Part 01.2
"Something like that."
"You going to the award dinner next weekend?" Holly asked, slyly touching the back of my hand. I knew all the signs of flirting. I mean how could I not if I want to appear as a normal, sane, person.
"I was planning on it but..."
"Ah! And you're not ready to make up with your wife," Holly said, filling in the blanks as I bopped my nose telling her she hit the mark. "So do you think the two of you will work it out?"
"Can't say, too soon to tell," I stated shrugging my shoulders.
"Then..." I glance down as her hand ran up my arm as she leaned forward. Causing her blouse to open allowing me to peek as her light blue lacy bra and her rather alluring 36B breasts, "how about we go together?" Her perfume filled my nostrils as her hair brushed against my cheek. "I promise if you do I'll make sure you forget all about her for the night," Holly purred into my ear. "Think about it, won't you?" she cooed before she kissed me. Did she ever know how to kiss, I have to say as her lips pulled away my mind was a little befuddled. "See you later Wane, thanks for coming in again," Holly spoke as she took my preliminary report from the printer before leaving my small office.
---Betty---
I grunted as I wrangled the mattress of the bed I had broken my vows on onto the box spring. If I had to sleep away from the man I loved to show him I still loved him, then I would stay in that room until the day I die if that was what it took to show him I was still his wife. Even if I was a stupid, slut of a wife. I was hanging up the clothes my husband had dumped on the floor. That was when I heard a pounding on the front door of my home.
"Alright, alright. I'm coming, hold your horses," I grumbled as I walked towards the front door. "Celine?! What are you doing here?" I asked, perplexed as to why my sister was on my doorstep.
"You bitch!" Celine screeched at me. "Why did you tell Wane I was the one that told you to cheat on your husband?!"
"It's true was it not?" I replied with a pointed look.
"That's not the point!"
"Then what is?" I sighed loudly. "Own up to it sis, I have to live with it the rest of my life. I don't even know how you can look at Bill and not feel like shit. I do every time I see Wane."
"Can we not do this out here?" Celine sighed in defeat.
"Why not, the whole neighborhood knows what my naked ass looks like. So what if they know the kind of sluts we are. If you're worried about that your kind of..."
"I know!" Celine yelled. I arched an eyebrow as my sister broke down crying. "I just couldn't stop. God. What's wrong with me?!" Celine sobbed into her hands.
"Come on," I muttered as I guided my sister into the house. I could see her eyes moving around the room as I led her to my new bedroom. I saw her glance at me knowing how the walls once sported dozens of pictures of me and Wane now they were bare, then her eyes shot down to the floor knowing what she had cost me. Her shoulders sank as we stood in the doorway of the guest bedroom reinforcing the new reality that had become my life. "Okay, why don't you start from the beginning," I said, keeping the joy from my face that Wane had indeed read my email and didn't trash it like I thought he would. Maybe there was hope for me yet.
"Here read it for yourself," Celine sniffed handing over her phone.
As I read through the email that Wane had sent her. My heart began to beat faster as I read the line about our marriage. "I still have a marriage!" I cried out in my mind. Although I wondered how he knew about Mom. I never told him about how we both knew about how she was cheating on our father -- to this day still. My head shot up at the realization of that my parents haven't slept in the same bed in over twenty-one years, or my father hasn't spent any length of time alone with my mother since I was seven. Were we destined to go the way of my parents?! Not if I could help it. I, unlike my mother, would never cheat on Wane, ever again. "Well, all I can say is you should heed my husband's warning," I said, handing back Celine's phone.
"But he couldn't mean it could he?" Celine asked, with a trembling voice.
"Oh, he does. Wane doesn't say something he doesn't mean Celine. I told you, you do not know that man like I do," I said, in a matter-of-fact tone. "So how about if we try and not cheat on our husbands anymore?" I stated as I looked at my sister. "Do you want to live like Mom and Dad? When was the last time you and Bill had sex?" I watched as she fell face forward into her hands. "That long huh?" Rubbing Celine's back nodded her head. "A year..."
"Three," Celine whispered.
"Didn't you find that odd?"
"I didn't notice, I was so absorbed in the thrill of it I didn't see what was going on around me. Now my baby knows what kind of woman I am! How can I ever show her how to be a strong woman if I'm willing to ruin her life and Bill's because I can't stop sleeping around?!"
"Well... maybe you can talk to Bill, get some counseling for you and your marriage. I don't know if you can save your marriage Celine. The way I saw Bill look at me this morning, you might never win him back. But are you willing to try, or do you want to be one of those divorced mothers that's known to take a man to their bed every night and not have a lasting relationship when they all know your reputation?" I asked, in a stern sisterly voice. "Because you know Bill won't let you have Jan if that's how your life is going to be. You know how much he loves his little girl."
"I love Bill, and I'm not going to end up like Mom! Fuck! I am Mom!" Celine expectorated as she fell back onto my naked bed. I had thrown out the sheets from that night. Wane had left the residue of my sinful fall on it to visibly smack me across the face.
"Yeah, you kind of are sis," I agreed. "But maybe there's still time."
"Would you stay with me if you were Bill?"
"With the amount of whoring around you've done? Probably not," I admitted.
"Shit! Shit!" Celine cursed as her hands covered her face.
"Well, you got another eleven years to win him back," I said, offhandedly.
"Huh?"
"You think Bill is just going to leave his daughter?" I asked, arching an eyebrow knowing how the courts usually sided with the mother no matter how much of a slut she was. I knew Bill well enough to know that he would never give up his daughter. He just loved Jan too much.
"But what if we do end up divorced?"
"Then you can be my roommate; no sense of us both being miserable alone," I said, with a warm smile.
"That's not helping," Celine chuckled for the first time since coming into my home. I hoped it was still my home in the years to come. My head quickly turned towards the window as I heard a car door closing.
"Stay the fuck here, do not leave this room," I warned as I got up from the bed. "I don't think you or I would like to deal with Wane if he saw you here right now." Watching how Celine zipped her lips as I walked hurriedly to greet my husband. "Welcome home Wane," I said, as my husband walked through the door. Swallowing hard, wishing I had taken his sister's advice and gave him a few days as those eyes narrowed. Dropping my chin as he didn't return my greeting as he closed the front door. I felt a tear running down my cheek, then the forceful grip on my chin lifting it up.
"Why the fuck are you crying?!" Wane asked, in this cold tone.
"Because... I'm the one who took the light from your eyes. The light I always saw when you looked at me. Now I hate how I see myself in them," I admitted. Lying to him now would end everything I hoped to save.
"Good. As you fucking should," Wane said, roughly releasing my chin. "Tell your sister to get the fuck out of my house!" I jumped as he slammed the door to my former bedroom. I wondered how he even knew Celine was even here.
Turning to look at my room as Celine exited it. "Sorry sis, I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought... fuck what I thought. Do what you have to do to save what you can. I'll apologize to him if it will help."
"It won't." We swallowed uneasily as we both looked at the man that inhabited my husband's body. "Leave. Now. I won't tell you again." I felt the temperature dropping rapidly as his eyes bored into my sister. I had never seen the look of fear in my sister's eyes as I did that day. I began to think Celine was starting to realize he meant every word of his warning.
"I'll call you later," Celine said, quickly exiting out the door.
"I'll be in my room if you need me."
"I won't." How those two words felt like a knife in my heart as Wane walked into the kitchen.
Sulking back to the life that was now mine and mine alone to live. Trying not to cry as I heard Wane rummaging through the kitchen as I went back to hanging my clothes.
---Wane---
It was eleven o'clock on a Sunday morning as I stood out on the back patio my father had built years ago. The smoke of my cigarette drifted on the air as I stared at nothing in particular. I hadn't smoked in years. God. It felt so good to inhale that rich aroma. Why had I quit? Betty of course. Yet now, everything I changed or gave up for her was making a comeback. If she didn't like it I really didn't care. I heard the sliding door opening behind me.
"Wane...?!" I kept my face placid as I turned. I saw the shock in her eyes as I blew out a puff of smoke. "I thought..."
"I did."
"But why?!" Betty asked, in a worrying tone.
"Who did I give it up for, and what did I come home to three days ago?" I asked, flicking the ashes. Turning back around as she dropped her head.
"Please Wane, don't risk your health because I've been so stupid. I don't want to lose you to that." I felt her so close to me as I kept my back to her.
"Why do you care Betty? Obviously, you didn't when you let two men fuck you in my house," I asked, taking one last drag before letting the butt fall to the ground. My body jerked forward as she hugged me from behind. I felt her trembling as her hug tightened.
"I care! I've never stopped caring Wane! And I never will, you're the only man I want!"
"Could have fooled me," I said, coldly.
"I can only say sorry so much Wane! Please, tell me why did you start smoking again?"
"I saw no point in denying myself the things I used to like doing but gave them up for someone that didn't respect me enough not to break their vows. And you know how I am when I give my word. So, I'm going to give you another one, I am going to date..." I felt her body stilling as a wicked smile formed on my lips, "as a matter-of-fact I have got one already lined up next weekend."
"Please Wane, don't do this..."
"Why not? Did that ring on your finger stop you from taking two men to my bed, hmm? So tell me, why should I be the only one in this relationship being faithful to the other person?" Glancing down as her hands balled around my shirt.
"As long as you don't fall in love with anyone," Betty whispered. I knew she didn't mean a word of it. "But don't think I'm not got to try to win you back even if it takes me until I'm old and grey. I am not going to lose my husband." I heard her voice trembling as she squeezed me tighter. I wanted her to know that I was no longer hers. That ship had sailed three days ago. If she wasn't willing to be faithful I saw no reason to remain so as well. Plus, I wanted her to sweat and worry that I would fall for another person. Trust me that wasn't going to happen. If this marriage didn't work out I wasn't going to go through the process ever again. Opening myself up to Betty was hard enough and look what that got me. I have no problem staying single and fucking whomever I want when I want. Unlike most people I don't need relationships, like I said before I enjoy my solitude.
"Mom and Dad are having a cookout... do you want to come?" Betty asked, as she pulled away from me.
"No."
"Why?"
"Let's see, for the two years we dated, the four we've been married they've thought I was beneath them. I've bent over backwards for them long enough. And who did I do all that for?" I asked, arching an eyebrow as I turned.
"Me," Betty said weakly, looking down at the pavers.
"That's right, you. And what did my discomfort get me?" I inquired, lifting her chin. "I tell you want it got me. A sister-in-law that whispers to her sister to cheat on me, in my own god damn HOUSE! A sister-in-law who I've had to cover for because she cares more about fucking around than being a damn mother to her own child! Your whole family disrespects me every chance they can. So, no, I will not be joining you for your little 'cookout' or any other family function from here on out. I doubt anyone of them will care if I'm not there. Good riddance, I say," I stated before leaving her there.
---Betty---
I never knew he felt that way about my family. Why hadn't I seen it?! Every time my mother or father, or Celine for that matter tried to say something negative about him. I'd cut it off right then and there. No one talks about my husband like that at least not in front of me. God. I'm so damn stupid! My mind raced at who this date was as I felt the late morning sun on my skin. It had to be that woman I saw on the news! It had to be. Fuck! I knew if he applied that charm of his, he would definitely find his way into that woman's pants. If she hadn't already proposition my husband. "Fucking bitch!" I growled. Turning my head at the sound of a car horn in front of my house. Walking around the house, arching an eyebrow noting Bill's SUV sitting in our driveway. Noting how my sister was talking to her husband before Bill nodded.
"Sis," Celine said, as she got out of the vehicle. "Bill... we thought all of us could ride together." I noted how Celine looked back to her husband a forlorn look appeared in her eyes. I knew they had talked once she got home from mine the other day. It gave me hope that if they were willing to work at it for Jan's sake, that there might be hope for my own marriage.
"Wane's not coming, not now, not ever again," I said, trying to keep my voice as stable as I could. "Why should he? It isn't like you or our parents have been kind to him, now have you?" Celine dropped her head in shame, Bill had this smirk on his lips as he sat behind the wheel of his SUV. "Let me tell Wane I'm leaving, okay?" Walking towards the front door, I heard the TV going in the living room. What was playing did not fill me with warmth as a True Crime documentary was playing through the speakers as I heard Wane making lunch. "Bill and Celine are here, I'm going to ride with them to my parent's house," I said, as Wane was laying a leaf of lettuce on top of his sandwich.
"Okay, why are you telling me?"
"I'm always going to tell you where I am or going," I said, stepping up to him. Rising on the tips of my toes, placing a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back before dinner." My eyes studied Wane's face as he had his jaw set. "I love you Wane; I'm never going to stop loving you." I saw his eyes glance at me. I could see his mind working on whether or not he could believe those words.
As Bill backed out of the driveway, I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. My Wane, my true love going on a date! That wasn't me! Oh God! What if he falls for whomever it is?! What if... he gets her pregnant?!
"Sis? What's wrong?" Celine asked, peering around her seat.
"Wane... he's..."
"What about him?" Bill inquired.
"Has a date next weekend," I stammered out. I looked up as Bill laughed.
"Bill?" Celine quickly closed her mouth at whatever look her husband gave her.
"It's what you get Betty. Did you honestly think you could do what you did and not face some consequences for your actions?" I saw Bill peering at me in the rear view mirror. I also knew it was meant for my sister as well.
"Is Uncle Wane not my uncle anymore?" asked an inquisitive Jan.
"Oh no honey, Wane is still very much your Uncle. We're just having some problems that I caused by my own selfishness," I said, looking over at my niece. Smiling at how pretty she looked in her unicorn t-shirt.
"Good," Jan said, with a stern nod. "I love Uncle Wane, he's always nice to me more so than mommy is," she said, before turning her attention out the window. I knew that stung my sister, and hard too, as I saw how she was trying very hard to hold back her tears. I noticed how Bill didn't comfort my sister, what could you say to the truth? Celine has been neglecting her daughter for the past three years for whatever strange cock she could find.
"Are you going to let him?" Celine asked, with a trembling voice as she gazed at her daughter.
"Yes, what else can I do? I'm the one that put us in this situation in the first place. If I have to watch as he goes off every night with some... woman," my hands balled up the fabric of my jeans trying to keep my anger at the thought of another woman's hands on him, "then that's what I'm going to do," I said, although that didn't mean I had to like it.
"Hmm... I think Wane is onto something here," Bill said, stroking his chin as we sat at a red light.
"You can't mean that Bill, can you?" Celine asked, in shock.
"As compared to what you've been doing?!" Bill replied accusingly looking over at her. I saw my sister's face ripen quickly yet couldn't say anything against Bill's words. "But unlike Wane I have a daughter to take care of so I can't go running off every night," he said, getting in another dig at my sister.
"Don't bring them around the house." I heard my sister whisper.
"Trust me, if I do that, I'd be far more discreet than you have been," Bill said, taking a left hand turn to my parent's home.
My father is a high power corporate lawyer, and my mother is just as good at sitting on her ass and doing nothing while she fornicates with her lovers. I don't know why my father hasn't divorced her. I know he doesn't love her any more. However, I think it's time that I find out. I watched as Bill pulled along the long, looping driveway of my father's expansive home. Our parents greeted us as me and Celine walked into our childhood home with Bill and Jan right behind us.
"Jan!" My mother held out her arms to her grandchild. Watching her kiss Jan's cheeks repeatedly.
"Where's your husband?" My father asked me, as Bill closed the front door.
"At home," I replied.
"Good. We have someone you should meet," my mother said, as she rose. "Now don't give me that look. That man isn't good enough for you, you need someone to provide a good life for you."
"Oh?" Watching how Celine cupped her daughter's ears knowing I was about to lay into my parents.
"Jerold!" My father bellowed. Alright, I'll admit the man was handsome, yet that wasn't going to sway me as the man walked in. "Jerold here just joined my firm, he's a bright and upcoming star in the firm," my father said, praising his new hire.
"Hi, your pictures..." I looked at his outstretched hand in disgust. I could not believe they had the gall to do this, in front of everyone as they began to cluster in the hallway.
"You..." I took a deep breath and felt a hand on my shoulder. Bill nodded to me as I looked back at him. "You can't keep your own damn legs closed during your whole damn marriage and have the audacity to try to ruin mine!" I screamed out taking my mother, father, and Jerold by surprise. "And why haven't you left this slut?!" I asked, pointing right at my mother's face. Her eyes widen in shock at the name I just called her. "I know you know all about the men she sleeps around with!" I heard the gasp of my audience. "And you two have the nerve. The fucking nerve to bring this!" Sticking my finger in Jerold's face. "Here. To tell me my marriage, in your damn eyes, isn't good enough for you! Well, you know what! I don't fucking care! From where I sit my marriage is ten times better than anything, anything that you two have! And don't you ever try this shit again! No wonder Wane doesn't want to come here ever again. Look at the shit you just pulled! Wane's a better damn person than this entire damn family!" I looked back as Bill opened the door.
"You know Mom," Celine said, her disdain apparent in her voice. "You two were the same with Bill and me until Jan was born, do the two of you know how hurtful that is? Do the two of you care that your actions hurt your own children, and I mean all of it since the time I was ten. You know how I felt when we caught you with your little boy toy?! And how you didn't man up and toss her ass out on to the street," her eyes cut hard at our father, "you just put up with it. You two cheating on each other without a damn care how it would affect your children. Well, you know what! Good job! I'm just like you Mom," Celine sneered. "I don't know if Bill or my baby will ever forgive me, but I'm sure as hell going to try to make it up to them. If they will have me still. Because I am not going to turn out like the two of you! Come on Betty, we're leaving!"
"If you ever hope to have a relationship with me..."
"And me," Celine quickly added.
"You will get on your damn hands and knees and kiss Wane's ass for all the shit you spoke about him. He knows all of it!" I don't know how he knows; he just does. Maybe it's all that sneaking he does. That man is like a ghost, here one minute gone the next. "If you can't do that then stay the hell out of our lives!" I shouted slamming the door behind me. God. That felt good.
"Damn..." Celine quickly caught herself as her daughter looked up to her. I saw the quivering of her eyes as Jan slipped her hand into hers. "I didn't know you had that in you," my sister shot me a smile.
"It was a long time coming," I nodded, a little proud of myself.
"Honey." I saw the luster of my sister's eyes as she turned to look at Bill. I don't remember when the last time I heard Bill call her that. "Come on, let's go home," Bill said, the keys of his SUV spun around his finger. He didn't say it, but I could see the pride in his eyes.
"What about Wane? You think he'll want to come over for a cookout with just us?" Celine asked, between the two of us.
"I don't know, I don't think Wane wants to see you right now."
"Yeah, that's understandable you were the cause of this whole mess," Bill agreed.
"You mean Uncle Wane is coming over?" Jan asked, with excited eyes.
"Maybe if you're the one that asks him," Celine said, looking down at her daughter. I knew it was a low ploy yet I wanted to be in my husband's presence even if I couldn't touch him like I yearned to do.
Smiling at my niece as we all climbed back into the SUV. Pulling out my phone, I was on edge as I hit the call button once I selected Wane's number and put it on speaker. My fingers drummed on my leg as I listened as the phone rang. "Please Wane, pick up," I muttered low. "Shit!" I cursed when he ended the call without even answering.
"Let me," Bill said, linking his phone to the built-in Bluetooth of the SUV. We all listened to the ring tone through the speakers.
"What is it Betty?" I noticed Bill's and Celine's eyes looking at me as we sat at the end of the driveway of my parent's home.
"What? Wane's smart, he would have figured out that I would use Bill's phone to call him," I stated.
"Well, I'm so happy to hear you regard my intelligence so highly." I heard the sarcasm in his voice.
"Uncle Wane?" Jan spoke up. I could only image what Wane was doing at this moment. Probably cursing up a storm in his head so not to do so over the line.
"Hello Jan." I heard the softness of his voice when he addressed her. It wasn't lost on Celine either.
"Hi! Will you come over so we all can have a..." Jan looked to me wondering what she could call it.
"Jan wants to know if you would come over to Bill's and Celine's place and have a cookout with us?" Looking down at my phone when a text came in that read: Really?! Using a child? Kind of low even for you.
"I thought you were going to your parents place?"
"We were, then they were their typical selves," Bill said, as I was typing out a respond to Wane. That said: if it's the only way I can be with you, then I'll use every underhanded trick I know!
"Please Uncle Wane," Jan pleaded with him, in that cute adorable voice of hers. Looking down as another text came in that read: What the fuck did they do now?!
I chewed my lip wondering if I should tell him everything, shaking the thought from my mind. If I wanted us to remain married I couldn't hide this from Wane. So I sent back my reply: They brought this guy in telling me you aren't good enough for me and I should be dating this new lawyer that started in my father's firm. I told them off, called my own mother a slut, and my father a coward for not kicking her out; and told them to kiss your ass if they ever want to be in our lives ever again.
"Really now?" We all heard that little chuckle of his as it was carried over the line.
"It's true Wane. I wouldn't lie to you. Ask Bill if you don't believe me," I said, inching forward in my seat. Hoping that I could capitalize on his lightened mood. Not to trick him or anything, just to get my husband back. I already miss feeling him lying next to me. Showing Bill the text I sent to Wane.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what she told her mother. I got it all on video, well my phone was in my pocket so you'll just hear their conversation. But only if you come over," Bill said, I saw the smile on my face.
"You play dirty."
"So my wife tells me." Bill had this smirk on his lips at Wane's sigh.
"I'm coming for Jan. Remember that." Jan squealed in joy as she threw up her arms.
"Okay, what do we want?" Bill asked, looking at me and Celine.
"Hotdogs!" Jan cried out joyously.
"Only if it's the beef kind," Wane put in.
"Wait. There's a beef hotdog?!" Jan looked at me in confusion. "Are they good Uncle Wane?!"
"Oh yes, better than the ones your Dad buys."
"Hey!" I saw the text come the display in the dash that read: You use a child as a ploy, deal with it! "That's just low man, my hotdogs are awesome." I heard Bill grumble.
"Honey, don't we have a pack of them in the fridge?" I asked, as my head filled the space between Bill's and Celine's seats.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Bring them and we'll stop and get hamburger meat, and the buns and some chips," I said, my heart was racing when Wane hadn't told me to stop calling him that.
"Say meet up at our place in an hour," Bill said, putting the gearshift into drive.
"Alright."
"Good..." My words stilled in my throat as Wane cut off the line without warning.
"You going to the award dinner next weekend?" Holly asked, slyly touching the back of my hand. I knew all the signs of flirting. I mean how could I not if I want to appear as a normal, sane, person.
"I was planning on it but..."
"Ah! And you're not ready to make up with your wife," Holly said, filling in the blanks as I bopped my nose telling her she hit the mark. "So do you think the two of you will work it out?"
"Can't say, too soon to tell," I stated shrugging my shoulders.
"Then..." I glance down as her hand ran up my arm as she leaned forward. Causing her blouse to open allowing me to peek as her light blue lacy bra and her rather alluring 36B breasts, "how about we go together?" Her perfume filled my nostrils as her hair brushed against my cheek. "I promise if you do I'll make sure you forget all about her for the night," Holly purred into my ear. "Think about it, won't you?" she cooed before she kissed me. Did she ever know how to kiss, I have to say as her lips pulled away my mind was a little befuddled. "See you later Wane, thanks for coming in again," Holly spoke as she took my preliminary report from the printer before leaving my small office.
---Betty---
I grunted as I wrangled the mattress of the bed I had broken my vows on onto the box spring. If I had to sleep away from the man I loved to show him I still loved him, then I would stay in that room until the day I die if that was what it took to show him I was still his wife. Even if I was a stupid, slut of a wife. I was hanging up the clothes my husband had dumped on the floor. That was when I heard a pounding on the front door of my home.
"Alright, alright. I'm coming, hold your horses," I grumbled as I walked towards the front door. "Celine?! What are you doing here?" I asked, perplexed as to why my sister was on my doorstep.
"You bitch!" Celine screeched at me. "Why did you tell Wane I was the one that told you to cheat on your husband?!"
"It's true was it not?" I replied with a pointed look.
"That's not the point!"
"Then what is?" I sighed loudly. "Own up to it sis, I have to live with it the rest of my life. I don't even know how you can look at Bill and not feel like shit. I do every time I see Wane."
"Can we not do this out here?" Celine sighed in defeat.
"Why not, the whole neighborhood knows what my naked ass looks like. So what if they know the kind of sluts we are. If you're worried about that your kind of..."
"I know!" Celine yelled. I arched an eyebrow as my sister broke down crying. "I just couldn't stop. God. What's wrong with me?!" Celine sobbed into her hands.
"Come on," I muttered as I guided my sister into the house. I could see her eyes moving around the room as I led her to my new bedroom. I saw her glance at me knowing how the walls once sported dozens of pictures of me and Wane now they were bare, then her eyes shot down to the floor knowing what she had cost me. Her shoulders sank as we stood in the doorway of the guest bedroom reinforcing the new reality that had become my life. "Okay, why don't you start from the beginning," I said, keeping the joy from my face that Wane had indeed read my email and didn't trash it like I thought he would. Maybe there was hope for me yet.
"Here read it for yourself," Celine sniffed handing over her phone.
As I read through the email that Wane had sent her. My heart began to beat faster as I read the line about our marriage. "I still have a marriage!" I cried out in my mind. Although I wondered how he knew about Mom. I never told him about how we both knew about how she was cheating on our father -- to this day still. My head shot up at the realization of that my parents haven't slept in the same bed in over twenty-one years, or my father hasn't spent any length of time alone with my mother since I was seven. Were we destined to go the way of my parents?! Not if I could help it. I, unlike my mother, would never cheat on Wane, ever again. "Well, all I can say is you should heed my husband's warning," I said, handing back Celine's phone.
"But he couldn't mean it could he?" Celine asked, with a trembling voice.
"Oh, he does. Wane doesn't say something he doesn't mean Celine. I told you, you do not know that man like I do," I said, in a matter-of-fact tone. "So how about if we try and not cheat on our husbands anymore?" I stated as I looked at my sister. "Do you want to live like Mom and Dad? When was the last time you and Bill had sex?" I watched as she fell face forward into her hands. "That long huh?" Rubbing Celine's back nodded her head. "A year..."
"Three," Celine whispered.
"Didn't you find that odd?"
"I didn't notice, I was so absorbed in the thrill of it I didn't see what was going on around me. Now my baby knows what kind of woman I am! How can I ever show her how to be a strong woman if I'm willing to ruin her life and Bill's because I can't stop sleeping around?!"
"Well... maybe you can talk to Bill, get some counseling for you and your marriage. I don't know if you can save your marriage Celine. The way I saw Bill look at me this morning, you might never win him back. But are you willing to try, or do you want to be one of those divorced mothers that's known to take a man to their bed every night and not have a lasting relationship when they all know your reputation?" I asked, in a stern sisterly voice. "Because you know Bill won't let you have Jan if that's how your life is going to be. You know how much he loves his little girl."
"I love Bill, and I'm not going to end up like Mom! Fuck! I am Mom!" Celine expectorated as she fell back onto my naked bed. I had thrown out the sheets from that night. Wane had left the residue of my sinful fall on it to visibly smack me across the face.
"Yeah, you kind of are sis," I agreed. "But maybe there's still time."
"Would you stay with me if you were Bill?"
"With the amount of whoring around you've done? Probably not," I admitted.
"Shit! Shit!" Celine cursed as her hands covered her face.
"Well, you got another eleven years to win him back," I said, offhandedly.
"Huh?"
"You think Bill is just going to leave his daughter?" I asked, arching an eyebrow knowing how the courts usually sided with the mother no matter how much of a slut she was. I knew Bill well enough to know that he would never give up his daughter. He just loved Jan too much.
"But what if we do end up divorced?"
"Then you can be my roommate; no sense of us both being miserable alone," I said, with a warm smile.
"That's not helping," Celine chuckled for the first time since coming into my home. I hoped it was still my home in the years to come. My head quickly turned towards the window as I heard a car door closing.
"Stay the fuck here, do not leave this room," I warned as I got up from the bed. "I don't think you or I would like to deal with Wane if he saw you here right now." Watching how Celine zipped her lips as I walked hurriedly to greet my husband. "Welcome home Wane," I said, as my husband walked through the door. Swallowing hard, wishing I had taken his sister's advice and gave him a few days as those eyes narrowed. Dropping my chin as he didn't return my greeting as he closed the front door. I felt a tear running down my cheek, then the forceful grip on my chin lifting it up.
"Why the fuck are you crying?!" Wane asked, in this cold tone.
"Because... I'm the one who took the light from your eyes. The light I always saw when you looked at me. Now I hate how I see myself in them," I admitted. Lying to him now would end everything I hoped to save.
"Good. As you fucking should," Wane said, roughly releasing my chin. "Tell your sister to get the fuck out of my house!" I jumped as he slammed the door to my former bedroom. I wondered how he even knew Celine was even here.
Turning to look at my room as Celine exited it. "Sorry sis, I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought... fuck what I thought. Do what you have to do to save what you can. I'll apologize to him if it will help."
"It won't." We swallowed uneasily as we both looked at the man that inhabited my husband's body. "Leave. Now. I won't tell you again." I felt the temperature dropping rapidly as his eyes bored into my sister. I had never seen the look of fear in my sister's eyes as I did that day. I began to think Celine was starting to realize he meant every word of his warning.
"I'll call you later," Celine said, quickly exiting out the door.
"I'll be in my room if you need me."
"I won't." How those two words felt like a knife in my heart as Wane walked into the kitchen.
Sulking back to the life that was now mine and mine alone to live. Trying not to cry as I heard Wane rummaging through the kitchen as I went back to hanging my clothes.
---Wane---
It was eleven o'clock on a Sunday morning as I stood out on the back patio my father had built years ago. The smoke of my cigarette drifted on the air as I stared at nothing in particular. I hadn't smoked in years. God. It felt so good to inhale that rich aroma. Why had I quit? Betty of course. Yet now, everything I changed or gave up for her was making a comeback. If she didn't like it I really didn't care. I heard the sliding door opening behind me.
"Wane...?!" I kept my face placid as I turned. I saw the shock in her eyes as I blew out a puff of smoke. "I thought..."
"I did."
"But why?!" Betty asked, in a worrying tone.
"Who did I give it up for, and what did I come home to three days ago?" I asked, flicking the ashes. Turning back around as she dropped her head.
"Please Wane, don't risk your health because I've been so stupid. I don't want to lose you to that." I felt her so close to me as I kept my back to her.
"Why do you care Betty? Obviously, you didn't when you let two men fuck you in my house," I asked, taking one last drag before letting the butt fall to the ground. My body jerked forward as she hugged me from behind. I felt her trembling as her hug tightened.
"I care! I've never stopped caring Wane! And I never will, you're the only man I want!"
"Could have fooled me," I said, coldly.
"I can only say sorry so much Wane! Please, tell me why did you start smoking again?"
"I saw no point in denying myself the things I used to like doing but gave them up for someone that didn't respect me enough not to break their vows. And you know how I am when I give my word. So, I'm going to give you another one, I am going to date..." I felt her body stilling as a wicked smile formed on my lips, "as a matter-of-fact I have got one already lined up next weekend."
"Please Wane, don't do this..."
"Why not? Did that ring on your finger stop you from taking two men to my bed, hmm? So tell me, why should I be the only one in this relationship being faithful to the other person?" Glancing down as her hands balled around my shirt.
"As long as you don't fall in love with anyone," Betty whispered. I knew she didn't mean a word of it. "But don't think I'm not got to try to win you back even if it takes me until I'm old and grey. I am not going to lose my husband." I heard her voice trembling as she squeezed me tighter. I wanted her to know that I was no longer hers. That ship had sailed three days ago. If she wasn't willing to be faithful I saw no reason to remain so as well. Plus, I wanted her to sweat and worry that I would fall for another person. Trust me that wasn't going to happen. If this marriage didn't work out I wasn't going to go through the process ever again. Opening myself up to Betty was hard enough and look what that got me. I have no problem staying single and fucking whomever I want when I want. Unlike most people I don't need relationships, like I said before I enjoy my solitude.
"Mom and Dad are having a cookout... do you want to come?" Betty asked, as she pulled away from me.
"No."
"Why?"
"Let's see, for the two years we dated, the four we've been married they've thought I was beneath them. I've bent over backwards for them long enough. And who did I do all that for?" I asked, arching an eyebrow as I turned.
"Me," Betty said weakly, looking down at the pavers.
"That's right, you. And what did my discomfort get me?" I inquired, lifting her chin. "I tell you want it got me. A sister-in-law that whispers to her sister to cheat on me, in my own god damn HOUSE! A sister-in-law who I've had to cover for because she cares more about fucking around than being a damn mother to her own child! Your whole family disrespects me every chance they can. So, no, I will not be joining you for your little 'cookout' or any other family function from here on out. I doubt anyone of them will care if I'm not there. Good riddance, I say," I stated before leaving her there.
---Betty---
I never knew he felt that way about my family. Why hadn't I seen it?! Every time my mother or father, or Celine for that matter tried to say something negative about him. I'd cut it off right then and there. No one talks about my husband like that at least not in front of me. God. I'm so damn stupid! My mind raced at who this date was as I felt the late morning sun on my skin. It had to be that woman I saw on the news! It had to be. Fuck! I knew if he applied that charm of his, he would definitely find his way into that woman's pants. If she hadn't already proposition my husband. "Fucking bitch!" I growled. Turning my head at the sound of a car horn in front of my house. Walking around the house, arching an eyebrow noting Bill's SUV sitting in our driveway. Noting how my sister was talking to her husband before Bill nodded.
"Sis," Celine said, as she got out of the vehicle. "Bill... we thought all of us could ride together." I noted how Celine looked back to her husband a forlorn look appeared in her eyes. I knew they had talked once she got home from mine the other day. It gave me hope that if they were willing to work at it for Jan's sake, that there might be hope for my own marriage.
"Wane's not coming, not now, not ever again," I said, trying to keep my voice as stable as I could. "Why should he? It isn't like you or our parents have been kind to him, now have you?" Celine dropped her head in shame, Bill had this smirk on his lips as he sat behind the wheel of his SUV. "Let me tell Wane I'm leaving, okay?" Walking towards the front door, I heard the TV going in the living room. What was playing did not fill me with warmth as a True Crime documentary was playing through the speakers as I heard Wane making lunch. "Bill and Celine are here, I'm going to ride with them to my parent's house," I said, as Wane was laying a leaf of lettuce on top of his sandwich.
"Okay, why are you telling me?"
"I'm always going to tell you where I am or going," I said, stepping up to him. Rising on the tips of my toes, placing a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back before dinner." My eyes studied Wane's face as he had his jaw set. "I love you Wane; I'm never going to stop loving you." I saw his eyes glance at me. I could see his mind working on whether or not he could believe those words.
As Bill backed out of the driveway, I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. My Wane, my true love going on a date! That wasn't me! Oh God! What if he falls for whomever it is?! What if... he gets her pregnant?!
"Sis? What's wrong?" Celine asked, peering around her seat.
"Wane... he's..."
"What about him?" Bill inquired.
"Has a date next weekend," I stammered out. I looked up as Bill laughed.
"Bill?" Celine quickly closed her mouth at whatever look her husband gave her.
"It's what you get Betty. Did you honestly think you could do what you did and not face some consequences for your actions?" I saw Bill peering at me in the rear view mirror. I also knew it was meant for my sister as well.
"Is Uncle Wane not my uncle anymore?" asked an inquisitive Jan.
"Oh no honey, Wane is still very much your Uncle. We're just having some problems that I caused by my own selfishness," I said, looking over at my niece. Smiling at how pretty she looked in her unicorn t-shirt.
"Good," Jan said, with a stern nod. "I love Uncle Wane, he's always nice to me more so than mommy is," she said, before turning her attention out the window. I knew that stung my sister, and hard too, as I saw how she was trying very hard to hold back her tears. I noticed how Bill didn't comfort my sister, what could you say to the truth? Celine has been neglecting her daughter for the past three years for whatever strange cock she could find.
"Are you going to let him?" Celine asked, with a trembling voice as she gazed at her daughter.
"Yes, what else can I do? I'm the one that put us in this situation in the first place. If I have to watch as he goes off every night with some... woman," my hands balled up the fabric of my jeans trying to keep my anger at the thought of another woman's hands on him, "then that's what I'm going to do," I said, although that didn't mean I had to like it.
"Hmm... I think Wane is onto something here," Bill said, stroking his chin as we sat at a red light.
"You can't mean that Bill, can you?" Celine asked, in shock.
"As compared to what you've been doing?!" Bill replied accusingly looking over at her. I saw my sister's face ripen quickly yet couldn't say anything against Bill's words. "But unlike Wane I have a daughter to take care of so I can't go running off every night," he said, getting in another dig at my sister.
"Don't bring them around the house." I heard my sister whisper.
"Trust me, if I do that, I'd be far more discreet than you have been," Bill said, taking a left hand turn to my parent's home.
My father is a high power corporate lawyer, and my mother is just as good at sitting on her ass and doing nothing while she fornicates with her lovers. I don't know why my father hasn't divorced her. I know he doesn't love her any more. However, I think it's time that I find out. I watched as Bill pulled along the long, looping driveway of my father's expansive home. Our parents greeted us as me and Celine walked into our childhood home with Bill and Jan right behind us.
"Jan!" My mother held out her arms to her grandchild. Watching her kiss Jan's cheeks repeatedly.
"Where's your husband?" My father asked me, as Bill closed the front door.
"At home," I replied.
"Good. We have someone you should meet," my mother said, as she rose. "Now don't give me that look. That man isn't good enough for you, you need someone to provide a good life for you."
"Oh?" Watching how Celine cupped her daughter's ears knowing I was about to lay into my parents.
"Jerold!" My father bellowed. Alright, I'll admit the man was handsome, yet that wasn't going to sway me as the man walked in. "Jerold here just joined my firm, he's a bright and upcoming star in the firm," my father said, praising his new hire.
"Hi, your pictures..." I looked at his outstretched hand in disgust. I could not believe they had the gall to do this, in front of everyone as they began to cluster in the hallway.
"You..." I took a deep breath and felt a hand on my shoulder. Bill nodded to me as I looked back at him. "You can't keep your own damn legs closed during your whole damn marriage and have the audacity to try to ruin mine!" I screamed out taking my mother, father, and Jerold by surprise. "And why haven't you left this slut?!" I asked, pointing right at my mother's face. Her eyes widen in shock at the name I just called her. "I know you know all about the men she sleeps around with!" I heard the gasp of my audience. "And you two have the nerve. The fucking nerve to bring this!" Sticking my finger in Jerold's face. "Here. To tell me my marriage, in your damn eyes, isn't good enough for you! Well, you know what! I don't fucking care! From where I sit my marriage is ten times better than anything, anything that you two have! And don't you ever try this shit again! No wonder Wane doesn't want to come here ever again. Look at the shit you just pulled! Wane's a better damn person than this entire damn family!" I looked back as Bill opened the door.
"You know Mom," Celine said, her disdain apparent in her voice. "You two were the same with Bill and me until Jan was born, do the two of you know how hurtful that is? Do the two of you care that your actions hurt your own children, and I mean all of it since the time I was ten. You know how I felt when we caught you with your little boy toy?! And how you didn't man up and toss her ass out on to the street," her eyes cut hard at our father, "you just put up with it. You two cheating on each other without a damn care how it would affect your children. Well, you know what! Good job! I'm just like you Mom," Celine sneered. "I don't know if Bill or my baby will ever forgive me, but I'm sure as hell going to try to make it up to them. If they will have me still. Because I am not going to turn out like the two of you! Come on Betty, we're leaving!"
"If you ever hope to have a relationship with me..."
"And me," Celine quickly added.
"You will get on your damn hands and knees and kiss Wane's ass for all the shit you spoke about him. He knows all of it!" I don't know how he knows; he just does. Maybe it's all that sneaking he does. That man is like a ghost, here one minute gone the next. "If you can't do that then stay the hell out of our lives!" I shouted slamming the door behind me. God. That felt good.
"Damn..." Celine quickly caught herself as her daughter looked up to her. I saw the quivering of her eyes as Jan slipped her hand into hers. "I didn't know you had that in you," my sister shot me a smile.
"It was a long time coming," I nodded, a little proud of myself.
"Honey." I saw the luster of my sister's eyes as she turned to look at Bill. I don't remember when the last time I heard Bill call her that. "Come on, let's go home," Bill said, the keys of his SUV spun around his finger. He didn't say it, but I could see the pride in his eyes.
"What about Wane? You think he'll want to come over for a cookout with just us?" Celine asked, between the two of us.
"I don't know, I don't think Wane wants to see you right now."
"Yeah, that's understandable you were the cause of this whole mess," Bill agreed.
"You mean Uncle Wane is coming over?" Jan asked, with excited eyes.
"Maybe if you're the one that asks him," Celine said, looking down at her daughter. I knew it was a low ploy yet I wanted to be in my husband's presence even if I couldn't touch him like I yearned to do.
Smiling at my niece as we all climbed back into the SUV. Pulling out my phone, I was on edge as I hit the call button once I selected Wane's number and put it on speaker. My fingers drummed on my leg as I listened as the phone rang. "Please Wane, pick up," I muttered low. "Shit!" I cursed when he ended the call without even answering.
"Let me," Bill said, linking his phone to the built-in Bluetooth of the SUV. We all listened to the ring tone through the speakers.
"What is it Betty?" I noticed Bill's and Celine's eyes looking at me as we sat at the end of the driveway of my parent's home.
"What? Wane's smart, he would have figured out that I would use Bill's phone to call him," I stated.
"Well, I'm so happy to hear you regard my intelligence so highly." I heard the sarcasm in his voice.
"Uncle Wane?" Jan spoke up. I could only image what Wane was doing at this moment. Probably cursing up a storm in his head so not to do so over the line.
"Hello Jan." I heard the softness of his voice when he addressed her. It wasn't lost on Celine either.
"Hi! Will you come over so we all can have a..." Jan looked to me wondering what she could call it.
"Jan wants to know if you would come over to Bill's and Celine's place and have a cookout with us?" Looking down at my phone when a text came in that read: Really?! Using a child? Kind of low even for you.
"I thought you were going to your parents place?"
"We were, then they were their typical selves," Bill said, as I was typing out a respond to Wane. That said: if it's the only way I can be with you, then I'll use every underhanded trick I know!
"Please Uncle Wane," Jan pleaded with him, in that cute adorable voice of hers. Looking down as another text came in that read: What the fuck did they do now?!
I chewed my lip wondering if I should tell him everything, shaking the thought from my mind. If I wanted us to remain married I couldn't hide this from Wane. So I sent back my reply: They brought this guy in telling me you aren't good enough for me and I should be dating this new lawyer that started in my father's firm. I told them off, called my own mother a slut, and my father a coward for not kicking her out; and told them to kiss your ass if they ever want to be in our lives ever again.
"Really now?" We all heard that little chuckle of his as it was carried over the line.
"It's true Wane. I wouldn't lie to you. Ask Bill if you don't believe me," I said, inching forward in my seat. Hoping that I could capitalize on his lightened mood. Not to trick him or anything, just to get my husband back. I already miss feeling him lying next to me. Showing Bill the text I sent to Wane.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what she told her mother. I got it all on video, well my phone was in my pocket so you'll just hear their conversation. But only if you come over," Bill said, I saw the smile on my face.
"You play dirty."
"So my wife tells me." Bill had this smirk on his lips at Wane's sigh.
"I'm coming for Jan. Remember that." Jan squealed in joy as she threw up her arms.
"Okay, what do we want?" Bill asked, looking at me and Celine.
"Hotdogs!" Jan cried out joyously.
"Only if it's the beef kind," Wane put in.
"Wait. There's a beef hotdog?!" Jan looked at me in confusion. "Are they good Uncle Wane?!"
"Oh yes, better than the ones your Dad buys."
"Hey!" I saw the text come the display in the dash that read: You use a child as a ploy, deal with it! "That's just low man, my hotdogs are awesome." I heard Bill grumble.
"Honey, don't we have a pack of them in the fridge?" I asked, as my head filled the space between Bill's and Celine's seats.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Bring them and we'll stop and get hamburger meat, and the buns and some chips," I said, my heart was racing when Wane hadn't told me to stop calling him that.
"Say meet up at our place in an hour," Bill said, putting the gearshift into drive.
"Alright."
"Good..." My words stilled in my throat as Wane cut off the line without warning.
