Brad Finally Gets There

It wasn't until after they were married that she finally realized that he had a big problem. He couldn't hold a job because he couldn't take orders. If his boss told him to do something and he didn't want to do it, he just didn't do it. He lost six jobs in one year, and then word got around and no one would hire him. Shelly was working and paying all the bills, but was having a hard time doing it on her salary alone. They fell behind on the rent and were just days from being evicted. Shelly tore into him for not doing his fair share and he told her to "Eat shit!" and stomped out

He went to his parent's house, got his father's pistol, went down to Monument and robbed the 7-11 there. His car quit on him as he made his getaway, so he stole a car and headed back to Castle Rock. The State Police caught him on I-25. He was tried and sent to prison. Shelly told him that she would wait for him, but did not intend to stay celibate while he was locked up.

"I didn't want the reputation of a slut who did one night and weekend stands, so I looked for guys that I could go long tern with. The problem was that I tried to be honest and I would end up telling them about Randy. Then they would drop me. I decided not to tell you because I didn't want you to drop me like the others had. How did you find out?"

"From Liz and Bev," and I told her how it had come about.

"I thought they were my friends."

"They are. They didn't think they were ratting on you. They knew you had always told the ones that came before me, so they thought that I already knew."

"I guess it is my fault then. I probably should have told them. What are you going to do?"

"I'll worry about that when your hubby gets out. I've got at least a year before that happens right?"

"You won't be sorry, baby; I'll make damned sure of that."

I didn't get that year because of mom calling me and telling me that I had to come home. When she got done telling me what was up, I reminded her that I couldn't come back because I would end up in jail and wouldn't be able to take over the shop anyway. That was when I found out that I could have gone home a year earlier. Murphy apparently had a penchant for other guy's ladies. He had hooked up with some guy's wife and the guy and one of his five brothers did to Murphy what I had done to him and then told him if he ran to the cops and got them arrested his other four brother's would see to it that Murphy's body would never be found. They suggested that he leave town and not come back. Murphey must have believed it, and was gone before the end of the week. Word came back a couple of months later that Murphy had gotten caught with another man's wife only instead of getting a beating out of it, the guy shot and killed him.

"He can't testify against you now so it is safe for you to come back." I, of course, asked why I hadn't been told that sooner and she said "You were settled down out there and seemed to have a good thing going with Shelly, so I just decided to let sleeping dogs lie."

Shelly did not take the news that I was leaving very well, but she did understand why I had to go. She tried to fuck me to death my last three days there, and then after a tearful farewell I was on my way home.

******************************************

My homecoming wasn't all that joyful. Seeing Dad was a shock to me. When I had last seen him he was a healthy and vibrant man, but the stroke had left partially paralyzed on his right side and his speech was slurred. Mom was worn to a frazzle from trying to run the business and take care of Dad at the same time.

The day after I got home, I opened the shop instead of Mom. Five minutes after I unlocked the door Stan came in. Stan had been with my Dad for years, and it was Stan who taught me a good part of what I knew about welding and fabrication. He came in, grabbed me in a hug that picked me up off the floor (he was 6'7" to my 5'11"), so there I was dangling off the floor when the other two employees came in. I didn't know either of them, so it was just a tad embarrassing for them to see me that way since I was going to be their new boss. They made a joke of it when one of them said "At least we know how to control him now," and we all laughed. Larry and Carl had both come to work for Dad about six months after I had left town. They turned out to be good guys and I got along well with both of them.

Being in charge took a bit of getting used to, but I eventually got the hang of it. Business was steady and we always had plenty of work to do. That part of my life was going well, but on the personal side things weren't all that great. Mom wanted me to live at home with her and Dad, but while I understood her reasons, I knew that I wouldn't be all that comfortable bringing ladies home with me when I finally got back into the swing of things (which I hoped wouldn't take too long). Besides, my sister Sarah was still living at home, so she could help out when Mom needed it, and I would always be on call if I was really needed.

I found an apartment close to work and home, got settled in and started hitting my old haunts to see who was still around and what and where the new happening places were. I was only twenty when I left, so I hadn't been into the bar scene, although I knew where to good ones were and was looking forward to checking them out when I turned twenty-one, which occurred six weeks after I had hurriedly left town.

I hooked up with a couple of guys I'd played ball with in high school, and they turned me on to the places that the guys (and girls) our age usually went to. One of them was a country/western place called the Wild Horse. It hadn't been around when I'd left, and I decided to give it a look since I'd really gotten into country/western dancing while I was in Colorado.

I stopped in on a Saturday night and took an instant liking to the place. Of course, it didn't hurt that the barmaid and the three waitresses were stone foxes. All three of them made my tongue (and other parts) hard, but I knew better than to take a run at them. They were no doubt hit on from the start of their shifts until they went home, and all I would be to them was another asshole trying to get lucky.

I took a seat at the bar, ordered a beer and then looked around and checked the place out. I noticed that there wasn't anyone there that I knew. The band was pretty good, and about the only fault I could find (at least from my perspective) is that there were no unescorted women there. The crowd was all couples and two or three single guys like me. It didn't kill the night for me because I like to line dance, and so I did spend some time out on the floor.

The high point of the night for me was when the band started playing Black Velvet. They had just come back from a break and I was just walking across the dance floor on my way back to my bar stool following a trip to the restroom. I stopped heading for my seat and stated doing the Rhumba as a line dance (sometimes called the Cowboy Rhumba). I was about eight steps into the dance when I noticed that I was the only one out on the floor. Several people were standing around the edges of the floor watching me, but no one else had come out onto the floor. I wondered what the hell was going on and about halfway through the dance I started feeling a little self-conscience so I quit dancing and headed for my bar stool.

I'd just sat down when two women, a blond and a redhead, came up to me and the redhead asked, "Why did you stop?"

"I felt a little embarrassed at being out there with everyone watching me."

"We were all trying to figure out what you were doing."

"Just the line dance rhumba."

It turned out that I was the only one in the building that night who knew the dance. The redhead asked, "Could you teach us the dance?" and the blond said, "Please? We will make it worth your while. You won't have to buy another drink tonight."

"How? Can't do it with a floor full of people."

"You can do it when the band takes its next break."

She called the barmaid over. "Get him another drink, Paula, and put it on our tab."

Paula brought me a beer and then the blond said, "I'm Grace and this (pointing at the redhead) is Becky," and then she took my arm and said, "Come on; you're joining us."

Paula laughed and said, "Best go along, sport; she can get pretty pissed when she doesn't get her way."

I followed them over to where two tables had been put together and was introduces to Glen (Grace's husband), Chuck (Becky's fiancé) and Mike and Francine, who were the other couple at the table.

Then the night got busy for me. Just after the introductions, the band started paying George Strait's "The Chair," and Becky asked me if I knew the Cowboy Cha Cha. When I said yes she said, "Come on," and reached for my hand. I looked at Chuck and he smiled and made a 'go' motion with his hand. From that point on, I was on the floor line dancing or dancing with Becky. Chuck never danced with her and didn't seem the least bit upset with her dancing with me.

I found out why when he got up to go to the bathroom. I could tell from the way he was walking that something wasn't quite right. Grace saw me looking at him and I guess she could read from my face what I was wondering about.

She leaned over next to me and in a whisper said, "He lost his right leg in Iraq and can't dance, but Becky loves to dance so he sits and quietly drinks while she does her thing."

"Not the jealous type?"

"Very jealous, so he rarely lets her dance with someone he doesn't know and trust and quite frankly, I'm surprised that he is letting you dance with her considering he, and for that matter, all of us don't know a thing about you. But you need to be careful. Becky is a notorious flirt, but that is all that it is; just flirting, so please don't read anything into her actions, okay?"

"Got it."

Becky did flirt and she was a sexy little lady, and if Grace hadn't clued me in I probably would have tried to take things farther.

The band took its next break and I found myself playing dance instructor to about twenty people. By the time the band came back it looked like my students had things down pat, so I asked one of the band members if they could do Black Velvet again and he said that they would. They led off the set with the song, and my students did pretty well at it.

I did two more dances with Becky and one more line dance and then it was time for me to go. Becky asked me if I was going to come in again and I told her it was very likely.

"We are here every Saturday night."

I looked over at Chuck and he just shrugged, so all I said was "We'll see."

The next week was a very busy week for me, and I didn't have time for much except work and sleep. On Friday, Wendell Carson came into the shop needing a repair on his flatbed trailer. Wendell and I had been classmates, and while his trailer was being repaired Wendell and I caught up on things.

The first thing he wanted to know was why I had suddenly disappeared and what I had been doing since. As far as I knew, the only ones who knew why were my parents, Susan and the cops. I figured that it would be best to keep it that way, so I just told him that Susan and I had broken up and I had felt the need to put some distance between us. I told him where I had gone and what I had done, and then he brought me up to date on what was going on with the people we used to hang with. He never mentioned Susan and I didn't ask. What he did tell me was that a group of them usually got together Friday at Barney's. They had a band there on Fridays and Saturdays and the drink prices were reasonable. He told me I should show up, since a lot of the old crowd would be there and would like to see me.

I walked into the place at seven-thirty and saw Wendell and several other old classmates already there. They had pushed three tables together and were sitting around them. Wendell saw me, waved me over and I took an empty seat between Marv Pallister and Gail Looms. Then, of course, I had to tell everyone where I'd been, but I avoided telling them why.

While we had been talking, the band had been setting up and when they started playing, several of the group got up and moved out onto the dance floor. That left Marsha Moss, Maria Waterman, Ken Baft, Gail and me at the table. Ken had a cast on his right foot so he wasn't going to be doing any dancing, so the three girls were looking at me. I knew what all three wanted and I could see that they were all waiting for me to do what they wanted me to do.

The problem was that even though I wanted to get up and dance, I couldn't make up my mind as to how I should handle the situation. At one time or another I had dated all three during the times that Susan and I had broken up. Which one should I ask? How was I to do it without making the other two feel slighted and leaving them sitting there asking themselves, "Why her and not me?" Fortunately, the problem was solved when Gail got off her chair and said:

"Come on, Brad; let's dance."

We stayed out on the floor for the rest of that number and the next one before returning to the table. Gail sat down, but before I could, Marsha stood up and said, "My turn, Brad" and I went back out onto the dance floor. I did two songs with Marsha and by the time we got back to the table, a few more people had shown up, another table had been added and one of the new arrivals had Maria out on the dance floor.

I was just getting into the swing of things when a wet blanket was dropped over me. I was out on the dance floor with Gail when Susan and Chad Reese walked in and took a seat at the tables. When the tune ended, the band announced that they would be taking a break, so I walked Gail back to the table. As I approached, Susan saw me coming and her eyes went wide in surprise and then her face lit up in a smile, but I didn't see how long the smile lasted. I saw Gail to her seat, thanked her for dancing with me, turned and walked up to the bar, settled my tab and then got the hell out of the place. As I left, I mentally crossed Barney's off of my list of places to go. If Susan frequented the place, I definitely would avoid it.

It is a truism that actions have consequences. I was having breakfast at the Village Inn on Sunday morning when Gail and Marsha slid into the booth across from me. I'd seen them at a table in the back when I came in, but I didn't even think about joining them. I hadn't been back long enough to know their circumstances. Things like, did they have boyfriends and were maybe waiting for their guys to show up. Maybe their guys were already here, but had gone to the bathroom. I decided that it would be best for me to sit myself down somewhere else.

Without even a "Good morning, Brad" Marsha went right to, "What happened on Friday? We were having a great time, you had a big smile on your face and suddenly I was like someone hit a switch, your smile disappeared and then you did."

I had never intended to tell folks about what had happened between Susan and me, but when Marsha asked the question I knew that realistically it would have come out eventually. Too many people knew Susan and me not to be asking the questions, so I decided that it would be best to get it over with. There was no doubt in my mind that Marsha and Gail would share the information (gossip) with others, and that would lead to fewer people wanting to ask me.

I laid it out for Gail and Marsha and got the expected "You must be wrong! Susan would never do that to you."

"Ladies; I was standing there watching it happen."

Suddenly the light bulb over Gail's head lit up. "That's why Murphy was in the hospital! You did that to him?"

I nodded a yes and then said, "Can we please drop the subject?"

"We could," Gail said, "but where would be the fun in that?"

"Fun?

"Yes, Brad, fun. I don't have any plans for tonight. How about you? Got any plans?"

"I'm not sure on what I plan on doing tonight, but whatever it is I'm sure that I don't want to do it alone."

She grabbed a napkin, pulled a pen out of her purse, wrote on the napkin and then handed it to me.

"Pick me up at three. By then I'll have figured out what we can do."

Marsha looked at her watch and said, "We need to get going, Gail. I'm supposed to meet Charlie and his parents and try and decided where we want to have the wedding reception."

The two of them got up to leave and Gail said, "See you at three."

I stopped by the house to check in with my parents. Dad, of course, wanted to know how things were going on at the shop and I told him we were busy and that I had a handle on it. Mom told me that Susan had called and asked how she could get in touch with me.

"I hope you told her not to bother."

"I did no such thing. I told her that I would have you call her. You really do need to do it, Brad. As much as the two of you once meant to each other you need to sit down with her. I'm not saying the two of you should get back together, but you should at least let her speak her piece. You need to look at it this way. You don't talk to her and she will just keep hounding you to get you to talk with her. You talk to her and you put an end to it."

When she put it that way, I knew she was right. I just had to talk myself into doing it.

"I'll give it some thought, but it won't be for a couple of days. I'll need to work myself up to it."

I rang Gail's doorbell right at three. She greeted me with a smile and asked if I had done any country/western dancing while I was in Colorado.

"I did some."

"What I have in mind, if it is okay with you, is dinner at Three Margaritas and then some two-stepping at The Wild Horse. It's a new place that opened while you were gone."

I smiled, told her I'd already been there and said, "I thought they only had bands on Friday and Saturday."

"Mostly true. On those nights, they have professional bands, but the place lets local garage type bands come in on other nights to give them some exposure and give them the experience of playing in the front of an audience. It's a win-win situation. The band gets experience even though they are playing for free, and the bar gets some people in on what would otherwise be a dead night. One of the girls I work with told me that her boyfriend's band will be playing there tonight. So, good for you?"

It was, and I had a great time. The band was a little rough around the edges and I put it down to nerves at playing in front of a crowd. As the evening moved on and they saw that they weren't bombing, things smoothed out. They were actually pretty good.

The girl who had the boyfriend in the band was sitting at a table with another girl, and Gail led me over to the table and introduced me to Andria and Molly. Molly was another girl she worked with and we joined them. I danced mostly with Gail, but she let me know she expected me to be sociable and dance with her friends a couple of times. A new experience for me, being asked by my date to dance with other girls. I did it and I enjoyed it. When I took Gail home I got a pretty decent kiss, was told she had a fine time and would like to do it again, so we made a date for Wednesday.

Monday was a busy day at work and by quitting time I was whipped. I went home, made myself some dinner and vegged out in front of the TV until I felt like hitting the sack. Tuesday wasn't as hectic, and I had some time to think on the Susan situation. Mom was right. I did need to do it and put it behind me. At closing time, I settled into the chair in the office, picked up the phone and called Susan. She answered on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Mom says you want to talk to me."

"Brad? Oh my god. I never thought you would call."

"Thank my mom. She's the one who talked me into it. She said the only way to get you out of my life was to let you speak your piece."