Making Choices

Thanks to my team. They are: Girlinthemoon, Norafares, Hal, Pixel the Cat, and GeorgeAnderson. Harddaysknight is my mentor and gives me critical review. SBrooks103x also gives me a pre-post read. My thanks to you all.

Just a light-hearted fun tale. If you're looking for death-vengeance, it is not here. If you just want a story I had fun writing and hope you have fun reading (along with some shots at my friend, SS06, to whom I dedicate this story), read on. Randi.

*****

The worst day of my life started out very nice. I got up at five-thirty and worked out. After I lifted, I ran three miles. It was very foggy and I was the only one on the track. After the three miles I cooled down by running the straights and walking the curves through two more. I went home and showered. By the time I got dressed for work, Sarah had my muffin and a glass of chocolate milk sitting on the bar. I kissed her and squeezed her up while I gulped the milk. She complained about wrinkling her and messing up her lipstick, but she melted against me. She still made my heart pound every time I saw her. At thirty-one she was more beautiful than she'd ever been. Her blonde hair was even lighter than it had ever been, almost white and hanging down to her butt. She had filled out nicely from the skinny kid I had taken to the prom when we were seniors. Her breasts were bigger and firmer and working out with me had turned that tiny little butt into something that I could sink my fingers into. She was still only a little over five-feet but she proved that dynamite comes in small packages.

She was a rising star at her law firm, and she was hitting her stride. After the birth of our girls she had attracted a lot of attention on some high profile corporate accounts and they were talking about partner. She was making nearly as much as I was, and I was doing very well. I had just been promoted for the fifth time and I was the head of the architectural department in a large company of engineers and architects.

I kissed her again, grabbed my briefcase and muffin as I went out the door.

"Have a great day, gorgeous," I waved.

She blew me a kiss as she started up to get the girls ready for school. She went to work an hour after I did, and I had bedtime duty. My other baby was in the garage. I had only owned her about six months. She was a burnt orange Charger Hellcat. I'd been driving Chargers since I was sixteen. My dad helped me buy a 1968 RT that's still parked under the shed. I got it out every now and again and drive it just to hear the sound of the big hemi through those Flow Master pipes. It wasn't nearly so quick as the Hellcat.

I love hearing the Mustang and Camaro owners brag about their puny little toys. Just two days before, one of the engineers was bragging about his new Shelby GT350. "Over 500 horsepower," he was trying to impress Maria in the next office. I smiled at the thought of the over 700 the Hellcat made. I actually loved all the new Pony cars, but they weren't in the same universe as the Hellcat, Charger or Challenger. Hot Rod owners are a class of people I like, and we all have our own babies and like to needle the other guys.

I had a great day at work. I finished the power plant our design team was working on at about one-thirty and took the rest of the afternoon off. I washed my baby. It was a beautiful afternoon and I could see myself in the polish when I put her in the garage. Sarah texted me and told me she would be a little late. She was in a conference and would be home about five. At three-thirty I was in the kitchen making chocolate chip cookies. I had two pans done and a plate sitting on the bar. I heard the door open and two little angel voices coming through the living room.

Two little blonde pixies set their backpacks down and flew across the kitchen to wrap themselves around me. Carmen and Cambre, my babies were home. They're identical twins and the cutest little bundles of joy on God's green earth. They have Mom's hair, freckles and big blue eyes, but they have my complexion. Sarah can tan but I'm naturally olive complected and they got my skin tone. It was a contrast with their hair and those eyes. They were going to break hearts when they were older. At eight, they were just adorable. They fought like hornets, but only with each other and Sarah. They were just honey and silk with me, and they didn't allow anyone to say anything bad about the other one. Sarah had a kind of rough time dealing with the two of them. I know they loved their mother deeply, but any time she corrected one of them the other one always took her sister's side and they could argue as vociferously as their mother could.

They outdid each other telling me about their day. School had just been started a week, and they loved their new teacher. Miss Brooks was new to the district, and I had yet to meet her. She'd certainly made an impression on my girls. I fed them chocolate chip cookies and tall glasses of milk while listening to them with an idiot grin on my face. Yes, they were my angels and they could do no wrong. They each ate three cookies and went upstairs to do their homework. Homework when they get home was my rule, and then we had the rest of the evening to do whatever we wanted.

I took the last sheet of cookies out of the oven and put them on the platter. I heard Cambre call me and I started up the stairs. I felt something odd and realized my phone was vibrating. I took it out and I had a text. The number looked familiar, but it wasn't in my contacts. I checked it while I climbed the stairs.

"You were one hot sexy babe today," I read. "I can't wait until tomorrow afternoon."

While I appreciated the compliment, I had no idea who would send me such a text. Since I had no afternoon planned other than work, I figured someone punched in a wrong number. I decided to play a prank on whoever it was.

"Thanks, babe," I wrote. "Remind me again about the time and place."

I got a message right back. "You using Shell's phone? Make sure you delete this. Can't have Sheldon getting suspicious too soon. Our place, of course."

I froze in place halfway into the girl's doorway. I'm Sheldon. Sheldon Clanton, and my phone number ends in nine. Sarah's is the same but it ends in eight and the girls end in seven and six. Someone made a big mistake. I was numb, unable to move. Carmen glanced up at me.

"Daddy, we need help with these math prob... what's wrong, Daddy?"

Both girls stood up and stared at me. The look on my face must have shocked them. I shook the cobwebs out.

"Nothing, girls, it's just some bad news. Nothing to worry my babies," I lied. "Let's see that math."

Five minutes later, I heard the garage door go up. Sarah was home. I heard her walking around and in a minute she poked her head in.

"What's for dinner?" she asked. "Hey sweethearts."

They bounced up and went to hug her. They came back and sat down and Sarah came up and put her arms around my neck from behind. She nibbled on my ear. "I'm going to grab a quick shower," she said.

We finished the math and I asked the munchkins if they wanted to go out to Incredible Pizza. They were all over it, and by the time they got dressed in shorts and t-shirts I was waiting in the car.

"Isn't Mom coming?" Carmen asked.

"She's had a long day," I told them "Let's let her rest. We'll turn off our phones and it's just me and my angels tonight, okay?"

They were down, and we had a great time. I forgot to turn my phone off and it vibrated a dozen times. I ignored it and dove back into the games and the mediocre pizza. We got home at nine-thirty and Sarah was asleep on the sofa with her phone in her hand. I held my finger to my lips and we tiptoed upstairs. They got in bed and I went and got my clothes for tomorrow. I went to the spare bedroom and locked the door. I lay awake until midnight and I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Shell, what are you doing?" I heard a stage whisper. "Open the door. Where did you go and why the hell is the door locked? Why are you in there?"

I didn't answer and she knocked several times. She called my name a dozen times before she gave up. She obviously didn't want to wake the girls, and I heard her footsteps going down the hall toward our room. Well, it had been our room; I didn't know what it was now.

I was up by five-thirty and I took my clothes. As I was going into the garage I heard her alarm go off. I got in the Hellcat and backed out. I saw her come into the garage just as the door went down and I drove to the park. I usually ran at the high school track, but I ran at the park that day. My phone went off a dozen times but I ignored it. I showered and got dressed at work. I got my buddy Marcus to loan me his Ultima at noon. I felt like I was betraying everything I believed in getting in that thing, but it looked like every other little box shaped car on the road and I wanted to blend in.

Sarah's car was at the office and I pulled up across the street and waited. The windows were dark and I knew no one could see me inside. At two-thirty Sarah came out and got in her BMW. I followed her at a discrete distance and we drove out into the suburbs. When she turned into a subdivision, I knew where we were going. My brother Mark lived there. What the hell? Well, this kinda sucked. Now I knew why the number looked familiar. I'd never gotten along well with him and we didn't talk much. The only time I saw him was at family events and that was too often to suit me. I saw him put his hand on Sarah's ass two years ago, and I decked him. We hadn't spoken since, although his wife and Sarah spent a lot of time together. I parked across the street and she pulled into his driveway. When she got out, she looked upset. She went in and I got out and walked around in back of his house. I had been there a hundred times. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Mark's wife, Cloe, was lying out by the pool. This was just getting weirder and weirder. She was a stunning woman. She was sophisticated and elegant in an understated way. She just exuded class. She looked up at me when she heard the back gate close, and a look of sheer panic ran across her face.

"Sheldon," she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

I walked up the steps to the deck as Cloe jumped up and came running toward me.

"Shell, wait! Don't go in there. I need to tell you something! Wait!"

The screen was shut but I could hear them talking.

Sarah was very agitated and he was trying to calm her down. "I'm telling you, something's wrong," she said. "He slept in the spare bedroom last night and he left without even saying a word to me this morning. This was a mistake, Mark. I need more time to get him on board. I know he thinks Cloe is hot and we'll just have to let her work on him. I love my husband and I'm not risking my marriage and my kids over this."

"You can talk him into it," he told her. "We've seen the way he looks at Cloe. Don't get cold feet on me, now. We've already talked about this a dozen times and you know you want to do this."

"Yes, I've loved it, but I don't want to lose everything. If he fucks Cloe he can't say anything, and we'll just swap every now and again."

"You might as well now that you're here. I can tell you want it. Look at your nipples."

"Yes, but not that bad. If Shell ever found out about this it would kill him. I'm not going to do it, Mark."

I peeked in and saw them standing in the living room. He pulled her toward him and kissed her. She resisted for a minute, and then she let him kiss her. I snapped a couple of pictures and a little video. He was sliding down the zipper of her dress and she was reaching around to stop him. I had seen enough.

They jumped apart when they heard the screen collapse and I stepped through. Sarah screamed. "Nooo! Oh my God, no! Sheldon, this isn't what you think. Please Shell, I'm so sorry!"

I kept walking toward them and Mark was backing away as fast as he could. I just walked past them and to the front door.

Sarah ran to me and threw her arms around me from behind. "Please, Shell; let's just go home. This isn't what it looks like. I promise I'll explain when we get home."

I went out without another word and got in the Ultima. All three of them came out and tried to chase me down. I drove it back to the office and gave the keys back to Marcus. After thirty minutes my phone started ringing. I ignored it. In about five minutes my secretary buzzed. "Your wife is on line three," she said.

"Tell her I'm not available," I said. I spent the rest of the afternoon staring at my computer screen.

"You're sister-in-law is on the phone," I heard five minutes later.

I had her put through. "What do you want, Cloe?"

"Shell, we have to talk about this," she said. "Why aren't you at home? You need to talk to Sarah. She can explain everything. Mark and I will be there, too. We'll talk about it like rational adults. This is your brother and your wife, Shell. You need to calm down."

Why is it that when someone fucks with you and pisses you off, they always tell you you need to calm down? That just pissed me off more. "I don't have a brother," I told her. "If the Asshole is in my house when I get home I'll tear his nuts off. If I see you there I'm going to bitch slap you all the way out the door. Don't ever let me see you or hear your voice again, Cloe. You tell Asshole that if he sees me he better start running." I hung up the phone.

In twenty minutes it was my Dad. "Sheldon, what's going on?" he asked. "Your brother and Cloe are here. They say you've been threatening them. Sarah called and she was crying and hysterical. I couldn't understand her. What have you done?"

"Sarah is fucking Mark, and him and Cloe were planning to trick me into a wife swapping thing. Dad, I don't have a brother. If I hear that you've allowed any of the three of them in your house after todayb I don't have a father. If Mom lets them in or either of you ever speak their names to me I won't have a father or mother. Guess what, you raised the Asshole and now you get to pick a side. Oh, yeah, you won't have grandchildren either."

"You can't talk to me like... " he started to bluster and I hung up.

Maria came in and asked me something, but I didn't hear what she was saying.

"Sheldon! I asked you a question," she said in a louder voice.

I started. "Oh, sorry, Maria. What did you say?"

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Tears started running down my cheeks and I couldn't stop them. She walked over and put her arm around my shoulders.

"Did someone die?" she asked. "I'm so sorry, Sheldon. Who was it?"

"I think it was my marriage and my family," I told her. The whole story came spilling out as I buried my face in my hands and wept. Ten years of my life flashed before my eyes; ten wonderful years with the woman I loved and the woman I thought loved me.

"Did she sleep with him?" she asked me.

"I think so," I said. "She was going to do it again today. She thought I was onto them and she wanted to call it off. Why would she do this, Maria? I loved her with every cell in my body. I would have died for her. How could she do this to our girls? What did those two little girls ever do to deserve this?"

"Sheldon, go home and talk to her," she said. "Find out the answers to those questions. You'll never rest easy until you do. Get out of here."

I hugged her. "Thanks, Maria; you're a good friend. Please don't tell anyone about this."

She looked hurt. "Jesus, Sheldon. How could you say that? You know I won't tell anyone."

I apologized and she hugged me again. "I know you're upset. Just go home and try to work this out."

My phone had been going off ever since I got back to the office and it rang on the way home until I turned it off. When I pulled into the garage, Sarah came running out. She stood beside the door and I just sat there for a minute, collecting myself. She started beating on the window with her fist.

"Sheldon, just get out and talk to me, please! I'm begging you, just let me talk to you."

I opened the door and she tried to hug me. I pushed her away. I think she was shocked. I wasn't a violent man and I'd never laid an angry finger on her in our lives.

"Don't touch me, Sarah," I told her. "You make me feel like I need a shower."

She burst into tears. "Okay, I won't. Please Shell, just come inside and let me talk to you."

"You have until the girls get home," I told her. "When they get home, the talking is over and we pretend that everything is fine. Do you understand? They aren't involved and if you upset them in any way, we're done."

"That's not enough time," she wept. "Can we talk again after they go to bed?"

"I don't know," I said. "It depends on what you say between now and when I go and pick them up. You have an hour-and-a-half. Make the best of it."

"I will," she promised. "Please, can we just go sit down?"

I followed her into the living room and she sat on the sofa and patted a place beside her. I sat in the recliner across the coffee table. That made her cry again and she put her hands over her face.

I sat and waited. "You're wasting time," I finally told her.

She went and got a towel off the bar and wiped her face as she sat back down. She could hardly talk she was crying so hard.

"I'm so sorry, Shell," she said. "I made a huge mistake. I never thought you'd find out. I love you so much."

"You love me so you've been fucking my brother?" I asked.

"Don't be like that," she begged. "It sounds so cheap and dirty."

"It is cheap and dirty," I said. "There's no way to wrap it up in a ribbon. That's what you were doing. You'd have done it today if I hadn't caught you."

"I never intended to fuck him. It just happened, I'm so sorry," she cried harder. "I don't know what I was thinking. I was a wild child before we got married, Shell. You know that. I met Mark before I did you. I slept with him a few times and after he met Cloe we still got together occasionally, all three of us. I know you think she's hot, Shell. I thought the four of us could... All I had to do was... was..."

"Fuck him," I finished for her.

"No! I just wanted us all to love one another! We could all be together. I was going to include you, I swear, Shell."

"You had a fuck session set up this afternoon."

"No, I told him I wasn't going to do it!" she wept.

"Yes, because you thought I knew. What if I hadn't known?"

"I wasn't going to... fuck him. It doesn't matter; you did know. How did you know?"

"What difference does it make?" I yelled. "You were going to fuck that creepy bastard! Do you know what that makes you, Sarah?"

"Please, Shell; I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't think it was going to turn out like this. It doesn't have to be ugly like this. It can be fun. I'll still be with you. You can fuck Cloe!"

I felt the bile rise up in my throat and I ran to the bathroom and puked. I heaved for a minute and she tried to give me a washcloth and pet me. I pushed her away and rinsed my mouth out. We went back and sat down.

"Do you hear what you just said?" I asked. "'It can be fun!' The next thing you're going to say was 'it was just sex!' Jesus Christ, Sarah! Do you know what a fucking cliché you've become? That makes me want to slap the shit out of you."

"Yes, slap me, Shell. I won't say a word. I deserve for you to slap me! Punish me, do anything you want. Please, just forgive me. I didn't think you'd find out. I never thought about how much this would hurt you until I thought you knew. When you left last night with the girls I knew something was wrong and then when you wouldn't sleep in our bed I just knew you were hurting so badly. I knew you had found out. I wanted to tell you and apologize but you wouldn't let me in. I got up early so I could tell you and beg you to forgive me, but you left before I had a chance. I should have waited until... Please, Shell; I'm begging you. Do you still love me?"