Coal Miner Pt. 01

"Rob, forget about me for now. I'm here now for you; that's what counts. We just have to work on getting you well. It's the only thing that is important now." She leaned over and lightly kissed me.

I knew she was hiding something. I needed to know what it was. When I was going to mention it again, my daughters came in to see me. Betty had brought them in. They hugged and kissed me and were crying. They were the sweetest daughters any man could want. I would have to give Brenda credit for the way they were brought up. She was a great mother.

The doctor told me I could go home on Monday and Brenda said she would take the day off to pick me up at the hospital. Betty told her there was no reason for her to miss work. She would be by to pick me up seeing she didn't work outside the home. So, that's what we did. Betty came by and dropped me off at the house, and came in and we talked for a while. She knew something was bothering me. I knew she knew it was me wondering where Brenda was that night.

"Rob, I don't know where Brenda was that night. Just give her the benefit of the doubt. Talk to her, and see what she has to say. Don't let it eat at you this way. Call me if you need anything." After all the advice, Betty went home.

I was on crutches but I wanted to look around the house and see if I could figure anything out myself. It was as though I feared the worst about Brenda not being there for me. I was hobbling around the house and finding that I could move pretty good. The first place I checked was the clothes hamper. I remember reading stories where the women would leave evidence in their hamper.

I remember the bra and panties she wore that evening. I had kissed her goodbye before going to work. When I looked in the hamper there was her bra. It didn't hold any evidence, but where were the matching panties? I looked through the clothes hamper and under the bed. Where were they? I looked in her dresser drawer and there they were; all washed and clean.

I was wondering why a woman would come home and quickly wash out her undies and put them away so soon. They would have to have been soiled. Brenda wasn't in the habit of coming home and washing her lingerie. Even if she was, why didn't she wash her bra also? No, she was covering up something. She had to have washed them out right when she got home from her night with the girls or yesterday after coming home from the hospital after visiting me. My stomach was beginning to get upset.

This wasn't enough to accuse her of being unfaithful. I have to tell you that I really hope to God that I was wrong. I looked at all our phones at the caller ID's. All past messages had been erased except for the calls made yesterday. I felt this sixth sense or something. I made my way down to the basement. It was extremely hard going down the stairs with crutches. Hardly anyone hung out in our basement anymore. It was like a big storage room where we kept all our junk. I remembered that years ago we put a phone down there before we moved the washer and dryer upstairs just in case we were down there when it rang. If I remembered correctly, it had a caller ID also.

I made my way over to it and glance at the ID. Sixty messages, it meant that no one had ever bothered to erase any message we received on it. Once a message was received, it erased the oldest message. It had messages dating back over a month. Whenever we got a call from the same person, it showed the latest and displayed how many times calls came through.

Most of the calls were from family and friends. When I got to last Friday's calls, the day before my accident I noticed a call from a Brian Cooter. It was a cell phone call and it said twelve calls. That meant that this Brian person had called the house twelve times over a period of time. I had no idea when the first call was received but the last one came Friday.

I found another call from Brian and Nancy Cooter. It must have been their home number. It was listed four times. Last one was a week ago. I wondered who Brian and Nancy were. I never remember Brenda ever mentioning their names. I jotted down their numbers and headed back upstairs. Damn it was hard using crutches on the stairway.

Before long, my daughters came in from school and covered me with hug and kisses. I was a lucky father to have such wonderful and caring girls. They told me they had homework to do and usually did it when they first got home. Cheryl brought me a beer from the fridge while Sue gently lifted up my foot and put it on an ottoman. They kissed me one more time and headed in their room to do their homework.

They had TV and a computer in their room and I could hear the music blasting. We had a safer Internet for them so they couldn't go on adult sites. Besides, Brenda checked their Internet history regularly to make sure everything was fine.

I knew Brenda would be home within an hour. I decided to call her friend Joyce's house. She supposedly went out with Brenda on Saturday. Her son Mitchell answered the phone.

"Hello," he said.

"Hi, Mitch. This is Uncle Rob. How are ya doing?" I asked. He called us aunt and uncle since our families were close and it was a way of being respectful.

"Hi, Uncle Rob. How are you doing? Aunt Brenda called here yesterday and told mom all about your accident. Are you okay?"

"I'm a little bruised-up and have a sprained ankle but I'll live," I laughed.

"Uncle Rob, mom and dad aren't home yet. I just got in from school. Do you want me to have them call you back?"

"No, I just called to let you guys know about the accident. I didn't know Brenda called yesterday," I replied.

"We knew about it Saturday, Uncle Rob. Dad and I were watching the news and they were telling all about it. They wouldn't give out the name of the miners until the families were notified. Dad and I saw Cheryl and Sue on the TV. We knew you had to be one of the miners."

"So you figured I was one of them?" I asked.

"Yeah, when mom came in we pointed to Cheryl and Sue in the background to mom. She put her hands over her face and got nervous and started crying."

"Your mom was home, Mitch? What time was that?" I asked.

"I guess it was around eleven thirty. It was right after the sports. After the sports, they went live to the mining site again. We stayed up pretty late but they said it would be a few hours before they would know anything. Me and dad finally went to bed, but we prayed for you, Uncle Rob. Mom stayed up and was making phone calls. I don't know who she was trying to call. She woke me and dad up at six in the morning and said that you were fine but in the hospital."

"Thanks for the prayers, Mitch. I'm sure they helped. Just tell your parents I called to let them know I'm fine."

After I hung up the phone, my stomach was almost cramping. If Joyce was home at eleven thirty, who was Brenda with?

When Brenda got home, she told me I didn't look very good. I told her I didn't feel very good either. She offered to call the doctor and I told her it wasn't the bruises or sprain that hurt. It was the unanswered questions that were working my insides.

She said she had no idea what I was talking about. I told her I needed to talk to her alone where the girls didn't overhear. It was very personal. Brenda looked very nervous. She got up and went to see the girls. They were going over to their girlfriends for a little bit so Brenda and I could talk.

After they left, Brenda asked, "OK, Rob, what is this all about? Me not being at the mine? I told you I was out with the girls and the minute I knew about the accident I went to the hospital and they wouldn't let me in. So what is so unanswered?" she asked.

"For starters, your panties. I watched you get dressed Saturday and you were wearing your black panty set."

She looked at me just a bit nervous. "You went looking for my panties? What is wrong with you? Do you think I was out cheating on you or something? You know I would never do that." She really looked nervous. "The damn panties are in the drawer if you cared to look."

"I saw them there. That's what first bothered me. You washed them. When did you do that?"

"For Christ's sake, Rob. You accuse me for washing my underwear. What's got into you? In case you have to know, I washed clothes Sunday."

"No, you didn't. The hamper is full. Even your matching bra that you wore is still in the dirty clothes. I think you washed your underwear because you had stains in them."

"Go call Joyce. She's my best friend. Go ask her and see what she has to say. I'm really getting fed up with these accusations, Rob. I'm sorry you got hurt, I'm sorry I wasn't there when they dug you out, but I didn't have an affair. We were just out later than usual, that's all. I dropped Joyce off and saw the message when I got home and went to the hospital as soon as I could."

"I called Joyce. She wasn't home so I talked to Mitch. He told me he and his dad were watching the news and saw Cheryl and Sue on TV. They pointed them out to Joyce when she got home at eleven-thirty. Is Mitch lying to me?"

I could see tears kind of forming in the corner of her eyes. "Please, Rob, just let it go. You're getting better and we're together. Isn't that all that matters now?"

"So, you did cheat on me. Who was he? Do I know him? How long has this been going on? You were even going to have Joyce lie for you. How low can you get?"

Brenda was crying now. "It was a mistake, Rob. I didn't realize what was happening. I was flirting and the next thing I know I was like in college again. I'm so sorry, Rob. It was only the one time. Please forgive me and let's put it in the past. I promise you it will never happen again. Please, Rob, if not for me, do it for the girls and our family."

I was torn at this point but was holding it together. Could I forgive her? After all, she has been my life. I thought to myself if this was a one-time thing, maybe; but if she had done it before, our marriage would be over. So I needed to know more.

"Rob, say something, please say something," asked Brenda.

"What's his name?" I asked. "You know, the bastard you fucked."

"Please, Rob, let it go. I promise you it will never happen again. Nothing will be gained by bringing other people into this. I was at fault and I'm paying the price right now."

I was looking at a very scared Brenda. I stared at her face for what seemed like minutes but was probably only a few seconds. "Who is Brian Cooter?" I asked.

Brenda turned white and her mouth opened but no sounds were coming out. I figured I just hit home.

"Where...who...how...oh God," she was now crying."

"Are you going to tell me about your friend Brian or do I need to talk to him personally? I have his cell number and his home phone where he lives with his wife Nancy. Which one should I call?"

"Please, Rob, it's over. Don't bring his family into this. I've been seeing Rob for a few months. Last Saturday I ended it with him. It truly is over, Rob."

She went on to tell me the story on how they met up again. Apparently, he was one of her lovers from State and was a salesman for the company she worked for. He just lived in the next town over, about twenty-five miles away.

She pleaded with me to forgive her and made God knows how many promises. I told her I needed time to think and that I would be staying in the spare room for now. I really didn't want to see her or talk to her. I was still on crutches and wasn't the most mobile.

When the girls came home they saw their mom crying and came to talk to me. I told them that their mother and I had a big argument and that we might be separating. It really hurt them. They kept asking me why? And I told them it was up to their mother to explain it to them, but I told them, "Your mother broke her wedding vows."

I might not have mentioned it but I was a quiet man and held most things in. For the next week, Brenda went to work and came home and tried to act normal but it wasn't working. My sister Betty came over and I told her the story and she cried and asked me what I was going to do? I explained to her that I loved Brenda but I could never trust her again and that I was going to get a divorce.

One day Joyce came over to talk with me. She tried to tell me how broken up Brenda was about her mistakes and she really did break it off with Rob. I, in turn, explained to Joyce that if it had been the one time, I just might have been able to get by it, but I knew that it had gone on for months.

Joyce broke down and cried. "I told her she was so stupid but she didn't listen," said Joyce. "She just had to fall into the old college day trap. God, I'm so sorry, Rob. You two were so great together. I know Brenda loves you more than anything, and just made a few stupid mistakes. Please try to forgive her," asked a crying Joyce. "So you know, she really was breaking it off with Brian the day of your accident. I called her as soon as I heard of the accident and tried to get hold of her. She had her cell phone off."

As soon as my leg healed enough to walk on, I moved out. I stayed with my sister Betty for a week while I looked for an apartment close to home. I wanted to be close to my daughters who were the innocents in this sordid affair.

Brenda and the girls cried. They asked me if I was just getting away for a while to think. I explained to the girls that I had filed for a divorce under irreconcilable differences. It would be final in about four months. I knew of no reason why I would change my mind.

The girls were teenagers and Brenda did tell them about her fling and how wrong she was. The girls loved their mom but really hated what she had done. They didn't talk to her unless they had to for months.

I did get my apartment with two bedrooms so the girls could stay if they ever wanted to. I went back to work but decided to work the day shift as well as work the strip mine as opposed to the deep mine. I was glad to get back to work. It really helped to fill the voids in my life. I had my buddies to hang with after work and I always saw my daughters on a regular basis.

The week before my divorce was final, Brenda showed up at my apartment one evening. We hadn't talked much since I left home. I let her in; I loved her but I also hated her.

"Rob, I needed to give it a last shot. I really do love you and I know we can get past this. I promise to be the best wife ever. Please reconsider and let's give it another try."

"Brenda, I love you. I guess they'll always be a place in my heart for you. I could never, ever trust you again. It would be impossible. You cheated on me and then lied over and over about it."

"I was scared and it truly was over. I just wanted to get past..."

"Brenda, you told me you didn't have an affair. Then you got caught and told me it was only the one time. Now I know it went on for months. As I've said, I will never be able to trust you again and I'm not about to put my life through a living hell wondering if you're being honest with me. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

Brenda stood up and cried as she left. I had tears in my eyes also. I really did love her and it was seventeen years of marriage down the drain.

*

Chapter 2 (out soon) Brenda tells her story, please look for it

Thank you for reading my stories

Comments are always welcome.

DG Hear