0 comments/ 26678 views/ 7 favorites Jill's Affair Abruptly Ends By: c1992w Author's Foreword: This submission's details are similar to an actual event. These people definitely could live next door to the reader. Thanks for reading my work. ***** Jake Duncan was a 40-something confirmed bachelor with two fuck-buddies he dated regularly. He owned and lived in a medium rise working class condominium building in a large Northeastern city. Since he was a high volume capital stock trader (distinct from a day-trader) he worked from his second bedroom he used as an office. He was almost always at home before and during trading hours. His two hundred grand average taxable annual earnings allowed him enough luxuries. Life was good. To add quality to his life, however, he had been a volunteer mentor for troubled youngsters under the auspices of a foster care non-profit agency for many years. He had watched several troubled youngsters he had mentored in time graduate from high school. Jake currently spent Saturday afternoons with an inner city mentee and spent as much as two hours day with Bobby Carney, another youngster, who lived in the Condo unit adjacent to his. Jill Carney and her husband, Harold were a 30ish couple whose son was a 5th grader, named Bobby. When the student was delivered from school, Bobby went to Jake's house as his parents had arranged with the mentor to perform those paid childcare services. Bobby's Dad, Harold, was a freight handler for a transcontinental trucking firm so his hours at work were limited. Jill lectured Business, Procedural, and Technical writing in a trade school. Her classes were afternoon and evening sessions. This necessitated the paid child care which Jake gladly did, and to some extent because the extra money helped Jake. More importantly, though, the two had a mentor-mentee relationship since the child entered first grade. Jake often felt guilty for accepting the struggling couple's money - and they often were behind in their payments to him. My story starts one morning when Jake realized his driver's license expired in 10 days and needed to renew it pronto. He lettered a note that said, "Jill and Harold, have school bus drop Bobby at library tomorrow. I will pick him up there after visiting DMV." Jake used his key given to him by the parents four years ago to enter the Carney's apartment as part of his childcare duties. He walked down the hall to put the note on their dining table, as he normally did important notes through the years. In a robot fashion he raised his knuckles to knock when he heard Jill's plaintiff cry through the heavy wooden door, "Stay away from me, Asshole, and get out and don't come back when my husband is not here. You know I am not on the pill since Harold and I are trying to have another child!" The male voice of the one person in the building detested by most men, including Jake, was that of the Building Superintendent (the Super), who Jake instantly recognized, replied, "Just one quick fuck, Jill, and then I promise I won't bother you again anymore - hell, I always use a rubber anyway, don't I!" Harmon Carson, the building Super, was a man who didn't have a single friend who was not bought and paid for, and was currently being the womanizer that most younger men believed him to be. He was the alpha-male prototype - being tall, dark, handsome, well hung, and rich (someday). At Home Owners Association meetings Carson's firing was always proposed, but tabled, as many of the present and former husbands knew him to be a womanizer. But the senior citizen ladies in the building, who were not his prey, supported him without reservations. So Carson's attitude was that any woman of his choosing who lived in the building where he was Super was a member of his harem. Life appeared to be very good for this hated man. But, today was not Harmon Carson's day. Jake picked that moment to rap on the door and key it open in one continuous movement - as usual when no one was expected to be at home. There stood the Super with his pants down to his ankles and his softening cock sticking out from his shirt tail. He was standing about 2 feet from Jill, where she was trying to pull her robe around herself. Her eyes were closed trying to suppress a scream. Jake said, as if there was nothing unusual happening in the room, "Jill, you are normally gone at this time and I came to put this note on your table. Sorry for disturbing you," as he placed it in her trembling hands and promptly left, letting the door pneumatically close behind him. Jake felt awful walking the few steps to his own unit because he had just learned that Jill was another one of Carson's 'pussy-de jure' ladies. But he was resolved to mind his own business and ignore what he had witnessed. ——- The trader went back to watching the market and adjusting some trailing stops on his long positions until the market closed. He had buzzed his young student friend, Bobby, into the building about 2:30 and then opened his condo front door for him. After greeting his mentee, Jake continued working. As usual, the 5th grader just smiled and took his books out of his back pack and went to work himself. Later Jake walked near the dining room table and silently watched the eleven year old diligently do his homework. The trader thought to himself, "What a fucked up world for a nice, bright kid to be dropped into!" Just as the market closed, there was a knock on the door. Standing there was Jill. After she and her son greeted and chatted for a moment, she lied to Jake, "Someone is covering my 5:30 class and I wonder if you could help me with my water filter?" Jake said to her son, "Keep your seat, Bobby, and continue working. I will be right back." Once in her apartment with the dead bolt lock on she turned and said, "Whatever you think of me, Jake, you are Bobby's hero. Please continue to give him support." "I had no intention of doing anything differently around Bobby or you or Harold, lady. After five years of mentoring a youngster one is not likely to change the status quo between the two - bonds are very strong, both ways." She replied, "That is great. You should know that Harold probably was not Bobby's sperm donor - and I have been promiscuous all of my adult life. Carson had been stopping by for the past year and a half and it was our secret until you happened upon us." Jake asked, "But Jill, I heard you tell Carson that you and Harold were trying to have another child. Is that true or were you just talking defensively?" "I had just given him a blow job and was trying to get him to leave, as crazy as it sounds. I had harbored an idea that our baby might forgive some of my sins against Harold and my marriage. My husband was ecstatic over the idea. I had told Carson our plan earlier but he forced himself in anyway. Knowing me, you probably prevented him from being the actual father of Harold and my planned child - as this morning's thermometer reading indicates that today is the day for me to get pregnant." "Jill, none of what you are saying is rational. Have you sought professional help?" "Yes, and the fat ugly walrus concluded, 'I was a lesbian screaming to get out,' and she was kissing my body after my third session, and so I gave up therapy after a brief affair with that woman." Her eyes were red but there were no tears and she said, "Your crashing our party caused me to do some serious thinking about many things, including another child. Now that I have rethought it, I would have to hate my own child to do that to him or her, wouldn't I?" "Yes. So, Jill, where do you go from here?" She looked at him with a pleading face and said, "Jake, I need help and you are the only person I trust. Will you help me? You have such a level head on you - I know you have seen my tits and nipples more than once over the years when I flashed them trying to seduce you. But you ignored me. "Jill, you have met both of the ladies who I regularly date and never tell either about the other, for which I thank you. I don't get involved with married women. Period. End of story. I told you this when Bobby was a first grader!" "Of course, you are right but you are my friend and have given me sound advice for five years - for example, you crafted my resume and cover letter that resulted in my getting this office skills teaching job." "Jill, first understand I don't like cheating wives at all - in fact I never married because of that deep-seated fear - and now that what I suspected about you has been confirmed, I think less of you. In fact, I would have nothing to do with you at all were there no Bobby in my life. The second thing is please don't ever lie to me directly or by omitting something very important again - like what you have brought to light today. So feel free to ask me questions and I will tell you what a rational person might do but I won't give advice. Agreed?" Jill reached to hug him but Jake restrained her arms. She reluctantly said, "Thank you, Jake. And thanks for loving my son." ————- Harold knocked on Jake's door and stepped inside with a huge grin on his face, ear to ear. Bobby jumped up and hugged his Dad, 'Hello,' and said, "I am almost finished with these long division problems. One minute, Daddy." Harold Carney looked like a circus weight lifter and had delighted Jake by showing a video clip of him tossing a 150 pound barbell like a bowling ball. He unloaded stand alone cartons of freight in his regular job that were in bobtail local freight pickup trucks. Even with a job like that, Jake often found him in the Condo's gym with the free weights. The first thought in Jake's mind was, "Damn Harman Carson is playing with fire. Harold could and would smear him all over the parking lot if he knew about Jill's perfidy. What a fucked up world!" Bobby's Dad said, "There is a notice on the bulletin board down stairs that we have a new building superintendent starting tomorrow. I wonder what happened to our ultra-handsome ladies' man, Carson - probably some jealous husband caught him playing hanky panky with his wife and reported him and threatened violence! Good riddance to that bastard!" Jake smiled and agreed but was reluctant to talk very much because he was still upset. So the two friends chatted about their day and the market respectively while awaiting Bobby to wrap up his work." —— When Jill Carney finished her last class, she drove straight home arriving about 9:00. Walking through the lobby she saw the notice of the new Super that would start tomorrow. Bobby was in bed reading a Hardy Boys mystery book and she visited a moment with him. She then said 'goodnight' and went into the kitchen where her husband was warming up her dinner. She went over and wrapped her arms around Harold from the rear. He spun her around and tried to clasp Jill's entire groin area with his fielder's glove sized hand. She pushed him away playfully and said, "Down boy! I don't have the energy to get it on right now - make an appointment with me for after I eat that lasagna you are warming up!" "O.K. Appointment duly made," Harold announced with a huge smile on his face!" While Jill hungrily ate her dinner, she ask, "Harold, do you mind if we hold off on having our second child for a while - I am worried about several things - like our finances (do you know that a two day hospital stay now costs 50,000 dollars and up if there are complications?) and I feel very tense about the future stability of society - not to mention violence in this part of town." Harold's demeanor changed 180 degrees and he frowned. He said, "We both have insurance for contingencies and the Union is renegotiating last years contract and I am sure a raise will come from that. So what if the world is going to hell, I can protect us. Besides that, we are not getting any younger, so why do I think there might be something else driving your reneging on our plan?" Jill ran from the room into the bathroom and locked the door. She sat on the stool and cried like a baby, unable to think of anything to say to her husband. Soon Harold knocked and said, "You dinner is on the table. I am walking up to Joe's Bar." ———- Harold walked into the neighborhood bar and immediately spotted a fellow gym enthusiast who lived on the second floor of his Condo building. He slid onto a stool beside him and said, "How are they hanging, Porter?" "Hey, Harold, you O.K.?" "Not really, my wife, Jill, is acting crazy." Porter said, "I am getting stone drunk because of some news I got today. My wife finally admitted that she had been one of Harman Carson's pussies now that that gentleman is no longer working in our building. And she wouldn't even confess that until I presented her with the evidence. So, she left and took our daughter with her to her Mother's house. It's my second marriage in the shitter! So I feel awful." Harold Carney asked, "What evidence did you present to her?" Porter said, "Here, it is going to be a best seller. It's a video clip taken in our bedroom by a micro-cam a PI installed one day. I will show you." He pulled out his cell phone and played a video clip of two naked people getting it on in his bedroom. Harold recognized Carson but he had never seen Porter's wife. After their romp was over, Carson had said to Porter's wife, 'I can give you a beautiful, intelligent and healthy baby when you are ready - just say the word - its happened before, you know!' That disturbed Harold even more than he was earlier. He said, "I am really sorry, Porter. But I have heard for five years that he was punching a few women in our building - or who were formerly in our building. But he is gone now. If I were you, I would find his address and give that ladies man a serious talking to... The suffering Porter said, "Hell, Man, violence wouldn't make the wife love me again and I would just fuck up my own life. Besides that I thought being a mother was a full time job for her - but shit, what do I know, obviously?" Harold said, I am sorry but I am relieved. He doesn't seem to go after the working women, just the stay-at-homes. Maybe it's your fault because you make so much money your wife didn't need to work! Heh heh." Porter ignored the comment and asked, "Anyway, so what are you so tense about tonight, Harold?" "Hell, Jill and I had talked about having a second child and I spent the day in anticipation of having a wonderful evening with her. But, when she got home from her classes she had changed her mind to wait a while. So I am pissed and bone tired and suddenly feel extreme anxiety about something, after watching your video clip." Porter asked, "Think the Carson exodus might have had something to do with your wife changing her mind?" Harold said, after gulping his beer and standing up "God! I hope not - surely not. I work damned hard to provide a home - she could stay at home too, except there would be no extras - and if I were provided with the evidence that you have I still don't know if I would believe my own senses or not because I love her so much. Take care, Porter," as he walked to the door. At home Jill's anxiety was the highest she had ever felt as she lay in bed trying to read a psychology self-help book. She heard Harold's key in the door and soon he came into the bedroom with a smile he had pasted onto his face. "Hello, Dear. I am sorry for being upset earlier, but I realize that both partners have to be totally sold on doing something like having a child. Could I enjoy your body tonight using the spermicide foam as usual, anyway?" Jill smiled and raised her arms, faking excitement and said, "I thought you would never ask!" Ten minutes later Harold lay beside her, spent, with his head in his hands and said, "You know, I ran into Porter Staver - from the second floor - at the bar. His wife had been having a thing with Harmon Carson and a Private Eye produced a video of them getting it on." At this point Jill's mind blanked and sweat popped out all over her body as her husband droned on and on about his friend and his estranged wife. She came back to consciousness and heard her husband say, "...if I were Porter I would smear Carson's body all over the parking lot and then throw his remains right on top of his slut wife!" When she realized that he had stopped talking, she finally asked, "But what did Porter actually say?" "Oh something to the effect that doing violence to Carson wouldn't win his wife's love back and only screw up his own life." She says, "Well, he sounds like a thinking person anyway. At any rate I have had a tough day and need to sleep, so goodnight and thank you for making love to me, Dear Husband." Twenty minutes later Harold was snoring in a deep and peaceful sleep that she was accustomed to hearing. Jill quietly got up and closed the bedroom door behind her. She VPNed into her employer email and found one dated today from Harmon Carson: "After what happened today, I abruptly swapped building assignments with a co-worker. If Jake reports us to the HOA committee, this could be very serious for you, me and the company. Do you think he will? H.C." She wrote back, "Tell me exactly what you mean by 'serious.' J" She powered down her PC and crept back into bed. This time she slept, but fitfully. ——- Jill slept through Harold's alarm but heard the next alarm to wake her son so she quickly fed and walked with him to the school bus stop outside their building. She again powered on her laptop and VPNed into her company email account later and there was a response from Carson: "Serious means that what could happen is that you become a known scarlet woman, my Dad finally fires me and cuts me off, and the company could be sued big time. If you and Jake are not fucking regularly there is little chance of him blabbing. But if he is cutting you, too, then I might need to send one of the construction gang around to talk to him." Fear for Jake lodged in her chest like an iceberg. Shaking she replied, "H, we are most certainly not lovers - he mentors my son. By the way, I am blocking all further emails and cell phone calls from you. Go away! JC" AT this point Jill felt that she was on the lowest ebb of her life. She was still in her night gown that she had completely forgotten about and she went immediately to Jake's apartment and knocked. When he opened the door it dawned on her that the hairdo she had paid dearly for was now gone and no foundation creme was on her face. Glancing down she saw one of her breasts and tiny nipples sticking out from her skimpy gown. She grimaced at the thought of how hideous she must look. Jake smiled at her with a nondescript greeting and said, "Come in, Jill. You caught me on a day I am out of the market since I am leaving at 12:30 for the DMV. That means I have time for a visit. May I make you a breakfast of eggs and sausage? That is what you caught me doing." Jill realized that the last food she had was the lasagna last night and that she was terribly hungry. She pulled her gown around her trying to be modest and said, "Oh! I would love that, Jake!" Talking mostly about Bobby during the breakfast, she afterwards said, "Jake, I am in serious trouble and I have no idea what to do." He said, "I will listen if you wish. Just take it from when I left you just about to panic and Carson with his cock sticking out yesterday." She spent 10 minutes going over and fielding questions on all the details about Harold, Porter, making love, and showed him a print out of Carson and her email correspondence. She concluded with, "The prospect of an innocent, gentle, and level headed man like you being in the cross hairs of a Harmon Carson because of me is tearing me apart. This morning when I first awoke I even considered ending it all." "Jill, don't worry about my safety. Focus on making a plan for the remainder of your life. Starting with your husband: Is there a chance that you down-deep still love Harold?" Jill's Affair Abruptly Ends "Normally, I don't. But last night he came into the bedroom upbeat as if he had dismissed the possibility that I might have been involved with Carson. We made wild love and I even orgasmed. But his good mood was driven by his ignorance of the truth. When I closed my eyes to sleep afterwards, I concluded that I really was madly in love my 'Incredible Hulk' at that moment." Jake asked, "Given no financial necessity, would you want to stay married to Jake - given the way you feel right now?" "No. In the cold morning light he was not the man of my dreams when I was a teenager. We only got married because I was pregnant with Bobby at the time - and he probably wasn't Harold's child." "First off, Jill, if one is not in love, then it's quite normal to 'fuck around,' which you have been doing for 11 years - all it takes is desire and opportunity - remember that the threat of Hell Fire for sinning is past history now. You have asked me several times why I choose the loneliness of being a bachelor, and the answer is I haven't been lucky enough to be in love enough for one to be my exclusive. Both a widow and a divorcee are my close friends and everybody pulls their own weight in my world. Maybe you understand why now." "Jake, you are right. But why have you ignored several of my come-ons? In the light of day it was and is the right thing to do, but why are you so different from most men?" " Cheating wives are yukky to me, Jill." She sighed, "I guess I am nuts. I want a husband who loves me unconditionally while I respond to my 'desires and opportunities' you talked about. That can not possibly work in the long run, can it?" "No it won't. How would Harold react to your asking him for a divorce?" "The first thing he would do is break up the furniture and then go looking for someone to blame. He would then buy into hearsay about Carson and me - the sudden disappearance of our Superintendent starts everyone talking. For example, I know of two old ladies on our floor who have watched Carson go into our apartment. The bridge club and garden club and fitness group ladies will chatter non-stop about women like Porter Staver's wife. All the rumors would soon point Harold to Harmon Carson - the handsome gentleman who will find his head being dunked into his commode by my body-builder husband. " "Well, Jill, you must make a decision of what you are going to do - and you alone must make it. You can ask Harold for a divorce and take your chances or you can continue on married with a renewed determination to not fuck-around now that Carson is out of the picture - but I would remind you that what a person will do is pretty much determined by what he or she has done. My recommendation is that you think long and strong about Bobby's welfare and his future before you make a decision, and make the one that is better for him." Jill stood up and said, "Oh thank you, Jake. I was naive enough to think that you would draw me a blueprint of what to do, but you will not. The onus is on me to decide." She hugged Jake and kissed him on the cheek as she walked toward the door. After she had opened the door, Jake said, "Jill, life is tough for everybody but the hole you have dug for yourself makes it very, very tough for you and Bobby and, even Harold. It should go without saying that anything I can do to help Bobby cope of course I will do. Best of luck. Oh, I will pick up Bobby at the library after I finish with DMV." ——— Exactly one week later Harold Carney was inside a freight trailer that was backed up to his company's dock. The palleted items had been unloaded with the tow motor and two men were unloading individual boxes and objects. The dock foreman stuck his head in the trailer's rear and screamed, "Carney, there is someone here to see you." Harold placed one more carton on a two wheeler and rolled it out of the trailer to face a scrawny man in a wrinkled suit. He lowered the load, and said, "I'm Carney, what can I do for you?" The man said, "Harold Dawson Carney?" "Yes." He handed a large envelop to the worker and said, "You have been served." You also have a restraining order and can not go within 10 feet of Jennifer Ruth Carney," as he handed a sheet of paper to Harold. "Please excuse me." Harold was petrified and stood in the same spot trying to believe what had happened. Co-worker friends who had overheard came over to offer support and several versions of, "I am sorry, Harold." Or, "It happened to me 5 years ago." The advice he remembered, though, was from a lunch pal who told him, "It is not the end of the world, and you will get through this. Think about greasing the skids for your son in his new life having a part time Dad." After finishing his work day he later was walking towards Jake Duncan's apartment as he always did and he spotted two suitcases and a stuffed yard leaf bag sitting outside his door, the next door down. He fetched the luggage that Jill had prepared for him and set it down outside Jake Duncan's door. He knocked. Jake opened the door and Bobby, as usual, jumped up and screamed, "Daddy," as he ran towards him. Jake said to Harold, "Can you and I take a short walk while Bobby finishes his homework?" He saw Harold's nod 'O.K.' and then Turned to Bobby, and said, "Why don't you continue working and we will be back in a short while." Once in the hall Jake said, "Jill came by this morning and gave me one message to pass on to you, and I wrote it down precisely," reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small piece of paper, he continued, "Quote 'I am sorry, Harold, but I do not love you and can not go on. Please continue to love Bobby.' end quote." Harold asked, "Why would she..." Jake held up his hand and interrupted him and said, "Harold, I don't want to discuss your coming divorce which is exactly what I told Jill this morning. You both are my friend and we three love Bobby and want him to have a good life. READ MY LIPS! I am not on your side and I am not on her side - I have grown attached to Bobby and I am on his side period! Are we clear on that?" watching him nod 'yes' he continued, "I would like to say one other thing as a friend and Mentor of Bobby - which is exactly what I said to Jill - Please either say nothing or say something nice about Bobby's mother to both me and Bobby, especially your son!" "Yes, Jake, I can understand your point of view and thank you for caring for our son. I love her so much, however, until I could never say anything bad about her." Jake was shocked but let it pass and asked, "So have you made a plan for immediate living arrangements?" "No. Tonight, I will take him out to dinner and for ice cream and bring him back long before 9:00 when Jill is due. Is it O.K. if I drop him off with you? I will bunk with my parents." Jake said, "Of course, Harold. My only plan tonight is to watch a movie that came in the mail today." When the duo got back into Jake's apartment, Harold was making a heroic effort to keep his emotions in check - the tell-tale sign that all was not well inside him was that he spent a larger amount of time with his Son than usual, and, for the first time, even got into the reading assignment that Bobby had been doing - testing the youngster to see if he completely understood. Harold even smiled, because the youngster did. After the homework, Harold asked, "Lets go get pizza and ice cream afterwards?" "Yes, let's go now," the youngster exclaimed. Jake spoke up and said, "Why not leave your backpack here, Bobby, and get it later?" "O.K.," the student said now in a decidedly good mood. About 8:15 the duo could be heard laughing and playing outside Jake's door. When the door was open Harold asked Jake, "Could you bath and get him ready for bed like you some times do for when his Mom gets here? Please continue to log your childcare time." Jake paused his movie and said, "Yes, glad to. I am also glad that you and Bobby had a good time. " Harold said to his son, "Dad will spend the night with Granny Carney. I will either call you tomorrow or come by to see you, O.K.?" For the first time an alarm showed on Bobby's face and he asked, "Why aren't you coming home, Dad?" "Your Mom has asked me not to live with her and you any longer, and so I won't. But I love you just the same as always and you will be spending some nights with me and we will do lots of fun things. We will talk about that later. Is that O.K.?" "Yeah, I guess so." He reached his arms up automatically to hold his Dad and Harold almost lost it. But he hugged the child and moved his arms from his neck . "Goodnight guys," and the body-builder, left just in time to keep his son from watching him cry. ———————- One year later the uncontested divorce had been final for a few months. Jill remained Jake's neighbor, living alone with her son Bobby, in her and Harold's Condo. The two live frugally on her modest salary and monthly check from her ex-husband. Harold continued to pick up Bobby at Jake's condo for most weekend visits. Father and son normally hang out where Harold grew up, 50 miles away, leaving little money for fun. During the week Harold shares a small apartment that is walking distance from his former Condo. His roommate co-worker and Harold use diplomacy to get along with each other. Both Jill and Harold live below the poverty level because their expenses are so high with two households. But Harold was no longer angry and only occasionally had time to feel his pain - he worked part-timed as bouncer at a tits and ass club weeknights, to make ends meet. He also voluntarily increased Jill's child support amount proportionally when his union's contract was renegotiated upward. Jill and Harold had crossed paths just twice in the past year since Jake's apartment was always the staging area for Harold's weekend visitation. Jill once again got a referral from her PC physician to a psychological counselor, one year exactly after her divorce. The counselor was retiring at the end of the year and his patient was relieved that he would not be pawing her, since his fingers were gnarled, but apprehensive that retirement might be the primary thing on his mind. In today's 4th session, the Counselor asked, "Again, when did you start having affairs, Jill?" "The seventh grade, and my step-father forced me initially, but I learned to like it. In fact, I did not complain to my mother, because I liked our 'playtime' more and more, and I liked him. At some point my mother figured out what had been happening, and threatened to report him to the DA when I started my junior year in high school. So both parents relocated to the Rocky Mountain area as a means of avoiding statutory rape charges. I never saw or communicated with either of them again." "What happened then?" "I lived with an aunt and uncle so I could finish high school, and I dated, and I was promiscuous with three students at the same time, one of whom was my ex-husband of 10 years. And one of the three fathered my son, Bobby." The Counselor asked, "You have been divorced for over a year. Why have you had no sexual experiences since that last interval you previously described with your husband?" "Zero desire - men bore me and lesbian thoughts nauseate me. I wake up and masturbate some mornings and I always think about my ex-husband when I do. At some point my sense of him as another 'man I used,' changed to a sense of him as the 'man I love.'" "Have you told him? And if not, should you tell him?" "No and not yet, anyway. When I am certain that being desired by handsome, well endowed bodies is history, maybe. So far, all I have met are mindless bodies who have no idea who I am - and have no interest in finding out. They are no longer attractive to me. When I am certain that I have changed then I will tell Harold that I love him." "Did you ever feel guilt about your cheating after you were married?" "Guilty about cheating? No. But I always hated myself after each tryst. This was because my expectations of bliss were always dashed. Now I understand that I was trying to solve a problem with promiscuous sex that was unrelated to my need for intimacy. It's exactly like an obese co-worker friend who tries to solve a problem with food that is unrelated to nutrition. I will not be guilty of that again!" The Counselor smiled and closed his notebook and stood up. He said, "Jill, I think you are ready to become a fully functioning Human Being now," as he offered his hand to shake, and continued, "I am glad that the bureaucracy pointed you to my office these past sessions and may the the best life has to offer await you." ——- This weekday morning three months later was not unlike most days for Jake. He was at his workstation following the market and periodically adjusting his sell and buy stops intermittently while reading market commentaries. Jill walked into his work room because he left his door unlocked for her frequent visits. After greeting she asked, "I don't have any eggs or fruit. May I fix myself a breakfast since I know you are busy?" "Sure Jill, go ahead. After I finish this article I will join you for coffee." When the trader was sitting beside her later, sipping his coffee she said, "Jake, it's been over a year now. A man has not been inside me since Harold was just before I decided to divorce him. I think I did the right thing, looking back." Jake asked, "O.K. What about your future? You don't look good, Jill. That is because you can not afford good food and clothes for yourself and Bobby and he is a sixth grader - where the scourge of peer-pressure is now in full court press and you can not afford stylish jeans. What then?" "Jake, I can see in his face you are feeding him nutritious food when you keep him. I know that what I pay you for child care barely covers his food cost, for which I thank you. Since I can not afford cable and I even must use your WI-fi, he is shielded from the worst elements of our 'go-along-to-get-along' society. He is taking a special interest in Science and Math and I have hopes that he will miss the worst of modern Americana - i.e., 'I only like what everybody else likes.'" "Have you met any interesting men, Jill?" "No. Just mixed up players who are variants of Harmon Carson - but who just don't happen to be as well endowed, handsome or as rich as him. In fact I think about my 'Incredible Hulk' almost every day now and sometimes I want him back badly." "Jill, I might suggest the right question is, 'Could I keep my knees together for others if he or some other man were in my life?' Oh speaking of men in your life, since you mentioned him, Harmon Carson, according to the current Super, is wheel chair bound but is no longer in rehab. Also, the police have located a burglary suspect who was a former resident of our building before his divorce - no, before you ask, the suspect is not Harold. The Super implied that Carson can not 'play around' anymore, so don't even think about hooking up with him again." "Ah Jake, that very thought nauseates me." She grimaced and hit her fist on her palm and continued, "How could I have found that piece of meat attractive?" "Well, Jill, you are getting smart. But, I need to get back to the market while you finish breakfast." "She later rose to clean up his kitchen and stuck her head in Jake's office and said, "Jake, one way or another I will pay you my IOU tab for childcare. Thank you for being generous and not pressing me." "Think nothing of it, Jill. I enjoy Bobby's company and watching his mind develop into a thinking person." --- The following Friday afternoon Jill stood quietly outside of Jake's apartment door and nervously looked at her watch. She expected her ex-husband, Harold, to be picking up Bobby soon for his weekend visitation. She saw Harold exit the elevator down the hall and he stopped abruptly. In a moment he started walking towards the woman he recognized immediately. He approached her and once again a huge smile covered his whole head. She smiled back at him. She asked, "Greetings ex-husband, may I treat you to coffee before you pick up Bobby?" "Sure. What is the occasion, Jill? By the way you still look gorgeous to me and I am sorry for still wearing my loading dock clothes." "Never mind the clothes, Harold. Its been over a year and I have my classes covered by a substitute so I can buy us a cup of coffee. Interested?" "Yes, thank you for thinking of me." Not another word was spoken by either, for fear of saying the wrong thing, until they were sitting at a table with coffee in front of them. Jill broke the ice by saying, "Thinking of you? I do so often, Harold. Please bear with me while I explain something." She continued, "I have been in therapy, again, and this man actually helped me. Specifically, my message to you last year that 'I did not love you' was incomplete. The message should have been, 'I do not and can not love you or any man.'" He smiled and said, "Well, that makes me feel a little better. What are your thoughts nowadays?" "Harold, I can love now. My upbringing hammered my life and I am just now getting myself together. I could not have done it as a married woman - albeit we both live in poverty as a result of our divorce." "Well, Jill, you haven't told me much about your upbringing - except that you have no interest in visiting any of your relatives. My stance is the same as it was when we were juniors in high school. If you have no interest in connecting with them, neither do I. Explanations of all the details aren't necessary, either. But please visit or call me anytime you wish to talk about anything - including all the gory details if it would make you feel better." After about 5 more minutes of chatting, they walked back towards Jake's condo. The chatting was mostly about their son, but soon Jill said, "You should know that many mornings my 'Incredible Hulk' is on my mind and I will let you know if and when that becomes a habit." Inside of Harold, the 'mighty oak' was trembling with hope and he kept thinking about a Seinfeld skit so he wouldn't cry with happiness. He said, faking lightness, "Please let me be the first to know if that thought becomes an unbreakable habit." ————— Over a period of five weeks several phone calls were made by both, along with two lunch dates, and two more coffee shop meetings. Fall was in the air as today they were meeting again for coffee. After their light and comedic conversation with several laughs that lasted about 15 minutes, Jill handed a sealed envelop to Harold and said, "I need to get Bobby ready for bed. Harold, I would like for you to take this letter and read it carefully and privately later tonight. In it there is one question I ask and now asked that you please call me back with your 'Yes' or 'No' answer after you have carefully thought it over. Take as much time as you wish. O.K.?" "For sure, I will read it before I start my part time job." They said their goodbyes in an upbeat mood. After Harold had eaten a burger supplied by the kitchen, free to employees, at his job site, he sat on a toilet stool and read Jill's letter. Dear H, There are some things that are important that I never told you in 11 years of marriage and one year being apart. Here are some details about me: You wondered why my uncle and aunt gave me away at our marriage. Well, I was sexually abused starting when I was in the 7th grade and ending when I was a junior. My Mom and step-Dad fled to the Rockies to escape prosecution. You wondered why I dated three guys in high school regularly. In my junior and senior years I was sexually promiscuous with all you three of you guys. And there is a .67 probability that you are not Bobby's natural father. For medical purposes, we should test Bobby's DNA - you just might be the sperm donor since he looks a lot like your grandfather. Jill's Affair Abruptly Ends I would have aborted the fetus except that I feared hell fire for 'murder' at that time. And I even considered putting him up for adoption, but I was unwilling to carry a fetus to term, only to give it up. And then when I told you I was pregnant, you promptly asked me to marry you - you were certain it was your child and you were the only one who loved me. So I agreed even though I deceived you." Through the years of our marriage I was promiscuous sexually but experienced nothing but a cheap thrill that left me hating myself after each secret meeting. By way of contrast, my 'Hulk,' always gave me pleasure, and I crave that pleasure now. As you know, my first failed bout of therapy, was right after Bobby started Pre-K. What you don't know is that I became a passive lesbian partner briefly with that therapist. I then gave up Counseling where I had been trying to cure my compulsive behavior. The recent Counselor thinks after just four sessions I am ready to be a 'full participant' in the Human Race.' For what it's worth, you were the last man in my body!" Now that you know all of this, would you like to move back into our condo with me and Bobby? If your answer is 'No' for fear that I might change back to the way I was someday in the future, then I understand and certainly see your point of view. We can continue as is right now. If your answer is 'Yes,' just tell me so, and can you move back in this weekend? JC Harold was not the brightest light on the block but after reading the letter three times he got it! He sat on the toilet stool until the leg circulation was cut off momentarily in his massive legs. He went deep in thought through the worst case scenario for each of her revelations. Harold took out his cell phone and dialed Jill's cell phone voice mail, and said, "Yes. I will see you Friday evening." The End