23 comments/ 28060 views/ 8 favorites I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying By: woodmanone This story has no graphic sex scenes in it. Sorry, suggest you look to other authors for that type of writing. Constructive critiques and comments are welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading my story and Enjoy. My story is inspired by the Toby Keith song "I'm so happy, I can't stop crying".She says, are you o.k.? I was worried about youCan you forgive me? I hope that you'll be happy. I'm so happy that I can't stop cryingI'm so happy I'm laughing through my tears * They came face to face at the park during their son's soccer game. He had hoped to sneak in, watch his son for a little while and leave unnoticed. It was not to be, she saw him the minute he left his truck. Bonnie was surprised that J.W. was there. She approached him and told J.W. she was worried about him. If it wasn't so sad, so hurtful, so heartbreaking, it would be funny. She's worried about me? She's the one that snuck out of the house while he was at work, taking the children with her and she's worried about me? Now she's worried about me? Now after breaking up our life and home, J.W. thought. It had been five days since Bonnie had left and this was the first opportunity that J.W. had to see Bonnie or his son. He still hadn't been able to see his daughter. J.W. hadn't seen them because he didn't know where Bonnie and the kids were living. "I just want you to be happy J.W., "Bonnie said. "I want both of us to be happy; I want us to be a family again." "Happy? You damn right I'm happy, "J.W. responded. "As soon as we can get all the legal stuff done, I will be ecstatic." He was really hurting and said some things he shouldn't have. "What are you talking about? What legal stuff? I didn't leave to get a separation or divorce, I want us to work through this and get back together." "Well you certainly have a funny way of showing it. You want us to be a family huh? Is that why you ran off with the kids and left me? Is that why you and the kids are living god knows where? It's because you want us back together, BULLSHIT Bonnie." "It was getting impossible at home, that's why I left. For a week solid you stayed at work as much as possible, you were always angry and wouldn't talk to me when you did come home. Every time I tried to explain, you told me to shut up or you left. I thought if we had some space from each other that when we did meet we could talk things out better. Without all the anger, you know?" Bonnie explained. "I've tried to call you every day since I've been gone." "I would never hurt you or the kids Bonnie," he told her. Why did you have to leave?" His sorrow and hurt washed over her like a big wave. "It wasn't the fear of you hurting us, it was the wall of anger you erected and hid behind. It wasn't a good environment for the kids or for us. Please let's talk after J.R.'s game," Bonnie pleaded. J.W. didn't respond to Bonnie, he just stared at her for a few seconds and turned back to his truck. "You're a hypocrite, you don't care about me; you're a liar, you lied to me about your meeting! It was a date. For all I know you were unfaithful too," he told her. Before she had a chance to say anything, he spun the tires as he drove away, spraying her lightly with gravel and dust. J.W. knew he should listen to what Bonnie had to say but he had seen her with that man and the image kept running around and around in his mind's eye. He was hurting too much right now to listen to her... As he drove off he thought, Yeah I'm happy alright; I'm so happy I can't stop crying. ******************* J. W (Jake Wilson) Riley and Bonnie (Bonita) Henderson met some twelve years prior to this confrontation. Bonnie was a 25 year old insurance adjuster for the local office of a national company. She was a leggy, very attractive young woman. Sleek, dark complected, auburn hair, with startling blue eyes, she could turn any man's head. Bonnie certainly caught J.W.'s eye. He had been involved in a minor fender bender and brought his truck in for an inspection by the insurance adjuster. And that happened to be Bonnie. J.W. hadn't really planned on getting the truck fixed, but his accountant advised him to get it repaired. The bean counter said that a truck with collision damage wasn't worth as much as one with the damage fixed. So J.W. made the appointment with the adjuster and to file a claim against the other driver. J.W. had never really been a ladies' man, he felt more comfortable with the workers and builders than he did with women. He just didn't feel that many women would find him attractive because of the facial scar marring his good looks. Other than the scar, most women would find him very handsome. It gave him an inferiority complex, at least where women were concerned. J.W. had run afoul of a table saw that kicked back a 2 x 4 right into his face as he was walking past. The board sliced his cheek from the corner of his mouth up to the corner of his right eye. It wasn't really horrible but it was more than noticeable. The scar stood out more as his face got tanned by the sun. Whenever a woman looked at J.W., he thought they were looking at the scar and he would shut down. He had thought about plastic surgery but couldn't seem to find the time to take off work so he kept putting it off. About a year and a half after the accident the doctor told him that he could smooth out the skin around the scar but there would always be a very noticeable line of scar tissue down his face. J.W. decided that if he would still have the scar why go through the surgery and opted not to have the work done. It surprised him at how attracted to Bonnie he was. She was very pretty but it was more than that. When they met and introduce themselves, she didn't seem bothered by his looks at all. The more time they spent talking, the more at ease J.W. became. They spent about thirty minutes doing the insurance thing and J.W. signed the paperwork. He didn't want to leave her, but their business was finished. "What does the J.W. stand for?" Bonnie asked pointing to his signature, J.W. Riley. "Just waiting," he answered. He didn't know where he got the nerve but he was going to ask Bonnie for a date. "Just waiting? Just waiting for what?" "Just waiting to find out when I can take you out to dinner," J.W. said smiling at Bonnie. Bonnie had been attracted to J.W. too, until he turned and she saw the scar. J.W. was very tanned and the scar was a white line running down his face. She was a little put off until she looked into his eyes. He had the most gentle eyes she had ever seen. During the inspection Bonnie had asked questions she didn't really have to just to spend a little more time with J.W. "I think tomorrow night would be about right, don't you?" Bonnie replied with a big grin. The next evening they went to a the steak house for dinner and Bonnie and J.W. found out more about each other than you normally would on a first date. Bonnie had gone to college for two years after high school. The she decided to spend two years in the Peace Corp in Africa. She was dedicated to the work, but the corruption of the war lords and tribal rulers quickly disillusioned her. When her tour was over she came back to her home town and started working for the insurance company as a claims clerk. After three years she had worked her way up to a full time adjuster. "You're pretty young to own your own company aren't you? You're about 30 right?" So tell me your success story. Bonnie wanted to know more about J.W. and teased him a little to get him to talk about himself. He nodded and told her how he came to own the small construction company specializing in custom homes. J.W. had worked for the largest home builder in the area for eight years after he got out of high school. He took classes in design and architecture at night for those eight years. Two years ago he left the builder to branch out on his own. J.W. knew he could build better homes and give the customer more "bang for their buck" and at the same time make a more than decent profit. While he worked for the builder he met several of the home owners as they inspected the construction of their new house. J.W. made it a point to answer their questions in a friendly manner and tried to put them at ease. One man in particular, William Jasper, was very impressed with the young construction foreman and approached J.W. when his house was finished. William Jasper was one of the richest men in the state and he knew quality workmen when he saw one. The house that had just been completed was for his daughter and he asked J.W. about doing sort of side job. Mr. Jasper wanted a summer cabin built on his property at a nearby lake; actually the term cabin was misleading. The "cabin" was to be about 5000 square feet. J.W. told Mr. Jasper that a house couldn't be built on a part time basis and the J.W. couldn't afford to just take off from his job with the builder. J.W. thanked Mr. Jasper for the confidence he showed in him and thought that was the end of it. Two weeks later J.W. got a call from Mr. Jasper asking if he could meet with J.W. on Friday afternoon about 3:00 at a local coffee shop. No reason was given except that Mr. Jasper wanted to talk about the house. J.W. naturally thought it was about the house he had just completed and agreed to the meeting. He wanted to take care of the problems, if any, with the just completed house. At their meeting, J.W. was stunned by the offer made by Mr. Jasper. He wanted J.W. to quit his job and build the cabin for him. Mr. Jasper would set up accounts at all the construction supply houses, pay the workers, and pay J.W. a salary until the job was completed. J.W. would be the contractor, ordering supplies, hiring the sub contractors and scheduling the work. When completed J.W. would receive his fee less the salary already paid. In addition, Mr. Jasper had two partners that wanted houses build at the lake too. J.W. would have the same deal as with Mr. Jasper on those two cabins and they would split the profit on them. By the time the three houses were done, J.W. would be established and able to continue on his own. Mr. Jasper explained that his share of the profit from the other two cabins would cover J.W.'s fee on Mr. Jasper's cabin. Basically Mr. Jasper would get his house for nothing but the cost of materials. In addition, he would have the best quality built custom home available. The partnership was formed and J.W. started his company. Two years later his company had more business than they could handle. They had a waiting list, a very nice problem for a new company to have. "That's the story of the birth of Riley Custom Homes, "J.W. finished and glanced at his watch. "Oh jeeze, I've been talking for almost forty minutes. I'm sorry; you must have been bored to tears." "Not really, it was an interesting story and told very well I might add, "Bonnie replied smiling. "Let's get out of here before they throw us out. I'll take you home." J.W. walked her to the door, took her hand and said good night. Bonnie pulled him to her, gave him a hug and kissed his cheek telling him thank you. When Bonnie hugged him, she realized for the first time how solid and massive J.W. was. At 6' 3" he towered over her 5' 7" and spread 245 pounds over that large frame. He looked like a pirate with that scar, but he was really a teddy bear. She hoped he would call her again. If he didn't, she vowed to call him. Bonnie had looked past the scar. She accepted his dinner invitation because he was a little shy and seemed to be a nice person. After their dinner she knew what a good man J.W. was. A week went by and just as Bonnie thought she would have to call him; J.W. came by her office and asked her to go to some kind of industry awards dinner dance. J.W. was totally tongue tied by how beautiful Bonnie looked when he picked her up for the dance. She wore a long gold gown, with a slit up the side and a little low cut on top. Bonnie's neck and shoulders were bare with her auburn hair was piled on top of her head in some glorious fashion and she had a string of pearls around her neck. "You clean up pretty good, J.W., "Bonnie said smiling at him. She twirled and asked, "Will this be okay?" He stood there with his mouth open. Finally he said, "You're beautiful Bonnie." That dinner dance was the beginning of a relationship that J.W. never thought he could have. Other than work, he and Bonnie spent almost every waking minute together and six months later they were married. ******************** J.W. and Bonnie were married for almost twelve years and had two children: A son James Wilson Jr., called J.R. for junior and a daughter Alyssa called Ally. During those years, Riley Customer Construction grew into a very successful company. The company usually built one or two upscale houses at a time and had a waiting list of clients. Bonnie had climbed the ladder at the insurance company and was now the lead adjuster and defacto supervisor. She had been offered a promotion several times, but it would mean a lot of travel and she turned it down. Shortly after their eleventh anniversary J.W.'s world imploded. His marriage came under attack, at least in his eyes. He was involved in building four custom homes at the same time and in the same general area. It was a stretch for the company, but if they could complete the construction on time the payoff would be huge. Consequently J.W. was spending a lot more time at the construction trailers on the sites. He wouldn't get home most nights until 9:00 and sometimes 10:00. This was his normal six day a week schedule. Early Sunday morning he would return to the trailer and tie up loose ends until around noon. J.W. would come home and do some of the normal maintenance around their house and then veg out until time to go to bed. This left Bonnie at home with the kids with no adult interaction, other than at work. By the time J.W. got home he was beat. He would eat, shower, and go right to bed; to start all over again the next day. She understood the pressure he was under and knew he was working that hard for his family. The payoff on these jobs would set them up for life; it was almost life changing money. Bonnie never complained about the hours, but she did get lonely for adult social conversation and company. On a Sunday evening, before J.W. got too tired, Bonnie sat down in his lap. "Honey I would like to go out for dinner and some girl talk with some people from the office once a week. I love J.R. and Ally, but I need some adult stimulation before I go nuts. No don't apologize, I know you are working long hours and I'm not complaining about that. I just need to unwind a little myself. What do you think?" "Who'll get the kids from after care at school? I can't promise that I can be home early even that one night a week." "I usually pick them up, but they can ride the school bus home one day a week. I'll hire Sarah next door to come over and stay with the kids until one of us gets home. Her husband is in Afghanistan and she can use the company and the money. I'll usually be home by eight. Is that alright?" Obviously Bonnie had already approached Sarah. "Sure, you deserve a little me time. I know my hours are hard on you too; I wish I could join you gals once or twice to chill out too. Yeah, go ahead and enjoy yourself." The routine was set, Sarah was given a key to their house and on Thursday afternoon she would come over and sit for the children until either J.W. or Bonnie got home. J.R. was nine and Ally was seven and rode the same school bus. They were dropped off in front of their house and Sarah would play "Mom" for the evening. Either Bonnie, if she didn't get home first, or J.W. or sometimes both would call and talk to the children before bedtime. A few times Bonnie would call J.W. at work to see if he could get done early enough to join her and her friends. Twice he was able to get away and join the "hen" party. The program worked very well. UNTIL. The seventh week of the routine, fate or some devil or some evil spirit conspired to bring down this happy family. Thursday morning a truckers strike was called. This stopped deliveries to J.W.'s job sights, which basically shut down the construction. You need supplies to build and the sites only had enough for that day. The strike could possibly put J.W. weeks behind and cost his company a huge amount of money. He went into his search and destroy, think outside the box, solve the problem mode. J.W. wasn't a union man but could sympathize with the truckers. His problem was that if the strike lasted very long, it could bankrupt his company. He felt that sometimes the unions went to extremes in their demands, but management could not be trusted to be fair to the workers either. If it came to a choice of loyalty to the union workers or providing for his family, the family was the correct choice every time. He made arrangements to rent several trucks to pick up supplies locally on Friday. The crews wouldn't be able to work that day, but could return to work on Monday. He offered some of his crew the jobs with pay to drive the trucks and anyone who wanted to honor the truckers strike could do so with no repercussions. After all they were hired as construction workers not truck drivers. J.W. had no trouble getting enough drivers and they could continue using this solution until the strike was over. Problem solved, with no work the next day he decided to go home at a decent hour for once. J.W. pulled into his garage at 4:30, the first time he had gotten home in daylight for over two months. J.R. and Ally had just finished their dinner and were very happy to see him. They had missed their daddy too. Sarah was surprised to see him and started to leave. J.W. told her to stay, he did have some work to go over and after he played with the kids for a while, he would get to it. Sarah could supervise the children's baths and put them to bed as usual. Bonnie came home at 5:45 and blew past Sarah to the kid's room. She spent a few minutes with them and learned that J.W. was home. She found him in the den going over some schedules. "What are you doing home so early?" Bonnie was very surprised that her husband was home, it was evident in her eyes. She went to him and kissed him. He explained the strike and his solution to the problem. "I guess we get a night for ourselves for a change. Let me get changed and I'll take you to dinner. Maybe we could come back here for a little cuddle time afterwards." J.W. could tell by the way Bonnie tilted her head and the faraway look in her eyes that she was thinking about something other than his invitation. "I can't Honey. The people from work are getting together for a dinner meeting and I just came home to change," she responded. "We're going to meet at Arrowhead at 7:00." "You can't pass up one week with the girls to spend some time with me?" J.W.'s disappointment and a little anger showed in his voice. Bonnie heard the emotion in his voice and tried to make him understand. "This isn't just the office crew, my boss and the other three department heads will be at the meeting. And their boss is in from the corporate office and will be there also. This meeting could be important to my job and important for us. Please try and understand." J.W. didn't answer for about ten seconds. To Bonnie those seconds were almost like torture. If J.W. was going to be really upset she would have to forego the meeting. "Go ahead, I'll spend some time with the rug rats and get to bed early." Bonnie gave him a hug, kissed him again and went to their bedroom to shower and change. She could tell by the tone of J.W.'s voice that he still wasn't a happy camper. If the meeting went the way she thought it would she would make it up to him. Bonnie knew that one result of this dinner could be a big promotion for her. J.W. would be so proud of her. I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying She finished her shower, touched up her hair, her makeup, and finished dressing. Bonnie found J.W. playing with the kids in the family room. He eyes opened wide at the way she was dressed when she came into the room. Bonnie was dressed in what is known as "the little black dress" and looked very good. The hem was about two inches above the knee and the top was square cut without much cleavage. It wasn't that she was dressed overly sexy he thought, but that dress on her screamed sex subdued. He was surprised because she only wore that dress for special occasions. "Walk me to the door?" Bonnie asked and suggested to J.W. As they got to the door, she pulled his head down and kissed him hard. "I should be home about 10:00. Why don't you get a shower, get something to eat and take a little nap to rest up for me?" You'll need your strength when I get home," Bonnie told him with a big smile. She could tell he was still pouting a little. "Well a shower and a nap couldn't hurt, I guess." This time there was a smile in his voice. Bonnie left the house at 6:45 or close to it. J.W. took his shower, ate some dinner, and was relaxing, preparing for a little cat nap in his recliner when the phone rang. Sarah had just put the kids to bed and grabbed the phone. She brought him the cordless phone and went back to finish cleaning up the kitchen. Who would be calling him at almost 8:00? "Do you know where Bonnie is tonight?" The unknown caller asked. "Of course I know and what business is it of yours? Who is this?" He said with a little heat. "The "meeting" your wife is attending isn't about business. She is meeting two men tonight at the restaurant and insurance isn't what they're discussing." "WHO IS THIS?" My wife would never do something like that," J.W. defended Bonnie "I doesn't matter who I am. Don't say you weren't warned." With that the woman hung up. J.W. was mumbling about the call and the suggestion that Bonnie was meeting another man. After a minute or two he began to wonder about a few things. Bonnie came home to change clothes before dinner, something she had never done before. Not only did she change, but she changed into the nicest and sexiest dress she owned. She was dressed the same way on their anniversary. He began to think that she was overdressed for a meeting with the crew from her office. He took a double Jack Daniels out on the back deck to think about that the changes in Bonnie and the phone call. After one sip, he decided he needed a clear head, not a whiskey soaked brain. He poured out the drink and went back inside. Maybe he should just go to the steak house and see what was going on. If Bonnie caught him he could say that he was going to wait for her in the bar until her meeting was over. They could have a drink together before they went home. A little thin on the logic but it should work. J.W. knew the Arrowhead very well; it was their favorite steak house. It has two entrances, the main one leading to the dining area and one from the patio directly into the bar. There was a planter that separated the bar from the dining room. He knew he could see the dining area from the bar but no one could see into the bar. He entered the building from the patio, got a drink from the bartender and walked over to the planter. What he saw knocked the wind out of him like a Mike Tyson punch. Bonnies' boss and the other department heads along with some of the other women from the office were sitting at a table at the end of the room. Bonnie wasn't sitting with them. She was in a corner booth with two men and another woman. One of the men appeared to be in his late 50's or very early 60's and was very distinguished looking. The other man looked to be about Bonnies' age. The woman was very attractive and maybe 40, if that. She was sitting next to the younger man. The four of them were smiling, laughing and just having a gay old time, at least that's what it looked like to J.W. When the other woman got up and went to the ladies' room. J.W. made his move. He walked toward their booth, no walked doesn't describe it properly. It was more of a stalk, like a big cat would do. He had his prey in sight and nothing would stop him. When he got to the table, the man looked up at J.W. with a smile that was replaced with a frown at once and he actually cringed a little. J.W. face was tanned and red with anger and this made the scar stand out like a beacon. When J.W. got angry or tired, the scar would pull at the corner of his mouth giving him an evil grin. That evil grin is what made the man cringe. He was confronted by a very large and obviously a very angry man and to be honest he was physically afraid of this giant. Bonnie saw the man's reaction and looked up to see the cause. She was startled to see her husband standing there with that death head's grin. Bonnie could tell that J.W. was very angry and almost out of control. He was shaking with anger as he stood there. "Honey! What are you doing here?" She smiled at him surprised at him being there and trying to decide why he was so angry. She continued, "This is Mr. Snyder from the head office in Omaha. Sam, this is my husband J.W." J.W. ignored Bonnie for a little over ten seconds as he continued to stare at the older man. Snyder started to acknowledge the introduction but stopped at the look in J.W.'s eyes and that evil smile. The younger guy sat there with his mouth open. If you have ever waited for ten seconds in a stressful situation, you know that it's like hours. Finally, J.W. turned his eyes to Bonnie. "Just staking my claim to my wife," J.W. finally answered her and then turned to Snyder and said, "Are you in the habit of taking other men's wives out to dinner, Mr. Snyder?" J.W. didn't wait for an answer but continued, "I suggest you get your ass in a cab, get your ass to the airport, and get your ass back to Omaha or wherever. If I find you here tomorrow, you may never get back home." "Mr. Riley, there's been some mistake, I........." Snyder started. "SHUT UP!" J.W. interrupted. "The mistake was yours and I'm giving you a head start, I suggest you take it. Bonnie the kids and I will be at home waiting for you. It takes about 20 minutes to drive home from here, I expect you at the house in 30. If you're not there by then, don't bother coming home." J.W. turned and left the restaurant. He ignored Bonnie's calls and pleas to come back or wait. J.W. found himself driving much too fast on the way home, he made the trip in about 15 minutes. He was pacing like a big caged tiger when Bonnie got home about 10 minutes after him. When she tried to talk to him, J.W. told her that he couldn't talk to her tonight. He told her he would sleep in the guest room for now. Bonnie tried again to explain and J.W. walked out of the house. Bonnie went to bed trying to understand why J.W. had reacted the way he had. She heard him come back sometime around midnight. The next morning, J.W. left before daylight because he didn't want to see Bonnie yet. He worked until 10:00, even though everything had already been set up for the Monday restart. Again, he didn't want to talk to Bonnie. He was trying to get a handle on his anger, his disappointment, and his feeling of betrayal. Every time Bonnie tried to talk to him about that night, he would wave her off and/or stomp out of the house. He tried not to let his anger affect his interaction with his children, but he didn't succeed. The kids knew something wasn't right between their mother and father. Bonnie began to get angry too. This blanket of anger covering their home was beginning to affect the children. J.R. and Ally became nervous and jumpy, they were afraid that they would cause things to get worse. After a week of the forced silence from J.W. she got up right after him one morning. While he was in the bathroom, she went to the kitchen and made coffee. Bonnie was sitting at the kitchen table when J.W. came to get some coffee. "Honey, we can't keep on like this. I know...wave your hand all you want but you've got to talk to me. Your anger is making the kids a nervous wreck. Please talk to me," Bonnie pleaded with him. "Let me explain about Mr. Snyder." She thought for just a second he was finally going to talk to her. He hesitated for a few seconds, shook his head, and walked out of the house without saying anything. Bonnie talked to her sister, Julie and told her the whole story about the meeting and J.W. jumping to conclusions when he saw Bonnie having dinner with Mr. Snyder, his wife and son. She also told Julie that she couldn't get J.W. to talk or listen to her. Bonnie was at a loss as to what to do. Julie suggested that she and the kids come to stay with her saying that the atmosphere at the house wasn't good for any of them. Bonnie didn't want this but her kids were having a hard time and maybe someplace away from the anger they would feel better. Later that morning she and the children moved in with Julie. Bonnie tried to call J.W. several times that day. She called the construction trailer but he was always out at a job site at least that was what she was told. His cell phone would go to voice mail after one or two rings. J.W. obviously wasn't answering his cell. She went back to the house and left him a note to please call her so they could talk and solve this problem. Bonnie wrote that she and the children were safe and she would continue to try and contact him. ******************** That's how we got to the incident at the soccer game. After the confrontation at the park, Bonnie decided that this fiasco had gone on long enough. She waited until almost 9:00 P.M. outside one of the job site trailers. J.W. was in there all alone and Bonnie made her move. She crept up to the door, glanced through the window, and there he was sitting behind his paper covered desk. Bonnie felt sorry for him, he looked so tired and so alone. No time for sympathy now, she thought. Bonnie opened the door, stepped into the trailer and locked the door behind her. She leaned up against the door and said, "We're going to talk and we're going to do it right now. I won't let you walk out and if you try to move me I'll fight you every step of the way." J.W. had stood up when Bonnie came into the trailer. Now hearing her threat and seeing her ready to fight, all 5' 7" of her, he started to laugh. He sat down and continued to laugh, it wasn't that funny but he was releasing a lot of built up stress. The laughter became almost hysterical, and then turned into crying. He had only loved one woman in his life and the stress of possibly losing her and his children pushed him over the edge. When he started to cry, Bonnie came to him and sat on his lap. She put her arms around him and held him until J.W. got control of himself. With Bonnie's arms holding him, J.W. was able to calm down. "You're right," J.W. said. "I've let my pride and anger carry this too long and we need to decide what we're going to do." He didn't know where they would end up but it was time for him to confront their problems. It took Bonnie a minute to collect herself too; finally they were going to talk about what had sent him into a rage. "Why were you so upset at the restaurant and why did you threaten Mr. Snyder? He began to explain the things that led up to his attack at dinner. "You came home to change clothes for your "hens" night; something you've never done before. When I asked, you wouldn't give up your night with the girls to be with me." J.W. was trying to control the anger that started to build again. She could hear it in his voice. "But I told you .................." Bonnie began. J.W. stopped her saying, "Please Hon, let me finish. The dress you put on to go to a dinner meeting with your boss is the nicest one you have. You only wear it on special occasions. You only mentioned the people from your office being at dinner. You didn't say anything about any men going to be there. I saw you sitting with the two guys; laughing and enjoying their company and I got hurt and jealous." He nodded at her that now she could respond. "I told you it was a dinner meeting but I should have explained that it was more than a normal meeting, I guess. Obviously you thought it was just another girl's night out. Mr. Snyder is the boss from the head office I told you about, but I didn't think to tell you anymore about him. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hide anything from you. I was excited about the meeting but I should have explained it better. The woman is his wife and the other man is his son; he's in training to manage another office." She hesitated a second or two and continued. "If it had been a normal meeting, with just the people from our office, I wouldn't have come home to change. I would have just gone from work. I can see that me coming home to change and then wearing that "special" dress might cause you to stop and think. But it was an important meeting with the head man and I wanted to look good. What made you come to the restaurant?" "I was going to wait for you at home and take you up on your promise, but then I got the phone call," J.W. admitted. "What phone call? Call from who?" "I don't know but the women told me that your business meeting was anything but business. I was told you were meeting a man and that it wasn't about insurance. That was the reason I came to the steak house, to see for myself," J.W. finished. "Who would tell you such a terrible lie?" Bonnie was really upset at the unknown caller and also a little upset that he hadn't trusted her. "I saw you on what looked like double date and thought those people were your playmates. It almost killed me to see you sitting with another man; laughing and having a good time. That's when I lost it." He had to stop for a little while, to push the anger and hurt back down. "How could you think that I would want another man after all our years together? Have I ever given you any reason to doubt my love, you big dummy?" Bonnie laughingly chastised him. She did so gently and a little humor. She knew he was still a little unstable. They could discuss his lack of trust in her at a later time. Later, maybe when emotions weren't so volatile. J.W. shook his head no to answer her questions. He told her that he had always worried about losing her and admitted he never understood how he got her in the first place. He confessed that it still bothered him that people would shy away from him because of his scar and was afraid that she would too. Bonnie leaned over and kissed the scar on J.W.'s face and then his lips. "I couldn't talk to you because I was so hurt and angry, I was sure that I would do or say something to you that couldn't be taken back. I'm sorry, I should have talked with you that night," J.W. explained to her. "I should have answered or returned your calls." The rest of the evening is no body's business but theirs. However, they did make good use of the hide-a-bed couch, although the lack of it wouldn't have stopped them. The next morning they woke up holding each other. Bonnie kissed her husband and told him to get dressed and they would go together to pick up the kids and go home together. "Where have you been living?" J.W. was curious. "We've been staying with Julie. Now don't get mad at her she was trying to help me. She's also the one that suggested that I ambush you at work and put an end to this fiasco." Bonnie said as she saw him start to get upset. "I called her last night while you were in the bathroom to let her know that we were "talking" and that I might be gone all night." Bonnie was smiling at how embarrassed and excited she had felt when talking to her sister. J.W. seemed pensive again and Bonnie had to find out what was bothering him now. "What's troubling you now Honey. Everything is going to be okay, don't worry." "I probably cost you your job, after threatening Snyder the way I did. Sorry, I wasn't thinking straight. Maybe I should call Snyder, explain my actions, and apologize to him, maybe that would save your job," J. W. said hopefully. "It's not necessary; Mr. Snyder called me when he got back to Omaha and we had a long talk. He said you scared the hell out of him but he admired you for protecting your family. He said his wife kept asking him if he would face down two men like you did. We finished the business that we were discussing when you showed up." "What business?" "He gave me the promotion that we were talking about. I'm the new Branch Manager and the head honcho." Bonnie reported proudly. The discussion for the rest of the ride to pick up the children was about Bonnie's new position, her duties, and new responsibilities. She told J.W. that her hours wouldn't be as long and she could now delegate the duties of her old job. He promised her that he would begin to delegate some of his work so he would have more time with the family. They picked up the children and went home as a family for the first time since that night at the restaurant. After dinner that evening, J. W. tucked his kids into bed. As he leaned over to kiss Ally good night she ordered, "Daddy, don't ever go away again. Promise okay?" He promised Ally that they would never be apart again and then had to do the same thing with his boy, J.R. Later as he and Bonnie were in their own bed after a long time apart. She told him that one of women at work had quit when Bonnie got the promotion. It was that woman that had called J.W. that night. She thought she could cause so much trouble that Bonnie wouldn't get the promotion and that she would. J.W. seemed pensive and thinking about something. "Bonnie, maybe after these houses are done, I should look into getting this scar taken care of. What'da you think?" "Don't you dare, that scar is part of you and you belong to me. So that scar is mine and I would miss it." Bonnie reinforced her opinion by loving her man for the next couple of hours. Later as they were resting, or maybe it was recovering, she kissed his neck and asked, "Happy now?" "I'm so happy that I can't stop crying," J.W. replied with tears in his eyes. ****** Author's note: I know I took some literary license in this story concerning the amount of time it took Bonnie to shower, do makeup and hair, and get dressed to go to her meeting. In the story it only took her 45 minutes to get ready. Any husband or live-in boyfriend will tell you that no woman could get ready that quickly. So cut me some slack here, I know it's a fantasy but the time line fit the story.