Cobblestone Streets Pt. 2

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Samantha, but if you call me Mr. Hollister one more time I’m going to take you back,” I smiled. “My name is Eric. I’m going to be checking on you. I have your groceries in my truck. What do you want me to do with them?”

“Can you… no I can’t ask you.”

“Can’t ask me what?” I asked.

Cecelia spoke up. “Could you please take them to our house? We can’t afford for them to spoil. Her grandson is there and he’ll let you in.” She walked me out into the hall and gave me the address. I turned to leave and she spoke softly. “Eric, I’m so grateful to you for helping Grandma.” She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek, put her arms around me and hugged me. “You’re a really nice man.”

I patted her shoulder and walked outside. When I went out the emergency room doors, I saw Cindy and Pierce hurrying toward the entrance. I kept a big concrete column between me and them and I heard them talking.

“This is very bad, Elliot,” Cindy was saying. “This is very bad. God, I hope he’s still there. We’ve got to fix this. We’ll tell him we were planning the board meeting. He can’t find out about us. I’m not ready yet.”

“He’s too stupid to figure it out,” Pierce said. “He doesn’t have a clue.”

“You’re wrong,” she said. “He’s smarter than either one of us. Our only hope was that he didn’t suspect anything. Remember, we were planning the board meeting. I’ll get Julia to say she was there.”

Talk about shocked. I guess I was really stupid. I never suspected a thing. I walked to the truck in a daze. I was two blocks away before I thought to check the address Cecelia had given me. I was going the wrong way. I went around the block and my phone rang. It was Cindy. I didn’t answer.

I found the address. It was a little, white, frame house with a nice vinyl fence around it. I got the groceries and carried them up to the door. When I rang the bell, a slender black guy answered.

“Are you Samantha Groves’ grandson?” I asked him.

“Yes, what can I do for you?” he asked.

His voice was kind of high and breathy and my gaydar went off right away. “She had an accident and I brought her groceries home for her,” I told him. “She isn’t hurt bad, but she broke her arm and she’s scraped up a little. Your sister asked me to bring these over.”

“I don’t have a sister,” he said. “If you mean Cecelia, she’s my cousin.”

“Sorry, my bad,” I said. “Can you put the groceries away for her?”

“Yes, I can,” he looked me up and down. “Would you like to come in?”

“No, got to run,” I told him uneasily. “Wait, are the eggs broken?”

They were and I had promised her more eggs. That gave me a reason to come back when Samantha was there. Now I had some business to attend. I drove to Julia’s and she was home. She looked shocked when she saw me at the door.

“Paul isn’t here,” she said nervously.

“I wanted to talk to you anyway,” I told her. Paul pulled into the driveway just then. “Well I guess he’s here now,” I said.

He jumped out and grabbed his briefcase out of the back seat. “Hey, buddy,” he called. “Let’s grab a beer and sit on the porch. It’s a nice evening. Julia, honey, would you grab Eric and me a couple of beers?”

We sat down on the porch and Julia came out and handed us a couple of bottles of Paul’s home brew. He makes very good beer. This was a nice pale ale. She started to go back inside and I caught her hand. “Julia, I told you I wanted to talk to you,” I told her.

She looked nervously at Paul. “I’ve got dinner cooking,” she said. “Could I talk to you later?”

“I think now is good,” I told her. “I don’t want to give you time to make up a story.”

She burst into tears. “Don’t make me tell, Eric,” she begged. “She’s been my friend since the second grade. I don’t want to get involved.”

Paul was pissed at me or her; I couldn’t tell which. “What the hell is going on around here?” he asked. “Somebody better tell me something quick.”

“Cindy is having an affair with Pierce,” I told him. “She has Julia covering for her. There’s more to it than that, but I don’t know what yet.”

“Julia, is that true?” he asked.

“Yes, no… I’m not covering for her. I told her I wouldn’t,” Julia sobbed. “This doesn’t have anything to do with me! I’m so sorry, Eric. I wanted to tell you, but you were so happy and I love you so much. I didn’t know how. I didn’t have time to figure out what I needed to do! I never had a chance to figure anything out. I didn’t want you to be hurt.”

I stood up and hugged her. “I know, Julia. I don’t blame you. I would have been very upset with you if you had lied for her. I’m very sorry you got dragged into this. You don’t deserve any of this. I’ll make it up to you somehow. It may take me a while.”

She sobbed into my chest. “I’m so sorry, Eric. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She’s acting crazy. Maybe she’ll come to her senses.”

“Do you know how long this has been going on?” I asked her.

“No, the first I heard about it was when she called me an hour ago,” she said. “She acted like it was going on for a while, though.”

“Well, I apologize again, Julia. Paul, I didn’t mean to drag you guys into this. I just knew she was trying to get Julia to lie for her. I had to see it for myself.”

“If there’s anything we can do, just ask us, Eric,” he said. “You know we’ll be here for you.”

“Know any good divorce lawyers?” I chuckled.

“Actually, I do,” he said. “My partner is a family law specialist. You should talk to her if you decide to go that route.”

I thanked them and apologized again. I drove home, hating the thought of going in. Cindy wouldn’t be there but Olivia would. What was I going to say? I wondered if she knew and was covering for her mother. I would have to find out. That would just kill me. I was hurting enough the way it was.

I called her on the way home and told her I would pick up chicken for dinner. Popeye’s was happy to supply that and we sat down at the table and ate. She caught me up on Samantha. She got some pain medication and a cast and Cecelia had taken her home. We chatted for a while and I just couldn’t get started. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to know. She finished putting the leftovers away and I just picked her up and carried her to the sofa, sitting her down and hugging her.

She looked up at me and saw the tears streaming down my cheeks. “Daddy, what’s wrong with you?” she asked. “Why are you acting so weird?”

“Livy,” I always called her that when she was little, “you know I love you very much, don’t you?”

“Yes, I love you, too,” she said. “You’re starting to freak me out, Daddy. You’re not sick or anything, are you?”

I had to laugh. “No, baby, I’m not sick. Do you have anything you want to tell me about your mother? I know you work together.”

She looked up into my face with those bottomless blue pools that were her eyes. “You know, don’t you, Daddy?” she said softly.

“Yes, I found out today,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me, baby?”

She began to cry. “Because I didn’t have any proof,” she said. “I suspected it. I confronted her about it and she just laughed at me. She said I was being ridiculous and she didn’t want ever to hear anything like that again. I couldn’t prove anything other than that they disappeared at odd times and acted weird around each other. What are you going to do, Daddy?”

“I guess that depends on her,” I said. “I’m going to confront her, too. I won’t listen to lies. If she lies, we’re done. We may be done anyway. I don’t know how to get over this, honey. Will you help me?”

“I’d die for you, Daddy,” she held me tightly. “I’m on your side here. She’s lying and cheating; I won’t stand for that. The idea of my mother lying to me just kills me. The idea of her doing that to you, it makes me madder than hell. I want to bitch slap her.”

“Yeah, me, too,” I chuckled. “I don’t want to go to jail and I don’t want you to get violent either. We need to be cool, okay?”

“Yes, I know, but I’m still very angry,” she said. “We should change the locks on the door or something.”

“That does sound tempting,” I laughed. “I’m afraid that would only be temporary. She can get the law to let her back in. Let’s just see what happens when I confront her.”

“I want to be there,” she said. “This is my family, too.”

“Okay, we’ll just sit here and I’ll hold you until she gets home, okay?”

We cried together for a long time. I felt like my life had crumbled around me and I don’t know what I would have done if my baby hadn’t been there for me. It still hurt worse than anything I had ever experienced, but I knew that Olivia and I would be together. We finally just cried ourselves out. We made a few adjustments to our living arrangements and waited.

She got up and got us a bowl of ice cream and we watched a movie until we saw Cindy’s car lights turn into the driveway. She looked very nervous when she came in and saw us sitting there. Olivia was still next to me with one arm around my neck. Cindy tried to bluster it out.

“Hey, you waited up,” she said. She walked over and tried to kiss Olivia but she put a hand up.

“Save it, Mom,” she practically spat at her. “We know all about it. Don’t try to pretend everything is okay.”

“Eric, could I speak with you alone for a few minutes?” Cindy started to walk toward the bedroom. When she noticed that I hadn’t moved she stopped. “Just a few minutes,” she said.

“No, we’re good,” I told her. “What do you think you’re doing, Cindy?”

She came back and sat in the club chair across from us. I saw her square her shoulders and take a deep breath. “I have a relationship with Elliot Pierce,” she said. “This doesn’t have anything to do with us, Eric. We’re fine. This is something entirely separate from our marriage. I’m not leaving you or anything. This is just something I need. I can talk to Elliot and we have an emotional connection. We’ve talked it over. You won’t be able to tell any difference in our lives. I won’t neglect you. This is just between me and him. I need something different. I’ve been very happy with you, but I just need something different than what you give me.”

Olivia laughed. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen. Get real, Mom!”

“Olivia, this doesn’t have anything to do with you,” Cindy said. “This is between your Father and me.”

“So when will you be moving out?” I asked Cindy.

“What are you talking about?” she asked. “I’m not moving out. Why would I move out?”

“Well, you need a new place to live,” I told her. “After the divorce, we’ll have to sell this house. Olivia and I need to find another place.”

“What divorce?” she said. “We aren’t getting a divorce. I don’t want a divorce.”

“Well, I don’t give a flying fuck what you want,” I told her. “The total lack of respect you just showed me and your daughter just got you one. What in the hell have I ever said or done over the last 27 years that would make you think I would accept this? No, we’re getting a divorce, Cindy. I predict it’s going to be a long, nasty one. Then you’re going to have a long, nasty lonely life after the divorce, too.”

“Why are you being like this? Why can’t you just accept that I have needs that aren’t being met?” she complained. “It doesn’t have to affect us at all. We’re not getting a divorce. I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of our lives.”

“Well, too bad you don’t always get what YOU want,” I said. “I want to have a wife that isn’t sleeping with that creep Pierce. Did I get what I wanted? Did anyone ask me if I wanted to get sloppy seconds from that douche bag? I don’t remember that conversation. ‘Eric, I want to be a slut, you don’t mind do you?’ When did we have that conversation? Did you hear that conversation, Livy?”

“No, I didn’t hear it,” she said. “Did you really tell Dad you wanted to be a slut, Mom?”

“This is ridiculous,” Cindy stood up. “I can see neither one of you is an adult. When you grow up, we can talk. If you’re just going to insult me, we can just not speak.”

“Good, I don’t like to listen to sluts anyway,” Olivia said. “When are you leaving anyway, Mom? I’ve always wanted to have Daddy all to myself. He’s adorable.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Cindy screamed. “Stop saying that.”

“Oh, you’re going somewhere,” I told her. “Hell, I hope. Maybe they have a cheater’s wing. I predict you’ll be gone in a week. You have this idea that you’re a virtuous, nice person and you’re being so reasonable and so loving, but you’re not. Now that we all know what you are you won’t be able to stand being around us. You’re just a pretty rotten person, Cindy. You have no concept of right and wrong. Now we all know it. I’ll be telling all our friends, our family, the people you work with, everyone! I’m going to enjoy this. Just how long do you think you can put up with that?”

“You’re not going to tell anyone,” she said. “It would be too embarrassing for you. You just need time to get used to the idea that you’re going to be very happy. You won’t be affected at all, I promise. I love you, Eric, and I’m going to make sure you’re happy.”

Olivia burst out laughing. “You really are a stupid bitch, aren’t you, Mom? You don’t have a clue how evil you are. You haven’t done anything but shit all over our family, your husband and your marriage. No, you’re not going to make him anything but miserable. His happiness is now my project.”

I couldn’t help giving her a thankful squeeze. I had to let out a little spleen. “Cindy, do you remember George Cooper?” Her face went pale. “This is George Cooper, but permanent. Good luck with the rest of your life. You might even hook up with him again. You don’t seem too picky about the people you sleep with.”

“You bastard,” she said. “How can you bring that up? This isn’t like that at all and you’re the only man I’ve ever slept with. I haven’t slept with Elliot.”

Olivia and I looked at each other. I was kind of shocked. The question was, did I believe her? Then there was another question. Did it matter? I decided it didn’t.

“Well, what’s holding you back?” I asked her.

“You are,” she said. “I need for you to accept this. Elliot and I talked about it. If you really love me, you’ll be happy for me that I’ve found this emotional outlet. He doesn’t mind that I love you and that I’ll never leave you. This is just about me meeting my emotional needs.”

Olivia was hysterical. “Oh, my God!” she gasped. She couldn’t stop laughing. “Mom, I never knew you were so stupid. Where did you come up with that bullshit? Did that evil creeper ‘Elliot’ fill your head with that nonsense? You’re too stupid to live. God, I hope I didn’t get any genes from you.”

Cindy went red in the face and I thought she was going to explode with rage. “Olivia, you can go to your room,” she said. “I won’t have you disrespecting me like that.”

“Are you nuts, bitch?” Olivia asked. “I’m twenty-five years old. I’m a grown-ass woman. You can’t send me to my room. I make the house payment here every three months just like you do. I have my own wing. Why don’t you go to your room? Oh, wait, that’s Dad’s room. Maybe we’ll let you stay in one of the guest bedrooms until the divorce. Maybe, since you haven’t fucked him yet, it’s not too late for you to save your skanky ass. Maybe if you beg and crawl long enough, Daddy will forgive you. He’s a really nice guy. I’m not so nice. I hate a cheater and you’re one. I hope the creeper was worth it. Do you know he’s hit on all the females at the hospital, your daughter included?”

“That’s just a lie!” Cindy shouted. “He loves me! You’re just making that up to hurt me. Why are you guys being such assholes about this? Don’t you want me to be fulfilled and happy?”

I needed to get a handle on this before it escalated out of control. “Cindy, you’re digging your own grave every time you open your mouth,” I told her. “You should stop talking. I accept that you need to be fulfilled and happy. There’s the door, chase your dreams. You need to give up this idea that you can have your cake and eat it, too. You broke the deal, Cindy. If being with me was part of your fulfillment, you just tossed that away. Maybe you can be ‘fulfilled’ with Pierce. I don’t know, though. He looks like he would have trouble ‘filling’ anything. He’s an anemic little turd. He’s getting ready to be unemployed. Maybe he’ll have a pot to piss in after his divorce, but I doubt it. I think his wife is smart enough to have a prenuptial agreement. I’m sure her father is. I’d be surprised if you keep your job, too. Her father is the AMA president for this state. When they find out what the two of you are up to, it may get ugly.”

“We haven’t done anything,” she protested. “There’s no reason for all this.”

“You lied to me, tried to get Julia to lie for you, planned to hang the horns on me with that pathetic fuck and displayed professional misconduct. Neither one of you was on duty when an emergency showed up you were supposed to be covering. I think the board will frown on that. You may both lose your license.”

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” she began to panic. I guess the script they had worked out was going off the rails.

“Besides, I don’t believe you haven’t fucked him,” Olivia said. “You’ve lied about everything else.”

“I haven’t… haven’t… had sex with him. I’m not lying,” she said.

“Why should we believe anything you say?” I asked her. “You were at least planning to. That’s just as bad. Do you see the problem here? We don’t believe you. That’s what happens when you start lying. No one believes anything you say. Worse, you tried to get Julia to lie for you. I heard you planning that lie, Cindy. I think you should go and see if Pierce has any more good ideas.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “You’d probably change the locks while I was gone.”

Olivia and I looked at each other and nearly choked laughing. Cindy had no idea what we were laughing about, but she didn’t like it one bit.

“I don’t know what you think is funny about this situation but I find nothing humorous about it,” she fumed.

“No, it’s an inside joke,” I said. “The situation isn’t funny, it’s pathetic. You’re pathetic, Cindy. Now, fuck off, Olivia and I were doing something.”

She yelled, wept and had a hissy cow, but Olivia just kept turning the volume of the TV up. We have a killer sound system and we just ignored her. She finally stomped off to the kitchen and warmed up some of the chicken. She came back and tried to sit on the sofa with us but we moved to my big recliner. She finally had enough.

“Fine,” she screamed over the TV. “Just act like a couple of spoiled brats. I’m going to bed!”

When she got to the bedroom door, she discovered it was locked. Olivia turned the TV down for a minute. “Your stuff is in the blue room,” she said sweetly. “That’s Daddy’s room.”

She turned the volume back up and Cindy just stood there glaring at us before stomping off down the hall. When she closed the door, I kissed Livy and we went to bed. I left for work in the morning before they were up but there was nothing going on. Jack was in a meeting and had left instructions for me to take the day off. That was good because I had an appointment with Paul’s partner.

Her name was Jasmine Albright and she was one hell of an impressive lady. She was probably forty or so and she just oozed class. She was tall, slender and dark with this mane of auburn hair and she was just gorgeous. She was as smart as a whip, too, and she got me squared away pretty quickly. I was running around the rest of the day doing all the weird shit she wanted me to do. I visited the bank, the insurance agency, HR at work and our investment advisor. I spent 100 years on the phone, talking to people that didn’t understand English and got credit cards changed, policies amended and a million other things. I was exhausted. I had one more stop to make.

I went to the grocery store and bought three dozen eggs. I took them to Samantha’s house and Cecelia opened the door. I was amazed again at how beautiful she was. She was just so tiny and cute. She looked like she was about fourteen, but I knew she was a second semester sophomore in college. The slender fellow was missing and I was pleased with that. Cecelia hugged me and invited me in. I had stopped by Starbucks and bought three coffees and three poppy seed muffins.

Samantha was reading a magazine in a comfortable chair in the living room, and her face just lit up when she saw me. She started trying to get up but I hurried over and knelt by her chair. I hugged her and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. The three of us sat around, drank our coffee and ate muffins while we talked. Samantha was feeling a lot better and she couldn’t stop telling me how much she loved Olivia. We talked about Cecelia’s schoolwork. She wanted to be an education administrator. She was going to transfer to a four-year school after she graduated from the local junior college and she was working hard to get a scholarship. I admired her surreptitiously. She had huge brown eyes in a little pixie face. Her hair was just a curly mop about a foot long and it covered her right eye most of the time. One tiny ear was showing and it was kind of pointed like an elf. In fact, she looked like someone’s fantasy drawing of a magical creature. She caught me looking a couple of times but she just smiled and winked. 

I stayed half an hour and kissed them both goodbye. I promised to visit again soon and when I left I felt like I had made two good friends. I thought I’d check on them often and see if they needed anything. They hadn’t mentioned any men in their lives and the slender young man didn’t seem like he would be very handy.

Livy was home when I got there, and I took her out for barbecue. I told her about my day and she said Pierce took Cindy out somewhere for a long time. I guess they were planning their strategy. Well, I was executing mine and it was going well. We both went to bed before Cindy came home. She knocked on the bedroom door but I put in my earplugs and just went back to sleep. I left in the morning and there was a note for me on the table. She thought we needed to talk and asked me to wait up for her that night. 

Work was back to normal but I wasn’t on my groove. Allison came in to discuss some sales stuff and I just couldn’t get focused. The third time she had to shake me she asked me what was going on with me.

“I’m sorry, Allie. I’m not at my best today,” I told her.

“Well, you better get that way,” she said. “What’s your problem?”

“I’m getting a divorce,” I told her.

Her jaw dropped. “What the hell, Eric? What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” I said. “Well, I probably did lots of stuff, but Cindy came home and announced that she was having a relationship with that prick, Pierce. It isn’t going to affect our marriage at all. She’s going to make sure I’m not unhappy, but she has to ‘fulfill her needs’.”

“Jesus Christ!” she exploded. “Does the guy have a foot long cock or something? What the hell does that even mean?”

“I have no idea,” I told her. “She was spouting some drivel about emotional fulfillment. She insists she hasn’t slept with him, but she’s going to and if I love her, I’m supposed to let her ‘be happy’.”

She stood up and went to the bar. She poured us a couple of fingers of her good bourbon, came back and sat down. Allison is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met. She just screams sensuality every time you look at her. It’s almost impossible to put your finger on it. Her body is just perfect, big, high breasts, tiny waist, a very firm round ass and the longest legs on earth. Her face puts that body to shame. She’s a tiger, though. She chews through men like a shark in a school of baitfish. I’ve always been about half-afraid of her. She had quite a crush on me when she was a teenager, and it was kind of touch and go there for a while. She wasn’t used to anyone telling her no, and I was afraid she would hate me for keeping her at arm’s length. She didn’t, and she’s become probably my best friend. There was always this undercurrent of sexual tension between us, but we handled it. She was Olivia’s best friend, too.

“What are you going to do?” she asked. “You aren’t planning any stupid revenge plots or anything, are you?”

I laughed. “No, I just want to get this over with and move on. I’ve wasted way too much time already. I just don’t care, Allie. I’m just tired. I’m too old and too numb to plot. I am going to take Pierce down, but I’m not going to kick his ass or anything. I won’t do anything illegal. His ass is in a sling, but he doesn’t know it. I don’t care enough about him to kick his ass.”

I was wrong about that, but I didn’t know it at the time. I really believe that if they had just left me alone we would have been fine.

Allison hung out with me the rest of the day and it was very good for my ego. She made me promise to take her out to dinner Friday night and I went home. When I opened the door, there was a lot of yelling going on inside.

Cindy and Pierce were sitting on the sofa and Olivia was standing in front of them reading them the riot act. She was poking her finger in his chest and he made the mistake of slapping her hand away. Before he knew what hit him she grabbed his hair and pulled his nose down to meet her rising knee. The nose didn’t win that encounter and I dragged him by his hair out the door. When we got out on the porch, Olivia kicked him in the ribs and I body pressed him up level with my face and threw him off the porch into a Barberry shrub. He screeched like he was being clawed to death by house cats and thrashed his way to the ground. Those thorns scratched the hell out of him and he crawled out to the curb and got in a car that was parked there. He burnt the tires getting out of there and I looked at Olivia. She burst out laughing and we split our sides out there on the porch. Cindy wasn’t amused.

“I can’t believe you did that!” she screamed. “We came over here to have a civilized conversation and you just acted like savages! I can’t believe you did that to that nice man. You aren’t even giving him a chance. You’d like him if you’d just give him a chance.”

“I did give him a chance,” I told her. “I didn’t kill him, so he has a chance to start running when he sees me. Fuck off, Cindy. Baby, you want to go to a movie?” I asked Olivia.

We cleaned up, changed with Cindy standing in the hall raving at us and went out. We saw a really bad movie that Olivia loved and I hated and went out to eat wings. Cindy was gone by the time we got home. Maybe there was an emergency at the hospital involving thorn removal.

I took Allison out to eat Friday night and we went to a club. My conscience was clear. My marriage was over. She was an amazing dancer and she gave me all I could handle. Guys kept asking her to dance and she said she didn’t dare come without an escort. I volunteered to escort her any time.

“My social calendar isn’t exactly packed with smoking hot women,” I told her.

She grinned up at me. “Well, I’ll take you up on that. I’ve been in love with you since I was fifteen, you know.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed how you’ve been pining away,” I laughed. “I’ve been scared to death of you since you were fifteen.”

“I know,” she said. “I would never hurt you; you know that, don’t you, Eric?”

“I know, Sweetheart,” I told her. “I’m not really that afraid of you. You’re very loyal to the people you love.”

“If I ever found the right guy, I would be very loyal to him, too,” she buried her face in my chest as we danced. “That man could be you, Eric.”

“I’m honored, Allie,” I told her. “I’m pretty messed up right now. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over this. Remind me again when you think I’m healthy, okay?”

“Count on it,” she said. “Take me home, Eric, before I attack you. I hope my batteries are in good shape tonight.”

We laughed and I took her home. She did attack me at the door and it was the hottest kiss I’ve ever had. She didn’t try to follow up on it and I was grateful. My bruised ego did feel a lot better after that.

Cindy was still up when I got home and she tried to start something, but I was feeling too good to listen to her bullshit. I went to bed, locking the door behind me.

Getting up Saturday morning wasn’t something I wanted to do. I lay in bed and tried to make plans for the day. I finally got up and Cindy had made coffee. I ate a pastry and drank a cup. She came in and told me we needed to talk.

“No we don’t need to talk,” I told her. “Every word you say just pisses me off more. You need to stop talking. Where do you want to be served? My attorney tells me that the papers will be ready Monday. Do you want to be served at work or here?”

“I’m going to tear those papers up,” she said. “Why can’t you understand I don’t want a divorce?”

“Yes, you do want a divorce,” I told her. “Everything you’ve done since you started fucking around with Pierce was headed to this inevitable end. If you didn’t want a divorce you wouldn’t have started this shit.”

“Maybe I made a mistake,” she said. “I’ve been thinking a lot. I don’t want to lose you, Eric. I didn’t think you’d react this way.”

“You knew damned well I’d react this way,” I told her. “What made you think any differently? Remember the last time you pulled something like this?”

“We were just immature children then,” she said. “I thought you were more mature now.”

“I am,” I told her. “You aren’t. Mature people don’t act like you. Hell, Olivia is more mature than you. Everyone is more mature than you. You act like you’re in high school. This is hopeless. You’re hopeless. Why don’t you go hang out with Pierce? You seem to be two of a kind.”

I went out and started the lawn mower. She sat on the deck and glowered down at me while I mowed the back yard. When I opened the gate and mowed the front, she sat on the porch and watched. I got out the weed eater and trimmed everything up and Olivia came out and went swimming. She sunned herself for a while and I went in and took a shower. I put on my trunks, picked up a couple of beers and went out to hang with her. We had some water fights and sat on the edge of the pool, drinking our beer and doing a little father/daughter bonding. She had a date that night and I thought about what I could do to get me away from Cindy. I called Cecelia and asked her if I could bring dinner over for her and Samantha. She seemed excited at the idea so I cooked most of the afternoon. I’m a pretty good cook and I went all out. Cindy asked me what I was cooking twice and I just ignored her.

I packed up the cooler and a basket and drove over to their house. Cecelia helped me and we warmed some stuff up and opened one of the bottles of wine I had brought. They were very impressed with my culinary skills. I had even baked a chocolate cake, and it was one of my best efforts. They seemed like old friends to me. I was very comfortable with them and we talked about nothing and everything. Cecelia asked me if I wanted to go for a walk and as much as I had eaten, that sounded like a good idea. We strolled along and she quickly tucked her tiny little brown hand into my big one. It felt like I was walking with a little girl. She bounced and chattered like one, too. She was utterly charming and totally cute. I put my arm around her and squeezed her. She slipped her arm around my waist and bumped my thigh with her hip while we walked.

It made me very sad. I remembered all the walks with Cindy just like this. I think Cecelia must have sensed something wrong because she peeked up at me. “Are you okay, Eric?” she asked.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with my present company,” I told her. “It’s something else. I don’t want to spoil the mood. I really like spending time with you and Samantha.”

“I’m a pretty good listener,” she volunteered.

“My wife told me last week she’s having an affair with another man,” I said. “She says she hasn’t slept with him, yet. I don’t believe her, but the idea that I’m supposed to be okay with it because it’s something she ‘needs’ is just mind boggling to me. That’s what she told me. ‘It doesn’t have anything to do with us. I just need to be emotionally fulfilled and happy’.”

“Oh, my God!” Cecelia exclaimed. “Eric, I’m so sorry, but she sounds like an idiot. How long have you been married?”

“Twenty-seven years,” I told her. “I don’t know if I’ve just been blind and stupid all this time or she’s suddenly lost her mind. I needed to get away from her and I imposed on you. I’m sorry.”

“Nonsense,” she said. “You can impose on me any time. I really, really like you, Eric. What are you going to do?”

“The way things stand now, I’m going to divorce her,” I said. “She can’t see anything wrong with what she’s doing and I can’t see being married to someone who doesn’t see anything wrong with it.”

“No, me, either. I’m so sorry, Eric. I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now.”

“It’s not right now that bothers me,” I admitted. “I’m with you and you make me forget about my problems for a while. Getting to hang out with you and Samantha makes me feel like there’s a normal place in the world I can just look at and feel as if I belong. I know I’ve got friends and people that care about me. Thanks, Cecelia.”

She looked up at me and swung around, wrapping her arms around and hugging me, pressing her tiny body against me and burying her face in my chest. “I’m here any time you need me,” she said. “I’ll never forget what you did for Grandma. She asks me every day if I’ve seen a hospital bill. You didn’t need to pay for her, but you did. You’ll always be special to us. Eric, I know you’re all mixed up right now. Just let me know when you get it straightened out, okay? I’ll have something to tell you then.”

We walked and talked for two hours, sitting on benches sometimes with her snuggled up against me or her tiny little hand tucked into mine. I found out that her mother was a drug addict and she sold her body to get drugs. She died from hepatitis five years earlier, and Cecelia had been living with Samantha since her mother’s death. The slender young man I had met was her cousin. Her mother’s brother had pursued a similar path except he had died from a gunshot wound. Her cousin’s name was Ty, and, as I suspected, he was gay. He had his own place but they saw quite a bit of him.

I loved talking to her. She was smart and funny and she was someone I could get really close to. It wasn’t going to happen for a while. I was too upset and too on edge to even consider becoming interested in any romantic way. We walked back and Samantha offered me another cup of coffee. I took it and we talked a while before I left for home.

Olivia was home by then, and we sat together on the sofa while she told me all about her date. Cindy came and sat down. I guess she wanted to listen but Olivia stopped talking and just stared at her.

“What?” Cindy asked. “I’m interested in my daughter’s life.”

“Well, don’t get too interested,” Olivia said. “You aren’t going to be in it very long. Don’t you have somewhere to be? I’ll bet Pierce would like for you to be interested in talking to his children. He’s probably lonely, the poor, nice man. Maybe you should go and console him. Dad and I will just console ourselves with talking about our family that you did your best to destroy.”

Of course, that made her angry, she yelled for a while about how selfish we were being and how no one cared about her and what she needed.

“Cindy, you seem to have caring about yourself and what you need on lockdown,” I told her. “You don’t need any help. We’re going out for dinner.”

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Well, the ‘we’ is me and Olivia,” I told her. “You can go out with Pierce.”

She yelled some more until we left. It was interesting to me that she just kept blundering on. After we got home, Livy and I played Trivial Pursuit and she tried to play with us. She made popcorn and asked us if we wanted any and just made a nuisance of herself until we went to bed.

When I went to work Monday, I was normal enough that I actually got some work done. When I got home, Cindy was waiting. She was off Mondays, and she had evidently been busy. When Olivia came in dinner was on the table. She had gone all out and it was very good; she could always cook. She tried to make normal conversation but we just ignored her mostly. I went and met Allison at the bar and we talked and shot pool for a while. She’s a pool shark, too, and she took me to the cleaners.

Olivia called me about eight and told me to meet her at the Riverside Inn. She said it was important, but she wouldn’t tell me why; just that it was important and I should hurry. Allison wanted to come and when we pulled up, I saw Olivia’s Dart across the street. She came over and scooted Allison over next to me when she got in the truck.

“Hey, Allie,” she said. “Dad, Mom left right after you did. She had been on the phone and I think she was talking to Pierce. I followed her and they came here. They checked into a room and they’ve been in there about twenty minutes. I think we should pay them a visit. I’ve got our video camera and I think they’re doing the dirty. This will be evidence.”

We argued about it for a while. Allison thought it was stupid and dangerous and I really didn’t want to know. Olivia carried the argument when she said if Cindy tried to fight the divorce, I could threaten her with the video. That made sense to me and Allison came around, too. I went to the desk and asked the guy what room my wife was in. I told him I was supposed to meet her and he checked my ID and gave me a key card. We stopped outside the door and Olivia got the camera ready. When we opened the door, Cindy was on her knees by the bed and Pierce’s cock was in her mouth.

She jumped up and screamed while Olivia caught the action. “What the hell are you doing here?” she screamed. “This is a private room!”

“We were just leaving,” I told her. “Well, so much for ‘I haven’t had sex with him’.”

“You made me do this,” she yelled. “You forced me into this! If you hadn’t been such an asshole, this would all have been so loving and good. No, you had to be a hard ass.”

“Hi, Cindy,” Allison said. “That’s a tiny little pecker you were working on there. You’d get more smoking a cigar. Well, there’s no accounting for tastes. Some women go for the pathetic wimp type.” She took my arm. “I kind of like tall, dark and handsome.”

“Get your hands off my husband!” Cindy screamed.

We turned and left, and I closed the door. We walked back to the truck and I was kind of in a daze. Allison drove the truck and Olivia followed us to Freddy’s. We got shakes and they talked. They noticed that I was quiet and they scooted over against me.

“Eric, I know this is bad, but it’s not the end of the world,” Allison said. “You’re going to be fine. You’ve got people that love you. I love you. Olivia loves you. It’s going to be okay. I know it looks bad but I’ve got some news for you that is going to change things some. I’ll tell you at work tomorrow. You have a meeting with Dad at ten. This is going to shake things up a bit, but it’s just what you need right now. Take me back to my car.”

I walked out between two of the most beautiful girls on the planet and it felt good. Not good like everything was right with the world, but still good. I took Allie back to the bar and went home. Olivia was waiting up and we talked for a while. Cindy came in about an hour later.

“I stopped for gas on the way home and my credit cards wouldn’t work,” she said. “What have you done, Eric?”

“Well, since we’re getting divorced we can’t have joint cards anymore,” I told her. “We also now have separate bank accounts. I have one, you have one and there’s a third one that Olivia is on, too, for household expenses. I put half our savings and half our investment accounts in your checking account. You’ll have to get your own credit cards if you want them. The server said you tore up the papers, too. I suggest you get new ones and sign them. If you don’t, I’m going to send your new porn video to your parents. I don’t know if they’re into porn, but since you’re the star they might like it.”