52 comments/ 149911 views/ 29 favorites You Could've Heard a Pin Drop By: woodmanone This story doesn't have any graphic sex scenes. I try to make my stories about the characters and their circumstances. Sorry. Constructive criticisms and comments are welcome and appreciated. If you like or even dislike this story please take the time to comment or send me an email. Also a vote or rating on the story would help me improve as a writer. Thanks for reading and commenting on my work. Please enjoy. ******************* I'm sure you have all heard the old cliché "It got so quiet you could've heard a pin drop". When I walked through the door of Kelly's Bar, it didn't get that guiet but damn near it. There was a large crowd of regulars and the noise level went from a loud party roar to an almost church service quiet. The reason the reduction in the noise level was sitting in a back booth with another man or maybe I should her new man. The bar crowd was almost silent with only a few muted whispers, waiting for the confrontation between me and her. I'm Jake Connors and the people were waiting to see what I was going to do. The her mentioned is Jackie Sanders and until two weeks ago, she was my fiancée. Billy something another was the asshole she was with but he didn't really matter; he was just the guy she was using to piss me off. I walked to the bar and Kelly slid a glass with three fingers of Jack Daniels down the bar to me. He knows what I drink because I've been a favored customer for a lot of years; especially in the last couple of weeks. Kelly's was my hangout and I had been coming in at least once a week after work for the last several years. The last two weeks I had been in Kelly's every night. I was trying to drink my way through his supply of Jack Daniels. I know alcohol doesn't solve any problems and the problems are still there the next day or whenever you sober up. What alcohol can do is help you forget while you're drinking. I needed to forget what happened between Jackie and me at least for a little while. If I didn't dull my senses with alcohol my mind went round and round with questions. How could she do that to me? Why would she do that? Do I do something to cause her actions? And so on, round and round, with no concrete answers. Half of my drink disappeared quickly and I leaned against the bar looking at the mirror behind it. That mirror gave me a perfect view of that back booth and the two people sitting in it. Jackie saw me standing at the bar and through the mirror I could see her watching me. I had to admit Jackie looked good. She must have dressed especially nice just to yank my chain. She had on a dark green skirt that finished about three inches above her knees. It showed a lot of leg because she was 5 feet 10 and had beautiful legs that went all the way up to her ass and back. She had on some kind of frilly top that showed enough cleavage to tease a guy. The light green color complimented her auburn hair, blue eyes, and her freckles. I knew from experience that she had freckles on some of the more interesting parts of her body. Add to this package the fact that her face was classically beautiful and Jackie was a walking wet dream. When she walked across a room most men and some women would watch her glide past. The way she looked tonight was just another knife in my heart. I downed the rest of the Jack, pushed off the bar, and started toward Jackie and her friend. "Jake?" Kelly said with a worried voice. "I know Kelly. I'm just going to talk to her that's all." "C'mon Jake, I don't want my place smashed up," he pleaded. "It's okay Kelly, I'm just gonna talk. I'll walk away before any trouble starts. Just like the last time." I tried to reassure him. Last week when Jackie came in looking for me I told her to stay the fuck away from me and to stay away from Kelly's. I was afraid I would lose my cool and before she could say anything I left the bar. I wasn't gonna leave this time. As I walked closer it was obvious that I was upset and the guy started to stand up. I wouldn't want to be sitting down looking up at an angry me either. I'm 6 feet 4 and about 230 pounds of muscle. My hard body and muscles come from hard work not the gym. I work construction and like the most guys in my line of work, I'm in good physical shape. I have grey eyes that become laser like when I'm mad and right now they were boring holes into the shit head sitting with Jackie. "Sit down," I ordered him as I got to their booth. He sat back down but looked at me with a smirk. "Hello Jackie, I see you brought the asshole with you this time," I said. The guy started to say something but stopped when I held up my hand, again with a smirk showing on his face. I turned to Bill and said, "Friend, this is between Jackie and me. Just stay out of it, okay?" I really didn't think macho man would mind his own business but I hoped I could say what I wanted to say without any trouble. "Look Jackie, I told you last week to stay away from me and stay away from Kelly's. I don't want to see you and I especially don't want to see you with your lover. " "This is a public bar and I can come in if I want to," she replied defiantly. "Isn't it bad enough that you fucked me over just before our wedding but now you want to rub it in by bringing your asshole lover in here?" I wasn't a happy camper. "Why don't you find another bar then, I like it here," Jackie goaded me. "And I'll, I mean we'll keep coming until you talk to me." "You don't want to talk; you want to justify your actions. What you don't understand is that I don't care why; it's enough that you did. This is my hangout and has been for years. You don't care about Kelly's; you just want to rub it in that you're with this dipshit now. I promise you won't like what happens if you keep coming in here." I kept my word to Kelly and turned to walked away. Mr. Macho wouldn't let it go. "Hey dick wad, now I've got a few things to tell you." He came out of the booth and stood, holding Jackie's hand. I turned to face him and had to admit, the guy was good looking. He wasn't as big as me, only about 6 feet and probably 190 pounds but he did have a presence about him. Wearing a nice sports jacket, shirt and designer jeans, he was a picture off the front cover of GQ magazine. Designer jeans for Christ sake, I thought. "What do you want Mr. GQ?" I said to goad him a little. "First whatever concerns Jackie concerns me; we're friends. Second, you don't order her or me around; we'll go anywhere we want, when we want. And Third, I'm a third degree black belt and you don't scare me." Now he was really smirking and stepped closer to me. I don't know what he was thinking. Maybe his marital arts training gave him confidence, maybe he thought showing that he wasn't afraid of me would make me back down or maybe he was just showing off for Jackie. Jackie warned him saying, "Bill don't, he's like a dangerous animal when he's in this mood." "Well Mr. GQ, you better listen to your "friend" because your mouth is writing checks your body can't cash. Take a piece of good advice and get out of my face," I said. That's when he hit me. I've got to admit, he was very fast and I didn't see it coming. He hit me right on the nose and when I took a step back, he hit me again. More surprised than anything, I tripped on a chair and fell on my ass. As I fell I pulled a table and a couple of chairs with me. Bill was standing in some kind of "kung fu" stance with a big grin when I got up. As I stood I threw one of the broken chairs at him. When he ducked the chair, I kicked him in the nuts. Not very sporting I know but in the area I grew up in you did whatever was necessary to win. He doubled over and I grabbed his hair, lifted his head, and hit him with my ham like fist. It was his turn to hit the floor. I had wanted to nail this asshole for some time but I restrained myself; I was afraid that I would kill him if I kept going. Jackie was screaming as I knelt down to him and picked his head up again. "One thing they forgot to teach you at the dojo Billy Boy, every once in awhile you run into somebody you shouldn't fuck with. I'm that guy." I dropped his head, stood up, and looked at Jackie. "You're the one that should be lying there bitch. This is your fault. Now get this piece of shit and get out before you join him," I ordered. Normally I would never hit a woman, but my resolve was being tested here. Jackie stared at me with anger and something I was surprised to see...sadness. She had knelt down to Bill and said "Damn you Jake. Why won't you listen?" She helped Bill get to his feet and supported him out the door. I went back to the bar and Kelly met me with another drink. "I enjoyed the show big guy, even if you did break some fixtures," he said with a smile. "Sorry about the breakage, I tried to walk away," I answered. "I'll pay for the damage." "Naw, that asshole knocked you into the table, he's the one that should pay. Don't worry about it." I was working on my next drink when the police and the EMTs arrived. The police came up behind me and ordered me to stand up, put my hands on the bar, and told me that I was under arrest. Before they could handcuff me, I had at least 30 people explaining that I was defending myself. They asked Kelly if he wanted to make a complaint because of the fight and the broken fixtures, but he just laughed and told them no way. The EMT that was working on me said that someone had called them and they called the police when they heard that it was a bar fight. He told me I needed to go to the ER because my nose was broken and the cut over my eye needed stitches. It wasn't the first time that my nose had been broken. Bill must have tagged me pretty good. I don't know because it was just a blur after he hit me. I promised to go to the hospital when I finished my drink and the EMT laughed. His partner came in from outside and said that the guy out side had a broken nose too. He also said that Bill's nuts were going to be sore for several days. Even exchange, I thought. Maybe I even got the best of it because he wouldn't be fucking Jackie for awhile, but then again neither would I. Looking at myself in the mirror, at the swollen nose and the cut over my eye I thought back over the events that led me to my current physical state. ******************** My mother was a single parent; my dad just disappeared when I was eight. Mom and my grandmother raised me and my older brother James who was twelve. Although we never had a lot of money, we always had clean clothes for school, enough to eat, and a decent place to live. The neighborhood we lived in wasn't the inner city but it wasn't far from it. It was a tough area for a boy to grow up in and a lot of my friends and kids I knew got into trouble with the law. The only reason that James and I stayed on the straight and narrow was because of my mom and grandma. I wasn't afraid of the police or jail, I was afraid to disappoint my "ladies". I could have taken punishment or jail but I couldn't take the look of disapproval that they would have had if I got into trouble for stealing or something. I know James felt the same way. James waited until he was seventeen and with Mom's permission enlisted in the Marine Corp. He came home for two weeks after his boot camp and I didn't see him again until I was a senior in high school, a period of four years. Then it would be several years before I saw him again. My "ladies" made sure that I studied and learned something while I was in school. After high school there wasn't the money needed for college so I joined the military like my brother. I enlisted for four years. For some reason, maybe my size, I was assigned to the Corp of Engineers after basic and AIT. That's where I learned about construction and grew to like it. My first sergeant liked me because I always hustled, worked hard, and would step in to help on any project even if it wasn't my specialty. He thought I was a virgin and decided to include sex education to my learning process. . I mean why pass up pussy when it's shoved in your face, right? I didn't tell him that I lost my virginity when I was sixteen, maybe actively gave it away is closer to what happened. My tour was coming to an end and the Army offered me a reenlistment bonus to reup but I turned it down. I wanted to go home and see my mom and grandma, get a job, and help them financially the way they had helped me. So I said good bye to the Army and the engineers and went home. I got lucky and landed a construction job as an apprentice rough carpenter. Later I branched out into other construction specialties and became an all around type of guy. Three years later I met Jackie. We met at the bank where she worked as a teller. I needed someplace to cash my checks and a friend took me to the bank to set up an account. Jackie was the teller that handled my first transaction and pretty soon I would wait in line just to get to talk to her for a few minutes. Other tellers would motion me over to help me but I waited for Jackie. I waited and got up my nerve and after two months of seeing and talking to her once a week, I finally asked her if she would go to a movie with me. "I was beginning to think that I would have to ask you," Jackie said with a smile. "I would love to go to movie with you." Jackie and I dated at least once a week, sometimes more, for the next three months. After our sixth date she invited me into her apartment. I didn't leave until the next day. Jackie was everything a man could want in the bedroom. Not only was she drop dead gorgeous, Jackie was wildly uninhibited in bed. She like oral sex, both giving and receiving; me too. Jackie liked to be taken from behind doggy style; I like to do her that way too. She enjoyed being on top or bottom, in fact there wasn't much that she didn't like sexually; me too. She still had a few dates with other men but we hadn't said anything about not dating others so I didn't feel like I could bring it up. It did eat at me to think that she might be doing the same things in bed with other guys that she did with me. We were going out to dinner on Friday after she got off work and maybe some dancing on Saturday evening. I planned to tell her that I was falling in love with her and wanted us to only date each other while we were at dinner Friday evening. Jackie and were having an after dinner drink and I thought this would be a good time to make my suggestion. Before I could say anything, Jackie said something that blew me away. "Jake I know we were supposed to go dancing tomorrow night but I'm going to have to cancel. Something came up and I can't go. I'm really sorry and I'll make it up to you," Jackie said. She acted like she really hated to cancel. "Okay, I guess we can go dancing next Saturday. What came up anyway?" I didn't read anything into the cancellation, I was just curious. Jack looked down at the table and didn't say anything. Either she didn't hear me or she doesn't want to answer I thought. I was getting a bad vibe about this broken date. "Jackie what came up?" I repeated more forcefully. She sighed and looked at me. "One of the other guys I date sometimes has an emergency and I'm going to help him." "What kind of emergency and how can you help?" The bad feeling was getting stronger. I don't think I'm going to like this, I thought. "Well, Bill is going to an awards dinner for his company tomorrow night and his date got the flu or something and can't go. So he asked me to go in her place and I told him I would," Jackie was hesitant with her answer. "Why do you have to go? Why can't he go by himself?" "It would look funny if he went alone, I mean his boss and everybody will be there," she explained. "It could hurt his career; I mean it would look like he didn't care enough to get a date." "Let me get this straight now. You're going to break a date with me that we made over a week ago so that you can go out with another guy that just asked you yesterday. Is that about right Jackie?" I think the sarcasm showed in my tone. "It's not like that Jake. This is an emergency," she said in her defense. "It's exactly like that. I'm sure glad that one of his female fuck buddies didn't get sick, you'd probably consider that an emergency and want to help out with that too." She was shocked that I reacted the way that I did. Jackie apparently thought I would just roll over and accept this bullshit. I motioned for the check, paid the bill, and stood up. "C'mon, I brought you here and I'll get you back to your place. After that, you're on your own," I told Jackie. The ride home was less than comfortable. Jackie tried to talk to me and explain again why she "just had to help" Bill. I never made a comment, or answered her questions, or said a word on the entire trip. I pulled up in front of her apartment, reached across her, and opened the door. "Aren't you coming in tonight Jake?" "You've got to be shittin me Jackie. Get out," I said with more force than I intended. She got out and I peeled rubber getting away. Jackie called me on Sunday morning. When I realized it was her I hung up without saying a word. She called back and I let the machine answer. Jackie left a long message on the machine saying that going to the dinner with Bill wasn't a romantic thing; she was just helping him. She said she cared about me, that we needed to talk and please call her. When she finished I erased the message. The next two weeks when I went into the bank to cash my checks, I made it a point to go to any teller but Jackie. If her window was available I would stand in line at another window. If she motioned me over to her window, I ignored her. Twice she came out from behind her counter and tried to talk to me and both times I walked out of the bank. I just plain didn't want to talk to her. Some people will say I was acting childish. They will say that I should talk to her. To those people I say fuck you. You weren't the one that was shit on. It wasn't pride, it was anger that she would screw me around the way she did. Three weeks to the day when I came off a job site, Jackie was leaning on the fender of my truck. Damn it, I thought, how did she find out where I was. I put my gear in the bed of the truck and opened the driver's door. "Jake," she almost shouted. "You've got to talk to me sometime." "No I don't," I replied and got into the truck. "Are you going to just leave me here? I caught a ride with a friend and don't have a way back to the city," she was concerned. "Can you at least give me a ride back to my place?" Oh hell I said to myself, I can't leave her out here. I motioned for her to get into the truck and took her home. Every time Jackie tried to talk I would hold up my hand or shake my head no. She finally got the hint and kept quiet. We got to her place and I reached across her and opened the door. When I sat back up, Jackie reached across and grabbed my truck keys and jumped out of the truck. "Now you're going to talk to me or you're just going to have to sit there," she said with a self satisfied smirk. I got out of my truck, went to the wheel well and got the magnetic key holder that held an extra key to my truck. Holding it up so Jackie could see I climbed back into the cab and started the engine. "Jake, please. This isn't fair," she pleaded. She's right; it was time to put an end to this. I looked at her and nodded. "Go ahead talk," I told her. "Come inside and I'll make you coffee or a drink," she asked. I sat in the truck for a few seconds and said, "I'm good, start talking." "That night with Bill wasn't what you think. He just needed a companion that evening; it wasn't a romantic date," she told me. "We didn't do anything but go to the dinner and come straight home." You Could've Heard a Pin Drop Ch. 02 There are no graphic sex scenes in this story. Please read Chapter 1 to set the scene for this section. I should warn the readers that this sequel should have been posted in the "Romance" section but it is a continuation of the story so I posted it here in "Loving Wives" so they would appear together in the story listings. Constructive comments are welcome; if you like or even dislike the story please comment or send an email to detail your feelings and suggestions about the work. Your comments, emails, and votes/ratings help me grow as a writer and are like payment for my work. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my story. ************************* In the three years since I kicked my fiancée, I guess I should say ex-fiancée, to the curb my life has changed; for the better I think. I don't know to this day if Jackie was screwing that asshole Bill; right up until the end she swore that she hadn't slept with him. It doesn't make any difference; her actions didn't pass my idea of fidelity. Just to bring you up to speed...Jackie had lied to me and met him several times when she told me she was with the "girls" or visiting her mother. Some of my friends had seen her on more than one occasion with Bill; dry humping on a dance floor, kissing each other, and even going outside to "get some fresh air". I confronted Jackie and her boy toy Bill in front of her house on one of the nights that she was supposed to having dinner with her girlfriends. I basically told her to go to hell, took my engagement ring back, and sent her down the road. I refused to meet with or talk to her after that night though she called several times. Jackie didn't want to break up and brought Bill into my watering hole to make me jealous as a ploy hoping to get me to talk to her. It wasn't a good plan because Bill got all macho and shit when I told Jackie to go to hell. He broke my nose and put a cut over my eye that took twelve stitches to close. Billy Boy didn't get away untouched; I later heard that he had a broken nose, two cracked ribs, and some very bruised testicles. I managed to kick him in the gonads a couple of times. Funny, I never saw or heard from Billy Boy again. I finally agreed to talk to Jackie because she promised to leave me alone if I would. She explained that nothing serious had happened and I explained that she had crossed a line and there was no going back. Neither of us was happy about the situation but that meeting put a period to the relationship. I lost one other thing after we broke up; I lost my desire to over indulge with Jack Daniels. One drink on week nights and no more than two on the weekends was my new norm. Two weeks after that final meeting, Jackie's brother Rob came to see me. As usual I was at Kelly's holding court with an audience of Kelly, a glass of Jack Daniels, and who ever cared to listen to my words of wisdom. In reality I was having a drink and talking to my friend Kelly. Rob and I were more than acquaintances but less than best buddies. We knew and liked each other and would have a few drinks once in awhile. Rob flopped down on the bar stool next to me and told Kelly to bring him what I was having. He took a sip of his drink and made a face. He never was much of a Jack Daniels fan. "How can you drink this stuff?" "It's manna from heaven my boy. Finest kind," I answered as I took a big drink. I knew he had something on his mind; it was unusual for him to track me down. He hesitated and after a minute or so got to the reason he was there. "Is there any chance that you can forgive my stupid sister? Jackie really does love you, you know. She's a mess and I'm worried about her. She knows she screwed up but she's learned a lesson." Rob stopped talking and looked at me expectantly. Taking another slug of my drink, I motioned to Kelly to bring me another one; it was Saturday night so I allowed myself a second drink. "Rob I'd like to help you because it's you but you're asking for something I can't do. Jackie screwed around on me for our entire relationship and I don't think it would be any different if we got back together. She destroyed my trust in her and that's no way to live; I would always wonder if she was messing around again. Jackie's out of my life and she's going to stay out. I'm sorry I can't help you Rob," I finished. "Can't help or won't help?" Rob asked with a small grin. "Doesn't make any difference, it's the same result either way," I answered grinning back at him. "Well I promised that I would talk to you, so I've done my duty. I told Jackie that you wouldn't change your mind but she begged me to try. Believe me I understand and can't blame you. I hope we can remain friends; good drinking buddies are hard to come by even if they do drink this rot gut." Shortly afterwards Jackie moved to the west coast; she went alone or so I heard. ******************** I'm Jake Connors by the way. A little over two years after Jackie and I went splitsville, my brother James and I bought the bar when Kelly decided to retire. It had been my favorite watering hole for a couple of years. James came home with a medical discharge from the Marine Corps, a monthly disability check, and a bum leg. He was wounded in some third world shit hole of a country. I had been working construction but an injury forced me into their office. My knee had been screwed up in a fall and two years after the injury I had it operated on. At 28 I was still the same tall, dark, and handsome, well I don't know about the handsome part, guy that I had been but my knee wouldn't take the abuse that type of work put on it so I moved into the office. Scheduling jobs, ordering supplies, and planning were what I do now. James wanted something to do besides sitting and waiting on his disability check and I wanted something to fall back on if the office job began to drive me nuts. My brother managed to accumulate a sizeable nest egg while in the Corps. I won't go into how, just don't ever play poker with him and I had saved most of my pay from working construction. Living at home with mom and grandma certainly minimized expenses. So James and I pooled our resources and bought Kelly's. We changed the name to "Conner's Pub & Grill", added a kitchen and offered a basic menu. Deli type sandwiches, burgers, and a Friday night fish fry was about as fancy as it got. I spend most of my free time at our pub. I'm like a captain in the military and James is like the grizzled sergeant that makes sure everything gets done and runs smoothly. James manages the bar and kitchen and I'm administration. I'm a full service accountant slash office manager slash purchasing agent slash chief flunky and gofer. James and I split the weekend duties and I worked the bar a couple of nights a week so he could take a little time off; it's a productive sharing of duties. We draw a salary and split the profits equally every quarter. James and I look enough a like to be twins; we both have the same dark hair and gray eyes but I'm about 4 inches taller than him. I worked behind the bar to give James some time off and it was funny to see the reaction of some of the customers; they couldn't understand how James had grown or I had shrunk overnight. It confused the hell out of them until they caught on. Buying the pub and the two story building that housed it was one of the best things that James and I could have done. Not only did it give us a good income, it enabled us to do more for our mom and grandmother. We bought a four bedroom house and moved our "ladies" out of the tough neighborhood where we had grown up. James now lived with mom and grandma and I had my own three bedroom apartment over the pub. I remodeled one of the bedrooms into a home gym. When I moved out of the field into the office and started working with my brain instead of my brawn, I began to put on a lot of weight. At 6'4" I could carry my normal weight of 240 pounds, but I ballooned up to almost 300 pounds and looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. It was cool not having to drive somewhere to work out; I just had to walk down the hall. I worked out three times a week and got my weight back down to 240. The income from Connor's Pub and Grill also enabled me to be more independent and not be a slave to my construction job. I wasn't ready to give that job up but I didn't have to put up with any crap either. If my work was done I saw no reason that I couldn't leave early instead of sitting around the office until a set time. I always backed up any work to my laptop which I carried with me everywhere and I was always available by cell phone. My job wasn't an 8 to 4 type of job anyway; I always had to put out fires at weird times of the day or night. I decided that if the company didn't like the way I worked I could always just go back to the pub. Apparently they liked my work just fine; they just gave me a bonus and a raise in salary. One of my duties when we bought the bar was to hire some help and because we added the kitchen we needed a couple of cooks and waitresses. Our plan was to be open seven days a week from lunch starting at 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. with food service stopping about 10 P.M. So my search began but I didn't have much luck; it seemed every applicant for the cook's job or the waitress's job didn't fit what we wanted. None of them had the personality and job skills I was looking for. I wanted Conner's Pub and Grill to be a friendly place that would attract people and bring them back. A place that every customer felt welcome and like they belonged. Sort of a neighborhood version of "Cheers" the bar from the old TV show; a place where everyone said hello as you walked in and the staff made you feel welcomed. Then fate smiled and led Jasper A. Quinn to us. Jasper is a retired Master Chief Petty Officer with 30 years of naval service. He had been in charge of mess halls in everything from destroyers to aircraft carriers; from small naval refueling ports to entire naval shipyards. Jasper was totally over qualified as cook for our little pub but we seem to hit it off and he wanted the job. Both James and I had served in the defense of our country and I had a healthy respect for the Sergeants and Navy Chiefs that were the backbone of the service. They are the ones that actually got things done. I hired Jasper at our first interview. "Chief, do you know of anyone that we could hire for a part time cook. We're going to be open seven days a week and we need someone for your days off?" I thought he might have some navy buddies that wanted a job. "You don't need a second cook. I've got no family, nobody to answer to so I plan to work the whole week. My retirement is plenty for me to live on and this place will be my entertainment so I don't plan on missing any days. Okay?" "Fine with me Master Chief. You can start your day at 10 A.M. and finish around 10 P.M. We'll see that you get a two or three hour break after the lunch trade is over. We can work out some full days off if you want or need them. If that's okay, you can start on Monday." He nodded his acceptance and said, "Mr. Connors, have you hired any waitresses yet? I know a young woman that could use the work," the Chief told me. "She's a good girl and is having a rough time right now." "You don't have to call me Mister; I was a Sergeant in the Army so I worked for a living." It was an old joke but it put the Chief a little more at ease. "Call me Jake. Why don't you have the young lady come in and see me? If you vouch for her and she wants the job, I'll put her on." "Thanks Mr. Er, I mean Jake. Her husband was killed in the sandbox just before he was due to come home and then she lost her parents the same year. It's just her and her sister and she has a three year old boy to raise. And you can call me Jasper." "You spent 30 years serving your country and you earned your rank so if you don't mind I'll keep calling you Chief," I said with a smile and respect. "I'll be here tomorrow about 3 P.M., have her come in then." The Chief nodded and went to inspect "his" kitchen. He said he wanted to see what he needed to bring from his personal cooking tools and to check out the facilities. After his inspection as he was leaving he nodded at me and pointed to the kitchen. "Finest kind Jake. It just needs a little spit and polish so I'll be in tomorrow. See ya." I had just arrived at the pub at 2:30 when the Chief and a young woman walked into my small office. I smiled at the Chief, nodded at the girl and motioned for them to sit down. "Jake this is Juanita Riley Johnson; she's the one I told you about. Juanita this is Jake Connors, he and his brother James own the place." The Chief was a gray haired, grizzled old sea dog with a barrel chest but he couldn't be much over 5' 7"; Juanita seemed close to 6 feet and extremely pretty. The difference between them struck me as funny and I had to hide a grin and suppress a laugh as I nodded at Juanita. "Mrs. Johnson, it's nice to meet you. The Chief vouches for you and that's good enough for me. Let me explain the hours and duties and if you want the job it's yours." I could have talked to some others but I trusted the Chief's judgment. "We'll need you to work five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday; your days off will be Monday and Tuesday. You will be our head server and the seating area will be yours to command." I smiled and gave a little chuckle. "James and I will do anything we can to help you if you get overloaded. You'll also have to keep us up to speed on any supplies you need for the dining area." I stopped for a minute to give her time to taken in what I had told her. "Do you have any questions, Mrs. Johnson?" "Please call me Juanita. I'd like to go to work for you. Chief Quinn vouched for you too Mr. Connors. Oh, I guess I should ask about my pay," Juanita said with a big smile. When she smiled at me it was like someone turned on extra lights in my office. Normally waitresses are paid not much more than minimum wage plus tips I told Juanita. "But we expect you do be more than the normal waitress so we'll pay you better." I mentioned an hourly figure and Juanita agreed to the wage. "One more thing, you will have to split the tips with the Chief. If the people tip because of the service it's on you, if someone tips because they liked the food, it's on the Chief; I think it's fair that you both share the credit. Okay?" Juanita nodded and agreed to start that afternoon by helping the Chief spruce up the kitchen and I helped her set up the fixtures for the eating area. I watched and worked with her that afternoon and thought she was going to be a very attractive addition to Connor's. Juanita was tall at 5'9" with long almost midnight black hair worn almost to her waist. She had bright blue eyes and a slender figure that moved with easy grace. As she left that first day I wondered again how women could move the way they do when they walked. Men sort of plodded along as they walked but women, including Juanita, glided with their hips moving in an eye catching motion. Fascinating. It's an overused description but she was poetry in motion. Juanita had been with us for about 4 months and I felt close enough to ask her about her name. I was sitting on a bar stool having the one Jack Daniels a day that I allowed myself and Juanita sat down next to me. This wasn't the first time; she usually sat and talked to James and/or me before starting her shift. Mostly we talked about the pub but today we just talked; well I guess we were gossiping, about nothing important. "You've got a strange combination of nationalities in your name, Juanita." I said, hoping she would explain. "Not so strange when you think about it. My father is Irish and my mother is Mexican, so Juanita Riley. My husband's name was Johnson and I guess he was just down home American." She answered with pride. If the fates smiled on Connor's Pub when they sent us the Chief, they gave us a real gift in Juanita. She and the Chief worked very well together and with James and I. We served good substantial food, poured an honest drink, and gave the customers good service. Our business boomed and we had a lot of regulars and more all the time. Master Chief Jasper Quinn and I developed a very good working relationship; we became good friends too. Having an after work drink or just bullshitting around the bar I called him Jasper, but when a question or discussion about the pub or kitchen came up I called him Chief. He would never come right out and say I did something good; it was always "Finest kind, Sergeant." It was a sign of approval and respect from one non-com to another. ***************** It's been a year since James and I had the good luck in finding and hiring Juanita and Jasper. Yeah, he finally got me to call him Jasper even though I had to suppress a smile every time I used his name. Here's this old salt with a barrel chest and bowed legs with a first name like Jasper. Not really funny I guess but I've got a weird sense of humor. Several times a month, Juanita would bring her 3 year old son, William, into work with her. Her sister Lupe was her baby sitter and when Lupe had to work overtime Connor's was turned into a day care center. When Lupe got off work she would come by the pub and take William home. I was enlisted as a substitute baby sitter and kept William in my office until Lupe showed up. At first I was worried that the city inspector would raise hell about William being in a bar but I quit worrying when I found out that the Chief and he were old shipmates. Another problem solved by Chief Quinn. The first few times I was shanghaied into babysitting, I did it reluctantly and only because it would have pissed Juanita off if I refused. As much as she did extra around the pub I didn't want her upset by anything. What's more I would have pissed off Jasper too because he had sort of adopted Juanita's whole family. But around the third or fourth time I babysat I began to look forward to spending time with William. He was a cool kid; I hadn't been around too many children so I had no one to compare him to but I liked the little guy and enjoyed taking care of him. When he started to tell his mother that he wanted to stay with me instead of going home, William made me wonder what it would be like to be a father. After babysitting for three months, a total of eleven or twelve times, I suggested that I take William to Lupe when she got home. She would call me once she had a chance to settle in after getting off work and I would take him home. I even bought a car seat for my truck that installed easily. I was 28 and for the first time since Jackie I started to think about a family. Problem was that I didn't have much time to look for or develop a relationship. I worked in the construction office all day and spent most of my evenings helping out at the pub. Helping out, that's what I told myself; in reality I was just lonely. At least twice a month or sometimes more, Juanita would stay and we would have a late supper and talk. Nothing really important or earth shattering was discussed; she would use the time to wind down a little and I used the time to keep from being too lonely. She was an intelligent, street smart, and funny; I enjoyed our "dinner dates" as we called them. I was afraid to try to move our relationship past the friend and employer/employee stage. First I wasn't sure that Juanita wanted to become closer; I didn't want to piss her off and maybe lose her friendship and a great employee. Second, after that mess with Jackie I was still a little gun shy about letting myself get too involved with another woman. I think Jasper was trying to help move things along because he would make special little desserts that we shared after dinner. Just imagine Popeye the Sailor playing cupid. Watching him peek over the pass through in the kitchen to spy on us was hilarious. You Could've Heard a Pin Drop Ch. 02 One Saturday evening we had a private party at the pub that went past the normal cut off for food, actually it was a wedding rehearsal dinner. The young couple had met in Connor's Pub and thought that would be the perfect place for the rehearsal dinner. The Chief, I mean Jasper, I still wasn't entirely comfortable calling him anything but the Chief, stayed over and kept appetizers and finger foods coming out of the kitchen. He said that love needed all the help it could get as he pointedly looked at Juanita and me. That late Saturday night was a sort of turning point in the "Get your head out of your ass" operation as the Chief called it. Juanita and the Chief lived in the same apartment building and worked together so they spent a lot of time together. He told me that he and Juanita had talked a lot about me. Jasper said that I was wasting an opportunity here and wasn't real happy with me for not trying to get closer to Juanita. His exact words were, "Shit or get off the pot son, that boy needs a father and Juanita needs someone to love." Jasper wasn't the most eloquent of speakers but he got his point across. Juanita's car was in the shop that night and Jasper said he had to meet some buddies so I gave Juanita a ride home. I stopped in front of her house and lean across my truck to help open the passenger door; sometimes it sticks. As I moved to help with the door, Juanita moved to give me a kiss on the check as a thank you which she usually did. I turned the wrong way or she moved the right way and the kiss meant for my cheek was directly on my lips. We both pulled back in surprise and she started to apologize but Jasper's, I mean Cupids, arrow had hit its target. I pulled Juanita to me and really kissed her. Our normal two minute good night turned into a half hour make out session in my truck. We didn't go nuts and rip each other's clothes off or anything but there was a lot of kissing and holding and caressing. The next morning I had a hard time keeping a smile off my face. I think I was truly happy for the first time since my grandma had passed away. Yes James and I lost one of our "ladies" to a heart ailment and old age about six months after James and I opened the pub. James was still living with our mother in the house we had bought for her and my grandma. The Chief came in and as he walked by me he said, "Finest kind Sergeant." He didn't stop and went on into his kitchen. I watched him go by and when I turned Juanita was standing there. "Finest kind Sergeant Jake," she said with a big grin as she came and hugged me. I guess she felt the same way as I did about last night. That started a new phase of my life. Juanita and I didn't rush anything we just enjoyed our time together. Sometimes on her day off we would do something with William, like a real family. Sometimes we would leave the boy with Lupe and go on real dates. Other times we would go out after the pub closed; there wasn't a lot to do that late at night but we had a good time anyway. It was on one of these dates that we took the next step in our relationship. We were going to a late movie after the pub closed the kitchen down and I ran upstairs to my apartment to change my shirt. After ten minutes or so Juanita followed me upstairs to see what was taking me so long; I was having trouble deciding what shirt to wear. It was funny because I never worried about how I was dressed before Juanita; it was always T-shirts and jeans. She started to help me and I found out that the combination of Irish and Mexican made Juanita a very sexual person. Of course I did my best to uphold my Irish heritage also. I guess I'm being too subtle here, what I meant to say was we went at it like bunnies. It was a very exhausting but enjoyable evening and morning. Neither of us mentioned moving in together or marriage; we just enjoyed each other and had an unspoken understanding that we were a couple. Master Chief Quinn walked around strutting like a peacock because he felt he had been responsible for bringing us together. One evening Juanita had a school thing to go to and I stayed at the pub with James. When he would get a break from serving customers, I talked to my brother about my feelings since Jackie, about my feelings for Juanita, and my conflicting emotions and ideas. "I think I love her," I said in answer to James question about where my head was. "I'm afraid of getting hurt again. I can handle it but I just don't want to go through the pain again. God, I sound like a big wimp don't I?" I asked with an embarrassed laugh. James laughed with me and said, "You've already changed your thinking, I mean look at what's going on between you and Juanita. If you don't grab her up some guy smarter than you will. It's time to stop sulking and get on with your life and leave that bitch Jackie behind you," James told me forcefully. My brother has a unique way of cutting through the bullshit. That night after closing the pub I took Juanita home, William wasn't feeling well and she didn't want to go out that evening. After she checked on him we sat on her front porch, snuggled and talked. I decided to take my brother's advice; I put the past behind me and took a step to get on with my life. That night, completely sober and completely dressed and not in the heat of a sexual moment I told Juanita that I loved her. I knew she cared for me but I didn't know how she would react because we had avoided any discussion about our relationship. I waited expectantly for her to say something. Juanita had tears in her eyes as she hugged me very hard and said, "Finest kind Sergeant Jake." The next week to ten days were the happiest I had been in a long time. I secretly bought an engagement ring and planned to propose to Juanita at the pub in front of my brother, the Chief, and several of our regular customers that had witnessed the growth of our relationship. Nice idea, it was romantic; a good plan. About 8 PM on Friday night I was working behind the bar so that James could take a break after the usual first rush of business. When James came back I planned to come from behind the bar, call Juanita over and when she got there I was going to drop to one knee and propose; right in front of God and everybody. Men plan and the Gods laugh. I had my head down restocking one of the coolers when I heard a voice from my past. "Hello Jake, it's been a long time. I like the pub, you're doing very well I see." Looking up I saw Jackie sitting at my bar. I've heard people talk about their heart being in their throat, I've heard people talk about having a sinking feeling in their chest, and I've heard people say that the hair on the back of their neck stood up but until that moment I believed that was just talk. Now, I understood because I was experiencing all three feelings and more. I was stunned and speechless. It had been over three years since I last saw Jackie but all the hurt, anger, and feelings of betrayal came back in a second. "Buy an old friend a drink Jake?" Jackie asked as if nothing had happened between us. My first thought was to tell her to get the hell out of my pub. But I didn't want her to know how much her actions years ago had affected me and still did to this day, so I played it cool. I poured her a glass of white wine and set it in front of her. "You remembered, that's sweet," she said. After I had poured her drink she asked, "Aren't you going to join me? It's sort of a celebration, I mean seeing each other after all this time." "Jackie, what the hell is going on? What are you doing here?" The tone in my voice was less than friendly. "C'mon, have a drink with me and let's talk for a little. Please!" She put her hand on my arm and looked at me with the special little smile that used to drive me nuts. Jackie had always given me that smile just before we would make love. "I limit myself to one drink a night, usually after we close." I pulled my arm away from her hand and repeated my questions. "What are you doing here and what do you want?" Over Jackie's shoulder I saw James come back inside after his smoke break and stop at the kitchen pass through to talk to the Chief; Juanita was standing there waiting for her order. Jasper asked him something and James looked in my direction. The bar and the kitchen are at least forty feet apart but I distinctly heard James say, "Oh shit", when he saw Jackie sitting on a bar stool. Juanita listened as James appeared to be explaining who Jackie was, what she had meant to me, and what had happened. The Chief said something like "that bitch" and other choice descriptions learned from a life time in the Navy. It would have been funny and educational if I hadn't been involved. Juanita decided that now would be a good time to put in a drink order and came to the waitress' service area at the end of the bar. "Jack Daniels on the rocks, splash of water and a rum and coke tall," she ordered, purposely not looking Jackie's way. Normally she would have gone on to serve another table but this time she stood there watching as I filled the order. "Jake I know who she is but what does she want?" Juanita whispered as I put the drinks on a serving tray. I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head in answer and she told me, "I suggest that you find out." Her Irish temper was beginning to show. I moved the scheduled time for my one drink of the night up a few hours and poured three fingers of Jack Daniels over ice; I needed it more now than later I thought. Jackie smiled when she saw me with a drink and her face sort of lit up thinking I had decided to join her after all. I had to admit that she looked good. She was more mature and had developed from a pretty girl into a beautiful woman. Her auburn hair was cut shorter and she wore less make up than she used to but Jackie was drop dead gorgeous and she knew it. She saw me inspecting her and preened a little as I came back to where she was sitting. "One more time, what do you want Jackie?" I said with anger; it let the air out of her a little. "Okay, no idle chatter huh?" She hesitated for a second and hit me with a sledge hammer. "I want us to get back together." Jackie held up her hand as I started to explode. "Please Jake hear me out. I know I screwed up royally three years ago, but I've matured and know what I want now. I wasn't sure back then and instead of talking to you and maybe postponing the wedding I did some stupid things." She had her head down as she spoke but now she looked into my eyes. "I know you still care for me, maybe even still love me. I saw it in your eyes when I sat down at the bar. Please let's see if we can get back to where we were. I've never gotten over you Jake and I still love you." Jackie finished and looked at me expectantly. "Not going to happen Jackie. That look you saw was disgust. I'm in love with someone else and if she'll have me I'm going to marry her." I have to admit it felt good to watch Jackie deflate a little. "But I still love you," she pleaded. "Do you remember what I said to you the last time we talked?" Jackie shook her head no. "I told you that if you still loved me that it was your misfortune. I said that I still loved you and that would be my cross to bear until I could get you out of my heart." I paused and then continued, "It's not my cross anymore, I don't love you and I'm the better for it. The wine's on me, now for the last time good bye Jackie." When I turned away Juanita was at the service area watching and listening. She had a big smile on her face and her eyes looked moist. I had been so intent on telling Jackie to go to hell that I hadn't know Juanita was there. I smiled back at her and neither of us noticed Jackie leaving. "You want to marry me?" Juanita asked hopefully. I came around the bar to join her and said, "I didn't mean for it to happen this way, but yes I want to marry you." I got down on one knee and held out the ring. "Juanita Riley Johnson, will you marry me?" She jumped into my arms even though I was kneeling and kissed me several times, saying yes each time she did. There was no doubt that she accepted my proposal. I heard applause, looked over the room, and saw all the customers standing and clapping like crazy. James was smiling and laughing, applauding with them. Master Chief Jasper Quinn had come out of the kitchen and was clapping vigorously. It looked like he had tears in his eyes but it must have been a trick of the lighting. My brother went to the front door and locked up; turning out all the lights except the ones behind the bar and the celebration began. Everyone joined in including the customers and a good time no, a great time, was had by all. We partied until daylight and not many people left until the Chief shooed them out the door around 5:30 AM. Juanita had called Lupe told her the news and asked her to bring William with her to help us celebrate. William didn't know exactly what was going on but he had a great time sitting on top of the bar talking at James and riding around on the Chief's shoulders. I guess his excitement quota got overloaded and about 10 o'clock we bedded him down in my office. After the party James, Juanita, and the Chief helped get William and I up to my apartment. Jasper carried the boy and James and Juanita helped me up the stairs. I was having trouble walking because I had exceeded my one drink limit; I think I put away about half a bottle of Jack Daniels. What the hell, it was a party. ****************** We held the wedding at our pub six weeks after I proposed; we thought there's no need to travel a long way to party at a reception. I guess you could call it a one stop wedding and celebration. James and Lupe played the parts of best man and maid of honor in our little show. Our mother was the flower girl, Master Chief Jasper Quinn walked Juanita down the aisle and young William Andrew Johnson was the ring bearer. Neither Juanita nor I were regular church goers so we had the minister of a neighborhood church preside at the ceremony. He and his wife were regular customers and could be found at the pub's fish fry every Friday night. Other than family most of the invited guests were our regular customers and a few friends. James had a huge sign made and hung it on the front of the pub telling everyone that we would be closed until 6:30 on Saturday evening because of the wedding. The sign also said that the pub would reopen at 7 for the reception and everyone was invited. There was free Champaign and a buffet courtesy of Connor's Pub; however when the food and wine ran out you were on your own. I know it was our wedding reception but I've never been to one where the wedding party had such a good time. It wasn't just a reception but a celebration of life for all concerned. Miracle of miracles I even saw the Chief dancing with my mother; I never realized until that night that Jasper is only 57. I'll have to keep an eye on those two. Juanita and I had planned to take a week for a honeymoon, but the pub got so busy after the wedding that we didn't want to leave all the work to James and the Chief. Connor's Pub and Grill got a lot of publicity when a local TV station did a human interest story on the one stop wedding and reception. Our business picked up overnight. Starting the day after the T.V. story we began to get calls from couples wanting to hold their wedding and reception at our pub. It was funny, we did something that felt right for us and it turned into a cash cow for the business. ******************* Six months later the hoopla has died down somewhat. We had seven or eight weddings/receptions at the pub before the novelty wore off. One good thing, most of the increase in business continued. If you give a customer good food, good drinks, and good service there's no reason you can't succeed. Juanita and I finally got to take a few days for a honeymoon. We just traveled around the state playing tourist. When we got back we exchanged homes with Mom and James; I didn't think it was right to raise William in an apartment over a pub even if it was our pub. My mom and James moved into the apartment; it was easier on James and mom said she want to help out in the pub. She said she was tired of sitting around and not doing much; I wonder if that's just an excuse to spend time with the Chief. Juanita, William and I moved into the house and we invited Lupe to join us. Lupe began to spend a few weekends at the pub helping out on the floor. It gave Juanita a break and allowed us to have a more normal home life. I had liked and enjoyed William before the marriage but now I found myself loving him and wishing he was really mine. One Sunday afternoon we took William on a picnic. He had tired himself out chasing butterflies and squirrels and we put him down for a nap. Juanita noticed that I was quiet and a little thoughtful. "Is there something bothering you Jake? You're very quiet today," She said with concern. Nodding I took a deep breath and asked, "What would you think about me adopting William? No, let me finish sweetie," I said before she could say anything. "You know I love the little guy and I want to be more than his step-father." I peeked at Juanita and could see the beginning in her eyes. "I don't want to disrespect his father or his heritage so I don't want to drop Johnson from his name; I just want to add Connors at the end." Now I looked directly at Juanita. Now the tears were running down her cheeks but she was smiling. "What do you think of the idea?" "Finest kind Sergeant Jake," she said as she pulled me across the blanket and kissed me. The next evening at the pub during a lull Juanita joined me at the table we reserved for family and sat down. "You know we never really talked about things before we got married. I mean we went from dating to I love you to getting married pretty quickly." "What should we have talked about?" I asked a little worried. "Well several things but the most important one is how do you feel about us having children? Do you want more kids or is William enough for you, just how do you feel about it?" I studied her face for a minute trying to get a fix on how she felt. The truth would be best here I thought. "We have a big house so I'd like to fill it up with kids." "And when would you like to start filling it up?" Juanita asked with a big grin. "Well we been practicing a lot but maybe we should get serious now. I'd like to start right away." I matched the grin on her face with one of my own. "That's good because I'm two months pregnant," she said laughing at the shocked look on my face. "What do you think Mr. Connors?" "Finest kind Mrs. Connors." ***************** Another year has rushed past. Connor's Pub and Grill is still growing and going strong. We hired a young man just out of the Navy to help the Chief in the kitchen. Jasper says he'll make him a good cook or kill him trying. There are two new waitresses working on the weekends. Juanita and I had another son, James Jasper Connors. The kid will just have to deal with his middle name; we can call him J.J. I adopted William and his name is now William Andrew Johnson Connors. Lupe is taking over for my wife at the pub for a couple of years because Juanita wants to stay at home with our boys for awhile; or maybe she wants to get a start on number three. There may be another wedding soon, Lupe and James are getting pretty tight. That's a good thing. More surprising to me is that my mother and Master Chief Jasper Quinn are becoming an item. I don't think they'll get married but they are spending a lot of time together. We've been approached about selling Connor's Pub, but I don't think it will happen. How can you sell something that has become a part of you? Besides I'm going to need a place to escape to so I can rest, Juanita is talking about having at least two more children. You Could've Heard a Pin Drop Ch. 02 To quote Master Chief Jasper Quinn and an English friend: Life goes on. You Could've Heard a Pin Drop "Yeah, but what did you do when you got home?" I asked with a nasty look. Jackie was shocked and threw my keys at me. "Fuck you Jake," she yelled and turned to enter her apartment. "I'm sorry," I shouted at her. "That was uncalled for and I apologize. Please come back and let's settle this." I realized that I had stepped over the line with that last comment. She calmed down and said, "I don't understand why you got so upset. I told you it was an emergency situation." "No Jackie. An emergency is when Bill calls and says he cut off a finger or hand, please come take me to the hospital. An emergency is when he calls and says he's fallen and broken his leg and needs your help. Those are emergencies; Bill needing a date is not an emergency." I got out and stood in front of Jackie. "Don't you understand? When you broke our date to go out with him, no matter what the reason, you were saying that I didn't count with you as much as he does. I wasn't very happy that you were dating other guys anyway and then you tell me that I'm not important enough for you to keep your date with me." I hadn't realized until just then how hurt I had been by Jackie's actions. The anger I knew about but the hurt was a surprise. Jackie apologized again and she got me to talk some more. She finally got me to go inside for coffee. Then she talked me into staying for dinner. I didn't leave again until the next morning. Yeah I know I'm a wimp. What can I say? I was about half ass in love with her and when she came out of her room wearing nothing but high heels, my little head took control. Jackie hadn't changed in the three weeks that I hadn't seen her; she was still a sexual dynamo. The Army and then the construction crews taught me a lot. They taught me a good work ethic, they taught me to do the job right and they taught me to be dependable. They didn't teach me how to deal with women. So I took her back. Jackie and I become exclusive or were going steady or whatever you want to call it. We didn't date other people. This continued for about six months. She never broke another date with me, but there were a few nights that she couldn't go out. She was visiting her mother or having a girl's night out or some other innocent sounding reason. Jackie and I didn't move in together but spent very few nights apart. I thought if this is what married life is like, I'm all for it. I bought an engagement ring and proposed to her in Kelly's after a movie. Not the most romantic setting but Jackie must have liked it. She said yes through her tears. We planned to get married in three months and I was looking forward to being a family and maybe having kids. The month after I proposed I began to hear little things concerning Jackie. On more than one occasion a couple of the guys that I worked with would kid me about Jackie and me having an open relationship. I took it all as a joke until Rose saw me at Kelly's one night and sat down to talk to me. Jackie was on one of her girl's nights and I was there alone. Rose is a friend and is Jeff's sister; Jeff is one of the guys I work with and a good friend. I had dated Rose a few times before I started dating Jackie. Rose is a good looking gal but there wasn't a spark there so we decided to be buddies. "Where's Jackie tonight?" Rose asked with more than normal curiosity. "Hey Rose. She's out with some girls from the bank again. I think I'll have to put a stop to that after we're married." I laughed. "Jake, you better check your woman. She's doing stuff that an engaged girl shouldn't be doing," Rose sadly told me. "What are you talkin about Rose?" Normally I don't pay any attention to gossip or rumors, but Rose was a close friend. She hesitantly told me that three or four times in the last two months she had seen Jackie at Bailey's and she wasn't alone. Rose told me that Jackie was sitting with a good looking, well dressed guy and they seemed to be more than casual acquaintances. This guy and Jackie would dance very close and seemed to be really into each other. Rose said that they didn't do anything raunchy but she didn't think it would pass the boyfriend test. "I'm sorry as hell Jake, but you're my friend and I don't like seeing you get screwed over," Rose finished. I thanked Rose, finished my drink, and left. If it had been anybody other than Rose, I would have just brushed it off. It was only about 10 PM and I wondered if I should check up on Jackie. I remembered Jackie's emergency date with Bill and the fact that her nights out with the girls didn't start until we got back together. Before I knew it I was in Bailey's parking lot; I guess I had made the decision to check up on her. Bailey's is a large club on the other side of town. Inside the place a bar ran down one wall separated from the tables around the dance floor by a chest high divider. The place was fairly crowded for a week night but I found a place at the bar where I could see the dance floor. It didn't take long to spot Jackie; she had just finished dancing and came back to a table with several other people at it. There were two guys at the table; three counting the guy that Jackie had been dancing with. Mostly it was girls that Jackie worked with. Nothing wrong with that I thought; man was I wrong. Jackie and her dance partner sat down side by side at the table. The guy said something to Jackie, put his arm around her, and pulled her to him. She smiled at him and kissed him. It wasn't a peck on the cheek but a full fledged, stick your tongue down the throat kiss. Jackie was wearing a little summer dresser held up by two straps leaving her shoulders almost bare and showing a lot of cleavage. After the kiss the guy hand was sort of hanging over her shoulder and his fingers would brush the top of her breast now and then. Jackie was rubbing his leg and appeared to love the attention. Rose was right; Jackie's actions wouldn't pass the boyfriend test. Finishing my drink, I pushed myself off the bar and started toward Jackie and her friend. I had no intentions of starting trouble but I wasn't going to put up with this shit. Our engagement was over and I wanted my ring back, at least that's what I told myself. But I also hoped that her buddy and/or his two friends would want to get involved. That would be just fine with me. Just before I rounded the room divider, my friend Jeff stepped in front of me. He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away toward the door. I shook his hand off and turned back toward Jackie and her friends. "Jake, don't," Jeff said. "If you go over there will be trouble and you don't need it." "I'm not going to start anything. I just want my ring back from that bitch and I'm going to get it. No trouble, I'll just get my ring and tell Jackie that we're over," I explained. "Bullshit. Your eyes have that crazy look in them. If you go over there one of those guys will say something and all hell will break loose. They'll end up in the hospital if their lucky and you'll end up in jail; maybe for a long time. You don't' need that." I listened to Jeff and then started to push by him saying, "Stay out of it Jeff. If I have to put you down to get around you I will." He shook his head, stepped back and said, "I can't believe that you're going to let that cheating bitch ruin your life. You're an idiot, go ahead." I stepped around Jeff and found Rose standing in my way. "Are you going to put me down too, Jake? That's what you'll have to do because I'm not letting you go to jail tonight." Rose stared at me defiantly with her hands on her hips. "I knew you would come here, I could see it in your eyes. I called Jeff and we decided to follow you and keep you out of trouble." I hesitated and stared back at Rose. If the situation hadn't have been so sad, it would have been funny. This little girl about 5 feet 6 standing in front of this 6 foot 4 behemoth; trying to stop him from making a bad mistake. It's nice to have good friends. Rose had shocked me into thinking and not reacting. She and Jeff were right, if I went over there someone was going down. Jeff and Rose convinced me to confront Jackie in a more private setting, preferably when she was alone. Good idea, I knew I would never physically harm Jackie and I could get my ring back. That was cut in stone, I wanted my ring and I wanted shed of Jackie. On my way home the more I thought about it, the more I didn't want the situation to continue any longer than necessary. I drove to Jackie's place and parked a couple of houses away to wait for her. She shouldn't be very late because she had to work tomorrow. If she came home alone, I would get my ring and tell her to go to hell. If she came home with that guy and he wanted to get involved, that was his problem. Either way, it would be settled tonight. About midnight a car parked in front of her apartment and Jackie and the dude from the club got out. They walked hand in hand to her door. Jackie turned to say good night and in the next minute they were making out. There was no doubt, they were swapping tongues and grinding against each other. If it's possible to fuck with your clothes on, those two were doing it. After five minutes or so, Jackie pushed him away, smiled, and said something to him that made him laugh. She unlocked her door and turned back toward him. Some guys would have went belly up and been all torn up by seeing what they were doing. Some guys would wait and get pictures or other evidence to use in confronting their cheating partners. And some guys would do what I did. I didn't hesitate and went right to Jackie's door. They didn't notice me at first and then Jackie looked over the guy's shoulder and saw me. She let out a small scream and stepped further away from her friend. Of course I heard the classic line. "Jake, what are you doing here?" "I'm breaking up with my lying, cheating, whore of a fiancée. I'll take my ring back bitch." I grabbed her hand and pulled off the engagement ring. Then I heard the rest of the clichéd lines. "Wait! It's not what it looks like. Bill's just a friend. We weren't doing anything. It doesn't mean anything," Jackie said. "Bullshit. I saw you and your "friend" at Bailey's Jackie." Her eyes got big and she put her hands up to her face. "Yeah, that's right; I saw the kissing, hugging, and his hand on you. I saw you stroking his leg and loving the attention. I also saw the make out session just now." As I finished talking to Jackie, Bill put his hand on my arm and told me to get away from her. "Billy Boy, you wouldn't be here unless she invited you, so I'll give you one warning. Take your hand off me and stay out of this," I told him. He braced himself to come after me, but before he could do anything Jackie stepped in between us. "Bill, please leave. Don't make things any worse," Jackie pleaded with him. He stepped back and walked toward his car. "I'll call you tomorrow Jackie," he said, smiling at me. "Don't leave on my account Billy Boy. Stay, go inside and finish what you two started at the door," I told him. I turned to Jackie and said, "It doesn't matter to me because we're done Jackie. I walked past Bill and started toward my truck. Jackie was following me crying and trying to get me to talk to her. I never said a word went to my truck, and drove off. Two or three blocks away I had to stop because I was shaking so bad. The anger was boiling inside of me and I needed to calm down before I drove into a tree or ran over someone. After ten minutes or so, I restarted the truck and headed back to Jackie's. Why I did it, I can't explain but I had to know if Bill stayed or left. I drove past Jackie's and his car was gone. For some reason that made me feel better. I know it's a cliché but it's true anyway. If you love someone you can't turn it off like a beer tap; no matter what they have done. You may hate them, but you hate them because you love them. I guess that's why I felt better when Bill didn't spend the night at Jackie's. **************** So here I sit in Kelly's as I finish my Jack Daniels and trying to decide which hospital to give my business to. I promised the EMT that I would go and besides my nose was starting to hurt and my eye was swelling up. Jackie had called several times after that night at her door, but I refused to talk to her. She would say we needed to talk and I would say no we don't and hang up. I guess she got the message after eight or nine times. That's when she started to come to Kelly's. Two nights after the dust up, I was in Kelly's having my usual and showing off the stitches over my eye and the bandage on my nose. I was still depending on Jack Daniels to help me get through the nights. There weren't a lot of people in the bar, maybe 20 or so regulars but it got really quiet all at once. It was the old "you could've heard a pin drop" scenario all over again. I looked into the mirror behind the bar and saw Jackie standing behind me. Oh shit, not again I thought. "Jake please talk to me," Jackie pleaded. "If you will just talk to me for a few minutes I promise I won't come into Kelly's anymore, if that's what you want." "Okay Jackie, grab a booth. I'm going to get another drink and then I'll come and talk to you. You want something?" After getting my drink and a white wine I slid into the booth across from Jackie and said, "By the way, where's Billy Boy? Didn't he want to come with you?" I asked with dripping sarcasm She smiled a little and answered, "No, he said he never wanted to see you again. I think you destroyed his confidence in his black belt. It was a mistake to bring him with me, but I thought it might goad you into talking to me. Guess I was wrong, huh?" "You wanted to talk so talk. Let's get this over with." I wanted to get away from her because I didn't want her to see how much I was hurting. Jackie started with the clichés again. I'm sorry, it didn't mean anything, it wasn't what it looked like and it's you I love. I listened to her spout all the usual bullshit until she wound down after about five minutes. "Enough! First, you don't cheat on or lie to someone you love. I'll tell you what it looked like. At the club, it looked like you were lovers. At your door, it looked like you two were humping each other like dogs in heat. That's what it looked like. And it did mean something, it meant everything to me. It meant that the woman I loved, my fiancée, the woman I was going to spend the rest of life with was a cheating bitch. No don't start crying now; it's too late for that bullshit." Jackie had started to cry, loudly. She got control of herself and I continued. "I was told by several people that you were out partying with some guy on you girl's nights out, but I didn't believe the rumors and gossip. I didn't want to believe that my lady would do that. It wasn't until a close friend told me she saw you that I knew you were cheating." I stopped to take a drink and Jackie jumped in. "But I didn't cheat. I didn't sleep with Bill; we just danced and fooled around a little. Maybe I did let things go too far that night, but I wasn't going to sleep with him. I wasn't Jake," she told me. "It isn't just the night that I caught you, although that's a big part of it. You used your girl's nights as an excuse to spend time with Bill and lied to me about it. The first time you lied to me, you cheated. The first time you let him hold you too close as you danced, you cheated. The first time you hugged him or the first time you kissed him, you were cheating." Now I was the one that had to get control of myself; I was getting mad all over again. "The fact that you didn't sleep with him doesn't change the fact that you were cheating Jackie. I believe that you would have screwed him if things kept on the way they were. The next time you probably would have invited Bill in. Let me ask you something. If you had known I was at Bailey's would you have still acted the way you did with Bill? If I had been at your door would you still have had the make out session that I saw? Jackie hung her head for a few seconds and then looked over at me. "No, I wouldn't have done any of that if you had been there. It wouldn't have been right and you wouldn't have liked it." "Then what makes you think it was alright to do that shit behind my back?" I stopped waiting for an answer but she couldn't or wouldn't give me one. "Okay Jackie, we've had our talk and nothing has changed. You say you love me; well that's your misfortune. I still love you and that's my cross to bear. At least until I can get you out of my heart. Now, I expect you to keep your promise and stay out of Kelly's. Good bye Jackie." I got up and went back to the bar. Kelly saw me coming and had another drink waiting for me. It took a few minutes but Jackie got up walked past me and out the door. I never saw her or Bill again. I heard later that she quit her job at the bank and moved to the west coast, alone. ****************** Two years have passed since Jackie and I broke up. I still go into Kelly's almost every night, but most of the time I drink club soda or coffee. The Jack Daniels still gets poured for me but only on the weekends and then with moderation. I found I didn't need it after Jackie and I talked that night. Do I miss her? I certainly miss the sex; she was the best I've ever had before or since. The idea of "us", a family, and the life with someone you love is what I miss. Am I bitter? No, I don't think so. I still want to get married and have a family but none of the ladies I've met and bedded have touched me in that way. But I keep looking. I'm still working construction, but I'll have to get out of it in the near future. I fell off a scaffold about a year ago and messed up my knee big time. Right now I can keep working but there will come a time that the knee won't hold up to the abuse. My brother came home about six months ago with a bum leg; it got shot up in some shit hole third world country. He uses a cane to help him walk but that's okay. James won't have far to walk behind the bar. You see Kelly wanted to retire so James and I bought the bar. Between the two of us we were able to come up with most of the cash and Kelly financed the rest of it. Maybe I can get into the office and do construction planning or scheduling but even if I can't I'll be okay with my share of the bar. I'm already cutting back on expenses at the bar because I don't have to hire a bouncer. So here I am, starting a new career and looking for the right woman. In the mean time as an English friend of mine says, life goes on.