A Town Without Honor Ch. 02

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Without Honor, what's left?

This is a continuation of the LW Legends day story I posted. The first chapter was edited by BlackRandl1958 (thank you very much), the remaining chapters are self-edited, so yes, it's all my fault.

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She was 29, I was 33. I was on my own.

My sister Peg was right about one thing. I did need to get away. Get some distance.

I went for a ride.

First stop was Roger Hammonds. I spent the better part of a week with him, getting the business worked out and just talking about my life and what had gone wrong. He told me I couldn't run away from my problems. I agreed. I was taking a break because I was too upset to be around anyone I knew. I'd go back before too long, I assured him.

He and his wife were good listeners. They didn't fault me. They didn't make excuses for her, or for anyone else. They asked simple questions, which made me question people's intentions and motivations, but I could see no way around what they had done to me. Roger asked me to stay in touch, and I did, calling at least once a week. I talked to Anna as often as I spoke with him. They were good friends.

I talked to Beth once a day. I asked if she had signed the papers. She told me she never would. I'd hang up.

At the end of the week, I called. "Did you sign the papers?"

"Please talk to me Honor."

"Did you sign the papers?"

"I'm not going to."

"Payroll is in two days. If you don't sign the papers, you can't take control of the company and you can't pay anyone. Fifty plus people will not be able to pay their mortgages or put food on the table. More than two hundred people will suffer, including children and spouses. Two hundred and seventeen at last count. Sign the papers."

"Why are you doing this to us? Don't you love me anymore?"

"I'll always love you. I just can't stand you right now. Sign the fucking papers, Beth." I hung up.

The following day I heard from the lawyers. She'd signed. The separation was official. The company was hers. She had control of all the accounts.

I called her. I always blocked the number so she couldn't see it, so I knew she wouldn't call me. "Thanks for signing the papers. Did you have the DNA test done?"

"What? Of course not! That's insane. You know they're both yours."

"I know nothing. I thought you could never be unfaithful to me. I thought you loved me. Now that I know you've fucked at least two other men, I have no idea when you started or how long you've been doing it. Do the test."

"I won't. You know I've never been with anyone else. I told you everything."

"Everything. I'm sure."

"Yes, everything," she insisted.

"Three times? You were with them three times."

"Three times with Fred. Twice with Dale."

"Three times. He came inside you three times? Dale twice?"

She was quiet. "I didn't say that."

"You were with them three times. What does 'with them' mean, Beth?"

"I ... I slept with them. We had sex."

"Three times. Five including Dale. Three ejaculations for Fred."

"No. We did it more than once each time except the last. Dale didn't even do it the last time."

"So what was it, two, three good fuckings each time?"

"Why do you keep asking? It doesn't matter. I cheated, yes, and I regret it. Regret it horribly. Let me make it up to you."

"How many times? How many times did he fuck you? How many times can he come in a row?"

"I don't know. I didn't keep count," she said softly.

"Give me a guess. That first time, when I was in California. Three, four? How many?"

"Why can't you leave it alone, Honor? I screwed up, okay?"

"No. You didn't screw up, you screwed down. You screwed Fred. I want to know how many times."

"Maybe a dozen. Maybe a few more," she finally admitted.

"Wow! Who ever knew that Fred was a superman? He came a dozen times for you in one session!"

"Over the entire week. Maybe three or four times a day once it started."

"Oh, now I understand. When you say you cheated once, you meant you cheated lots, but you're only going to count it as once. I thought you were a business major. Not very good at counting are you?"

"What do you want me to say, Honor? I screwed the bastard four different times that week. Is that what you wanted to hear? Six more times when you were in China before Dale joined us. Then another four times with both of them, and one more time with just Dale."

"That's not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear you were faithful to me. But it's nice to hear you starting to tell the truth, if that's what it is. Do you see why I can't trust you? Now you're telling me you cheated with Fred, what, about fourteen or fifteen times, and five more times with Dale. At least six if you weren't interrupted."

I thought about her statement. "Wait, you said five times that first trip, but you mentioned him coming in you a dozen times or more. I take it that one 'time' to you includes more than one ejaculation. Let's say two, to keep the numbers reasonable. That would make it more like 40 times you let those bastards pump their traitorous sperm into your cheating cunt or lying mouth. That's hardly three is it?"

"No. It's not three. I considered it three. Twice you went away, and I was stupid when you were gone. Once more when I was telling them it was over."

"A nice goodbye fuck. Or was it see ya later? So considerate of everyone except your husband. Test the kids, Beth."

"It was just them! I told you! You have to believe me."

"The only thing I believe is that you're a lying, cheating slut with poor math skills. Test the kids." I hung up on her.

* * *

A quick detour to Nazareth, PA, took me to the Martin Guitar factory store, museum and factory tour. Until I'd started working I'd played guitar. I wasn't all that good, but I always had one fan. Little Beth. She could sit and listen to me play for hours and hours. I don't know why I'd stopped playing after college. I hadn't picked up a guitar in years. I'd always been fascinated with the Martins, the old ones. Never had one, and wasn't sure I could do one justice. On a whim, I did pick up their Backpacker acoustic. Odd shaped little guitar, it had nice sound and projection in spite of the ultra narrow body, and the neck was close to full-size. It fit my hands well. I figured I'd see if I remembered anything, and it was small enough to strap on the back of my bike. At under $200 I could beat the hell out of it, and if it got lost or damaged, no big loss.

I made a stop in Philadelphia, for an authentic steak and cheese sandwich as well as a tour of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (think Rocky, at the top of the steps, although I wasn't in the mood for arm raising). I'd lived a few hours away much of my life, and never had made it there. Just a few of the places I'd always wanted to see. I never imagined I'd be doing it alone.

From there I made a trip to see Beth's parents. I figured I owed them as much. They were surprised to see me.

"What's going on, Honor? Why aren't you home? Beth won't tell us anything, except you left." Carol, my cheating slut wife's mother, asked.

"I was hoping she'd tell you. I didn't feel it was my place."

"She didn't. You're going to, right?" her father asked.

"She cheated on me."

"Impossible!" Carol snapped. "Someone's lying to you."

I laughed. "Why do people keep saying that? I saw it. I walked in on her, with two men, in my own house."

"You didn't actually see them, did you? It was some mistake, I'm sure," Dave said.

"I saw them, naked, in the act. No mistake. Music playing, porn on the big screen. I saw it. I'll never be able to unsee it, as much as I wish I could. I see it almost every night."

"Why?" Carol asked. "What did you do? Were you cheating?"

I glared at her before answering. She knew better. At least she had the decency to eventually blush and drop her eyes. "No. Never. Like an idiot, I was working to make our life as wonderful as I could. Maybe working too much, I don't know. I never cheated. Hell, I don't even flirt. I didn't hit her; I didn't deprive her of anything. I didn't ignore her. I thought everything was perfect until I found out."

"It was one time, wasn't it? One mistake?" Dave asked.

"Three months. She'd fuck them the whole time I was on travel. She admitted to twenty times. She'll probably tell you three, she likes to count a full week of non-stop adulterous fucking as one. Everyone in the whole damn town knew, including my own family. They covered for her."

Carol looked distraught. "God, this must be destroying her."

I laughed. "It's not doing a whole lot for me."

"What about your business?" Dave asked.

"It's her business now. I gave it to her. She and her lover, my cousin and right hand man. He's running it. She owns it. I just wanted out."

Carol got up and returned with a bottle of Scotch, and three glasses. "I need a drink right about now. Anyone else?"

I accepted one. No more. I didn't like to ride the Harley after drinking.

"You're going to fix this, aren't you, Honor?" Carol asked. "You know she loves you. There must be some reason for her to do what she did."

"If so, she hasn't told me. I spoke with her afterward. She said she had no excuse other than he chased her and she gave in. About forty times."

"What about the kids? How are they handling it?" Dave asked.

"Billy isn't old enough to understand anything. Marie thinks I'm on a trip. They'll get over it. They're young."

"What do you mean, they'll get over it?" Carol snapped. "You're not leaving them for good, are you?"

"I don't know what I'm doing. I don't even know if they're mine, or how long she's been cheating. I asked her to get a DNA test done, and she refuses. Pretty damning if you ask me."

"You can't believe they're not yours," Carol said. "Not really."

"Why won't she have the test done?" I reminded her.

"She shouldn't have to."

I shrugged. "She shouldn't cheat. She shouldn't lie. She shouldn't spread her legs for my best friend fifteen times, and for him and his brother another five."

"She made a mistake, Honor. People do. Even Beth. Don't doubt her love for you. If she says the kids are yours, believe her," Carol insisted.

"Carol, enough," Dave said quietly.

"You know it's true!" she snapped at her husband.

"I know nothing of the kind. She lied and cheated. She wouldn't tell us what was going on. I would never have believed it of her, but I guess it's true. You don't think Honor is lying to us, do you?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't believe that for a second." She turned back to me. "Go back and talk to her, please. Don't let her mistake ruin everything."

"I can't. Not yet. Not until she stops lying to me, and proves the kids are mine. I'm too angry right now. It wouldn't go well. I lost my temper last time and almost burned down our house. There are three burnt out shells of cars in my driveway. I'm afraid to be around her, around any of them."

Carol looked stunned. "You're not going to just abandon her, are you? You won't support the kids until you know they're yours?"

"She can support herself. I gave her everything. All the accounts, the business, the house. I took less than twenty percent of the cash from the business, and left her everything else. I'm unemployed and have one last business check from selling one of my patents that I can fall back on if I run out of money. She has plenty. A hell of a lot more than I do."

"What are you going to do now?" Dave asked.

"Ride. Get away for a while. Do some of the things that I always dreamed of doing with her, which seems unlikely now. Clear my head. Give the anger a little time to recede. Then I'll go back. I don't know what I'll do when I get there, but I don't want to decide yet."

He nodded. "Makes sense to me."

Carol seemed to think otherwise. "David Daniels! How could you say that?"

"You want him to go back, shoot the fuckers and put her in the hospital? Burn the business to the ground? Do you have any idea what a man might do in his shoes?" he growled.

"He wouldn't. Not Honor. He loves her!"

"That's why he left. I can respect that. Why he gave her everything, that's another question. I would have hung her out to dry."

"But she's your daughter!" Carol whined.

"I'm not talking about my daughter. I'm talking about a man's supposedly faithful wife. Have you ever cheated on me, Carol?"

"How could you ask that after thirty-two years? Of course not!"

"How do you think I'd handle it if I found out you did, with my best friend, over and over again? Especially if everyone knew about it but me?"

She didn't answer. I was getting a little uncomfortable.

"How about if I went over to Vicky's and fucked her? Not once, but twenty times over a period of a month. How about if everyone knew and covered up for me? What would you do?"

She looked at him in fear.

"Not just Vicky, but her sister too. Screwed both of them in this house, over and over again. What if you walked in and caught me in the act? How would that be, Carol? Would you forgive me because I love you? If so, I'd sure like to know. She's a fine looking woman."

"Stop it, Dave. Just stop it," she cried. I saw the tears running down her face.

"Leave the man alone. Give him some time. Our daughter, God help us, is a cheating round-heeled slut. I can't figure it out, but I believe him. I love her, I always will, but she's broken my heart. I can't begin to understand how bad he's hurting."

"What about her? Don't you think she's hurting? He's her entire world."

"I'm sure she is. But she brought this on herself. Nobody else. She could have kept her legs closed."

Carol nodded, still crying. "I want to go see her. I need to help her. Understand why she did it."

I opened my wallet and counted out five hundred dollar bills. "It's on me. Maybe you can figure this out."

"We can take care of this. You don't have to spend your money," Dave said.

"Please, Dad. I want to. Maybe she can do something to make sense of this. I'm sure that Beth can use the help. She's probably not very popular right now. Perhaps you can convince her to have the kids tested. I really would like to know they're mine. Give me a reason to go back someday."

"I'll try," Carol answered.

Dave looked as bad as I felt. The atmosphere had turned awkward. He sighed, glanced at his wife and turned to me. "Son, I can't tell you what to do. Truth is I can barely get my head around it myself. I can only make a suggestion. Do what you have to do. Take some time to cool down so you can look at things calmly. Then you're going to have a tough decision. You need to ask yourself if she, the kids, and ten years of marriage are worth the effort to fix things. I know it'll be rough. You do know one thing. That girl loves you. She adores you, and has since she was four years old." He sank down, his head in his hands. "I don't understand. How could she? It doesn't make sense."

"I know. I keep asking myself the same thing. Why?"

I left shortly after that. We didn't have a lot to talk about, other than what nobody felt comfortable discussing.

* * *

"How could you tell my parents I cheated on you?"

"Did you have the kids tested?" I asked, taking a break from trekking the Appalachian Trail along the Shenandoah Valley ridge. The vistas were amazing. One more thing I'd always wanted to do. The slut and I had talked about it many times.

"My father won't even speak to me!"

"Next time keep your legs closed. Did you have them tested?"

"No! I told you that's crazy."

I hung up on her, hoisted my backpack, and started hiking again.

* * *

Hiking was good therapy. I'd always enjoyed a little quiet, and the solitude made for a good thinking atmosphere. The first two days were exhausting. I spent a few hours hiking with others I met on the way but was not a very good companion, barely speaking, and answering in one word replies. A couple of college co-eds stuck it out for half-a-day, even camping near me, away from the designated shelters. I was sitting around, playing some maudlin songs on my little guitar, and they came over to sit near me. They sang along on a couple of tunes, and I even went so far as to play a couple of requests. Their attempts at any more socialization were rebuffed, and their implied willingness for a more physical evening was politely ignored. They left early in the morning without saying goodbye.

No, I wasn't very good company.

I was riding a bus back to where I'd started my hiking, more than a week earlier. It was half empty, so I didn't care much that I got some nasty looks while treating my blisters. Not the best way to break in new boots. I gave her a call.

"Hello?" That voice still gave me goose bumps, damn her.

"Hi, Beth. It's me. Did you have the kids tested yet?"

"Please call your mother. She's driving me crazy."

"No. Did you have them tested?"

"Yes. Yesterday. We'll have the results in a few days."

"I take it your mother's there."

"Yes. Thank you for paying her way. She'd like to talk to you sometime."

"I'll speak with her. Give me her number. I'll call later."

She read the number to me, and I wrote it down. It wouldn't do much good to put it in the phone. I was still paranoid and threw them away every few days.

"Are you coming home?" she asked.

"Not yet. I'll let you know after the results. Take care of yourself, BB."

She started crying. "I love you, Honor. I ... I don't know if I ever said it, but I'm so sorry. Please come back to me."

"I'll call in a few days. Say hi to your Mom for me." I hung up before my voice cracked. I hated that she could still make me feel that way. Three fucking weeks for her to say she was sorry. She was sorry now. Not when she was fucking the bastards in my own home. I had little doubt that this latest remorse was mostly Carol's doing.

* * *

It took me five days of mini-adventures to get to the Keys. On Key West, I found a scuba shop that was willing to get me certified in four days if I could pass the written. I'd finished my accompanied dive and deep-water test and was relaxing with a piña colada, picking out Jimmy Buffet songs, enjoying the last of the sun's rays. Not the typical fun songs, I was still wallowing. Playing songs of escape, which he did so well. Remittance Man, He Went to Paris, I Don't Know and I Don't Care. If I wanted to torture myself I'd play Little Miss Magic, Asshole Song, My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink And I Don't Love Jesus.

Yeah, it was that kind of mood, when I made a call.

"Carol Daniels," the voice said.

"Hi, Carol."

"Honor? Is that you?"

"Good guess. How're you doing?"

"I've been better. Some things are hard to believe, you know."

"I know. Are the kids mine?"

"Yes. We knew that, but I've seen the results. Ninety-nine and a bunch more nines positive. She had to use your hair, you know. A normal sample would have helped."

"I gave her one when this whole thing started. It was with the initial papers."

"I guess she threw it out. She never mentioned it. Are you coming home now?"

"Not yet. How're things?"

"Beth is a mess. No surprise. So are your mother and sister. You really should call them."

"No. They chose her over me."

"They didn't see it that way," Carol said.

"I do."

She didn't argue. "The whole town's a mess. Your company's in trouble. No new business is coming in, and they're having problems with their existing customers. Everyone's taking it out on Beth."

"Not my problem. They all turned against me. I could have left them all high and dry. Instead, I gave them everything."

"Nobody blames you. It's like the old saying, 'You don't know what you've got, till it's gone.' They need you, Honor. Your wife needs you, your kids, your mother. The whole damn town for that matter. Please come back."