《The Covid Effect》


 Mr. Cellopane

    I must thank the virus and the governor of our state for giving me all the time in the world to stand still and do nothing. Thanks to the governor of our state, I had in the walk of life and honor of being just another piece of cellophane. The powers that be could look right through me, walk right by me, and never know I¡¯m there.


    I could not open the doors of my business even though I owned the building it was in. So, what if I was going broke, they did not care. I was to be like everybody else, I had to stay at home, do as I was told, and be a good boy.


    All my staff had been laid off for so long that they were no longer getting any unemployment. Some had started making the rounds weekly to get as much government assistance as possible.


    As for getting a helping hand from the government as a small business, do not laugh but most of the stimulus in our state had been picked up by those who contributed the most to both political parties thanks to the advance warning, they had everything needed ready to apply once it was announced. After all, looking after your biggest contributors is every politician¡¯s first and only important responsibility if they ever plan on being reelected.


    With my wife being so unhappy that she had to work at home I soon learned she was taking it out on me because I had nowhere to go and nothing to do. In her eyes, I had become nothing but a fly flying around her face. An irritant that she could not get rid of. It seemed that the virus was bringing out the worst in everybody.


    After three months of dealing with the stay-at-home bull shit, her growing bitchiness, and getting nothing but the cold shoulder with a sex life to match. It had reached the point that we were sleeping in different bedrooms. In her eyes, it was all my fault.


    Having spent my twenty-eighth birthday watching reruns on tv I had reached the boiling point. I was fed up with putting up with the bullshit of the constant stay-at-home orders. Yet I could freely go riot and loot on the streets because it was the only thing some level of government had not made illegal.


    I knew something had to give. I knew that it was not going to be the powers that be sitting in their glass houses laughing at the rest of us. It looked like the governor was imitating China.


    In the middle of the night, after the wife had gone to sleep, I decided it was time to make a move. I packed up some of my clothing into a couple of suitcases I had borrowed from Erin¡¯s large set. I slipped out of the house in search of some of the freedom that we all had seemed to have lost.


    Slipping into my four-year-old ford truck and starting it, I knew I had broken the governor¡¯s stay-at-home orders and could be arrested. I could no longer live under a dictatorship. I am a law and order man but if it continued this way, I was going to hit someone. With just the wife and me in the house, we all know who would bear the cost. I guess I was running to protect my wife.


    Erin¡¯s job was secure since she is a fed employee who worked for the social security administration and thanks to federal laws could not be fired even if she were incompetent. They were super busy because of the slowdown caused by the political decisions made by mini dictators which had brought major job losses because they had done things to deliberately destroy the economy.


    A lot of elderly housewives were starting their retirement early. I thought why not those jobs would never be coming back thanks to social engineering. Was the government deliberately doing this to punish us? Or else their employers were so glad to get them out of the door that when there were recalls they would be on the bottom of the totem pole because the norms of our society were gone. What was, no longer mattered as the power of the position they held had gone to their head.


    All she had to do was sit at her home computer and answer the phone when a call was transferred to her and remain linked to the department''s system with her computer. It took her three days to realize I was gone. Another day to see the note that I had left on the message board that we used to check daily. All it said was, Going stir crazy, gone fishing.


    Based on what I later learned I think she was more upset about me breaking the stay-at-home order than me being gone. Yes, that was how bad it had gotten. Two people who claimed to love each other were taking out their frustrations against each other.


    I would learn later that it was not our current situation that upset her, it was that it had turned her everyday routine upside down. The thing eating at her the most was that she missed the art of the dance she was in with another businessperson who worked downtown near her. It had not reached the point that they were sleeping together but if the virus would not have come, they would have been.


    As soon as I had left the state, I started seeing my situation in a different light. I had taken my favorite movie to heart because I was the running man. I quit shaving and let my hair go wild, two things I had not done in years. It was not long until I had lost a civilized look.


    The further I was away from home the more different I saw how things were. Not all states were like the one I lived in. Some were allowing their citizens to get on with their lives. Sad that none of these truths was being seen in our local media.


    ********


    It was in the middle of nowhere about five days later in a town whose name did not matter that I had to acknowledge that I was in part was to blame. I had like so many had allowed the powers that be control me. That was the day I took my life back. I realized that even in the state, we lived in I was nothing but a piece of cellophane.


    I turned on my cellphone to find I only had one text message from Erin which read you could have told me in person you needed time for yourself. Having gotten my humor back I sent one back. No need, you would not have heard me anyway.


    I went to my contact list and found Krack Parson¡¯s name and called him. Krack was Jeff Parson but to all who knew him from back in the day, they understood why he earned that nickname. He answered on the first ring.


    ¡°Shit head what in the hell do you want,¡± Krack said with a laugh.


    ¡°The same thing I always do, your balls on a platter,¡± I responded with right back. ¡°Seriously I need to give you some work.¡±


    Krack¡¯s voice changed instantly, and he got serious with the real estate market half dead he needed any business he could get because so many were unable to pay their rent.


    ¡°Seven percent I won¡¯t go any lower not even for one of my best friends. What are you putting up for sale?¡± Jeff said.


    ¡°The business and the building my business is in,¡± I said.


    ¡°Jesus, Cameron if things are that tight, I can float you fifty thousand until you get back on your feet,¡± Jeff said in sincerity.


    ¡°Jeff I¡¯m leaving the state like so many others I¡¯m done not being able to live. I cannot take being a dead fish in a sardine can. I need to breathe. I have had enough of the bull shit,¡± I said. ¡°I want my freedom back.¡±


    I knew Jeff would know what I was saying because back in the day our favorite television movie was ¡® Easy Rider ¡®and our theme song was ¡°Born to be wild.¡± That was before we took on life and got serious about doing something with it.


    ¡°What about Erin?¡± Krack asked. He always had said that if the situation were different, he would have been interested in getting a crack at her. She had been one of the packs of girls that always hung around with the guys as we were all growing up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you answer that for yourself,¡± I said. ¡°Ask your wife, Lissy, to ask about Mr. Cellophane when they''re out grocery shopping at Wally World Friday night.¡±


    Jeff and I talked about getting an appraisal on the building because I had a bunch of tenants. He warned me to be prepared for some bad news because real estate values were dropping.


    As soon as we were done chatting, I went to the nearest Notary and had a restricted power of attorney drawn up so Jeff could act on my behalf. I had them email him a copy and send the original directly to him. That way things could legally be done without my signature.


    With that done it was back on the road looking for an opportunity that caught my eye. The only thing it had to be something different. I was in no rush I had no place I needed to be and no place I had to go. I just knew that I could not go back to the box I had allowed myself to be put in.


    I had left behind the stale and wanted the excitement. Somehow five days later, on a Monday I found myself driving through some of the prettiest country I had ever seen. The Cumberland Plateau in Kentucky which has so many of the historic coal mines that were no longer in production had a true beauty that could not be captured on any screen.


    ********


    I had stopped at a town called Jasper for lunch at a dinner on the main street and picked up the local rag that someone had left on the counter. Browsing through it while waiting for my order I discovered a piece of property that looked interesting as I sipped on my coffee.


    Just then the server brought me my order a club sandwich, fries, with a brown-gray on the side. She saw the picture I was looking at and said, ¡°Oh that¡¯s the park we used to spend part of summers at when we were kids. I loved the place. It went broke because of the feds shutting down and destroying the coal industry. It¡¯s been for sale for years.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Nothing but with the high unemployment in the area there is not much that can be done with it unless you have got an idea that would make it profitable or planned to retire.¡± The waitress said. ¡°What caught your attention?¡±


    ¡°The one hundred and fifty acres, the shoreline access to the lake, and the low price,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Off the record,¡± the waitress said. ¡°My sister holds the listing and believes that the owner would accept less. By the way, my name Bryanna but everyone calls me Brie.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± I said holding out my hand. ¡°My name is Cameron, but you can call me Cam. Two quick questions. Where¡¯s the closest hotel and what''s the best way to contact your sister?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s most likely at her office. It''s three blocks down and on the left side of the street,¡± Brie said. ¡°The Hampton Suites have the best rates and you passed it on your way in.¡±


    The club sandwich was nothing to write home about, better than most but not spectacular, the fries were perfect once I applied the side of brown gravy on them and added some salt and pepper.


    When she returned to refill my coffee cup she asked, ¡°Do you always eat fries in restaurants with brown gravy?¡±


    ¡°Every time it is available. Half the time I will even add ketchup and malt vinegar. Unless they are made traditionally like they are in Britain,¡± I said. ¡°You can¡¯t slaughter it if it is already dead.


    Brie got a smile on her face and responded, ¡°Dad will get a kick out of that remark because we are always teasing him because he does the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like he is a man that has good tastes,¡± I said in humor. Thankfully, she caught my jest.


    From behind me, I heard a voice over my shoulder say, ¡°Okay Sis I¡¯m here what''s up.¡±


    ¡°Brandy this is Cam, Cam this is my older sister. I called her for you,¡± Brie said. ¡°Brandy, Cam¡¯s interested in the old ¡®havesumfun campground park.¡±


    My first impression of Brie¡¯s sister Brandy was that she was professional. A brunette who dressed to impress with a genuinely nice shape. She had the nicest hazel eyes I had ever seen. Appeared to be in her mid-twenties and was not wearing a wedding ring. I still was.


    I stood up to offer her my hand and learned that she at the most two to three inches shorter than me. Her shoulder-length hair was pinned back so that it allowed one an unrestricted view of the softness of her face. I smiled because she had a pair of hiking boots on her feet.


    I am five foot eleven, I weigh about one-eighty with dark brown hair with traces of red. I had a thirty-six-inch waist with little to no body fat. With my current state of appearance, I must have looked like a man fresh out of the wilderness. She sat down beside me and had a hot tea while I finished my meal.


    As soon as I had finished, off we went. Brandy explained that being off the highway it was hard to sell the place. I asked her about the water and sewage. She said both were available from the road and were supplied by the county.


    The land had the typical rolling hills covered in a lot of marketable timber. A few small buildings were no longer livable but still had running water. Traces of the former campsites could still be seen. The only flat area was near the lake. Thanks to Brandy I learned about a few of the memories her family had of the place.


    ¡°What about the lake? Are motorized boats allowed on it? Can it be fished?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a manmade lake that has been around for the last fifty to sixty years,¡± Brandy said. ¡°My dad still fishes it for trout. Not sure about boats but there is a lot of canoers who use them a lot. I know that the water is deep enough to handle big boats.¡±


    ¡°Has the area ever been hit by a tornado,¡± I asked?


    ¡°We have lived here all our lives and I¡¯ve never seen one?¡± Brandy replied.


    ¡°One final question any restrictions on land use?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We still have time to get to the country registry to find that fact out,¡± Brandy said.


    As we drove to the county office Brandy told me about their family''s story. Her father had been a coal miner most of his life who had to reinvent himself when the coal mines in the area were forced to close down thanks to the fed¡¯s interference and their new regulations. It had been a few rough years for everybody that lived in the area.


    For them, it ended up with a divorce where no one won and bitter feelings that were left all around. The lack of money and no way to make it was the root of most of their problems.


    ¡°We were not the only family that went through a living hell because of the politics at the time and we won¡¯t be the last,¡± Brandy said. ¡°But it¡¯s always the average Joe that pay¡¯s the price for those who have an agenda. What was done to this area of the country was so bad that we still have not recovered from it. Can I ask what brought you here?¡±


    ¡®In my state, they shut my business down but let the international corporate stores continue operating. Tells me that the powers that be do not believe that we the average citizen have the common sense to keep our establishments virus-free. When they issued another stay-at-home order for the umpteenth time I ran because I valued my freedom,¡± I said. ¡°I guess that makes me a militant in their eyes because I want my independence back.¡±


    After finding out that there were no restrictions on the land I put in an offer for full price.


    ¡°You could most likely get it for at least ten to twenty percent less,¡± Brandy said. ¡°The owners are desperate to sell.¡±


    ¡°No give him full price,¡± I said. ¡°That way if I need information down the road that they may know they will be open to it answering my questions.¡±


    Little did I know that when Brandy went and told the seller what I had said that my reputation of being a fair and decent man was established. Thanks to his word of mouth offers would come in that would change the direction of my whole life.


    I tried to call my wife to give her an update on what was going on but kept getting a busy signal, so I sent her a text to give me a call when she was free.


    ********


    ¡°I was just signing into the Hampton Inn when I saw Brandy and Brie walking through the door both wearing huge smiles on their faces. They waited until I was done.


    ¡°Your offer has been accepted,¡± Brandy said. ¡°They are willing to speed up the closing date if you want to.¡±


    ¡°Is there a land title office that can get a title search done so we can finish it up Wednesday morning,¡± I asked?


    ¡°Let me make a quick phone call to see if I can get that worked out.¡± Brandy said with a huge smile as she walked off.


    I asked the bellhop to have my luggage delivered to the room and handed him a twenty. Brie and I went over and sat on one of the lobby¡¯s couches.


    ¡°I wanted to thank you,¡± Brie said. ¡°You have given my sister another couple of months of breathing space before she might have had to close the doors. Yours the first sale her office has had in four months.¡±


    I was amazed because when you drive through a place all you see is smoke and mirrors. It reminded me that that it was not so easy for us as humans to see beyond what is right in front of us. I was also surprised that Brandy who was in desperate need had not acted out of greed. To me, it said a lot about the kind of person she was.


    ¡°What her story if you don¡¯t mind me asking,¡± I said?


    ¡°Divorced, raising two children both girls,¡± Brie explained. ¡°Her husband left her while she was carrying her second and she is still bitter from it. He¡¯s the mayor who had been doing her former best friend.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s complicated because it¡¯s his office that she has to deal with when straightening out local legal problems on property dealing with zoning and other things that she¡¯s trying to sell for her clients,¡± I said.


    Brie paused after I said it then said, ¡°I never saw it, both are seeing the other as an ongoing aggravation of their former relationship. That is why there no getting beyond it. Each time they face each other it gets magnified again. They have no separation from what they have gone through.¡±


    ¡°Title search is being done, and I told them that you were buying title protection,¡± Brandy said as soon as she joined us. ¡°Meet me at the office Wednesday morning and we will go together to get the paperwork done.¡±


    ¡°Is there a nice restaurant nearby where I can treat you both for dinner,¡± I asked?


    ¡°There are lots, but I have been dying to try the new Pastels that has opened up. Perhaps you can take Brie because I must go home and feed my daughters,¡± Brandy said.


    ¡°Text me the directions, grab your girls and bring them with you,¡± I said. ¡°Let set seven-thirty as the time to meet.¡±


    They agreed. Meeting her daughters that night answered a lot of questions I might have asked later.


    ********


    I went upstairs to shower and change. After having seen my image in the mirror I did a major cleanup of my face and decided to keep the good start of the goatee and mustache. When I was done, I liked the new image I had left myself with.


    Having always been clean-shaven I found that this new image gave me a look with a bit more maturity. After having completed that task, I called my wife Erin. She answered after the fourth ring.


    ¡°Just thought I would touch base,¡± I said. ¡°I found a new location to start over again but it¡¯s in a different state.¡±


    ¡°That might be a good idea,¡± Erin said. ¡°The governor has expanded the shut down again. Any idea of when you might be home? Oh, be warned when you come back from out of state you now must quarantine yourself for two weeks.¡±


    ¡°Right now, I am tied up here,¡± I said. ¡°At least for the time being getting things organized.¡±


    ¡°Leave the phone on so I can call you,¡± Erin said.


    That struck me as strange because with her making her living by talking on the phone right now the last thing she had been wanting to do was talk on the phone. We talked briefly for a couple of minutes before ending the call.


    I found it strange that she did not ask me where the new location was. Afterward, as I was reviewing our chat, I assumed that she most likely believed I was opening a second location of what I had been doing. I remembered that I had heard voices talking in the background.


    My next call was to Krack who when he answered said, ¡°Hang on let me change rooms.¡±


    That was strange because Jeff never hid anything. Lissy his wife of six years knew everything. That led me to perceive that whatever he was going to disclose to me if heard would create problems at home.


    A few minutes later he said, ¡°I¡¯m in my car in the garage now we can talk. Dammit Cam how long have you known that Erin has had a love interest on the side.¡±


    ¡°I had a suspicion,¡± I said not wanting him to know that I had no clue. ¡°But had no proof. How did you learn about it?¡±


    ¡°I took your advice and asked the wife to enquire about you on Friday night,¡± Krack said. ¡°She got a look on her face that told me she had something to say but couldn¡¯t because our young children were around.¡±


    ¡°Later that night I learned from her that Erin¡¯s romantic interest is a man named Leonard Jones a State Farm Agent whose office is about two blocks away from where she normally works,¡± Jeff explained. ¡°When she answered how long it was going on, we ended up in a big fight because it was going on long before the virus hit. I thought you had the right to know, and she made it clear that it was none of our business.¡±


    ¡®Fair enough, any word on how the appraisal went,¡± I asked?


    ¡°Surprisingly better than I thought since your business tenants are still paying their bills,¡± Krack said with the sound of a smile in his voice. ¡°It gave me an idea, so I want to talk to the bank but until I have gotten an answer from them, I don¡¯t want to list it.¡±


    ¡°Why,¡± I asked figuring that he was trying to buy it.


    ¡°If they approve, I want to buy it at the appraised value less my commission fees,¡± Jeff said. ¡°That saves me money on the tax I would pay if I had to declare it as income. Also, I got a fellow businessman interested in buying your nightclub at your asking price if you are interested. Once he saw the year-end statements, he figures he will recover his investments in less than two years.¡±


    ¡°I am. Got me one more favor,¡± I said. ¡°Look up the phone number of Susan Walker and text it to me. She¡¯s the neighbor the lives across the street from Erin and me.¡±


    ¡°Shall do. What are you up to? Jeff asked?


    ¡°I bought a hundred and fifty acres on the side of a lake,¡± I said. ¡°I plan to develop it as a getaway for the middle-upper class and up, like you and me who would use it for a week at a time.¡±


    ¡°Timeline and price,¡± Krack asked?


    ¡°Fourteen months maybe sooner until the first house would be listed for sale. Four to six hundred thousand on the low end going up from there. A joint listing with a local agent here and you. If you are interested,¡± I said.


    ¡°You must have got the land at a hell of a price, to consider doing something like this,¡± Jeff said. ¡°Building a subdivision is a big commercial endeavor.¡±


    ¡°Less than a thousand an acre,¡± I answered. ¡°Each house will come with five acres of land. The only negative is the location. It¡¯s in the Cumberland Plateau in Kentucky near Jasper. ¡±


    ¡°Cam looks like I am going to owe you one because I¡¯m in,¡± Jeff said. ¡°I know about twenty former clients who live in New York City that would be interested in it. These people are slightly older. They have reached the age in their lives that they want to be away from anyone or anything political. They can sell what they currently have and come out way ahead.¡±


    ¡°Jeff got to go, got a dinner date with two ladies I want to get to know better,¡± I said with enthusiasm.


    ¡°You Dawg,¡± Krack said with a laugh. ¡°Hope you end up with more than just a sniff. Remember the fifty is still available if you need it.¡±


    ¡°Jeff, I am still married,¡± I said with a laugh.¡±


    ¡°Do they know that?¡± He asked.


    ¡°No,¡± I said.


    ¡°Good hunting, I look forward to hearing how it ends,¡± Jeff said sarcastically.


    ¡°Smart Ass,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Always!¡± Jeff said before he hung up.


    With what I had just learned the ongoing situation between my wife Erin, and I began to make sense. The virus had given her a tool that she could use to her advantage. If I had not run, I would never have figured out what she was trying to do.


    It now appeared that by her conduct that Erin was deliberately trying to force me to take my anger and frustration out on her face by using my fists. The bitch had been using a long deliberate mental game against me, because of my family¡¯s history. No wonder she was encouraging me to drink more heavily. That way she could take me to the cleaners in the divorce for abuse, nonsupport, and abandonment.


    I was not the one that had run out on her because she had abandoned our relationship and marriage a long time ago. Once she started the romance with him our marriage was dead in her eyes. Her long-term relationship with him proved it.


    I sat there amazed because by sheer luck I had not reacted the way Erin wanted me to. She was setting me up to take a deep fall, yet she could never admit it. With my business forcing me to work Friday and Saturday evenings she had plenty of time to play footies with another. It also explained why we had not started a family.


    Having clued into what she was doing I had no remorse about leaving the state but knew I would have to wait till the anger in me for her died down before resolving it in a way that would take her down and protect my assets. For now, I would have to keep transferring money into the household accounts.


    Jeff using his local address directory had the number texted to me in less than five minutes. After adding it to my contact list I gave her a call. Our neighbor Susan had met her husband when the firm he worked for hired her to work one summer as an intern while she was putting herself through law school.


    It had taken them two years of courtship to walk down the aisle. Now she was home on pregnancy leave after the birth of their first child.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Susan said. ¡°May I know who is calling?¡±


    ¡°Susan, it''s Cameron Hughes. I live across the street,¡± I said to remind her.


    ¡°Cam, I saw you sneak out over a week ago when I was up walking the young one who was suffering from a bad case of colic. Is everything all right?¡±


    ¡°Had to get away for a while. I was afraid with the mood, I was in I was going to hit my wife,¡± I said. ¡°I just recently had it confirmed that she¡¯s been in a romantic relationship with another man.¡±


    ¡°Dam how long has it being going on,¡± Susan asked.


    ¡°Longer than the state has been dealing with the virus,¡± I said.


    ¡°What''s your game plan,¡± Susan asked?


    ¡°Stay away long enough for one of them to make a move,¡± I said. ¡°With the stay-at-home orders, I figure it won¡¯t be long until they figure things out so that they can get together.¡±


    ¡°Where are you,¡± Susan asked?


    ¡°Jasper, Kentucky,¡± I said. ¡°I just got here today.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m originally from there. I got two younger sisters named Brandy and Brie who refused to move with mom and me when our parents got divorced.¡± Susan said.


    ¡°Does Brandy own and run a real estate office? Is she divorced and raising her two daughters alone?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Susan said. ¡°How do you know her?¡±


    ¡°She sold me a place called ¡®havesumfun park,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh my god, the three of us used to skinny dip there once it had closed down,¡± Susan said. ¡°Give them my love and what can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°The next time I call Erin I am going to tell her that I am tied up indefinitely setting things up,¡± I explained. ¡°Can I call you once a week to see if there anything going on at my place that might give me an edge? I need to catch them together.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll add you to my contact list and keep you updated,¡± Susan said. ¡°If you agree to my request that I am your lawyer for the divorce.¡±


    ¡°That is easy to agree to,¡± I said. ¡° Do I get a family discount because I am taking your sisters and your nieces out for supper tonight?¡±


    Susan laughed. I told her that her sisters appeared to be two nice ladies that seemed to have things together.


    I must admit the two sisters seemed impressed with how I looked cleaned up. I was wearing clean blue jeans a white shirt and a sports jacket when I walked into the restaurant.


    Brandy said, ¡°I was right, there is a nice looking man that was hiding behind all that facial hair.¡±


    I called my wife on Wednesday afternoon to inform her that I had bought the land to start my next business on and that until I had it ready for building that I would not be home. Surprisingly, she did not ask anything about my new venture because she always had.


    I was not surprised by her disinterest now that I knew. I kind of expected it. For now, I just had to act like I suspected nothing and do the things I would normally do. Keep on being Mr. Cellophane.


    *******


    It had been six weeks since I had completed the deal and the clearing of the land was moving ahead. All marketable timber was being slowly taken out. The land surveyors had marked the property''s boundaries but would be coming in again to survey and set the boundaries of the streets and each lot when the lay of the land had been worked on.


    I had hired a firm to design the blueprints and layout the plan to give me an idea where we had to remove soil or add to it to maximize marketable land. We had permission and the permits needed to blow out rock where we needed to. Once that was done, I would have to present it to the county for their approval before moving ahead.


    We had found that motorized boats were allowed on the lake up to a certain tonnage and with the amount of frontage along the water and were designing a huge boating dock and a swimming area.


    Brandy and Bree had helped me to find a two-bedroom one floor home to rent. With their help, I learned where to pick things up cheaply, so it did not cost much for furniture since all four appliances were included. Both of the sisters and I were developing a friendship with each other.


    I learned that Susan and her sisters had drifted apart because of things from the past that none of them were able to let go of. With me, in communication with all three of them, there was thawing in their strained relationship.


    When their parents'' divorce had happened each of the three girls was old enough to decide which parent to live with. Susan had moved out of state with their mother. Brandy and Brie had been devastated by it at the time because Susan being the oldest had been the go-to person for support.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ********


    I was sitting at the counter waiting for my order where I first met Brie when my phone rang. It was Susan who had to explain that my wife¡¯s boyfriend was moving his stuff in.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I am your lawyer,¡± Susan said. ¡°The video I just recorded explains a lot. It will be a big plus when you start the divorce. I will be filing it on the grounds of adultery since we can prove they are living together.¡±


    Just as I said goodbye Brie brought me my lunch.


    Brie had caught my attention she had gone to culinary school out of grade ten to train to be a cook and then had come home to open this restaurant on a shoestring. She had gone from renting to paying it off by a mortgage. During those few years, it had become the place where the local businesspeople came for lunch.


    ¡°That was your sister,¡± I said. ¡°My wife¡¯s boyfriend has moved in.¡±


    ¡°So, are you going back to confront them,¡± Brie asked?


    ¡°Can¡¯t, I would be in a two-week quarantine if I did,¡± I said. ¡°They know that so are not worried that I will show up.¡±


    ¡°That didn¡¯t stop you from leaving,¡± Brie noted.


    ¡°And it won¡¯t stop me from going back when the time is right,¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°Why wait, why not just get it done,¡± Brie asked?


    ¡°I want them to hang themselves in a loose so tight there will be no way they can squeeze out of it,¡± I said. ¡°That means they need time to feel secure in their situation. Besides, it gives me the time to move some of my assets around so that my future ex-wife will not be able to go after them in the divorce.¡±


    ¡°What will she end up getting,¡± Brie asked out of curiosity?


    ¡°A house that she will own but will not be able to afford,¡± I said. ¡°That loses value every day because of the virus.¡±


    ¡°Boss Dillard the man who co-owns the property to the right of yours has passed away,¡± Brie said ¡°Although it does not have lake access it might be something worth looking at. Word has it that the widow wants to sell and move to town once the funeral is over.¡±


    ¡°If she does, I think Brandy is sharp enough to approach me about it,¡± I said. ¡°After all she¡¯s my go-to person when I got a question.¡±


    ¡°About that,¡± Brie said. ¡°You¡¯ve been a breath of fresh air for my sister. Having sold you the park has spiked a lot of new business coming in her direction because she is being seen as having done the impossible. Every time she talks about you it puts her in a good mood. ¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice to hear,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m happy for her. She deserves a break.¡±


    ¡°So, do you, Cam, from what we have seen you¡¯re a good man,¡± Brie said. ¡°Time to get your divorce and start dating again.¡±


    ¡°No rush, I said. ¡°The longer it takes the more I heal. I¡¯m not one to carry the baggage of the past into a new relationship.¡±


    ¡°Most men in your situation would be on the prowl again,¡± Brie said. ¡°The more my sister and I get to know you the more you surprise us.¡±


    Brie leaned over the counter and gave me a kiss on the cheek saying, ¡°That¡¯s a little appreciation for giving my sister something to smile about. Your lunch is on me.¡±


    The teasing started immediately because the regulars said, ¡°Wow Brie got herself a boyfriend.¡±


    I silenced the restaurant by standing up and saying as I held my left hand up so everyone could see the ring, ¡°Enough, I¡¯m a married man and Brie is not that type of lady.¡±


    After eating my meal, I left disgusted with the bullshit. What I had said spoke volumes. What I did not know was that my simple straightforward statement of fact put a smile on Brie¡¯s face for the rest of the day.


    ********


    I was not surprised to learn that Susan, Brandy, and Brie were now in regular communication with each other. My coming into their lives seemed to give them something in common that was not family to discuss.


    During that time Susan freely disclosed everything she knew and could learn about me and my soon-to-be ex¡¯s relationship. They learned it was me they had called when they had a main water line burst in the middle of the night because I had built my own business from scratch before opening it.


    ¡°He¡¯s a good honest man,¡± Susan told her sisters, ¡°Who is being screwed by everybody, the state, the city, and his wife. His bar before the virus was a gold mine. It was located in the downtown core and was one of the hottest places to be. Now it is as if he doesn¡¯t exist. Every year he is one of the biggest boosters for the United Way. That man doesn¡¯t have a mean bone in his body.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the political situation that is driving the good out of our state and many others. They fail to understand those good persons will only put up with their crap for so long,¡± Susan said. ¡°Even my husband who was born and raised here is saying maybe it¡¯s time we got out.¡±


    ********


    It was about ten weeks later, on a Friday when things started to break. One of the county inspectors and I were walking through the project resolving a few things. They had budgeted for putting in a new sewage line but thought that with the number of homes they had approved that they best make it larger. The cost was going to be about thirty thousand more in the material.


    They decided that because of their added costs the country was going to stick me with the cost of putting all the water and sewage lines in for the new development. That was when I noticed the strange car pulling in.


    ¡°That is the widow Dillard.¡± Dobb Gibeon said. ¡°I wonder what she wants?¡±


    I walked over to her, and we talked outside of her car for a few moments. Brie had been right. I told her to go through Brandy, get it appraised, and that I would seriously make an offer after getting a closer look at the property. The original owner of the park had told her to come to me.


    ¡°That is one happy lady,¡± Dobb said when I had come back. ¡°Her husband and she were next-door neighbors who fell in love after their spouses died and got married. Their joint spread is about three hundred acres. Some farmable land. some timber, and a perfect spot for a golf course.¡±


    ¡°Dobb, I had already budgeted for the cost of the sewage and water lines and the cost of the road,¡± I said. ¡°But I will expect some cooperation when I start developing the Dillard place.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do with it,¡± Dobb asked?


    ¡°If I get it, half will be developed as this is now the other half will be the golf course you suggested which will sit between the two residential developments,¡± I said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t realize Cam what you are doing for the people in this area,¡± Dobb said. ¡°With your vision, you have brought jobs and enthusiasm to the area. It¡¯s addictive because some of those who could have done something years ago to help the local economy is starting to.¡±


    ¡°Dobb, back in my former state I was shut down stuck at home twiddling my thumbs not allowed to do anything. The powers that be were taking away our freedom,¡± I said. ¡°Coming here brought the feeling of freedom back.¡±


    ¡°I spent three years in a Vietnam prison camp,¡± Dobb said. ¡°The day I was released I felt like the caged canary that had been set free that could not stop singing. There is nothing more important in life than the freedom we have.¡±


    It was that informal chat about the freedom that made me face what I was hiding from. I did not like or deal well with confrontation when there was going to anger involved. It was time for me to get it all done. The decision was easy to reach once I admitted to myself where my heart was leading me.


    After Dobb left, I made a few decisions. I took my wedding band off my finger for good. It, along with my marriage was now firmly my past. I could go back to face Erin without hate and anger.


    I had a new bright future before me with someone who loved me and not my money. If she would have me. It was time to find out if we had a future. With my personal life resolved I called Krack.


    ¡°How¡¯re your balls hanging?¡± Jeff asked as soon as he answered the phone.


    ¡°The same way you left them,¡± I answered back.


    After laughing, he said, ¡°You got me. What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Hey, how soon can you finalize the deal on my place,¡± I asked?¡±


    ¡°The three-point two million should be in your business account by Friday,¡± Jeff said. ¡°The purchasing of your bar will take another sixty days. Why so urgent?¡±


    ¡°Looks like I might be buying the three hundred acres right beside my place,¡± I said. ¡°If I get it, I will put in a golf course and another subdivision. That turns the whole project into a hundred residences.¡±


    ¡°Dammit Cam,¡± Jeff said. ¡°You are going to be driving the real estate values up in this area before you¡¯re done. I want the name and phone number of your real estate agent. I need to find out what¡¯s available down there to see if there is anything, I would be interested in.¡±


    I gave it to him then asked, ¡°Does your wife know that Erin¡¯s boyfriend has moved into my house?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know about that,¡± Jeff said. ¡°But I¡¯m going to find out tonight. I am beginning to believe that both of our wives married us because we would be good providers and not because they loved us.¡±


    I told my site manager I was out for the day and headed into town. It was time to get rid of my truck and purchase something thing different. Besides, when I went back, I did not want Erin to know before I was ready because of what I was driving. I ended up trading it in for a new dark blue six-seater four-door ford explorer.


    I had just finished working out the deal with the dealership and was at the local insurance office after having gotten the plates while applying for a new driver¡¯s license. Brandy called to invite me out for dinner. I agreed and asked her if I could pick up her and the kids.


    ¡°Cam your truck only has the front seat,¡± Brandy pointed out. ¡°When you get here, we will take my car, but you can drive it.¡±


    I stopped at a baby store to get some advice on children¡¯s car seats. I bought one and a bumper seat that was good up to sixty pounds, both the best in the market. One of the staff took the time to help me install them properly.


    At six-thirty I pulled into Brandy¡¯s driveway to be greeted by a set of eyes that were sparkling bright when I knocked on the front door. Her four-year-old daughter had opened the door ready to go.


    ¡°Mom¡¯s getting Fern ready, she will be right out,¡± Francie said.


    When Brandy came out holding the littlest one, she was surprised when she saw it and said, ¡°You got a new vehicle.¡±


    ¡°All four doors are unlocked, with two children¡¯s car seats in the back,¡± I said.


    Brandy was still in shock as she strapped Fern in. Francie after she had climbed in helped me to make sure I strapped her in right. Her little mouth talking a mile a minute.


    ¡°Why the car seats,¡± Brandy asked?


    ¡°I thought the four of us could go back to Portland Maine to visit Susan and her husband. During that time, I can confront my wife and her lover to start our divorce,¡± I said. ¡°The truck couldn¡¯t be equipped properly and leave us room for all the stuff you will need.¡±


    After batting in the kids, we climbed in. I looked over at Brandy who had tears in her eyes, ¡°You¡¯re not wearing your wedding ring. Norma Dillard, Jeff Parson, and now this,¡± Brandy said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking for a relationship.¡±


    ¡°Neither was I,¡± I said. ¡°Hell, I still have to get my divorce.¡±


    ¡°Then what in the hell happened,¡± Brandy said.


    ¡°Life and time allowed us to grow into it,¡± I said.


    Brandy leaned towards me. I met her halfway so we could share our first tender kiss. As soon as we had pulled out of the driveway, she slid over to sit right beside me.


    Since she had not booked a reservation, we went to Red Lobsters. While we were waiting for a seat, I asked the hostess if they had such a thing as a baby bowl?


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± the lady asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s an average-sized soup bowl made up of the day''s chosen vegetables if they are acceptable for a two-year-old baby¡¯s stomach,¡± I said.


    ¡°I will find out if we can do that?¡± She spoke.


    When we were led to our seats, they already had the highchair and booster seat set up for us. I was informed that they could do what I requested but it would cost four dollars and ninety-nine cents.


    After ordering our meals and our before-dinner drinks were served, we started discussing when would be a good time to head north. We both agreed we would wait until the Dillard deal was behind us before planning the trip.


    Just then the hostess brought some other people to their table.


    ¡°Dad I can¡¯t believe it,¡± A voice we both recognized said. ¡°Look at this loving couple out for dinner with their two kids.¡±


    I watched as Brandy blushed. I stood up to greet the man I had heard so much about.


    ¡°Cameron Hughes, this my father Delbert Peterson,¡± Brie stated. ¡°Dad, Cam¡¯s the man responsible for putting that glowing smile on my sister¡¯s face.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to join our table,¡± I said as I offered him my hand.


    ¡°Sounds good to us,¡± Del said. ¡°We will just sit on the other side of my grandchildren so that we can help you with them.¡±


    It was nice that the restaurant held our orders so that we could all eat together. I fed the eighteen-month-old her vegetables which were garlic mashed potatoes, corn, peas with brown gravy. When she appeared to be getting full, I made a game out of it to see if I could get her to eat a few more bites.


    I admit feeding an eighteen-month-old requires your attention. I did not realize that as I was doing that both Del¡¯s daughters had tears in their eyes. I heard Del say to his daughters he going to be a great dad. Brie thought the baby bowl was a great idea and decided to work it in at her restaurant.


    I guess Brandy and my looks when we looked at each other while eating gave what we were thinking away because Brie said, ¡°I guess dad and I interrupted your first date.¡±


    ¡°We will not officially be dating until Cam starts his divorce,¡± Brandy said with a smile. ¡°But he picked me up in his new ford explorer and it already had two children¡¯s car seats installed.¡±


    Brie looked at me with a huge smile and tears of joy in her eyes as she asked, ¡°When are you planning to go start it?¡±


    ¡°As soon as we can arrange it with Susan,¡± Brandy said. ¡°Cam, the kids, and I will stay with her while Cam gets the proof he wants.¡±


    Del laughed and asked, ¡°Was it your idea or Cam¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Mine,¡± I said.


    ¡°Can you make room for one more passenger,¡± Del asked? ¡°I have only seen Susan once since her mother and she moved out of state. That was her wedding. It¡¯s time to put the past in the past.¡±


    It¡¯s a six-seater, if you can handle the kids dealing with having to sit for the drive which will be done in two nine-hour days you are more than welcome,¡± I said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s make it a family affair,¡± Brie said. ¡°If Susan doesn¡¯t have enough room, we can figure something out.¡±


    Later after Brandy got Francie and Fern settled down for the night, she made us both a drink of sour mash and coke before joining me.


    ¡°I started falling in love with you during our first dinner at Pastels. But I knew it was going nowhere,¡± Brandy said. ¡°That night during the meal you made sure that Fern got as much out the meal as we did. It saved me from coming home to make her something to eat. Tonight, you stepped up and made sure there was something that she could eat.¡±


    ¡°That I owe to how we were raised,¡± I said. ¡°There was always someone with babies around so we all chipped in to help when we could.¡±


    ¡°From that first day, my life has done a three-sixty. Not only did the selling of the park help me but it brought new clients because most believed it would never sell,¡± Brandy said. ¡°I had to take on a few more agents who came from other firms. This quarter according to the board my office is leading all others for total volume sold.¡±


    ¡°How is your relationship with your ex,¡± I asked.


    ¡°Getting better,¡± Brandy said. ¡°Following your suggestion, I told him that the two of us needed him to appoint someone on his staff to deal with me directly instead of involving himself. Even his wife my former friend phoned me at the office to thank me for creating distance.¡±


    That night I held her in my arms for the first time. I discussed my growing up, my relationship with Jeff through the years, and the journey of my life since high school.


    It was almost eleven pm when Brandy¡¯s cellphone rang. It was her sister Brie so as soon as she answered it, she threw the speaker on.


    ¡°Hi sis,¡± Brandy said.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep because I¡¯m too excited. I can¡¯t believe it,¡± Brie said. ¡°You and Cam it is finally happening. How did you do it?¡±


    Brandy looked at me to see me holding a chuckle in and responded by saying, ¡° I didn¡¯t, neither of us would admit to ourselves that because of the time we were spending together that we were falling in love.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that neither of you has talked about a relationship with each other,¡± Brie said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    ¡°It does because time was giving us both what we needed.¡± Brandy said ¡°The time to put what happened in the past behind us. Today the widow Dillard came to talk to me. She had talked to Cam, and he told her to come to me for her protection. Then Cam¡¯s best friend contacted me. I sent him details about sixteen properties. When I invited Cam for dinner, he showed up with his new car not wearing his wedding ring.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you were forced into seeing it,¡± Brie said. ¡°Did it happen to Cam in the same way?¡¯


    Brandy looked at me, so I answered, ¡°Yes but not in the same manner. It took a brief discussion about freedom for me to admit my feelings. How does your dad feel about us being us?¡±


    ¡°I told dad what you had done in my diner,¡± Brie said. ¡°He saw it as a man who protected his daughter¡¯s reputation and honor. I ended up having to explain how we all met and how our lives had intertwined since then. During dinner tonight any questions about you he had were answered. He now thinks you walk on water.¡±


    ¡°My dad did not like my first husband,¡± Brandy said. ¡°Always said he was a horse¡¯s ass that was always looking for an advantage and he still believes it. He says he is using his new wife and will end up leaving her.¡±


    ¡°Dad sees you as a man who walks tall but always carries a small stick,¡± Brie said. ¡° A man like Abe Lincoln. You may screw up, but you will always keep heading towards doing what''s right.¡±


    I shook my head kind of because I was in a state of disbelieve. The only thing I saw of value in me was that I would not quit.


    The very next morning Brandy called her older sister Susan and the two started to make plans.


    ********


    Susan and John Walker were excited because Susan¡¯s family and Cam were coming for Thanksgiving dinner and staying for the weekend. Susan was running around like a chicken with its head cut off into a total panic. The state was saying no more than ten and that they had to do social distancing.


    To her, it was big because they all had not been together as a family since the divorce. The two-week quarantine had been lifted because the panic all had was subsiding. She had the paperwork prepared for Cam to start the divorce on the grounds of adultery. With just over two weeks to go, she still had a lot to do but with her, it should all have been done yesterday.


    When Brandy had called Saturday morning to explain what Cam wanted to do, she was all for it. It was while the two of them were talking that it came out how her younger sisters had thought at the time of their parents¡¯ divorce.


    To them not only were they losing their mom but their big sister too. It had taken a long talk with her husband for her to utterly understand what they must have believed no matter what was said to them.


    The biggest news was not even that. Cam who Susan felt the world of, and her sister had fallen in love. For over two hours Brandy and she had discussed everything. Susan now believed that fate had brought them together. Susan now believed that it was Cam that was bringing her family back together and making it whole again.


    ¡°What would you think if we sold out here, and moved back to start our own law office back in Jasper?¡± John asked. ¡°We are like Cam was, we are existing but don¡¯t have a life because we have lost all our freedom.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious,¡± Susan asked?


    ¡°We would have to apply to the Kentucky Bar association for approval to practice but I think we could get that done and have their approval before they arrive.¡±


    ¡°We will have to downsize until we establish ourselves,¡± Susan said. ¡°To ensure that we have enough to live on. Are you willing to do that because if you are, I¡¯m all in?¡±


    ¡°I guess we will be drawing up the paperwork this weekend,¡± John said. ¡°On Monday I will tell the firm that we are leaving the limited partnership at the end of the partnerships year.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to sharing a blue Kentucky moon with you,¡± Susan said as her tears of joy started to flow.


    ********


    Brandy and Brie that Sunday morning was on their way to the Evansville regional airport. Their father had agreed to babysit on short notice. Brandy was going to meet an important client who had called her at three am to say he was coming. Krack was a friend of Cam¡¯s who was coming for a closer look at the properties she had suggested.


    They all had been commercial properties because that was what he was primarily interested in. Cam explained that he primarily worked for investors who focused on that side of the industry. He was a wheeler-dealer that seemed to put the impossible together.


    When he came to look at properties in a new area it was because he saw the good possibility that land values would be rising. That meant a profit in two ways if he was involved in them. Higher rents because of the higher land value and equity gained because of the market.


    During the hour drive, Brandy told her of the plans to go to Susan¡¯s for Thanksgiving. It led her to discuss what Susan and she had talked about. It took them just over an hour to get to the Evansville Airport which allowed them to have a fresh cup of coffee.


    Jeff Parson walked into the airport to see two females waiting. Thankfully, Brandy had sent him her picture, so he knew who she was right away. As he approached them, he thought about Cam¡¯s friendship with these two ladies and thought that if one of them became his girlfriend he definitely would have traded up big time.


    ¡°You must be Brandy,¡± Jeff said as he held out his hand.


    ¡°Yes, I am, welcome to Kentucky,¡± Brandy replied. ¡°Is this the first time to our part of the state?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but please call me Krack,¡± Jeff replied. ¡°Who¡¯s this nice-looking lady with you.¡±


    ¡°This is Brie, my sister, the one who first introduced me to Cam,¡± she said. ¡°Cam does not know that you¡¯re here I thought we could surprise him at lunch.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good let me get my suitcase,¡± Jeff said.


    As he walked over to get his suitcase that had just come in after being unloaded Brie said, ¡°He¡¯s solid, got broad shoulders, carries a bit too much weight, but he¡¯s a charmer that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    ¡°Cam said that when they were teenagers, it was Jeff that the girls all fawned over,¡± Brandy explained. ¡°He was a linebacker on the high school football team. Cam was the quarterback and through it they became friends. Both their wives were cheerleaders at the same school at that time.¡±


    It took them about an hour and ten minutes to get back to Jasper with Brie driving. He sat in the front on an angle so he could see both ladies. Jeff could not help noticing that every time he mentioned Cam¡¯s name Brandy¡¯s eyes lit up.


    Just as they entered the town limits Jeff said, ¡°Does Cam feel the same way about you as you do him?¡±


    ¡°A week ago, I would have said I honestly don¡¯t know,¡± Brandy said. ¡°It was your phone call that helped Cam to come to the point where he admitted a few things. Like that his marriage was over and it was time to get the divorce. That freed up his mind which allowed him to admit that he knew where his heart was leading him. When he picked us up for dinner that night it all fell together.¡±


    ¡°Cam does not like confrontation when anger is present,¡± Jeff explained. ¡°His temperament over the years has kept me out of a lot of trouble. He will wait for his anger to have worked itself out before doing anything. At times it can be very frustrating.¡±


    ¡°Why is that¡± Brie asked?


    Cam¡¯s father until he quit drinking was an angry drunk that liked to use his fists a lot,¡± Jeff said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how many times Cam stepped in to protect his mother.¡±


    ¡°So how did you get the nickname of Krack,¡± Brandy asked?


    ¡°In post-season football games in his preamble game talk, our coach would always say go out and break a few bones. In the last three years of high school, we won the championship every year,¡± Jeff explained. ¡°My hits were so effective that they were always carrying someone off the field. The opposing teams started calling me that and it stuck.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever seen Cam drunk,¡± Brie asked out of curiosity?¡±


    ¡°No, and you never will,¡± Jeff said. ¡°He will never allow him to be in a position where there is a good possibility that he could end up acting like his father.¡±


    ¡°Brie drop me off at my house before taking Jeff to get checked in,¡± Brandy said. ¡°That way I can get the kids ready before Cam picks us for lunch.¡±


    ¡°How old are Brandy¡¯s children,¡± Jeff asked as they watched her walk into her house.


    ¡°Four years old and twenty-two months. Fern was born after her marriage break up because her husband left her for another woman during her pregnancy,¡± Brie explained. ¡°When Cam picked her up for dinner last Friday, he had bought a new ford explorer and put the two kids'' car seats in already. Until then neither of them had admitted anything to the other.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard for Cam to admit anything. Erin had to push him into marriage,¡± Jeff said. ¡°That tells me that he loves your sister very much and has come to peace with everything in his past before he made his move.¡±


    ¡°Just so you know I made the mistake of kissing him on the cheek in my restaurant to thank him for what he had done for our family,¡± Brie explained. ¡°The regulars in fun started teasing me. Cam took it personally and took steps to protect my honor.¡±


    Brie learned that Jeff had just learned that he was going to be dealing with a lot of the problems that Cam had just worked out. Not because of an affair but because Lissy finally admitted to herself that she was a lesbian and wanted a divorce.


    ¡°Lissy wanted two children,¡± Jeff said. ¡°Lived her lies to ensure she got them. Now that they are in grade school, she wants her freedom to be what she has always known she was. I went to see Erin Cam¡¯s soon-to-be-ex and she told me that she had known about Lissy¡¯s sexual preferences all along. ¡±


    Brie sat and waited for Jeff to return. She thought about what she had learned and reflected on her own parents¡¯ divorce. Her dad was doing all he could just to survive working where he could find work while selling cords of wood on the side just to keep food on the table.


    Mom had spent too much time surfing the web and had gotten involved with a man who played games with her on pogo.com. She was beginning to see that in most cases it was the woman that destroyed the relationships for their reasons whether it be their marriage or someone else¡¯s.


    ********


    We were walking into Golden Corral Francie was running ahead of us, I held Fern in my arms.


    A voice said, ¡°Dam Dawg, you been neutered and domesticated.¡±


    I turned and saw Krack behind me wearing a huge smile with Brie standing beside him.


    Seeing my new image, he added, ¡°Shit you grew yourself a shock-absorbent for a cock sucker.¡±


    I handed Fern to her mother as I said, ¡°You have always been a son of bitch, asshole, Man, it¡¯s good to see you.¡±


    Brandy and Brie were shaking their heads while laughing as Krack and I gave each other a friendly bear hug.


    ¡°You think this is funny,¡± Jeff said. ¡°The last time he called me I asked him how his balls were hanging. He responded the same way you left them. I was just getting even.¡±


    As we went through the cashier after we picked our drinks the ladies explained they had gone to pick him up.


    We were sitting at our table. Jeff was getting a kick out of me and Fern. The little tike had started developing her response to the game I played with her to eat a bit more.


    ¡°That one¡¯s going to be a challenge when she grows up,¡± Jeff said. ¡°Dawg you going to have your hands full.¡±


    I laughed and responded, ¡°No doubt, my mom will laugh aloud when she sees me with her. I can hear her saying you got what you deserved.¡±


    We were pretty much finishing our drinks before getting to go. I could tell because of our years of friendship that there was something else weighing heavy in Jeff¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Besides the commercial property,¡± I asked. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Everybody got quiet.


    ¡°Erin and Leonard Jones¡¯s relationship started because his sister needed a shield when she was meeting Lissy just in case her husband found out. Lissy and she met at a school event. Some of those groceries Friday nights were date nights where Erin and Leonard were left alone by the two of them,¡± Jeff said. ¡°From what I have been told by Lissy, my wife caused the breakup of your marriage. Lissy and Leonard Jones¡¯s sister are shacking up together, Lissy is moving her and the kids out today,¡±


    I knew what Jeff had told me was tearing him apart. I had to respond in such a way that he knew I did not hold him accountable.


    ¡°Krack, remind me to thank her,¡± I said. ¡°Because without her interference I would never have known what pure unconditional love was.¡±


    Well, I did not expect the response I got because both Brandy and Brie started crying even the meathead Jeff teared up.


    ¡°Dam,¡± sad Brie as the tears rolled down her cheeks. ¡°It¡¯s now clear that I am going to have me one hell of a brother-in-law.¡±


    ¡°I came down to tell you the truth,¡± Jeff said. ¡°Figuring I was losing my best friend.¡±


    ¡°Cam exchange keys with Brie. Brie the kids are yours to look after for the next few hours,¡± Brandy said with a huge smile. ¡°Take Jeff out to see the park and the property that we are buying. I will call the widow Dillard to let her know you¡¯re coming.¡±


    ¡°And just what are you going to be doing during that time,¡± Brie said with a knowing look.


    ¡°I¡¯m going home to make love to my future husband for the first time.¡± Brandy said.


    Lesson learned there is nothing sacred between sisters.


    *********


    Jeff put in offers on the sixteen properties Brandy had presented him to. He thought that property values would go up to fifteen percent plus over the next two years. If accepted, it would be the biggest deal Brandy had ever achieved.


    We had stopped in for a beer before meeting the ladies for dinner.


    ¡°There¡¯s something about this area that has changed you,¡± Jeff said. ¡° I saw it the first time I saw you with Brandy but couldn¡¯t put a finger on it.¡±


    ¡°That is easy to explain,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got my sense of what it¡¯s like to be free back. I see my achievements every day in front of me. I have a purpose, a goal, a future that I now can see.¡±


    ¡°And the love of a good woman, who will work with you my friend,¡± Jeff said. ¡°I wish we both could have found one like her the first time around.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got two things for you to do,¡± I said. ¡°When you go back get a copy of the property deed on my house and then call Susan Walker. I need you to give her a declaration of facts about what Lissy told you.¡±


    ¡°Why what¡¯s your plan,¡± Jeff asked?


    ¡°Erin will be going to her mother¡¯s in Boston for Thanksgiving,¡± I said, ¡°and will not be coming home on Sunday. Friday night I will enter my house hoping to catch him there.¡±


    ¡°Why would you do that?¡± Jeff asked.¡±


    ¡°I will not have any identification on me, and I won¡¯t be revealing who I am until I am officially arrested,¡± I said. ¡°Erin¡¯s boyfriend¡¯s brother is a cop, so I am hoping he¡¯s the one that arrests me. I will lawyer up immediately.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to destroy his credibility, his reputation, and his relationship with his family,¡± Jeff said. ¡°That may destroy their relationship.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care. I want Erin to be forced to come back and identify me,¡± I said. ¡°That way I will be in the driver''s seat because it¡¯s her love interest that tried to throw me in jail.¡±


    ¡°So, you won¡¯t be staying at the Walker place,¡± Jeff said, ¡°Because they¡¯re too close. It will be like our good old day when we shared a university dorm.¡±


    ¡°Just no crazy things,¡± I said. ¡°Remember you almost got both of us expelled when you tried to sneak those two hookers into the room.¡±


    ********


    When we stopped for the first night from driving, we found an old McDonald¡¯s that still had a kid playroom. We used it so Francie could spend some of her built-up energy. For the first time Brandy, the kids, and I spent the whole night together.


    It was dusk when the six of us pulled into the Walker residence. There were quite a few minutes where I¡¯m sorry was heard. For John and me it was nice to see the family complete the circle. John and I hauled the luggage to the rooms they had picked out for us. I told him about my plans.


    Susan and John both decided that there was no way I was going to be able to go stay with Jeff because in their eyes I was already family. I called Jeff and informed him he was expected to spend the day with us.


    On Thursday night at ten pm in the cover of darkness, I left the Walker residence. I had left my identification behind and the only possession I took with me was a key that opened both the front and back door of my former residence.


    I unlocked the back door and had gone into the kitchen where I grabbed a cold beer out of the fridge. Heading into the living room once I had turned the lights on, I noticed that all pictures of Erin and I had been removed.


    That is when I heard a voice say, ¡°I¡¯ve got a loaded shotgun on you. Do not move the police are on their way.¡±


    I turned towards the voice and got my first look at the man who had replaced me in my bed and took a sip of my beer. He took it as a total act of contempt and rammed the butt of the gun into my gut then whacked me on my temple causing me to start bleeding.


    ¡°How did you get in here?¡± He asked. ¡°All the doors were locked, and the newly installed alarm was turned on.¡±


    I said nothing because I could hear the sirens in the background.


    My wife¡¯s boyfriend directed me to unlock the front door and walk out to the lawn so that the police officers could cuff me. With him holding the shotgun I gladly complied. The police pulled in just as I came through the front door.


    As soon as one of the police officers had cuffed me, I was asked, ¡°What''s your name?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Cellophane,¡± I replied.


    They searched my body looking for identification only finding nothing but a key. One officer asked, ¡°What''s the key for?¡±


    ¡°The front and back door stupid,¡± I replied knowing it was going to make the police officer become pissed off.


    ¡°It really can¡¯t be that simple. Can it,¡± as he went and tried the key to discover it worked.


    ¡°Leonard, do you know where Erin''s husband is,¡± the same officer said.


    ¡°He must be Leonard¡¯s brother. This is getting better and better,¡± I said as the other officer put in the back seat and closed the door.


    John and Jeff watched the police car drive away both wearing smiles on their faces.


    ¡°It is going according to plan,¡± Jeff said. ¡°We have to give them half an hour for the booking and fingerprinting to be done.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Brandy. ¡°Cams got the public proof.¡±


    ¡°Because one of the first things the officer will have to do is run the serial number on the shotgun only to find that Leonard Jones is not the registered owner. Technically he has a stolen gun, is living in a house that is not his who had the owner of both arrested for breaking into his own house.¡±


    ¡°Once we have proven who Cam is, I will raise the claim that this is an entrapment set up by the police officer and his brother,¡± John said.


    It took about an hour before I was allowed to call my lawyer John Walker. I had been booked and charged under the name of Mr. Cellophane. That is when things got interesting. John came in to talk to me for a few minutes and captured a picture of the gash and dried blood on my face.


    Then John insisted that two detectives who had been interviewing me join us in the interview room. When they did following John¡¯s orders, I used John¡¯s cellphone to call Erin. She answered on the third ring.


    ¡°I got myself in a bit of a pickle,¡± I explained. ¡°I¡¯ve been arrested. I am going to put the speaker on because I need you to identify yourself to the detective and explain who I am.¡±


    ¡°Is it serious?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes, it is, I got caught without my identification,¡± I said as I turned the speaker on.


    ¡°To whom it may concern,¡± Erin said. ¡°My name is Erin Hughes and the man I was just talking to is my husband, Cameron. We have been married for six years. We live at 467 East Cherry Lane in Portland Maine. What is he being charged with? ¡±


    It was interesting seeing the look on the two detectives'' faces as my wife explained who I was.


    ¡°Breaking and entering into a house,¡± the one detective said. ¡°Which we just learned was his own home. So, who was the man that called the police, after making the citizen¡¯s arrest?¡±


    ¡°Oh God,¡± Erin said just before the connection went dead.


    ¡°The brother of one of the officers that brought me in,¡± I said. ¡°I believe in their report they noted that it had been Leonard Jones who assaulted me with my shotgun.¡±


    ¡°I want him arrested and charged,¡± John said. ¡°And his brother suspended pending an investigation. I will be going to court to get a court order for the release of all the paperwork and reports released for the suit that is coming.¡±


    It was a hoot watching Leonard Jones being arrested and escorted out of my house from across the street by the same two detectives who had to interview me.


    ¡°Your divorce is going to be a walk in the park,¡± Susan said. ¡°Well done. I will personally serve her when she returns after I file the paperwork tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°How long until it is done?¡± Brandy asked.


    ¡°Under the circumstance and with what Cam is offering her if she accepts within sixty days,¡± Susan said. ¡°Is that fast enough for you?¡±


    ¡°Only if you agree to be our maid of honor,¡± Brandy said.


    ¡°Glady, it will give us a chance to start looking for a home,¡± Susan said. ¡°We received permission from the board to practice law in Kentucky. We are coming home. With or without the government¡¯s approval were taking our freedom back.¡±


    ********


    With what Susan videoed and the police report which was now public knowledge. Erin agreed to all my terms and conditions. She got the house but nothing else. Lissy lost just as badly because everything was exposed in the local rags who saw the story as a circulation booster.


    The whole family and Jeff celebrated Christmas at Del¡¯s house with his second wife. It was after opening all the gifts that I got down on one knee to ask Brandy for her hand in marriage. Del was as proud as peacock in full bloom when his daughter said yes.


    Finished

 In Her Eyes Only

    It was a shocking moment to all who knew us as a couple to hear the words Adera, my wife of over sixteen years was saying in front of our family and friends who had thrown her a surprise party to celebrate some of her achievements. The indirect looks I was catching was amazing as most were wondering  how I would react to what Adera was saying.


    It was not to me; because of what I had just recently learned. I had figured with the changes she had made in her life that did not include me that it was just a matter of when or where she would publicly announce the end of our marriage.


    Even though I had not seen her in over six months in the flesh, Adera looked good. After having missed her birthday because of the virus¡¯s lockdowns it was clear that she had slimmed down and lost about twenty pounds. I wondered if it was a result of the elitists'' favorite drug known as cocaine.


    At thirty-six Adera still had a five-foot-eight-inch frame that made many a man take a second look. The way her blonde hair was now styled to frame and slenderize her face made her dominant facial feature to come to the fore naturally. An added plus for her tonight was that she was in two-inch heels which helped to tighten her bottom half up making her appear even more slender.


    Between the two physical changes, she looked younger and more vibrate than she had when she had left for her latest overseas trip. The places where she had lost the most only enhanced the strength of her body¡¯s natural curves. Everyone was impressed by her looks.


    The expensive sleek Paris styled outfit was over the top for here but what she was wearing accented her newfound sensuality in a brilliant and classy way. This was an Adera that we were not used to seeing. We all knew that she was making it clear to all present that she had made changes to her approach to life since we had last seen her.


    Her image was one that was advertising the fact that she was a hottie who now saw herself as being back in the market and looking forward to being chased by eligible men even though she was married. It was as if she was telling the world, she had found a new sense of freedom from the conformities of society while telling me I had no choice but to suck it up and accept it.


    She was promoting the fact that she was available to the right person for a sexual adventure. To some, it was implying that we had an open marriage. From others, the looks I was getting from friends and family went from sadness to pathetic. If she was trying to publicly humiliate me, she was doing a great job.


    Tara her long-term best female friend and soon to be her latest enemy walked over to where I was sitting. To most attending it had been quite noticeable that my wife and I had not spoken to each other since her arrival. Every time I had approached my wife, she had deliberately turned her back to me and walked away.


    Even the quests because of the very public display was keeping their distance from me. I was now an untouchable whom no one was to speak to. She had in her own way sent a message to all and they were catching it. Yet Tara walked over with her daughter and embraced me with a natural friendly gesture.


    ¡°Who is this woman we are seeing, Ray?¡± Tara asked with a knowing smile while making sure that those nearby heard her.


    ¡°The newly reinvented trendsetter in the globe trotters world, who has no clue to what''s going on back here in reality,¡± I said. ¡°Adera believes she is in complete control but has no clue about anything.¡±


    ¡°I should be thanking you for this,¡± Tara said quietly. ¡°Now that we see the whole picture through different eyes, we understand how she has used her ways to play her games. I am going to enjoy giving her, her ultimate reward. We got a lot of things to make up for. I thought you would be smiling because of what''s going to happen. I know I am.¡±


    ¡°Tara, I promise you I will be at the appropriate time,¡± I said. ¡°The appearance that I am clueless must be kept up for just a little while. I want to keep what''s going to happen a complete surprise. By the end of the night, all will know that I am not the hapless husband she is making me out to be. Just remember that for the next few days I am going to be busy dealing with the aftermath of tonight''s events.¡±


    ¡°I guess I am just eager to get it done, and that explains why you look like you¡¯re trying to figure it all out,¡± Tara said. ¡°If we had only known before what we do now things would be a lot different.¡±


    Tara was right in more ways than one. The problem is that sometimes for knowledge to come we must wait on time. Tonight, for good one way or another the relationship between Adera, Tara, and I would be changed forever.


    ¡°Ray, I told Tina during a long talk before we got here who you are, and why things were the way they were,¡± Tara said with a smile. ¡°I got it set up so that you two can sit together for the dinner. With what''s about to happen we will be free from the bonds of the past.


    I had caught glimpse of Tina throughout the years when we got together. Looking at her anew I could not have helped having a sense of pride. Tina was a stunningly beautiful lady just like her mother. We got into a discussion about what she planned to do with her life after high school and I learned she was majoring in drafting and design which thrilled me to death.


    Over the dinner, Tina tactfully asked the questions I had fully expected her to. By the time dinner was over we were both finding out that the other was acceptable of our changing relationship going forward. Having been raised as an only child she was about to have a whole bunch of family coming into her world once things settle down after the events of this evening.


    I could not help but wonder how Adera¡¯s and my three would accept learning that they had a half-sister they did not know about. Funny that this truth would not have come out if Adera had not done what she had done.


    ********


    I had been surprised when her father informed that Adera, his pride, and joy had finally been cleared by the government officials in Australia to fly home after the six-month quarantine was lifted. Once she landed in New York she had to be tested and quarantined again for two weeks until she was given a clean bill of health. The state and the city could not seem to get their shit together and ended up complicating the simple.


    This Friday afternoon she took a small private plane to make the final journey to our regional airport. Jesse her right-hand man had come with her. For most of the last four years, they had worked together. They had arrived just in time for the official dinner and dance.


    With both of us having busy careers no one had an idea what was going on behind closed doors and that was how we had wanted it. Then four years ago our world took a drastic change.


    Her father having stepped up to the board of directors had turned the everyday operation to its new CEO and President his eldest daughter who was my wife. So far, the rewards as far as he was concerned had been top-notch. Under her direction, it had taken off. The conglomerate had not had this good of a bottom-line performance in years. Since she had taken over the growth had been amazing. Their greatest competition had been hit hard by the new programs she had put in.


    Our three children with the help of my wife¡¯s parents had rented the medium-sized conference room at our favorite club in which we all held memberships. They had used the club''s restaurant staff to prepare and serve the dinner. It also had an open bar as all costs were being written off as a business expense. Since there were no virus restrictions in the area everybody invited attended.


    We had about fifty to sixty people besides family who were all consider to be elites in the business world attending the private event. Everything was a celebration because it combined a welcome home bash, belated birthday party, and a celebration for how well the conglomerate had done.


    The private limo had bought Adera and Jesse directly to this location as soon as she cleared the airport from the last leg home on her latest business trip. We had rented it for the evening so I knew the luggage she brought with her would be available to her when she left.


    When they had cornered me with the idea, I had been all for it but none of them could understand why. For me to agree to it without having to be convinced was puzzling to them because it contradicted everything I had ever done.


    After all, everybody knew I was the one member of the family that did not like big events and had often refused to attend most of them because I had never felt that I could fit in. In the last ten years, all could count the number I had attended on one hand.


    My problems along this line had developed because of the insecurities I carried with me since childhood. To those who knew my walk in life, they could see how they affected everything. As a result, even until this day I never felt comfortable being around those with power, influence, and money.


    Yet here I was walking among the elite of the elite in our society mingling with them as if I belonged. Most of them had felt I had married above my class and that Adera had married down.


    Our next-door neighbors, Jesse and Janice Yelland were in attendance. Both came from a family who had old money and they protected their image to the max. Like all who came from old money, they conducted themselves in ways that showed that they had power and influence yet only used it when forced into it. Everything they did publicly was done with grace and class.


    My eldest daughter Debbie at the age of sixteen was going to be a rock star because with her personality she could convince most to do anything. I had asked her to do what I thought was impossible. It had been her that had convinced Janice to come even though she knew that Jesse would be present.


    From the moment Janice had arrived dressed in the sleeveless full-length body-hugging white full-length gown she had my attention. Ever since we had first met, I had naturally been drawn to her.


    Having inside information about their personal situation, seeing Jesse and Janice together you had to believe a miracle had been achieved. They were a couple that was about ten years younger than my wife and me. We thought that they were both still finding their place in the world. Both in their way were finding guidance and support from those they associated with closely or looked up to. Sadly, they were about to learn how different that guidance was.


    Janice is a looker but lacked self-esteem when we first met her but being our next-door neighbor had seemed to influence her enough that each time you saw her you could tell she was becoming more secure in who and what she was. She had a personality that just seemed to draw one in. As a result, we had drawn close.


    Jesse because of his lack of experience with life in general had been sucked into getting involved with an older woman who had manipulated him into providing her on a long-term basis with a personal service that would make fifty shades of grey look tame.


    I think that Jesse thought the woman was in love with him, but he would learn the hard way that he was not the only man who would learn how wrong he was. I prayed that with what transpired this evening that he would start to see the light before it became too late for him to save himself.


    The bitch he was servicing regularly during the last four years had discovered she had quite an appetite for the kink. She had come into her new sexual awaking thanks to the global lifestyle that she was pushed into because of her latest promotion in the family''s international company.


    We were all surprised to see them together because we all knew that Jesse and Janice were going through a legal separation which was looking more and more that it was going to end up being a full-blown divorce. Yet as a couple it was nice to see that they could cordially communicate with each other.


    Janice had been a basket case for a few weeks after he walked out of their marriage because to Janice it had been unexpected. With both our spouses away so much our friendship had blossomed so much that Adera¡¯s and my children called her aunt because of the respect they had for her. It was not unusual to find Janice step up and help my daughters with the feminine stuff because their mother was never around.


    It had been my shoulder that she used as she shed her tears. In my way, I loved her and felt the need to protect her. It was while I was holding her hand that Janice revealed to me that Jesse had always believed he was bisexual.


    I knew Jesse¡¯s biggest problem was that he could not live with the guilt and shame he felt when he was back home with his wife because of the new role he was finding himself in. It would take him getting away from his lover''s needs to understand what he had gotten himself into.


    Most men cannot satisfy the needs of one woman and for too long and he was dancing between two. Something had to give and when it did it was Janice who paid the price. I now understood the Jesse did not know how to deal with women.


    With Jesse¡¯s lovers being an older woman with her experience in life she knew how to fine-tune him like a well-known fiddle. With Jesse being innocent on what some humans are capable of, it had been easy for her to manipulate him into becoming the person she needed to satisfy her as she explored her newly discovered dominant sexual needs.


    For Jesse¡¯s lover, her new position and her new sexual interests gave her what she didn¡¯t understand, power and control. I had asked myself if she was keeping his manhood under lock and key to ensure his loyalty before I had found out who she was.


    Having the pure pleasure of raw uninhibited sex introduced to her while she was under the influence of cocaine. She had discovered that the release she got from that sexual experience brought to her a way to get rid of the stress she carried daily brought on by the responsibilities of her new position.


    The more stress she found herself in the more time she spent finding release to those burdens in the wild sexual games she pursued because of the heightened emotional thrills it gave her. Each experience gave her the peace of mind she craved and allowed her to sleep peacefully. She did not see that all that was happening was that she was being fucked to exhaustion.


    For her, the ultimate release was achieved when her current lover lay waisted beneath her as her body shook in the pleasure of a total organism that they had provided her with. She found peace by falling asleep in the afterglow.


    She was able to keep up her appearance of being a devoted wife and mother when she returned home from her numerous business trips because no one knew what was going on. The added plus was that she could be herself without having to perform at the top of her game.


    Only I recently learned the real reason for Jesse¡¯s and Janice¡¯s separation and who Jesse was involved with behind his wife¡¯s back. His affair with the lady had started almost four years when he was convinced to join her family''s business organization.


    My wife and Jesse had remarkably similar careers until then in the conglomerates their families owned or controlled, and it was quite common for them to run into each other when attending events their companies were involved in. During the downtimes, they had forged a relationship based on trust. It also helped that she had already held some of the positions he was working towards.


    Both being involved with world conglomerates meant they spent a lot of time traveling in the same circles. Jesse had been convinced by his father and brothers to join her organization because the families had begun the long process of merging their similar companies. They were now just weeks away from announcing the big merger which would mean billions in added net worth for all of them.


    As a result, their relationship had started to evolve as soon as Jesse got comfortable with his new employment situation. Within weeks Adera had come to realize that he was just enough of a natural submissive to follow her into the hidden lifestyle that she was beginning to explore. That was when the seduction of Jesse¡¯s mind and body began.


    Having been a competitive athlete throughout his educational years Jesse was still in great physical shape and good-looking to boot. He was naturally tall and slender which made him incredibly attractive to a lot of females. How Janice had been able to lead him into the commitment of marriage still puzzled us all. We all knew that because of who he was he was being hit on constantly.


    Adera¡¯s company kept a few private penthouses throughout the world to be used by their upper management when needed with no questions asked. It had been a gift horse that had served her well. Adera had converted the one In Paris to be her temporary home away from home because of her need to travel so much.


    Since where it was located was in a society where sexual and sensual things were more open and accepted. Adera had used that location to further explore the darkness in her new exciting dominant side and the sexual benefits she got because of the power and control it gave her.


    Adera never saw her conduct as being addictive yet in a lot of ways it was. I learned much later that she used some of those domination techniques she mastered to coheres those resisting her agenda to adapt them to her point of view. All she had to do was find the weakest link and bring them into her ever-growing fold of submissive followers.


    Within six months Adera had Jesse sharing her queen size bed regularly. It was then that she began taking control of him by leading him with a gentle loving subtle touch into her world of kink. I had learned that he had adapted to Adera¡¯s new sexual interests willingly because she had gotten him to believe he was in love with her. It didn¡¯t hurt their developing relationship because of the way he saw himself.


    No one noticed the difference in their relationship because their offices were side by side and publicly, they were always seen together. Every two weeks they were off working on more improvements and streamlining to make everything soother in the merger. No one knew how intense their emotional and physical relationship was becoming.


    Behind the scenes during that time, they had accomplished acquiring a controlling interest in two of the major companies that regularly supplied them with materials they needed thus ensuring an ongoing further steady growth with very controllable costs. Even I had no clue to the depth she had gone to until a week ago.


    Only Janice had noticed the little changes in his appearance and diet. After one of the many trips when he returned home, she learned that he had started using an expensive male makeup line. One of the things Jesse did was take up swimming and had a professional styled pool installed on their property so that he could get his needed laps done daily.


    It had been a complete surprise to Janice when Jesse disclosed, that he was going to have all his body hairs professionally removed to enhance his overall swimming speed. To Janice, a few of these things just did not add up.


    ********


    An envelope addressed to me had appeared at one of the offices in my firm. It was large and had been marked private and confidential. The staff had set it aside and had forgotten to inform me about it. I had it sent to the branch I worked out of.


    When I learned it had arrived, I went in to find out what it was concerning. I learned at that time it had been sitting at the branch for over a month. What was found to be inside the envelope that did not have a return address had been quite revealing.


    Quite a few of the professionally-shot photographs showed my wife Adera completely nude being tied and restrained while a male and female wearing nothing, but full-headed masks sexually used her willing body to bring fulfillment to all their sexual desires.


    The woman in question was feasting on her globes while her male lover penetrated her from behind. Her long blonde hair hung freely over her naked shoulders. Close-ups of her face showed just how much sensual and sexual pleasure she was getting out of it.


    One photo showed a woman laying on a bed sucking on Adera¡¯s massive breasts as Adera held her head in tenderness. Adera¡¯s eyes were closed as she was savoring the moment. It appeared that the two ladies were in a long term loving and intimate relationship.


    I would learn later that the lady''s name was Jasmine and the man whose face was hidden was Jesse. Whoever had sent the pictures was showing effectively that this type of conduct had been going on for quite a while.


    The use of sexual aids like leather, feathers, ball gags, double-ended dildos, and other sexual aids could be seen in some of the photographs. It was clear that they were set out to be available for use when needed. It looked like but it could not be proven that cocaine was readily available during these sexual adventures because in one photo the traces of lines had been captured.


    One that surprised me was seeing Adera¡¯s nude body arched in an organic bliss as a bunch of tiny feathers was being danced in and out of her swollen womb. The woman who was skillfully working my wife''s private area had been the same one I has seen working her breasts.


    A few of them I knew were taken in an office somewhere because they showed Adera on the phone conducting what I have presumed was business with Jesse or some unknown females head buried between her legs.


    The photographs that shock me to the core was seeing a group of wide-angle shots of three persons taken over a few minutes. In these particular photographs, Janice¡¯s Jesse was bound, tied, and bent over at his waist wearing two-inch heels so that he had no use of his arms and hands. His mouth was being filled by a naked woman wearing nothing but a mask and what appeared to be a double-ended strap-on. There was no doubt in my eyes that Jess had been turned into a complete submissive. I knew to accomplish that had required a lot of time and effort.


    You could see he was wearing a set of falsies that almost seemed realistic because they were hanging down between the sides of the black silk like feminine blouse he was wearing. The matching tight black skirt he had been wearing had been pushed up to rest on his lower back exposing his tight boyish naked rear. The black panties that he had been wearing lay on the floor around his feet.


    Jesse was wearing a long red wig tied back behind his neck in a ponytail and the makeup he wore made his look very feminine. If you glanced at him quickly you would think he was a girl. Jasmine a well-developed nude lady with huge, exposed globes was softly using her hands to hold his willing mouth in place as she plunged her double-ended toy into the depths of his throat quite easily. What was mind-boggling for me was that Jesse was appearing to be enjoying it.


    When I spread out the photographs on the conference table, I saw that parts of the images overlapped. After matching the duplicate parts I overlapped the photos until it clearly showed a very wide image of Jesse being taken at both ends by two like-minded females. Someone had written beneath the photo¡¯s ¡®this is how we reward the feminized bitches that work for us.¡¯


    It brought back to memory the times my wife, her best female friend Tara, and I was getting to know each other. We were trying to figure out why some women picked out their prospective mates because of their ability to mold and feminize them. It seems in their dorms at that time it was an ongoing subject of discussion. Being a bit na?ve it had been an eye-opening experience for me.


    The one riding his ass with the huge double-ended strap on she was wearing was holding his ponytail in her right hand. Her facial expressions clearly showed the extreme joy and power she was getting out of the sexual act she was committing while dominating him. The way the photos¡¯ came together there was no doubt that she was the one controlling the situation as it was unfolding.


    Both were females who were getting extreme pleasure in treating or rewarding Jesse for what they both were getting. She had the mask that would have hidden her eyes sitting upon her head above her brow wearing it as if it were her crown.


    Even with the mask on I would have recognized the image being presented to me. The woman making Jesse her submissive bitch sing a new song was my wife Adera. Feminizing male lovers seemed to be part of her new kink.


    Based on what the photograph was showing I now understood why my wife thought I was a sexual prude. What they were caught doing was well beyond something of which I would ever have considered doing.


    I gathered up the photos to return them to the envelope and that was when I discovered the tiny blue ONN stick. I took it to my office door and plugged it into the computer. When I opened the file, I knew where the pictures had come from.


    The sexual conduct of the three had been captured from start to finish. The sounds of their voices I could still hear in my ears if I thought about it. The three of them were definitely into it. Jesse had even decided what he was going to wear and how he was going to present himself to his feminine lovers before the session had begun.


    Each time it appeared that Jesse was ready to spurt the ladies slowed down letting him know by their actions quite plainly that they would deny him a release until they were both worked up to a heated frenzy. A few of the words Adera said I would remember until the day I died.


    ¡°Jasmine, your pet is progressing quite well. It will not be long until she will be ready and willing to taste and take real cock. When she reaches that point, Jesse will truly be feminine in every way. You will have to award him with the perfect feminine breasts designed for her frame when were in Japan.¡±


    ¡°Adera,¡± Jasmine asked, ¡°Do you still plan to stand beside me when I make Jesse my wife when your training of her is done?¡±


    ¡°On two occasions the one to make him your husband,¡± Adera said. ¡°And the second one when as a female she becomes your wife.¡±


    I watched in shock as I digested the knowledge that what they were making Jesse into was deliberate. He was being trained to be the perfect switch.


    Jasmine pulled out of his throat and mouth and asked, ¡°Jesse who do you love?¡±


    Adera stopped ravishing Jesse¡¯s rear.


    Jesse replied, ¡°Only you now that Adera has gifted me to you.¡±


    ¡°What is your primary job when we are not working?¡± Jasmine asked.


    ¡°Loving you and servicing anyone you asked me to. ¡° Jess said without hesitation.


    With that said Jasmine again brought her double-ended strap onto his mouth. I watched as Jesse moved his mouth in over it. That was when the action resumed with a faster tempo than before. Before the two ladies were done using his body, he was squealing like a pig begging for release.


    I put the envelope and all the pictures through a shredder and locked the stick in the office safe. In their own words, they had proven this relationship had been going on for a while.


    Adera had deliberately milked the pleasure from Jesse for all it was worth until she was ready for her ultimate release. Afterward, Jasmine had made him clean up his own cum and clean off the sexual aids with his tongue.


    As further proof of their domination of him Jess had to bring them to another organism using only his tongue while Jasmine made love to Adera¡¯s breasts with her mouth. Adera was deliberately helping Jasmine in turning Jess into the perfect switch.


    I knew that day that what was left of our marriage was nothing but a fa?ade. It also explained why she was deliberately finding ways to keep herself away from home for long periods. After viewing everything I called her best friend Tara because she was the go-to divorce lawyer for the rich and famous.


    For the next few days, it seemed to my family that I was walking on burning lava rock. I did everything I could to make sure that what I knew remained a secret.


    My children could not understand why I was so quiet at home but questioned my conduct when I was giving the house staff instruction but stopped when they came into the room.


    ********


    The party was almost starting to wind down. It had been a huge success. The band hired by my wife¡¯s parents had just taken a break before they started their third and final set. My loving wife Adera and I had always been the complete opposite in everything we thought, believed, and how we lived. Many who had known us most of our lives thought that it would never work.


    I had met her the summer I had hitched hiked through Europe before the modern-day restrictions had clicked in. I met her outside a Hungarian Church that I was photographing because of the architectural value I saw in it. It was so old that it had some of the old traditional Christian symbols that had long ago lost its value carved by hand into the stone. Like the name of God written in its native equivalent carved into the stone above the church doors.


    Most in our society today would have no clear understanding of what those letters meant because even in the bible the tradition of not using his name was being taken to the extreme. Modern versions had deliberately removed all traces of it. The elites were starting to remove God¡¯s name from mankind''s minds.


    She was there on vacation with her best female friend who was also in attendance. They were both free spirits back then and to a degree still were today. Both were spirited with thinking more inclined with those of the drug culture and hippy style of the seventies. Neither were virgins when I met them, but neither was I.


    Both had nice packages that made them quite attractive, and they dressed a little too abrasive for my style. Adera flaunted her sexuality constantly with her huge globes partly exposed and bouncing freely. I found that to be a bit of a turnoff. To me, she came across as a cheap low-class whore instead of a lady who came from money.


    I on the other hand had grown up in a family that did not have the blessing of coming from money. Everything I had accomplished in life I had to earn on my own or borrow through student loans to put myself through school. It had taught me to be more reserved and quieter in everything I did. I did not go out of my way to become the center of attention like they always did. Back then I had watched every cent as I still did today.


    My wife believed I still had the first nickel I had ever owned. Even today I was considered by many to be a private man even though the business I had built from scratch was now worth millions.


    My architecture firm now has seven offices throughout the country and was one of the ¡®prestige¡¯ in the North American continent. At least twice a year one of the buildings we had designed was featured in one of the field''s monthly magazines. Yet little was known about me as a man because I learned fast that I achieved more by keeping my image and personality out of it. I let our designs speak for themselves.


    Adera found that I disclosed very little about myself when she knocked me over as I was kneeling lining up for an angled shot on the church they had come to tour. It had been her best friend Tara that had caught my attention because of how she conducted herself when Adera was trying to straighten out the mess she had created.


    While Adera was shooting her mouth off trying to apologize Tara had knelt to help me gather all the lens that had fallen out of the carrying case, I had set down beside me. I found that to be one of the things that I found attractive about her. When we made eye contact a mutual interest was born. We even took the time to make sure there was no permanent damage before introducing ourselves to each other.


    By the end of the day, we had shared a meal at one of the outdoor caf¨¦s in the City of Budapest and learned that the three of us were attending different universities in the city of New York. Once we were back in school, I looked Tara up. We had gone out on quite a few dates before Adera found out.


    Adera took that as a personal challenge because in her eyes her best friend had gotten one up on her and that could not be allowed to remain. That is how our lifelong relation started. It was not until a year after Adera, and I was married because she was carrying that I realized that she had from day one had been manipulating everything between the three of us to give her an advantage.


    Because of what I was now learning I was starting to believe that Adera had deliberately gotten herself pregnant and informed me first so that I would step up and marry her because of my strong sense of obligation. Tara and I were now fairly sure that Adera and I were not sleeping together when Debbie was conceived.


    We had brought three children into the world and until the last four years, it had been a perfect marriage. Everything had worked out great until her latest promotion which she had accepted because our children were getting older.


    Now we were like two ships passing in the darkness of night and with a sex life to match which had allowed her to develop those new tastes and relationships that were more inclined to the new lifestyle she had created for herself as the globe trotter she was.


    I was now eternally grateful to my father in law because of the prenuptial agreement he had coerced me into signing. It would forever leave me in the driver¡¯s seat going forward. In a way, I was pissed off at myself for keeping my marriage vows when Adera did not.


    Our three children, two girls, and a boy had taken the mike during the band¡¯s break to express their warm greeting and birthday wishes. I had even said a few words to thank my children and my wife¡¯s parents for their arranging the surprise for Adera. I congratulated my wife for reaching another milestone in her walk of life.


    My wife took the mike already slightly tipsy, ¡° I want to thank Mom, Dad, Debbie, Deanna, and David for throwing me this surprise. I wonder how you were able to get it past my husband''s objections because he is and always has been a stick in the mud. Raymond is so mentally old that he is just a relic because he refuses to keep up with what is considered normal in our ever-changing society.¡±


    That had been the first words she had directed towards me all night. Knowing it was headed downhill fast I tuned her out.


    That was the moment, I comprehended completely just how little Adera cared about me or us as a married couple. I was just the one needed to look after the kids while she was off being an active member in the mile high club of the sexually liberated.


    The love she had for me as her partner in life at one time was now long gone. There was no love, desire, or will left in her for me because of her new lifestyle. Her utter contempt of who and what I am was coming through to all present loud and clear.


    Even my children who were usually blind to everything beyond what was in front of them had a look on their face that proved they had gotten her thoughts registered in their minds. Debbie, our oldest who had just turned sixteen a few months earlier had walked over beside me to take my hand into hers. As we glanced at each other I caught the tears in her eyes. I knew that Debbie had realized that she was watching the end of her parents¡¯ marriage right before her eyes.


    I hadn¡¯t changed, but her views of who and what I was had drastically over the last four years. I knew it was because of who and what she now associated herself with regularly and their views of life, in general, that had changed her.


    As my wife continued to speak, I used my cellphone to call our house staff to make sure that all of her personal items were packed and ready for transportation as soon as they were informed where to send them. Surprisingly, I found myself in a state of complete peace because I saw what was about to happen as a release of a burden I had carried for too long.


    The very things about my personality that had originally attracted Adera to me were now the very things she hated. This one little impromptu speech she was making made me see just what my faults were in her eyes. Believe me, I knew there were many.


    You see I am proud of who and what I am. I am proud of my moral values and that truth and honesty still mean something to me. I believe in accountability and that the words a person says out of their mouth still stands for something. I am proud that I believe in no harm to all mankind even those I consider my enemies.


    All my building design awards had been because of how friendly the structure was to the environment that surrounded them. Each was designed to leave as little carbon imprint as possible. According to my reputation, I was a leader in the field.


    My beliefs are that which allow me to stand up for what I believe and defend them no matter what the cost is. I still believe in an honest day pay for an honest day¡¯s work and that everyone should pay their way.


    I believe that if you make your bed that you and you alone should deal with the circumstances you create. I still believed in our father and his son Jesus Christ whom many now claim is a figment of an uneducated man¡¯s imagination that the elite had picked up on and used to create a fictional book as a way to socially engineer the masses. After all, you must be a complete moron to believe and hold onto the false teaching and morals that the bible preaches.


    I still believe it''s what''s on the inside of me that makes me the man that I am. Not the shell of my body which so many judges me by. I am proud to call all humans regardless of their race or the color of their skin my brother or my sister because we all have the same father.


    Sad to most of the educated the bible cannot be true because we have evolved from the fifth and slime of the earth and as humans, most have the morals to prove it. That is why in their eyes there was nothing morally wrong or right. After all, they are just acting out like the animals they are and following their basic instincts.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I am still thankful that I don¡¯t hate those who have condemned me because in their eyes I don¡¯t have the right point of view. I guess they are like my wife who sees that my morals, principles, faith, and standards, in general, mean nothing in our society.


    Most people like her believe that if they''re old enough to bleed then they''re more than ready to breed and were hoping that pedophiles would soon be part of regular society. After all, if your able to train them how to act, perform, and to service your particular sexual tastes when they are young it ensures you of some very pleasurable and self-serving very erotic moments. After all its what''s in it for me is the only thing that matters to most.


    A lot of animals in the animal kingdom have no problem killing their young. Most of society had found a legal way to bring that same right into human society even though all felt life should be protected. Even those who claimed to have some intelligence that was superior to the animal kingdom were proving by their ongoing conduct that they had none.


    During this time Tina and Tara were by my side. Tara was pleased that we were accepting of the other.


    ¡°I guess I better go get the paperwork and get prepared for the show,¡± Tarra said with a smile. ¡°Tina, you want to come because people are beginning to wonder what''s going on.¡±


    Tina leaned over and kisses me on the cheek and whispered, ¡°Thanks Dad for making this an evening I will never forget.¡±


    Janice Yelland walked over to me, and said,  ¡°Raymond, your handling Adera¡¯s comments very well. I would be fuming if Jess were saying some of the things, she said about me.¡±


    ¡°Janice before we got married Adera¡¯s father had us sign a prenuptial agreement,¡± I explained. ¡°Tara, Adera¡¯s best friend at my request will be taking the mike to reveal to all who Adera¡¯s long-term lover is.¡±


    ¡°Did you know,¡± Janice asked?


    ¡°I suspected but I did not know who,¡± I replied. ¡°The proof was provided to me earlier this week from someone I do not even know. When Tara saw the proof that had been supplied to me, she volunteered to become my lawyer. For both of us, that¡¯s when reality hit us both in the face in a brutal way. Since this had already been planned, we felt it was the perfect place to serve them both.¡±


    Janice gave me a look that made me think I should explain further so I added, ¡°Tara and I now believe that Adera has been manipulating the two of us since we first met back during our university days. It forced us to see things in a different light. As a result, a lot of truths have come out. Tarra, her daughter Tina, and I are both looking forward to a life without Adera¡¯s influence in it.¡±


    Leaning into her I quietly whispered so no one could hear. ¡°Tara and I went back through all our history to discover that I was sleeping with her when Debbie was conceived.¡±


    I will never forget how the look on Janice¡¯s face changed as what I had said sunk in then she said, ¡°Brilliant! Tara¡¯s known to be the best divorce lawyer in certain sections and is the lawyer working out Jesse and my separation. You came tonight expecting Adera to do what she is doing. You are giving her a last hurrah before she takes the fall. Everyone here will feel that they have been set up by you to be made into Adera¡¯s fools.¡±


    It was during that period I had learned that Tara whose daughter was seventeen had never married because she still carried a torch for me. It seems that both of us had learned too late what Adera had been doing to all of us. For both of us, this was the moment we had both been looking for because her conduct freed us from the bonds, we had created. Tonight, the past and present were going to hit Adera hard.


    After leaving my office Tara and I had taken a long leisurely stroll in the nearest state park. We discussed all the major events the three of us shared seeing it all from a different point of view. That was when I learned of her true feelings towards me. After discussing the pros and cons of starting a new relationship with each other we decided to take the chance to see if it could develop into something further down the road.


    We were still walking when a couple with children asked us if we would take a photo of them against the railing that allowed one an unending view of the Appalachian Mountains. We agreed.


    I took a few, the last one was of the father and his two sons. The wife asked us if we had children.


    Tara answered saying ¡°We have four, three girls and a boy aged thirteen to seventeen, and  we are trying to decide if we want to raise a couple more.¡±


    ¡°My parents are doing that,¡± the husband said. ¡°They feel that they are now better parents because their life as it currently is, allows them much more time to be just a parent.¡±


    That was when we got into a discussion about us having children if we got together. We were both surprised that the other was open to it.


    That was when I got a shock that would forever change my life as Tara said, ¡°Besides it''s time that Tina begins to get to know the man who helped to conceive her if you are open to it.¡±


    I stood there in shock, unable to speak as I grasped the information. If my memory was correct that was when Adera had told Tara that we had been sleeping with each other. It was not true, but it caused our breakup.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me back then?¡± I asked Tara while looking directly into her eyes.


    ¡°She was my best friend and until that point, she had never lied to me,¡± Tara said. ¡°I had no reason not to believe her until I saw her conduct this morning. What we watched together forced me to look back. I¡¯ve realized that there quite a few things she has to mislead us both on.¡±


    At that point, we found a bench and went into a long discussion about the history of the three of us from the holiday trip where we first met until today.


    As we said goodbye, we shared our first emotional kiss since before Adera and I had gotten engaged. It left us with a taste of what was to come and a new understanding of what was before us. It would be interesting to learn who we were without Adera''s presence in our lives.


    ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± Janice said as she looked around to see if she could tell by facial expressions who Adera¡¯s lover was. ¡°I told Jesse that I believed he was involved with another woman and when I found out who she was I would kill the bitch. I have already purchased the gun I will use.¡±


    I watched as Tarra walked towards Adera and I was grateful that she had never married. I had always thought that she would have made some lucky man¡¯s life complete. For a woman more inclined to be a wild child Tara always did things in moderation. It hadn¡¯t taken long for me to understand that Tara had always had to be pushed into doing some of the wild things my wife and she had done.


    I didn¡¯t notice that Janice had picked up the look between Tara and me. To her, it said a lot even though to us it may have been completely just an act of normal friendship.


    Everything Tara did came across as an innocent getting caught up in a situation that went too far. Adera you just knew by her personality that she had done it to see if she could pull it off and get away with as little repercussions as possible.


    Tara had now reached where Adera was, and I watched it with my eldest as she asked my wife if she could be given the use of the mike. The look of puzzlement on Adera¡¯s face because of the excitement Tara showed made me smile.


    I noticed that Tina was watching me closely as she stood with the rest of my kids. David and Tina were in a serious chat. Debbie had just come over to stand by me. Adera¡¯s Mother whom I loved was not a  happy lady as she was upset by the conduct of her daughter.


    ¡°Debbie you might want to go to your sister and brother to be by their side because of what¡¯s about to happen.¡±


    ¡°If what I am thinking is right,¡± Debbie responded. ¡°Tara¡¯s your divorce lawyer and Mom¡¯s about to be served.¡±


    I nodded my head and said softly, ¡°and so is her long term lover. It¡¯s time we put the fa?ade of what''s left of our marriage behind us.¡±


    ¡°We all thought she might of being having an affair,¡± My daughter responded. ¡°With her busy work schedule, she is never home. It gave her the perfect storm. My siblings and I are not impressed with this new version of our mom. It seems the virus has been a mixed blessing for her because it allowed her to keep up appearances by having an acceptable excuse.¡±


    ¡°Let your brother and sister know I will explain everything once we get home,¡± I said before Debbie walked over towards her grandparents and her siblings.


    As Tarra introduced herself to all attending I walked out to the center of the room. I wanted to face my wife and her lover directly as they were being served. That was when everyone got the idea that something else was going on.


    I got a smug look on my face when Tarra asked Jesse Yelland to join them.


    Janice looked at me and mouthed, ¡°is Jesse as her lover?¡±


    I nodded my head in the affirmative. I knew that I had to keep an eye on her because Janice¡¯s face went white.


    Once Jesse joined them, it took Tarra less than a minute to serve both Adera and Jess with the paperwork.


    ¡°Congrats Adera you are being served with divorce papers on the grounds of marital abandonment and adultery,¡± Tara said. ¡°It also means that our lifelong friendship has come to an end.¡±


    Turning to Jess Tara said, ¡°You are served and are being sued for marital interference.¡±


    Tara said, ¡°Adera when Raymond showed me his proof, we both realized that you have been playing with our lives since our university years. It is time for you to pay the price with this game ending move.¡±


    Both had been taken by surprise. I think neither one of them had believed they would be caught. Glancing around the room I notice the look on a bunch of people¡¯s faces. Some were apparently in shock. All appeared to have changed their view of me quite quickly.


    Adera¡¯s face went white. I was laughing until I saw Janice opening her shoulder purse as if she were reaching for something. Her face showed her pure rage. I quickly ran over to stand in front of her.


    I was fairly sure I knew what she was going to attempt to do. She was just reaching in to grab the small revolver when I pulled her hand back from it by grabbing on to her small wrist.


    ¡°Let me go,¡± Janice said in a loud very upset voice, ¡°I have to do it I gave my word.¡±


    Pulling her face forward and tight against me I whispered in her ear, ¡°Grow up, they are not worth you losing your freedom over because of the hurt, anger, and rage you are feeling. Believe me, Janice I have thought about killing the two of them myself.¡±


    That is when her tears let go. I drew Janice into my arms holding her tight. Partly to make sure that she did not have a way to go for her gun. Looking around the room I could tell that we now had become the center of attention. My wife¡¯s parents and our three children were still in shock but realized I had stopped Janice from doing something.


    I started slowly start backing Janice towards the exit doors knowing I had to get her away from what was going on. There was no way I was going to release her until we were out of the conference room.


    Janice is an exceptionally beautiful lady in her own way. Her soft complexion allowed her to get away naturally by using less makeup than most. To me, that made her more beautiful and desirable. Her red natural curly hair gave one the impression when looking at her facial features that there was a natural loving gentleness to her.


    With a frame that included a set of thirty-four double c breasts, a twenty-six-inch waist with a thirty-six set of hips you knew she was not the wham bam thank you mam type but a keeper. She had the frame that a good man could willingly get lost in for years.


    I realized that for both of us our emotions and sensitivity were at a heightened extreme. Until we both got them under control it was best that we spoke as little as possible.


    As we slowly inched past Adera¡¯s parents I said, ¡°Mom, Dad can you make sure the kids get home. I will be home as soon as I get Janice settled and calmed downed. Then I will answer your questions as much as I can.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Adera¡¯s Mom. ¡°Raymond just so you know from what''s been revealed we don¡¯t blame you, but we do have a lot of questions.¡±


    Adera''s dad mouthed while looking at me ¡°what was in the purse?¡± I replied to him the same way saying, ¡°a gun.¡±


    The look that came over his face said it all.


    Holding Janice¡¯s soft warm body tight against mine in close contact caused our legs and bodies to touch repeatedly as I kept leading her towards the exit doors. As she gathered herself together as I kept pushing us forward. With our bodies naturally rubbing against each other, that stimulation along with her inviting sweet-smelling scent flowing into my nostrils caused me to become quite aroused despite what was going on. Hopefully, her frame was protecting me. Thankfully, I got her out of the room without anyone noticing my growing condition.


    We had just got out of the rented room to the hallway when we separated so I could close the doors. At that point, there was no way I could hide my erection. It was clear I had a small tent sticking out in the front of my suit pants.


    Janice still a bit emotional said, ¡°thank you for stopping me from digging myself a hole I could not get out of.¡±


    With that said she leaned into me and planted a soft gentle kiss on the side of my cheek before adding, ¡°that¡¯s for reaffirming naturally that I am still a woman that an honest man finds attractive. You don¡¯t know what your hardon was saying to me.¡±


    We walked down the hallway to the main entrance. I gave the parking attendant my ticket stub for my car, and he quickly went to retrieve it.


    ¡°I took a taxi service to get here,¡± Janice said. ¡°Can you drive me home?¡±


    ¡°Gladly,¡± I said, ¡°But we need to make a couple of stops first if that¡¯s okay?¡±


    It was. The first stop was to the office where I had left the ONN stick. I made two copies before putting the original back in the safe. I did it so that Janice had her own proof to use in her divorce from Jesse. When I gave it to her, I explained that what on it would explain too much but would provide more than enough evidence needed for her to take Jesse to the cleaners. Then it was off to the police station.


    As we pulled up Janice said, ¡°You want me to go in and turn in my gun. Don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°For the next little while I think its best that you don¡¯t have the temptation in front of you,¡± I said. ¡°An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of the cure.¡±


    I watched her walk into the station wearing the long full-length body tight white gown she had arrived in. I felt sad that life in general didn¡¯t allow us to always appreciate what we had. Janice from behind had a tush that a lot of men would die for. The natural wiggle she had when in heels was a turn on. I just wished that in time that she would find the right man for her because of the right reason.


    It took her about fifteen minutes before she returned to my car. When she got situated and the car door closed, she slid herself over to sit right beside me. It brought back memories of when I was young.


    ¡°I hope that no one who was not there tonight sees us,¡± I said, ¡°because it would leave them with the wrong impression.¡±


    ¡°Why do you always have the right thing to say,¡± Janice said with a smile. ¡°When one seems to need to hear it.¡±


    I started the car and headed out. Janice got as tight as she could to my body. I must admit I was flattered by her attention.


    ¡°I explained everything to the female officer before handing her the revolver,¡± Janice said. ¡°She congratulated me for being proactive and said that they would give me a month to reconsider before sending it out to be destroyed. She pointed out that it took a lot of love and respect for me as a person for you to step up and do what you did. I have to admit she is right.¡±


    It took us about forty-five minutes to get back to her estate. During the whole ride, Janice kept her head resting on my shoulder. Neither one said much because we were both lost in our thoughts. As we drove past my place, I noticed that no one had arrived home yet. After parking the car, I escorted Janice to her front door to make sure that she was able to get in.


    ¡°Ray, could you please come in for a moment,¡± Janice asked?


    No sooner was her front door closed that Janice surprised me by turning around to face me. Without saying a word, she attacked me aggressively with quite a few deep long tender tongues exchanging kisses. Each one was stronger and more demanding than before.


    We were both so into it that I was automatically exploring the softness of her inviting tush. It was soft, warm, and pliable in my hands. It had been a long time since a woman had been aggressive with me as Janice was. I knew that if I did not get out of there I would be lost.


    When we broke our kisses off to catch our breath there was no doubt or regret. I could see the passion of desire burning in her eyes. She could tell my friend was standing at attention harder than ever because she had to have felt it pressing against her.


    Janice looked directly into my eyes as she said,  ¡°I know you love me as I love you and that we are not in love with each other. But it¡¯s with love that I am going to lead you to my bedroom so that I can undress you and ravish you into exhaustion.¡±


    I guess I hesitated just a little too long because Janice tossed her purse and reached up behind her shoulder blades and undid the button at the top of the zipper of her long sleeveless gown and then pulled the zipper down. It fell to the floor leaving her dressed just in her white lace panties. She came across as sweet, innocent, and willing. Seeing her almost nude only encouraged my hard-on. Janice then began undoing the buckle of my pants.


    ¡°If you think that you might be taking advantage of me because I¡¯m in an emotionally weak point,¡± Janice said. ¡°Get it out of your mind right now.¡±


    With my pants unbuckled, the zipper pulled down she slid her hand between the fold in my underwear and gripped my swollen member.


    I gave in and said, ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    And that was what she did.


    We didn¡¯t even make it under the sheets before I was lost exploring her young undiscovered country. It did not take long for me to remove her panties. Nor for her to strip me of my clothing.


    The more I searched out as much about her willing flesh that I could the more turned on we got. Let me tell you that Janice is a real redhead. I don¡¯t know how long I showed her my appreciation of all parts of her body with tender kisses before we committed to giving our bodies fully to each other.


    Our first joining had her on top. Man, I discovered how she was tight she was as she lowered herself down on me while drawing my soldier into her. Her heat was intensive. Our eyes locked on each other as her body adjusted to me. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven.


    I was learning that Janice had an aggressive side when she needed it. It took every fiber in my excited body to make sure I put her needs and wants first. It had been so long for me that I was afraid I wouldn¡¯t last.


    She leaned down towards me so that her pert breasts pushed into my chest to share a few kisses with me as my manhood pulsated inside of her. Two bodies that come together would rarely make one feel that between the two you were one. We just seemed to naturally fit together as if were where we belonged.


    I don¡¯t know how long we were lost in giving the other what we needed. When she started, I could feel each mini organism as she edged towards the big one. When it came boy did, she ever cum. Her juices flowed out of her soaking my lower parts.


    She was amazed when I went down and started cleaning the remnants of our lovemaking up. Janice, we learned that night was one of those women who could lactate when her body was sexually overstimulated.


    She was embarrassed but I drank the milk from her breasts willingly, she lovingly accepted my attention with grace. She in a loving manner held my head gently as I eagerly took the protein, she was offering me. Little did we realize that our shared unique intimacy would create a special bond between us for life.


    We ended up falling asleep feeling completely at peace with our nude bodies intertwined with the other.


    I awoke to discover Janice laying tight against me watching me wearing a smile and a look that showed she was content and at peace. When I got up to use the bathroom she crawled under the sheets and waited for my return.


    Within seconds we were again lost in the charms of each other. Every second we were together was pure joy and excitement. We made love twice before we said a word and again, I drank the milk she lactated as she held my head. I kept a little of her warm milk in my mouth and shared it with her before starting to work on the other one. We dosed and awoke in that position. After having a shower together ended up back on her bed in a sixty-nine.


    Even though she was a lot younger than I was that didn¡¯t seem to bother her. The whole time we were together we were no more than inches apart.


    We were resting savoring the pleasure of the afterglow. Janice had her hand on the tool that had provided us both with so much pleasure when she said, ¡°What I shared with Jesse was just sex. No man has ever been able to stimulate my body so that my breasts leaked.¡±


    ¡°Your milk has a different taste as to what my ex- wife¡¯s had when she was breastfeeding, ¡° I said. ¡°Your milk is richer, thicker, and sweeter than anything I have tasted. It¡¯s a reward I could get used to.¡±


    Janice¡¯s eyes lit up as if they were sparkling in delight. I guess my acceptance of what she might have thought was weird meant something. She raised her head towards mine and we shared a few tender kisses. It was nice just to relax and be with each other as we cuddled.


    ¡°Ray, you have shown me what it means to make love with someone who truly loves you and accepts you as you are. With a true emotional bond and the natural desire to put the needs of the other first you have shown me what making love is all about. Thanks to you I will never accept less.¡±


    We spend quite a while just cuddling sharing the moment as if we had no rush in the world. I found it very hard to stop playing with her soft tush. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Adera found Jesse¡¯s just as appealing.


    We were dressed and drinking our first cup of coffee when Janice¡¯s cellphone went off. It was hard to believe it was almost one o¡¯clock in the afternoon. It was her mother¡¯s driver who was calling from the gated entrance. She had flown in to be with her because she had heard the news.


    After opening up the gate to her estate Janice said, ¡°Mom¡¯s timing is perfect you can tell all concerned that I was so distraught that you stayed with me until we could find someone to give me the moral support I needed going forward.¡±


    ¡°I guess I should finish my coffee and get out of here,¡± I said. ¡°Just remember if you need anything, I¡¯m next door.¡±


    ¡°Plan on me needing more of your special comforting at least until the divorce is over,¡± Janice said with a giggle. ¡°Or until you and Tara figure out where your common interest is going whichever takes longer. That¡¯s if you are willing.¡±


    I had just placed the empty coffee cup in the kitchen sink. I turned to Janice who was standing beside me took into my arms giving her a kiss like the one that had started it all. Janice responded like she had the night before. We both knew that if her mother were not coming, we would have ended up going back upstairs.


    We both understood that we couldn¡¯t get enough of each other. After we broke it off Janice with a smile a mile wide said, ¡°That¡¯s the kind of answer I like. Ray call me later so I can let you know what''s going on.¡±


    She was seeing me out the door when her mother pulled up. Janice quickly explained who I was and why I was there still dressed in a suit.


    With that done I headed for my home next door knowing what I would be facing. I knew I had to hide what I was feeling. I could not remember a time I had been so turned on or tuned in to a woman. Janice and our loving making had made what I had gone through during the last four years¡¯ worth it.


    Here I had just left her bed a few hours ago and already I wished that I were back on that bed between her legs embedded in her warmth.


    ********


    When I got home the first thing, I learned was that Janice had called to inform them that I was on my way because her mother had arrived to give her the emotional support, she needed to get through it.


    Adera¡¯s parents Elizabeth and Richard Drury had stayed the night. As soon as I got over the welcome home stuff, I handed Richard the stick and told him to go look at it privately in my home office.


    In the family room, the rest of us gathered. I explained what Janice had considered doing and explained that after she had calmed down a bit, we had dropped the small revolver off at the police station.


    When Richard returned, he handed me the stick which I put in my pant pocket.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, Kids. From what I have learned Adera¡¯s affair with Jesse began about six months after his family requested, he join the company to help find ways to make the merger between the two families conglomerates smoother,¡± I said. ¡°Records will show that even in quarantine they were sharing the same living space even though they retained separate residences.¡±


    My mother in law and children seemed to accept my explanation of what had been going on until my father in law opened his mouth.


    ¡°Ray¡¯s trying to be protective of you all,¡± Richard said. ¡°Their conduct is worse than that. I think I can honestly say that with what I have just seen. If I had known what Ray knew before last night. Ray would not have been able to stop me.¡±


    Elizabeth looked at her husband as if she were studying his face and after a couple of seconds said, ¡°You are serious.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am,¡± Richard said. ¡°Her conduct has not only brought shame and reproach to the family but to the corporation itself. The woman I saw participating in the sexual contact I saw on the video file was not the daughter we raised.¡±


    I excused myself explaining I needed to shave and change. Deanna walked with me as I headed to my bedroom.


    ¡°We all talked last night,¡± Deanna said. ¡°We all were worried about you and what you were dealing with.¡±


    ¡°How are you, your sister and brother handling it,¡± I asked.


    ¡°I guess we all learned that knowing is better than not knowing,¡± Deanna said, ¡°because a lot of questions have been answered. After a heated discussion, we all agree that Mom did not leave just you but all of us.¡±


    I stopped took my daughter into my arms and said, ¡° I had suspected something was going on for quite a while and it was just this week that I got the proof. Denna, it still hurts and is going to hurt for a while until we find a way to live with the outcome.¡±


    With those few words the pain, the tears, and the emotions she was holding in let loose. It''s moments like this when we learn how much damage is done when one''s conduct tears a family apart. I held my middle child until she had calmed down.


    ¡°I was the one that answered the call when Aunt Janice called,¡± Deanna explained. ¡°We talked for a few. She told me what the police officer said when she turned in her gun. Grampa and Grandma said you had put yourself at risk to protect our mother after what she did.¡±


    ¡°What I did was no big deal, ¡°I said. ¡°Any good friend would have stopped their friends from doing something stupid because they had lost control as I did.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but in Janice¡¯s eyes right now you walk on water,¡± Deanna said, ¡°and perhaps you always will.¡±


    I smiled and thought about our lovemaking before responding further.


    ¡°Any word about  your mother?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Jesse and she left right after you did,¡± Deanna explained. ¡°Grampa found out from the limo driver that they returned to the airport and took the first flight out.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Grandma told everyone that you had stopped Janice from pulling out a gun,¡± Deanna said. ¡°A lot of people came up to us and asked us to forward their apologies for their conduct towards you.¡±


    I smiled and explained ¡°No one needed to know that. Your grandmother should not have disclosed it.¡±


    ¡°But it was the truth!¡± Deanna said.


    ¡°Yes, but in the big picture, it does not matter,¡± I said. ¡°It rarely does. Most likely it¡¯s been spun by gossip into something that it never was. That is how the tabloids we see at grocery stores make so much money. They spin the truth into something it¡¯s not yet most who read it will believe it.¡±


    ¡°Just like Mom did to all of us, Right Dad?¡± Deanna said in sadness.


    ¡°What even sadder is the fact that her conduct shows that in her eyes none of us were worth being told the truth,¡± I said. ¡°Yet out in society, there was nothing wrong in their conduct.¡±


    ¡°When grandpa said  you were protecting us all,¡± Deanna asked, ¡°was he telling the truth?¡±


    ¡°You are still too young to be told of every detail,¡± I said. ¡°But what your mother was doing with Jesse would make what the movie called fifty shades of grey portrayed look tame.¡±


    ¡°Grandma won¡¯t even talk about or watch that movie,¡± Deanna said. ¡°According to her it''s degrading, demoralizing, and nothing but pornographic porn.¡±


    ¡°And the difference between one''s views on that movie depends on their personal view of morals,¡± I said. ¡°Some believe in them and live with them some don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Anything else I should be aware of,¡± I added.


    ¡°Tara and then Tina called wanting to know if we had heard from you,¡± Deanna added. ¡°Both were showing their concern.¡±


    ¡°Do me a favor, call one of them so that they know I am alright,¡± I said, ¡°and inform them that I will call them this evening.¡±


    ¡°Tina has been asking a lot of questions about you, first to David last night and Debbie when she called earlier,¡± Deanna said. ¡°So much so that it¡¯s kind of getting us wondering.¡±


    ¡°I think I know why, and I promise you will get the answers to explain everything,¡± I said. ¡°When things in front of us have settled down.¡±


    ********


    It had been quiet since I arrived home on Saturday. I was grateful because it gave my children and me time to adjust. Janice and I had touched base with each other a couple of times and she had gotten me to promise I would come over as soon as her mother left.


    Tina and I had arranged for a private luncheon for Friday because it was only half a day at school, and I was looking forward to it. I could not help but wonder how our lives would have turned out if Adera had not interfered.


    Making love to Janice was going to be one of my favorite memories for a long time. Janice in a way restored a part of me I thought I might have lost. My faith in myself.


    I had taken the first two workdays off to make sure I was there for those who needed me at home. Each of my children had needed some private time. I was thankful that I was wise enough to be able to help them sort their emotions out. This morning I had called a general meeting with the staff so that I could catch up on things which had just broken up.


    ¡°Ray there is an Isobel Rausing who wishes to talk to you if you are available?¡± my receptionist asked after sticking her head through the door.


    ¡°Give me a minute to tidy up and get to my desk before escorting her in,¡± I replied.


    I wondered who she might be because I had never heard of the name before. So, when I heard them walking down the hallway I stood up. As soon as the lady walked in, I recognized her as Janice¡¯s mother.


    If you looked at Janice and her mother, you would know they were related. Even though their hair colors were different there were enough features that made the statement true because their build, looks, and mannerism left no doubt about it. Both were very desirable women in their own way.


    ¡°Nice to meet you again,¡± I said as I offered her my hand.


    She took it and said, ¡°Thank you for seeing me and for what you did for my only daughter. I am on the way to the airport to catch the private plane I had called in and wanted to talk to you before I boarded.¡±


    ¡°How is Janice doing?¡± I asked with interest. ¡°I have not talked to her since late Sunday.¡±


    ¡°She has come to terms with it all and is adjusting nicely. She was in a better state of mind when I arrived than I expected,¡± Isobel revealed. ¡°Primary because you took the time to make her realize she was not a failure or was at fault for what happened.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your kind comments,¡± I said. ¡°What can I do for  you today.¡±


    ¡°First of all, Janice and I watched the file you provide her. To be frank and honest we were both shocked, disturbed, and upset by what it revealed. It will serve her well in her divorce. Janice wondered if she had been too blind to see what Jesse wanted and wondered if the reason, he married her was because he had needed a shield. It led to a long discussion between my daughter and me. We talked about everything from her life going forward to her relationship with you and it has drawn us closer than we have ever been since she was a teenager.¡±


    I guess my face showed my response because she said, ¡°Relax Mr. Wright we''re both adults. Let me put a few things in perspective. I have three children, two sons, and my only daughter; all have the same father who I have never married. We started our relationship as friends with benefits. Their father and I are still in a loving relationship that works for us. He too is about ten years older than me.¡±


    It was beginning to get interesting, figuring it was going to be a long conversation, so I asked the receptionist to bring in coffee.


    ¡°Our family originally had its roots in Sweden now we are like most families spread around the world,¡± Isobel explained. ¡°Because of a disastrous first marriage and our family''s net worth I decided it was best not to ever remarry.¡±


    One can understand that¡± I replied. ¡°Especially when you¡¯re dealing with something like your daughter, and I are.¡±


    ¡°We both live individual lives which are multi-layered and complicated but are not all relationships like that in their own way?¡± Isobel asked.


    ¡°You won¡¯t get any argument for me,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve always believed what you do behind closed doors is nobody¡¯s business except those living behind those doors.¡±


    I guess my words seemed to please Janice¡¯s mother because I could see by her body language that she was starting to relax and become comfortable being with me.


    ¡°To thank you properly the family decided it would be best to have your background checked out. Let me say by the reports they received on you that they were extremely impressed. Both professionally and personally you have a stellar record,¡± Isobel explained proudly. ¡°Expect a phone call within the next week with a request that your firm submits a proposal for the designing of a new museum for the city of Stockholm that we are sponsoring.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the honor and please call me Ray,¡± I said as the receptionist brought the coffee tray in. ¡°I¡¯m sure when I receive the request that they will give me some general details in what it will be used for.¡±


    Once we were served and she had left closing the door behind her it got interesting.


    ¡°The other woman from the video file is a distant third cousin that Janice has never met. I was able to identify Jasmine from the sound of her voice. Let me make it clear that she will be handled accordingly by the family once they view the file, I emailed them,¡± Isobel stated. ¡°It will be done in such a way that she should never be a problem for my daughter, or you as you are going forward.¡±


    After pausing Isobel went on. ¡°Even with those who are considered elitists, there is a pecking order. There are not things that are not considered acceptable once they are brought into the publics'' eyes. As a result, there are some pretty harsh ways of dealing with those deemed undesirable.¡±


    Thank you it¡¯s nice to know,¡± I said. ¡°To be honest I have not given Jasmine a second thought other than her being another advantage for me in the custody battle.¡±


    Isobel got a smile about that because I guess she realized that my focus was and would always be on my children¡¯s needs first.


    ¡°Janice has come into her own and I think that¡¯s primarily because of your long term evolving relationship with her,¡± Isobel honesty said. ¡°I¡¯m immensely proud of how she is turning out. Her confidence in herself has come to the fore during this time and it shows.¡±


    ¡°She a very nice lady who I am fond of, even my three children love her,¡± I said. ¡°Janice knows that she is a close friend to me and my children. So much so that my children refer to her as an aunt.¡±


    ¡°I am very aware of that and what had transpired before I got here, including the status of your relationship,¡± Isobel said. ¡°Even to the point of your helping her deal with the shock, she found herself in when over-stimulation caused the  lactating of her breasts.¡±


    I blushed. Isobel smiled and said, ¡°Janice said you were a private modest man. I see that she is right. It just reaffirms in my mind how well the two of you know each other. This is my way of informing you that I approve of whatever kind of relationship my daughter and you work out.¡±


    ¡°Thank you that means a lot,¡± I replied.


    ¡°If it works out the way I want it to,¡± Isobel said with a smile. ¡°I look forward to her visiting in the future with a full-time nanny and a couple of young ones that you have fathered following behind her quite closely.¡±


    I laughed because the lady could be brutally frank and that was refreshing. I found myself liking the lady, so I asked her, ¡°do you have the time to squeeze in an early lunch with me at the club?¡±


    ¡°The pilot is used to waiting for me to get there so I¡¯ve got all the time in the world,¡± Isobel said. ¡°An hour or two is not going to add much to the cost.¡±


    I quickly called the club''s restaurant to get a reservation for a table and off we went. While Isobel was instructing the limo driver, I called Janice and asked if she wanted to join me. Janice was waiting for us when we got there.


    ¡°Mother!¡± Janice said with a bit of attitude. ¡°I asked you to stay out of it.¡±


    Isobel laughed and smiled before saying, ¡°I just stopped to let Ray know that he was going to be offered the chance to take his firm international.¡±


    ¡°Sure, you were,¡± Janice said. ¡°If I ask Ray if the two of you talked about kids, what is he going to say.¡±


    ¡°Not a word,¡± I replied. ¡°Because I am not going to be dragged into the middle of this.¡±


    Both Janice and Isobel laughed.


    ¡°Mom I told you what he was like,¡± Janice said with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s very careful in everything he says.¡±


    ¡°Most thinking men are,¡± Isobel said. ¡°When things go to hell in a handbasket it''s men like him that will be the ones still standing. You will always know where you stand with him because whether you like it or not, he will be straightforward and honest.¡±


    With that said we headed into the club after Janice, and I shared a few tender kisses under her mother¡¯s watching eyes. Isobel seemed thrilled to death with the attention we were publicly displaying towards each other.


    Lunch surprisingly was a huge success. Isobel loved the quality of the food and the restaurant''s atmosphere. Janice was pleased to see that her mother and I were starting to develop a relationship with each other.


    Just before she left to go through the security after kissing us goodbye on the cheek Isobel said, ¡°I expect to see the two of you when Ray is doing spot checks on the building of the museum. Janice let me know in advance so that I can arrange to have  your father there.¡±


    We went back to the club to get her car and I followed her back to her place.


    As soon as we got through the front door Janice said, ¡°I sent you the program that will open and close the gate. Your house key is sitting on the kitchen counter. Mom and I had everything changed while she was here. All of Jesse¡¯s personal belongings have been placed in public storage.¡±


    As soon as we reached the kitchen, I put the house key on my keychain. I started to rinse the coffee pot and together we started it brewing. While I sat down at the end of the kitchen table Janice warmed the coffee cups. She had unbuttoned her blouse and pulled it out of her dress slacks.


    Since I had turned the chair to the side she came over and sat on my lap after slipping out of her shoes.


    ¡°Thanks to you Mister,¡± Janice said after kissing me, ¡°My mother is going to be calling me weekly to see if you have gotten me to the point that my body is changing its shape.¡±


    ¡°Is your father exclusive in his relationship with your mother?¡± I asked thinking about what Tara, and I had agreed to.


    ¡°My father is married,¡± Janice explained. ¡°He was my mother¡¯s first husband¡¯s older brother. That is why everything is done discreetly. Like my mother, his family comes from old money too. He is a member of the House of Bernadotte and is part of the Swedish Royalty. I believe he¡¯s tenth in line for the crown.¡±


    ¡°That explains a few things,¡± I said. ¡°I told your mother that what happened behind closed doors is nobody¡¯s business except to those living behind those doors.¡±


    Janice got up and poured us a coffee. After preparing them she returned with them then proceeded to sit on my lap.


    ¡°Mom and I did some online researching about my breasts lactating and learned that for some females it could be started at the moment conception takes place,¡± Janice explained with a big grin.


    ¡°You¡¯re not on birth control,¡± I said.


    ¡°Not since Jesse and I split,¡± Janice said with a giggle.


    Janice looked into my eyes, and I could see how excited she was about the possibility of us creating a love child. I pulled her deeper into my body and gave her a long deep tender but demanding kiss.


    ¡°You¡¯re not wearing a bra,¡± I noted.


    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Janice replied. ¡°My breasts are swelling and since they were tight before the bras were starting to leave red marks. Mom said her breasts acted the same when she became pregnant so with her second and third, she knew before it was confirmed.¡±


    ¡°What are you hoping for if it is confirmed that you are?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Mom wants a girl since both of my brother''s wives have boys,¡± Janice said. ¡°I don¡¯t care as long as it¡¯s healthy.¡±


    ¡°We will have to decide what its last name will be before its born,¡± I said.


    ¡°No, we won¡¯t because when I talked to my divorce lawyer, I learned I can legally change my last name to anything,¡± she said. ¡°So, I am going to change mine to Wright.¡±


    I smiled because I knew that she was not looking at marriage and for now neither was I. We both had a lot of things to sort out.


    ¡°Just between us the reason that Tara¡¯s daughter was spending so much time with me Friday night,¡± I said. ¡°Was because earlier that week Tara revealed that I am her father.¡±


    Janice paused for a few minutes as she digested the information and said, ¡°If you had not gotten the proof of Adera¡¯s and Jesse¡¯s conduct you would never have known.¡±


    ¡°True because it took Tara seeing that video to realize that she had been lied to by Adera back during our university days,¡± I explained. ¡°It led to us spending the day reviewing everything to reveal all her deceptions throughout the years.¡±


    ¡°That explains the look I saw between you,¡± Janice said. ¡°Does that mean that Tara wants to reconnect after all these years?¡±


    ¡°Not sure yet,¡± I said,¡± because emotions are still too raw. Tara and I have a friendship still but not sure what it will be like until everything is settled.¡±


    ¡°Where does that leave us? Janice asked.


    ¡°Right where we are,¡± I said. ¡°Our relationship was formed because of what Adera and Jesse were doing to us. Our love, friendship, and trust in each other is strong and gets stronger each day.¡±


    I guess I said the right thing because Janice got up off my lap and headed us towards our bedroom as she put it. Where she showed me my new closet and dresser for my clothes.


    ¡°Thanks to cable tv the social value¡¯s in American are changing,¡± Janice pointed out. ¡°Promise me that you will be opened minded when it comes to what both Tara and I want because we both want our children¡¯s father in their lives.¡±


    ********


    It had been a month since Adera was served and in the morning''s paper, the announcement of the successful merger was published in the New York Times. What was noticeable to me was that Adera¡¯s and Jesses¡¯ names were not listed as being in the new management team.


    When I called to congratulate my father-in-law, Richard told me that Adera and Jesse were still employed in the conglomerate but had been assigned to manage one of the subsidiaries. That told me that their careers and future had been dead-ended.


    During this time, it had been confirmed that Janice was indeed carrying our first child. Tina and I were drawing closer, and she was going to become an intern working in the local office over the summer. Tara had already figured out what was going on between Janice and me because Janice asking her about changing her last name.


    Tara and I honestly tried to build a relationship but soon learned that we carried too much baggage from being involved with Adera for so long. She wanted another child, so she got impregnated through her doctor using my semen which pleased Janice very much because our relationship had become exclusive. It was during that process that she met her future husband. He was the single doctor that inseminated her.


    As per state law, all my three children had been interviewed by state services. All three would be remaining with me. It had been during a family meeting that I revealed to my parents, the in-laws, and  Adera¡¯s and my children that Tina was my daughter.


    It led to me having to explain how it all came to be. It was hard for all of them to learn that Adera¡¯s deception had been going on for that long.


    Richard and I were taking a walk on the estate. He wanted to learn what was happening with the divorce and if there was anything, he could do to get his daughter to speed it up. That was when he learned that there was a very strong possibility that my eldest Debbie was not my daughter.


    It took three months for Janice¡¯s and my divorce to be completed  I think Richard and Jesse¡¯s family stepped in. Both of us ended up with the advantage as a result we had put both of our estates up for sale. We both felt it was time for a fresh start. Thankfully, she was not showing because we were headed to Stockholm.


    My in-laws would be watching the kids for a month while I oversaw the start of the construction on the museum. Mine was not the cheapest but it was chosen because the design complimented the city and left the least carbon imprint.


    Richard promised to watch over the construction of our new home. Before starting on this trip, I had taken the kids aside to get their blessing. All three were thrilled to death with what I wanted to do.


    We flew in and were met by Isobel and her two sons. We were there about a week before we got the chance to take a stroll down along the Crown princess Victoria¡¯s and Prins Daniel¡¯s karleksstig. It was a walking trail on the western part of Isbladskareet, between the Djurdardsbrunn Canal and the pump house at the south of Isbladskarret. As we were enjoying the afternoon, I got down on one knee and asked Janice to marry me.


    Janice was not expecting this but thankfully she did not hesitate. I think it was less than ten seconds for her to scream yes. Let us be honest with her it was an emotional moment. As soon as I slid the ring on her finger, she was smothering me in kisses.


    At seven that night local time using my cellphone we called the kids in front of Janice¡¯s parents. The way we broke the news to them all was perfect.


    Debbie had put the speaker on so we could talk to all three of them like I had on my end.


    ¡°Your dad and I were wondering Debbie and Deanna if you would honor us,¡± Janice said. ¡°By agreeing to be my bride maids.¡±


    Isobel and Swen were caught so off guard that Isobel started to cry. Of course, it led to a thousand questions from all that we had no answer to so we had to promise that we would inform them once we had decided on a few things.


    After things had calmed down Janice told Isobel that she was getting the granddaughter she always wanted.


    It was while we were in Stockholm that we learned that Adera Wright, Jasmine, and Jesse Yelland were lost at sea and that the authorities were looking for their plane. I was reminded of Isobel¡¯s promise to me.


    We would learn that Adera survived but had ended up spending a month on a local fishing boat. We don¡¯t know what happened, but she came back a broken person and retired to live life quietly in the keys in Florida.


    It was fall in the last half of September when Janice and I wed. Tina, Debbie, and Deanne were her bride''s maids. David my son and two of my brother¡¯s sons both a little older stood at my side.


    Isobel, Swen, and all of her side of the family were in attendance. Isobel held Issi her month old granddaughter the whole time. The marriage took place on a section of the lawn on our new estate. Adera attended. I overhead Debbie and Denna talking about their mother who now had to regularly use a cane.


    ¡°Mom made decisions in her life, figuring she could have it all,¡± Deanna said. ¡°She never thought that karma would have its say.¡±


    ¡°True but when you compare both our parents,¡± Debbie replied. ¡°Karma gave back to them what they both deserved.¡±

 Undoing the Wrappings of Lies

    George Orwell said, ¡°the more a society goes away from the truth the more they will hate those who speak it.¡±


    Undoing the Wrappings of Lies Part 1


    Thanks to a little virus


    The Past


    I was lucky I grew up in a society that no longer exists even in small-town America. Back then even in our small town, it was dying. It was a time when riding the streets with your two-wheeler made you the king of the road. Our parents believed in the society they had helped to create and gave us the freedom to roam about.


    For the boys and me in our early teens, our greatest challenge was how close we could get our bikes and bodies to the paved roads when in a steep long curve going downhill. Without the safety equipment required these days. Between the three of us, we were always trying to outdo each other. The faster, the more dangerous the ride, the greater thrill achieved.


    Billy Moon, Jack Peters and I, the no-nonsense horse''s ass had been best friends since we were knee-high to a grasshopper. We all lived on the same street less than twelve houses apart. My parents¡¯ house was in the middle. I was the oldest the other two were one year younger.


    Our parents had agreed at an early age in our lives that if the three of us got caught doing something we should not that we would all be treated the same. We soon learned we did not have one set of parents we had three.


    Many a time the three of us had our asses spanked by one of the fathers who had reached the point where he reached the limit of putting up with our crap. The other two fathers, when told about it, would say be thankful it wasn¡¯t me because it would of being a lot worse. Today, the two other fathers would have sued the one.


    It did not matter that one family was African American, the second were Hindu¡¯s who had moved to the states to escape the caste system of their former society and changed their names to assimilate or that my parents were white.


    They were united in dealing with us until we graduated high school. The three of us had been that close growing up. The three families had a lot of backyard barbeques together and were friends. Their morals and principals once known bonded them together.


    Today they would all be branded as racists because they treated each other as equals and we all know that cannot be allowed. After all our society requires that there must be a group of people to hate regardless of the truth.


    They all believed they were only as good as their ¡®word.¡¯ It was time where you still trusted and respected your neighbor and worked with them to make your community better. They had not been taught by our educators how to truly manipulate people, the system, and its power to our advantage.


    After my generation graduated from school the educators started teaching the children their rights and how to use them against their parents. I did not understand that until I had become a parent. The growth of me-ism exploded.


    It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and we were in the middle of one of the biggest downhill curves that we knew of when the little five-year-old girl ran out into the roadway in front of us.


    Since I was the closest to the curb, I had a choice to hit the child or take myself out. I made a choice that today would be considered stupid by most because we all know life has no value. Crime is only a crime if you get convicted. Get away with it and its figured the sucker got what he deserved.


    I took the spill, hit the curb, and went head over the handle of my bike rolling across a front lawn. The little girl''s two older sisters saw me flying from their living room window and came out.


    I did a real good job of getting myself pretty scraped up. Both my knees and elbows were bleeding. The little girl got her ball and started walking back onto the yard as if nothing had happened.


    My front tire was ruined as was the rim. I was thinking it would take a month of allowances at least to get it fixed. I was standing up by the time the boys got turned around and came back. I had hurt myself so badly I had tears in my eyes.


    The little girls'' two older sisters came out and were helping to clean me up. Billy Moon and they went to the same Catholic school, so they knew each other. From that day forward I was known by them as Billy¡¯s friend who had hurt himself to keep their sister safe.


    Yes, the three of us all attended different schools. I was the only one that went to a public school. It was a time when religious differences, political differences, and sexual differences were kept behind closed doors and not discussed publicly not even in our schools.


    Parents back then were left to raising their children, nowadays they are encouraged to stay out of it. The village knows better. Your just an idiot that knows nothing. Challenge what is being taught may get your child kicked out unless you got the cash to buy your way out of it by paying somebody off.


    The only thing important is money and how to get it. As one forty-year-old man said to me recently, I can take money from anyone. ¡®Take¡¯ in the dictionary means to gain possession of legally or illegally. Sadly, one statement like that says so much about the environment we all live in.


    After gathering up what was left of my busted up two-wheeled bike, I started to walk back towards my home which was just over a mile away. Both the girls around my age decided to walk halfway with me to make sure I was all right. None of us had keys for our parent''s doors because our doors were never locked.


    Little did I know how much that little event would end up affecting my life.


    *******


    It was during the last year of high school that I decided to become a physical therapist after multiple discussions with my school counselor. She thought with my characteristics¡¯ that I would be perfect for it. Not because of my educational qualifications but because of the history of my part-time employment.


    She had watched me when her mother was in the nursing home recovering from having a serious illness. I volunteered part-time in the assistant living section and was well thought of. I had the reputation of being thoughtful, patient, compassionate, and credible. If I could not answer their question at the time, I found the information needed to provide them with it.


    What amazed her was that I had the natural ability to get these older people to trust me. The simple act of keeping your word spoke volumes to them. It resulted that I learned things that they had told no other. When important things affecting their wellbeing came out, I got others on it. That was why she felt with my concerns about the general health of them would complement me in the career she wanted me to consider. An added plus was my inborn ability, to be honest.


    It took me three years to become a Doctor of Physical Therapy. I went through a program that trained me in the procedures of diagnosis and treatment. It also got my body in great shape because I was using my muscles in unique ways. The coursework covered topics in anatomy, physical therapeutic applications, and exercises needed for the treatment of some unusual injuries.


    My instructors seemed to take my interest in it seriously because I would physically try the exercises until they were second nature with me. One thought I was overdoing it and took me aside to have a long talk about it.


    I had to explain that I thought my ability to correctly show them how to do the exercise would greatly aid me with their rehabilitation. He had to admit that I had looked at it logically but had to admit that my approach was so different from other students that they had become concerned.


    The course I signed up for had clinical clerkships where we were integrated into an existing program under the supervision of licensed physical therapists. It gave me practical experience in the different methods of physical therapy including rehabilitation and acute care.


    By the time I graduated I had six job offerings. The people I had worked with, in the clinic had praised me for making what seemed difficult easy. For some reason, the knowledge that I was receiving registered differently in my mind then my fellow students. It was something that I did not appreciate.


    One vet was having difficulty adjusting to the latest model of his artificial leg. The professional working with him was getting frustrated because of the lack of improvement shown by the vet. Nothing he had tried seemed to help. He was still having a lot of problems in his ability to adapt to it. I started asking myself why?


    By accident, I noticed that on his existing good leg his foot naturally spread towards the outside, showing a natural imbalance in his lower leg muscles caused more by what he had inherited through genes than anything else. This caused his whole sense of balance to have changed over the years.


    His inner leg muscles were being dominated by the outside ones and had been most of his life. As a result, when he wore the artificial leg, it was straight, while his real leg leaned towards the outward side it was creating conflict with his own body.


    I went to talk to the science and tech department explaining my problem. With their help using a three-D printer, we were able to create an aid that allowed the artificial leg to fit in a new way.


    With my supervisors¡¯ approval because all else had failed I positioned the artificial leg to mirror as much as possible his good leg. The vet did not want to try it but after explaining why I had done I was able to convince him to try it.


    He could not believe the difference as soon as he stood up. It felt more comfortable and natural to him. Within three days his walking difficulty was gone. The pressure and pain that he was having on his good side seemed to disperse. He no longer was walking with a limp. There was a vast improvement in his balance. It was the first time my supervisor and I had seen him smile in weeks.


    He seemed to have a different outlook about himself when we finally told him we had done all we could. We saw the look of pure joy on his wife''s face when he took her into his arms and danced around the room. She said it was the first time he had danced with her in years.


    My instructor was amazed because I had reversed the normal thinking and adjusted the equipment to work better for him instead of trying to get him to adapt to it. He sent a glowing recommendation concerning me into the school. When hospitals were recruiting the graduation class, they were given copies as part of their recommendations.


    I explained to him that the textbooks did not take into consideration that each one of us had naturally adapted to what our DNA had supplied us as we were growing up.


    Any aids and equipment should be flexible enough to adapt to what the person needs. I would later learn by running into him years later that simple act had improved the quality of his life. Each time his artificial leg was replaced he had the part I had created, remade to change the artificial leg before using it.


    At my graduation from university, I had three sets of parents come to see it. Of the three of us childhood friends, I was the only one who had continued with my education after high school. Each set of parents was honored to be there because they had all been the greatest influence on my life.


    I do not think I will ever forget that as soon as I got my diploma from the dean and started to head off the stage. The retired vet a captain was there in full uniform to salute me.


    That was the day I told them I was coming home to work in the Southeastern Missouri Hospital system. Of course, after moving back home to my parents¡¯ house until I established myself, they had to throw a welcome home party.


    Jack Peters had gone into the Marines; Billy Moon had gone back to India to find himself a wife and they had no clue if he was coming back. I think that both of their parents were hoping I would take an interest in my friend''s sisters.


    *******


    One of the first clients I dealt with at work was a lady who had a knee replacement the day before and I had her up walking the hallway with my support when her granddaughter came in. For some reason, as I was walking the client back to her room the young lady kept watching. I just figured she was pleased with how supportive I was with her grandmother like any family member would.


    The young lady was not someone I would write home about, but she was a nice-looking young lady with short brown hair styled to compliment her long face. With hazel eyes and an average figure, she was like a lot of the girls I went to school with. Nice but not nice enough to get my attention.


    After getting the client back on the bed I told her I would come back to work with her again later after she had rested.


    Just as I was leaving the granddaughter said, ¡°I got it! Your Billy Moon¡¯s friend who took a dive to avoid hitting my little sister.¡±


    I smiled and said, ¡°That was years ago. I am surprised you remembered. I did not recognize you. My name is Russell Brophy nice to see you again.¡±


    ¡°It was a scary moment when June and I realized we had lost sight of Mary. We were supposed to be watching her while mom was having a shower,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m Kimberly Taylor the middle one.¡±


    Her grandmother watched us as we chatted, saw a natural attraction, and spoke up, ¡°Kim, I think you should buy the nice young man dinner and thank him for saving your ass back then.¡±


    ¡°Nana shush,¡± Kim said. ¡°Russ could be married.¡±


    ¡°Are you young man,¡± Her grandmother asked?


    ¡°Nana!¡± Kim said while blushing.


    ¡°No, I am not,¡± I said. ¡°If you promise to work extra hard over the next few days before your released, I will agree to meet your granddaughter for supper if she allows me to pay.¡±


    ¡°Well then it¡¯s all worked out, isn¡¯t it,¡± Kim¡¯s Nana said with a smile.


    I could hear Kim whispering under her breath to me, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this. I can tell later that we met, and it didn¡¯t work out.¡±


    ¡°Sorry can¡¯t do that she¡¯ll know when she cross-examines me,¡± I said, ¡°what the truth was.¡±


    We arranged to meet at Charlie¡¯s bar and grill and began developing an interest in each other. Kimberly worked part-time for our local fox tv station and did a small five-minute video clip on current happenings in our area. She was taking courses to become an elementary school teacher at the university. She could also be seen helping in weather reporting on the weekends when needed.


    Although her parents were still strong Catholic¡¯s she was not into the church even though she believed in God she did not associate with any of the religious organizations primarily because of how her catholic schooling had affected her growing up. She learned that I was agnostic about the whole religious thing.


    The next day as I worked with her grandmother, I got asked all the usual questions which I answered with tact. There was only one question I would not answer her and that was if I were going to ask her out again.


    When Kim¡¯s grandmother left that Friday, her daughter and her husband had come to take her home. I was just returning from the outpatient center after completing four hours there. We ran into each other in the main lobby while they were waiting for her husband to get the car from the parking lot.


    During the conversation, Kimberly¡¯s mother learned about the story of what I had done years ago. I had to smile because all of us kids back then had done a lot of things that our parents did not know about. It was about six o¡¯clock when I pulled up to Kim¡¯s apartment. I guess she was waiting for me because by the time I had parked the truck and got out she was coming out the front door.


    Kimberly at that time had a height of five foot six. I was five foot nine. I was more interested in her personality and good nature than her body. I had already decided by that time that we would most likely end up being friends.


    I guess that is why we hit it off because neither of us was ready to settle down. We had about an hour to eat before heading over to the university for a Concert Band and Wind Symphony in the Bedell Performance Hall. We decided to go to a newly opened Mexico restaurant, and we were disappointed. The quality and flavors were not there.


    The theme for the evening''s performance was called ¡®Earthscapes¡¯ a musical representation of the geography of our planet. From the beautiful and tranquil to the rugged and unforgiven, it was a non-stop two-hour progression of music without a single voice during the performance. On the huge wall to wall screen behind the band was inspirational changing pictures of the type of land the music represented.


    We left the concert holding hands talking about how unique the experience had been because both of us had never done anything like that before. It was funny because we both had enjoyed it.


    ¡°I wonder if what we witnessed tonight was like what those silent movies were like when they had a live band,¡± I said?


    ¡°If it is it must have been just as wonderful and inspiring to those who witnessed it,¡± Kim replied. ¡°What inspired you to choose this for our first date?¡±


    ¡°Other than a movie theater it was the only thing I could find that still has tickets available,¡± I said. ¡°It was so different that it appealed to me.¡±


    We had just gotten back to my truck and as I unlocked the doors Kim¡¯s cell went off. It turns out her grandmother was having a backyard barbeque on Sunday after church and wanted to make sure that she would be attending. Kim said that she would be attending but would not be coming alone.


    ¡°You will have to pick me up about three,¡± Kim said. ¡°Let me warn you when the family gets together that here will be tricksters testing you to see if you can handle it. To them, it¡¯s their test to see if you will fit in.¡±


    Sometimes the greatest relationship starts from something simple. Time would prove that for Kimberly and me that was true.


    *******


    There was a whole group of cars when we pulled into her Nana¡¯s farm. As we got out, we could hear the voices in the back yard. Turns out not only was all her family there but so were a lot of her uncle and aunts and their children. Nana, when she saw me with her granddaughter, smiled in pure glee. Kim and I knew we had made her day.


    Kim had been right her family tried a few stunts and I let them go right by me as if I had not caught on. Both Kim and her Nana knew better. While we were busy eating when one of her uncles brought me a straight double shot of sour mash and a large lemon figuring he had finally found a way to get me to lose my temper.


    I asked him for a shredded knife which he immediately got me one. I sat at the picnic table and cut the lemon cut into eight sections.


    I said to the uncle who had brought me it, ¡°Are you up for a challenge?¡±


    He said, ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Okay you will have to do what I do, with these two items you gave me,¡± I said.


    Figuring he had no way to lose he said, ¡°Okay it¡¯s on.¡±


    He watched me as I used my thumb to peel the lemon flesh apart from the lemon skin. Then stick that peeled flesh section into my mouth and eat it as if I were eating an orange. When half of the lemon was done, I took half of the double shot he had given me gargled it in my mouth then downed it in one swallow. I repeated the process until everything was all gone.


    Someone had gotten him the same thing he had brought out to me. Everybody roared because he tried but could not do it. He thought he was getting one over me and I had gotten him.


    ¡°Just so you all know,¡± Kim¡¯s Nana said. ¡°Russell Brophy is nobody¡¯s fool he knew what you all were doing all day and let it go knowing that he would get one of you in the end. Russ has got a good head on his shoulder and if you try your stunts again, you¡¯ll answer to me.¡±


    After that, I was accepted by them all. By remaining calm about their childish stunts, I had earned their respect because they had learned that I could play their games better than they could.


    It was as she was speaking that Kim¡¯s sisters finally showed up. That was the evening that Kim learned that she had major competition. After introductions were done Kim had to explain to her sisters how we had met and who I was.


    From the moment Mary learned who I was she refused to leave my side. I guess the story of my taking myself out had been exaggerated and expanded a hundred times. In all sense of the world, Mary at the age of thirteen had a huge teenage crush on me so did her older sister June.


    After thanking Kim¡¯s Nana for the meal, we prepared to head out to the movie theatre. We ended the night down by the river taking a walk getting to know each other a bit better.


    June and Mary tried to cause problems for Kim and me before we got serious, but they soon found out that I was not into playing their game. It was me that kept Kim from getting worked up with her sisters.


    It was just after my next birthday that my life took a turn. My grandfather died leaving me the family home. My dad agreed with me that I would have to have everything updated if I were going to keep it.


    What I did was divide the ten-acre parcel into three sections. I sold one section as land and then the second with the house. It made me enough that I could build my house without much extra cost. After getting it done, I had a twenty thousand dollar mortgage but was left with a five-bedroom three thousand eight hundred square foot new home with the master on the main.


    That is when Kimberly and my relationship started to change. Accidents can happen when you get overheated and boy did it ever. It took three months from the day she broke the news for us to get married. Five months later a little blonde hair blue eyed angel came into the world. Juniper Mae weighed six pounds and immediately was Nana¡¯s favorite. In quick succession, Tammy Lynn, Betty Joe, and James Earl named after my dad followed.


    Present-day


    I was sitting in my office as the head of the Physio Department of the Southeastern Missouri Hospital when the reality of our world changed. Kimberley my wife now an elementary school principal and I had been married for twenty-two years.


    Our four children were either in high school or away at university working on their dreams. Within the next year, we would be empty nesters adjusting to being just the two of us again. To be honest I was ready for it.


    She on that Friday was in a meeting in St Louis because it was teacher improvement day and there were no classes. The state had scheduled a conference she had to attend. It was going to be a two-day event, so she had driven up Thursday night.


    That was when the order came down to bunker down and stay at your residence unless you were part of those who were employed in essential services. Our governor left it to each county to decide for their area. St. Louis was being hit the worst. At that time, we had one case locally.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    I decided to stop at the local Walmart on the way home to pick up some basics even though we were well stocked. I am glad I did because the panic had begun. As I walked in a lady was heading to the checkout counter with two carts full of toilet paper.


    I grabbed a cart and went directly to that section to get the biggest pack I could find. Then I went around picking up the basics that we might be low on. As I went around the aisles picking things up, I ran into the vice principal that worked with my wife.


    For me, it was a total shock because I had been told by Kimberly that they were going together.


    ¡°Hi Shauna,¡± I said. ¡°I thought you were going to St. Louis for the education seminar?¡±


    ¡°What seminar,¡± Shauna asked?


    That was when I knew something else was going on. If there was no seminar, why did June¡¯s husband a high school teacher have to attend it? When I got out of the wally world, I called June from the car to tell her what I learned. She agreed to meet me at my house.


    After putting away the groceries I went into our credit card account and found that the deposit for the hotel room had been reported but not charged. I called customer services and got them to release the address of the hotel.


    Using an address search, I was able to get the name and phone number of the hotel where the charge had come from. That was when the front doorbell rang.


    ¡°Come on in June the doors open,¡± I yelled.


    June came in with her little sister Mary who had just gone through her divorce. Her former husband a doctor had been caught cheating with one of the nurses who worked in his office. Mary had found out about the affair when he got served with a summons to appear in divorce court.


    After getting both of my sister''s in-laws a glass of white wine I suggested to June that we text our spouses telling them of our governor¡¯s declaration asking them to supply us with the hotel they were staying in and the room number.


    Whatever they were doing at that moment it was apparent that they were not together because the details that came back to each of us when compared were the same.


    A simple text message had disclosed their affair. I picked up the phone and called a social blogger who was well respected and followed in the state. I told him I had just got off the phone from talking to my wife and had learned that one of the hotel''s quests was now in the hospital with the virus.


    He asked which hotel, so I told him. June was giving me a dirty look partly because I had not done anything close to lying in my life.


    ¡°Mary and June, I said that because I want to find out what Kimberly and Thomas will come up with as an excuse.¡± I continued by saying, ¡°When they have to reveal to us what we already know.¡±


    ¡°What do you think will happen, Russ,¡± June asked?


    ¡°The suspicion will be enough with the panic going on to force the hotel and all those in it to be quarantined for at least two weeks,¡± I said. ¡°That will give us time to find lawyers and file for divorce.¡±


    Jill laughed and said. ¡°God, you have screwed them. It is funny but it is not.¡±


    With that said, Jill went into her cellphone and did a few things. Mary noticed her and asked, ¡°what are you doing?¡±


    Canceling all our credit cards and transferring most of our funds into saving because my husband''s debit card does not have access to it.¡± Jill said. ¡°Let my sister get stuck with the bill.¡±


    Mary had a big grin on her face when she said, ¡°Russ when my sister is served, I¡¯m coming after you and this time I won¡¯t accept no.¡±


    I smiled because sometimes fate puts a gift horse right in front of you and I was looking at one. Many of the nights I had made love to my wife it was Mary I was thinking about. I loved my wife, but I had never been in love with her. I am sure she had felt the same way about me. We both knew that if she had not have gotten knocked up, we wouldn¡¯t have married.


    It was Mary that suggested we should turn to the local station. We have either Fox or CBS both owned by the same corporation. On Fox, they ran repeats of the same news program. I turned it on. The news was devastating.


    The problems in our state were primary in St. Louis where the governor had ordered a complete shutdown. Every other county he would leave it to the local officials to decide how to handle it. All nonlife-threatening surgery was canceled to prepare for what might be coming down the road.


    That sad thing was at that time we had one case in our county but on Monday I would be reviewing staffing to start layoffs. Every medical office across the country would be affected. Even though on paper you had clients scheduled none would show up.


    *******


    My son James bounded through the door just after his two aunts had left to inform me that going forward, he would be staying at home getting the rest of the school year online. One of the teachers had gone through the pickup window at Arby¡¯s and told him.


    I guess he saw the look in my eyes because he asked, ¡°Dad what''s wrong?¡±


    ¡°There was no special educational conference that your mother had to attend,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Then what is she doing and who did she go with,¡± James asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s shacked up with your Uncle Thomas in a hotel in St. Louis,¡± I said. ¡°June and I both sent them a text message asking for the hotel and room number and they texted back the same location and room number. June is taking it hard Mary is staying with her.¡±


    My son and I were working together to prepare our supper. Since I had my hands tied up in cooking supper when my cellphone message notice rang. I asked my son to check it.


    ¡°Dad it¡¯s from mom she¡¯s just been informed as to what is going on. She is letting you know that all who are staying at the hotel have been quarantined for fourteen days. She says she will call you when she gets back to the hotel.¡± James said. ¡°Should I call and let Aunt June know?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think you should,¡± I replied while trying not to smile.


    James talked to his aunt for quite a few minutes and got the whole story from her end. He was surprised to learn it was their stupidity that outed them.


    We had just sat down to eat when the doorbell rang. James went to answer it. It was Mary with two suitcases of clothing and a few bundles of boxes that could be put together.


    She said, ¡°James since I live by myself and don¡¯t have any children, I am bunkering down with you guys for the next two weeks at least.¡±


    James yelled ¡°Dad.¡± I responded, ¡°She knows everything might as well let her in.¡±


    I got an extra plate out and Mary joined us for supper.


    ¡°Whats the cardboard boxes for Aunt Mary,¡± James asked as we ate?


    ¡°These ones are for your father,¡± Mary said. ¡°June has already got hers for packing up all of Thomas''s personal stuff. He doesn¡¯t know it yet, but he has no home to come home to.¡±


    I guess James got a puzzled look because Mary went on to say, ¡°When I discovered that my husband was cheating, I knew he had been lying to me for months. It took until after the divorce was done for me to learn he had been cheating on me for over eight months.¡±


    ¡°James the problem is three-fold,¡± I added. ¡°The affair, the lie¡¯s and the destroying of the trust that has taken years to build.¡±


    James thought about it for a few then said, ¡°You hear about divorces all the time, but you never hear about the real damage done. It''s just not the affair that destroys the marriage it¡¯s the damage done to the other parts of a marriage that most never see.¡±


    ¡°Hell, of a way to have to learn to see the full picture,¡± I said. ¡°Now you understand why I don¡¯t take sides when I hear about an acquaintance¡¯s divorce. Nothing is black and white even though we logically want to believe that.¡±


    ¡°Any change that mom and you can get past this,¡± James asked?


    ¡°You can¡¯t undo what is done no matter how hard you try,¡± I replied. ¡°Less than one percent of those who to try to rebuild make it because in the back of their mind they¡¯re always wondering if the spouse is at it again.¡±


    James looked at his Aunt and said, ¡°You have always had a special interest in my Dad can you explain why?¡±


    ¡°I was thirteen when I met your dad,¡± Mary said. ¡°To me he was legendary. My sisters believed he may have saved my life. He was and still is different from any man I know. Even back then with our age difference, he treated me as an equal. At first, I thought it was hero worship but now I think it was love at first sight. I was jealous of your mom because I was in love with him.¡±


    James''s eyes got wide. His aunt was telling him something he did not know but could understand well.


    ¡°It was your father who helped me deal with my divorce,¡± She went on to say. ¡°When your oldest sister Mae was born, I knew I had lost the chance to be with him. I settled for my husband because I could not have him. James, I am here for your father because I still love him. If our relationship changes going forward it is because it was meant to happen not because I interfered with my sister and him.¡±


    ¡°Aunt Mary thank you; it explains a lot of things that I have wondered about, ¡°James said. ¡°There is another question that my three sisters have wondered about for years because Mae keeps talking about it.¡±


    It was shocking to me to see Mary¡¯s face go white. I thought she was deadly afraid of the question my son was going to ask.


    ¡°Go ahead James, ask it,¡± I said. ¡°If Mary can¡¯t answer it perhaps I can.¡±


    ¡°Is there a chance that Dad is not the biological father of Mae,¡± James asked in seriousness? ¡°I ask because Mae believes a hundred percent that she is not but will not explain to any of us why.¡±


    ¡°Yes, there is. Your mother was seeing someone else besides your dad right up until they announced their engagement,¡± Mary said. ¡°None in the family can verify what the truth is and have not dared to ask because we did not want to know.¡±


    I had not known. Mary knew it and had kept the family secret for all these years. I had to ask because I had to know. June had married Thomas two years after I had married Kim.


    ¡°Was it Thomas,¡± I asked?


    ¡°Not sure,¡± Mary answered. ¡°It was either him or his twin brother. We still have a hard time figuring which one is which when their together.¡±


    ¡°Does Jill know,¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Mary said. ¡°Remember back then she was away at law school and out of the picture. When Kim and you started dating, she was home for the summer.¡±


    With that revelation now out, I picked up the phone and called my eldest. She did not answer, and my call went to her service. I asked her to give me a call when she could because it was important but not an emergency.


    James said he would clean up the kitchen. After pouring Mary and I a drink we went into the den to have a long talk. I had just put our drinks on the coffee table when she rushed into my arms. Mary was not giving me a chance to hesitate.


    She brought her mouth to mine and gave me a kiss that I would remember for years. I could not help but respond in kind. It had been a long time since I had experienced such passion.


    Mary had her father''s hair color which was a reddish-brown which was currently dyed a dark red with blonde highlights. She had a full rack, a nice slightly slender frame, and was as tall as I was. The shape of her hips caused her to appear to have a long horseshoe-shaped tush. She was built the way I liked females, and she knew it. To her, our eight-year age difference did not matter.


    She pulled back and went to say something but before I gave her a chance, I pulled her back into me and returned the same in kind. We stood there locked in each other¡¯s arms as if we were making up for the lost time. When we heard James approaching, we broke it off. By the time he got to the den, we were sitting respectfully apart sipping on our drinks.


    ¡°Where should I put Aunt Marys¡¯ suitcases,¡± James asked as he walked into the room?¡±


    ¡°If I had my choice it would be your father¡¯s bedroom,¡± Mary said seriously.


    James blushed. I laughed and said, ¡°Would you be okay with that James.¡±


    ¡°Dad, based on the truth¡¯s we learned tonight,¡± he said. ¡°Marrying my mother may have been your biggest mistake. I believe Aunt Mary was being honest about everything. Whatever you two decide to do I will support it one hundred percent.¡±


    ¡°Let Mary and I talk things out, we have a lot to consider,¡± I said, ¡°James we both want to be sure we''re making the right decisions for the right reasons. I¡¯ve held my feelings about your aunt in for years.¡±


    ¡°Ok dad, I¡¯ll place her luggage at the foot of the stairs going to the upstairs hallway and let you get back to the kissing,¡± James said. ¡°Aunt Mary you left a trace of your lipstick on dad.¡±


    When he left the room he was laughing, we were both blushing.


    Mary got up and came over with her drink and sat on my lap. Looking into my eyes she got serious.


    ¡°If we put my suitcases in your bedroom I¡¯m not moving out,¡± Mary said. ¡°I¡¯m still fertile and I want two. So, I need to know are you okay with that.¡±


    ¡°No not at all,¡± I replied with a smile. ¡°You may plan on two, but accidents happen.¡±


    ¡°Then we got a lot of packing to do,¡± Mary said. ¡°I want all of Kim¡¯s items out of our bedroom this evening. Over the weekend we can move her stuff into my house and my stuff in. That way when she is allowed to come back, she will have a place to stay.¡±


    *******


    It took us about three hours thanks to duct tape to pack up all her items. James took the filled, taped boxes, and loaded them in the back of my Ford pickup truck. Mary was determined and while she was putting her stuff away, I stripped the bed, flipped the mattress, and put on a fresh set of sheets. I was downstairs making us both another drink when the phone rang. I knew by the ringer tone it was my eldest Mae.


    ¡°Thanks for returning my call, I said. ¡°A lot of things are going on as you know but I need to know an answer to a question.¡±


    ¡°No problem Dad,¡± Mae said. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°When and how did you find out that I am not your biological father,¡± I asked?


    ¡°Shit! You were never supposed to know,¡± Mae said. ¡°I overheard Thomas and mom privately talking about it at a family gathering. When I confronted mom later, she admitted it. She also explained that he was not ready to commit to marriage back then and if she had not gotten married because of her family¡¯s believes it would have caused too many problems.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for being honest,¡± I said. ¡°Just so you know Thomas and your mom outed themselves earlier today. They are both currently quarantined for two weeks in the same room in a hotel in St. Louis. Your Aunt June knows and like me, she will be filing for divorce. I can¡¯t live with a person who has lied to me all their life.¡±


    ¡°I cannot say I¡¯m surprised because I saw this coming,¡± Mae said. ¡°I would do the same. Who all knows?¡±


    ¡°Just your brother and you,¡± I said. ¡°I will let you explain it to your sisters over the weekend because I will be packing everything that is your mother''s up for storage at your aunt Mary¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Have you confronted Mom yet,¡± Mae asked?


    ¡°No, the last text I got said she would call me later tonight to let me know whats going on,¡± I said. ¡°It appears that neither one of them has a clue that we know about their long term relationship.¡±


    ¡°Dad, mom told me that the rest of my brothers and sisters are yours,¡± Mae said. ¡°They did not start up again until after my sixteenth birthday.¡±


    ¡°I love you, Mae, regardless. Don¡¯t ever forget that,¡± I said. ¡°James agrees with what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    ¡°Well I might be graduating from home this year,¡± Mae said. ¡°Nothing official has been stated yet but the halls are filled with rumors.¡±


    Mary had come into the kitchen to see what was taking me so long and had heard part of the conversation. I said goodbye to my daughter then explained to both Mary and James what Mae had disclosed.


    ¡°Dad that clears up a lot of questions,¡± James said. ¡°Aunt Mary at least we know what the truth is. Dad let go of the past and get rid of the hurt as soon as you can.¡±


    ¡°Where did that wisdom come from,¡± I asked?


    ¡°Your mouth when I was dealing with betrayal,¡± James said. ¡°The best advice I got at that time.¡±


    With knowledge comes freedom. I knew going forward there would be moments but I unconditional love and support to help me through them. Mary just wrapped her arms around me tight for a few. I told James to refresh our drinks and make himself one.


    The three of us sat around talking and planning out our Saturday. I told James to accept all the hours he could for now because they would not last. I disclosed that the property was still in the family trust which I now controlled and would not be part of the divorce.


    ¡°Kim has screwed herself big time,¡± Mary said. ¡°Thomas by the time June gets done with him won¡¯t have much left either.¡±


    Both watched me as I turned the cell phone off for the night as I said, ¡°If June has heard from her husband then Kim knows they have been caught. I¡¯m not going to wait for her to call.¡±


    I then plugged it in to charge. Mary asked if we had an extra charger for her phone. James went to the junk drawer and pulled one out. She shut hers off and she set hers beside mine after plugging it in to charge.


    One she had finished her drink she said, ¡°I¡¯m going upstairs are you coming.¡±


    I talked to my son for a few just to reaffirm that he was okay with it before heading up. Mary and I did not want to sleep in the master bedroom until we were completely done removing all of my wife¡¯s stuff out. I discovered that Mary had already changed and was in bed. I went into the bathroom and changed into some pajama bottoms before joining her.


    We started slowly just cuddling each other and sharing soft kisses. Both of us in our way were exploring the other¡¯s undiscovered country. We had to discover for ourselves what turned each other. It was fun feeling like a young inexperienced teenager again. I do not know when we fell asleep but we both awoke with smiles on our face and picked up from where we had left off.


    *******


    It was a perfect Saturday morning for both of us. It was a nice quiet intimate time. Two lovers each enjoying the first few hours surrounded by the love created by the two. It was almost noon before we got out of bed.


    Mary turned her cellphone on as we waited for the coffee maker to make the first pot of the day. She had two messages on the answering service one each from both her sisters. The sixteen text message left reflected the panic one of them was in.


    She called June first and put the speaker on so I could hear both sides of the conversation. June answered on the first ring and spoke first before Mary had a chance to say anything.


    ¡°Where are you? I went by your house after Thomas called to talk to you,¡± June said. ¡°To find that you were not home.¡±


    ¡°I am right where I should have been years ago,¡± Mary said. ¡°So, what did you want to talk to me about.¡±


    ¡°Thomas is saying nothing happened that they¡¯re only sharing a two-bedroom suite,¡± June said. ¡°I told the lying bastard that I didn¡¯t believe him because I was looking at the hotel''s web page which showed what types were available and hung up on the asshole.¡±


    ¡°We found out that our sister admitted to Mae that Thomas was her biological father,¡± Mary said. ¡°He only went after you so he could keep in close contact with both Kim and Mae. Their current affair started just after Mae turned sixteen.¡±


    ¡°Hold on you said we,¡± June said. ¡°Does that mean what I think it does?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Mary giggled. ¡°I¡¯ve already started moving in.¡±


    ¡°Congrats sis, hold on to him. He has always been one in a million,¡± June said. ¡°At least this time you¡¯re starting your relationship with each other with honesty and not for ulterior motives. Is Russell as good as we thought he would be?¡±


    ¡°Better,¡± said Mary, which had me blushing.


    ¡°Ok enough talking. I¡¯m coming over I expect the both of you to be dressed by the time I get there.¡± June said before hanging up.


    Mary and I looked at each other and started laughing.


    After a few more kisses I turned my cellphone as we were sipping our first coffee. I had five messages left on the answering service. One each from each of my daughters and two from my soon to be ex-wife. Mary listened to them with me via the speaker.


    The first message from Kim just let me know that she was stuck in place and that the hotel was not going to charge for the room. The second one was emotional because she had learned that we had all had found out. She asked me not to do anything until she had a chance to talk to me.


    I thought to late you stupid bitch. Don¡¯t you realize that I know you have been lying to me all our married life?


    ¡°That¡¯s enough of her bullshit,¡± Mary said. ¡°I¡¯m going to take my sister down.¡±


    With that she sent a text message that read; I made love to my future husband thanks to you twice last night and once this morning. He knows about your affair. In front of him this morning I threw away my birth control pills. Expect to be served before you finish the fourteen-day quarantine.


    ¡°Someday I will have to thank the stupid bitch for bringing us together,¡± Mary said. ¡°Right now, I want her hurting as much as possible because of all the things she¡¯s done.¡±


    I did not say a word I just took her into my arms and gave her a very sensual kiss. After we broke it off Mary said, ¡°If June was not coming here, we would be heading back to the bedroom.¡±


    I called Mae first. Mary got in on the conversation. By the end of the chat, Mae was on board with everything. She had called her sister and explained everything she knew as of last night. They had taken it hard and found it hard to believe. All agreed that their mother had thrown her marriage away.


    Mary answered all of Mae¡¯s questions and the two of them were still talking when June showed up with both of us still half-dressed. When she walked into the kitchen she broke out in a huge grin.


    ¡°Looks like the honeymoon has started before the marriage,¡± June said with a giggle. ¡°My early wedding present to both of you is that I am becoming Russ¡¯s lawyer in his divorce against my sister.¡±


    Mae heard what her aunt had said and said via the speaker. ¡°Jesus Fucking Christ it¡¯s going to be a nightmare.¡±


    The three of us broke up in laughter.


    After we had calmed down, Mae said goodbye after making sure I would call her sisters. What happened next took me by complete surprise.


    ¡°Sis I expect you to convince him to keep our agreement,¡± June said in all seriousness.


    ¡°Russell please do me a favor and kiss my sister as you did me last night and this morning,¡± Mary said. ¡°After you do, I will explain what I agreed to.¡±


    June you must understand even though she was the oldest of the three sisters in build seemed to be the balance between the two. She was and is designed to keep a man warm during cold nights. Kim my soon to be ex was more pear-shaped. If I had got involved with either of Kim sisters before she got knocked up, I would have been trading up.


    So, when June stood up and came to me to share a kiss I was surprised when she took the lead and shoved her tongue into my mouth. I could not stop myself from responding. I expected the kiss to be short, but it was not. I soon found myself responding naturally. When I did June pulled me tighter into her.


    ¡°June, reach into his pajama bottoms,¡± Mary said. ¡°Lead him to our bedroom and make love to him until he needs to rest.¡±


    ¡°Russel until my older sister finds a lover, I told her that if we ever got together,¡± Mary said. ¡°that I would share you with her.¡±


    June did what her sister suggested. So, did I. As June undressed in front of me, I thanked the gods for arranging my son James to be at work. As soon as we fell on the bed, she was all over me. That afternoon I learned that out of the three sisters she was the wildest one.


    She rode me cowgirl style at first then for the second time we went at it missionary. We were both lying their exhausted in the afterglow when Mary slipped in and lay beside me.


    With her sister and me, half asleep Mary said. ¡°Do you think my dear future husband and father to be of our future children that you can manage being that and having my sister as your permanent mistress full time.


    I didn¡¯t know the answer to the question, but I knew I was going to die trying.


    Mary and I just kissed and cuddled. At my age, it took quite a while for me to recover. Once I did Mary slid out of her nightgown and lowered herself down on me. It was our coupling that woke June up.


    When I finally came back downstairs both of the ladies were busy making supper as nothing had happened. I went to say something, but I thought better and was glad I did because June spoke first.


    ¡°We all realize that we''re going to have to have a delicate balance going forward,¡± June said. ¡°Russel, I love you just as much as Mary does. In the future, we will not be making love in this house its Mary¡¯s domain and I respect that.¡±


    ¡°June and I agree that she needs private time with you at least twice a week,¡± Mary said. ¡°to look after those chores most husbands do. We will work it out if it is acceptable to you.¡±


    I was not going to start arguing with these two women after what they had shown me over the last day so I said, ¡°As long as you both agree that you Mary come first I have no problem with it.¡±


    To show their pleasure in my statement both took their turns sharing a deep kiss with me.


    I told them I was going to go into the den and call both Tammy Lynn and Betty Joe. James came home from work while I was doing that. He had gone into the kitchen to find his two aunts preparing supper. His aunt Mary had insisted that he bring me a drink. I was just saying goodbye to Betty Joe when he came in.


    ¡°Dad, what''s going on,¡± He asked? ¡°I¡¯ve never seen those two so happy in my life.¡±


    ¡°The best way to explain it,¡± I said. ¡°is that both ladies are seeing the best days of their lives ahead of them.¡±


    ¡°Could be,¡± He said. ¡°When I see some female that happy, I just assume she had been well fucked. You didn¡¯t get much stuffed moved care to explain why?¡±


    ¡°Your aunt June has agreed to become my lawyer,¡± I said. ¡°We spent most of the day working on the paperwork for the divorce petition.¡±


    ¡°Part of the problem is that Mary and I did not get up until about noon,¡± I admitted. ¡°Then June came over. I had to talk to your three sisters, and they send you their love.¡±


    We were all sitting at the table eating supper when Kim called. I had been ignoring her attempts to contact me all day. Partly because most of the day I had been busy elsewhere. I turned the speaker on.


    I answered it as coldly and distant as I could, ¡°Hello Kim. What do you want.¡±


    ¡°We need to start working this out,¡± Kim said.


    ¡°Work what out,¡± I said. ¡°I had a long talk with Mae. She has agreed to get me a notarized as soon as possible. I think that¡¯s enough reason to be granted a divorce.¡±


    ¡°What does she claim she knows,¡± Kim asked paying done.


    ¡°That Thomas is her biological father,¡± I replied., ¡°and that you renewed your affair with him when she was sixteen years.¡±


    There was nothing but silence coming from the cellphone. ¡°Kim it is clear that you lied about the paternity to con me into marrying you. I¡¯ve got one of the toughest lawyers in the county representing me so be prepared for a dirty expensive battle.¡±


    ¡°Who is it,¡± Kim asked? ¡°Maybe they will be willing to be reasonable and work thing out in negotiations.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, I think my lawyer will be out for every ounce of blood she can suck out of you,¡± I said. ¡°Based on what I know I would not blame her a bit.¡±


    ¡°Why do you make it sound like she¡¯s going to out for revenge,¡± Kim said. ¡°Whatever did I do to her?¡±


    ¡°Oh, a lot,¡± I said. ¡°Your lover and the father of your firstborn is soon to be her ex-husband.¡±


    ¡°OH God you didn¡¯t, you can¡¯t be that cold,¡± Kim said.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t hire me, Kim I¡¯m doing it for nothing,¡± June said. ¡°I am going to do whatever it takes to take both you and Thomas down as much as I can. Thanks to the virus you and my husbanded outed yourselves.¡±


    Kim ended the call. Notification of that fact came up on my cellphone¡¯s screen.


    James said, ¡°A legal catfight between two women is going to be interesting to see.¡±


    After dinner, we took the truck over to Mary¡¯s place and brought back more of her stuff. While there we decided that her bedroom furniture she had bought after her divorce would be better in our master bedroom.


    Sunday ended up being a day where we were moving furniture from house to house along with all the linens and such stuff. James asked me why we were doing it. I responded that women have a thing about using other female''s stuff.


    If we had not done this over the next few months, we would have spent a lot of money replacing everything anyway.


    By the end of the week, we had a full house full of people who were trying to adjust to our home''s new reality. All three of my daughters had come home to finish their school year online. It was home but it had changed. My son and I had moved a lot of furniture, as a result, most of the main living area has a new feel to it.


    Each was developing a new relationship with Mary. If my children had been in contact with their mother, they did not disclose it to me.


    Three-quarters of the staff under me had been laid off. The rest were using permanent time off earned for the period. I had my pay cut by fifty percent and was now working from home also. Mary a Doctor of Optometry had her retail shop and office in downtown Cape. She was at home because it was not considered an essential service. She had laid off all of her employees also.


    For the six of us, there were some tense discussions about the consequences of long term behavior and how the truth always seems to come out when you least expect it. Each of my daughters during private times said they had never seen Mary and me this happy. Betty Joe said that Mary was bringing a side of me out that she had never seen before.


    I said, ¡°Perhaps it a bit of both. You have been away for about seven months and things have happened that have changed my life in a lot of ways. Perhaps we are both seeing each other in a new light because of that.¡±


    ¡°No, dad, I have heard Mary and you say I love you more times since I have been home,¡± Betty Joe said. ¡°Then I ever heard mom and you say that in my life.¡±


    ¡°Really,¡± I said in total surprise.


    ¡°Yes dad, that tells me that this relationship is about real love,¡± Betty Joe said. ¡°Not what we force ourselves to believe love is.¡±


    I guess I was showing some emotion because my daughter came over and hugged me. ¡°Dad love I learned this week when it is real with someone seems to bring the best out in each other. Both Mary and you the way your showing that makes it obvious to us who know you that the relationship is based on a love that is real.¡±


    Over dinner that night with June and her children home it was a madhouse. The cousins were catching up. All were relieved to learn that there still had not been one new case reported in our county. Mary and I learned that she had found a way to have both Thomas and Kim served. She used a courier so they both had to sign for it.


    We were thankful that Mary¡¯s house was empty because that was where Mary had me meet June for some private time. When Mary and I headed to bed on those nights. She made sure I went to sleep exhausted.


    The day Thomas and Kim got released after having been declared virus-free Kim called Mary to see if her house was available for her to stay in. Mary said no but agreed to help her get some of her belongings whenever she got herself settled. Her parents reluctantly allowed her to move in with them.

 Undoing the Wrapping of Lies Part 2

    I am tired of hearing the mass media using the term ¡°new normal¡± twenty-four hours a day. Most of us alive have never seen anything like this. What we are going through and dealing with is not normal. Yet those with social influence like the mass media are implying that this is the way it is going to be.


    The last generation that did something remotely like this had to live through the second world war. Back then, we had countries attacking us. This time we cannot see or hear the enemy, yet it exposes the enemy from within. What we as a country (world) are going through is not normal. Giving up our civil liberties and rights without due process is not normal. This was not a quarantine.


    Quarantine is for those who are seriously sick with a contagious disease, and they were the ones imprisoned to protect the rest of the community. It was done on a town to town basis. What most of us were under was a form of house arrest. It is not social distancing. Its forced isolation.


    This was not for a greater good because no good can come from dictators picking and choosing who is essential and who is not. How much family violence was happening because of these dictators'' rulings? Did they even consider that? If not why not?


    Every single person from the day they are born until death is equally important. We all come into the world and leave it the same way. Regardless of our skin color, we all bleed red. Its whats inside of us that matters, not our appearance or our point of view. Sadly, most in society cannot recognize that simple fact and prove that by the way they act.


    How could two scientists leading a federal agency to advise the President about what to expect have their theories turn out to be so wrong? Why is one of them finally admitting at times he was not telling anyone the truth? Why did it take the world health organization six months to admit the virus was a problem? Was it because they required their big brother¡¯s ¡®China¡¯s¡¯ permission?


    Each state here in the United States is freely doing what it wants to without federal government interference. The Governors without any debate, discussion, or vote in their statehouses are dictating mandates as if they were laws with approaches that is not normal. Yet according to the mass media, this is all the President''s fault. Why?


    The virus has created fifty dictators here in the United States and the public knows it. Their conduct, rulings, and decisions are being challenged by some in their state courts because healthy people are tired of sitting at home going broke.


    It only proves that everything in our society is political. Only the feds have offered any aid and one side of it tried to hold it up forever to be able to squeeze out a political benefit for their greatest monetary supporters.


    It only seems to show that the quid pro quo only appears to be illegal for one side. When the other side is doing it, it is acceptable especially when it can be used to blackmail because someone needs your cooperation to do what they think is best for the country.


    Business are closing, cutting back hours, limiting what you can buy, or going bankrupt because of the orders given by elected officials who override the constitution is not normal. The dictators have for the most part ignored the mom and dad''s small business operations. Sad that their failure may be caused by one governor¡¯s decisions. I have had enough of the greater good bullshit.


    Two Doctors being interviewed by a local Tv station in California were interviewed about the virus situation. They claimed that a lot of deaths were being charged against the virus when it was not the direct factor. It seems the hospital they worked for got paid more if the health problems were virus-related then not. To me, this shows up as being nothing but greed and corruption.


    The Tv station uploaded the clip to ¡®U Tube¡¯ after revealing it on the evening news. U Tube pulled it down after a million views because it portrayed a side of the virus that does not stand behind their ¡°supported view.¡± I guess corruption is acceptable to them. Censorship is normal, it happens with every internet site, but it does not make it right.


    It has come to the point that all websites should be required by law to publicly state in writing on its site it''s political leaning. After all, these sites don¡¯t own the internet, do they? The question must be asked why are they censoring? Is it to hide the truth?


    It only shows that if the truth is uploaded to U Tube, Facebook, or Twitter it will be blocked or deleted if it does not comply with their ¡®Agenda.¡¯ After all social media must control what we think by dictating what we see. Facebook for example allows you five thousand friends but you are only allowed to see the views of twenty-five. This illustrates just how much of what you are not allowed to see. Can you have a balanced view if you''re only allowed to see it from their side?


    In our small area of the country, two non-fast food chain restaurants have already closed for good. Many other retail chains have declared bankruptcy. One nursing home with three hundred beds for rehab has ten clients left, which is not normal. As a result, most of their non-management staff have been let go and only a skeleton maintenance crew is kept on. After all, the upper class will always first protect themselves. The medical industry may have been changed forever because of the fear left in the aged like me.


    Claiming it was being done to protect us from a virus is pure stupidity. Power corrupts and we are being shown how easily it happens when idiots react differently to the same situation. One side¡¯s conduct is not questioned by the media while the other side is being torn apart. Why? Can anyone answer that without bringing politics into it? What we know about the virus changes every day?


    One state had even ordered those with the virus to be sent to nursing homes. It resulted in the body count going up. To those that made the decision to sequester them in nursing homes, it is okay because the ones killed off were no longer productive in their lives anyway. Forty percent of the deaths charged to the virus came via nursing homes. Why is that important?


    Now that governor who is riding a wave of popularism is blaming the President for the wisdom behind his direct order. He believes, because of his political views, he cannot be held accountable! I ask who appointed him God? Was the governor desperately trying to weed a certain part of the population out?


    In the long run, it saved the state millions. No one called the governor out about his decision. If they can do that now what will happen when they finally socialize our medical services? Will I be one of the ones they decide to kill off to save money?


    Getting free federal dollars was more important to him than human life. The worse he made it the more money and help his state received. It makes it clear that greed was his real motivation, not human lives. The more he got the more he could further his political agenda.


    One political party is planning to do what the Jews did to Jesus Christ because of how the virus crisis was handled. It must be nice to be a God and able to pass judgment when you sit at home avoiding the situation. Most of them are in the age zone where the virus is the most dangerous. They were more concerned about protecting their asses instead of doing what the country needed.


    To be honest, former President Trump did not create hate. Just by being himself, he gave the haters a common front in which to direct their hatred for anything American. Even anti-Trump Republicans fall into that. Social studies replaced civil studies years ago creating a few generations that have no clue what our civil liberties and government structure give us. Thus, resulting in making freedom worthless to a few generations. Were the ¡®Educated¡¯ who did that deliberately laying the foundation to overthrow the Republic?


    Change is happening whether we choose to see it or not, and not always for the good. A local garden shop nearby has had to restock its vegetable plants four times over what was sold all last spring. The empty grocery store shelves have created a new generation of gardeners making what has been timeless new again.


    A lady friend who teaches the basics of sewing out of her home has had to create three new classes. One of the classes will be made up of new mothers to be who want to learn how to make baby diapers. It seems the diaper shortage is affecting them. When I heard that, it brought back a lot of memories of emptying the diaper pail and washing the diapers. Yeah, I¡¯m that old.


    One store clerk said it is like the whole town has become ¡®Mormon¡± because people have learned that they need a well stock pantry to cook. After all, the restaurants are shut down. It has even hit our family. Our two married granddaughters are taking learning how to cook from scratch seriously because of the lack of frozen products. My better half is enjoying the attention.


    The way my wife explains it, our progressive thinking granddaughters no longer see her as being old, irrelevant, and a drain on society. They are also surprised at how much money is saved when it is homemade. More importantly, homemade food has taste. They now know what they are eating.


    In touching on the new crave of impossible meat, one person said that if you read what it was made of, you would not feed it to your dogs. That reminded me of the movie that stared Charles Heston who in it went to find out what was in the crackers he was eating. To his horror, he discovered that big brother was feeding them processed human flesh. Does this begin to sound familiar?


    A store manager who works for Walmart told me that their sales are up from last year with payroll costs cut in half because of the reduced hours of business and the lack of grocery stock coming in. He is personally afraid that the hours for staff will not be coming back to what they were before. The corporation is learning the hard way that it can do a lot more with fewer payroll expenses.


    What was normal may be gone for good! Stores being open twenty-four seven may be a thing of the past. One local grocery store with seventeen locations has been bought out by an out of state store chain. The lack of stock in the stores made the take over a lot cheaper.


    Farmers and ranchers killing their livestock and dumping milk they cannot get to market is not normal. Some are explaining that it was because there was a lack of truckers. City officials asking you to turn in your neighbor is not normal, yet that is what is being requested by leaders in some cities of our country as if we were a citizen of China.


    States demanding that the federal government wipe out their state''s debts built up over time because of mismanagement, incompetence, and political payoffs are normal, but a federal political party taking up their cry on their behalf is not.


    Not only do these leaders want us to accept their bad conduct but they want the whole country to pay for it. They believe that complete incompetence is now what is expected by those who elect them. Are they trying to prepare us for whats yet to come to our society.


    That some of the states are refusing to open their economy to keep the pressure on is not normal. It is a political form of blackmail. They are punishing their citizens and encouraging them to hate those who refuse to give in to the demands they have put before the federal government. After all, hate used in the right way is a powerful weapon that should not be wasted.


    If anyone of us did this type of thing privately the feds, using the F.B.I would have us charged and we would be facing time in the federal prison system. What is normal is the voters have no problem with this because it is just ¡®politics.¡¯ Hate against our fellow humans because of one¡¯s political views is acceptable.


    Hate is normal but the way it has been used as a political tool is not normal. It¡¯s dam dangerous. Are you beginning to see that power given to idiots corrupts? After all, most politicians by their conduct and actions, prove that they believe their citizens are, for the most part, unintelligent stupid morons.


    No one man created the virus, but it sure showed society just what most of the politicians are: self-serving bigoted idiots who for the majority want to protect their paycheck while pretending to know everything while knowing nothing at all.


    The biggest complaint heard about the stimulation money was the cry ¡°Why haven¡¯t I got it yet?¡± No one is worried about the consequences to come when we must start paying it back. I can be thankful because I will be long buried before they ever start thinking seriously about doing that. Do not worry, ¡°Me-ism¡± is doing quite well and will until we must pay for it.


    It will be a living hell when the country you live in goes broke. I remember reading about the last days of Nazi Germany where it took a wheelbarrow of paper money to buy a loaf of bread. Is that the future for us?


    A hell of a lot of us are on what is being called furlough, but none have been given a date of when we are coming back. How are you going to live if you cannot get off your ass and work? What are you going to do when you find your job no longer exists thanks to the political decisions made in the state or country in which you live? Or when the government handouts run out.


    What is the real lesson of the pandemic? Was it to make us become the trained sheep who stay at home, living with the fear, following the instructions of ¡°Big Brother?¡± As Adolf Hitler said, ¡°We have no problem once we gain power because people don¡¯t think.¡± Look at what that kind of thinking has brought to the world.


    With one political party in support of China, I guess they are pleased with what the communist party is doing to Hong Kong. Are they learning from China¡¯s actions on how to take away our liberties? One way or another we will bow to ¡°Big Brother. After all, that¡¯s how a progressive democracy is supposed to work.¡±


    Most fail to understand that our perception of reality is based on what we have seen or have been shown. Those controlling what we hear, what we see, and what we are told know that fact very well. They have learned these last few months how easy it is to take our freedom away.


    George Orwell, when he authored his Sci-Fi books Animal Farm and 1984 was not that far off from seeing our society today for what it would become. What is even sadder is that we all allowed it to happen.


    After all, I just explained there is one fact that cannot be disputed. The virus in total in two thousand and twenty has killed less in the US then what the normal flu season does annually.


    Story


    I had just come out of a meeting with the head brass of the hospital. It was an update of their view of our new normal going forward. They felt that, because of the fear created by the virus, we were going to lose about a third of our patients regularly. Another unknown factor was how many of the forty-five million unemployed had lost their health care coverage.


    The pattern of behavior that was emerging over the last three months was making it clear that most of those who were on either Medicaid or Medicare would be cutting their routine doctors¡¯ visits by at least fifty percent until a vaccine was developed. It would have to be a real emergency for them to see a doctor, and as a result, the cost of a doctor¡¯s appointment had gone from a hundred and seventy dollars to two hundred and thirty. Our own hospital¡¯s cancer section has had not one cancer test done in three months.


    As a department head, it was my responsibility to cut my staff by a third with the focus of cutting our payroll costs down the most because it was the only business expense that could be controlled.


    I got part back from my original pay cut. All those I had to terminate would be let go because of redundancy. That way seniority did not have to be considered. It gave the hospital a clear way to cut its wage costs the most. If I could not achieve what they wanted, they would replace me with someone who would. That is how secure my job now was because of the political rules and regulations set up by various agencies and governments involved in our community.


    As I walked from the meeting through the hospital, I realized just how much the hospital was bleeding. The hospital had never looked so empty. It would take the hospital years to make up the revenue lost along with the continuing costs of keeping the building open.


    The health insurance companies were saving millions and were not reducing their monthly fees. They were not worried about paying the excess back because they believed that the Obama Health Care would be sentenced to death by the Supreme Court by the end of the year. Although we had been allowed to start to open up the needed clientele was not there.


    I was sitting in my office reviewing our files on the employees working underneath me trying to decide who I would suggest to human resources as employees whose services were no longer required. Everyone had family, friends, and children that would be affected by the decisions I made. Some I considered my friends.


    With six different locations, our staff amounted to about a hundred and fifty people. With each position terminated, I also had to decide who would be moved up to handle the added responsibilities for less pay.


    By doing it this way I was reducing our payroll costs and the projected future payroll costs by thousands for years. I had been told that the twenty-five percent saving in net costs had to be reflected in our total net employee cost in my division after the ordered terminations had taken place.


    I made the choices I had to make, but it wore on me because I knew that the pain, I was causing would have a ripple effect as those affected would change their lifestyle drastically.


    ******


    Mary called me while I was working to inform me that June¡¯s oldest son had been arrested in St. Louis. He was caught up in the looting that had erupted as the peaceful demonstration was winding down. I got pissed off about that because I knew, like most, he had not thought things out. Human nature is such that we react without thinking.


    We learned that he was being detained for forty-eight hours as a witness in the murder of a retired African American police officer. We would later learn that the person responsible for the killing was a member of Black Lives Matters who no longer saw the man he murdered as an African American because he had sold himself to the white establishment.


    Even though the restaurants, hair shops, and most retail were opening, the clientele was not there. Social distancing regulations were limiting the number of customers which helped to keep their staff at a minimum. We knew the jobs were not coming back as fast as the hype that was coming out the mass media¡¯s lips.


    Mary was running her shop and office with just one staff because of those same social distancing limitations placed upon her. She was lucky because she had the cash reserves to help her navigate the changes, we faced in society every day.


    I came home from another unusually quiet day to find my children in a heated discussion about what was going on in our country. After listening to them to discuss all the events that had been reported on by the news people on CNN, I realized that because of their inexperience in life that they had no clue about any of it.


    It was at that point I knew I had failed as a father. I as a father had failed to teach them to use logic in their thinking. None of my four children were able to see beyond what was presented right in front of them. They were not at fault: I was because I had not taught them how to see beyond the bias we are swarmed with every day.


    ¡°Enough already,¡± I said after shutting the television off. ¡°Open your eyes and your mind. Look beyond what you hear, see, and think it all out. What is the big picture showing you? Ask questions like why stores of items were there staged by stores that could be used as weapons. How could they be placed conveniently close to where the peaceful protests were going on. How did the rioter and looters know where they were? How did they know that they could get them and use them? Who was paying for it? Where did the money come from?¡±


    ¡°Look at the age of these rioters? Most were under the age of thirty and from all different races,¡± I added. ¡°What were they stealing and destroying? Was it to get food to eat? Was done in desperation out of their need for survival? Why did these riots start after the peaceful demonstrations were beginning to wind down? Those questions tell me that it was not a spontaneous thing because it appears that everything had to be planned and organized.


    It was funny watching the look on my three daughters'' faces. It was apparent that they had not truly thought things out. Like most in our society, they were just blindly reacting to what they were hearing.


    ¡°You are implying that what happened had been structured and planned,¡± Mae said. ¡°What makes you think that?¡±


    ¡°Look at where most of these rioting and looting took place,¡± I said. ¡°Why were those locations chosen? What weaknesses in their society''s structure did they have? What type of elected government-controlled them? What were Black Lives Matter supporters demanding?¡±


    ¡°Then ask yourself why they are demanding the defunding of police? Why do these people want mob rule? Why was the killing of one black life more important than another?¡± I spoke. ¡°Why were the Black Lives Matters supporters demanding that people of a certain skin color renounce who and what they are?¡±


    Not a word was said by anyone. I guess my points had raised questions they could not answer.


    ¡°What was going on was a direct attack on middle-class Americans,¡± I said. ¡°Nothing more nothing less. Those behind it knew what they were doing.¡±


    ¡°Why would anyone want to do that dad,¡± James asked?


    ¡°Those who want the republic changed have learned it is not going to happen through the vote,¡± I said. ¡°After learning about our civics and government structure they have realized that founding fathers made that almost impossible. That is why the hype of ¡®one vote for all¡¯ for the most part has been left behind. They want to destroy the republic so that a social democracy like China or Iran can be established. To do that they have to destroy the middle class first.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that racial inequality is not part of it?¡± my second daughter, Tammy asked?


    ¡°There is no such thing as white privilege and never was,¡± I said. ¡°I have had to work just as hard as anybody else to get me where I am. Billy Moon, who you know quite well is Hindu by birth and look at his achievements compared to mine. His food company is worth millions. Was his doing so well a result of white privilege?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    I waited for a few moments, just gauging their appearance to see if what I said was registering. It surprised me to see how much had gone right by their eyesight after watching the progressive¡¯s chosen network.


    ¡°Nobody has given either of us anything, he just did better with his opportunities then I did,¡± I added. ¡°This,¡± I said, ¡°Is just an excuse that people use to explain away what they cannot control because they have been taught that it is always someone else¡¯s fault when something in their lives goes wrong. The problem we have in society is that the ones behind the entitled class have taught them to believe it.¡±


    ¡°Wait there is no entitled class,¡± James replied. ¡°That just bullshit that the media has come up with.¡±


    ¡°James when you were in grade seven and wanted to start grade eight with a pair of the newest ¡®Air Jordan¡¯s,¡¯ I said. ¡°What did I tell you?¡±


    ¡°That if I wanted those two hundred dollars plus shoes you would allow me to get them,¡± he said. ¡°I was excited and thrilled to death until you added that you had budgeted sixty dollars for runners that¡¯s all I will pay towards runners. If I wanted them, I would have to earn the rest of the money to pay for them.¡±


    ¡°What did you learn from that experience,¡± I asked?


    ¡°After getting them and wearing them that after all that hard work they had not been worth it,¡± James said. ¡°They did not last any longer than other brands if you used them normally.¡±


    ¡°It taught you a lesson about the reality of life that the entitled have never learned,¡± I explained. ¡°It has affected every decision you have ever made.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it wasn¡¯t handed to me on a silver platter,¡± James said. ¡°I had to learn things the hard way. It forced me to evaluate everything I wanted.¡±


    ¡°It was a simple lesson that a lot of the entitled class have never learned,¡± I said. ¡°Growing up their parents catered to their every whim by giving them everything materially that they wanted, probably because they felt guilty for not spending enough time with them. It forced a moral system on you that is different from them. You would not go looting because you realize the cost it has on our whole society. To the entitled class cost means nothing. They on the other hand want everything for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Look at your cousin and the problem he is in because he wanted to march in a peaceful demonstration,¡± I said. ¡°Because of his presence, he was used by others for their agenda. He could be charged because of his conduct as being an accessory after the fact because he did nothing to stop it.¡±


    The look of shock on my children¡¯s faces was priceless. It was if they were finally getting how real life worked. There was always two sides to a story, and then there was the truth. One had to use their mind logically to figure things out.


    ¡°Take a look at your mother and me,¡± I said. ¡°What happened between us can be broken down to the simple fact that your mother did not think about the cost of what would happen if the truth of what she had done came out. She did not think before she acted. It¡¯s the same with most of the peaceful demonstrators; none of them thought of the consequences of what would happen if it blew up as it did.¡±


    ¡°Like the fact that my bio father Uncle Thomas is now living out of the travel trailer that Aunt June allowed him to take from their family home while trying to get back on his feet,¡± Mae said. ¡°Until the court rules on the terms of their divorce, Aunt Mary has got him down and out. She is doing her damndest to make sure he pays in some way for his conduct and is dragging it out as long as possible.¡±


    ¡°Want to bet he is telling everybody that it¡¯s all his wife June¡¯s fault because he has done nothing wrong,¡± I added. ¡°With his political views, I bet that¡¯s what he is doing. Those not knowing the situation will accept his bullshit without a second thought. Just goes to show you that even in our family, life is not fair, yet the entitled class expect everything should be given to them for nothing. After all many believe that it takes a village for a family to raise their children. Many raised with that belief feel since the village raised them, that the village should continue to pay for the way they want to live.¡±


    ¡°Dad the area that they rioted in were chosen because the local government has shown that they have no respect for law and order, or our current federal government as they were already tying the hands of their police,¡± James said in response. ¡°It gave them an easy conduit in which to carry out their agenda. These are the ones claiming that they have this new ¡°woke¡± attitude whatever that is.¡±


    ¡°Your right son,¡± I said. ¡°When you apply logic it¡¯s easy to see. The only thing I cannot say for sure is that Antifa was behind it even though we have seen plenty of images of t-shirts that read ¡®I can¡¯t breathe¡¯ those first few nights. Their international Facebook page says they want to destroy America by tearing down its structure. Is that not what the rioters and looters are doing. Even if it means using violence to achieve it.¡±


    ¡°Dad we are trained more to react than to think,¡± Betty Joe said. ¡°In university, it is common knowledge that with certain professors if you want good grades you have to promote or explain things that support their political view or else. Disprove them and you fail.¡±


    ¡°What''s fair about that,¡± I asked?


    ¡°Nothing because it is teaching a whole generation that the truth does not matter,¡± Betty Joe responded. ¡°Because you have to go along at times to get what you want.¡±


    ¡°Congrats now you can see why gun sales and sales of related products have gone through the roof,¡± I added. ¡°The F.B.I., to date, this year has done three million more background checks this year than last year. Most of these requests have come from the east and west coast of our country where a certain political view dominates, not the middle of the country. Those who take the time to use logic regardless of their political views about what is going on in our society can see the painting on the wall and are preparing for the possibility of what might come while praying that it won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°If you look at the big picture a lot of things do not add up,¡± James said, ¡°it forces one to conclude there is more to it.¡±


    ¡°Let me throw fuel on the fire if there was racial inequality why wasn¡¯t it resolved under the eight years of President Obama and all those before him,¡± I said. ¡°Another accomplishment of all this disruption of our everyday society is the return of over sixteen percent unemployment in the African American community.¡±


    ¡°Dammit Dad, it is looking more like the pandemic, and the riots were designed to get the African American under the thumbs of those they have depended on for years,¡± Mae said. ¡°If that can be proven it would explain a lot of things.¡±


    ¡°Well China is claiming that we started the pandemic way back last year when we brought the virus over and released it to destroy their economy,¡± Tammy said.


    ¡°The bottom line is that we will never know what the truth is,¡± I said. ¡°More importantly you all need to understand that just because we can¡¯t prove something doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not happening. Going forward learn to look at all sides and assume that the worst, as far as society is concerned is true because nine times out of ten ¡®time¡¯ will prove your thinking right.¡±


    ¡°You are making it seem that there are some who believe that all the collateral damage being done to our society is acceptable if it furthers their agenda further of dividing the country,¡± Betty Joe pointed out.


    ¡°Careful dear your words sound very much like what came out of the speaker of the House¡¯s mouth,¡± I said. ¡°She was talking about the damage that would be done because of her green agenda and said collateral damage is just the cost of progress and we all need to just accept it.¡±


    I was surprised by the look on Tammy Lynn¡¯s face. She was a thinker and usually kept her thoughts to herself.


    ¡°Dad,¡± she said. ¡°I didn¡¯t see it but those who went rioting knew the odds of them ever being caught were slim to none. With the views of local authorities, the risk of being charged and convicted was almost nonexistent. Their actions were not taking advantage of an opportunity, they went there deliberately knowing that they were going to steal and destroy.¡±


    I smiled because I knew that when you looked behind what was presented in front of you there was always a different picture. It was nice to know that with my children from this day forward, they would never look at what the mass media presented in the same way.


    ¡°Many people, especially ignorant people who can¡¯t see beyond what''s in front of them, want to punish those who speak the truth, ¡°I said. ¡°That¡¯s the cost of living in our society today. They will try to beat you down; make you take back and apologize for what you said. Never give them what they want because they will always want more. If your right and you know it, speak your mind even if it makes you a minority of one. Remember that the truth is always the truth whether they want to hear it or not.¡±


    ¡°It is becoming clear that many see racism where it does not exist. They will fabricate it when they can¡¯t find and ignore it when it is one of their own,¡± Mae said. ¡°If that is not bad enough, they will blame some other party of it.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like this is being done out of their hate for what the other side believes,¡± James said. ¡°More than what the underlining facts show. It makes me wonder if it is that open in society what does my employer thinks about me and my views.¡±


    ¡°Be careful expressing these thoughts in public,¡± I said. ¡°Doing so will bring down upon yourself problems that you¡¯re not ready or prepared to handle.¡±


    ¡°Why Dad,¡± James asked?


    ¡°When the mass media makes a saint out of a lifelong criminal because he got killed by a bad cop to incite, instead of calm down, and refuses to disclose the truth about both of them,¡± I said. ¡°They become the problem, not the reporter of it. It makes me wonder why they want to destroy our society as we know it. Ask yourself this, if the publics eyes are on a situation what will the politicians do in order to satisfy their demands?¡±


    ¡°The bottom line, Dad is that the left is attacking the democratically controlled parts of the country and blaming Trump for it to further their agenda of destroying the government structure and to make sure he is booted out of office. Antifa and black life matters are both leftist organizations,¡± Mae said. ¡°I wonder if anyone in the mass media will be honest enough to admit it?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± I said. ¡°They can¡¯t even admit that they are progressive-minded. The only thing that matters to half the population in America is reaching the goal of destroying the Republic and making a pre-Nazi Germany society. They do not realize that in doing that the United States will cease to be because each state will be free to decide its future. It will end up becoming at least four different countries. After all President Obama, the god of so many said the problem is that the other side had not been taught to think the right way. That thought just might explain why we have two different views in our society going against each other.¡±


    The living room was quiet for a few before I spoke again. It was clear that my thoughts were being digested. I knew they were seeing things in a different light because they knew I would not mislead them.


    ¡°If you research the history of the KKK you will find it was also a democratic organization when it was formed. Many of their founding members were good politicians with seats in our elected government. In doing so you have to ask, are the current left-leaning movements just a recreation of it because they believe in the same things,¡± I stated.


    ¡°Another ignored historical fact is that when the Republican party was first formed its only platform was that they wanted the abolishment of slavery,¡± I said. ¡°Yet to most progressives in our society, history lies and the greatest thing the democrats have ever done was bringing freedom to the African American community by ending slavery.¡±


    The stunned look on my four children¡¯s faces was something I would remember all my life. Like most of those under the age of thirty, they had no real clue as to what America was all about. Nor did they understand why the founders wanted liberty and freedom protected in such a way that the only way to get rid of it was to destroy everything this country stood for.


    ¡°Dad,¡± James said in complete surprise. ¡°Can that be proven?


    ¡°Yes,¡± I responded, ¡°but you best look in the library going through a lot of books. Most search engines on the computer will send you in a different direction until you give up.¡±


    ¡°We all should be thankful,¡± Tammy Lynn said. ¡°We all have a father that can look beyond social engineering. Using what the mass media has presented to us without condemning either side he was able to expand our view to something we were to blind to see. He was able to show how everything going on in our society is interconnected. It also explains why they are going after the Christian churches because our county was founded on Jewish Christian principles.¡±


    ¡°But why concentrate on the police department,¡± James asked?


    ¡°They represent the most visible part of our society as we know it,¡± I said. ¡°Destroy them and you got the KO¡¯s started that will end up toppling the government. Black Lives Matter is just another tool that is being used to reach an agenda. Proof of that is right in front of us yet not talked about. If Black Lives truly mattered like they all say it does things would be a lot different in the cities where the death rate because of black on black shootings are so high because they would be nonexistent.¡±


    ******


    Mary and I were laying in our bed just enjoying the peacefulness of the Saturday morning. Kim¡¯s lawyer had presented June another offer of the split of family assets after learning from the court ruling there was no way she could get render invalid the family trust my grandfather had set up. That had hurt her because the farmland and the house were worth about half a million.


    Add to that the fact that every month for our married life we had paid the same mortgage payment even after it had been paid off, money I had used to buy a few apartment buildings under the trust.


    Our divorce was being made more complicated because of the changing situation in front of us. Even in government, because of the lack of funds cuts were being made. The lack of fuel being used had created a huge hole for most states as revenue was drying up. Many government employees were learning the hard way that their lifetime job security was now no longer so secure. Kim was scared she was going to lose her job and was trying to figure out how to get as much cash in the divorce as possible.


    We had been hit with another problem and that was with those who were still employed and over sixty-five. Our state unemployment had begun to ask for separation papers to be issued for furloughed employees. This was bringing federal law into play and created another layer of legal problems which, if we followed through with the state''s request would lead to hundreds of lawsuits.


    Those over sixty-five still working in the hospital were protected from being let go because the potential costs to fight any suits brought by the federal government on their behalf would be extreme.


    Mary and I both realized that none of us, regardless of our walk-in life, had much control over what did or did not affect us in our daily life. Too much of what happened outside our door came into play. Everything in our society affected our daily lives in some way. In a way, we all were shocked by how politics affected everything we do.


    Mary¡¯s parents, after learning the whole story, had been devastated because the secrets of one had affected so many. As a result, they had told Kim she had to move out as soon as possible. They had openly wondered how different their daughter''s lives would have been if there had been honesty from day one.


    Mary and I were concerned because we could see how my children¡¯s emotions were affecting their ongoing relationship with their mother. Another problem was with Mae; graduating the job she had been offered had disappeared.


    June, Mary, and I had to keep changing our schedule so that all did not find out about our current relationship. Another unseen cost was that relationships were changing. It is hard to have a relationship with the opposite sex when you must keep your social distance. Mae was finding her latest boyfriend becoming more distant every week. Yet Mae was doing her best to hide her inner pain.


    *******


    I was sitting in my office going through the list of employees that human resources had terminated while being careful that they looked at age, sex, and gender in making sure they kept a multi-cultural balance.


    They could not afford to have the possibility of not being balanced in who had been laid off, especially with what was going on in our society these days. With everything, one did being dissected publicly for political reasons one had to approach anything they did with baby steps.


    Anyone who had a sense of justice would have to see the insincerity of Antifa and the Antifa-curious because of the images of African American law enforcement officers dead on the ground with the rioters and protestors standing around cheering. It made me wonder how many in public would admit that they had a political agenda.


    Most decent people were morally disgusted by their conduct, but the progressive media and the Democrats refused to discuss or mention it. It was as if it never happened. It was sad. They did not care what was being done because their plans were being achieved.


    The one remaining receptionist knocked on my door then stuck her head in. ¡°Russel, your soon to be ex-wife would like to talk to you and is refusing to leave until you do.¡±


    ¡°Give me five minutes,¡± I said. ¡°Then send her back.¡±


    It gave me a few minutes to reflect on our married life. It saddens me to realize that my view on so many fond memories had been changed. Kim¡¯s conduct had me questioning everything about our time together.


    I had been in the delivery room for the birth of all four of our children. I could still remember the names she gave me, her screams because of labor pain when she started the few remaining minutes of childbirth. I could still picture the look she had on her face the first time she held the freshly delivered child in her arms. No man ever witnessing that would ever be able to say that there was no such thing as unconditional love.


    It was with a touch of sadness that I waited for her. We had not talked directly with each other since that fateful weekend, nor did I want to talk to her right now. I guess in my way I was procrastinating as I had never liked confrontation. I knew there were a lot of questions running through my mind but based on what had been learned I knew that there was most likely no way they would be answered honestly.


    When Kim walked in, I looked up. I did not have enough respect left for her to stand up and offer her my hand. I instantly noticed that she look tired and worn down.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking good Russ,¡± Kim said. ¡°I wish I could say the same for me.¡±


    ¡°What do you want Kim,¡± I asked while not wanting an answer?


    ¡°A working relationship going forward,¡± Kim replied. ¡°Our children want nothing to do with me until the divorce is behind us.¡±


    ¡°Did they tell you that directly,¡± I asked?


    ¡°No, they told my parents that they would not be over as long as I was living there,¡± Kim explained. ¡°At first I thought it might be them just saying that to keep the virus situation off my parent''s mind but with my limited contact with them that was proved wrong. A good example of that is the fact that they are not returning or answering my calls.¡±


    ¡°It takes time for wounds to heal,¡± I said. ¡°With what we are going through has turned everybody¡¯s life upside down. Nothing seems quite normal, so everybody is becoming guarded about everything.¡±


    ¡°Work is crazy, the school board is still undecided as to what they are going to do during the next school year. On top were all learning a new way to prepare classes. It¡¯s complicated because we used to get paid by the state a diem for every kid in attendance each day. The state and the school boards are trying to figure out a new working relationship going forward.¡±


    ¡°We permanently terminated a third of our staff in my department last Friday,¡± I said. ¡°Some of them were valued employee¡¯s and I expect I will be let go in the next round of terminations.¡±


    ¡°Can you talk with our children about talking to me,¡± Kim asked? ¡°And perhaps get June to be a little more reasonable about the split of assets in our divorce?¡±


    ¡°Your best way of achieving that is in your hands Kim,¡± I said. ¡°Both Thomas and you need to answer the question that is eating at Jilly the most.¡±


    ¡°What question¡± Kim asked?


    ¡°Did Thomas and you conspire to con your sister into marrying him,¡± I asked? ¡°So that he would always have close contact with the daughter he did not have to raise.¡±


    It was a pure pleasure watching my soon to be ex-wife¡¯s face turn pure white. Without saying a word, she had provided an answer just by her response.


    ¡°I guess this conversation is over,¡± I said. ¡°Your facial expression said it all. Rest assured that I will be telling your sister, June, about this conversation. Goodbye Kim, do not come back everything we need to do can be done via the lawyers.¡±


    As Kim headed toward the exit the tears started to flow but frankly, I didn¡¯t care. In my eyes, she was getting payback for all her life-long lies. I couldn¡¯t understand why she never understood that sooner or later the truth comes out. It was the truth of what she had done all her life that was causing all the problems, yet she was trying to find an easy resolve for something that may never be fixed. Why did most of us act without thinking?


    I thought about the time June had gotten her nickname. We all had just gone through a huge water fight with all the kids on a hot summer afternoon. Tammy Lynn about six years old said that her Aunt June looked like a wet Jilly jelly because of the way her wet clothes were hanging on her. Even something as innocent as that was now tainted because of what we had all learned.


    ******


    June and I were having some quality time together. I had taken her for a romantic dinner at a winery which she seemed to enjoy. It while we were driving back to Mary¡¯s apartment that she learned about my conversation with her younger sister. The revelation hit her hard. Then we got hit with the one thing that threw everyone one for a loop. We learned that both her parents were on the way to the hospital because they had tested positive, the virus had gotten them.


    It was a shocking reminder to me because like all humans we don¡¯t take things too seriously until it directly affects us. After hearing about their health situation, I had to ask myself ¡®what next¡¯ because bad news always seemed to come in threes.


    We headed over to Saint Francis hospital. Being devoted Catholics, they would not go anywhere else. I felt kind of uneasy because of all the religious images on display for two reasons; first of all, I was not very religious and because of what Kimberly had explained to me. They were already in the ICU by the time we arrived. Mary and my children were already there. Kimberly was on her way so was Thomas. My in-laws had brought the total cases in our county to sixteen. The only good news was that at this time they did not need ventilators.


    We spent the time talking to them through the hospital phone system. For all of us, it was a somber moment. Both were trying to figure out how they had caught it. They had not been out of the house in weeks. Kimberly was doing all the purchasing they needed for the house and everything they could get online they did.


    June and her soon-to-be-ex-husband finally got the chance to speak to each other like Kim and I had earlier. They spent a lot of time by themselves talking things out. Mary and I realized by the way they were talking that the wall between them was beginning to come down.


    June would tell me later that after she had told him what I had disclosed about Kim¡¯s and my conversation that he admitted he had not been in love with her when they married. He claimed that he had grown to love her before their first child was born.


    It was near eleven at night before we called it a day and headed for home. Each one of us took the test to see if it would turn out positive. Having someone you know personally come down with the virus has a way of changing your view of things.


    As I drove June to her home, I told her to offer Kimberly the smallest apartment building we owned and nothing more. I wanted to put it all behind me and get on with my life. That way she would have a steady income to live on if they cut her from the school system. The months of arguing had worn me down.


    ¡°Russ, I guess we both got hit with what was important tonight,¡± June said. ¡°Seeing Mom and Dad in the ICU made me realize that it could have been one of us. I think our relationship has to change and you should focus all your attention on Mary. Life is too short for it to be any other way.¡±


    ¡°You are right,¡± I said. ¡°I guess all three of us have been selfish in a way. Maybe we all three were doing things to get back at Kimberly and Thomas and it clouded our judgment. June, I will never forget the time we spent together, and I will never regret it.¡±


    Before she stepped out of the car she leaned over and kissed me softly and said, ¡°You¡¯ve given me in three months a purer, more attentive love than I had in my whole marriage. My sister, Mary, is a very lucky woman. I¡¯m looking forward to passing it on as a single mother to the child I am carrying.¡±


    With that said June got out of the car wearing a big smile. I sat there completely stunned.


    I sat there dumbfounded. It took a while for me to digest. Once I started the truck and headed for home, I started to try to figure out how I was going to explain it all to Mary. As I pulled into my garage, I tried to put on a poker face. Entering my home from the garage I heard Mary and Mae in a heated discussion.


    ¡°Uncle Thomas was dumbstruck,¡± Mae said, ¡°when Aunt June told him tonight that he was going to be on the hook for child support for the next eighteen years, plus post-secondary education cost if the child continues their education.¡±


    ¡°Serves him right,¡± Mary said. ¡°Add to the fact that it means that Mary gets to keep the house until the child becomes an adult makes her divorce a lot simpler. The only thing they have left to resolve is the paying of the bills and division of the rest of their assets.¡±


    I stood just inside the side door shaking my head in disbelieve. The thoughts that were going through my mind. I had to ask myself if the child June was carrying Thomas¡¯s or mine. If it was mine, was June using it to cause more long time grief to her soon-to-be-ex-husband? If she, was it was brilliant. After all, there is none so bitter as a woman scorned. Payback can be a real bitch.


    ¡°I¡¯m home,¡± I said as I walked towards the kitchen. ¡°June had told me the news while I was driving home. Anyone know how far along she is because she is sure not showing yet.¡±


    ¡°About three months,¡± Mae said as I entered. ¡°She¡¯s thrilled about it. When I got to talk to her at the hospital, she had already picked out the names. If it¡¯s a boy she¡¯s going to name it Russell after you and if it¡¯s a girl, it''s going to be Jill.¡±


    Mary¡¯s face was glowing. I could tell that she already knew what was going on and would tell me the details when we had a private moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be interesting,¡± Mary added. ¡°I wonder how close she is going to be to mine when I deliver. I was going to wait a few days before telling you but with June¡¯s news out I thought I was not going to let her steal all the thunder.¡±


    I guess I had a pretty stunned look on my face because both the ladies in front of me started laughing.


    *******


    Kimberly took my offer of the smallest apartment building. She was going to leave the management firm in place and move into the penthouse suite. It would provide her with a secure income and lifestyle going forward. Both her¡¯s and my employment situation is still unknown. We are both taking one day at a time.


    Believe it or not, Thomas and June decided to give it another try. Time will tell if it works out. I am the father of the child June is carrying but the three of us have agreed it will be a secret that we will all keep until our death unless a medical reason makes it impossible to  hide.


    It was Kimberly that brought the virus home to her parents. Thankfully, both recovered after being hospitalized for two weeks. Every adult member of the family now has a different attitude towards what''s important in life.


    Because of the ongoing political upheaval and the ongoing management by the newly created dictators, Mary, my children, and I have become closer. It was Mae who suggested during a family meeting that we transfer some of the equity in the family trust out of the states just in case it gets as bad as we hope it never does.


    ¡°Dad,¡± Mae said. ¡°If they have no qualms before the election talking about how they are going to inclemently change this country we can¡¯t take the chance that they won¡¯t do what they say they are going to do. Having assets outside of the country might be the only thing that saves us.¡±


    All the girls are busy working out the details of the wedding the date to be decided as soon as the divorce is finalized. It was the virus that turned our whole world upside down. Yet it was the virus that brought us together with a new understanding of how our society works.


    Finished.

 American Engineering

    On a warm spring Tuesday night, the call came in at twenty-three twenty-two to the nine-one-one station. The anonymous caller said that a man was being attacked in the five thousand block of Morgan. The screen displayed an unknown number which led the receiver to believe the call was from an unlisted cellphone. Via computer while still on the phone the emergency service personal dispatched the city police.


    Every call into the nine-one-one service is automatically recorded. If the person handling the call expects something is amiss, they flag it. Because of the time of night, the refusal of the caller to identify themselves, and the rushing sound in the person''s voice it was tagged with the assigned number of the pending case.


    The two police cars arrived within seconds of each other to find the bleeding beat-up victim laying half on the street sidewalk and half on some property owners front lawn. Before getting out of their cars they called for the first responders. The silence because of the time of night was detaching as it added a sense of eeriness to the darkness of the cloudy night.


    While one officer began securing the crime scene the other went over and checked the man out to see if he was still breathing. The officer not wanting to affect the crime scene wet the side of his finger and placed it beneath the man¡¯s nose. His whole face and forehead were covered in flowing blood which was forming a puddle underneath him.


    At first look, it appeared that someone had deliberately hit the man on the temple area of his head repeatedly. Instantly he could feel the warmth of the air coming from the man¡¯s nose, so they knew that he was still living. Thankfully if they worked fast enough perhaps there was enough time to keep him alive. The ambulance hopefully would be transferring a live one instead of a dead body. Before proceeding he stopped to put on some surgeons gloves to protect any evidence found from being contaminated.


    ¡°The way he was attacked makes it clear that whoever was trying to rob him could have killed him. It had to be a frontal assault. If he lives perhaps, he can identify the person,¡± Micah Joel the ten-year veteran said. ¡°It¡¯s a wonder he is still breathing. No wonder he is not conscious.¡±


    By the look at him, their first impression was that he was in his early fifties. He was of average build, had blue eyes, a touch of gray in his black hair, yet it was clear by the way he was dressed that the man took pride in who and what he was. He was not a big man only about five foot nine. They estimated his weight to be about one-eighty.


    Beside him lay a bag from the local Target drug store that was five blocks away that was open twenty-four hours. Inside were a couple of over-the-counter drugs bought for someone who suffers from a lot of pain along with the sale receipt. Micah recognized that they were the strongest that could be bought without a prescription.


    ¡°My wife keeps a supply of these around for when she has migraines,¡± Micah said as he handed it to the other officer so he could bag it up as evidence.


    The officer after putting on gloves began to search out for identification. Figuring it was a snatch and grab that had gone terribly wrong he figured that his wallet would be gone. The officer was surprised to find his wallet sitting inside the upper inside pocket in the jacket the man was wearing.


    ¡°This was not a robbery,¡± Micah said aloud. ¡°Something else is going on.¡±


    Flipping it open the officer learned that he had over two hundred dollars in cash, three credit cards, his medical cards, and a driver''s license. Even in a mugging at least the cash would be gone. It instantly became clear that this was not a robbery but a deliberate attempt to kill that had gone wrong.


    ¡°Who is he,¡± Jose King the junior officer asked?


    ¡°Seth Peter Mathews from Everett Washington age forty-five,¡± Micah responded. ¡°I wonder what he is doing down here. Have dispatch do a check to see if any Mathews are living near this area and find out if their related.¡±


    As Jose went to the car with the man¡¯s wallet, he was assigned to the first responders pulled up, and took over. The first thing the medics did was attach an intravenous blood substitute into his arm to make sure any blood loss was made up for. The key for them at this moment was keeping him alive. After bandaging up his head as much as they could they prepared him for transport.


    Not knowing the extent of the man¡¯s injuries under orders of the doctor they were in contact with, they slid a wooden board under his body before strapping him in. it took the two medics and two firemen to load him into the ambulance.


    By the medic¡¯s description of the victim''s seeable injuries into the radio, all knew instantly that this was not an accidental mugging. The medic believed that the victim had been attacked by at least two people using sections of two by fours because they could see remnants of the wood in his head. One had hit him from the front the other from behind.


    Jose finally getting a clear picture of the injured man had to turn away and depart. It was the first time since becoming a police officer that he saw such a brutal assault. Walking across the street so he did not contaminate the crime scene he bent over and brought up the contents in his stomach.


    After the first responders had left the two officers looked over the area. Where he was hit was just out of the reach of the light from the streetlight and about twenty meters away from the start of the reach of the next one.


    The older houses in the area had been built in the nineteen fifties so they had large lots with some very mature trees making it easy for one to hide in plain sight. With the darkness of the area, anyone could be lurking in the shadows.


    Using their flashlights, they searched the surrounding area in the darkness for what they could find. They wondered if the attacker had been stupid enough to leave the weapon they had used behind. They did not find much but behind a huge blue spruce tree, they found three cigarette butts making them wonder if they had been smoked by someone who was waiting.


    They bagged it because it could provide the detective yet to be assigned the needed DNA evidence to a case that to this point had little of anything.


    The area where Mr. Mathews was attacked was going through a major change. As the older generation died off a new younger generation had moved in. Since the effect of the Covid virus everything had become magnified. With it, the morals and values of the area were going through a big change.


    The area was now known to be occupied for the most part by those who were part of the alternate lifestyle community so the first question that came to mind was the victim gay and was this a hate crime caused by the changing populations lifestyle?


    With the influx of their way of thinking and approaching things, crime had picked up in the area. It was well known that the local old-timers felt they were being pressured to move out as their kind was no longer welcome in the area.


    The way the alternate lifestyle community openly talked about their sexuality and their desires to sexually make somebody their latest bitch made the local old-timers feel extremely uncomfortable. The two polar opposites of morals, principles, and standards were conflicting with each other and creating an uneasy tension in the area.


    A crew of wheeler-dealers were regularly canvassing the area trying to buy the older homes to remodel and sell to this new generation who apparently were free and easy with their money. The question had to ask could this crime be related to that?


    After clearing the crime scene, the two officers returned to the senior officer¡¯s car and began writing up a report on what they had found. While calling for first responders Jose had asked dispatch to find out what they could about the victim.


    Dispatch called them. ¡°Seth Peter Mathews is an author. He writes primary Christian fiction books with a romantic twist. He is known to be conservative in nature with some liberal views if they don¡¯t conflict with his believes. His books are quite successful as the publisher¡¯s bio on him says each new release sells over half a million.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s married, has three adult children aged twenty-one, twenty, and nineteen. Has three brothers and two sisters who all live in the area. He is down here as the chief executor for his parent''s estate who passed away recently both were taken because of complications caused by the virus,¡± The dispatcher explained. ¡°He and his wife are staying at his parents¡¯ house in the six thousand block of Morgan while he worked things out to the satisfaction of the rest of the family.¡±


    ¡°Have the family been informed,¡± Micah asked.


    ¡°His older brother has gone to pick up Seth¡¯s wife and then they will be headed over to St. Mary¡¯s hospital where they asked for him to be transported too,¡± the dispatcher explained.


    Both of the police officers knew instantly that St. Mary¡¯s was run by the Catholic church. Based on what they now knew the family¡¯s request made sense.


    ¡°Best call the Detective on call,¡± Jose said to dispatch. ¡°We both now strongly believe that this is looking more and more like an attempted murder than a mugging. Inform us how long it will take him to get in so we can meet him at the station to inform him what we know.¡±


    As soon as dispatched acknowledged their request the radio went silent.


    ¡°The question that has to be addressed,¡± Micah said to Jose, ¡°Did someone go after him because of his Christian views concerning the Lbgtq¡¯s and their lifestyle? If they did, can it be considered as a hate crime?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a question we will have to raise with the detective,¡± Jose responded. ¡°We need to know how long he has been here and what kind of relationships he had formed while he was here.¡±


    Micah thought about what his co-worker had said before responding, ¡°it may go further back then here we need to know about his life on the west coast and his long-term relationship with his wife and family.¡±


    Why do you think that?¡± Jose asked.


    ¡°They apparently were waiting for him, which makes it clear it was not a random hit,¡± Micah replied. ¡°He went to get the medicine that someone needed. The person or persons who were waiting for him had to know that Mr. Mathews would be coming back this way.¡±


    That was when Jose clued in on the fact that it was his wife that was most likely behind it. The problem was how do they prove it. He wondered if Seth Mathews was like his father. A die-hard old-fashioned Christian who would not bend an inch.


    ¡°Micah when I came out to my father,¡± Jose explained. ¡°He took it very hard because of his Christian views. He told me that since I was an adult, that I had the right to live my life as I saw fit, but that he would never be able to accept it or approve of it. He does not believe that any man has the right or the authority to contradict what the bible says.¡±


    ¡°Has his view changed over these last few years,¡± Micah asked?


    ¡°Only in the fact he does not want to know anything about my personal life and what is going on in it,¡± Jose said. ¡°As far as he¡¯s concerned it''s none of his business. When my partner and I go to visit he treats him with respect and politeness but we all know that he will never be part of the family. He wouldn¡¯t even attend our wedding.¡±


    ¡°How does Manuel think about the whole situation,¡± Micah asked?


    ¡°He feels insulted, put down, and is quite upset that my dad won¡¯t accept him,¡± Jose said. ¡°He sees my dad as an old fool who has no clue about anything. Manuel would love nothing more than to grab his shirt and shake him until he got some common sense into my father¡¯s thick head.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like your partner has the problem and not your father,¡± Micah replied. ¡°Your father respects your partner for who and what he is, not for his and your lifestyle, while your partner believes it¡¯s your father religious believes that stops him from getting total acceptance.¡±


    ¡°My father has tolerance, where my partner doesn¡¯t,¡± Jose said in surprise. ¡°I never saw it. We, I mean the LBGTQ community demand equality but as a group, but in general when were in a group we don¡¯t want to give it in return.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s another avenue that will have to be explored,¡± Micah said. ¡°Was Seth Mathew attacked in part because of the way he related to the alternate lifestyle group? Both your father and the victim grew up in a time where they were allowed to live their lives with their beliefs. In today¡¯s society, most want your believes hidden unless they''re woke.¡±


    ¡°They are part of the generation that still believes the Old Testament has value,¡± Micah explained. ¡°They believe that their soul was with God before they were born because God declared he knew them before they born. That there are two sexes, and anything other is a creation of the mental and emotional thinking of those who claim their something else.¡±


    Just at that moment, the dispatcher called for them via the radio to inform them that Detective Amos Inman was there waiting for them.


    Both of them saw the irony. Detective Inman nicked named Billy was known to be a detailed man, who looked and based his cases on facts and not interpretations. He was known to be an African American who had no room for the prejudices of others. Throughout his life, he had earned the right to be respected by all nationalities and was.


    A few years back some religious zealots had decided they wanted to disrespect the military funeral of a local boy who had died in service by protesting at it. The young man had escaped Vietnam with his parents and when he had grown up had joined the marines. He single-handedly had made the protest a joke by having the newspaper falsely post the day of service. They all ended up being at the graveyard a day late and were laughed out of the community.


    Seth returned to his car and followed Micah back to the station pondering over their last conversation. What he had just learned was forcing him to reevaluate his partner and his father¡¯s relationship.


    He owed his father a big apology because being in the center of all of it he had never seen the whole situation in its reality. His problem was now in trying to get his partner Manuel to see it from the other side. With his new-age mentality that might be an impossibility.


    It took them about two hours to explain their thoughts and reasons behind them to the detective. But it was the detective that brought up something that they never would have considered.


    ¡°Your thinking is top-notch,¡± the detective said, ¡°both your directions concerning the case might be right on the money. What we have is an educated man, who has a successful career, has money, and a lifestyle that goes with it. Even the color of his skin may be working against him. Many of the under thirty community because they view themselves as being superior to all others will automatically see him because of the life he leads as being a white racist.¡±


    ¡°The ¡®Truth¡¯ of the society we now live in is whatever the elite and the mass media will allow you to hear and see. They control about eighty percent of what we hear. Big tech, mass media, and most ways that we humans use to communicate for the most part are controlled by them. They censor anything that goes against or tries to change their ¡®agenda,¡± Detective Ingman said. ¡°The two of you and I must always think and draw out the facts using a critic¡¯s eye. Remember always to let the facts shout out because it''s whats lays out the story.¡±


    ¡°The best lesson I learned since becoming a detective,¡± Detective Inman said. ¡°Is that I had to stop explaining myself to people who only understand from their level of perception. Sometimes the worst cases are solved by learning to walk in their shoes.¡±


    The silence in the room was frightening. All three lived daily with the fact because they wore the blue, they were marked by those who had to make an agenda out of everything. The question had to be asked was Seth Mathews the latest victim because of the woke community?


    While waiting for the officers to return from being out in the field the detective had contacted the Everett police department in Washington State to ask them to do a detailed background check on the victim and his family. Asking them to find what was not on Google or Facebook.


    ¡°I have to say that this latest case is going to require your assistance Jose,¡± the detective said. ¡°I want to make sure that any prejudices I might have are not reflected in what I will be seeing. I believe your familiarity with the culture will allow you to notice things that I would never perceive. Micah, I also will be asking the desk sergeant to assign you to assist me when needed.¡±


    ¡°Just before your shift end go back to the crime scene check and recheck it in the daylight,¡± Detective Inman said. ¡°Search both sides of the street at least to the end of the block. Maybe the attackers dropped something in their getaway. The odds are that they lived locally and may have walked to that location. I suggest you change out of your uniforms and use your personal cars while you are investigating the area. Less chance of those in the know will hear about what you¡¯re doing.¡±


    In parting thoughts, Detective Inman added, ¡°It might be as simple as one of the wheeler-dealers took him out because he refused to sell the place for redevelopment. After all, it has been rumored that most of the six thousand block of Morgan has been bought so it can be rezoned to allow a greater density of population. The Mathews house might be the parcel of land that his holding up the whole project. Regardless of the reason rest assured whatever was done was motivated by someone¡¯s hate or expectations for something.¡±


    ********


    Until their report came in, Detective Inman would have to see what he could learn from discussions with Seth¡¯s family at this end. He left the station and headed over to St. Mary¡¯s emergency to see what he could learn.


    Ivy Mathews and her husband¡¯s older brother Steven were waiting for the brain scan to be done. Seth already had his hair cut off and his head shaven so they could put the eighty-four stitches into his head. The wood splinters had been collected and bagged for evidence. Not only was his face swollen but he had two black eyes that would take a week or two before they would disappear.


    Ex-rays had proven that the brain skull had been cracked but had not been shattered. How they had failed in their attempt to kill him had marveled the doctors. Looking at the x-rays the detective had to agree with their thoughts. What concerned them now was the possibility that there was pressure on the brain because of internal bleeding.


    The Detective after arriving at the emergency service had gone into the non-patient area to talk briefly to the on-staff nurses at the center desk. The nurses pointed out to him who was there as part of the Mathews family entourage.


    He took a few minutes to stand and observe the communication and interaction between the four people he would soon be meeting through the one way mirror. It allowed him to discern who of them was more dominant and which were submissive. Picking up the little things concerning a person gave the detective an advantage when communicating with them the first few times. The nurses also updated him on Seth¡¯s current status.


    Most believed that he would live but they had no clue what kind of life he would have because of an unknown internal brain injury. Until the blood and swelling in his brain rescinded nothing could be determined. With the damage done to the victim, the doctors believed there could be many.


    The fact that the nurses felt Seth Mathews'' family was acting with more indifference than concern had been brought out and discussed thoroughly. It gave the detective insights about the family that would help him in the investigation.


    The MRI showed that there was internal bleeding under the skull that could directly affect Seth Mathews'' motor skills. How badly he was injured would not be known for at least a couple of weeks because the brain needed time to heal.


    The doctor in charge took detective Inman aside and said ¡°We are hoping that all goes smoothly but if Mr. Mathews has a brain seizure, he might end up brain dead. If that happens the family will have to decide to pull the plug.¡±


    ¡°If that happens the charges will go from aggravated assault to first degree murder,¡± the detective said aloud.


    ********


    Before Detective Garrett Inman walked out to the waiting area and introduced himself to the victim¡¯s wife and his brother, he turned on his voice recorder. He would turn it over to the tech department for a voice comparison to the recorded nine one one call. He did that automatically because one out of three calls were plants created by ones involved in the crime to try to throw the investigator off the trail.


    In the general conversation in the waiting room, he picked up a few things. One was that Seth Mathew¡¯s older brother was gay and appeared to be the one handling the situation with the help of his partner. His male partner was Chinese American and would be considered a small man. He could see the cigarette box in Seth¡¯s brother''s shirt pocket. He wrote the brand down in his notebook.


    Detective Inman concluded that he would have to talk to each one of Seth¡¯s siblings one at a time to be able to establish just how his relationship was with the others.


    Ivy Mathews, Seth¡¯s wife was a five-foot-six-woman who appeared to be a genuinely nice looking middle-aged woman who was surprisingly in good physical shape. Tonight, her hair was blonde, but the roots of her hair exposed their natural black color. If she had been the one with the migraine headache it appeared to have disappeared quite quickly. He wrote in his notes a reminder to find out if she had a history of migraines.


    The other female, a redhead that was comforting her seemed to have more than just a neighborly interest in her because she sat closer to her on the bench seat than what would be considered normal. Although closeness in this circumstance would be normal their physical touching seemed intimate and extreme in this situation.


    The Detective learned that she was a friend from Washington State that had flown down to spend a few days with the married couple. The detective printed their full names, their description, their telephone numbers, and ages in his notebook.


    He wanted to know what the real relationship was between Seth¡¯s wife and this unknown female. Detective Inman had a gut feeling about the two females but was hoping that what it was telling him was wrong. The way the females were physically connecting was raising a lot of questions. The Detective knew that body language could provide insights where word of mouth spread lies.


    None of the four seemed to have a clue about how this could happen and claimed that as far as they knew no one was out to get Seth in the area. The problem was that all four of them came across as if they were trying to sell him on how saintly Seth was. As a result, all they were achieving was raising his suspicions.


    When he walked in, he had no suspects but by their conduct with each other and him, it was clear that they were hiding something. The key may be in finding out what they were trying not to disclose rather than what they were claiming. No man is a saint like they seemed to be claiming. To him they were as honest as a gay saying ¡®I¡¯m not gay I quit two months ago.


    Everything one does has a basis of truth in it or hidden by it. The detective had to figure out which game the four of them were playing. Did each one of them have a motive to want to take an unsuspecting man¡¯s life and if so, why?


    The detective left after learning because of the swelling on the brain Seth Mathews would be kept in a chemical-induced coma state. The doctors believed that he had the best chance of recovery the longer his body was allowed to naturally heal.


    The doctors agreed to inform him before they brought him out of his drug-induced state. Detective Inman wanted to be able to talk to him before any family members or friends got to him because they might say or do things in an attempt to confuse him further.


    ********


    Upon returning to the station, he again contacted the police in Everett Washington and had a Ms. June Alford age thirty-nine added to the list of names he had provided them. Asking them to find out Ivy¡¯s medical history and if she was having a sexual relationship with the name of the lady, he had just given them.


    Opening the windows edge program on the computer he began to look at each one of the four suspects'' Facebook pages to see if it would help to eliminate one of them. It showed their political views, their lifestyles, sexual preferences for those who promoted it, and the games they played.


    Other than the general stuff there was no way to check if they were in communication with each other, but by going through their friend''s list Detective Inman was able to establish that they each had listed some of the others on their friend''s list thus proving that some kind of relationship existed.


    At first glance the facebook pages were not revealing much, beyond the fact that Mrs. June Alford was a white Native of South Africa who had immigrated after she went to university here. He sent an official email letter out to the Facebook legal department. He wanted to get unrestricted access to everything the four had on their Facebook pages not just what they allowed the public to see.


    Detective Inman stressed he needed the access because it was part of a criminal investigation and they had to include messenger, video chats, and all related things. If they had more than one Facebook page which most did this was the quickest way to find out about them.


    Seth¡¯s Facebook page was different because he had one through the publishing company and one, he had for himself. It was the personal one that caught his attention because he learned that Seth was quite vocal on the freedom of speech issue and promoted his Christian values.


    A link led him to a news article where Seth¡¯s approach to life, in general, was being attacked as been homophobic and non-accepting to this new age attitude in his approach to them. The way the article was slanted it became clear the writer had written a hack piece trying to do as much damage to Seth Mathews'' reputation and life as possible.


    Detective Inman then checked out the writer who worked for the Rolling Stone magazine. That magazine was the one that called the only living member of the Boston Race bombers a hero to learn that the author had been ripped apart by the mainstream because of his woke attitude.


    Detective Inman saw this woke concept for what it was, just another way for some to disguise their hate of America, its history, and its society so that they could justify their actions. It had arisen from the ashes of the fight for equality by the Lbgtq¡¯s community.


    The Lbgtq¡¯s community in its push for social equality had taught society that being in one''s face and screaming with the full power of their lungs got them the notice they wanted. Now every social movement was taking it further.Stolen story; please report.


    Each in their own way was trying to do as much damage as possible in an attempt to get the same required attention. It took fifty years for the LGBTQ community to get accepted. Nowadays these new movements wanted it instantly.


    Sad for them, it was not working. In fighting, as they saw fit, they had lost the support of society instead of gaining it. Now they were attacking the culture of the country because in most of the country their views were not being accepted.


    Many in the woke community had to push their agenda down the throats of people who wanted to be left alone and allowed to live their lives as they saw fit. But sadly, individuality was no longer accepted by so many who held the mass media¡¯s attention. If you didn¡¯t conform to their way of thinking you were automatically branded as being a racist. It was worse and more public if you were white. There was nothing more destructive than mob mentality.


    After shutting off his computer Detective Inman went home to catch a few hours of sleep with his wife who would be waiting up for him. When he came in to work the first thing in the morning, he would contact the cell phone companies and request a printout on everything available for the last six months.


    ********


    At the crack of dawn, Micah Joel and Jose King were in their everyday clothing walking the block when they spotted a drop of blood. Using the shop camera, they photographed and moved on. About twenty feet away they found a second one. What was interesting was the direction it was leading them to, the six thousand block of Morgan.


    Whoever was dropping them was running as fast as they could. The last one they found was at six three two two Morgan. Just in front of a great big construction bin full of stuff that had been removed from the house.


    The container had the name of its supplier which was a local firm called Murphy¡¯s Waste Management.


    ¡°Dispatch can you verify who lives at six three two two Morgan,¡± Micah asked?


    ¡°Are you thinking what I am thinking what I am,¡± asked Jose?


    ¡°That the perfect spot to hide the weapon used,¡± Micah replied. ¡°Would be in the middle of the rubbish created from remodeling the house.¡±


    That was when the dispatch came back to inform them that the registered owners were Jack and Anna Mathews who had been taken by the virus.


    ¡°Anyone could have dumped the weapon if it¡¯s there,¡± Jose said. ¡°The key will be figuring out how to get it legally without drawing attention.¡±


    Micah laughed and said, ¡°My wife¡¯s uncle owns the waste company so maybe we got a way of getting it without a warrant.¡±


    After returning to the car Jose watched as Micah called his wife¡¯s uncle. While his cell phone was ringing, he turned the speaker feature on. After getting him out of bed Micah explained what the problem was. Thankfully, his wife¡¯s uncle who was a law-abiding man agreed to have it picked up and replaced first thing. By nine that morning, the waste container would be sitting behind the police station.


    With that done they returned to the station because they had to take out the tent and set it up. With the weather changing daily they could not afford to have rain wash any possible evidence away. Once there they explained to the sergeant what they learned. He dispatched a vehicle to the residence to make sure the dumpster was not tampered with until it was picked up.


    When Detective Inman arrived at the station Micah and Jose had almost finished setting up the tent. He went out to talk to them and after hearing what they had discovered thanked them for the dam good police work.


    *********


    It was the sound of the cummings engine that caused Ms. June Alford to awaken from the few hours¡¯ sleep she had gotten. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Ivy who was still sound asleep. She looked so relaxed and at peace. June lay there savoring the moment while reliving what had happened when they got home last night.


    Last night was the second time that Ivy and she had spent the whole night together. After making slow sensual love to each other, they had fallen asleep in each locked against the other¡¯s naked charms. It was something June knew she could get used to.


    June hoped it would be the first of many because she had dreamed about them being a loving married couple for months. June was looking forward to coming home to a loving wife who was waiting for her after another busy day at the office with a glass of chilled wine in her hands.


    Ivy had even thought about asking her husband Seth for a divorce but after having a lawyer review the pre-nuptial agreement, Ivy had learned that because of what was written in it she would have been left with pennies on the dollars.


    That was when Ivy had produced the plan for their marriage to fall apart. It would be easy because of their differences in how they now viewed things. She would make things so difficult for Seth that he would end up wanting out of the marriage.


    June had no clue as to how close that was until she had come down to see Ivy on the spur of the moment. She had seen what she learned as the foundation of her catching her dreams.


    They had met over two years ago at a support group that she runs for those who had one of their children come out. Ivy was being torn apart at the time because of the religious views she had grown up with and had lived with all her life. June being a psychologist had helped many come to terms with their changing reality.


    June freely admitted to herself that she had been sexually attracted to Ivy right from the start but had kept her distance deliberately because of the need to protect her license. Ivy with her slender frame, large full ripe cleavage, soft face, and warm heart had a figure that seemed to compliment her beautiful personality. Instantly June was smitten, and fellow staff had noticed her interest but admired her for keeping her distance.


    No matter how much Ivy downplayed her femininity she had June going home to masturbate regularly because of the pure sensuality that effortlessly flowed out of her.


    Ivy had come to the group because she needed to learn how to cope with the fact that her oldest daughter, a mini she had come out. Ivy was conflicted by the whole situation and was overwhelmed by it.


    It was compounded by her husband Seth who had cut off all financial support to their daughter because of her conduct and threw her out of the family house. At that time, she had been enrolled in the liberal arts at one of the local universities and had been living at home.


    No matter what Ivy tried to mediate Seth was having nothing to do with it.


    As he said, ¡°she made her choices let her live with them. I have to, but I do not have to accept them or pay for them.¡±


    That was his point of view and she had to live with it even though both were ripping her heart apart. It was a stark reminder to all at the time that one¡¯s conduct affects those around us.


    Ingrid the eldest had gone from having it easy to staying with friends, sleeping on their couch as she rebuilt her life. Even the lesbian lover she had at the time dumped her because she didn¡¯t want to be associated with what she saw as a loser. Ingrid learned the hard way just how hard life can be.


    Surprising Ingrid had come to realize over a rough two years that she was straight as she explained it and had been influenced by the new age attitudes that many whom she associated with at university. After a few weeks of long discussions, Seth had accepted her explanation and had welcomed his eldest back into the family home. Just like any good Christian would.


    Now Ingrid was engaged to a man that neither her parents were thrilled about who was well off financially. June who had always known that she was a lesbian was wondering if Ingrid were leading him down the aisle so she could divorce him in a few years and take him for half his money because that is what she had done to her husband.


    Five years of a fake marriage had set her up for life. The excuse she used to get the divorce was that she had to find herself. Two years later she had come out and freely embraced the fact that she was a hardcore lesbian. Though over the years she had experienced the joys of new female lovers it was not until she had met Ivy that she understood what true love was.


    During that time when Ivy was dealing with her daughter''s ongoing problems, June¡¯s and Ivy¡¯s relationship had deepened. As soon as June had been introduced to Ivy, she knew she wanted to convert her to her lifestyle because Ivy had the gentlest inner soul she had ever seen. Slowly she had drawn Ivy into her world first by becoming the friend that guided her through the situation with Ingrid once she had completed the sessions she had agreed to.


    They started meeting for lunch twice a week. June soon was changing her work schedule so that she could have more free time to be with Ivy. Thankfully at the time, Ivy was too wrapped up in her problems to notice June¡¯s feelings.


    Each time they parted June would give her a gentle hug and a soft peck on the cheek while holding on to her as long as possible to savor the sweet smell of her scent.


    Soft tender kisses on the cheek over time as an encouragement evolved to full-frontal kisses lip to lip witch Ivy gladly accepted. Soon Ivy found herself responding which further confused her. The slow seduction of Ivy¡¯s heart and mind was being won. It only drove June''s desire to have Ivy as her wife permanently to extremes.


    While Seth was off on his latest book tour the biggest one yet, they had become lovers. The first week he was away they had gone on that Friday to Seattle to see a touring play. Afterward, they had gone into the hotel¡¯s bar that they had booked into where Ivy had let loose and drank a bit too much. They had a one-man-band entertaining the crowd.


    With the music being mainstream it wasn¡¯t long until June and Ivy were standing beside their bar table dancing. The bartender moved a few tables out and soon everyone in the place was jiving to the music. Just before they closed the bar June got a medium bottle of champagne and two glasses to take back to their room.


    That night June could no longer hold back and became the sexual aggressor. It wasn¡¯t long until she had Ivy half undressed. When June started feasting on Ivy¡¯s ripe breasts Ivy responded by holding her head tight against them. June felt empowered. That was the night that Ivy lost her female to female virginity and experienced the taste of a woman¡¯s mouth on her lower lips for the first time. June was thrilled to death when Ivy started responding in kind.


    The next day they picked up from where they had ended. Ivy although inexperienced was a fast learner. The new lovers had to order in lunch and supper as neither could get enough of the other. Each was being consumed by the passions and pleasures, they were giving and receiving. June loved the sound of Ivy¡¯s voice while in an organism. They ended up staying the weekend in the suite and only left because June needed to get home because of work on Monday.


    By the time they had left the hotel June knew that Ivy was hers because Ivy had freely admitted she had never experienced such sensual and sexual pleasures in her married life with Seth.


    Before leaving the city, they had gone out as a couple to purchase their first double-ended dildo. She had allowed Ivy to pick out their first toy which she had used on her for the first time last night. That was the moment that Ivy admitted she was in love with June. As far as June was concerned, she knew she had found the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.


    Last night after about an hour into foreplay Ivy had helped her strap on the double dildo before they climbed back into the master bed. Ivy had eagerly guided their new toy into her waiting and swollen lower lips. Once June was totally embedded in her Ivy whispered the words she longed to hear in her ear.


    ¡°Seth has agreed to a one-year legal separation which will end up making the pre-nuptial agreement non and void. Soon I will be able to be yours forever.¡±


    ¡°I am going to worship your body,¡± June responded, ¡°as you have never experienced before. Tonight, I am making love to you as if you were already my wife.¡±


    For both, the melding of their bodies together became the birth of a new relationship. In emotional and physical exhaustion, they had fallen asleep with each embedded in the other.


    Just before falling asleep June whispered, ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to coming home to the love of my life and ravishing her like I did tonight.¡±


    ********


    Seth knew his marriage was in trouble but did not know the reason. He believed that Ivy¡¯s emotional swings were because of the early arrival of menopause caused in part because of the difficulties they had formerly had with their eldest.


    Seth believed that they had come down here to try to save their marriage while he handled the settling of his parent¡¯s estate. He was finding out the hard way that the opposite was happening. They had reached the point as a couple where they were discussing the terms of a legal separation.


    June had been surprised to learn when she had arrived that she had come down to a big mess. Seth¡¯s older brother who was gay was at war with his brother because he wanted their parent¡¯s house for his partner and himself.


    All of Seth¡¯s sisters wanted the house updated and then listed in the market. They thought that by doing that each would get a greater share in the final split of the estate. It was Seth who got them to agree to allow his older brother John to buy it when the work was done at its new appraised value.


    The problem was that Seth¡¯s older brother thought it was all his doing because would not refer to him in his name but always called him the other Mr. Mathews as their father had done. He wanted the house sold to him as is which would be way less in value.


    For John Mathews, the hate he had for his father had been transferred to his younger brother. Everything that had happened to John throughout his life good or bad was a result of his father¡¯s and brother¡¯s conduct towards him.


    Their father had been a dean for years in the Baptist faith and was well respected in the community back in the days that the Lbgtq¡¯s started their long fight for equality. There was no way he could accept the fact that his son was gay.


    As a result, for a lot of years, the family had been estranged. To date, half the family refused to have anything to do with him or his current partner. Back then if you were excommunicated from the church no one was to have anything to do with you.


    It was not until Ivy, and she had gotten involved that Ivy and John began to communicate with each other. June had often wondered if John was trying to use Ivy to destroy her relationship with her husband.


    June learned the day she arrived just how far Ivy¡¯s and Seth¡¯s marriage had devolved. Though nothing was said publicly they were sleeping in separate bedrooms.


    It had been Ivy that had called John late last night to find out where there was a drug store open late because in her haste to see her girlfriend June had forgotten to pack her prescription for the migraine headaches that she occasionally got.


    Seth had volunteered to go pick some over the counter drugs just in case she had one come on unexpectedly. June was beginning to wonder if it had been John that had attacked his brother.


    Ivy had suggested that he drive the car, but Seth had said since it was only six blocks it was a breeze to walk. Ivy was still on the phone chatting with John when Seth went out the door.


    That was when she realized what might have happened. Quietly she slipped out of the sheets, removed the strap on, and slipped into a nightgown before going downstairs with her cellphone. Ivy had left the detective¡¯s business card on the kitchen counter. She had to talk to the detective before Ivy got up. She had to make sure that Ivy was protected from what she suspected.


    ********


    Detective Inman had just gotten off the phone from having a long conversation with Ms. June Alford. The fact that she had contacted him voluntarily had spoken volumes. After explaining why, she had called she had calmly and without hesitation revealed her understanding of what was going on. June had unhesitantly answered all his questions.


    He now had a clear picture of the crime as it had happened. If you looked at it logically it appeared to be coming together. He had to figure out if John Mathews had the time to get from his residence to the assault scene and back again before he was contacted by dispatch.


    The other thing he had to do was wait for the doctor''s office to open in Washington state. Ms. June Alford had provided him with his name and number so that he could verify that she had a history of migraine headaches.


    His hunch had been right. Ms. Alford freely admitted that the Mathew¡¯s were on the verge of breaking up and that Ivy and she had recently become physical lovers but had been in love with each other but had never acted on it until recently. It appeared that both females had reasons for wanting Seth out of the picture as did John and his partner.


    From what he had just learned the Detective knew that there was only one out of the four suspects that were motivated because of pure hate even though all of them had problems with Seth because of his Christian views. The question yet to be answered whose hate for Seth Mathews and what he stood for and believed was strong enough to want to kill?


    June Alford had explained it well when she said,¡± look we all have views of what Christianity is, but it does not give us the right to judge others for practicing it as they see fit. Seth is a good man whose Christian views have not changed. Ivy¡¯s has and that is the prime reason they were headed for divorce. Their different views about life were driving them apart.¡±


    John Mathews had been moved up to be the prime suspect. Until everything was resolved to his satisfaction, he would continue to investigate the conduct of the four. An innocent call by one to another may have set a man on the road to death.


    Detective Inman knew quite well that the chances of Seth coming back from the condition he was in was almost an impossibility. It would only take one brain seizure for Seth to end up brain dead. If his living will if he had one demanded that he be allowed to die with dignity the charge, then would be 1<sup>st</sup>-degree murder.


    If his gut were leading him right Detective Inman knew that no matter what the result was that Ivy Masters would end up being someone¡¯s loving wife. From what Detective Inman had learned Ivy was and would always be the submissive in a relationship. The only question concerning that was which sex would win?


    ********


    June returned to the bedroom after refreshing herself in the bathroom. As she removed the nightgown from her body June once again took in the beauty of Ivy as she slept naked between the sheets.


    June felt like she was about to catch the brass ring. Ivy who had been moaning in pleasure had promised to love her forever. June knew that she would never tire of being between Ivy¡¯s legs. Her personality, heart, tenderness, and willingness would always drive her desire to get home.


    June slid back into the double-ended strap-on and saw herself in the full-length mirror how she looked with an appendage sticking out as it filled her for the first time. It was a look that she could get used to. Lifting the covers, she slid under the sheets and turned her body towards her future wife and waited.


    As soon as Ivy¡¯s body moved to give her the opportunity June was on top of her guiding the appendage back into Ivy¡¯s willing mound. Once she had gotten in as much as she could she lowered her body down on top of Ivy¡¯s.


    With tenderness and love, June started kissing Ivy gently until she began to wake up. June wanted to reinforce in Ivy¡¯s mind that they were now where they belonged. With their bodies linked to each other physically, emotionally, and mentally as if they were one.


    *********


    At four o¡¯clock in the afternoon, the team finally found the two sections of two by fours that may have been used in the attack. Somehow, they had ended up on the very bottom of the waste bin. A sample of the dried blood was gathered to see if there was a DNA match before they dusted them for fingerprints.


    Most people never realize that the human fingers have naturally created body oil in between their ridges. Proof of that can be seen on a lot of peoples cellphone screen when their phone is black. It acts as a natural adhesive to anything we touch.


    On the two, two by fours, they found three fingerprints and a palm print of the left hand of someone¡¯s lower part left-hand thumb and palm. When the Detective was informed about it, he could not remember if any of the suspects were left-handed.


    It had pissed him off because he knew quite well that it was the littlest of details that brought a case to a successful conclusion. He felt he had made a rookie mistake.


    Detective Inman had made sure that the chain of possession had been documented and backed up. The video of the pickup of the waste bin, the ten-mile trip to get it delivered to the police station had been linked into the file on the case on the computer.


    At six-thirty Jose and Micah came in to get updated on what was going on and what had happened while they were off.


    The recorded phone call of the attack had been compared to the voices of the four suspects and they did not match. Detective Inman was now heading out to do a door canvas of the crime area to see if he could distinguish for himself who the person was if he came into contact with them.


    The detective approached the Sargent on duty and asked, ¡°Can you assign officer Jose to me for a few hours while I conduct a few in-home interviews this evening?¡±


    On the way to the five thousand block of Morgan just after the normal supper hour, the detective and Jose listened repeatedly to the recorded nine one one call. Jose by the time they arrived at their destination believed he would be able to recognize the voice if he heard it.


    The two of them started on the right side of the street working from corner to corner talking to everyone they could before heading back down the other side. It was a house about a forty-five-degree angle from across the street from the crime scene when they finally found the person they were looking for.


    Mrs. Beatrice Karlie was a petite elderly white woman who lived in a home that she could no longer keep up. At the age of eighty-eight, she needed help just to get through her days. Like most aged adults she was at the stage of her life where she could only sleep three or four hours at the best of times.


    For a lady who had lived that long she was surprisingly sharp-witted and had a good sense of humor. Having been an elementary school teacher back in the day she recognized Detective Inman right away.


    When she answered the door the first thing she said, ¡°Billy you have grown into a nice-looking man. Are your three sisters doing well?¡±


    For a moment Detective Inman was flustered because he didn¡¯t recognize her. ¡°Mrs. Karlie I must apologize because until I heard your voice, I didn¡¯t know it was you. My two older and one younger sister are all doing well. They, like my wife, will get a kick out of it when they learned I talked to you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re here about the call I made last night,¡± Mrs. Karlie replied. ¡°Let me go get my notes to refresh my mind.¡±


    As she puttered off to get her notes detective Inman explained, ¡°She taught all of my sisters and me grade four. The first day she met me that school year she said I know you, Billy Inman. I will not put up with any of your shenanigans in my class. I responded with a yes Mame. I learned more about life, myself, and setting goals that year than I did the rest of my life.¡±


    ¡°She always had her notes so you couldn¡¯t get away with anything,¡± Detective Inman said with a smile. ¡°Wait until she learns I married little Gracie who sat behind me in her class.


    When she returned with her notes in hand Mrs. Karlie said, ¡°I knew you would do well. I have watched your career through the newspaper for years.¡±


    Before saying another word Detective Ingman opened up his cell phone gallery and brought up an image of Gracie and him celebrating their last anniversary, ¡°Take a look at this Mrs. Karlie.¡±


    Her eyes got bright as a smile broke her face as she said, ¡°You married Gracie Robinson. Is she still a playful sneak?¡±


    It took a few minutes, for detective Inman to catch her up on a few things, but when they got down to what they had come for her notes were dynamite. When reading the description in detail about the two attacker¡¯s conduct it was like it was a step-by-step accounting about what happened. Mrs. Karlie had even recorded the time it started and when it ended.


    After calling nine one one she had sat down and written a detailed description of what she could remember. What blew the detective''s mind was the words, that little Johnny Mathews was always a bastard, but I never thought he would do something like this.


    Detective Inman was shocked because he had never heard Mrs. Karlie utter a swear word in his life.¡±


    ¡°May I keep your notes?¡± Detective Inman asked, ¡°and will you testify in court if need be.¡±


    ¡°I will need my notes in court because my memory is not the best,¡± Mrs. Karlie said, ¡°if the good Lord keeps me alive until then.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there to hand them to you,¡± Detective Inman said. ¡° I used to hate your dam notes but today I am very proud that you still do them.¡±


    ¡°One more question how can you be so sure of every little detail?¡± Detective Inman asked.


    ¡°My husband, God rest his soul was an avid bird watcher,¡± Mrs. Karlie explained. ¡°Since his passing away I have kept a set of night goggles on my nightstand. When I heard voices last night, I used them to witness it all.¡±


    A few minutes later Detective Inman and Jose were back in the detective¡¯s car when Jose asked, ¡°Do we have enough for an arrest warrant?¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± the detective answered. ¡°No court judge would issue it without evidence to back her statement. Her age would work against her in court. If we can match it with blood and fingerprinting evidence, it will be a slam dunk. For now, all it does is provide proof that we''re headed in the right direction.¡±


    ¡°You were a bit emotional with her,¡± Jose said.


    ¡°I was raised in a time when respect, morals, principles, and standards meant something,¡± Detective Inman explained. ¡±Seth Mathews from what I know about him stood behind them and practiced them. We learned from teachers like her that our country was like it was because of men like him. Seth is a victim of our society because that is what our society now has been taught to hate. Seth¡¯s situation is further proof the hate always wins.¡±


    ¡°Are you implying that Seth¡¯s assault was because he tried to walk his truths through his life?¡± Jose said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll answer your question with a question,¡± Detective Inman replied. ¡°Can you say that you have walked through your life with the values and believes you were raised in? Men like Seth do every day.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you know,¡± Jose replied, ¡°I came out when I was eighteen that I was gay. Revealing that fact changed everything in my life including my relationships.¡±


    ¡°I see, the question I have to ask,¡± detective Inman added.¡± ¡°Have you ever considered the fact that until you did that you were not being to be honest to yourself nor were you being honest to those in your life?¡±


    Jose got awfully quiet. The detective realized that the statement had hit the police officer really hard for personal reasons. Detective Inman knew that many never saw the consequences of their own conduct or others as accountability was no longer required in our society.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we rely on the facts of a case in trying to resolve it,¡± Detective Ingman said. ¡°Truths can be argued but the facts of the crime cannot be denied. DNA, fingerprints, eyewitnesses, the weapons used, the reason for the crime being committed all help to paint a picture that can¡¯t be disproved.¡±


    ¡°The key to being a good detective,¡± Jose said. ¡°Is being able to see through all the bull shit we all create every day. Your last statement brought home a truth I never saw. Things could have turned out a lot differently if I had known that back in the day.¡±


    ¡°Well consider it a life lesson because seeing it will make you a better cop,¡± Detective Ingman said. ¡°Mrs. Karlie somehow taught all her students that we would experience in life many things that had already happened to others. It¡¯s how you deal with them that makes you unique.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s next on the agenda?¡± Jose asked.


    ¡°We are going to go over to John Mathews and his partner''s residence to see if we can start putting a bit of pressure on them,¡± Detective Inman explained. ¡°Try to get a frontal picture of them so we can present a photo lineup to our witness.¡±


    ¡°That I should be able to do with our body camera,¡± Jose said. ¡°it¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m in uniform.¡±


    ¡°Once that is accomplished, I want you to ask them to come in and voluntarily offer their fingerprints so that we can clear them,¡± Detective Inman said.


    ¡°Why? Won¡¯t that be telling them that we suspect something?¡± Jose asked.


    ¡°Hate is a passion. When someone commits a crime because of that it is done on the spur of the moment because the opportunity presented itself,¡± Detective Ingman explained. ¡°Once it¡¯s done panic sets in and in their rush to get away there is no thought about cleaning up the evidence so that it can¡¯t be found.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the Newport menthol cigarette butts we found have anything to do with the case?¡± Jose asked.


    ¡°Let me check my notes,¡± The detective said.


    A few seconds later the detective said, ¡°That¡¯s the brand that John Mathews had in his shirt pocket when I first interviewed the family in the emergency waiting room.¡±


    ¡°One of us should see if we can pick up a butt or two when we''re at their house to see if the DNA matches,¡± Jose added.


    ¡°Smart thinking officer, Nice job,¡± The detective said as he started the car.


    ********


    The detective and the police officer had just left the residence of John Mathews and his partner feeling successful. It appeared that they had ruffled a few feathers.


    ¡°When I asked to use the bathroom,¡± Jose said, ¡°I found an ashtray with a couple of butts which I bagged. I used a couple of pieces of toilet paper to pick them up with and put them in an evidence bag for safekeeping.¡±


    ¡°Did you also notice that John Mathews is left-handed,¡± Detective Inman said. ¡°His partner is right-handed.¡±


    ¡°Why is that important?¡± Jose asked.


    ¡°They found the two by four boards that were used in the attack in the waste bin,¡± Detective Inman explained. ¡°One of the prints recovered was the lower left side of a thumb and part of the palm. Find out what day is collection day for their house. It might be interesting to see what they throw out.¡±


    ¡°Working a case is just like a jigsaw puzzle,¡± Jose said as if he was surprised. ¡°You have to go through a bunch of pieces to find the right one.¡±


    ¡°Things appear to be coming together quite nicely, for now, it¡¯s a wait to see what the DNA shows and that may take a week before we get the results back if I can¡¯t get them to rush it,¡± The detective said.


    After returning Jose to his regular duties the detective called it a day.


    ********


    On Friday, the news came through in the wee hours of the morning that Seth Peter Mathews had passed away as a result of his injuries. The phone came to the detective at three am ruining what was a good night¡¯s sleep.


    His wife found him sitting in the kitchen with a cup of hot tea lost in his thoughts. She understood instantly that the case he was dealing with was affecting him emotionally. When she found him in these moods, she would sit down across from him and wait for him to speak.


    Finally, he started, ¡°Dear, we grew up in times that were changing. Our parents were of the seventy¡¯s generation that experienced true freedom. For us, as African Americans, we experienced equality and opportunities in new ways and were empowered by it.¡±


    ¡°The case I¡¯m dealing with brings back the same tactic¡¯s used against our grandparents to keep the African American community in line,¡± The detective said. ¡°I have to ask myself if a man was killed simply for living what he believed because he tried to be everything for everybody while practicing his faith.¡±


    With that said the detective headed upstairs to prepare himself for the day. He had told the hospital not to release the information because he wanted to tell the four suspects themselves. Their body''s reaction and responses would say a lot.


    By five am he was at the station. Facebook¡¯s reply had come in. Surprisingly, he learned a few things. John Mathews'' current partner was part of the woke generation or promoted himself as being such. That put a different spin on things. Until then the detective believed that John Mathews might have encouraged his lover to participate in the crime now it could be the opposite.


    What perked his interest was that the partner when not working his full-time position at US Bank had a sideline business that taught women how to defend themselves by using objects readily available in their home. He promoted the fact that even a broomstick could be used as a weapon. It helped to explain why Seth¡¯s skull was only cracked and not broken.


    Ivy¡¯s Mathews and June Alfords surprisingly revealed extraordinarily little because of what he already knew. Ivy had spent a fair bit of time reviewing some of those private informal support groups before joining June¡¯s group. Thus, further verifying June¡¯s conversation with him.


    June Alford¡¯s facebook showed her commenting a lot about a woman whose very presence near her was driving her up the wall admitting the lady had her fantasizing about her. Skimming through her timeline he discovered her talking about the romantic weekend in Seattle and her undying love.


    The detective and Micah were on the way over to where Ivy and June were staying to break the news that Ivy¡¯s husband had passed away when he received the call from the state forensic office. The DNA comparison of the cigarette butts was a perfect match. There was no doubt John Mathews had been at the scene of the crime. It was the breakthrough he had been waiting for.


    It was time to take what he knew to the district attorney to see if an arrest warrant could be granted. The only outstanding problem was that they had no print matches but that might be linked through the prints they obtained as they went through the booking process. To get John Mathews¡¯ partner they might need to have a full confession.


    ********


    Both Ivy and June took the news of Seth¡¯s death hard. It was clear to both men that neither lady had wanted this. When detective Inman asked Mrs. June Alford if she would come back and testify to what she had told him there was no hesitation in her answer. It was a quick and loud yes.


    It was interesting watching June explain to Ivy what she had disclosed and why. Ivy saw it as June telling the truth and protecting both their interests.


    ¡°I think you both should know,¡± Detective Inman said. ¡°June¡¯s honesty and straightforwardness saved the department a lot of man-hours by tightening our area of focus. As a result, we should be making an arrest within a couple of days.¡±


    ¡°Do yourselves a favor,¡± Detective Inman added, ¡°Remember always going forward that neither of you was responsible for any of this. The person or persons we will be charging took advantage of an opportunity nothing more nothing less. I believe they would have found another time or place because their actions prove it was deliberate.¡±


    Later after leaving the ladies Micah asked, ¡°Why did you finish our conversation the way you did?¡±


    ¡°Guilt, second thoughts, emotions, hate, anger, and grief are feelings both ladies will normally be experiencing over the next few days because of what happened,¡± Detective Inman said. ¡°I did not want them affecting their relationship going forward.¡±


    ¡°After all, as a detective, you have to understand that with every crime,¡± he said, ¡°there are many different kinds of victims. Ivy and June are two of them. Was it their love for each other that started all of this we will never know? I just hope we stopped it from turning into hate because hate always wins.¡±

 An End is only the Beginning.

    An End is only the Beginning.


    When the other refuses to play your game.


    Winter two thousand thirteen


    On a gloomy cold winter weekday morning I looked in on my two children as they lay sleeping one more time knowing that it would be the last day, I would see them for quite a while. According to the inside source I had, a clerk working for my wife, had informed me that Phyllis had filed the papers with the court the previous day. My loving wife was planning to serve me with divorce papers before the end of the day, while I was at work.


    The lady had met me eighteen months ago over coffees to inform me of the developing relationship my wife of fifteen years was developing with a corporate lawyer who worked for Southeast Health here in the state of Missouri the heart of the fly over country. She wasn¡¯t sure how involved they were, but it was beginning to look suspicious. Thanks to her it had allowed me the time to gather the information I needed.


    After I had gotten out of the service, I had gone into the reserves so my employer knew that I could be called back to active duty at any time without notice. That allowed me to keep my rank and remain active. I had been called to serve more than once and my last assignment had been in the heart of Afghanistan. A backward country where most females were seen the same way as their cattle were and were treated accordingly.


    I had known for months of her intentions but had been slow to respond. Did I stay or run? The problem was in a divorce for me would be her employment. The decision was thankfully taken out of my hand because of an opportunity that came along. If I accepted it, it could bring to a halt to my wife¡¯s plans and get my revenge in a way she would never comprehend. I accepted the offer providing I could set the day of departure. When my wife¡¯s clerk texted me yesterday to inform me that I would be served today. I made the phone call that had changed everything.


    ********


    When I had been in the forces full time, I had been a sniper in the special forces. There were times because of my record, security clearance, and educational background that certain job opportunities would come my way. The latest one I had accepted thanks to my wife¡¯s clerk, who didn¡¯t believe that my wife should be able to trade up just because of the name and the benefits it brought, had informed me on the quiet what was going on.


    By the end of the day, to all who knew, I would cease to exist, except for those who would keep me in their memory. I had been promised that my wife would not be allowed to divorce me or have me legally declared dead for the duration of my assignment. The problem for her was that at that time it had no end date.


    Because of the nature of it, it could not be disclosed to anyone. If I was captured my own government would neither confirm nor deny who I was. The situation would be treated by them as if I had never existed. Once a month she would receive a check for child support from me made out in each of our daughters'' names so she could not try to claim abandonment.


    I would be deep undercover and the two hundred and seventy-five thousand a year tax-free salary that would be paid by a foreign government was to be turned over to an investment firm to be managed for me while, I was gone.


    I had gotten the government agency that recruited me to agree that the income off of that would be tax-free also and the investment firm was holding the documentation to prove it. I insisted that I had a  signed document verifying it in my hands and secured before I agreed to come aboard. It had been signed by President Obama himself. That¡¯s how important my assignment was. I was handpicked because of my knowledge of the Arabic, Persian, and Hebrew languages.


    Within a hundred and eighty-eight hours I would be in the heart of an Islamic enemies¡¯ country working in line with the state of Israel and its armed forces. I would have a new identity and a fake Muslim background. All promotions earned while with them would be recognized here upon my return in its equivalent value. It would be my prime objective to motivate, and help selected ones, begin the long road to revolution by planting and feeding the seeds for it.


    One of the things I accomplished while I was gone was the locating of a nuclear data resource center that proved the enemy was still working towards a nuclear bomb. The Prime Minister of Israel thought it was one of my greatest achievements. Being one of the most powerful pollical figures in the country he rewarded accordingly.


    When the timing was right, he revealed the information to the world. Sadly, to most of the world, it meant nothing. To the United States and Israel, it did. During the assignment I had to endure the chants death to America as the Islamic government saw the leader of the free world the son of Satan.


    In the almost seven years I had been in, because of the information I was able to get back we had successful set back their march to the nuclear bomb by several years. I had gotten promoted numerous times thanks to the Prime Minister of Israel without knowing to the rank in American terms in Israel¡¯s force of Lieutenant General.


    ********


    As usual for my wife, it was a matter of logic and her interpretation of how things should be. The first thing she considered was how our daughters would handle it and decided that all the bells and whistles her new partner could provide would more than cover the hurt and pain her children would face with me out of the daily picture.


    It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t love me because in her warped way she still did. Her problem was to her love was a secondhand emotion and was to be treated as such. It was just a tool that could be used to create an advantage and that¡¯s how she treated it.


    My wife, the honorable Judge Phyllis Jarre, was assigned to the family court, so I knew, for me to get custody of our two daughters was almost impossible. With her connections, I would be lucky to get supervised visitation. At least she would not have to change her name as she had kept hers when we got married.


    It was nice to watch our two girls aged fifteen and thirteen, fast asleep. They looked so innocent, being lost in their dreams that I hated to disturb them. Their mother was inside the master bedroom using the shower to get ready for another busy day at the courthouse. It was her routine to be there by seven am to review the cases she would be dealing with that day.


    I went down to make the coffee as I always did and started making my daughters and my breakfast. It wasn¡¯t long until I heard their mother saying, ¡°It¡¯s time to get up you only got an hour before the bus will be here to take you to school.¡±


    Once the girls were awake my wife would come down to grab a fresh cup of coffee to drink while she got dressed and put her makeup on. By the time the girls had brushed the hair, cleaned their faces, brushed their teeth, and got dressed their mother would be down here putting her winter coat on and taking a hot cup of coffee as she headed out the door.


    It went like it always did except my wife did not give me the customary goodbye kiss on the cheek before heading out the door.


    As soon as she was pulling out the driveway my oldest Sami said, ¡°Dad why the look of sadness?¡±


    ¡°Sari and you will have that questioned answered by the end of the day,¡± I said. ¡°Just remember regardless of what you hear from others, I love you.¡±


    I made them their favorite breakfast for the last time and kissed them goodbye as they headed out the door. I went upstairs and changed into the most basic thing I could find because I could take nothing with me.


    The last few things I did after making up our bed were leaving a note to Phyllis on it saying, ¡°I know.¡¯ It was cold, short, and deliberate. Beside it, I placed my cellphone, my wallet with all of my identification and credit cards in it. Then I placed my wedding ring on top of it.


    I waited for an hour before I was picked up and taken.


    It was during the lunch hour that my wife, the judge was informed the server had not been able to serve me. I wasn¡¯t at work and wasn¡¯t answering the door at our at home even though my car was still parked in the driveway.


    Phyllis called my employer to discover they knew nothing except for the fact that I had not shown up for work nor had I called in. She called my cellphone only to find that it went to the answering service. Before her worked day had ended, she had called leaving messages until the answering service was full. It had been frustrating because she knew this was not like me, yet she did not seem concerned.


    ********


    Sami was in the school cafeteria just finishing her hot lunch when she got called to the office. A man in a military uniform stood there. He was waiting for her. They sat down on some of the chairs for those called in to see the principle to talk.


    ¡°Your father had been called and accepted a long term high-risk mission. After finding out what your mother was doing, he thought you should know why he accepted it,¡± The man said as he handed her a stick. ¡°Look through the file when you get the chance but don¡¯t allow your mother to see it. Find a safe place to keep it in case you need it for your protection. You will find a toll free number in it. If there is a problem call it and reveal what''s going on. People working behind the scenes in support of your father will find a way to handle it.¡±


    At the end of the day, Phyllis headed home in a hurry to find her daughters waiting. She wanted to find out what was going on with her husband because he would usually leave an explanation. They told her they hadn¡¯t heard from him either. Peeking into the spare bedroom she saw her daughters busy working on their homework at the computer just like they always would. It had been her husband¡¯s idea to turn the fourth bedroom into their study area.


    ¡°Mom, dad was sad this morning and when we asked him why he was sad that said we would have our answers this evening,¡± Sari said. ¡°Do you know what he meant? Why would daddy say remember no matter what you hear, I love you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, let me go get changed then I will answer you,¡± Phyllis stated.


    Phyllis walked into the master bedroom saw the note that said I know, my wallet, and the ring. Immediately she knew I wasn¡¯t coming home. It was then it hit her. She knew it said more than it should have. It meant to her that I had known she was trying to take my kids away from my influence and my relationship with them.


    In an argument years ago over the kids, I had warned her saying, ¡°Don¡¯t ever try to separate me from my kids. If you do, we will all lose in the long run.¡±


    She knew instantly that I knew I was going to be served and as a result, I had acted accordingly, so until she had me legally declared dead, she was stuck married, and her boyfriend may not want to wait that long. The problem was she had to go through legal steps to get that accomplished.


    She put everything back on the bed as she found it and took an image. She would have to wait forty-eight hours before she could report me as missing. Two years by state law before she could file for the divorce on the grounds of abandonment. After her daughters had fallen asleep tonight, she would have to call her lover to discuss it all.


    Sari and Sami looked through the file the man had given her in junior high this afternoon, in the privacy of their bedroom. On the computer, they were learning it all. It explained in detail their mother''s long term affair with a Mr. Anthony Bower. Who he was and what he was worth. Mr. Bower was employed as a corporate lawyer for the Southeast Missouri Hospital. His income tax records showed that he had made over a quarter of a million dollars yearly during the last few years. He had never married and was six years younger than their mom. The file even revealed that he was considering starting his political career.


    It was proven that the affair had been going for over a year. Their mother had filed for divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty, emotional abuse, and child abuse. She had even got the report from child services saying that they had interviewed the children at their school and that the children had verified the facts to them.


    ¡°It¡¯s all a lie,¡± Sari said. ¡°Dad never has laid a hand on us or raised his voice in front of our mother.¡±


    ¡°You and I know it,¡± Sami said. ¡°But the truth does not matter in divorce court and never has. Mom drove dad away from us because she no longer wants him in our lives.¡±


    ¡°Who is this lady in child services who had claimed to have interviewed us,¡± Sari asked.


    ¡°Ms. Peters, who claims it was done at our school, thanks to a court order from our mom,¡± Sami said.


    ¡°What are we going to do, Sari asked?¡±


    ¡°Listen to our mother''s explanation then start the long road to getting the truth,¡± Sami said. ¡°That will start when I make copies of part of this to show the principal tomorrow. What they claim was done would have been fought in court by the school board. When interviews are done the board requires that both parents are present for it.¡±


    Phyllis gathered her thoughts in her bedroom after changing into her blue jeans. She had to treat what she was going to say to her daughters, very carefully. She knew she could not tell her daughters that it was her conduct that had driven their father out. She would have to blame him without having it challenged.


    Going downstairs she started preparing supper noticing that her daughters were still in one of the bedrooms working on their homework. She decided she would sit down with them after supper and discuss the situation going forward.


    For some reason, things were noticeably quiet over dinner. It seemed as each was lost in their thoughts.


    After dinner, the girls went about their normal chores doing up the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen table. Surprising both girls kept their usual chat to the bare minimum.


    As they started to climb the stairs to go back to their bedroom Phyllis said, ¡°Sami, Sari don¡¯t you think the three of us should talk about our current situation?¡±


    The girls turned and came back down the stairs sitting at the kitchen table.


    ¡°Ok! Mother,¡± Sami said. ¡°What¡¯s the story?¡±


    ¡°Your father it seems went behind my back and accepted an assignment without getting my approval first,¡± Phyllis explained.


    ¡°Why would he do something like that?¡± Sari asked. ¡°Did you do something that forced him to?¡±


    ¡°No way, why would you think that?¡± Phyllis said. ¡°I¡¯ve always treated your father with love, honesty, and respect. Sadly, he couldn¡¯t treat me the same way.¡±


    Sari went to say something, but Sami gave her a look that made her shut up. Phyllis caught it and felt a shiver, go up the length of her back.


    ¡°Sari I think it¡¯s time we got to bed,¡± Sami said. ¡°With dad gone for good were going to have to start making our own breakfasts. That means we''re both going to be getting up a lot earlier.¡±


    Sami, looked into her mother¡¯s face giving her a look of pure hate.


    ¡°What do you mean by that Sami,¡± Phyllis asked?¡±


    ¡°When you¡¯re ready, to be honest with us and tell us the truth,¡± Sami responded. ¡°We both will have the answer to that.¡±


    Phyllis watched her daughter climb the stairs then said, ¡°Sami come back we can¡¯t leave it like this.¡±


    ¡°Why not? Isn¡¯t that the way you been treating our father for months,¡± Sami hollered from the top of the stairs. ¡°Mr. Anthony Bower should be able to provide you with the answers to your questions. After all the whole world knows that he has been your lover for over a year.¡±


    ********


    Phyllis was stunned to hear that. Had Dean Colbert her husband told her daughters what was going on, and how did he know? Had he been using his military training these last few months to keep her believing the illusions she had.


    When Phyllis went to bed that night, she found a note taped to the door that said; ¡®The slut¡¯s room, to any man who comes calling except her husband.¡¯ Phyllis knew at that moment her relationship had changed forever between her and her daughters.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Sami was like her father and would never let her lies go. She knew that her daughter would seek her revenge but did not know-how.


    Winter two thousand and fifteen


    Judge Phyllis Jarre and her live-in lover, Mr. Anthony Bower were in Judge Donald McDonald¡¯s courtroom preparing to be called up. She had filed for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. Neither one of them noticed the Jag officer step into the back of the courtroom accompanied by Sami and Sari Colbert.


    Tony had moved in with her, against her daughter''s wishes, six months after Dean had left. Before that could happen, she had removed all of Dean''s items and property to a storage unit. She was reaching the point of stopping the rental payments on it to force the owner to seize it. It would serve the stupid ass right to have nothing left to come back to when he returned home. She had enough of his interfering in her life.


    The Judge said, ¡°Those involved with the Phyllis Jarre and Dean Colbert case step forward.¡±


    The Jag watched as Dean Colbert¡¯s wife walk up to speak through the mike, ¡°I had come home just over two years ago to find my husband gone. He had left his wallet, cellphone, and wedding ring in the middle of the bed. The problem was that nothing was missing, not even any of his items like clothing when I arrived home that night. Within forty-eight hours a missing person file was opened. From that day to now there has been no contact. Nor has there any activity on any of his credit cards or our bank account.¡±


    Judge Donald McDonald said as a matter of formality, ¡°Is there anyone in the court has anything concerning the matter before the court?¡±


    The Jag stood up and said, ¡°I do your Honor may I approach the bench?¡±


    ¡°Step forward and Identify yourself,¡± Responded the Judge.


    The Jag stepped forward and approached the mike, ¡°Lieutenant Brandon Dugan, I work for the Judge Advocate Generals office as a lawyer and I am here to represent the interests of Dean Evan Colbert, the Plaintiff¡¯s husband who is out of the country.¡±


    The judge instantly noticed the change in his coworker¡¯s face. It was clear that she was not expecting this.


    ¡°How soon can you have him back here to appear before me,¡± Judge McDonald asked?


    Expecting that question the Jag lawyer walked up and handed him a letter from the President.


    As Judge read the letter, he understood the seriousness of the situation Dean Colbert was in, and why it was impossible at this time for him to appear before him. The information was sealed and could not be revealed because of multinational security.


    Handing the letter back to the Jag lawyer, Judge McDonald said, ¡°The court acknowledges that Dean Colbert is unable to attend and will not be able to attend until his assignment is completed. The problem is that no one can at this time predict when that will be.¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Dugan you can proceed,¡± Judge McDonald said.


    With that said the Jag walked up before the Judge handing him a huge file, upon returning to the mike continued speaking. ¡°The first item is the copy of the original divorce petition filed but not served upon my client. You will see that several accusations were made in it which made it easy for him to accept the assignment he did.¡±


    ¡°The second item is a private eye¡¯s report of the relationship between Judge Phyllis Jarre, and Mr. Anthony Bower that proves it had been going on long before he ever left,¡± The Jag explained. ¡°It will be apparent when you read the information, that Mrs. Phyllis Jarre had deliberately been trying to destroy Dean Colbert¡¯s relationship with all who knew him.¡±


    ¡°The final group is a copy of every check cashed by her for their children¡¯s support. Your honor, it has to be noted that Phyllis Jarre and Anthony Bower, have been living common law in the residence owned by Phyllis Jarre and her husband Dean Colbert against her own children¡¯s wishes.¡± The Jag lawyer continued, ¡°I believe Phyllis Jarre told to daughters, to just suck it up and live with it snowflake. I¡¯m the liberal-minded adult here and you''re both still minor children.¡±


    The judge, after reviewing the file, looked over at his coworker Phyllis. His face showed his seriousness because the abandonment charge had been disproved in such a way that it proved that she knew it. It also showed that she had deliberately trying to mislead the court about everything.


    ¡°I see that you are still holding a file and a legal envelope,¡± The judge said. ¡°Has it any relevance to this court?¡±


    ¡°It could your honor depending on how you decide to view it?¡± The Jag said before he walked up to the bench to hand the file to him.


    On his way back to his mike he stopped and handed the envelope to Judge Phyllis Jarre and said, ¡°You¡¯ve been served.¡±


    ¡°As you see your honor it has been filed and stamped by the court and assigned a case number earlier this morning. It¡¯s a request by the oldest child Sami Colbert who is now seventeen for a declaration of emancipation from the court. She is also asking for sole custody of her sister Sari aged fifteen.¡±


    The Judge looked over at his coworker who was in complete shock.


    ¡°Does the young lady qualify under the requirements of the state for this to be granted,¡± The Judge asked in complete seriousness?


    ¡°There is a letter of authorization from her father Dean Colbert giving his approval, plus in that authorization is a plan by him that guarantees her a thirty thousand a dollar living allowance tax-free until she graduates from Southeastern Missouri University.¡± The Jag lawyer continued, ¡°You will also see that there is a property deed with a clear title for a three-bedroom condo in which the two girls will reside, in the name of the two girls and their father.¡±


    ¡°And the additional papers,¡± Judge McDonald asked?¡¯


    ¡°Background material brought in by Sami Colbert to provide a challenge to the original petition for divorce, and affidavits contradicting claims made in it. Specifically dealing with the false claims of child abuse and the false reports of an investigator in child serves,¡± The lawyer said. ¡°We do have one more concern, your honor before you rule.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead with it,¡± Judge McDonald stated.


    ¡°At the time of his leaving they had no debts. The house was paid for, and the bank account had a balance of one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars. We are requesting accountability of all the family assets,¡± The lawyer said. ¡°It¡¯s our understanding Mr. Anthony Bower may have been using some of Dean Colbert¡¯s assets and funds in his quest for a state seat as a democrat with Dean Colbert¡¯s wife¡¯s approval.¡±


    The Judge sat there gathering his thoughts. What had been a simple straight forward abandonment case was now complicated to the extreme. He was going to need time to read the pages and pages of material presented before by the defendant''s lawyer now also a plaintiff in a serious matter. He knew the Jag lawyer was on his game. The extent he went to, to protect Dean Colbert was extreme.


    ¡°One question before I go, anything further on what¡¯s the prime reason Sami wants legal custody of her younger sister,¡± The judge asked.


    ¡°As Sami put it, the day that Anthony moved in. ¡®Phyllis ceased being their mother because she publicly became Tony¡¯s whore¡¯,¡± the Jag said. ¡°Both girls believe the longer they are there in that situation the sooner Tony¡¯s going to be selling them for the same purposes he uses their mom. Bottom line Sami is concerned that their mother¡¯s common-law husband may try to corrupt her little sister.¡±


    ¡°I am going to insist that Child Services speak to both the daughters before court resumes,¡± The Judge said.


    ¡°We have no problem with that except that we must insist that Ms. Peters is not the state representative being used,¡± The Jag lawyer said. ¡°The reason why will be explained to you if you read the material.¡±


    ¡°Phyllis, I¡¯m going to need an accounting of all your joint funds from the day he left to date,¡± The Judge stated. ¡°Before this case resumes next Friday at nine. Also, I want the house you and Dean own appraised.¡±


    ¡°Your honor he left the marriage willingly and has not supported the family in general,¡± Phyllis said. ¡°Has no conduct with either of his daughter or me. So, he has abandoned us.¡±


    ¡°Based on the information presented before me that I have to go through and review,¡± Judge Donald McDonald said. ¡°The reason he left was that you were trying to smear his good name, destroy his standing with his children and put labels on him publicly. The court is dismissed.¡±


    Phyllis was furious, she has been described as nothing as a whore and Tony was her pimp. She couldn¡¯t believe that Dean had been able to put all this defense together. He had to have had major help. As she turned to head out of the courtroom, she saw the Jag standing with her two daughters talking. She walked toward Sami with pure anger and rage.


    Just as she was about to say something to her daughters, the Jag said, ¡°Best say nothing and let the court decide. Your daughters have already moved out. Sami is driving her father¡¯s car and has emptied the rental unit.¡±


    ¡°You had no right,¡± Phyllis stated.


    ¡°One court order took care of that,¡± The Jag replied. ¡°I¡¯m not from flyover country you''re dealing with the big boys now. So, deal with it.¡±


    ¡°What gives you the right to do this,¡± Phyllis asked in complete frustration.


    ¡°An authorization from your husband, to act on his behalf,¡± The Jag lawyer said, ¡°and the fact that I have never voted for political power.¡±


    What the fuck does politic have with this,¡± Phyllis asked?


    ¡°Everything,¡± the Jag said. ¡°You¡¯re a registered Democrat who married a registered Republican. Need I say more, because in today¡¯s world your husband¡¯s nothing but a piece of shit that most of your fellow members believe don¡¯t belong in American society.¡±


    ¡°Your wrong,¡± Phyllis said. ¡°I¡¯ve never implied that or said that the was what I believed.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± the Jag said. ¡°Your conduct did. That¡¯s why your oldest daughter wants to be declared an adult. After all, she has her father¡¯s morals and views on things.¡±


    *******


    I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to witness that, but I was under arrest. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution who was and is the self-appointed and religious authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran had declared that I was a heretic against the Islamic faith.


    The reason for that happening was that I was not bowing down in solemn prayer towards Mecca at the appropriate time thus had been lacking in faith. I had not been giving proper attention to my daily prayers.


    So, I was sitting in jail receiving the instruction to socially modify my thinking to make my new thinking in more in line with Iran¡¯s spiritual leader. It¡¯s really sad when others believe that you haven¡¯t been taught to think the right way. But they would make me see the errors of my way even if it took daily lashes to do it.


    After all, I was living in the democratic socialistic society of Iran. They would do what it took to make sure I thought the right way.


    *******


    Phyllis Jarre was back in court, so was the Jag and her daughters. Tony and she had decided that it was best if he laid low on this. if what were presented in court got out it would be politically damaging for him.


    Even Phyllis could see the headline ¡®Democrat steals a Republican¡¯s wife and turns her into his whore.¡¯ Even though politics had never been part of the equation because of the way our society was now behaving everything was.


    The biggest problem facing Phyllis was that she had tried to force her daughters to accept her new living relationship. With all the information now before Judge Donald McDonald, it makes it quite apparent that she had done it in a cold and calculating manner.


    Ms. Peters, Phyllis''s best friend the social services worker was under suspension because it had been proven with the help of the school board that the investigation by her had never taken place. The Judge had called the regional supervisor of child services into his chamber to have a long serious discussion about the situation before him.


    When the judge entered the courtroom, they all stood up. After calling the court to order the judge said, ¡°Do either of the parties have any further information they feel a need to provide the court with?¡±


    With no response by either party, he started by saying, ¡°First of all, the request for divorce on the grounds of abandonment is declined. The burden of proof has been successfully challenged. Therefore, I am leaving it at the point that as of this Day Phyllis Jarre and Dean Colbert are officially legally separated.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Jarre based on the accounting you have shown us the net family worth with the appraisal of the house is six hundred and twenty thousand dollars. You will receive clear title to the house once you have turned over three hundred and ten thousand dollars in a bank draft to the county clerk to be held in trust for him until your former husband returns,¡± Judge McDonald said. ¡°The actual divorce cannot take place until his return.¡±


    Phyllis''s face went white. This was not what she had expected. She felt that Tony and she was being prosecuted because of what she had done.


    ¡°As for Sami Colbert¡¯s request for a declaration of emancipation the court will grant it,¡± The judge said. ¡°Child services at my request did a background check on both Phyllis Jarre and Mr. Anthony Bower. They also interviewed both Sami and Sari separately in the three-bedroom condominium in which they are now residing. Their report was very revealing. There was information discovered about Mr. Bower that is questionable at best. When you factor all the information in as it was presented by both sides, I am forced to grant custody of Sari Colbert to her sister Sami.¡±


    The Jag smiled. His supervisors would be pleased with how it had all gone. It would take two to three months for feedback to get back to Dean because of all the channels it would have to go through.


    Phyllis Jarre was devastated.


    Current time.


    Thanks to the government of China¡¯s latest screw up in biological warfare because of their failure to keep safety standards I was being pulled out early. It had taken me three days to get to the state of Israel. After two weeks debriefing and to be cleared of the possibility of being affected with coronavirus, I received all my American identification thanks to the American consulate with the instruction that upon my return I would report directly to the pentagon.


    I spent a week in Washington dealing with matters of security and my official retirement from service. The only regret I had I would never be able to fully explain what I had done. During that time, I got caught up in my financial situation to be pleasantly surprised at how well off I had become.


    It was around four p.m. on the first Sunday of February when the plane touched down in Cape Girardeau. I was not expecting a big welcome, but I was pleasantly surprised. As soon as I walked through the gate, I saw my parents waiting for me with two ladies I barely recognized.


    It overwhelmed me to see how much my girls had grown up. They both were now exceptionally beautiful adults. I learned that Sami was in her last year and would get her Bachelor¡¯s Degree and Peace Officer¡¯s License. She had already secured a position with the U.S. Marshalls when she graduated. Sari was finished and was now a Registered Nurse working towards becoming a Nurse Practitioner.


    Mom and Dad looked graceful in their old age. For all of us, it was an emotional few minutes. After grabbing my gear, we all went to the condominium I had never seen, and I was surprised at how huge it was.


    My first night home was a mini celebration. My mother and daughters thought I would enjoy a simple meal of steak, salad, and baked potato and boy were they right. I got caught up with their lives and got the highlights of the last seven years. I explained the basics of what I had been doing without giving any details. I took out and showed the different medals I had received from the Israeli government for my service to them along with the certificate of citizenship I had been granted from them.


    When the girls got up the next morning, I was already making what had been their favorite breakfast back in the day.


    ********


    The taxi I ordered drove me to the local Ford dealer where I bought a used truck, by lunchtime I had it insured and licensed. Then it was to the county clerk to arrange transfer of the funds being held with me. It was the country clerk who suggested that I use Ashley Phillips as my lawyer going ahead for divorce.


    It was Ashley Phillips who suggested that I sue for a criminal conversation which is a civil claim for adultery because I did not have to prove that the defendant did a malicious and wrongful action nor that the adultery affected the marriage.


    I just had to prove that the adultery had been committed. The private investigators report already provided in the abandonment suit, had already proven that because it contained the hard evidence of photographs and videos of the extramarital sex happening between Phyllis and Tony while we were legally married. Since we could prove they lived locally at the time it met the in-state requirement. Ashley also drew up the divorce papers for divorce, on the grounds of adultery.


    I learned from Ashley that Mr. Anthony Bower my ex-wife¡¯s lover and currently common-law husband was running unopposed to run against our current representative for the senate as a democrat. She decided it would be best to serve them both at the town hall meeting they were having on Thursday.


    Thursday evening, I came out after supper dressed in my full military uniform with all its medals wearing black sunglasses. It was the same uniform that I wore on the day of my retirement, for the official ceremony and photographs. My daughters went with me because they wanted to see the look on their mother''s face.


    It was halfway through the meeting that Mr. Anthony Bower finally saw me. My daughters and I had decided to sit in different parts as to not draw attention to ourselves. Mr. Anthony Bower called me up to thank me for my service because it always looked good especially when running to show your support for those in service.


    ¡°Are you retired or still active,¡± Tony asked?


    ¡°Retired for less than a week,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m now just a retired former Lieutenant General who looking forward to getting back to civilian life back home with my family.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to introduce you to my wife, Phyllis Jarre,¡± Anthony Bower said proudly as she came over to stand beside him.


    ¡°Thank you but I believe we have already met,¡± I said. ¡°A long time ago so I am sure she wouldn¡¯t remember it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I would,¡± Phyllis said. ¡°I recognize you vaguely but can¡¯t picture it because its apparent time has changed you.¡±


    ¡°Let me introduce myself,¡± I said as I reached up to take off my sunglasses. ¡°My name is Dean Colbert and although we are legally separated, we have never been divorced.¡±


    Panic erupted, Phyllis fainted as I said, ¡°It''s finally nice to meet you, Tony, after all this time. Can you answer me honestly is it a political policy of the Democratic party to steal a Republicans wife to make them their whore? Good luck on your run but you won¡¯t be getting my vote.¡±


    With that said I proceeded off the stage. It was pure pleasure for me in watching them both being served once Phyllis had been revived.


    Both of my daughters came from out of nowhere to stand beside me. Phyllis and Tony¡¯s faces were white. It was going to be interested to see how they would try to spin it going forward. Without answering any of the reporters covering the event we left.


    Sadly, all of this had to happen because I could not be the good conservative and go along, just to get along. My wife Phyllis had crossed the line. She could have divorced me without trying to ruin everything, but no she was a liberal who had to have it all. After all its generally believed anything is acceptable if your liberal, even beating innocent bystanders watching a leftist protest march.


    We as a group of conservative people had turned the cheek for years and look where that was getting us. It took the example of one man who refused to lay down but instead decided to stand and fight to awake a sleeping generation. As a result, the other side was starting to take it to the extreme because they could not accept the fact that a lot of us were saying no more of your liberal outlandish crap.


    That¡¯s what I had to build in the resistance in Iran. It''s hard to teach someone to have a backbone when they don¡¯t have a spine. Thanks to what happened in China the resistance movement was accelerating. What was needed for it now was a good set of weapons that worked? Like all democratic organizations they had seized the guns as soon as they took control.


    It was fun watching the local news in the morning. The story was the main topic of discussion. Somehow, they had gotten the past two petitions for divorce and now had the third that had been filed in the court.


    It finally was revealed that Mr. Anthony Bower as a young man had been charged with Statutory Rape, but the parents of the girl had ended up dropping the charges. It¡¯s not so easy running for office when you¡¯re not so clean.


    Three weeks later Phyllis Jarre and I stood before Judge McDonald. The publicity about the three of us had ended their relationship. Phyllis had told her daughters she had not been aware of Tony¡¯s past. Both of them had told her they had no reason to believe her.


    My lawyer was in discussions with Tony¡¯s lawyers about a possible settlement. I wonder with the morals and principles he had shown if it would be enough of a hit to him to force himself to look at himself and make changes. Or would he just mark it as loser¡¯s loss and look for another conservative¡¯s life to screw up.


    When Judge Donald granted the divorce to me on the grounds of adultery, I thanked him. As Ashley Philips and I were walking out Ashley asked me, ¡°Was it worth the price to win the divorce on the grounds of adultery?¡±


    ¡°It boiled down to what was right or wrong,¡± I said. ¡°Nothing more or less. I knew that in time with the truth I would win. I had to leave the country for that to happen. I didn¡¯t just have a wife to fight I had to fight the judicial system of which she was a part of.¡±


    ¡°If you had of stayed, she would have won,¡± Ashley said, ¡°because the one¡¯s inside of the system were her friends, it would have been whitewashed.¡±


    I smiled and said, ¡°Welcome to the world of politics that most never see.¡±


    I smiled and said, ¡°Welcome to the world of politics that most never see.¡±

 A Question of Conduct, Was it an Addiction?

    Sister Deborah Rogers called me around eleven pm on a Saturday night having some major concerns. Her only son Joe, she believed may have fallen off the wagon. He had not been seen by any of his family in six days and had not checked in with his staff at work. She felt it might be a sign that he had reverted back to his old ways when he would disappear on a drinking binge for weeks.


    She was proud of her son for the changes he had made in his life but was afraid that he had been issued a death blow that would take him totally down. She had never liked her daughter in law but had kept her feelings to herself. She saw her as an opportunist who only cared about herself. There was something about her character that just not sit well with her even though her husband had dotted on her.


    Deborah was a recent widow who had lost her husband to covid just over a year ago was nearing the age of sixty had just learned that her son¡¯s wife of ten years had asked him for a divorce. Not having heard from Joe her soon-to-be ex-husband since she asked him to move out, Joe¡¯s wife Connie, had called Deborah wondering if he was staying with her. She claimed she was worried that her conduct might have been enough to push him over the edge. Deborah did not buy it.


    By the time she had called me she was at her emotional limits and felt if she didn¡¯t do something soon it might be too late. Deborah in the back of her mind was reliving all the bad years they had with her son before he began getting control of his life.


    I could see Joe Rodgers¡¯ wife''s point of view and understood it well. When one carries another through the addiction and their recovery there is always an unseen cost. When the addicted person is a spouse, the price is usually the death of the love between them. Neither of them would realize it but their marriage was in a slow spiral downward unless they both made changes willingly.


    I had seen it happen once before with my parents. My dad died in a car accident while driving drunk the very night my mother threw him out because she was done with his constant drinking and unkept promises even though at that time he had been six months sober. She had nothing left to give. She thought that he was over the worst but her conduct that day drove him right back to it. To many times he had quit drinking only to return to it in a few months. He had destoryed her dreams and wants concerning her life. With him gone she became a completely different person.


    Her second husband, my stepfather taught me more about life than my father had. Thanks to his example I learned that when couples worked together mountains could be climbed. He came into our lives when we were down and out trying to rebuild our lives as we dug out of the hole my father had left us in.


    I also wondered if it had been a calculated move by Connie to push her husband, Joe off the edge. If she could push back into drinking it would give her the legal excuse to go for a court order making her a conservator over his business¡¯s leaving her in the driver''s seat going through the divorce. If she was successful, it would have set her up for life.


    I knew that since Joe had quit drinking with his father¡¯s help at start, he had built quite a mini empire and was in discussions to build a third location of the franchise he had bought into. It seems he had the Midas touch because he was already debt free.


    His father had helped because he thought it would inspire him to find the strength to overcome his addiction, but it wasn¡¯t until Joe accepted the support that he needed that that his personal life and economic wellbeing took off.


    Connie Rodgers most likely had been waiting a long time for the right time to tell him only to learn the hard way that it would never come. Finally, something had happened in her life that had caused her to go ahead and pull the trigger.


    Perhaps she had developed a romantic interest that was getting serious. After years of being neglected, she may have found someone who appreciated her for what she had to offer who did not have all the baggage that comes by living.


    ********


    In the middle of the nineteenth century, many women had stayed in their relationship because that was the accepted norm. Many female spouses had to endure all sorts of things and they never said a word. They did their suffering in silence.


    Nowadays if we all had half the endurance they had, our society''s divorce rate would be a lot lower. We live in a world that is always gradually changing and not for the good. Even in Jesus''s time all you had to say I divorce you and it was recognized. Although life was tougher, and harder back then it was not regulated like it is these days.


    Whether it be prescription drugs, alcohol, porn, gambling, or some other product designed to draw you in, for an addict it is the addiction that is in control. The need for it drives the person causing them to lose compassion and their focus becomes getting their latest fix. They act without thinking because the only thing that matters is satisfying the craving that they have cultivated. After all, it is now in control. Everything else has lost any consideration.


    It was sad because I had been Joe¡¯s mentor and had watched him reach the point of being five years sober. When I had first met Joe, he was cutting back and only drank on the weekends. With his father¡¯s help he was slowing cutting down while heading in the right direction.


    He had come to the AA meeting after a big blow-up with his wife because he had not wanted to end up at a bar counter drowning his sorrows. Since the problem was between his wife and him, he had not wanted to go to his parents.


    He  had shown up just as the meeting was ending. We had talked to each other for about three hours before he felt comfortable that he would make it through the night without turning to alcohol to escape his difficulties. That was the night that he realized that he was now a controlled alcoholic. He was never sober but was never totally drunk.


    Like most women Connie knew what buttons to push to get her husband riled up or to take his self-esteem down. Until that night he had in his mind believed that he had been slowly gaining control of his addiction and was proud in what he had accomplished. He came to the meeting for help because he was beginning to see what she may have been trying to do.


    It took him a few months to come to the realization that drinking had been his crutch. It gave him the needed excuse not to face problems that he did not want to deal with. What was behind his constant drinking had been his insecurities that come from a lack of believe and faith in oneself. Teaching one to accept that one always makes the best decision based on what they know at the time is the hardest lesson one can teach because they had to learn to stop questioning themselves.


    As I worked with him, we had drawn closer. Each day he was sober he learned that he could cope with things as long as he controlled his temper and did not automatically allow the little things to piss him off. He had to learn to stop caring about things beyond what he could control.


    It was during my mentoring of him that I learned he had lost his belief because he felt that if there was a God that God had never answered his prayers. He was like most who went to God in prayer to ask for help and then did nothing to help himself. It was when I asked him if he had an employee who asked for a raise and had done nothing to show that he deserved it would he give it? His answer was a big no because the employee had not proven he was worth it. I then said apply that same thought to your relationship with God.


    One of the things Connie learned the hard way was that pushing his buttons in an attempt to anger him no longer would work. When he caught her trying to do that, he would tell her he was leaving until he calmed down and she could talk rationally. It was a rough period for both of them until Connie accepted their new reality. All who knew them began to see Connie for what she was and adjusted their thinking accordingly.


    Just over a week ago I had given him his five-year pin in front of all those who were in attendance. Joe was reaching the stage where he was at the seventh step and had been making great progress. He had turned his life around by three hundred and sixty degrees to the point that he had become known as a strong Christian in all aspects of his life. I admit I was proud of how much he had accomplished.


    Connie during this time had drawn close to Melinda. The two of them claimed that they had never met before Joe got involved with AA, but to Joe and me something about their relationship did not add up. There were too many times that their half sentences were completed by the other and that only happens in long term relationships.


    I sure hoped he had not fallen but I promised Deborah that I would go looking for him. After getting a list of his favorite establishments that he had favored back in his drinking days from her I got dressed and headed out. If he had started drinking it was likely he would automatically go back to what had been his favorite haunts.


    ********


    Melinda, my wife of seven years wished me Godspeed. I had told her that because of his history if I found him drinking, I would take him to the hospital for a checkup because he might be suffering from alcohol poisoning. I could understand his frame of mind because I too had hit the bottom and at that point, I did not care if I lived or died.


    My reaching that point was not because of booze or drugs it was because I lost my first wife and our unborn daughter on Christmas eve because of a drunk driver. It caused a crisis of faith because, like all who believed without true knowledge, I blamed God. Now every time I heard someone say it was God¡¯s will it turned my stomach because no one understood what free will meant and had no clue what it gave us.


    It had been our pastor at that time who had challenged me to prove for myself whether God was responsible for what happened or not. I took his challenge to heart because I like all others before me, I believed I could prove myself right.


    The lessons learned during that period had changed my views about everything. My mother and stepfather said at the end that of journey that I had changed so much that they felt like they hardly knew me.


    ********


    I dived into three years of full-time theological studies which showed me just how little the average Joe knows about what the Christian faith is all about. Having always been a student of history I applied that to my research in searching for God¡¯s truth. My final theses tore apart the sacred doctrines taught by the majority of religious scholars for centuries which changed my view about Christianity for good. That is when a different understanding began to reveal itself. I admit I was shocked by what I learned. It was different than what most believe.


    As a result, I became an inexperienced pastor looking for my first position. What I had believed when I had started the journey had been proven by me to be completely wrong. Even to this day I still have a hard time understanding why most humans don¡¯t question but accept others'' claims as being the truth.


    Looking back at that time with a new understanding I know that most would not understand unless they made the journey themselves. It¡¯s a walk of discovery that can only come by putting in the diligent effort, the time, and the research to prove or disprove what I was learning.


    My dead wife¡¯s and my pastor had been there when I received my graduation certificate. For him, it was an important event. As the Valedictorian I had to give a twenty-five-minute speech. In it, I briefly explained what had brought me to this crossroad in my life. I could see the power of wisdom in his eyes because he knew God¡¯s truth, not man¡¯s had changed me.


    In a private moment he said, ¡°I knew that with your questioning mind that you would be driven to fulfill the quest I put in front of you. You took the same walk I did years ago and as a result God opened your eyes just like he did mine. It will be a long, lonely walk trying to follow God and his teaching as he wants you to, but as long as you never leave him, he will walk with you.¡±


    To this day when I was working on something to do with the church my mind would go back to him as I wondered what he would do if he were in my situation. It forced me to take a second look at everything and make changes because I saw things that could be oversaw or explained differently.


    ********


    Although I had job offers, I really did not want to work as a junior at a church that was already established. I wanted to help set the policies of the church not be bound to follow them because so many of them were tied to the quagmires and doctrines taught in the past. I saw them, like Jesus saw the Scribes and Pharisees. So tied up in keeping with the traditions, rituals, and their interpretation of God¡¯s law that by their conduct they had lost the truth of the Christian faith as originally taught by Jesus and God.


    I returned to my former employment while I kept looking. I at that time I was still searching to find out if there was a reason that God required me to go through that test of faith.


    Little did I know back then that in searching for the answers I had always believed I knew I would find my life taking a complete change in direction. A week before my twenty-fifth birthday I was offered the position I was still in.


    The church at the time had been a rented section located in a dying strip mall. It was so small that I had to work a full-time job in construction and served as its only pastor part-time. The parish had rented it for two hundred a month.


    Once I was established and accepted by all after I had been appointed, I learned that most had left the other churches they had associated because of the clicks that had been formed in them. Most organized churches I learned from them had their own type of caste system.


    Now ten years later our new church building could easily sit fifteen hundred and we had two services on Sunday. Being a young church, it was a blessing to be debt-free. From day one I had made it a priority to make sure there was no distinction between how the attendees were treated because I knew there was no male-female distinction in God¡¯s kingdom.


    The only thing I ever pointed out about church finances was that there was a collection box at the back of the church by the exit doors. Those wishing for a receipt for tax purposes should leave a note with their donation in an envelope.


    Like Jesus I never asked for money because I passionately believed that if we were doing God¡¯s will, it would be provided. To date I had not been proved wrong.


    ********


    One of the first things I did once I assumed the position was contacting Alcoholics Anonymous to set up a local chapter of their program. Little did I know that one of its first members would end up becoming the sister of my second wife.


    Melinda¡¯s parents were multi-cultural. Her mother was white English, and her father was an African American lawyer whose roots went back to the Congo. He had been raised by a single mother who had managed to keep him on the straight and narrow. To this day his mother walked on water because without her relentless efforts, faith, and firm discipline he would not have the life he had today.


    I had met the whole family the first time Melinda¡¯s sister decided that she had to hear me present a sermon. She introduced me to the family after the service was finished. Her father said it was the first time in their life they had gone to what he fondly called a white man¡¯s church.


    I told him that if I had not seen his facial expression when he made that remark in humor that I would have seen what he said as being racist. I then added that the proper Christian view was that our skin was nothing more than God¡¯s clothing of our flesh. I guess my remark surprised him because a week later he and his whole family were sitting in the pews.


    Melinda was attracted to me right away, but it took a lot of sweet-talking to get her father to ask me out for lunch. By that time, they had been attending regularly for about three months.


    To this day Melinda¡¯s dad still teases her about how long it took her to get me to the point where I was waiting for her to walk down the aisle.


    Melinda had and still has a body that will not quit. It took me a long time to adjust to the fact that no matter where we were men would stop just to take a second look. She is that beautiful. My first wife had been her complete opposite.


    Seeing her walk into the church for the first time had all the single men¡¯s eyes popping out of their heads because she a body shape that would not stop. Her light brown skin looked more like a tan than her actual skin color which only caused her sensuality to blossom more. Seeing her natural beauty reaffirmed to me that the color of our skin was God¡¯s clothing of our flesh.


    The following Sunday every one of the parish''s single men was dressed to the nines. So was she. I noticed how attractive she looked but I thought it was because Melinda knew that there were many single men closer to her age who had their eyes looking when they should not have been.


    Little did I know that the problem was that her big beautiful bright blue eyes and sharp mind were focused on one man who was too busy building the parish to catch the bait.


    ********


    It was on the second anniversary of her older sister''s sobriety when I was invited to a family afternoon celebration in their backyard when the pastor, family relationship changed. It seemed that I was given the credit for Mary¡¯s turnaround by all the family including Mary herself. Only I seemed to understand that Mary had made the biggest step herself and that was when she admitted to herself that she had a problem and needed help.


    It was when they had brought out an old family favorite game called twister that things started to change. Melinda and I were on the mat with our bodies intertwined in ways that were beyond imagination trying to make our next move when my leg gave out. As I started to fall Melinda turned to face me as I landed on top of her.


    Believe me, when a man falls on a soft pile of human flesh that smells that inviting, he is in no rush to climb off. Here we were faced face to face closer than we had ever been. Her blue eyes were so consuming to me that for a moment I was lost.


    Taking advantage Melinda made sure she made mouth-to-mouth contact while slipping her tongue in. Melinda¡¯s older sister Mary catching it all said, ¡°damn she¡¯s been trying to get that first kiss from him for at least the last nineteen months.¡±


    It had been such a long time since I had such warm soft willing flesh against me that my body started functioning normally. I was embarrassed beyond belief. Melinda was thrilled because she had finally got my attention. I felt that as a pastor I should have been in better control of my fleshly body functions.


    Later in private Melinda said as I was trying to apologize for what happened that it had been such a relief to her because she was beginning to believe that I was gay. Thankfully in their wisdom, her family left us alone for a while to talk.


    That was the afternoon that she learned my whole life story. By the time I left her whole family had smiles on their faces. After listening to me explaining the journey that had brought me to this point in life, she concluded that I had reached the point that I was once again ready to date. I was promptly told to pick her up next Saturday because I was talking her out for dinner.


    The following Saturday we went on our first date. After dinner, we took a stroll down along the Mississippi. Nine months later I stood at the alter as her father walked her towards me to say the vows of marriage. Looking back, I think that Melinda had pushed me into it because I would not go past second base.


    As a pastor I knew I was being watched by the single soon to be adults. I had to lead by example and ensure that my own personal conduct did not contradict what I preached. I knew that saying one thing and doing another would devalue the message that God was imparting, and I could not allow that to happen.


    That night her father in his formal thoughts brought out the point that Melinda had known instantly that I was going to be the man she married because her sister''s views about me were right.


    ¡°David,¡± he said, ¡°was just focused on building our church and was not paying attention. It was fun watching his daughter¡¯s frustration as she tried everything to get his attention. It is nice to see that she won in the end.¡±


    ********


    I now worked as a pastor full-time in our non-denominational multinational church. Those who know me quite well refer to me being a Christian Jew type of pastor who applies the scriptures as the first century Christians did. I was known as one who tries to teach the parish to follow the teaching of God and Jesus Christ spiritually.


    Melinda and I were finally at the point that we were discussing if we wanted to bring children into the marriage as her insurance agency was firmly established. She thought it was humous that she made more money than me before expenses.


    My views of Christianity and its teaching had caused frictions because I tore apart the doctrines that many had been taught to believe for years. Like me, they had been taught what to believe and when faced with biblical truths that contradicted them, they experienced denial, anger, and disbelieve before acceptance came. Just like I had.


    Everyone comes to their own Jesus moment when they finally understand that for most of their life that they have been following the teachings of man regardless of what the bible said. One simple fact that most did not understand was that sin was nothing but our conduct not meeting God¡¯s standards.


    It is a slow process of learning the hard way for themselves that if the bible contradicts what they were taught by their religious teachers that the teachers were wrong. Too many believed that that the Old Testament had no value in today¡¯s Christianity especially when they were led to believe it contradicted the things in the Gospels of Jesus.


    It had created such a change of view inside themselves, that they could not stop talking about the new things about Christianity that they had learned. It caused the church to grow fast. It reminded me of the apostle Paul who said, ¡°I planted, Apollo watered, but God made it grow.¡±


    When I got asked one time why some found it hard to see what I showed them in my sermons. I said some do not want God¡¯s truth they only want someone to reaffirm that what they believe is true. Truth has no value to them and never will because they would have to be honest to themselves and that may be impossible.


    One of the former deans from another church asked if it would be okay if he got baptized again?


    I asked him, ¡°why?¡±


    His answer is one that I will remember until the day I die.


    He said, ¡°with his new understandings of God and Jesus there was no way he could say that his first baptism was made with true intentions.¡±


    He was the first to be immersed in our baptism pool in the new church building.


    After his re-immersion, he said to me, ¡°I never truly understood why you always ask God to protect the congregation from the teaching of men in prayer before beginning your service. When you said before dipping me that this was my public proclamation that God and Jesus are the only true teachers it made sense.¡±


    ¡°Many who first learn about God and Jesus put their faith in the teacher delivering the message,¡± I said. ¡°When I fail, and we both know I will, I want to protect those from losing their relationship with God and his son because of me.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t believe you will fall, do you,¡± the brother asked?


    ¡°I can¡¯t say if I will or if I won¡¯t. I just know that God and Jesus are willing to forgive me if I do,¡± I said. ¡°As a teacher of the teachings of both, I am held to a greater standard than the average brother or sister because teaching a lie as the gospel of Jesus Christ is a sin against the holy spirit.¡±


    ¡°Most do not understand a sin against the holy spirit will not be forgiven,¡± I explained. ¡°It ends up with a sentence of death at the time of judgement when Satan and his followers are removed from existence. That is why I am so careful. I have learned during this journey that the more I learn the more I do not know. Learning that truth changed me from being a bit arrogant to being humbler.¡±


    ********


    I  found Joe by accident about two in the morning after the bars had closed for the night. I had decided to get a bite to eat before continuing my searching. He was sitting at Denny¡¯s counter waiting for his order to be made up. Thankfully, he was sober and drinking a cup of coffee.


    The moment he saw me he broke out in a smile as if he knew why I was there. With laughter, Joe said, ¡°I guess I blew it. I should have informed her. Mom must have sent you looking for me. I told my assistants I was taking the week off.¡±


    ¡°Your right,¡± I said as I sat down at the counter beside him. ¡°I came looking hoping that your mother¡¯s fears were not becoming a reality. She had just learned tonight from Connie that she had threw you out after telling you she was filing for a divorce.¡±


    ¡°I thought about it during a down moment while looking for a new place to live,¡± Joe said honestly. ¡°If it was not for the fact that we have two children we still have to raise I might of. Instead, I rented a vehicle that I used to find out for myself if what I was feeling concerning Connie was right. It was, I learned my wife is involved with someone else.¡±


    ¡°So that is why you were not at the AA meeting Wednesday night,¡± I said. ¡°The two ladies you are mentoring were looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Connie and your wife Melinda using Melinda¡¯s car dropped our kids off at her mother¡¯s then went out for supper at Bythia¡¯s on Bythia,¡± Joe explained. ¡°Two police officers still in uniform were waiting for them and joined them for dinner.¡±


    Joe now had my undivided attention because Melinda had never told me she had gone out. Joe pulled up an image of the two police officers from his cell. I recognized one of the officers as an old friend of hers from when they had attended university. Believing it was just a catch-up sort of thing, I had no problem with it.


    ¡°After they left, I slipped in and chatted with the owners Kaleb and his wife Carrie who I know because of mutual business reasons. As far as they knew the four of them were two couples,¡± Joe said. ¡°They meet there every Wednesday just after the police officers have finished their shift. To them, it was a ritual that each couple looked forward to because they acted as most couples do. Each one of our wives sits beside the same man every week to be able to look across the table at their partner.¡±


    ¡°Have you discovered anything else?¡± I asked figuring that Joe might have stumbled onto something that would require further investigating.


    ¡°Friday night just after seven pm while you were working with the youth in our congregation as you do every week our wives went over to one of those stately buildings on Old Cape Road near the University. You know the huge building that had been a hotel then a brothel which is now a private residence. I believe it might be owned by one of the professors because it is a rather large six-story historical building that has been updated and remodeled numerous times,¡± Joe said.


    ¡°You are not referring to the one that still has the four gargoyles watching over the front door,¡± I asked? ¡°They''re so old that they remind me of medieval times. It¡¯s believed that the Hungarian owner at that time imported them when it was a brothel to act as a protector for the women in his stable.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am but It is still well above what either one of us could afford,¡± Joe disclosed. ¡°I found a spot up the hill on the street where I could park and watch the building because there were at least ten other vehicles parked there already. As dusk was settling, I saw at least another eight vehicles pull in.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to the lights on the front of the building that I thought was being used as a boarding house for students I could see that all those that came were dressed as if they were having a night on the town. All walked through the front door without knocking. It appeared to be a semi-formal event because everybody looked their best,¡± Joe went on to explain. ¡°As darkness fell the rooms on the second to the sixth floor of the home lit up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s when I started to get suspicious. Using a set of night googles I had transferred from my trunk, I walked in darkness to the front of the house getting into the property between the spaces in the hedge,¡± he said. ¡°It was not long until I was able to see some of the attendees moving into the bedrooms in a state of undress showing a lot of physical attention to who they were with. Hands were moving over each other¡¯s clothing exploring the body parts that were covered by them.¡±


    ¡°From what I saw,¡± Joe said, ¡°I believe our wives are members of a swingers club because some of those bedrooms were filled two female or two males while other rooms had both sexes. At no time did I catch a glance of our wives. Nor did I see any sexual acts being committed even though it appeared to be headed that way. Since I only saw the outside front side of the house it¡¯s safe to assume other rooms were being used.¡±


    ¡°Did you recognize any of the other people you saw attending,¡± I asked?


    ¡°Just the two police officers our wives shared dinner with,¡± Joe replied. ¡°One of them was with an African American man, the other with a woman I would recognize if I saw her again. I will have more information on Monday after visiting the county clerk¡¯s office to find out who owns the residence they were at.¡±


    I ordered an ultimate breakfast and a coffee so that Joe and I could start to plan.


    ¡°When you are checking out the title make sure to check out a few others in the general area,¡± I said. ¡°If someone in the clerk¡¯s office asks plant the seed that the church is looking for acreage to build a private school in that area. It will be seen as an acceptable explanation because of what''s being going on with the educational system in general.¡±


    ¡°Why would I do that,¡± Joe asked?


    ¡°For two reasons, ¡° I explained. ¡°We have our suspicions but nothing to back it up, and besides, we have no clue who all the members are. We don¡¯t want to accidentally tip them off before knowing anything.¡±


    ¡°Could this have been going on since our wives attended the university,¡± Joe said not expecting an answer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know but it sure raises a lot of questions because we don¡¯t know what the truth is,¡± I said. ¡°For now, until we find out what is what, you and I are dumb and dumber personified. Got it. If it is true, it may be that our wives are dealing with their own problems of being addicted. We both know that if they are that until they admit it, there is nothing we can do but divorce them on the grounds of adultery. ¡±


    ¡°Why were we not able to see it,¡± Joe asked while trying to figure out how one can be so blind.


    ¡°Joe, consider woman and man¡¯s history. Men have done a lot of things to women throughout the generations because they viewed for a long time that they owned them. Women learned and passed on to their daughters the ability to lie, manipulate, and deceive better than any man because of their need to protect themselves from those around them. It¡¯s now part of their nature.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t really believe that do you,¡± Joe asked?


    ¡°Yes, I do,¡± I said. ¡°About seventy percent of the counseling I do to married couples is because the wife has been caught in too many things that did not add up. It¡¯s a natural learned protective mechanism built over time that even they don¡¯t see.¡±


    Joe and I did not realize at that time that our conversation would lead to the building of our church''s private school in a few years. Later as we looked back it reminded us that only God can turn a bad situation into a blessing.


    ********


    I was standing in front of the church''s front door greeting the parishioners as they headed in just like I would every Sunday Morning. The ones who attended the eight am service like me, were early risers. Depending on how many came I could estimate how many would show up for the service at eleven.


    I could tell that sister Deborah Rogers looked tired and older than her years as she walked towards me. The worry she had was being expressed by her body quite well. When she approached me, I leaned over and down to kiss her on her cheek as I reached in and grabbed the note in my pocket.


    Whispering to her I said, ¡°Take the note from my hand. It will tell you what you need to know.¡±


    She must have read it as soon as she could because her voice rose above the others as we sang the opening song. The sound of her voice seemed to be angelic because everyone got quiet. After all, like me, they heard a holy quality in her voice. Looking back at it all later I have to wonder if God was letting me know that he was with me when I felt I needed him the most.


    Deborah Rodgers waited until most had left to approach me.


    ¡°Thank you, for your note,¡± she said. ¡°How is he mentally?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s determined not to fall back,¡± I said. ¡°Since he has discovered something that makes him believe that he was not totally at fault he has become driven. For now, all I can tell you is that he is fulfilling a church assignment and that we both can believe in him.¡±


    ¡°Pastor Howard,¡± she said.


    ¡°Please call me David, after all, I consider your son Joe a good friend,¡± I said.


    ¡°Thank you for reacting the way you did,¡± she said. ¡°Knowing you were acting got me through a rough night. Melinda told me it was almost four before you got home.¡±


    I smiled and responded, ¡°I just hope that I am awake enough to pull off the second service. I did not expect to be up all night. If I can¡¯t, it will become one of those things I will never live down.¡±


    ¡°Then I will stay and be there with you as you go through it,¡± Deborah said. ¡°After all you would not do anything less.¡±


    ********


    It took Joe Rodgers and those he hired about three months to figure out what was going on. My wife and his wife Connie had a long-term friend with benefits relationship with the two police officers. Yes, they were members of a private swingers club ran by a female Professor and her wife. Both the police officers'' wives Joe believed had no clue as to the private life the four of them shared.


    The sex club we learned was run through a numbered limited offshore company owned partly by the Professor and her wife. It held title to the building. They only got together two to four times a month. Dates and times were set randomly the month before so everyone wishing to participate had time to arrange their schedule if they wished to attend. They did that so a pattern could not be recognized as to when meetings or events were planned. Monthly fees had to be prepaid a month in advance by direct deposit.


    Couples who had a long-term relationship even if they were not married could be invited into the group since single persons were not allowed. All had to pass a very detailed background and lifestyle check. Monthly sexual transmitted disease tests had to be taken to make sure they were clean and able to participate. This was done through the university¡¯s health clinic which the professor¡¯s wife a doctor oversaw.


    If one was not presented, they were denied entrance to any event until one was done. Two male rather large university students stood guard to let those allowed in. Joe believed that they were part of the defense of SFU¡¯s football team. They did that because they wanted to be sure that the club remained anonymous and free from the scandal if a batch of stds broke out.


    It was estimated that the sex club contained between fifty and eighty paying members all living within driving distance. As members left new ones were brought in through networks long established in the universities social systems. Members could leave but they had to sign a non-disclosure agreement which would bankrupt them if the information came out.


    The average attendance at one of the scheduled events was between thirty and fifty because of the limited private rooms available and what they were being booked for. Attendance fluctuated depending on what members had going on in their lives. Once the maximum number allowed was booked for one of the gatherings the rest would have to wait until the next one.


    That way no one except the professor and her wife knew who would be attending. It also helped in keeping the sexual contact between the partners new and exciting. It also helped to protect the members from developing a romantic relationship with other members. Each member was then allowed to enjoy the sensual adventure of the sexual act without having the fear that their conduct would become public.


    ********


    One afternoon while Melinda was working, I went home and did a close look at our monthly bank statements that we kept on file. I started with the year we were married and discovered that she had been paying the monthly membership fee while we were dating through the insurance agency she had started.


    It was interesting to discover that Melinda had a direct deposit into her business account two days before her payment was taken for half of the dues every month. With the bank manager at our local branch being a member in good standing I called him and asked for a personal favor.


    The questionable direct deposit was coming from the account of a Travis Edgeworth. I knew that he was the police officer that she had gone to university with. I believed that Travis¡¯s wife would assume the expense was insurance-related.


    When Joe learned what I had learned he slid into his former home when Connie was at a family get together with their kids and was able to verify that their bank statements showed basically the same thing. Until then he had never wondered what the payment was for because his wife handled the household account.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    That was when Joe and I began to realize that our wives were not addicted, but that it was a lifestyle choice made by them long before we had met them. I pondered over that fact for quite a while trying to figure out why if she wanted that kind of life, why she had married me.


    What they were doing was not illegal unless the females or sub-missives were being bid on as a way of raising funds for the operation of the club. If it could be proved that was happening, then it fell into the area of illegal prostitution.


    ********


    Since Connie had still not filed, Joe and I went to see Dale Allan Britton. After a long discussion, the three of us started to put a plan together. Since two of the city police officers were involved, it was decided the go-to person as far as we were concerned would be the county, Sherriff Harold Phillips.


    Harold himself had gone through a scandal thanks to a wife who had a thing for what was between her neighbor''s legs before he got elected as Sherriff. As a result, he knew the cost of being played.


    Dale thought because of what he had experienced that he could view thing objectively. With me being a pastor and Joe one of the persons looked up to in the church diplomacy was a must.


    Joe and I listen as Dale explained what we knew to the Sheriff. The Sheriff agreed to begin an investigation and asked us to hold off on doing the legal on our end until he got through the complete investigation. We agreed. He would first get all the finances, check on tax status, and find out if it were registered. If it were not, they would have probable cause for a warrant.


    If there was indeed a monthly payment due from members, the owners could be charged for running a brothel house. Where it got tricky was if they could charge anyone for prostitution under the way it was set up.


    Dale thought that if it could be worked out, he would like our wives served while the four of them were in jail if that were possible. He would be suing both men for interference in the marriage.


    ********


    It was in an informal conversation in the church office that we concluded that for all concern until this nightmare was behind us that we should voluntarily turn in all the weapons that we owned. The last thing we wanted was the Cape Girardeau police department having an excuse to come after us because of the legal suits against two of its officers.


    Joe Rodgers went the direct route. He went into the police station and talked to the officer assigned to the front desk. After explaining to the officer that he was headed into a dirty divorce and had no place secure enough to store his guns he wanted the guns removed from his former residence and destroyed.


    One of the officers on duty was assigned to meet him at his former residence. Connie was surprised to see him so was the man who was visiting. The officer recognized him as one of their own.


    After loading the guns into the trunk of the police officer''s cruiser the officer asked, ¡°Is Jace Reynolds your soon-to-be ex¡¯s boyfriend? Does his wife know?¡±


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know for sure,¡± Joe answered. ¡°I do know that Melinda Howard and she have been seen at Bythia¡¯s on Bythia sharing a meal with Travis Edgeworth and him quite regularly. It seems that Melinda and Travis were in university together.¡±


    ¡°Is Melinda Howard the wife of one of the most popular pastors in the area,¡± the officer asked?


    ¡°Yes, she is and both of the officer¡¯s wives don¡¯t have a clue as to what the four¡¯s relationship is with each other either,¡± Joe said. ¡°To be honest the pastor and I had no clue about either man knowing them until after Connie told me she wanted a divorce. If you hear anything I would appreciate knowing just what their relationship is so that I can inform pastor Howard.¡±


    A day later Joe was called in to pick up a signed letter showing the serial numbers, the type, and the maker of each gun that had been turned over from the officer who had taken possession of the weapons.


    ********


    I waited a couple of months figuring that Connie would have informed Melinda about it. It was during a Sunday dinner with her side of the family that I asked her father about turning in my inherited gun collection over to the authorities for disposal.


    That was when I learned that all guns gathered locally were transferred to the state capital for disposal. He volunteered to take care of it if that is what I wanted to do.


    I said, ¡°let¡¯s do because those weapons have not been used in so long, I would hesitate to say that they could still fire.¡±


    ¡°Melinda,¡± her father said. ¡°Can you contact Travis Edgeworth and let him know to call me at his convenience?¡±


    It was interesting to watch Melinda as she replied, ¡°Sure dad, he calls the office regularly to chat when he is keeping his eyes on a situation, and he has time to chill.¡±


    I pretended to take what she said in surprise, it was not hard because she said, ¡°I think David is being  proactive because he is hoping that I will agree it¡¯s time to start our family.¡±


    ¡°Damn well time,¡± Melinda¡¯s mother said. ¡°Your older sister is about to drop our fourth grandchild and all she has are boys. I want a girl.¡±


    I almost choked because of what I knew. I had to ask myself is she pregnant? If so, who is the father?


    *********


    Melinda was with me when her father showed up with Travis Edgeworth. I must admit that he was impressive looking in his uniform. For a man in uniform, he seemed thin and underweight. Now looking back, I didn¡¯t see that he was elfish. Melinda and he chatted as if they were trying to catch up on things while her father listed the serial number, the make, and the model of every piece of weaponry being handed over. With the detail he was doing it with it left me with the impression that my wife¡¯s father did not trust Travis.


    Melinda and I had to witness Travis¡¯s signature on a document that showed he had accepted possession of them. After signing, loading them, they left together. Melinda mentioned that she thought her father¡¯s conduct had seemed a bit weird.


    Later when I talked to Melinda¡¯s father on the phone, he disclosed to me that he had noticed that Melinda¡¯s and Travis¡¯s chat seemed to have been staged.


    ¡°What are they trying to hide?¡± He asked before adding, ¡°I  have never liked Travis and I trust him about as far as I can spit. Their so called informal chat came out like a statement in court that has been rehearsed and gone over numerous times. There something about his body language that makes me question everything about him. I could tell by the way your body was responding that you have feelings about him too. I know you know something, and I want to know what you know.¡±


    ¡°To answer that will require a private chat in either your office or mine,¡± I said with a very serious tone.¡±


    `               ¡°Will I be talking to the man or the pastor,¡± he asked?


    ¡°Both,¡± I said, ¡°Because it¡¯s a confidential matter.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow my office at one pm. I will have my assistant get my schedule changed,¡± he said.


    ********


    Melinda¡¯s father seemed shocked and taken aback when Sherriff Harold Phillips, Joe Rodgers, and  I walked in. His facial expression instantly showed some concern.


    ¡°Dad this is Harold Phillips the country sheriff,¡± I said. ¡°Joe¡¯s and my lawyer contacted him because of what we had learned. I brought him with us today because I feel it is best that what we know comes from him. That way you won¡¯t feel like you have to shoot the messenger for what will be revealed.¡±


    ¡°I was contacted by David and Joe¡¯s lawyer,¡± Harold said. ¡°At first I felt the situation they were explaining was a bit too farfetched to be true. Sadly, with the information, they provided I learned for myself what they suspected was worse than they believed.¡±


    I could see the serious look coming over my father in laws face. I guess until this point, he had not believed that his daughter''s weird conversation required an investigation. I felt sorry because I had not wanted him to have learned the facts in such a brutal way.


    What he was going to learn was going to overwhelm him because when one is hit with a bunch of facts that contradict everything you thought you knew it is almost impossible to accept. Sadly, about seventy percent will deny the truth and continue in their lives believing the lies.


    That is why Jesus foretold that many would claim to have done great works in his name and he would say get away from you workers in lawlessness I never knew you. Jesus understood human behavior better than any human would.


    ¡°Joe and David¡¯s wives are involved with two police officers who are part of the Cape police department. All four of them are involved in a friend¡¯s with benefits relationship with each other as couples for a pacific purpose but are not sexually involved with each other. The four of them agreed to the arrangement while they were attending university at SFU,¡± Harold explained. ¡°The reason for them agreeing to pose as loving couples was so that they could join a swingers club that was being organized at that time on campus.


    Melinda¡¯s father''s face looked blank as he said, ¡°So it¡¯s being going on for well over ten years.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it''s more complicated than that,¡± Harold said. ¡°We now have a member who got himself in a personal situation because his wife no longer wanted to participate in swinging because of her newfound faith. He agreed to become an informer for us reluctantly because his wife who recently found Christianity became an active member in David¡¯s church. She told her husband that she would use it against him in divorce court if they didn¡¯t get out.¡±


    ********


    That perked my interest because whoever it was had never contacted me about it. I could understand why because she had to have known about my wife¡¯s activity. Perhaps it was because I taught that our sins could only be forgiven by God with sincere honest prayer if we went through Jesus Christ.


    Few understand what Jesus role was. He died so that he could stand before God during our final Judgement and argue our case to his father before the decision of eternal life or death was made. He could not forgive our sins because if he could Lazarus would still be alive. After all the wages of sin is the first death which God pointed out was nothing but a long sleep.


    It was clear to me that she had gotten the point that one must earnestly try to stop doing the sin they were asking for forgiveness of because Jesus and God can see what is in our heart and mind.


    ********


    ¡°Three times a year names are drawn from a volunteer jar and bid on. Individual members must submit their own names into the slot on the lid that covers it to be included before the next scheduled bidding night. Some of these could be either female or male,¡± Harold said. ¡°Last Friday was one of those special nights when the bidding went on. Wearing a cam our informer caught it all on video.¡±


    ¡°They raised over forty thousand in cash and a few more thousands thanks to debit or credit cards before the bidding concluded. Your daughter for example was one of the first few that got sold multiple times because the maximum bid amount had been met,¡± Harold said. ¡°That allowed her to be resold if there was a demand. Those being bought by a few other members will be used by them during the next three months'' swinging sessions. Last night she became the chancellor¡¯s and the chancellor''s wife¡¯s sexual pet for a few hours.¡±


    Melinda¡¯s dad fought to keep it together emotionally. The information before him was devastating. I knew it had to be taring his heart apart.


    ¡°Our informer admitted that he has had her a few times over the years and says quite honestly that she is willing to do anything as long as it does not mark up her body in any way,¡± Howard said. ¡°According to him, she is one of the members'' favorites.¡±


    ¡°I have one question,¡± Melinda¡¯s father said. ¡°Who is the man who agreed to work for the sheriff¡¯s department.¡±


    ¡°The oldest son of the city¡¯s mayor,¡± Harold responded.


    ¡°When do you plan to start making the arrests,¡± Melinda¡¯s father asked?


    ¡°All the information has been turned over to the Attorney General of the state because we don¡¯t have the funds or the manpower,¡± Harold said. ¡°The next scheduled event is within a few weeks. I believe the state will be ready to move in then.¡±


    He asked a few more questions before we got up to leave. We answered them as honestly as we could. Just as we were winding it down, he asked me to remain behind for a few minutes and I agreed.


    ********


    After they had left, he said, ¡°I know she was a willing participant and will end up having to deal with the consequences of her conduct. The question is will you forgive her and take her back?¡±


    ¡°Would you,¡± I asked?


    He did not answer my question. The tears in his eyes said it all.


    ¡°Dad don¡¯t hold yourself responsible. Melinda declared her independence a long time ago,¡± I said. ¡°She made her choices. It was part of her life before she met me. Sadly, we will all have to deal with the consequences of her conduct by picking up the pieces and finding a way to move on.¡±


    ¡°Will you be able to forgive her,¡± He asked?


    ¡°Forgiveness is easy. Forgetting and accepting will never happen because we are instructed by the apostles not to accept another person¡¯s sin which most don¡¯t see is our conduct,¡± I said. ¡°We both have to stand back and let the chips fall as they may. You got your family to support. I must remain strong for the parish. For both of us, it is not going to be easy.¡±


    Standing up I said. ¡°I will not allow the sinful conduct of one bring down what God has built. If I must resign to keep the congregation together, it¡¯s a price I will willingly pay.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think the scandal that is coming will force you to do that,¡± Melinda¡¯s father asked?


    ¡°Only three truths are certain,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not a politician who is trained by their handlers how to avoid speaking the truth, nor can I foretell how others are going to view it. I can only prepare myself for whatever the outcome is.¡±


    ¡°Will the board of Deans demand that she be disfellowshipped,¡± he asked?


    ¡°If this was forty years ago, I would have said yes,¡± I replied. ¡°In today¡¯s reality, she could sue and win more than we could ever afford to pay. Remember morality is not a crime. Other than saying privately when asked that it would be best if one limited their association with her there¡¯s not much we can do.¡±


    ¡°David, forgive me because it¡¯s clear I failed as a father,¡± he said. ¡°It is clear that for someone to be able to do what she has done with their body that they have no self-respect.¡±


    Later as I thought of our conversation, I realized that his last words to me had spoken volumes because his last word explained so much. What meisim had taken away from society was respect for self, life, believes, faith, and others.


    ********


    Joe and I were cleaning up after the AA meeting had ended. It had been three weeks and the county Sherriff had called earlier in the day to inform us that it was going down.


    Joe had stood up during the meeting to give a personal testimony. He revealed that while he was attending the meeting that his soon-to-be ex-wife was being arrested along with my wife and a few others.


    He explained that the desire to drink in him was as strong today as it was on his first day of sobriety because he was mentally and emotionally at his weakest. He explained that both our wives were in this situation because they allowed their desires to control their actions. Just like he had when he was drinking.


    He was afraid that both of our wives would have to hit their bottom before realizing that only they could dig their way out if they had a lot of support.


    ¡°I¡¯ve learned because of what''s going on that we all will experience some things from both sides in our walk of life,¡± Joe said. ¡°I can¡¯t blame my ex-wife because she was so focused on trying to resolve my problems that she never saw hers. I will be there to support her, but I cannot just blindly accept what she did.¡±


    I stood up and added, ¡°What¡¯s taking place while we are here is going to create a scandal. Both Joe and I had no knowledge of what you will all learn over the next few days until after Connie asked him to move out. That when we began to discover what had been hidden from us. To be frank, none of us will ever have the full story.¡±


    ¡°I expect that the board of directors of our church may ask for my resignation because of the publicity created by this situation,¡± I said. ¡°I will not allow my wife¡¯s conduct to affect the church we have all have built. As a result, I have decided that if it is requested, I will give it effective immediately. If you don¡¯t see me giving my sermon on Sunday, you will know why.¡±


    It was a stark lesson for all those in attendance that everything one does affects others even if we do not see it.


    ¡°The pastor who inspired me to take up the ministry,¡± I said, ¡°told me that if we knew what went on in our world daily that we would not be able to live in it. These last few weeks have given me a taste of his insight. Now I can honestly say I agree with his thought.¡±


    Afterward, Joe asked me why I disclosed that I might be asked to leave. I respond that it was for their protection. With them knowing they will not have doubts about the good work we are doing here. Otherwise, they would be open to the idea that it was a scam and could fall back into their old ways.


    Little did I know it was going to get a lot worse.


    ********


    One of the greatest mistruths was the belief that the apostles could speak in tongues. Most in society did not comprehend that the twelve would do most of their preaching where people gathered to do their daily business.


    In the open markets there were people from different nationalities that spoke different languages. The apostles when they spoke were heard by these ones in their native language. The holy spirt, not the apostles was speaking in tongues giving them the ability to understand. The apostles spoke in Hebrew, yet their words were understood by the one hearing them in their native voice.


    Yet today, most believe that when one is speaking in tongue that they are filled with the holy spirit that wants an important message to be delivered. No one questions why they cannot understand them. They just believe they are witnessing a miracle from God.


    ********


    The state police entered the historical large building through both the front and back doors at eight at night. It had one time been a hotel that catered to the upper class. After clearing the first floor, discovering some cocaine underneath a bar counter, and cuffing those not up in the bedrooms they headed up.


    They went quietly from room to room; the assigned videographer was the second person to enter each of the rooms so he could record the action live. The state wanted a video record of everything going on.


    Joe and I would learn later that our wives and their partners with benefits were located on the sixth floor. All arrested had no clue what was going on because every room was soundproofed.


    Melinda had been found naked making love to a female who was penetrating her eagerly with a double-ended strap-on. Her husband from the side of the bed was taking Melinda¡¯s mouth with his cock. He was heard saying he was looking forward to taking her second pussy when he recovered from cumming.


    Connie was found sandwiched between two well-known surgeons who were both penetrating her at the same time. It was clear that she was into it because two other surgeons were waiting for their turn making it clear she liked being used like a slut train.


    Travis Edgeworth when they found him was being quite the submissive. A huge African American was giving him good reaming with his thick rather huge meat while holding him at the hips. They say that Travis was responding to it just like any slutty woman would while begging to be taken harder. It was noted that the African American was wearing a cock ring so that he would not come. It was apparent to all witnessing the event that the African American had a need to dominate just as much as Travis embraced his submissiveness.


    The videographer almost didn¡¯t record it because the African man said, ¡°Travis it is time you left your fake marriage and embraced being the woman you believe you have to keep hidden. Let me pay to give you a nice set of thirty-six double d¡¯s so you can become  my loving wife whom we will call Tracy full-time.¡±


    ¡°I promise that if you do, I will give you what you crave at least twice a day. A quickie before I go to work, and a long night of pleasure in the privacy of our bedroom. I will prove to you how sexy and feminine you are before we fall asleep with you holding my stiff manliness  tight inside of you,¡± he said. ¡®Your pussy¡¯s tighter than any woman¡¯s and we both know its begging me to own it. You and I both know you are more a woman than most women are so marry me and live your life as my bride full time.¡±


    Jace Reynolds was found in the last bedroom fully clothed taking to a female they did not know watching another two females who were making love. They both got off watching others as they coupled. It was the last room they had to clean out.


    ********


    Melinda Howard sat in the holding cell with a few other females that had been arrested. Each was still trying to understand why the event was raided. None of them could see what they had been doing as being illegal. She was trying to get the strength to tell them.


    When the female officer had searched her, she had inquired what the charges were. The officer said prostitution.


    ¡°But no money changed hands,¡± Melinda said with authority.


    ¡°Not tonight,¡± the female officer replied. ¡°But during your last meeting were you not sold six times for the maximum bid, and do you not pay membership fees so you can get your fill of kinky sex?¡±


    That was when Melinda realized that they had someone who was working with them and why her father was there watching them all being hauled in. Someone had to have informed to the authorities what was going on. The police raid happened because it could be argued that the club itself was set up for the running of a house of prostitution.


    Immediately she understood that both her parents and husband would see what she was doing as a huge slap in their faces because it would be seen that she was mocking everything they stood for.


    Melinda knew that in society in general what they had been caught doing would not be important because hell everybody was doing it in some manner. After a week it would be forgotten because it would be out of the public eyes.


    Yet the Christian community that was slowly being killed off as most in society no longer saw a value in it. It would never be straightened out unless one conduct showed that you were ashamed and had repented. Especially in her husband¡¯s church because he taught that forgiveness should be earned and not given outright.


    At that moment, her best friend got let into the holding pen. They hugged each other tightly. For both, it was the first time they had been in jail in their life.


    ¡°What a frigging mess we are in,¡± Connie said. ¡°The four of us should have taken your advice eight months ago and got out.¡±


    ¡°Your right but I should have listened to myself,¡± Melinda said. ¡°I will never second guess myself again.¡±


    Just then a female police officer came in escorting a man wearing a suit. Stopping in front of the cell she said, ¡°Connie Rodgers and Melinda Howard please step forward and identify yourselves.¡±


    Once they did the man with her handed both the ladies two envelopes each and said, ¡°You¡¯ve been served. Just so you know your friends with benefits have been served too. Both your husbands are suing the other three along with suing for divorce.¡±


    Both understood what could have been swept under the table as a minor irritant had just become a major problem with unending consequences.


    ¡°I did not believe that our husbands knew,¡± Connie said. ¡°I was planning to reconnect. I asked for the divorce because I felt Joe was not paying me enough attention. Once I figured he had learned his lesson I would have taken him back.¡±


    Melinda was stunned. How could Connie be so self-centered? She had always put her husband first. After thinking it out for a few from their side she began to get the full picture.


    ¡°Looks like we both made the same mistake,¡± Melinda said. ¡°If we had really put our husbands first, we would not have been part of the club. Both must believe that we loved the sexual pleasure we were getting more than we loved them.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case then there¡¯s no chance in hell that they will stop the divorce,¡± Connie said. ¡°I bet he will try to have me declared an unfit mother because of what I was doing on the side.¡±


    That was when Melinda decided she would call her sister who worked for her to come and bail her out because she knew that neither her father nor husband would because to do so may imply in other¡¯s eyes that they accepted her conduct.


    ********


    I was up bright and early Thursday morning having slept alone because Melinda had not made it home. After getting ready for the day and making coffee I turned on the local early morning news. The Breakfast Show ran weekdays from four am to seven had nothing about what I knew had happened last night.


    After unplugging the charging cord for my cellphone, I turned it on. Ethan Moore Melinda¡¯s father had left a text message for me to call him. He answered on the third ring.


    ¡°They took thirty-six people into custody last night,¡± he said after answering. ¡°Most will be released when they find a way to produce the ten percent needed for the bail bondsman with the date of their first appearance. Melinda has been charged with prostitution. She will most likely end up with probation because it is her first offense. The owners of the estate house are facing the more serious charges.¡±


    ¡°Have you talked to her,¡± I asked?


    ¡°No Melinda is getting her older sister to come to bail her out. Then she will deliver Melinda to where her car is,¡± Ethan said. ¡°I expect that drive is one Melinda will never forget because Mary is livid. After all, in Mary¡¯s eyes, you are a saint. Connie Rodgers, Travis Edgeworth, and  Jace Reynolds are also facing charges. They too will have to have someone provide the deposit to the bail bondsmen before they will be released.¡±


    ¡°Between you and me the police chief will have no choice but to terminate their employment effective immediately. The raid exposed the lifestyle of a lot of influential people,¡± Ethan said. ¡°You are right the fallout will be having an effect in the area for weeks.¡±


    ¡°I suspect that Melinda will wait until I have gone to the church before she comes home,¡± I said, ¡°and that will be for as long as it takes to pack her clothes.¡±


    ¡°Your most likely right about that,¡± Ethan said. ¡°When she got caught doing something wrong as a child, she would hide trying her best not to have to face it. Just thought you should know Dale got them all served as soon as each one had been booked.¡±


    ¡°How do you know all this,¡± I asked?


    ¡°I went down to the police station to be there when the state police started bringing them in. Melinda saw me as they transferred her from the paddy wagon into the county jail,¡± her father said. ¡°I had to see it to believe it. Until then I still held onto some hope that it was not all true. Dale was already there.¡±


    ¡°Tell mom I still love and if she needs to talk to me, I will stop what I am doing and come to her at any time,¡± I said. ¡°Thankfully, the news has not caught wind of it for now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a bad day here. Shana when I tell her is going to be shedding a lot of tears. If I hear anything further, I will call,¡± he said before saying goodbye.


    I was eternally thankful because Melinda and I had not started a family. With our marriage now coming to an end because of her long-term conduct my mind and heart was running the whole gauntlet of emotions.


    The end of this marriage was not as big of a shock because I had weeks to come to terms with it gradually. Like all humans who went through something like this, I had been left with more questions than answers.


    ********


    I felt that this might be the calm that comes just before the storm. Boy was I right. I had not even finished the bowl of Frosted Flakes with milk when Joe Rodgers called to let me know he was on his way over. I let him in the front door.


    ¡°The officer I turned my guns over to, met me for coffee this morning,¡± Joe said. ¡°His friend a state police officer had passed to him a list of all the members. He gave it to me because I had asked him if he learned anything to let me know.¡±


    Joe followed me back into the kitchen. He helped himself to a cup of coffee and made it up the way he liked it because he knew where everything was. I returned to eating until he handed me the list. He had highlighted four names.


    ¡°If I still swore, I would be swearing right now,¡± I said. ¡°Do you know how many times my dentist stuck his fingers in my mouth when working on my teeth?¡±


    I thought you would find that humorous,¡± Joe said. ¡°It is the other two that might be a concern for us going forward.¡±


    He was right because when it came out there could be a lot of people deciding to find a new place to worship. The second couple he had highlighted was the spiritual head pastor of the local cowboy church and his wife.


    Most did not know was that the cowboy church was a modernized division of the Baptists faith. It brought a smile to my face. As I stared at their names, I had to ask myself how they found the time. They held three meetings a week, while we held two and at times, I felt swamped.


    He and I in the past have had some very heated discussions because of our different views of Christianity and he did not like me converting some of his well-heeled parishioners as he called them. He kept referring to one of his former deans that had asked to be rebaptized.


    We both saw that there were going to be a lot of changes in the running of the city and the county because the list contained the names of a lot of influential people in our community.


    ¡°Have you heard when the state is going to announce what happened last night,¡± I asked?


    ¡°Bail hearings start at nine. My acquaintance figures they can push through ten in an hour because they are straightforward and will be done about just after the lunch hour,¡± Joe replied. ¡°So, by three, you can bet the media will know.¡±


    ¡°Want to bet there¡¯s going to a lot of divorce lawyers getting a lot of new business because I bet our wives were not the only two members with friends with benefits relationships,¡± I said.


    Joe picked up the two-page list and studied it for a few minutes. Being the owner of two of the McDonalds¡¯ in the area Joe knew the names and faces of a lot of his customers.


    ¡°There are about twenty-four couples on the list of seventy that were not members with their spouses,¡± Joe said. ¡°Most of them I recognize from when I played basketball while attending SFU.¡±


    ¡°Makes me wonder how many DNA tests are going to be requested,¡± I added. ¡°By husbands who have wives like ours.¡±


    Joe sat there. His face went white. I realized that what I had just said had never entered his mind.


    ¡°It would kill my mother,¡± Joe said. ¡°She dotes on her grandchildren. I will have to have a serious chat with Connie to find out if she was attending regularly when we were trying to conceive.¡±


    ¡°Do you think she will be honest enough to tell you the truth?¡± I asked before adding, ¡°More importantly will you be able to know if she is telling the truth?¡±


    Joe got quiet for a few before saying, ¡°To be honest she is so good at hiding things I can¡¯t say for sure that I could. Why couldn¡¯t I see it?¡±


    ¡°Life got in the way,¡± I said. ¡°We as humans act without ever considering how our conduct affects others. Even our wives when they were satisfying their sexual urges looking for the next organism never considered the consequences. Just proves how primitive we humans are in our thinking.¡±


    ********


    Shortly afterward we parted, I headed to the church office to prepare a new sermon for Sunday in case I would be allowed to share it. When I got to my desk I sat down and wrote two thoughts, forgiveness and letting go.


    Working the forgiveness part into the sermon was going to be easy letting go was not. Then I thought of the faithful servant Job. I asked myself how many times he had to let go of the hurt, the pain, and the grief of seeing the first group of his children taken from walking the earth because God and Satan ( father and a sibling of Jesus) were using him to settle a dispute.


    Satan had claimed that Job would not remain faithful. Despite having everything against him with a wife that would make most bitches today look tame he remained true to his God and himself. By letting go in the end he had been rewarded.


    The day went by fast as I was consumed with what the scriptures I had researched showed. It was nearing four when the Church¡¯s secretary walked in to disturb my rehearsing of the forty five minute sermon I was working on. She informed me the board had gathered to talk to me in the conference room. I thanked her and paused before heading to meet them to say a silent prayer.


    I learned that by some miracle that Connie and Melinda¡¯s names had not been mentioned in the press release by the state¡¯s Attorney General. After hearing all the comments and concerns I stood up and asked them to remain quiet while I said a few words.


    It took me about an hour to walk all those in attendance through Joe¡¯s and my journey disclosing how things had come to this point. I informed them that Melinda had already been served with the divorce papers. I ended it by offering my resignation. They asked me to leave the room while they discussed it.


    It gave me the time to inform the secretary of my involvement in the most important news of the day. It tore her apart because she had always thought the world of Melinda and she was finding it hard to believe. After an hour of waiting, I was just about to get a couple of boxes from the storage room to begin packing my items up when I got called back in.


    The one chosen to pronounce their decision did with a style and class I will remember the rest of my life. She said, ¡°We reviewed a few of your favorite bible verses and it became clear to us all that you have not accepted your wife''s sins because you involved the police. Your resignation is not accepted, nor will it be going forth. We want to thank you for putting the needs of the church first for offering it.¡±


    That led to another long chat about how we would handle the situation as far as the church was concerned going forward. Like me, most were concerned about what would be happening at the cowboy church and how it was going to affect us.


    It was well after seven before I got home to discover Melinda had left the house keys on the kitchen counter. I knew right away she had moved out partly because she could not face me.


    *******


    On the way to pick up her car Mary Melinda¡¯s older sister quit her job for two reasons. She did not want to be associated with a slut who couldn¡¯t keep her legs closed and because of what she had done to her brother-in-law.


    Melinda after picking up her car at went directly to the Ramada Inn and booked a room for two weeks while she looked for a new place to live. She choose that one because she had to enter her suite from the outside and it would provide her more privacy. Then she went to get her stuff out of our house.


    Connie had decided to leave town until things started to calm down and got her mother to look after the kids. As soon as she had left Connie¡¯s mother phoned Joe and asked him if he wanted custody of his kids. He was at her home within twenty minutes.


    Joe was surprised because it was something he would never have expected. He did not ask his mother-in-law why because he did not have to. Just mentioning her daughter¡¯s name had her fuming. It was she that told Joe that he should try to have her daughter declared an unfit mother by child services. Joe promised her that he would get on it.


    After loading his daughter¡¯s and their stuff in his vehicle, he called his mother to inform her what had just transpired. Deborah Rodgers suggested right away that the three of them move in with her until the divorce was done and custody decided. Joe readily agreed.


    Deborah Rodgers was ecstatic because her house was once again going to be filled with love. As soon as her son had hung up, she had begun to check to make sure the bedrooms were ready to be used. She was looking forward to the daily chore of preparing meals for a household instead of cooking for one.


    ********


    After having been bailed out by his wife, Travis learned he had no home to come home to. Being caught with another man had ended it. After his wife allowed him to get his clothes, Travis had decided to finally embrace his true calling and contacted the man who had been in love with him for years. Amos told his future wife he was to bring his sweet white cheeks home.


    Within a year Travis and he would be living in New Orleans having started a new life by Travis becoming the female he always believed he was. His long shoulder-length auburn hair, with his new thirty-six double d¡¯s breasts, made him appear to be a very desirable woman.


    Travis proudly prominently displayed his feminine features with the feminine clothing he now always wore. His husband loved to be in between his breasts during foreplay before penetrating. To their new friends who called him Tracy, it was believed that they had the perfect marriage.


    When he looked in the mirror he could pass as his sister who loved having a girl''s day out with him. Even with a little makeup, it was hard to tell that he was biologically a man. With his new feminine exercise program, he was developing additional curves in the right place. Amos had even paid to have all his facial and body hair permanently removed.


    Travis knew when his husband was especially pleased with her because he would get down on his knees and slip his head beneath his dress or skirt to get a fill of his special milk. From the day he had embraced his femininity as a girly girl he had never worn bra¡¯s or panties.


    Tracy¡¯s new husband who worked from home kept his word. He treated Tracy like the queen he was because he was now truly an eye-catching submissive feminine, a role that suited them both to a tee. Every piece of feminine clothing was bought because it complimented Tracy¡¯s feminine sensuality. Tracy picked out the items with him in mind to make sure his man would always have easy access to his charms.


    When they were not busy with life Tracy¡¯s well-endowed African American husband was true to his word. He was buried inside his wife Tracy¡¯s white pussy at least three times a day. They made the perfect couple as Tracy loved being penetrated as much as he loved being buried in her. They were so compatible that they always came together. To the African American, his life was complete because he worshipped being between the softness of his lover''s sweet white cheeks wearing his cock ring enforcing his domination and ownership of his willing and wanting cock hungry feminine submissive. Tracy was happier than she ever had been as a man and only felt completely complete when her husband¡¯s baby maker was imbedded in her.


    Amos realized that his loving feminine wife Tracy had a pussy tighter than any woman he had known and if he kept it fed regularly it was always going to be his. Each night after making Tracy scream in organismic delight. He would fall asleep spooning her with his semi-hard erection still buried inside of his perfect  submissive wife.


    They had talked about starting a family and after a honeymoon period, they planned to adopt. Tracy was waiting to tell him that his sister had agreed to donate her eggs for fertilization when they found the right female to carry the child to be to full term.


    *********


    On Friday night in the twilight hours, Melinda Howard and Jace Reynolds were sharing a drink while sitting in her suite discussing the events of the last few days. So far, the ownership of the limited company that owned the building and the club had not been disclosed. Only April the female professor and her wife Anabel had been exposed. Jace¡¯s and her name¡¯s remained hidden along with their major financial backer.


    There was a knock at the door, Melinda thought it was the delivery driver with the pizza she had ordered and opened the door. Standing there was the Reverend Stan Johnson the head of the cowboy church and his wife Terry.


    Melinda, her parents, and extended family had been members before joining her husband David¡¯s church. It was Reverend Johnston¡¯s wife Terry who had been their backer thanks to a family trust.


    The religious leader of the cowboy church and his wife had learned thanks to the local news that Joe and I had been the ones that provided the police with the information that had led to their investigation. Stan and Terry wanted to learn what had led to the exposure of the organization.


    The four were busy talking about what had taken place and what was going to be happening the next few days when there was a knock at the door. Answering the door, a masked person pushed in. The person was wearing what appeared to be a police uniform with a bullet-proof vest.


    Holding a gun with a homemade silencer in their gloved left hand the person started firing taking them out one at a time. Their aim was deliberate because within seconds each one of them lay on the floor with a bullet hole in their foreheads just above the eyes.


    After checking for a pulse on all four of the victim¡¯s the masked killer disassembled the weapon, wiped it down so no fingerprints could be found before leaving parts of it in a garbage can. The person placed a copy of the incorporation papers for the offshore company inside the Reverend¡¯s sports jacket so the investigation would be sent in the wrong direction. After leaving the suite the killer closed the door leaving a do not disturb on the door handle.


    The person drove over to the back of Melinda Howard¡¯s office. Once there in the darkness, they removed the police vest, their outer layer of clothing which had been bought at a used clothing store, throwing them in the waste bin along with the rest of the gun¡¯s pieces. With that all done, the killer believed that what was done would make it appear it had been a professional hit. The prime suspects would be the female professor and her wife.


    The four bodies were discovered just after ten Saturday morning by room service staff who had let themselves in to tidy the room, make the bed, and leave clean towels. The room had been left to the last because of the do not disturb sign left on the doorknob on the outside.


    The cleaning staff informed the investigating officers that the two cold pizzas that had been left outside of the door of the suite had been untouched. After taking to the delivery driver, they were able to pin the time of death to within twenty minutes.


    ********


    At the time, the bodies were discovered Joe and I were with his daughters in the movie theater watching the latest Disney release. Then the four of us went to the community water park which had slides, pools, and a restaurant. It was almost five when we pulled into my driveway.


    I had made myself a rye and coke and was just starting to sip it when Detective Inman knocked on the door to inform me about Melinda¡¯s murder.


    It was during that conversation that I learned the gun used had been registered to my father. After hearing my explanation Detective Inman called the police station to confirmed that the weapon had indeed been signed into the property room.


    ¡°According to our records,¡± Detective Inman explained to me after he got off the phone, ¡°the weapon in question had been turned over to the state for disposal. I knew before my arrival thanks to attendees last night that you were in a game of baseball with about thirty teenagers.¡±


    ¡°If my wife had been the prime target you might want to search her office and talk to her staff,¡± I said. ¡°The persons with her were all members of the swingers club according to the list I was given.¡±


    Detective Inman asked if I still had it. I did.


    After reading it the Detective seemed shocked by who all in the community was on it because he said, ¡°there are about sixty people who could be a suspect. May I keep this?¡±


    ¡°Yes, just so you know that was provided to me indirectly from the state,¡± I said. ¡°Joe and I, I guess were smart in being proactive with our guns because the situation would be quite different if I still had the guns.¡±


    ¡°Pastor be careful about what you do during the next few days,¡± Detective Inman said. ¡°Until I know the reason, I cannot say that you are not in danger because the four who were killed all claimed they were Christian. All except for your wife were members in good standing in the cowboy church.¡±


    I felt sorry for the detective because the big question he had to find out was if the state had taken possession of my gun how did it end up being used to kill four people and why?


    ¡°Detective,¡± I said, ¡°Let me tell you of an experience I had.¡±


    ¡°I got asked one time if I was ¡®woke¡¯ by a young lady sitting near me on the bench in the mall while I was waiting for Melinda who was doing some looking at some clothing. I replied to the young lady yes longer than you have been alive.¡±


    ¡°The young lady asked how that can be?¡± I explained.


    ¡°From a book I learned that the collapse of all societies comes from within. It foretold the loss of morals, principles, and standards. It showed that love would lose its value in the eyes of man and that the ones who would hurt you the most would claim they were doing it out of their love for you,¡± I said before going on.


    ¡°That giving a helping hand was to be just that. It was not meant to carrying the person for the rest of their natural life. I told her it showed that power and money corrupt which would be the source of most of the problems man has in life.¡±


    ¡°She asked me what the book was and if the book was written by a well-known author? I replied it is the Bible and the writer was God. The young lady informed me she admitted that God existed but did not believe. I asked to wait as I went to my car. She agreed. When I came back, I had in my hand two versions of the bible. One old one new. After giving them to her I helped her look up Psalms 83:18 in both copies.¡±


    ¡°She noticed right away the difference. One had God¡¯s name the other didn¡¯t. She asked why the difference? I explained that there was no way we could have a personal relationship with anybody if we don¡¯t know their name. God is just a title, and the world is filled with many of them.¡±


    ¡°I started to get up because Melinda was going through the process of paying for what she had picked out. The lady said who are you, and why did I run into you? I replied in life it is a daily struggle to figure out what is true or not. By opening these books, you have started the discovery of learning for yourself. Inside them, you will find your answer if you search.¡±


    ¡°Detective the cowboy church never uses God¡¯s name. I stress to all who attend to choose one of God¡¯s names from the bible and use it as they develop their own relationship with him,¡± I said. ¡°It helps reaffirm that Jesus is not God and God is not Jesus.¡±


    The detective got quiet for a few before speaking, ¡°most believe they are the same entity and treat them accordingly. Why didn¡¯t I see that until today?¡±


    I smiled, and said, ¡°Because your human and life just got in the way.¡±


    ********


    I was standing at the entrance greeting those who were coming to the early Sunday morning service. Ethan Moore was standing by my side. He was able to point out those who were coming for the first time that had been attending the cowboy church.


    I warmly greeted them and thanked them for coming. Even he was surprised by the number of new attendees we were getting as a result of what happened. It was he that pointed out Tammy Reynolds Jace¡¯s widow to me as she approached.


    There was an air of sadness in her appearance, and I could understand why. Both Ethan and I, like her, were still coming to acceptance with the unnecessary loss of life. We had agreed to a closed casket but thought under the circumstances it would be inappropriate to use the church for the memorial service.


    After greetings, Mrs. Reynold said, ¡°Pastor could I have a private few minutes of your time after service?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind waiting until after I have seen most of the parish out,¡± I replied. ¡°I will have about an hour and a half before those coming to the eleven am service starts to arrive.¡±


    My sermon on forgiving and letting go was one that all attending needed to hear. I must admit there was a few shed tears. I brought out the point that holding onto the anger would cause us to become bitter persons filled with hate.


    I closed by saying, ¡°We can forgive and let go without accepting what was done just as God and Jesus forgive us for our shortcomings every day. Remember that we are all still held accountable by God because in the end we still die. If you have difficulty in doing that think of Job, and what he was able to let go of because he believed in our father¡¯s grace.¡±


    Tammy Reynolds and I sat down in the pews to have a quiet private chat. Tammy was a southern girl personified. She had long blonde hair, a petite body frame, a gentle heart that was torn apart and she was looking for answers that no one had.


    What I did not know until she disclosed it was the fact that the Reverend Stan Johnson and his wife Terry were her parents. Jace and she had been married for just over two years. Like me, she had no clue as to what had been going on. Being an only child, she felt overwhelmed. We talked until those attending the second service came in.


    I learned that until the last three years she had been working as a missionary and had come home hoping to settle down and raise a family. It had been her parents that had introduced her to Jace. Tammy stayed through the second service. Between the two attendance was up about forty percent.


    Just before she was about to leave, I asked her if she would like to join me at Golden Corral for lunch. For the two of us it a bonding moment because by the time we had eaten we had started a new relationship.


    I learned later that day that the female Professor and her wife both originally from Iran who were naturalized citizens were now deceased. They had been killed a day before my wife and her friends.


    ********


    It was six months later when Detective Inman dropped into the church office to inform me that my deceased wife had been pregnant. The man arrested for stealing the gun from the state had led them to the person who did the killing. Both young men in their twenties would be charged with six accounts of first-degree murder.


    The sixth deaths were linked together because of a matter of religious belief by those who planned the killings. They believed because of their faith that their sisters and their friends had shamed the family by bringing dishonor to it. In their original country what they did was considered totally acceptable thus were acting out according to their faith. Both the men were now in custody praising their God for the victory handed them.


    The common thought on the streets was that what had happened had been God¡¯s will.