Making Choices

"Damn you, Sarah; how can you ask me that after what you did? I loved you yesterday morning and last week and for the last ten years. That didn't stop you, did it? How in the hell do you expect me to trust you after this? How do you expect me to believe anything you say?"

"I don't know," she wept. "I'll win back your trust. I'll prove you can believe me. I'll do anything! Just tell me what you want me to do. Do you want to fuck Cloe, or someone else? I won't say anything. Please just let me earn back a chance. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. It was a mistake! Haven't you ever made a mistake?"

"Yes, I've made lots of mistakes. I make mistakes every day," I said. "I forgot to pay the cable bill last week. I spilled paint on the garage floor. I didn't forget I was married, and neither did you. This wasn't a mistake! This was a treachery. A mistake would be if you thought he was me! I don't know how to get over this, Sarah. You tell me how I get over this."

"I don't know," she cried. "I'll do anything though. We can get help. I'll go to counseling, I'll wear a bracelet. I'll quit my job. I'm desperate, Shell. I never wanted to hurt you. I don't want to lose the girls over this. Please, give me a chance to fix this."

"My, God; the girls," I said. "I've got to go and get them. Clean up, Sarah. If you aren't under control by the time I get back I swear to God I'll kick you out of this house. Not a hint, do you understand?"

"Yes, I'll take a bath. I'll be good, I promise. Can we talk again after they go to bed?"

"You can't promise me shit, Sarah. Don't you make any promises to me," I shouted. "You threw away the only promise that matters. 'Forsaking all others!' Do you remember that promise?"

She just collapsed. "Yes, I'm so sorry; I did forget. Shell. Can we talk later?"

"Yes, we can. I'm going now. Get your head on straight, Sarah."

I was ten minutes late to get the girls. When I pulled up at the school I saw them sitting on a bench in front of the school. There was a woman sitting between them with her arms around them. She was a young woman of uncertain ethnicity, maybe Hispanic and black. She looked like she was in her middle twenties. As I got closer the full impact struck me. This woman was drop-dead gorgeous. She looked tall and slender and she had the biggest, warmest brown eyes I'd ever seen. There were flecks of gold in those eyes and a mop of glossy curls on top of her head framed one of the most beautiful faces I'd ever seen. Her skin was a light coffee color and it was flawless. She smiled as I approached and her face lit up like a lighthouse. Her teeth flashed and she nudged the girls. They looked up and saw me coming. They jumped up and flew across the grass and I was deluged with an avalanche of little girl.

"You're late, Daddy," Cambre said.

"I'm sorry, baby," I told her. "I lost track of the time. It won't happen again."

"It's okay," Carmen said. "Miss Brooks stayed with us."

She rose to her feet off the bench and I was mesmerized as she came and offered me her hand. "Mr. Clanton? I'm Carlie Brooks," she said. "I love your girls. I'm so lucky to have them in my room.

"Sheldon," I took her hand. She had long, slender fingers and they felt cool and soft in my hand. I realized I was holding on too long and I sheepishly dropped her hand. "Thank you so much for waiting with them. I'm very sorry, Miss Brooks." I could hardly speak. This woman was a walking wet dream. She had on a white blouse and the first two buttons were undone. There was an acre of smooth brown cleavage in there. Her breasts were just so fucking fantastic it was almost impossible to look at her face. She breathed and I could see the jiggle and sway of those gorgeous breasts. She noticed my confusion and I swear two little bumps popped up on the ends of those mountains.

"Carlie," she corrected me. "Sheldon, do you think I could talk to you for a minute?"

"Girls, could you wait in the car for a minute?" I asked. "Just for a minute?"

They hugged their teacher and went off to the car holding hands.

She smiled after them. "I hope you're very proud of them," she said. "They're the sweetest kids in this school. That's why I wanted to talk to you. They were upset this morning. They told me their mother was crying this morning and that she cried all the way to school until she dropped them off. Is everything okay at home? Has there been a death in the family or something?"

I swore to myself. "No, Carlie, everything's not okay. It will be, and I'll make sure this never happens again. Their mother and I are having a big rough spot. I'll make sure to keep them out of it. I'm very sorry."

"Is it something you can talk to me about?" she asked. "I'm a good listener and I'd do anything for those little girls."

"Thanks, but I can't talk now," I told her. "It's too painful and I don't know where this is going yet. I appreciate it though. Maybe when it's all smoother I'll tell you, but it hurts too much now."

Her hand came out and her fingers gently caressed my jaw line. I realized that she was very tall. Her eyes were almost level with mine and I'm six-three. She smiled. Her arm dropped and she walked back to the building. I watched her for a minute. There was one of the most fantastic butts I've ever seen moving under that gray skirt. She was poetry in motion. She looked back over her shoulder and smiled when she saw me watching her. My face went red and I went to the car. I felt the touch of her fingers on my cheek for hours. The munchkins chattered happily until we were almost home.

"Daddy, Mom was crying this morning," Carmen said. "Were you mean to her?"

I laughed. "Maybe a little," I said. "I won't do it again, okay?"

"Okay," she said. "I don't like her to be sad. Bre doesn't like it either."

"I know. I'm sorry. People just fight sometimes, you know?"

"I know, Daddy," Cambre said. "Carmen is mean to me all the time but I don't give her the satisfaction of crying."

"Hey, you're the one that's the big meany," Carmen objected.

I had to laugh. "Neither one of you are mean. People just argue sometimes. I'll try to be nicer."

"You're always nice to us," she said.

Sarah was still in the bathroom when we got home but when she came out she was pretty normal. Her eyes were a little puffy, but she smiled and hugged the girls. We had a nice dinner and they sat on the floor at our feet and we watched TV. It was a pleasant interlude, but I was dreading bedtime. I read to them and kissed them goodnight. I saw Sarah watching from the doorway with a sad smile on her face. She left when I turned out the light and she was waiting at the foot of the stairs.

"Do you want to talk in bed?" she asked.

"I'm not sleeping with you," I said.

"They'll know if you don't," she said. "Don't do this, Shell. Let me feel as good as I can. I need you to hold me."

"I needed you not to be a... never mind." I caught myself.

Tears started running down her cheeks. We got undressed in silence and I lay on my back staring up at the ceiling. I could feel the bed shaking and I knew she was still crying.

"Shell, do you want to make love?" she asked quietly. "I'll let you fuck my ass. I know you've always wanted to," her voice broke.

"Jesus Christ," I exploded. "I'm going to the spare bedroom."

She grabbed my arm. "Please, Shell. I'm sorry! Don't go. Please just talk to me. I won't touch you, I swear. I don't want to lose you. I don't know what to do or say. I'm just floundering. Please, just punish me and then forgive me. I'll never... I'll... no I won't make any promises. Shell, is there a chance for me to make this up to you? Do I even have a chance?"

"I honestly don't know how, Sarah," I said. "I despise you so much it's killing me. I've loved you since we were in high school. I wish I didn't. It wouldn't hurt so bad if I didn't. What can we do? How can we get back to where we were? How do I know you won't just fuck the gas man to pay the bill?"

"Damn you, Shell; that's not fair. I'm not a slut and you know it. You're the only man I've ever loved in my life."

"Don't you tell me what's fair," I snarled. "Is it fair to me that you've been fucking that Asshole for God knows how long? Is it fair that the man that's loved you since we were in high school has to live with the fact that his wife is a slut that was trying to trick him into being one, too? Is it fair that our girl's mom is a cheating bitch? Is it fair that you're a liar and a cheater? Fuck you, Sarah. Don't tell me what you are. I know what you are. Fuck this, it isn't going to work. I don't want to listen to your bullshit. You won't even accept responsibility for what you did. I want you out of here. In the morning you're going to tell the girls you're going to stay with your sister for a few days. I don't care what excuse you give them. Make something up; you're good at lying. Just be gone when I get home tomorrow."

She started crying hysterically. "I'm sorry I said that, Sheldon. Please don't make me leave."

"No, you made the choice to do the nasty with the Asshole without considering me or the girls. I'm making this one and I'm not considering you. This is my house. I inherited it from my grandparents and I don't want you here."

"When can I come back?" she wept.

"I don't know. Maybe never. Don't piss me off, Sarah. Maybe I'll feel better in a while. Maybe you'll come up with some way to fix this or I'll think of something. I can't breathe with you here. Every time I look at you I see that bastard sliding the zipper of your dress down.. I'm going to the couch."

I left her there crying on the bed and took my pillow to the couch. I left at five-thirty the next morning again and she wasn't up. When I picked the munchkins up after school they told me she went to stay with Aunt Sophie to help her while she was sick. They were a little upset because they were supposed to work at a five-K run with her on Saturday. I told them I'd work with them instead and they were happy. Sarah called them and they talked for a long time about eight. She texted me and all she said was, "I'm so sorry."

I took the day off Friday, and Sophie called me. She wanted to come over and talk to me and I agreed to talk to her. She's Sarah's little sister, and I'd always had a soft spot for her. She was angry when I answered the door. She swept in and poured herself a cup of coffee. She had been about fourteen when Sarah and I got together and she was just an angel. She'd spent more time at our house than at her parents' after Sarah and I got married and we were still really close.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Sheldon," she spit out. "Sarah is dying over at my house and you're just sitting here and letting her. She hasn't stopped crying the whole time she's been there. Come and get her and bring her home."

"Did she tell you why she's there?"

"So she made a mistake and slept with them, Sheldon. So she flashed him her titties and he felt her up and they did the dirty. You forgave her the last time, what's the big deal?"

I couldn't believe my ears. "What the hell are you talking about 'the last time'?" I said. I felt very calm.

Her eyes got big and she put her hand over her mouth. "Oh my God!" she gasped. "She never told you, did she?"

"Sophie, tell me what the fuck you're talking about," I said.

"No," she said. "I'm going to let her tell you. She promised me she would and she told me she had and you had forgiven her. That's all I'm going to say. I'm sorry, Shell. I didn't know what the hell I was talking about. I came over here half-cocked and I apologize. I'm going to talk to her."

She kissed my cheek and she hadn't been gone ten minutes when the doorbell rang. It was John and Alicia, Sarah's parents. This wasn't going to be pretty. I invited them in and we sat at the bar drinking coffee.

"We're very disappointed in you, Sheldon," Alicia started.

"You're disappointed in me, or in Sarah?" I asked.

"You kicked her out of the house," John said. "Why would we be disappointed in her?"

"Did she tell you why?" I asked.

"We haven't seen her," Alicia said. "Why don't you tell us why?"

"Listen, I love you both, but I'm not telling you anything," I said. "If you want to know, ask her. In the meantime, maybe you better do a little fact checking before you're disappointed in anyone. Now, you're welcome here any time. You can see the girls any time, but don't come back here to have this talk with me again. Find out what's going on and then we'll talk one time. It's over after that. This really isn't any of your business. Now, I have some things to do so I need to get going. Finish your coffee, wait till the girls get home, whatever, but I've got to get going."

I left them there with their mouths open. When I got in the Hellcat my mind was whirling. The conversation with Sophie had left me reeling and it had just been delayed by John and Alicia coming over. Obviously there had been another incident, and Sophie knew about it. Sarah had promised her that she would tell me about it, but she hadn't. This put things in an even worse light. Now what was I going to do? Driving my baby always gave me at least a temporary peace and I got on the interstate heading north. There wasn't much traffic and I opened the hemi up a little. I glanced down and I was doing eighty-five. It felt good. I looked in the rear-view mirror and there was a new yellow Mustang GT behind me. He was way too close for the speed we were going and it pissed me off. I put my foot down and that big hemi howled. The supercharger whined up and I took off like I'd been launched. That engine burns 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at full throttle, and the 650 foot pounds of torque twisted those wheels like a freight train.

The Mustang began to fall back immediately. It hung in there until we passed one-twenty but when I got to one-fifty it was just a yellow dot back there. I pulled off at the next exit. I needed gas and there was a convenience store there. I pulled up to the pump and swiped my credit card. I heard a pretty sweet sounding engine pull up on the other side of the pumps but I didn't pay much attention.

"Sheldon, is that you?" I heard a woman's voice call.

I looked back and that yellow Mustang was sitting there. Carlie Brooks was getting out. She walked down the pumps toward me. She had on a button up shirt and jeans. I noticed she had on white flip flops and her toenails were painted the same yellow as her car. She just looked jaw-dropping.

"Miss Brooks, why aren't you teaching my daughters how to conjugate verbs?" I laughed.

She walked up close and leaned against a column. "I took a personal day," she said. "I thought that was your car that blew by me back there. I tried to catch you and wave. Jesus, that thing's hot!"

"I didn't know you were a car girl," I said. "That's a pretty pony you've got there. Is it stock?"

"No, I've put a lot of work into it. I can't believe how you just walked off and left me like that."

"This is the baddest muscle car ever built," I told her. "I like the Mustang though. What are you doing out here?"

"I live here," she said. "How about you?"

"Just trying to blow off some steam," I told her. "That rough patch I told you about just turned into a mountain and I just needed to clear some fog out of my brain."

"Well, driving as fast as we were could have landed us both in jail," she laughed. "How about me buying you a cup of coffee and you blow some of that fog my way?"

"Miss Brooks, I don't think you want to hear about my problems," I told her.

"I told you to call me Carlie," she said. "Come on, there's a Starbuck's down the street. I'll tell you a story and you can tell me one, okay?"

I agreed and pumped her gas for her. I followed her and we went in. I ordered my usual triple espresso and she got some kind of latte with lots of foam. She took a sip and looked up at me. I couldn't help laughing.

"I have a mustache, don't I?" she grinned.

"Yep," I cleaned it off with a napkin. Her huge brown eyes held a peculiar look.

"What's going on with you?" she asked. "Why were you driving so fast?"

"Driving fast to me is like shots of whiskey are to other people," I said. "When I'm upset I go for a drive or a run. It calms me down and helps me think."

"Why did you need a shot?" she asked. "I'm not trying to pry; you just look like you could use someone to talk to."

"Carlie, are you married?"

"No, I was engaged once."

"Do you mind telling me why you aren't engaged anymore?" I asked.

"Yes, but I guess if you're unburdening to me, it would only be fair," she said.

She sipped her latte and I could tell she was gathering her thoughts. "I can't do this," she finally said. "I'm sorry, Sheldon. I need to go."

She stood up and I could see tears streaming down those high cheekbones. I stood up and walked over to her. I pushed her back down in the booth and slid in beside her. She protested, but I ignored her. I took one of her long slender hands in mine.

"I'm very sorry, Carlie," I told her. "I didn't mean to upset you. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I wasn't making a bargain. I was just trying to find a place to start."

"It's okay," she said. "If you don't let me out I'm going to slide under the table. I'm sorry Sheldon, but I can't do this now. It's too painful for me."

I let her out. She stood up and gave me a hug. Those luscious titties poked me in the chest and I was as hard as an iron bar in two seconds.

"I just need to go," she said. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

"It's okay," I told her. "Will you let me buy you another cup of coffee sometime? I promise I won't make you cry. Girls usually need to know me for a while before I make them cry."

She gave a wet little laugh. "It wasn't you. Yes, call me sometime. I love your girls, Sheldon. I know you're a good father."

She slipped away and that little yellow Mustang chirped the tires when she pulled out. It was time to pick up the girls and I went and got them. They did their homework and we went out to Red Lobser. They were having that endless shrimp thing and we all loved shrimp. By the time we were done our table looked like a shrimp graveyard.

The next day was the five-K event and I had planned to run. That went on hold because Sarah wasn't going to be there, and I had agreed to work. They put us at a table at the three K marker and we had water and Gator Aide on a little table. When the runners got there they could grab a bottle and take it with them. There was supposed to be another worker there, but they hadn't shown up yet. I could hear the car coming for a ways, but there were trees blocking us from the road. I was shocked when that little yellow pony pulled up and Carlie got out. She looked stunning. She had on a pair of yellow boy shorts and a t-shirt that did very little to restrain those amazing tits. They emerged from the car a few minutes before the rest of her. She stopped for a minute when she saw us sitting at the table. The girls squealed when they saw her and ran over to give her a hug. They took her hands and led her over. I could tell she was uncomfortable.

"Hey, Carlie," I greeted her. "How did we get this lucky?"

She smiled and relaxed. "The reward of virtue," she smiled. We all chatted happily for a while and I heard a vehicle coming. It was a huge Ford pickup; you know, the ones that guys get to advertise the size of their pricks (or lack thereof). This was a giant one so the owner must have had a giant dick. The door must have been five feet off the ground. I recognized it. It belonged to the baseball coach. He was this aging high school sports hero. Everyone knows the type. His glory days as the star athlete back fifteen years ago had set him up in his own mind as God's gift to the earth, and to women, in particular. He had a shaved head and he was about six-feet tall. He worked out, you could tell, and he walked with his arms nearly parallel to the ground so everyone could tell how strong he was. His name was Hawk or Falcon or one of those raptor-type birds. He came swaggering up to the table.