Reunion (the Horror)

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Husband wonders what went wrong.
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BillandKate
BillandKate
2,471 Followers

No sex in this one (and yes, I know it's Literotica); just a cautionary tale about the realities of adultery. You've been warned.

+++++++++++++

Who would have thought that the birth of my first grandchild would lead to the possible destruction of my 24-year marriage to Jane?

I'm sitting in the back of this rented utility van, just up the street from my daughter's home; hoping what happens next doesn't finish what I considered a very loving and wonderful marriage. According to my daughter Sarah, Jane typically goes for a long jog around noon on the days she visits her grandson. Sarah says Jane comes back after an hour or so and looks fairly flushed from her workout. I'm here to see what Jane's workout consists of.

My name is Bill Jones and until a month ago I was living the dream. My business is doing great, I'm 47 years old and part owner of a fabrication plant that is on the cusp of a new patent that will revolutionize one of the plastic extrusion processes. If everything goes according to plan, I stand to make a few million on the patent even after sharing the profits with my co-inventor and the five investors who backed our development.

Besides my worklife, I thought my personal life was everything I could ask for. As I said, my wife seemed to love me and our life together. We have one child, Sarah, who we're both very proud to call our daughter.

Sarah met, married and got pregnant to a wonderful man ten years her senior right after graduating from the U. The funny thing about Sarah is how easily she's taken to motherhood and being a full-time homemaker. Here's a girl (woman really, but she'll always be my girl) that graduated with honors and had every intention of taking the financial world by storm. Sarah's graduation present from her mom and me was a full six weeks of touring Europe; it was her reward for finishing college in three years (saving us a bundle); bucking it up while most of her peers spent spring and summer breaks on the beach.

Sarah met her future husband in Europe, she claims it was love at first sight; something she wouldn't have considered possible before that first evening in Madrid. She also claims it was fate, Jim Taylor was from Jane's hometown of Olympia. When Sarah returned from her European tour she moved into her grandparents' house (Jane's folks) and within six months she was engaged to Jim, within eighteen months she was married and pregnant with our first grandchild. Jane couldn't have been more excited; she immediately cut her hours at work so she could spend time with Sarah and the baby.

OK, so now you know my worklife is great, I'm a very happy papa/grandpa/father-in-law. That brings us to my marriage to Jane.

Jane and I met at the University of Washington. I was a senior and Jane had transferred in from Washington State. We had a class together, one of those entry level classes required to graduate. Jane was, and still is, a very attractive woman. She's 5'8", athletically built, she's been a runner since high school, with a great smile and beautiful hazel eyes. I was smitten the first day I saw her, but our few conversations after class led me to back off since she seemed reserved. By the time the quarter ended I worked up enough courage and she accepted my invitation to go out. One date led to another and things were looking good for a long-term romance.

I found out the reason for her reservation after our third or fourth date. She was getting over a very bad break up, Jane caught the boy she dated for two years in high school and two years at WSU in bed with another girl. Jane humiliated herself by accepting his indiscretion for almost three months before finally giving him an ultimatum, he had to choose. This guy was pretty full of himself by this time and blatantly chose both, suggesting a three way. Jane had enough, left school soon after and transferred to the U. I guess that made me a rebound romance. The subject seemed to hurt Jane and it was never brought up again.

I'm fairly certain Jane and I had a pretty good marriage and that she was a faithful, loving wife for the next twenty-three years. Although there were minor disagreements from time to time, we never went to bed without working those problems out and at least kissing each other good-night. I never strayed; sure I looked sometimes, but was never tempted to ruin a good thing by crossing that line. Jane caught me once and a while eyeing a woman at the beach or on the dance floor. She'd lightly slug my shoulder and say, "Remember, you can look, but not for too long and never touch!" She always did this with a smile and a gleam in those eyes.

So, what happened?

When Sarah had her son, William (yea, named after me), Jane decided she needed to spend time with Sarah and Bill, Jr. (as we call him). One day a week Jane would get in her car and drive sixty miles from our home in North Seattle to Olympia; not far by measured miles, but anyone who's driven that stretch knows it takes hours going from point A to point B. After a couple of months of driving back and forth in the same day and with winter coming on, Sarah bought a day bed and put it in their study so Jane could spend the night; Jane could drive south in the morning of the first day and come home prior to rush hour on the second. I used the evenings Jane was away to work on the patent. This new routine worked out so well that Jane continued to stay overnight in Olympia even after the weather improved the next spring.

Saturday, June 27th was Bill Junior's first birthday; Sarah and Jim planned a bar-b-que in their large backyard to celebrate the event. Two minor incidents occurred during the picnic, both played a role in putting the pieces of this mystery together.

I was sitting in a nice lounge chair having a cold beer when Jim and Sarah joined me. They caught me staring at Jane. Jim was the first to speak.

"You're a lucky man, Dad. I must admit that I took my father's advice and looked at Sarah's mother to see how my future wife would look when she's 40 before proposing."

Sarah gave him a slug on the shoulder, just like her mom always did to me. "You pig; I can't believe you'd say such a thing. What if my mother wasn't such a babe? Would you have dumped me?"

I tried to save Jim. "It's true Sarah. I did the same thing - one look at your grandmother convinced me that your mom was a keeper."

With that Sarah gave me a punch on my shoulder. "OK Dad, but what are we girls supposed to do, look at your fathers? In that case I better like looking at a shiny bald head."

The three of us looked over at Jim's dad manning the bar-b-que and laughed. Jim's dad is a great guy and good looking, but he's fighting the male baldness thing by letting his hair grow and trying to comb it over. Right now the wind was blowing it around and he looked like a certain future president.

"Well, anyway you're right Jim, I'm a lucky man. How many men are married to a 45 year-old woman that has the body of a 30 year-old?"

Sarah replied. "She should be in good shape with all the running she does. Every day she's here Mom takes off by noon and spends at least an hour running to the waterfront and back. I don't know how she can do it."

"Yea, she runs at least four days a week at home. Once or twice a week I go out with her and she runs me ragged. She'll do four miles at a seven-minute mile pace. I think she's going to try for the half-marathon this fall. You have to hand it to her."

About this time Jim's dad Jeff called everyone over and started serving the grilled corn-on-the-cob and burgers, including some surprisingly good vegi-burgers; the first I've ever tasted. I sat with Jeff and Jim; we compared work notes, Jeff had a restaurant supply business and he was grooming Jim to take over when it was time to retire in ten years or so.

After the meal I went inside to grab a few beers for the three of us and just before I walked out the patio door something caught my eye in the house behind Jim and Sarah's. I took a step back into the house and focused my eyes. Sure enough, Jim and Sarah's backyard neighbor was standing at an upstairs window looking over into our yard with a set of binoculars. I couldn't tell for certain, but it looked as if he was watching the table where Jane, Sarah and Jim's mom were sitting. Creepy. As I moved back through the patio door, the neighbor quickly lowered the binoculars and stepped back from the window.

"Jim, what's the deal with the neighbor behind you. I just saw him staring over here with binoculars."

Both Jim and Jeff took their beers and gave me a look like, 'what the hell?'.

"That's Allen Ross, he's actually a salesman for one of our main vendors and the guy gives me the creeps. We had a neighborhood watch block party last year and even though the guy doesn't live on our block, he shows up. Everyone thought it was a bit strange. I caught him more than once staring at Sarah, so I went over and talked to him. He of course recognized me, was surprised we were neighbors and apologized, he said Sarah reminded him of someone he knew back in high school. I let it go, but it was strange."

"Well, I hope you keep the curtains in your back bedroom closed. What an asshole."

But something about this rang a small bell in my head.

It was a long afternoon and by the time Jane and I headed home, I forgot about the kids' neighbor. It wasn't until Sunday morning when I remembered. Jane was out on one of her runs and I was having my second cup of coffee so I went over to the bookcase and pulled out one of Jane's high school yearbooks; we keep all that nostalgic stuff with the photo albums in the den. I looked up the name Allen Ross and much to my surprise there was a handwritten note in the margin.

Jane

It's been two great years with you - and just as your favorite song says - we've only just begun. I am looking forward to next year at WSU and all the years after. Your love forever,

Al

So, it was Jane's old boyfriend that was living right behind Sarah and Jim. Did she know? If she knew, why didn't she say anything? These and dozens of other questions swirled around in my head until Jane came home and took her shower. By the time she came downstairs I had a fruit and yogurt smoothie waiting for her. As usual, Jane had that fresh, flushed and glowing look about her; she looked so beautiful, I almost chickened out, but I sucked in my breath and asked the million dollar question.

"Jane, do you know an Allen Ross?"

Jane's answer was so fluid; in retrospect, it's almost as if she anticipated the question and was ready with her answer.

"I knew an Alan Ross in high school. We even dated for a while. Why do you ask?"

Jane's answer took me by surprise and I decided to play the rest of the hand close to the vest.

"He lives behind Sarah and Jim. When Jim caught Ross looking at Sarah, he called him out and Ross said she reminded him of a girl he knew in high school. Given how much Sarah looks like you at that age, I wondered if you weren't the girl he was talking about."

"It could be, but why bring it up? Did something happen?"

"Not really, but I think I saw him watching us from his house yesterday. It just seemed a little odd, that's all."

Then events cascaded to this moment with me sitting in this rented van.

First, the next time I went into the den, Jane's senior year yearbook was no longer on the shelf. It was like a punch to the stomach; I had to sit down in my leather chair and catch my breathe. What the hell is going on? That's when Sarah's comment at yesterday's lunch came screaming back to my brain. "Every day Mom takes off for an hour to run..." The implications were too awful to contemplate. My Jane, with another man?

Should I confront Jane? Should I talk to Sarah? Or maybe hire a private detective?

I remember reading something where someone asked the question, "You have to ask yourself, will you be better off without her?" I didn't think I could tolerate Jane's adultery, but would I divorce her? That's a question I couldn't answer that night, especially with what little information I had. I went upstairs, took a sleeping pill and went to bed. I don't even remember if I kissed Jane good-night, but I must have because she didn't bring it up Monday at breakfast.

For the next two days things were way too hectic at work to consider my personal issues. Our investors were in town Monday and Tuesday to chart our progress on the patent. It would be impossible to answer their questions and at the same time try to come up with a plan of action related to my marriage. I'd have plenty of time once the investors left Tuesday afternoon. I sucked it up and got to work.

Late Tuesday afternoon I dropped the investors off at SeaTac, as I headed back to the house I called Jane's cell, she was spending Tuesday and Wednesday at Sarah's. When Jane didn't answer her cell I called Sarah.

"Sarah, hi. I tried to call your mom but she didn't pick up. Is she there?"

"No, Dad. Mom went over to Cindy Sullivan's tonight. I think she's an old classmate of Mom's."

"Funny she never talked about her before. Is this a regular thing with Cindy?"

"Not regular, maybe every few weeks she goes and meets someone she knew when she lived here. She's usually home by ten unless she's had too much wine and spends the night. Mom says it's always nice to get together with the women she grew up with, she says she still feels closer to the small town girls than she does to the women up in Seattle. After living here in Olympia for the past three years I can see her point."

"Yea, it's too bad your mom never really clicked with the Nordstrom crowd, she always has been more comfortable in jeans and boots. Maybe when I retire we can make that happen."

"Make it soon Dad. Jim and I are planning to have more babies and it would be nice if all four of their grandparents lived close by."

"Sarah, you never cease to amaze me. I never dreamed my ambitious little go-getter would be talking about having a passel of kids."

"Just found my dream-guy and found out I like being a mom. You and Mom can take most of the blame."

"OK Sarah. I'm pulling into the drive now. It's a nice night and I think I'm going to jump on the Harley and take a long ride this evening. Tell your mother I won't be answering my phone because I'm on the bike. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Dad - ride safe."

It was a nice night for a ride and I had a destination in mind for this evening's ride.

By the time I pulled into Allen Ross's neighborhood it was dark. Just enough light as I rode slowly past his house to see a red Mustang Boss 429 in the drive in front of the two-car garage and no sign of Jane's Volvo. I was just about ready to give the bike some throttle when something made me pause. The license plate was one of those vanity plates the state sold for a premium. It had a WSU Cougar emblem on the plate and the license number was ROSS-BOSS. Why would a guy park his expensive sports car in the drive instead of in the garage?

I rode a block and a half down the street to a school. It had one of those circular drives in front for the school buses. I parked the bike and pretended to do some repairs on the Harley, I had the seat off, just in case. I kept an eye on Ross's house while I pretended to fiddle away. Lucky thing, too. Olympia is still a small enough town that a guy on a motorcycle can attract attention. Within a half hour a police officer stopped nearby.

"Need anything?"

"Not really, but thanks for asking officer. I thought maybe I had a short in the electrical system, but it turns out the last mechanic didn't tighten the negative cable on the battery. I'm just finishing up and I'll be gone in ten minutes." I made certain to look the officer in the eye while we chatted.

"What'd ya going to do if that doesn't fix it?"

"My daughter and her husband live on Third. I'll just walk it down there. But I think I have it. Thanks again."

The cop took off but I saw him cruise by a few streets down when I was putting on my helmet. The bike was started and the headlight was on, so he left me alone. It was very dark now and Ross's Mustang hadn't moved.

The next bit was going to be tricky and maybe more than embarrassing if I was wrong and got caught. I started toward Ross's house with enough speed to cut the engine and coast to the front of his house. I stopped the bike, ran up the driveway and had to get on my toes to look inside the garage through the windows near the top of the garage door. On the right side was a Mercedes S-Class Convertible and on the left side was my wife's Volvo.

I don't know how I did it, maybe the past three days led me to believe that I'd find exactly what I did find and it wasn't as much of a surprise, but I had the presence of mind to jog back to the Harley, fire it up and take off like a bat out of hell. I rode for twenty minutes, pulled into a tavern near the military base and took out my cell. This time Jane picked up.

"Hi Bill, Sarah said you were out riding tonight. Are you home?"

"Almost. How about you, what are you up to?"

"I'm over at Cindy Sullivan's, an old friend from grade and high school. I think I'll end up spending the night here, I've had a couple glasses of wines and I think I'm over the limit. I feel OK, just don't want to take a chance."

"That's good thinking. Listen, I needed to talk to you tonight because the meeting with the investors ran into a couple of snags. I'm flying out tomorrow and won't be back until this all gets straightened out. Sorry to spring this on you at the last minute."

"Oh Bill, I'm going to miss you. If you're going to be out of town, is it OK if I stay here in Olympia until you get back? You know how much I hate staying home by myself."

"No, you go ahead and stay with Sarah. I'll give you a heads-up before flying home. It should be Saturday at the latest. Bye"

"Bye Bill, I love you."

Damn - why did she have to go and say that? It just made her betrayal that much worse.

I really wasn't going out of town of course. I just didn't want to deal with Jane while I set up the rest of my life. I rode home trying to see through a couple of misty eyes. I don't think I'm a pussy, but I'm not ashamed to say a few tears fell and quite a few curse words crossed my lips while thinking about twenty-five years with the woman I loved more than myself, the mother of my daughter and the grandmother of our beautiful grandson. I wondered if my life would ever be happy again.

Wednesday I called my business partner, explained the situation and told him I'd be out for a few days. He was sympathetic and said the usual nice things to commiserate, but deep down he was probably thinking how this would affect our deal. I can't say I blame him if that's really what was on his mind; we were so close to making a small fortune and here I am dumping a load on top of it.

Then a call to our lawyer for a reference for a divorce attorney, making certain he knew it had to be a very good one, maybe the best. There was no way I would split millions with a cheating whore who may end up with an asshole, spending my money on cars and whatever.

The attorney I was referred to understood the urgency of the situation and agreed to meet me that evening in his office. He was upfront about it, I could count on paying him a handsome premium for the after-hours meeting, to clear his calendar and to expedite the paperwork, but he assured me it would be worth my money.

I checked into a local hotel (just in case she talked to a neighbor) and called Jane at noon. Of course she didn't answer; whether she was actually running or was jumping Ross's bones at that moment was irrelevant. I just wanted to avoid any conversation. I left her a message that I'd be tied up in meetings, but would call her tonight.

When I met with the attorney that evening he had his act together; obviously not his first time dealing with this situation. He listened to my tale of woe and my desire for going forward without getting scalped. He said the paperwork would be ready by Friday morning and gave me the 'getting separated' checklist. Accounts to close, items to label, how I wanted to handle notifying Jane, etc., etc. When he heard my plan for giving Jane the divorce papers, he started to shake his head. I assured him I could do it without ending up in jail. He said he still advised against it, but he could understand my motivation.

BillandKate
BillandKate
2,471 Followers
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