She was Right

"Let's hope she isn't that sharp."

I felt no need to sign it.

Charlie begged, Charlie pleaded, but Charlie got nowhere.

"Please, Charlie, don't recite chapter and verse of excuses from the Cheaters Handbook. You wanted someone else, and you got him. I refuse to be your fall back plan. It's over, let's not make this hard on the girls. Sign the papers, and in a few more years, when the kids are old enough, I'll be gone, and we'll just have to see each other for the weddings and child baptizing."

She cried. Then she got angry. Her lawyer was a pretty sharp cookie, and when she saw what I offered, her advice was to take the money and have a good life, explaining that Charlie came to her because she was one of the best, and the best weren't cheap. "I could end up with more of the settlement than you would, and think, would it be worth it? Don't reduce your quality of life for a lost cause, Charlie. You cheated, twice, and he has documentation on both. This isn't a no fault state, he could go for adultery if you push things, and you might end up with a lot less and still have to pay me. Take the deal."

She counter sued for mental cruelty, and claimed I was having my own affairs, with Shanna and Brenda, Bob's exwife. Brenda threatened to sue her for slander and defamation of character, Shanna showed up at her door and told her if she didn't stop she would fuck her up on a regular basis.

"It won't actually be me, bitch. I still have a lot of friends from my old unit, and trust me when I tell you this, we're a bunch of mean bitches. I won't even go into what the guys would do to you. I see a lot of muggings in your future. You may disappear, I hear they pay premium prices for good looking white bitches in third world countries, and one of my guys has connections. He'd be happy to take care of you. Think with your head instead of your twat, woman, while you still have choices."

She had Charlie backed into a wall by then, her arm against her throat. "One more thing. When this is over, I'm going after him. He's a good man, one that would have never lasted in my old world, and that attracts me. A good, gentle, solid man is just what I'm looking for, I'm still young enough to breed, and I bet we'd make adorable little chocolate babies. Only warning, bitch."

She walked off, leaving Charlie gasping, looking at the spreading stain on the front of her jeans. I didn't hear the story until much later.

She stopped the actions the next day.

................................

I was surprised at work a few weeks later when a woman I didn't know showed up at my office, asking for a few minutes of my time, saying it had to do with my divorce. I had her brought to my office, after turning on the video and audio. I used it sometimes when in negotiation. I've found vendors and customers sometimes 'forget' things when it comes to the contracts.

She was a very attractive woman, probably ten years older, but looking my age. I rose and shook her hand, walking over to the couch besides the conference table. I wanted to put her at ease.

"I'm sorry for showing up unannounced, Mr. Sayers. I'm Barbara Duncan. I believe your wife knows my husband."

It clicked. Her husband was the one screwing Charlie. I took her hand. "I find myself in an awkward position, Mrs. Duncan, having to apologize for my wife's action."

She shook her head. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't your doing, and I know it wasn't mine. It was two adults, both, from what I've found, with a history of cheating. They probably seduced each other. What I came to ask for is a favor. It seems you have pictures and testimony I could use in my divorce. Would you consider sharing it?"

"Give me the name of your lawyer, and I'll send it over."

She sighed. "I don't have one yet. When it hit the fan, he emptied the accounts, leaving me just enough to keep the house and our son in clothes. I didn't work, and my future looks bleak."

Once again, I found myself in the unusual position of cleaning up a mess my wife made. I dialed a number, asking her to wait.

"John? I got another client for you. The asshole's wife. Give me a time and I'll send her over. And John, I'm paying. Maybe you should give me a discount. What? Thought so, you greedy bastard. Here's her number, text her when you're available."

Barbara looked shocked and I grinned. "Don't worry, he's really good at his job, and I can afford the cost. It's the least I can do. You don't know me, but if there's anything else I can help you with, ask."

She sat, lip quivering. Please don't cry, please don't....she started crying. I gave her some tissue,let her cry for a bit, and thought. Brenda was in right now, and if anyone knew what she was going through, it was her. I called, and she came to the office.

"Brenda, Barbara. You two have something in common. My wife has slept with both your husbands. I'm going out for just a minute."

I gave them fifteen minutes. When I walked back in both women tackled me to the couch. And then both kissed me! Didn't see that coming. I sat glowing, a different shade of lipstick on each cheek.

"I've been telling Barb what a nice guy you are, and how when the divorce is final I'm coming after you. Don't looked so shocked, you know you're my hero. Now focus. Barb needs a job until her divorce is hashed out. Seems she is just perfect for the new position you've been talking about. She has a degree in international business relations, and speaks French, Italian, and German. Looks like I've found your new international marketing director. You can thank me with a big bonus in my next check. And remember, I'm your head accountant, so I know how much you can pay her. Don't make me adjust it."

Charlie literally had a hissy fit. "What's up with you? This some kind of revenge thing, treating me like shit while you give those bitches all kinds of support and goodies?"

Man, you talk about pissed off! I had hit my absolute limit with her. "Charlie, you need to shut up. You need to shut up right now. You listening? Because if you don't, the offer comes off the table, and I'll make you fight for every bone. You think I imagined when I married you that I would be spending time propping up women who's lives you destroyed? Fuck no I didn't. This is all on you, Charlie, and I'm done. Don't speak to me anymore, contact my lawyer if you need something. Don't worry about the girls, they can tell me if they want or need something. You listening to what I'm saying?"

She had gone back to crying. "But honey, I'm sure..."

I talked right over her. "I'll tell you what you can be sure of. You can be sure that the divorce is going through. You can be sure that before the ink dries on the paper I'll be looking for someone else. The girls are going to need a positive female role model. So go off and fuck another marriage, or two, or three, up. Send the women to me when you're done destroying the life they thought they had, and I'll do my best to put them back together. Maybe they can form a club or something. I'm sure they would let me be an honorary member. Lord knows I've got the experience. Goodbye Charlie, and I mean that literally."

I think my rage frightened her, because she backed up into a corner, eyes wide, and didn't make a sound. I didn't even close the door when I left.

..........................

The girls, well, the girls hated it. I tried to shield them, but they found out somehow. They went three weeks without seeing their mother before I talked them into spending the weekend.

"She's still your mother. She didn't betray you, and she still loves you. I'm sure it's been killing her not seeing you. I know it will be hard, and after a little if you don't want to stay, come back down. Do it for the family."

Darcy, her eleven year old eyes looking ancient, sighed. "We'll go. But you're wrong, Dad. She betrayed us just as much as she did you, and cheated us out a normal family. It will never be the same. We'd do stuff with you, with her, but we'll never do them together, ever again share collective memories. Love you, Dad."

She gave me a huge hug and walked the longest twenty-six steps of her young life. Damn it, when did children get so smart, and so world weary? I might have to check on a therapist for them, for all of us.

......................

It took eleven months and cost her about six hundred grand from the settlement before she gave up. She asked for an hour together before she would sign the papers, and I called her. "What could you possibly have to say that would change anything? If you're sorry, I accept your apology. Otherwise, sign the papers. I'm not going through another instance of drama."

Darcy was twelve and a half now, blossoming into a rare beauty. Marissa, now almost fifteen, looked like a twenty year old model. People still came over for pool and Mancave parties, and when the boys showed up, the mothers were like hawks circling their nest. There would be no lost chicks on their watch. Charlie never offered to come.

I was still paying all the bills for the house, and would until the youngest went off to college. I had changed the petition slightly. The house, instead of going to Charlie per the first divorce settlement offer, would be sold, the profits split evenly. Charlie still came out with enough to live comfortably if she was careful with her money.

.............

The ink wasn't dry on my divorce papers, when true to her word, Brenda came after me. I stopped her as gently as I could. "I'd love to, Brenda, but you work for me, and if we didn't click it could get very, very awkward."

"I'll quit. You'll get my resignation on you email in about five seconds."

I had to laugh. "You love your job, and while you're really good, no on is going to pay you what I do."

"I could marry the bank."

"You could, but it would be a long time down the road, if it ever happens. Please, stop."

She sighed. "Well, I had to try. And I wore a thong today, just for you. Damn those things are uncomfortable."

I looked at her, trying to decide between being shocked and laughing. She grinned at my expression, reached under her skirt and shimmied three times, stepping out of them and handing a scrap of black lace to me. "Here, a momento of what you turned down. Damn, it feels good to get that thing off me. Think about me the rest of the day, knowing I'm commando under this skirt."

She twirled at the door, the loose skirt billowing out. I got a glimpse of some very nice looking asscheeks as she went out the door, smiling. I put the thong in my desk drawer.

Barbara took her shot. "I'm not interested in a relationship, I just need to be laid! Seriously laid! It's been almost a year, and I'm tired of buying batteries. Help a girl out here."

I knew she was flying to France the next morning. "Keep control, Barb. Maybe you'll find a Frenchman, and fall in love. Or lust. Either way there's a Pierre of Jean-Claude out there just pining away, searching for you."

She sighed. "Good thing I talked to Brenda. I'm not wearing a thong. Then again, I'm not wearing anything under this dress. Give you any ideas?"

"Lots and lots, none of them good. Leave me alone, I'm still dealing with the fact that I'm really unmarried."

Brenda found a guy, another accountant, and they're still crunching numbers. How many minutes can he last. How many orgasms he can give her per session. So far, it was adding up.

Barbara took my suggestion literally, found a Frenchman, and moved to Nice, where she heads up the European division of the company. C'est La Vie!

I stumbled along for about nine months. I dated some, a few women I met through friends and various social functions, found out my equipment still worked, but other than physical pleasure nothing much happened.

Harry and Jane watched over me, as best they knew how. I was over a few times with the girls, and we had a decent time. Shanna had left them, saying that while she loved them and Star, it was time to move on. I was a little disappointed, and they grinned.

Thirteen months after the divorce, Charlie got engaged to some guy she met through her volunteer work. The charity she had worked with, after the news of her affair and divorce came out, asked her if she didn't think she would be more useful elsewhere, and she took the hint and left. I met him a few times at the mailbox, and he seemed a decent sort. Best of all, he had been single when they hooked up, so she didn't break up a marriage.

I wondered how truthful she was about her past, but it was none of my business. The girls liked him, he had a sense of humor and didn't try to come off as a father figure. He would sometimes take them to the movies or out to eat while their mother worked. Oddly, I didn't feel threatened, and was happy they were adjusting.

Then they came home one day looking sad, and over the evening, it came out. Josh was out of their lives. He had broken off the engagement. I asked if they knew why. "Seriously, Dad? It's Mom, what do you think happened?"

...........................

I had become comfortable enough that I didn't shake in revulsion if I ran into Charlie, could speak to her civilly, but I didn't encourage her. I'd long ago had all the surveillance equipment removed, because it just wasn't my business anymore, but I have to admit, I was tempted to turn it back on when Josh appeared. Did she still make the faces and sounds as she did when we were intimate? Did she try harder with him? Thankfully, I never fell to temptation.

Seventeen months after the divorce, I came home to see an old friend sitting on my couch. Shanna had come into town, and stopped off to see the girls. Marissa was sixteen, and I had gotten her a car for the milestone, and she was telling her all about it. never expected her to pick a four wheel drive Jeep, but it was a lot safer than most of the cars teen girls wanted, so I went along.

She and Darcy were very popular at school, and there was always some friends underfoot, and this way, their posses could travel together. I thought later her choice had a lot to do with Shanna when she was younger, she drove a vehicle a lot like the one she picked.

Darcy came bouncing up to me. "dad! Guess what! Shanna wants to take us camping. Star is gonna go with us! Can we go?"

That was a surprise, Darcy was about as girly as you could get, and I couldn't see her sleeping on the ground or getting dirty. Shanna sat there grinning. I grinned back. "I haven't seen you in almost two Years,and this is how you come back? Kidnapping my children, leaving me abandoned?"

Her grin got bigger. "You can come. In fact I'll probably need help. Darcy is allowed two friends, Marissa two, and Star two. Wrangling nine girls from ten to sixteen might be more than I can deal with."

"I doubt there is anything you can't deal with. You'll have them organized like they were in boot camp. I don't think you'll have any issues."

"Come with us, Daddy! We'll need someone to carry stuff and fix the meals. You don't expect us to do it, now do you? We'll be on vacation."

My older daughter was smirking when she finished.

"I'm detecting a conspiracy here. All right, make plans. I have a massive backlog of time coming, it might be good to burn some. You gonna bring that white thong bikini, Shanna?"

Shanna the warrior actually blushed. "Not this trip. I'll probably be a little more PG, after all it's a bunch of young girls, I don't want them seeing you perving on me all weekend."

My turn to blush. "Set it up. I'll try not to perv around my daughters."

They giggled, and I went off to order pizza, while they put their heads together over Darcy's laptop, looking at high end camping gear. I had a feeling this was going to cost me a bundle.

............................

Shanna came over every two or three days right up until the trip, to see what they had bought and whether they needed to bring it. She made them take down and put up the three tents until they could do it blindfolded, Star was often with her, already displaying she had inherited her parent's brains, and her mother's good looks.

I hadn't actually talked to Charlie in a couple of months. She'd had several men over, always sending the girls to me for the nights she had dates. Couldn't help thinking she wasn't much of a role model right now, but the girls were pretty level headed about it. Then one day she called, wanting to talk to me about the girls.

My alarm system went off, this could not be good news. I met her at her front door. She went right to what was on her mind.

"Stop poisoning my girls against me. I'm sick to death of hearing about Shanna! She can do this, she can do that, she's blah blah blah. If you're banging that black bitch, keep it away from my girls!"

It took me a second to get my voice, and a little longer than that to get calm enough to sound reasonable. First, I laughed. "This from a woman who's had a parade of lovers in the last few months? You think the girls are stupid enough to think you're playing backgammon all night? Damn, what a hypocrite you are, Charlie."

"By the way, I'm not banging her. But you know what? If I was, it would still not be your concern. I've tried to stay out of your business, Charlie, so stay out of mine. You look like shit, the term rode hard and put up wet comes to mind. Get your ass back to the gym, have your hair done, take care of yourself, for the girls at least. Anything else on your mind? Well then, have a super sparkly shiny day, AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I left her shocked and in tears, and it iced the cake that Shanna drove up just then, and I surprised the hell out of her by grabbing her and giving her a hard kiss. She was shocked at first, but before I knew it that hard body was pressed up against me and her tongue was halfway down my throat. We broke tot he sound of clapping ans a slamming door.

The clapping was from the girls, who had rushed out when they saw Shanna pull up. It was kind of fun to watch Miss Super In Control Blush.

"Why did you do that?"

I smiled. "Because I've always to, and believe me, it exceed every fantasy I've ever had about you. And honestly, I wanted to do it for the shock value to certain people. And I'd really like to try it again, just to make sure the feeling I got isn't just a one off."

She grabbed me, pulling me to her as she kissed me again. When we broke, I surprised her by nipping her neck, leaving a small hickey. The girls dragged her inside, giggling uncontrollably, as I followed them and started the grill.

They came out, bringing the salads, and I plated their steaks and baked potatoes. She would rub her neck now and again, watching me through hooded eyes.

They rushed back in after dining, leaving me the mess to deal with. It was dark by the time I was done, and Shanna come back out alone, her white teeth flashing in the darkness. A five minute make out session commenced, and her nipples were hard as diamonds when she pulled back. I was sure she had a bra when she went into the house.

Her fingers traced the front of my shorts, and I nearly lost it when she grabbed my erection. "Nice," was all she said as she turned to leave. She paused at the gate.

"You shouldn't have kissed me, because now that I know you want me too. It's on, big boy, and you better be ready. Don't try running."

"Does it look like I'm running?"

I had shot across the yard, grabbed her again, surprising her by picking her up off her feet, giving her one more kiss, and a swat on her ass. She jumped, and smirked.

"That was nice. Please sir, may I have another?"

I think I swallowed three bugs as my mouth hung open, watching that magnificent ass sway across the driveway.

The girls were all over me when I got inside. "Back off, babies. I have no idea what I'm doing or where we're going with this. Let me try to process this before we talk about it."