0 comments/ 28079 views/ 5 favorites Requiem for a Cuckold By: c1992w Authors Foreword: Thanks for the private constructive feedback. This LW submission depicts two winners and a looser. Note that the sex is not hot. Please Enjoy. ***** Laura Abbott - Lar- was a moderately successful writer of formula gunfighter westerns and adult romances under two separate pen names. Her royalties from self published eBook publishers plus two traditional publishers paid the rent and allowed her to eek out a living doing what she liked. The forty something lady was fiercely independent, though she currently dated two separate gentlemen who could show her a reasonably good time after they took their blue pills. Her two children, by two separate fathers, were on their own but had little to do with their mother - the son once told her, "Mother, I don't like whores," while the daughter was closer and did visit bringing her granddaughter over from time to time. She couldn't recall the face of either ex-husband but cherished the few times a year that her children visited, while the visiting son, especially, was always on his way to somewhere else. In the warm months in Coastal Mass, Lar did her best creative work at a coffee shop table on a boardwalk that surrounded a Marina. There were dozens of colorful yachts tied up and bobbing on the Atlantic waves because boat owners had worked very hard all their life and now chose to spend their discretionary income on boats. All day, but especially mornings and evenings, the boaters walked past her work table on the boardwalk going to and from their crafts. The fit, svelte woman did not like boats - but she did like the colorful surroundings - and turned down several 'lets-get-it-on' yacht cruise offers over the years - "No thank you, I might get wet!" was her common response. The Boston skyline could be seen in the distance and mostly there were only a few boardwalk exercisers walking daily nearby. So it was quiet except for when the boaters roared into the bay leaving the Marina. On most warm Saturdays many boaters came and went but one set of repeat visitors captured Lar's attention because she saw a possible plot for her next Adult Romance book. Two - and some times three - Black athletic type guys accompanying an Irish couple with a pre-school child in hand, walked into the coffee shop seating area on the boardwalk. The child captured her attention because obviously he was fathered by a Black man, but the child held the hand of the Irish Dad with a death grip. The three or four people would sit at a table and then one guy would then go in to buy beer and food while another went into the fractional-share owners club next door to sign for a yacht. The Irish couple and their child often sat alone at a table near Lar, waiting for the guys to get ready to cruise. When the preparations were complete, the lady would stand and attempt to kiss the young boy goodbye, but he fought her while he hung on to his Irish Dad tenaciously. Lar presumed he was the woman's husband or ex-husband. The two or three black men and the Irish mother left the coffee shop area and walked down the boardwalk to a catwalk gate to where the moored yachts were tied up. The child was immediately at peace and got a digital toy out of his day-bag and began to play while the father read his Kindle. In time the Irish Dad would take the youngster around the boardwalk for exercise and to break the monotony (Child visitation by divorced Dad's on the various Marinas are a very common sight during the warm months.) The time interval from the boaters shoving off to tying back up was usually 3 to four hours. The players would then return to the coffee shop area after their cruise and fetch the child and the group - minus the Irish Husband - would shuffle off towards the parking lot - while the Dad might stay and read for awhile. Lar said to herself excitedly after the second cruise Saturday, "Ahh my next book!" after the roar of the engine died down on this particular Saturday. After more Saturday cruises, the child became comfortable around Lar and would come over and sit on her lap and ask questions and generally talk to her, because he obviously was bored. His Dad sat reading. One day Lar introduced herself to the Husband and pre-schooler while the partiers were at sea and they were the only customers in the coffee shop's seating area. He shook her hand and said, "My name is Greg McAllen and this youngster is my ex-wife and my son, Jason. Glad to meet you." After Lar explained what she was doing here, Greg said, "Jason's Mom and I have been either separated or divorced for almost two years. My visitation is on Saturdays and when her dates are taking her out for a cruise, she leaves the child with me. I meet them in the parking lot here so making the tedious round trip into Boston to visit Jason is not necessary." Lar took a close look at the now laughing child and noted his hair and facial features and was now certain that a Black person was his sperm-donor. He appeared to be a precocious and well-adjusted child when the Mom and her dates were not around. She also noticed that the nominal father was out of shape with a slightly bulging mid section and slumped shoulders. Worse, his sadness was permanently glued onto his face. She presumed that Greg always ached for an adult to talk to about anything so he leaped at the opportunity to talk extensively with Lar in between bouts of entertaining his son whenever she took a break from her writing. My story starts after the two wordsmiths, Lar and Greg, got to know and like each other well and chatted freely about anything on their respective minds. One beautiful Saturday, the partiers were at sea. Lar had just returned to her table with a sandwich and a drink right behind Greg with his and his son's lunch. She asked the Dad "Why don't you and Jason join me at my table so we can chat? I am stopping for a 45-minute lunch break." Once they were seated Lar ask, "Why not tell me about yourself, Greg, since I have already told you all the essential things about me?" The Dad's thinking was that this writer has obviously done it all and heard it all so nothing he said would shock her. He replied, "Well, I am both a technical writer and an illustrator - I have won some awards in both disciplines. I work for a medium size medical electronics design and manufacturing company and am responsible for all their public and internal documentation. My day starts early when I jump on the commuter ferry and change to the subway in Boston to get to my office in Cambridge. The day ends and I retrace my steps to my medium rise condominium two miles from here and look out over the bay from my 5th-floor balcony. I joined my company when it was a struggling start up and missed some paychecks in the very early days. But things are stable now, and hopefully I will hit the jackpot after we launch our IPO - the healthcare boondoggle is already raining money on us, so I have my hopes of earning some big bucks after working so long and hard often into late night." Lar replied, "Thank you, Greg. So may I fill in the blanks about your personal life and you correct me if I am wrong: You spent long hours away from your wife and secretly she cuckolded you. She later became pregnant with this secret lover - or lovers. You became aware of this after the child was born. Is that right so far?" Shocked that this woman had read him quickly, he said, "Yes. Precisely. I was torn between divorcing her for cuckolding me and forgiving her. I still love her so much until she is my last thought nightly - even now some times - and she repeatedly told me at first that she loves only me and that her affair was just, 'sex' and she accidentally became pregnant." Lar asked, "So, what happened then?" "I forgave her because she promised in front of her ailing mother and me that she would not play around any more. For going on two years we had what I thought was a normal marriage until in time I would sometimes walk into our house to find that she had paid no attention to the child - or hadn't even picked him up from daycare - and played music that was unlike what we both enjoyed in College or what we played when we were both at home. Worse, she became cold and indifferent to me. Then I admitted to myself that she is now a different person, and doesn't love me at all and is cuckolding me again." Lar said, while thinking about a plot for her next adult romance writing project, she said, "Being an erudite person you figured this out long before Jason's birth, however. But your passion for her overruled any rational thought about her conduct for two years." He replied, "Wow! Again, you are exactly right. But, Lar, I reasoned that my unrequited love counted for something - sadly I learned in time that it doesn't. But one night we started making out and she soon was sitting naked on my face. She had refused my advances for the past 10 days. I said, "Darling, I want to make love to you just like the old days, please give me some relief!" She then said, 'Greg, I want to give you all the passion you can stand. It's just that I want to introduce you to a friend of mine and I have invited him to dinner Thursday evening. In fact, he travels to all our bank branches in this area and we both will be here when you arrive. If you agree we can be very intimate again?'" Lar shook her head and thought, "This poor creature," and said to him, "Let me guess, Greg. You were so horny until you agreed. So, tell me about the aftermath of your agreeing, if you would?" Greg suddenly asked, "Are you going to make me a character in your next Adult Romance book?" "Yes, but I won't use your name and the setting will be in California." Relieved he said, "O.K. Yes. The moment I agreed she became red hot and we screwed most of the remaining week, and slept a short while each night and did it again after the alarm sounded in the morning. For a few days life was good. "So Thursday afternoon I picked up Jason from daycare and went home. A tall Black man and my wife, Penny, met us at the door. She said, 'Greg, I would like for you to meet Butch, who was the sperm donor of Jason, and a supervisory bank examiner in charge of this part of the South shore. Butch, meet my wonderful husband, Greg.' Butch is the one who signs for the yacht each time they now go to sea. He was wearing my monogrammed robe that was way too short for him and she was wearing her robe that matched mine. As Penny visited a moment with her son, Butch and I uncomfortably chatted. Later she said, 'Greg, would you be a darling and feed and bath Jason, then cook our dinner - I took the items for dinner out of the freezer this morning - and we will join you shortly.' They disappeared into our bedroom and closed the door. I was trapped because she well knew that I craved her so much I would do exactly what she told me to do. Later we three sat at the dinner table when Justin started acting up and needing attention. She barked at me, 'Take care of your son, Greg!' When I got back to the table, they continued their conversation as if I were not present. Soon Butch showered and left." Lar said, "I am afraid to predict, so what happened then, Greg?" The distraught man said, "Butch became a one or two time per week regular visitor for the next month and the same pattern was repeated. Then the first Thursday of the following month, Butch had showered and was naked, getting ready to put on his clothes to leave, I guess. Penny called out loudly, "Greg, will you come here?" "I opened our bedroom door and went into our brightly lighted bedroom. She was holding Butch's very large and limp cock smiling at me and said, 'Butch needs to stay over certain weekday nights with us when he is working in or near our town on a two day stint. Otherwise, I don't get this fantastic treat.' She squeezed his gigantic limp member which was twice larger than the width of her hand, and giggling, she continued, 'I know this is asking a lot, Darling, but it's important. If he camps out here then driving all the way back to his home in Boston and returning to work in our area in the morning is not necessary." "At that point, Butch interrupted and asked, 'Greg, since you are the owner of this condo, do you mind if I spend certain nights with you and Penny and Jason?' He nonchalantly asked this as if it were an ordinary request." Lar exclaimed, "Wow! So what happened then, you poor creature?" "I had not changed out of my business casual clothes, so I just left without saying a word and drove to a bar in the next town. I sat there drinking for almost two hours but was drawn back to her. So I then returned home. Penny met me at the door naked and said, 'You were not a gentleman, Greg. I put Jason to bed even though he cried and is still whimpering for you. Would you please tip toe in and tuck him in?' I did and the two year old then was very happy to see me and went promptly to sleep. I got ready for bed and lay down beside my naked wife. She taunted me by asking, 'Would you like to clean me up as Butch is still inside both holes.' I said with faked conviction and determination, 'No. We are making some changes here and we will talk tomorrow." Lar asked, "Really? That's fantastic! Did you follow through?" Greg said, "Well, no I didn't. She woke me up early the next morning - my sleep late day - playing with my cock. The moment I got hard and very ready to screw her, she stopped and turned on her other side, away from me. She said, 'Butch's cell number is on the piece of paper on your night stand. After you leave him a voice mail that he is welcome to stay overnight, then we can go back to the passion we have been enjoying recently. Why are you so obstinate?' So, what did I do? I left the voice mail as instructed." Lar shook her head while recalling her husband number one who wanted to do something similar to that. Back in the present the Irish wife Penny and her two dates approached them on the boardwalk. The four year old clutched his Dad, violently indicating that he did not want to be separated from him. Of course, Greg made the normal gestures to the youngster - "Daddy will see you next week" and "Mommy loves you, too," to prepare his son. But, the child was shaking as he held on tightly to the man he identified as his Daddy. Penny was without make up wearing only the same dress except now there obviously was nothing underneath as she labored from exhaustion with each step she took toward the coffee shop area. Lar said to Greg, "Let me thank you now for sharing the first part of your story, and I look forward to hearing the conclusion. As calloused and experienced as I am and as often as I have written about your and Jason's behavior sourced from my imagination, seeing it for real is fundamentally upsetting to this old woman! Thanks again for sharing your story." Greg returned to his table and stood up and bundled the youngster's day-bag together and gently but forcefully attempted to hand it and him off to his mother. The youngster was violently crying now. Greg said to his son, "Dad enjoyed your visit, and I will see you soon," as he kissed the pre-schooler goodbye. He continued, "You can call me when you get home, O.K.?" Penny watched her distraught child she loved so much while she felt her usual extreme guilt after an outing like this - sometimes, the guilt was almost life threatening. She asked, "Greg, do you mind if Jason and I crash at your place tonight and you drive me to Butch's apartment tomorrow? The fellas want me to get a baby-sitter go with them to hear a new band tonight. But I am exhausted, and, you could spend more time with Jason if we spent the night with you? Please?" Greg was in a dilemma. He identified what he felt for Penny as extreme love. Moreover, his attachment to the crying child tenaciously clinging to him combined to provoke his anger and dizziness. He railed at the thought that Jason would suffer another night of the noise and isolation he felt in Butch's apartment. His ex-wife was on his mind constantly, try as he might to end his relationship with her. At the same time he was desperate to break off all relationships with her friends - and, hopefully, his ex-wife in time. He even intended to ease himself out of Jason's life in the coming years. He looked at the relaxed writer, recalling just how peaceful this erudite woman, who could have been his mother, was, and for whom there was no 'new' information. She made him feel Calm. The telling of his story during their coffee shop chat sessions were therapeutic for his malfunctioning mind - he looked forward to them eagerly. He abruptly decided what he would do. Greg said, "Penny, Jason is welcomed to spend the night but you may not - not now and not ever! I will deliver your son to your apartment Sunday afternoon so you can get him ready for pre-K on Monday." He watched the shock of being rejected on Penny's face while he thought, "Careful Greg! This could become a habit. You could become even more attached to this child - and he to you - and then she might whisk him away from you forever at any moment." He then countered to himself with, "But Jason's life is so horrible in that noisy apartment with no playgrounds or other children until I just can not stand to watch this mistreatment of a child. Heaven help me!" Suddenly Penny was barely able to talk because she had taken this first rejection very badly, so she returned Jason's travel bag to her ex-husband and said only, "O.K." She attempted to hug her son who was obviously uninterested in her embraces as he clung to Greg. She joined her two companions and the three trudged off to the parking lot. The child was immediately transformed into a happy youngster. He got his iPad out of the bag and began playing a game. Greg went in and got him a snack and returned with two drinks for himself and Lar. When they were sipping their teas and all was calm, Lar said, "You left off when Jason was not quite two years old and you had just agreed to invite Butch to spend certain nights with you and your wife. What happened then?" Greg said, "Well, he came intermittently and Penny insisted that I sleep on the daybed in Jason's room when he did. This allowed them to use our bed, and I agreed. And life seemed to get back to normal when we had no company except that now the fact that I was cuckolded was in plain sight. Ignoring them I was spending so much time with the child, we two became more and more attached. But sometimes Butch would show up unannounced and Jason would hide behind me every time he saw his sperm-donor father. Then, one night trouble between penny and me started again." Lar asked, "What kind of trouble?" "Well, it was weeks later and she was sitting on my face, and I was immensely charged up and passionate. She suddenly got off and said, "We need to talk about something, Greg! " Of course my heart skipped several beats as I asked myself, "What now?" She said, "I want a yacht. Butch has been coast guard certified to safely operate one." I relaxed and said, "Even the small craft are terribly expensive and we simply don't have that kind of money - not to mention the ongoing monthly costs summer and winter." She smiled and produced an application form and said, "I know that but there is a way around the huge costs. With fractional ownership there is only a small monthly fee and then a per use fee and those costs are manageable." "What kind of money are you talking about, Penny?" "Well, there is also a one-time membership fee - mid four-digits. If you and I would pay the front end costs, Butch would pay the monthly and per use fees and we could have a yacht." Greg asked, "If I were to agree with this, would you and me and Jason get a chance for an outing? Remember, I, too, am a certified operator since my teen years when I piloted our family craft. " Requiem for a Cuckold Penny lied, "Of course, Silly, that is the primary reason i want this yacht. It's for us." Lar interjected, "So let me guess. You believed her and wrote a fat check for membership in the club for you and Butch?" "Yes. I agreed to pay the front end membership fee with terrible misgivings, though. Things returned to normal and Jason just loved going out both times we did it." Lar asked, "Just two times?" "One afternoon Butch showed up at our door with a friend. Something clicked inside of me and I was livid with raw, debilitating anger! And, that was the last straw for me. I called out, 'Penny you have company!' I then said to Butch, 'She is in the toilet. When she gets here tell her Jason and I have gone out to dinner and to the local park for him to play - and please don't wait up for us. As I later watched the two and a half year old child climb on the small toys in the park I made a decision to take the next day off and see an attorney." "I had figured out what a vain, hollow Dude her principal lover was so I specified that in my petition the attorney was to prepare, I agreed to pay very generous child support for the youngster whom I didn't father. I did this because I was so overwhelmingly attached to Jason growing up since he was born. Also, my Saturday visitation rights along with no alimony for her and no portion of my future earnings for her was specified in the petition. I guessed what her decision would be and that it would not be a good financial decision one for her. But, I figured that Butch would counsel her to accept it because the monthly cash-flow was generous and my bet was that he would focus on the immediate money. So, she agreed. and confirmed later that accepting the petition, as presented, was his advice to her and she reluctantly agreed. The condominium was the property of my father and mother - who winters in Arizona and is now summering in Maine - so splitting the property wasn't part of the divorce. As soon as she was served, Butch moved her and Jason into his apartment in Boston and she transferred her employment to a bank branch near them. Lar said, "So the divorce sailed though uncontested and she moved in with Butch to be near her new job location and Butch. But Jason is living in hell in his surroundings with his natural father and mother and growing up to assimilate values that are not yours in a noisy environment. All the while he misses the love of the man he identifies as his Daddy, you? And life goes on." Greg said, "Well, you put it succinctly, but, YES! I visit with him often. For example, She routinely drops Jason off on a Thursday in the colder months and picks him back up on Sunday while her and her lovers party on Cape Cod - my condo is just off the beaten path to the Cape. So I see him a lot more than just Saturdays." The two friends said their goodbyes and the youngster even surprised the writer by hugging her neck. ———— Penny rode home with the two men and crashed in Butch's bed. She woke up in severe pain regaining full awareness late Sunday afternoon. The first thing she noticed was that she was alone and that the cheap tinny speakers playing the loud music blared and distorted. She turned off the stereo set. She then remembered, "Last night I had gotten home from the boat outing and showered and then ate a good dinner. I went with Butch and his friend to a club because I felt much better after taking my pain pills." She reached down and touched her groin area front and back only to find it very sticky all over her both sides of her lower torso. Then she vaguely recalled, "Two more guys returned home with Butch and her in the wee morning hours. Oh no! I must have fucked them, too, because Butch was completely spent and didn't touch me. Oh shit! They probably spiked my drink and that is why I agreed to do that and I want to die from both my pain and embarrassment. She finally found some more pain pills and went back into the bedroom after taking them. The phone rang and the sound was piercing to her ear drums, so she picked it and said, "Hello, this is Penny." Greg said, "I am ready to bring Jason to your apartment and I just wanted to be sure you will be there in the next half hour or so." She replied, "Will you hold on just a moment?" "Sure." Penny put the phone down to think even though her head was pounding. Her conclusion was, "I don't want Jason in this environment anymore - hell! I don't want to be here either, at least right now. Greg wants nothing more to do with me and only cares for my son. Ditto for my son." She picked the phone up and said, "Greg, please don't bring him here. Please keep him and enroll him in St. Elizabeth's pre-school near your condo as well as their 'after school' program. If you will drive up here, I will have all of his toys and clothes outside the front door in leaf bags. Please take him to your home and love him. The way I look and feel right now, the last thing I want is for Jason to see me." Greg was silent, obviously shocked, and finally answered, "O.K. Is an hour enough time to get his things together?" "Yes." "Goodbye, Penny. I wish you well." She thought about her mother again but concluded, "There is no way she will understand why I have essentially given my child away. It just might bring on the death angel that finally does her in for good. So Penny called her Mom's caregiver LVN and said, "Tell Mom, that Jason is living with his Dad temporarily because I have some problems I must work out." She was relieved from her mental torment momentarily while she busily packed her son's things into leaf bags. Then she sat down feeling better since the pain pills had kicked in. She started planning her future. A co-worker's face popped into her mind. She spoke out loud to no one and said, "Phil worships my body unaware that I enjoy Butch and friends as well as my husband. Since we get it on every once and a while maybe I can get out of here by moving in with him a few days." After dialing he answered, "This is Phil." "Phil, sweetheart, this is Penny. I need a place to crash for a few days, and my ex-husband has child care duties. Are you up for a visitor?" "No Penny. I am dating someone now for whom I really care. I hope you find suitable accommodations though. I gotta sign off. Bye" She screamed out loud like she was in a Hitchcock movie and said, "Trapped!" She took a shower and walked out of the bathroom drying her hair. Penny encountered Butch packing a large suitcase. He stopped and looked at her naked body and said, "Damn Woman! You look fucking awful! Get some clothes on!" That struck a severe blow to Penny's image of herself, remembering that he normally preferred to see her either naked or dressed like a slut so that others would envy him when lusting after her. Butch continued, "I am attending a 16-week management training school in D.C. and I am flying down this evening to start in the morning. The apartment rent is paid up to the end of the month - two weeks. But you will need to make other living arrangements after then." Penny screamed at him and asked, "Why did you wait until now to tell me?" "Hey whore, I don't have to tell you anything! Would you mind giving me some privacy while I finish packing. I will be out of here and out of of your life, very soon." Penny grabbed clean clothes and left the room shutting the door behind her. She sat down in a daze and was not even aware when Butch rolled his luggage out of the apartment. She went to the front door hoping that her ex-husband had not picked up Jason's things yet, but the bags were gone - and gone was her chance to talk to Greg. She then called the pharmacy to max out her refills of her pain pill prescriptions. She then walked to the drugstore to pick up her prescriptions. After retuning home she turned on the TV - being alone was a 'blanket of death' to her, but there was nobody to call and no where to go. In the evening there was a knock on the door. She asked, "Who is it?" "It's Mitch, Butch's friend from the boat ride. May I come in?" Penny craved company and felt no pain currently because of her meds, and opened the door. Mitch came in smiling big, carrying a suitcase and said, "I know that Butch is out of town for a school and I thought maybe you and I could keep each other company. You game?" She said, "O.K. But you and your friends fucked me senseless last night so promise me you want take me until I've had a chance to recuperate, O.K.?" "O.K., if that is what you want but look here," as he set his suitcase down and then pulled down both his trousers and his underwear. His cock was sticking straight out. He continued, "How about working me over again with that nice tongue and throat just to release my tension?" Penny could not believe that she once again became sexually excited looking at his very large member. She immediately knelt in front of him with a big smile on her face." ——— Greg took Monday off from work and got Jason set up at St. Elizabeth's. He then visited his attorney and told him the complete story of how he now had de facto custody of this child and said, "Could you have a detective verify what I said and get the social workers involved and declare Jason a foster child, with me being the foster parent. And, do this quickly because right now she is adamant that she wants me to assume responsibility for her child. Try to set it up so that her visitation with Jason is in my presence, if possible." The attorney looked at him and appeared to be forcing back tears himself. He raised his hand and rubbed his fingers together indicating lots of money and said, "We will probably be successful but it will cost you lots of money - you might even need to lean on your Dad, Mr. McAllen - tell him I said, 'hello.'" ——- Mitch lived in the apartment for a few days with Penny who had been buying their groceries. He hung out while she took the bus to the bank for work each day. He was asleep when she left and was either not there when she returned or was there with a friend. Ten days later she started her period and told Mitch as much. He said, "Well I will be coming back in about a week, Bitch. O.K.?" This again left Penny in the one state that she could not stand - being alone. So it was back to a sports bar looking for another prey - but she was determined that her next lover would be long term and meaningful. ——- Almost two weeks after his visit, Greg's attorney left a voice mail: "You are now the foster parent of Jason McAllen. Your ex-wife should get the bench notice in the mail to day. There were movies and photos taken plus drugs and neighbors who gave depositions, but, the knowledge gained came at a high cost. You should get my statement tomorrow." Later Jason and a visiting child were watching a kid show and Greg was reading when the phone rang. It was Penny: "Greg, I screamed and threw things when I first read the court order. But, I have settled down and one side of me has concluded that it was the best thing that could have happened for Jason. Oh how I wish I could undo what I have done." Greg replied, "Thanks for calling, Penny. If you want to come by Slocum park near the swings next door to us on Saturday between 3 and 4, Jason and I will be there. I only ask that you don't upset him. He is very stable now." "Thanks, Greg. You know I will be getting no more money from you monthly so that means that I will be on a tight budget, but I will try to make it." ————- It was turning cold. Both Jason and Greg wore heavy coats for protection from the wind blowing off the ocean. Jason was making use of all the playground equipment playing with other children while Greg sat and watched. To his great surprise, the writer friend, Lar, and a young lady came up to Greg. Seeing her again was a pleasant surprise, indeed, now that boating season had been over for a long while. There was a 6 or 7 year old girl with Lar's companion. Lar said, "Greg, meet my daughter, Virginia Abbott, and the pride of her life, Dolly. My daughter divorced a number of years ago, and then decided to visit a fertility clinic to become pregnant as a single mother." Virginia's daughter had already left the adults to play on the equipment. Greg was now in a jovial mood and said, "Thank you for happening by, Lar." She looked at him and said, "I didn't just happen by. Your attorney is my attorney's partner. I was over there for literary matters - speaking of that, a Korean firm has bought the movie rights to one of my Westerns that will be cast in Korean antiquity. I told your attorney, who is among my friends in that office, that you and I had become very close. When I asked how you are doing, he said only that, 'Things have worked out pretty well for Greg and Jason. You probably can find him at three to four in the weekend afternoons at the Slocum Park.' So here we are." Turning to her daughter, she continued, "Virginia is a chemical engineer and if I stick around, you guys will start talking in foreign tongues - so I will move along." Greg and Lar's daughter, Virginia, looked carefully and apprehensively at each other. Virginia spoke first and asked, "How often does your foster child's mother visit with him?" Greg replied, "Only once since the court order nearly two months ago. When she visited, Jason wouldn't turn me loose so she just sat beside us on a park bench for a short while talking to him and then left. I told him later that his mother loved him. Does Dolly have lots of friends?" She replied, "Yes...and their conversation was very much needed and soon very enjoyable. An hour later Virginia's cell phone rang, Greg heard her say, "Yes, Mom?" The final words she spoke were, "That's a wonderful idea," and broke the circuit. She smiled broadly and turned to Greg and said, "Mom has invited you and Jason to dinner with her and me and Dolly. Do you have any dinner plans"" Greg smiled and said, "Not a one." ——- A month had passed and the dead of winter was on them with a snow storm forecast for this Monday night. Both Greg and Jason were very happy - Jason, because he really loved the challenge of the school and the friendships he had formed there, while his Dad was happy because he and Virginia became lovers last Saturday night. Life was good. And they lived only ten miles from each other. His only problem was that occasionally he would dream of and awaken thinking about his life with Penny, and grimace - "How could you, Greg?" The land-line phone rang one evening. It was from an executive with the Loan Department where Penny worked and who Greg remembered having met at two company functions after she stated her name. Greg asked, "How may I help you?" Without any front end chatting she said, " Penny Ruth McAllen's corpse was discovered last Saturday after rigger mortis had set in. The coroner ruled suicide by prescription drug overdose. We have discovered that her next-of-kin, her mother, is confined in an assisted living facility and so the Bank department is sponsoring a memorial and interment service at Oaklawn Funeral Home on Tuesday at 8:00 P.M. I am calling you even though you two have been divorced for a long time, because she left a sealed letter to you along with a suicide note." Greg jotted down the particulars and said, "Because of the snow on the ground getting there may be problematic. Would you please mail the letter to me because I probably will not attend?" "Yes, I didn't expect so. But, I thank you Mr. McAllen." When the letter arrived two days later Penny had written to her wronged ex-husband and only stated, "I am so sorry, Greg. Please love Jason." But it contained a sealed envelop inside of Greg's which was addressed to her son. The instruction written on it were "Give this to Jason on his 21st birthday." Greg decided he would put Jason's letter in his safe deposit box. In about an hour his cell rang and it was Virginia. She was in her typically upbeat mood and said, "Hello Sweetheart, I just wanted to say good night and to remind you to wrap up in the morning." Greg answered, "I was just thinking about you..." After about five minutes of chatting Greg said, "Virginia, I have some news to pass on to you although it doesn't affect us." She replied, "O.K., lets hear it." He then told her about his phone call from his ex-'s office and concluded, "I did not attend the service and my next task is to petition the court for my condo to become the official residence of Jason." Virginia replied, "That's what I really like about you - doing the right thing comes natural! Thanks for telling me." Four months later Virginia and Dolly were having dinner with Greg and Jason. As usual everyone was chatting and talking about the very first sign of spring that day - some spring flower buds had been spotted. After dinner the children left the table and went to Jason's room. Greg said to Virginia, "I have some news, Dear. Jason's permanent residence papers came in the mail today. And I am glad that phase is behind us. He is legally and officially my son." "Oh, I am so happy for him and you as well," replied Virginia. Greg held her hand and said, "But I want to put a bug in your ear for something to think about. You and Dolly make both of us happy and would make us even happier if you moved in with us. What do you think?" She smiled and said, "Thank you for the offer, I accept - I have been thinking about this since Saturday night. Do you think I should sell my house or keep it for the rental income?" The End. Epilog: Five months later Greg was reading the financial pages and noted that his company's IPO was launched yesterday and the current share price, if he transacted his options that were given to him when he joined the company, right now, they would earn him a middle six-digit bonus. The children were on the floor doing home work. He said to Virginia, sitting across from him, "If you could take a luxury cruise in the Far East where would you like to go? Or if that doesn't appeal what what would be your dream vacation?" Life was good!