the camera in front of them and started to scroll thru the pictures I had take in the private room earlier. He become increasingly disturbed and nervous and got up to leave after the first two or three pictures. Jenny had her head down with her face cover and was crying and moaning "No, oh god, please no." Henry then seemed to grow a pair of balls and said "So what, she was there willingly and I don't think you can do anything about it old man." "Unless you want these pictures to make it to you wife and your boss, you better sit back down, you son of a bitch" I ordered him. "Now this is what is going to happen you piss ant and you my cheating whore of a wife. You are going to tell me all about you two. How long, how many times, where and anything else I want to know. I may be older and not in the best of health, but I can still take your ass down, shithead. Remember I retired as Navy Seat team leader. My old grandpa once said to me Son, there comes a time in every man's life when he stops busting knuckles and starts busting caps and usually it's when he becomes too old to take an ass whooping. I'm about at that age. So one more time sit down asshole.If you annoy me anymore, I will make it a point to see you fubared. You know, fucked up beyond all recognition. If I can't manage it, my brother Seals will help out an old ship mate. So start talking you bastard or start putting your "affairs" in order (bad choice of words here), because I promise you I will fuck up your world one way or another." "Okay, okay. We meet at the quarterly meetings and have some fun and once in a while at the big meetings like this one. We have been meeting for about a year. At first it was just a few drinks and some light petting, but the last two meetings we have been having sex. Jenny says she is not being satisfied at home and wants to feel loved again, at least physically. She's not in love with me but just wants to have sex and some fun. That is according to her, come on Jenny tell him. Jenny sat there sobbing and moaning and didn't look up. She never said a thing, just cried. "You are scum, dickhead. A married man screwing around with a married women without regard to who it may hurt. I hope you had a good time, because it's gonna cost you, big time" I said. "IT IS OVER AND DONE". "Understand" Henry nodded," I said do you understand?" He said he understood and stood to leave the table. I rose as he stood up and kicked him right in the balls. Henry went down like a fallen tree. "That's just a sample of what will happen if you ever see or talk to her again outside of a business situation. I will end your life as you know it. Now crawl out of here, you piece of shit." One of the women at our table and said "you kick that man in the crotch." "Yes lady, just as hard as I could and I may do it again in the near future." I took Jenny's arm and pulled her out into the hall way with me. " Did you really thing I was that stupid or so senile that I wouldn't catch on?" "Oh no, no please god" she cried. "William let me explain please. I love you; it was only for sex. I love only you but am really frustrated by the lack of sex. I was feeling old, and worthless. I know you can't give me sex , but I felt I wasn't attractive anymore and it screwed up my head. " Bullshit Jenny, it wasn't just for sex, it was a full blown affair with dancing,romance, kissing, cuddling and love making, not just sex, but love making."Honey, in a way, I could almost understand your need for sex. There hasn't been complete sex between us for about 7 years due to the meds I take. But Henry? That low life piece of shit! I can't believe your bad taste. What I can't forgive is your lack of respect for me. I mean doing all this at company functions where everyone knows. Then I have to socialize with them and not ever know I was an object scorn or pity or both. Now I understand some of the looks and comments I got. Jesus, Jenny why didn't you just fucking shoot me." Jenny looked at me and asked "Where do we go from here? Please I will do anything to make it up to you and show you how sorry I am." "I don't know where we go from here Jenny, there is a flight back home tonight at 9:00, I will be on it. I know it is important for your job that you be here for tomorrow mornings sessions; but there is a flight out tomorrow at 1:30. It arrives about 3:00 at home. I will be at the airport to pick you up. If you are there we can go home and discuss our problems and see if we can solve this situation. If you stay here with your party pals and are not on that plane, I will pack up and leave tomorrow night and it will be over. Your choice, Jenny". "I don't know if I can get around you play time and your disrespect of me, but I am willing to at least talk about your actions and try to figure out what to do about us. Okay, enough talk, I am outta here. See you tomorrow night or maybe not. Good luck at your dinner tonight and your conference tomorrow. I don't believe you will be doing much dancing with Henry tonight, maybe tomorrow, but I don't think so" Jenny ran over to me saying how sorry she was, and don't leave, trying to hug me but I stepped back and held up my hand. "Right this minute, I don't want to touch you, Leave me alone" I told her. She said "Please don't go, we can go out to dinner and talk later and go home together tomorrow afternoon, please." "I can't Jenny. If I see that asshole again I might kill him this time. I am also very upset with the rest of your co-workers, a lot of them knew about this and it is embarrassing for me to have to face them like nothing is going on. I leaving to catch that plane. I guess I hope to see you tomorrow, I don't know how I feel right now. I only know that I hurt so bad I don't know if I can stand it. My heart is pounding and I so angry I could kill someone." I left the entry way we were standing in and went to the desk to pick up my bag. The desk had the shuttle waiting and I left for the airport. I thought the flight would calm me down and allow me to iron things out in my head. No such luck. The more I thought, the more angry I got. If Henry had been on that plane, I would have opened the door and thrown him out. FUCK THEM BOTH. After I finally got home, I had a couple of drinks. WHAT DO I DO NOW? I have a comfortable live style and that would all change if I split with Jenny. One of the things that contributed to this life style was Jenny's job and the health insurance that goes with it. I could make a living but I would not enjoy my life nearly as much as I did with Jenny. Could I get past the cheating and stay or must I kick her ass out? I was at the airport the next afternoon. Passenger after passenger got off the plane and walked past my viewing spot. The last one off was Jenny. My heart felt lighter when I saw her. At least she was worried about our marriage. She walked up to me and said "let's go home and talk, we really need to talk." When we got home, Jenny took a shower and then joined me in the family room. "So what do you want to say Jenny? " She looked down at the floor and then look up at me. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't want that to happen. In spite of what you think, it was only for the sex. Yes, we danced and partied, but there was no love involved for Henry or me. It was just a good time and a release for me of the sexual frustrations of the last seven years. Before you began taking all those pills our sex life was great. It was loving, exciting, and you would always find little ways to make it better and better. Then all at once, it was gone. I handled it for six years, but I finally reached a breaking point 2 months ago. It would have been better if I had chosen someone and somewhere else to break down, but it just sort of happened. Again I am truly sorry that you have been hurt. Please forgive me, at least for that. What are your plans?" " I have to leave, Jenny. I don't believe I can stay here. You said you are sorry I got hurt, but you never said you were sorry you fucked another man. How am I suppose to live with that? The question is how can I live without you? You have been my live for the last 30 plus years. Can I just walk away from that did your actions kill all the feelings? I don't know, I just don't know." What Would You Do Now? Ch. 02 If you have not read Chapter 1, please do so. There is very little sex in this story. Thanks for all the responses to the first chapter. I appreciate all the the input and suggestions, even those that were unkind at best and hateful at worst. I will try to tie up some loose ends and come to better conclusions in this chapter. Again thanks for your interest. Newby here, trying to get started. * A short recap. I discovered, my wife of 30 years, Jenny was having an affair. I caught her and her lover in the act so to speak. We are still living together in an uneasy truce. I didn't know if I should leave to save my pride or stay because of my health problems and lack of insurance if I leave. Then as you may recall, I won a Power Ball jackpot of $12 million dollars. I had my son claim the prize in my grandson's name. I did this for two reasons. First reason: The prize is paid out in installments over 20 years. I may not last that long, but my grandson will. My son will see that I get most of the money every year until I'm gone. Second reason: At the time I won the lottery I was so mad at Jenny that I didn't want her to get any of that money. I thought she might just kick me out and go running to her lover, Henry. My mind had really been fucked up by her affair. After receiving the first check, I began to think more about by problem. I now had financial security, so that was no longer an issue. In spite of my anger, I thought of all our years together. The last few years had hardly been a picnic for either of us. Jenny had never complained and had always been there to take care of me. I decided that I should split the money with Jenny. It was only fair. She had screwed up big time and hurt me terribly, but she had been my best friend, lover, and wife for better than 30 years. When Jenny came home from work, I told her we had to talk about our situation. We went into the family room and sat on opposite ends of the couch. "Jenny, we or I can't continue like this. We have to decide how to handle this problem. I'm so mad all the time, I mean every waking minute. This cannot go on. It's driving me totally crazy." "I'm so sorry William. I never meant to hurt you, but I became so frustrated and felt so old and useless that I did a very stupid thing. The affair wasn't about love, just the sex and excitement of being wanted. Yes, we danced and made out and had sex. It was a way to relieve my sexual frustrations and make me feel attractive and wanted again. I am so very very sorry to have hurt you. Please let's get past this. We have many good years left to enjoy our family and each other. Please William," Jenny almost begged. "Well, let me tell you how I feel and then you tell me how to get out of this mess you have put us in. You have never once said you were sorry for the affair, Jenny, only that you are sorry I got hurt. How long would it have continued if I hadn't caught you Jenny? Would you still have been sorry if you had never been caught? I believe you are only sorry you got caught and how public it was." "You say it was because of you feelings of frustrations, feeling old, feeling unwanted and unattractive. For better than 30 years I have told you every day that I love you. I never left the house without kissing you goodbye and kissing you hello when I came back. You were complimented on how nice you looked almost everyday. How can you feel unwanted and unloved after all that?" "I believe that if you had came to me and told me about how you were feeling, we could have taken steps to fix the problems. You didn't care enough about my feelings to discuss it with me. The solution you choose was to drop your panties and spread you legs. That was a terrible thing to do to someone you are so so in love with." "Your fucking some asshole is not the worst thing you did. The worst thing you did was to do it in such a public manner. Screwing son guy from work and in such an open manner shows how little you respect me. Most if not all of your co-workers knew about this little fuck fest you were having. I wonder how hard they laughed at me behind my back. Poor old dude, can hang on to his wife. Just fucking great Jenny." Jenny sat with tears running down her face and sobs racking her body. I no longer really cared. I had enough, I am done. "William, please forgive me and let's get past this horrible thing, Jenny said again. "I love you and want us to stay together. Please William, can't we just stay together?" "No Jenny, I'm done. I have been there,done that,and got the fucking T-shirt. I am leaving you and will file for a divorce tomorrow. The papers were drawn up the first week we got back from the meetings. I will have to make a few adjustments to them, but they will be filed tomorrow." "Jenny can you look at me for a moment" I asked? As she looked up, I told her "we have married for 31 years. The first 30 would be graded from good to wonderful. The last year has been shit. I didn't know it until recently, but that last year was just shit. In spite of the last year and because of the good years I am going to do something honorable and so unlike me. You what a son of a bitch I can be when I'm crossed." I informed Jenny that I had won the lottery, big time, and was going to split my winnings with her. "I had the ticket put in our grandson's name. That way someone in the family will get every penny I won. His father will take $50 thousand dollars out of the yearly checks for his managing of the account. The remained of the checks will be split evenly between your and I." "If I really wanted to be vindictive, I would sue your employer and good old Henry. I'm sure there is some kind of unethical behavior here and you, Henry, and your company are all guilty as sin. I have decided not to sue. It would mean you would lose you job, at least. We have had too many good years for me to be that much of a bastard. You may deserve it, but let God punish you. Okay, I'm done. I will be out of here when you get home from work tomorrow. Don't call me, don't try to see me, I don't want to know you anymore. Goodbye Jenny, I loved you so much it almost hurt. You have killed that and now all I do is hurt." EPILOGUE: The divorce papers were filed and Jenny didn't contest it, just signed it and closed the book on our marriage. It will be final in about a week. By the way, someone sent some dirty pictures to my old pal Henry's wife. She apparently did not like them. She kicked Henry out and divorced him. Took him to the cleaners too. Jenny and he lived together for a while, but it only lasted a couple of months. I guess the thrill of doing something forbidden was gone. Either that or Jenny got fed up with supporting him and he got kicked out again. Shortly after Jenny and Henry split up, Henry was robbed and mugged. He was beaten very badly. He had a broken knee cap and probably won't be doing much dancing. One arm was broken and he almost lost a testicle. The police questioned Henry's ex-wife and then questioned me. We both had air tight alibis. I was with my son and grandson on my boat on the lake where I now live. I got a loan based on my share of the lottery winnings. I wanted some pocket money to play with. The loan was for 2 million. My days are spent at my lake front home. I play golf, fish, and watch the two lovelies sunbath nude on the bow of my new boat. So what if they are only there because I have a lot of money. At least I know what to expect from them. No surprises there, just good times. After thinking about it some, I changed doctors. He altered my medication and I can now sustain an erection for longer than five minutes. No marathon sex parties, but I can pleasure a women and myself now. Not more than once a day, but hell that's a great improvement. * Well there is the rest of the story. Hope it offered some closure. I took to heart some of the suggestions offered and can see the logic of a lot of your responses. I again didn't use an editor, mainly because I am not sure how that works. As always, comments are welcomed. A newby here, just getting started. Thanks. What Would You Do Now? Ch. 03 One last chapter. Please read the first two chapters of the series. This chapter will make more sense that way. Thanks again to all who commented on my stories. I appreciate the comments, suggestions, and criticisms, both constructive and others. I realize not everyone will like my stories or my style of writing, but I have a hard time paying any attention to the mean spirited critics who slander me personally along with my work. I might take their suggestions more to heart if they had the guts to sign their comments. As one of the comments said they would erase the story and never read my stories again. Good advice. That is the ultimate censorship. Go for it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Anyway thanks again to those who are trying to help a new writer get going. Enjoy. * When we last left our "hero" he had divorced his cheating wife of 30 years, got some payback on the bastard that was screwing his wife, won the lottery, and most important searched out and got better medical care. He is now able to meaningful sexual encounters. Here we go. It has been 2 years plus since my divorce. My wife was having an affair due to my lack of being able to maintain an erection during sex. That is the main reason that she gave me. Bullshit. Anyway I changed doctors and meds and that problem has been solved. Let me say here, my first doctor was concerned with treating my heart problems and saving my life. He is a good man and he saved my life. After a couple of years, I should have discussed my lack of sexual function with him and asked about changes. It is all on me that I let my sexual problems go on as long as they did. Guess I was more worried about living than fucking. I can now satisfy both myself and my partner with the normal fuck you socks off sex, not more than two times a day and not two times a day several days in a row. This is not the wild monkey sex of my youth, but I'm a young man anymore either. I just turned 67. I won the lottery just after our separation and decided to split it with my ex. I know, I know, after what she had done to me with her affair I should have told her to pound sand. In my own defense, she had given me 30 great years out of our 31 year marriage. She was my best friend. The last 7 or 8 years she was a saint (except for the affair) and took good care of me. My check from the lottery was about $600 thousand a year. After paying taxes, paying my son to manager my accounts, and splitting my winnings with my ex, I still had a very substantial amount of money to play with. So play I did. I bought a house on a lake in Southern California, got a nice boat to go with it, and just began to enjoy the money and my life. I played golf, drove my boat and one of my new Ford trucks (a small one and a big one), and just had a great time. This is what retirement should be. In addition to my toys, I always seemed to have one or two young lovelies staying with me. Not always the same ones, they seemed to sort of rotate new ones in. There is no doubt that they were there for the money. I never actually paid them, but some very nice presents came their way. Once in a while money was give for clothes, trinkets and shopping. These ladies were all 25 to 35 years old and not in love with this old man. Let me be clear about this; I don't care, I don't care, I don't care. After the shit with my ex-wife, I wasn't up for love anyway. I just know I would rather play with my toys in the company of hot, sexy, and available women than by myself. If they were there for the party, I was the host with the most. I was sitting on my patio, relaxing and admiring the two nearly nude ladies sunbathing by my pool. My son, John, walked around the side of the house. A short word about my boy. He is divorced also, different reason, same result. He and my grandson were frequently at my place. My grandson likes the lake and the boat, my son likes the girls. There were a couple of "my girls" that he seemed to have, well at least lust for, but he never made any moves. I told him to go for it at least 3 different times. He said he just would feel weird "Following in his father's footsteps", if you know what I mean. John came over and sat down, looked at me and said he wanted to say something, but didn't want me to go ballistic and to hear him out. "Go for it John" I said. "I'll try to keep my cool and my mouth shut until you are done. No promises after that. If this is another plea to get me to go back to Jenny, you are wasting your time." "Pop you have to meet and talk to Momma" John began. (Jenny is his step-mom). "She is a basket case. She is losing weight, she looks like an old bag lady, and she just doesn't seem to want to take care of herself. Please Pop, go see her." "You done?" I asked. He nodded his head. "John I appreciate your concern and understand you love for Jenny. However, there is no way I want to see, talk, or hear from her. What she did to me was the most horrible thing anyone has ever done. When I was young, I would have kicked the hell out of her and at least crippled that asshole with her instead of just leaving. No son, I won't meet or call her. She can live the life she made for herself. Don't bring the subject up again!" John looked at me for a long time. He seemed to puff up, get a little red in the face and shouted at me "You always were a hard headed old shit. I am going to try one more time and then I'm leaving. Momma had been punished enough, not only by you but by her company. It has to stop Dad. If you can't put aside your hurt pride and help her, then fuck you. I won't be back and it will be a cold day in hell before you see your grandson again." When he finished, I jumped to my feet and stood glaring down at him. John stood up to face me and I was looking up at him. John is 6ft 4, I am 5ft 8. "You are becoming a little cocky talking to me like that youngster." "I'm just as hard headed as you Pop. You were a good teacher. One of things you taught me was that if I thought I was right then fuck the world and go for it. That's what I'm doing. It's the only threat that might work with you." "Okay you shithead, I'll call Jenny tomorrow morning. Now can we drink a couple of beers and watch my ladies play nude volleyball?" He seemed come back to normal, not so dangerous. "I would love to stay, but I have to pick up your grandson from after school care. Not sure my heart could stand watching that redhead jump around anyway. How do you do it? At your age, how do you keep up with them?" "My heart is pure, therefore I have the strength of 10 men." "Bullshit", John said laughing at me. "No really Pop, how do you keep going like this with your heart problem?" "Son, the new medicine has given me a new life. It's almost like I don't have the problem anymore. I know; I know it's still there, but I don't obsess about it anymore. My life is so much more fun, what with the money and the ladies that I really don't give a shit how long it keeps on. I just want it to keep on. Every morning I get up and decide it's going to be a good day because I woke up and I'm above ground." "Okay, I guess that's all anyone could want. Got to go, call Momma please." John waved as he walked back to his truck. A little aside here. When John graduated from high school, Jenny and I told him we would buy him any car (within reason) that he wanted. We put it on hold until he got out of the Navy. He then chose a pick up. The men of my family seem to have a thing about pick-up trucks. It was too late that day to call Jenny, so I decided to do it tomorrow morning. Bullshit, I was just putting it off because I didn't want to call her at all. My two lovelies called me to come join them skinny dipping. You can't keep you public waiting so I ran and jumped into the pool. I'll let you imagination supply what happened the rest of the evening. Mid morning and I can't put "THE CALL" off any longer. John has already called this morning to remind me. I grabbed the phone and called Jenny's number, hoping for a message that she had left town or something. "Hello?" Jenny answered. She sounded like an old lady. I know she is 63, but she sounded like 103. Her voice was lifeless, like it almost took too much effort to talk. "Hi Jenny, it's me." "William?" She seemed very surprised. "I didn't expect you to call me after the last time we saw each other." (I had been very rough on her at the attorney's office when we signed the divorce papers). "Yes Jenny, it's me. What's this bullshit I hear about you not eating or taking care of yourself?" Being diplomatic is not one of my strong suits. "It just doesn't seem to matter anymore," she answered. "The company fired me and that took the wind out of my sails. You have been very generous but I need something to keep me going beside money. My work made me feel useful and needed. Now I don't have you or my work. So why bother?" "You have your son, grandson and your friends. You always wanted to travel; now you can. You have the money and the time. Isn't that enough?" I was beginning to worry about her. I have never heard her so down. "Wait, what do you mean you were fired?" "They said I had violated company policy. Fraternizing with another employee is against the rules. So they gave me a large severance package and fired me." Jenny started crying. Sobbing really. "Settle down, Jenny. Quit blubbering. I can't understand you. "Did they fire Henry too?" "I don't know, they just mentioned him as the employee I was with and rushed me out of the building. I had 30 minutes to clean out my office and get out. Two security people were watching me and walked me out." I was beginning to smell a rat here. Jenny may not be my wife anymore, but I'll be damned if those assholes were going to treat her this way. (Okay, I know, after her affair I shouldn't care what happens to her. She was my lover, my wife, and my best friend for 30 years and even being the asshole that I am I couldn't just forget that. So sue me, I'm a wimp). I felt that part of our problem before was the companies lax attitude about the things going on at their meetings. The jerks decided to get rid of Jenny to cover their ass. NOT ON MY WATCH. They were in for a world of hurt and didn't know it yet. It sure is nice not having to worry about a job or money. It would let me go balls to the wall against them. They couldn't hurt me but I could sure hurt them. I will fuck up their world totally. "Jenny I need you to promise me that you will take care of yourself beginning right now. Your grandson needs his grandma. I am going to look into you being fired and see exactly what is going on. Don't give up. Okay? Will you promise me?" "Okay William. I promise. I will eat some breakfast, take a shower, and change clothes. Will you call or better yet come to see me, please?" "I'll drive down in two or three days, Jenny. I have to do some leg work and see what I can find out. Take better care of yourself and I will call you again tomorrow." After we hung up, it was all I could do to keep from going postal on those bastards at the company. First things first, let's see if good old Henry still works for them. I looked up the number of the company's office. Placed the call and asked for Henry Jackson. I was connected to his secretary. So the asshole wasn't fired. Just Jenny was let go. "Henry Jackson speaking," he answered his phone. "Hi Henry this is William. You know Jenny's husband. Remember me?" "What, err who, err how, err, err." he stuttered. "What do you want?" "Nothing much Henry. Just wondered how you knee was. Doing much dancing these days? Oh and by the way, why are you still working there and Jenny got fired for fraternization?" "That wasn't my decision William. I had nothing to do with that. It came from higher up. I didn't want it to happen and tried to stop her from being fired, but they wouldn't listen to me." "Henry, there is only so much bullshit that a person can spout and you just exceeded your lifetime quota with that statement. You are full of shit. I called to give you and that shit pot company a warning. You fuckers are going to pay big time for what you did to Jenny. I mean big time. She may own the company before I'm done. Fuck you Henry and fuck the rest of those assholes. You ass is mine." I slammed the phone down. I was so mad, no pissed off, that I could feel my heart racing. Calm down asshole before you have a heart attack, I told myself. Some deep breathing exercises calmed me down. Now, time to plan and take them down. My next call was to my attorney Steve. During the divorce, he and I became good friends. I called his direct number and filled him in on what had happened to Jenny. Do we have a case or has my mouth been writing checks I can't cash?" "Hell yeah you, or rather Jenny, has a great case," Steve answered. Why are you in the middle of this? I mean last time you saw Jenny you didn't care if she lived or died. At least that was the way it sounded." "I know, but I was really hurting then. My pride was bruised and all that shit. After all this time, maybe I have grown up a little and decided I have been an asshole long enough. "I will get our expert in sexual harassment on this right now, but I will stay close and help out. How much do you want from them William?" He sounded like I had just handed him the keys to the vault at Fort Knox. "Believe it or not, Steve, it's not about the money. That pack of hyenas just picked the wrong person to fuck with. It pisses me off that these bastards are shitting all over Jenny. If they do it to her, they will or have done it to others. No more, if I can stop it I will. You guys figure out how best to hurt them and let's kick some ass." "I'm on it buddy. Talk to you soon." As Steve was hanging up I heard him shouting at his assistant to put on his roller skates that they had a great case to work on. My phone started to ring the minute I hung it up. "Hello. Yes this is he. No I won't talk to that shit head." It was Henry's secretary calling for him. "Tell him Jenny's attorney will contact them shortly. Also tell him to eat shit and die." I hung up before she or Henry could say anything else. One week later and I am sitting with Jenny in her apartment. She looked thin and washed out, but she had done her hair and makeup. Jenny seemed very happy that I had come to see her instead of calling. Her voice seemed full of life again, not the monotone I had heard a few days ago. Not at her best, I was still excited to see her. Guess I just a wimp after all. I missed my friend. I missed US, not so much the sexual side of our life but the friendship and enjoyment of doing and exploring things together. I explained to Jenny what Steve and I were trying to do. I told her you probably won't get your job back, but the company will be punished for what they tried to do to you. "I trust you to do what is best William. Thank you for your help." "I have to go now but I will call you every few days to advise you on what is going on. If it's alright with you, I will drop by to see you now and then. Okay?" I was afraid she wouldn't want to see me again. "That would be wonderful. Please do." Jenny responded. Three months have gone by and the case has been settled out of court. I was again at Jenny's apartment. She now looked more like her old self, animated and full of life again. Still not back to normal, but close. As the case went on, I would see Jenny about twice a week. We would go to lunch, even a couple of dinners and just talk and enjoy our time together. Funny, but we never seemed to talk about the law suit we were working on. We were always too busy talking about our son and grandson, about memories and about short term plans. Oh, about the company, my old pal Henry was sacked along with 3 of the upper level management types that had been involved with Jenny being fired. Payback is a bitch and this time she had PMS. "Jenny, it's like I said Steve couldn't get your job back. That was expected. However, he did get you a very nice settlement and a written promise to review the company's policies concerning the problem of sexual harassment in their firm." I took a check out of my pocket and gave it to her. "This check is for 2 million dollars!" Jenny said in amazement. "Yeah, Steve went for the quick fix. The company also paid Steve's bill, so that is all yours." "I really appreciate what you and Steve have done for me, but it wasn't about the money. You give me more money than I need. I just need to feel useful and wanted. They took that away from me. I still don't have that, like I did when I was working." "I know Jenny, but this is best that could be done. If you want to be useful, come up and stay with me. I need help running the house. I always forget to order or pick up something, guess I'm out of practice after 30 years. You can run the household accounts, see that I take my meds on time and just generally bring structure to my home. You won't have to do cleaning or cooking, unless you want to, I have a housekeeper for that stuff. Please Jenny, I need someone I can trust and I miss my friend." "What about all your lady guests? John has told me about you mini harem. I understand you keep them two or three at a time." "I guess they will have to find another sugar daddy; it's about time for this old fart to grow up. They can't fish worth a damn anyway. You always liked to fish, we could sell the big boat and get a little bass boat and go fishing like we used to. I'm not offering a reconciliation Jenny, I'm offering a chance for two good friends to enjoy life with one another. We can see what happens as we go along. What do you say Jenny?" "Yes, not only yes, but hell yes. That's what I hoped for, a chance to show you how sorry I am for what I did. Not just sorry to get caught, but sorry for doing it in the first place. This sounds like a good way to do that and if nothing else at least I will have my best friend back. When do I move in?" "Right now. I have the big truck outside and we can load up as soon as you're packed. Just take the clothes you need, we can get the rest later. Let's go, we are burning daylight." (Sorry, I like John Wayne, always wanted to say that.) Two years down the road and Jenny and I are as close as we ever were, maybe more so. We took our time and romance reared its head about six months in. There is only our bedroom now, not his and hers. I guess 30 years of love, friendship, companionship and joy together can over come almost anything. For those of you that say I am a wimp, not a man or whatever; let me say this. Walk a mile in my shoes and then go fuck yourself. I am happy and that is what matters. * The quote about daylight is from "The Cowboys" a John Wayne movie. Sorry again, but I am a big fan. As to the story, I hope you can understand where William is coming from. If not, oh well to each his own. I can't stress enough 30 years together just doesn't happen often. What Would You Do Now? Jenny was crying again, but said that I should stay at the house, she would move into the guest room, at least for now. "If you leave and file for a separation or divorce, you won't be covered by my insurance anymore. I love you too much to just let you leave and get sicker without the health care you need. Please stay here , at least for a few weeks." I thought why should I suffer because of a cheating wife. I had done nothing wrong. So I decided to stay. Things got back to as normal, well as close as they could. We were polite to each other but had very little interaction other than a few necessary conversations. Jenny moved into the guest room and only came into "my room" to put away laundry and other routine things. We pretty much stayed out of each others way as much as we could. I did start to drink some. Not some, way too much. There were few nights that I was not even close to sober and most mornings I started off with a drink. This went on for about a month, then Jenny asked me to sit and talk with her one night. "You must stop this heavy drinking." Jenny stated. "It is very bad for you. What are you trying to do, kill yourself?" "Not really, but why should you care if I do? The insurance would pay for the funeral" I replied. " Then you could play with Henry or any other sex helpers without me around to ruin your fun." I wanted to hurt Jenny just a little for her infidelity. For the first time since confronting Jenny, I saw real anger cross her face. "You asshole" Jenny screamed at me. " I love you, care about you, and worry about you more than anyone in you life. Ever. If I didn't, I would not have subjected myself to this living hell we are in right now. What the fuck is wrong with you? Why aren't you taking better care of yourself? Please talk to me and explain." "Okay, you ask for it. The one person in the world that I really trusted, the one person that I loved more than myself, the one person who so much a part of me, just fucked me over big time. I just supposed to accept it and our living arrangement and it not affect me. I CAN'T STAND IT. I am going crazy. Do I stay here because the alternative is I may get sicker and die. Do I do what any man with any pride would do and leave. There are two reasons I am still here or that I haven't kicked you out. One: I'm more afraid of becoming sicker and dieing than I am of being a wimp. Two: and this is the most important one, I can't picture my life without you. In spite of what has happened, I still love you and am hoping I can get passed what has happened. That is why I am drinking. It helps numb my brain so I don't see what was going on in that private room. Now no more talk. Leave me alone." I went into "my room" and slammed the door. Things would have remained the same and I probably would have drank myself into the hospital. I couldn't get my mind around what had happened to my great life, and now it was gone. I guess I would have stayed with the way we were living and not done anything. However, fate, the gods, or the devil decided I hadn't been fucked with enough, so they took a part in my little drama. Every week I had played the Power Ball lottery, just five dollars. Never won anything at all. Then one weekend I checked the numbers and I won, not just a little prize but the whole shooting match. Four other tickets were sold with the same numbers which meant the winners would share the big prize. My share was 12 million dollars. Holy shit, 12 million dollars. I could take the cash, would have been about 6 million or a yearly check for about two hundred and fifty thousand a year for 20 years. I put the ticket in my grandson's name. I got my son to manage the money for me. That way it would not be part of a divorce settlement if I decided to go that way. My son wasn't happy with fooling "Mama" but he knew the situation and agreed to my wishes. This money means I don't have to depend on Jenny's insurance or salary anymore. If I want to leave I can and not worry financially about anything. So, now that I don't have to stay, do I stay? Do I salvage my pride and leave? I still don't know what to do. WHAT WOULD YOU DO NOW?