All Comments on 'Unfaithful'

It's easy to see why. This writer will always get ones from me. The only rival to MM for awfulness.

I just know this is the piece of shit who wrote "Another Love." Hopefully, there's a lightning bolt with his name on it about to strike. This is one sack of shit I'm glad doesn't live around me. I would be afraid for my family pets.

Another love was my last read of a RichardGerald perv fest. That was a career destroying piece of dog vomit. Nothing this writer could possibly write after that could interest me in any way. Perpetual one stars for everything this maggot writes. I'll just wait for the 17th, for some real writers.

RG must be a huge cuck fag.

It got about the right score over there. About five out of ten, the last time I checked. I can't give it a 2.5 here, so it gets a two.

Look... the story opens with the husband finding out about his wife getting this BIG prestigious award that he was not told about and NOT invited to attend. He goes to the ceremony ..hears unsettling things about his distant unloving cold wife...

Yet when she comes home ...the husband ...this so called street smart savvy insightful Blue collar lawyer... cannot find time to ask her what the fuck is going on?

This makes no sense.

The Husband is suppose to be this street smart savvy insightful Blue collar lawyer. He claims to be puzzled and consumed by the wife's change in her behavior since coming back from Africa. YET time after time in this story whenever he wants to have a conversation to find out what is wrong... this so called street smart savvy insightful Blue collar lawyer gets put off time after time by the cold super bitch wife

EVEN WORSE... the is the wife who runs off to save the world... totally abandoning her husband kids and her family ... THEN when she comes back she is cold distant to her husband... THEN lies to him for months about her having a long term sexual affair with a guy in Africa ...

THEN after she confesses says this ...."My husband has been keeping me at a distance.."

oh my fucking god.

I would of spit in her face

She was the worst sort of filth. Those who betray others they claim to love cannot be redeemed by doing a few charitable deeds. This is RichardGerald's typical claim. Good women, or men, do not betray and destroy people who love the, then hide under the cover of altruism. Evil treacherous people do that. That makes me wonder what sort of author, or human, makes the claim that Judas, Benedict Arnold and Vidkun Quisling were the "best of persons." One star for sophist propaganda, masquerading as an erotic story. Now Lord Doggy Boy can come along and write some incomprehensible raving. Maybe there are even a couple of rapes in this one he can enjoy. I didn't read far enough to find out.

The do or don't.......the family nucleus.......single parent family.....TK U MLJ LV NV

Another piece of rubbish by an someone who seems to think cheating is good. Writes nothing but garbage and how another first timer posting today could be inspired by this 'writer' is beyond me.

I read this on SOL a couple of days ago , and I found it to be pretty good read .

Now a lot of people seem to still be very agitated over the Another Love series ( a new sequel just today ) , and I'll be the first to admit that I was in the mob with my torch and pitchfork at the time as well . But this author also brought us two of my favorite LW stories as well ( The Bridge , Jailbreaking ) .

Granted this story wasn't in the same mold as those two greats , it still was a pretty solid tale. I like the angst , the discovery of the betrayal , the soul searching . That's what keeps drawing me back to this category like a moth to the flame !

Now I'm always going to want the story to end on a justice done kind of note , but I guess until I start writing my own , I'm just going to have to enjoy what these folks provide me free of charge .

Oh , comparing RG to MM is simply not even logical IMHO.

Thanks for sharing .

4 *'s

Richard Gerald , please feel free to delete this with my blessings if you so choose , but seeing how most of the LW community will check out these comments , Im going to do something thats totally unfair to you .

Lit refused to post the latest Todd172 story due to excessive violence . He's not going to rewrite or resubmit it here. But it is posted over on SOL , and if you love his work like I do , you'll seek it out.

Again , my most humble apologies RG.

HarryinVA is tough, but often his sparring with other commenters has intrigued me enough to want to read a story. For the first time, his synopsis is sufficient to deter me. That is because more often than not, the writer of "The Bridge" concludes his stories with a husband's venial excuses for his wife's egregious behavior.

I cleary don't like everything this author writes on the topic of a cheating spouse, but I don't understand either, all the hate he's getting here from some commentators.

Critic is Ok, but there is absolutely no reason to insult someone or calling him names!!! Grow up. I don't know how others think about that?

I hope RichardGerald continue to post stories here. Maybe, you don't like them, but they stir your emotions.

Can anyone tell me what SOL is? Thank you

Saviors have to be saviors and Simone has a raging ' for the greater good ' complex that for her excuses a plethora of actions that shortchange her nearest and dearest. She was initially enabled by her nice guy narrator husband who gets compassion fatigue in short order when he discovers her extramarital escapades abroad.

The husband is not a complete patsy and discards his 'fair to middling ' martyr complex when it's clear Simone is possessed by the Red Shoes of human altruism and is compelled to repeatedly sacrifice fidelity and family concerns in favor of applying balm to the 3rd world's ceaseless woes.

" It is the story of a young girl who is devoured with an ambition to attend a dance in a pair of Red Shoes. She gets the shoes and goes to the dance. For a time, all goes well and she is very happy. At the end of the evening she is tired and wants to go home, but the Red Shoes are not tired. In fact, the Red Shoes are never tired. They dance her out into the street, they dance her over the mountains and valleys, through fields and forests, through night and day. Time rushes by, love rushes by, life rushes by, but the Red Shoes go on."

I loved the story, the characters, the settings . It's argued that human nature can't be altered , but it can be ignored. Richard Gerald shows vividly how Simone and her husband Jimmy O'Reilly come to a parting of the ways with the interpretation of supposition and in dealing with human folly versus daily life.

Full marks ( and favorited ) *****

SOL = Shit Out of Luck

Although, I guess you could have Googled it.

I have no sympathy for Simone. She thinks because what she does overseas makes it okay for her to sleep with other men? Then expects her husband to just suck it up and deal? No, I don't think so. I think Jimmy is better off that she went back to Africa. Maybe this time she will be the one to disappear.

Worry not . You're taking this story too personally. The Simones of this world have evaded your plebian charms thus far in life,and have passed you over for .... lets say .... more malleable marital material. Yup , that's why.

I wanted to take a moment to highlight this line:

"The woman had come back, but the wife was still traveling."

That is an amazing line which stuck and resonated. Whether you wrote it yourself (double kudos) or stole (kudos for good taste), this was just a perfect line which I wish I had written.

You did a great job telling the story and you never told us that Simone died from ebola. I hope

SOL = Storiesonline.net

3* for a story, but little care for the seeming uncaring of the husband that his wife is and was a whore

These are stories and in the best of them the characters come to life. Sometimes they do stuff you don't like but they are true to themselves. RG has a knack for creating slightly off-beat characters and let them act believably. Thanks a lot.

The reactions to your work are testimony to a powerful work. I know for me it drew powerful emotions, heck I wanted to punch people at times.

That is good writing, when you draw emotions that is a step past being interesting. Good job, I will read anything you write. *****

A good way to start the day with an intriguing story. Thanks!

She abandons husband and two very young children to go off and be the lover of two other men while saving the world but balks at husband donating sperm so his sister can have a child and you claim she is altruistic.

Not sure where you found that definition.

Good writing and a good plot. His controlled reaction to his situation was that of an intelligent man who had been trained to use his mind to solve problems. He had his priorities in order and was thoughtful in going about his solution. It felt very much like the reader was in the mind of a lawyer. To be critical: The criminal investigation aspect was less interesting than the main theme, and the detail of his devotion to his children was missing. The tie in between the investigation and his personal life was thin and not great.

the asshole of lit!!!!

The writing, as usual, is very good. The plot, as usual, is far from simple. The characters, as usual, are flawed. Something in this story leaves a bad taste and I guess it's mostly the actions of the wife. The plot, as it often does, centers around politics in NY. That alone is depressing. The story seems well done, but hard to like in many ways, like most surgeries. This writer does have a way with words.

WTF is wrong with Dick Gerry? Vague endings, about wimps.

Overly long stories, that become somewhat tedious.

At least he didn't go full out RAAC!

Is Dr wife coming back? Or is this it? Does he go off with the other lawyer? What abt the kids?? So much left unanswered. V well written but v frustrating story for me. Yes, there are a lot of flawed martyrs out there. Which both main characters were - not just Dr wife. Ken

and a very engrossing plot. The wife was so flawed that she outgrow he husband for the (greater good) as she saw it. She has no hope for a family life. The plot was a bit twisty but well thought out. Every problem the wife had was partly just circumstances or partly her husband's fault. She was totally delusional. I would love to see the final confrontation that ends her marriage. Five stars easy

I have a number of issues with this story. MOST of them come from some writing quirks of the author which are maddening, at least to me.

On the character of the wife. While Kimi thinks that saving a little girl's life does not absolve the wife from fucking big black Leonard, THE CHARACTER obviously does. And if she doesn't she PRAYS saving maybe that next little girl's life will finally give her soul the rinse/spin it so desperately needs to make her feel clean.

As far as her blaming her husband, as HIV stated, well, displacement. Yes, it roiled by buttocks for her to put all of this on the husband. She is wrong to think that way and evil to try to put it on him. But it is very very human. "He made me do it!" is the cry of every single person who seeks absolution from responsibility since we were five to when we became ex Presidents.

It is the same with her excluding her husband at that introductory award ceremony. She doesn't tell or invite the husband because he will be like Roger Chillingworth, the doctor in The Scarlet Letter. Her village might be clapping for her roundly (like the preacher in SL) but Chilliingswroth is there, sneering in the corner, reminding her that she as feet of clay.

With that how she sees her husband, is it any wonder she is so cold and distant. He is the reminder of her failures as a mother and as a wife. He is her moral scapegoat.

Claire...I need to know what the hell Claire got out of all this? She is a pretty woman. Was it status? Was it misplaced feminism? Did she get a cut of the profits? I can get her boning the doctor...sort of. I don't understand what she gained from the CRIMES. Because it is one thing to bone someone out of misplaced passion, love, emotional release. It is another to aid and abet crimes. Maybe I missed this.

So now these two women can wander the miserable ebola laden swamps of Africa seeking absolution...when the actual place they need to go is that stage right in the middle of town. Isn't this kind of fruitless self torture exactly what the BTB people want? (Oh...sorry. It is ACTUAL torture and death...well maybe they will find that too)

Deke is why Trump won. He is a little guy, trying hard and not getting ANY consideration from society. Not the Democratic Party, who could give a shit about his life, just that they have a bite at that patronage apple. His 'best friend' let his wife off the hook and essentially exiled her, so now in addition to his small business, Deke has half the income and benefits, and the added job of being mom to his three bereft sons.

So his 'best friend' fucked him sideways without a thought or apology. Keen!

Our hero? I barely think of him at all. He's a null to me.

I agree with HDK, this is a hard story to rate.. It will need a sequel to finish the story...

Okay, along with Crkcppr, I enjoyed the read, but one thing was never clear to me. Other than her (somewhat) understandable hook-ups while in Africa, I believe

that she was faithful.

She wants to re-connect with her husband, but doesn't invite him to her awards dinner; she pooh-poohs his concerns about Faraji, then spends the Pediatric Benefit dance dancing with Faraji rather than her husband after taking back her

maiden name! Not exactly the actions of a wife who wants to reconcile.

I have to quibble just a bit with my good friend Crkppr: Yes, "The Bridge" and "Jail Breaking" were good stories, but he then ruined "Jail Breaking" with its sequel "On the Lam!"

And my feelings on "Another Love" are well known!

How could she leave them at that age? That says enough about her character.

usual GR apologistic crap. liars, cheaters, criminals are all good people according to his cuckishness. no consequenses for their actions. there's no real resolution. waste of time. AVOID. *

I thought the crime storyline was written well but the wife's was lackluster. It also felt like two different protagonists. The picture you got of him in each storyline was completely at odds with the other and his thoughts really didn't reconcile the discrepancy. A good idea for a story but poorly executed.

Also, you completely gloss over the issue of his kids and the wife just upping and leaving both times.

A criminal story without any erotic, feeling or fishy!!! Wasted time to read!!!

It was an entertaining read,

I usually don't comment but the story's behind the scene complexity was what drove the story more so than most of the surface occurrences. Subplots within subplots within the main plot. In my opinion, it is excellent!

As far as the ending goes, they usually don't bother me, since leaving a story open ended or reaching some satisfactory conclusion, are also what add to a story. That's one reason JPB's stories have me rolling in the aisles

It was neither a RAAC or BTB tale, but a balance between the two, at least in part. A story like this could easily be made into a novel, similar to John Grisham's style.

All in all, a very fine piece of writing.

RichardGerald is one of the better writers on this site. He paints life as it is in reality, messy and complicated. No, the hero doesn't always win and the nasty wife get burned. Some of the commentators need to calm down and remember this is fiction. If you don't like the author why bother to read him and aggravate yourself?

hoping you take this further. would like to know how things went down after simone went off and returned.

A good story well told. It does , however, feel like it is unresolved. My sentiment is that the marriage is toast. She is not committed to the family or him, still I would like to see the struggle continue.

Good story and I agree that there could easily be another chapter or two.

Having thought this through, I think you could expand the story. It leaves a great deal unsaid from Simone's viewpoint. We really have no insight into her thinking or the daughters. You could do a second part to examine the life further along

The problem I have is how such a "good hearted woman" can not come to accept any responsibility for what she did to the marriage. Right from the outset of "that conversation" she was aggressive and blaming it all on him and his attitude from when she arrived back home. Where did the woman he married go? Why did she not even invite him to her award?

If there was reasons you did not give them and what we are left with is a woman that was not at all altruistic in nature but a user for her narcissistic needs.

Very enjoyable story, well-written too.

There are lots of examples of famous people who are so obsessed with their careers that they walk over others and destroy their own families. However, this story goes further than that and portrays her as a nice person. It was impossible for me to accept that a woman seen as kind, helpful and friendly to all could be such a dreadfully selfish wife and mother.

Terrific. Loved it.

Written with great detail but not overly complicated.

I can understand Simone, after facing up to some unimagined horrors, finding that she needed a ' security blanket', reassurance, safety. And yes I realise she cheated, twice.

What I dont quite understand is on her return when she finally confesses she seems to expect her husband to not only accept it and leave it all in the past, moving on, but also be prepared for another similiar episode sometime in the near future.!!

We really need part 2 ...... and please, pretty please, dont make us wait too long.

5 *

Yes, and that is one of the main points that I dislike about this story's writing.

The author, who has some major writing chops, seems to need infidelity as an excuse to write the crime drama he so constantly wants to write.

I go through the scenes and Jerry (?) and Simone...they meet in the bedroom and they do nothing. They meet at a barbecue and they do nothing . They meet at dinner with the kids and they do nothing. They don't talk about this and they don't talk about that. They talks they SUPPOSEDLY have are done off screen and all we get are references to them.

Are you getting some idea why half of this story is so unsatisfying? HIV touched on it: The marital side of this story is unspoken, unexamined, unexplained and not acted. It is two sock puppets ignoring each other.

Now...to be fair, that is frequently how real life is. However I could have used a lot more conversations than two: her infidelity revelation and her demand to know what would fix things. Those were the only 'good' scenes in that relationship . The rest was padding. He had far more intense, meaningful and emotional interactions with Deke and Laura.

Again...RG...look at the category. Is it Loving WIVES or is it 'Minutia of the New York Department of Corrections Table of Organization'? There is a paragraph in the story I wouldn't have missed in the slightest. Yes, this is a bit of flavor text. But like Indian cooking, it is all flavor and very little meat.

HOWEVER, compared to all your other crime dramas, THIS kept it's focus far better. Your side plot actually sort of kind of (squint hard) intersected with the prime story (No, not the special prosecutor). At least it was within the six degrees of separation. (The Wife's Friend's Lovers, political sugar daddy's...enemy...whose son went to school with Jerry)

For a long time I was going to scream at how much hinting you did and how little showing. Jerry kept getting these unexplained epiphanies which not only did you not share, but you also did not sufficiently foreshadow. But I am NOT screaming about this because you had an Agatha Christie scene where Jerry and Mike (it's it strange I remember the names of the subcharacters more than the main?) explain everything.

So I appreciated the layers. I think there was a lot of coloring in the pictures which needed filling in and you colored in all the little pixie fairies around the main picture in far more detail than that of the main drama.

Which did not turn into drama. It was introduced strangers who remained strangers who separated...as strangers. The arc of their relationship ended before the story started.

These are quibbles. I felt a surge of joy at seeing a RG story today. I would either get a tale well told or another excuse to bitch about something. Either way, my day is brighter as a result.

My time was certainly not wasted. Which is to say I liked it.

Deke was not remotely Jimmy's best friend . Deke submitted to the cuck agenda and tried to gather information under guise of guy to guy conversation to pass to Claire and Simone to get Jimmy on board with aforementioned program. Jimmy was saved by the fact , he was successful at his profession and Deke was treading water at his..The economic advantage was nullified in event of resource depleting divorce.

What bound Claire and Simone together ? The same thing that got family females in Jail Breaking ' to ' attempt ' to act in concert to get that narrator to begrudgingly accept his wife taking on a paramour. Blame it on lingering influence of Madonna or Samantha from ' Sex in the City' . Not Samantha Bee who is sassy but not ' one of them'.

This gilded path to femdom seems to be pet theme of RG. How valid is it ? That's debatable, but like wild-eyed Glen Close in climatic " Jagged Edge ' scene , it's hard to ignore and immensely entertaining from a safe distance.

First the comments. Seems to me many are biased against the author due to dislike of his precision stories. FD45 and HDK are notable exceptions and critiqued the plot and the characters thoughtfully. In terms of writing - complicated and hard (but not impossible) to follow. A lot of characters to keep track of. In terms of plot - intricate and complicated. A lot of characters to keep track of. Many comments pointed out the evils of the wife's character, but I found her to be credible, arrogant, and condescending. In terms of entertainment, five stars.

To be upfront, I think you are one of the best authors on the site, but your tales are so strange. Battle between love and altruism? Affair from compassion, not lust? I didn't read any of that. And honestly you didn't do a great job of portraying what happened emotionally between the characters. The legal aspect of the story basically overshadowed the emotional part of the story entirely. I don't really understand Simone at all. Did she really expect to come home like nothing happened? She's this compassionate, selfless person, but can't understand the feelings of her husband and family who need her? Why didn't she want Jimmy to donate his sperm? Why did she have this overwhelming need to keep leaving her family for what you portray as altruism but what I saw as escapism (or even selfishness)? So many unanswered questions...

Also I didn't get any sense of loss or struggle from Jimmy. He was so wrapped up in his own job that I don't think he ever stopped to assess the situation. It didn't seem like he missed Simone at all. He keeps living his life, as pleased as can be.

Also the ending left a lot to be desired. It just sort of ended, Simone leaves again, Jimmy keeps living his life. That's it? Really?

The emotional aspect of this story was way off the mark for me. The legal and investigative part was great. You should write another detective story, but without the wayward wives.

This story started so strong and then went nowhere . # 3 A 3 score at best. Really sad this had so much potential and just wimped ie petered out. The dad ; lawyer seemed to let everyone off the hook including his whore wife

Well written, but long-winded and boring. I don't see why you felt the need to post this in the LW category, as the cheating wife was literally the LEAST relevant storyline in the whole thing. She could've been stricken entirely from the story, or mentioned only as "the estranged wife" and nothing would've changed. To me, it seems like a bait-and-switch, where you used the marriage in turmoil as the hook for what was really a very straightforward and uninteresting legal drama.

Beyond the writing quality, just about the only thing I can praise is the fact that you avoided the psychobabble justifications and had the husband retain his IQ points. He saw and heard things, and trusted his instincts and his brain instead of dismissing it all or making up excuses as to why it couldn't be what it looked/sounded like. So kudos for not making him out to be some idiot blinded by his rose-tinted glasses. I also like that, while the wife is made to seem like a complex and conflicted character in the beginning, her true colors show through soon enough. At the end of the day, she's just a woman who chose her job over her family, and that's it.

Hm, I wonder when a certain someone will be along to claim that a woman would never do such a thing?

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 because I didn't hate it. It just bored me; legal dramas aren't my thing.

would be great friends everybody would be fucking your wives but you two.

This helps to recover from that last story which I hated (as a veteran should). I give this four stars since Jim dragged out his (unknowingly) dead marriage. As a father, I get trying to save it for the kids. She abandons her family again and they all just go on. They barely missed her the second time. Jim realized that her long absence and infidelity made her an ex-wife before she came home the first time. With luck, she will just not return this time. Claire's family would be better if she never came back as well.

Write a story that's entertaining, for the sake of entertaining, not making some kind of statement nobody gives a shit about and I might read it. This pseudopsych/political shit has no place on this site. NO ONE GIVES A SHIT about your dubious moral or political views! This is supposed to be about entertainment. This isn't. One big star for being an asshole.

not erotic. not even LW. just wimpy boring Richard Cuck.

There are some really constructive comments for this story but of course there are those who would be more suited to reading Marvel comics. Good read.

You may enjoy writing stories that mainly pertain to legal matters but this is not the site to post those stories, this should have been a 3 page story at most.

I enjoyed it, thought the wife got off a little too easily, maybe a follow up to tie that up?

Wow. What a comments section. Naturally since this is a LW section, many readers are going to filter a character's nature and worth as a person by the simple filter of infidelity. Simone was pretty much how described. A good and generous person, a bad spouse. She wanted to save the world, but had to have comfort to face the things she tackled. Ah well.

I suppose my biggest issue is, I didn't really care. I didn't care because the story wasn't about the marriage. It was secondary in volume and intensity to the chase after the correctional facility. It was secondary in word count. It was secondary in detail and subtlety. It was secondary to the author. Secondary to the protagonist. Thus it was secondary to me.

This is fine to some degree. If it was a story about a lawyer who was set loose on this unseen role as special prosecutor and pursued it while neglected the festering wound in his marriage caused by his wife's time away from the marriage, her infidelity and the lack of her returning entirely that would be ok. I think it was interesting how the wife pointed out that he was secretive and had never let her in and this seemed surprising to him, but consistent with what we knew of him. He just never recognized he'd been doing such to her for years, because the story is from his perspective.

Anyway, well written. I do wonder at the explosive vitriol we get here sometimes by commenters about a well written story. I do feel as a crime mystery you had some elements you didn't dive into as best you could on the escalation to the commissioner, and what the governor's goal was. I also didn't love the omniscient third party that selected him and somehow knew the goings on in the hospital between his wife and the doctor and existing strain on his marriage. That was a bit too much knowledge from a mid tier civil servant.

I

The author is a good writer. That being said I could have done with more of the personal relationship between husband and wife and less of the rest of it. This would have built up more of the loving wife, cheating drama which is why most of us read here. I would like to ask the author, why in this story, as in so many, when the H knows there is a bad guy(s) who he has overheard say he is going to get in W's pants, does the H not tell the wife? It would seem natural to do so and it would make it impossible for the W to claim that the person is a "good" person. I also feel that the story is not finished. Many people like open ended stories but I prefer a less ambiguous ending and some finality. Nevertheless 5*.

anon.1

So far, the story holds its own pretty well with named commentators but approximately 18 out of 23 Bore-gs Anon Collective ain't having none of the flawed protagonists, antagonists with disconcerting minor laudatory qualities or fancy pants subplotting .. Basically if it ain't BTB , they don't wanna know.

How to please them ?

Don't try. They don't buy books , got either nonexistent or long lapsed library cards and are pissed at life because they can't afford anything over basic cable tier.

" The poor will always be us" sighed the Galilean Savior , so will the poorly read . There's a reason why 4 star restaurants don't serve McNuggets to go and frothy vanilla milkshakes in plastic cups. . Suffer the Bore-g Anon Collective , but don't cater to them. That's sbrooks103 and Ahazura's job.

(1) a bit convoluted; and

(2) doesn't really fit the Loving Wives genre

Oh! school principal, not school principle. Thought that error might have been in one of the other stories I read this morning.

Indian cooking can have as much meat in it as you wish. (~smile)

I hadn't thought about it until I read some comments, but the fact that the marriage relationship wasn't the main focus in a LW story is puzzling.

Your stories tend to be long and convoluted, but enjoyable. I personally would like to see more closure to them but it seems to be your style not to do that, and it is your prerogative to do that. I gave it 5* because it is well written and very interesting.

Thanks

I enjoy your writing style. You evoke emotions that I did not know that I had. Please do not let the story end here. Keep writing!!!

Could do with a finishing chapter.

I am one anon who liked the story and like his work. If you have read RichardGerald, expect to get a story with a cast of male and female characters, a mystery or investigation set amidst the lose to non existent ethics of his Empire State world.

This is one of the better stories that has all the elements, selfish wife, crooked bureaucrats, greedy doctors and the crafty male who somewhat undoes them all. It's New York State,what else would you expect. It's got the mystery, investigation and the conclusion and the fallout.

The common denominator is that the protagonists wife's are always self-centered, scheming women who think nothing of the breaking marriage vows. They all have a reality distortion field around them that enables them to rationalize it. It's not just sex, but the desire to control and its the "do as I say, not as I do" version of life. They either are sluts yet also claim to love their husbands (I know) and rationalize sex outside of marriage.

Simone was a different and more interesting character because her desire for self-gratification in helping others got her addicted to the risk, danger, and then sex of working in war zones and/or failing countries. Once given a taste, she did not want to go back to normal life and responsibilities of her two younger daughters, her husband, her community nor her wedding vows.

This is a common theme in all sorts of stories when a character goes native, gets addicted to the rush from risk and/or looks at their new life and likes it better than the old. In this case it rush disguised as altruism.

Altruism occurs with and without ego, in her case it was ego and the desire for more of it was the driver.

James figures this out and ultimately he nails the issue, it was not so much the sex but that she would abandon her young daughters at the most formative times in their lives.

She wants him to just put it behind them, but it's not the real issue. MSF is like a one time paramour who is always a phone call away and at risk of entering back into their lives.

Gerald's other female protagonists are a grab bag of other scheming sluts (similar to the wife),who delight in cuckolding their man the younger worker bee females and then anti-wife or good female. They either are damaged in some way, or not a traditional female but always serve as his counterpoint.

His sister in this case who is the butch, but has far better mothering instincts after the wife's fall from grace. The irony is that Simone, who is supposed to be altruistic is unhappy that her husband is willing to donate the sperm to his gay sister's wife.

Of course James make the error of being too patient with Simone and not confronting things upon her return. But he is wise enough to figure something is off.

We end up with a good story, a nice mystery to moves us along and always with the male character: Joe possessing more skills than he thanks he has, but also being used as a tool of those in higher power, but getting paid for it and generally better off then when he started the story.

Gave it a Five.

Thanks again for this fine story.

PS: Those annons who trash his characters and stories, if you don't like his style, then don't read it.

I had to review the story to make comments. There where a number of things happening simultaneously. I'm not at all sympathetic with Simone. She never seemed to really want to get back together. She came back standoffish and stayed out late like a single woman. She didn't act like a good mother. The legal subplot was most interesting. Overall it was a very good story.

Should have kicked the cheating slut out with the trash. What a fucked up ending.What ending?

I didn't read it like that.

Deke was stuck in a bad situation. I doubt that his wife said 'we need to rope Jerry into being a cuck' since Deke didn't enjoy it one bit. What he was willing to accept, he would not necessarily inflict on someone else.

I put the actions of Deke and Claire as actually trying to fix Jerry and Simone.

After all, why would CLAIRE want Ejefe to fuck Simone, who was prettier and more accomplished? That makes no sense. Cheaters don't like their lovers loving other people. Claire was a cheat, not a swinger. She was in love, otherwise she would not be abetting crimes.

That seemed blatantly inconsistent to me for the characters as portrayed.

Deke, CALLED on his situation, tried to defend himself. He saw no way out for him or his friend. And he clearly hated his position.

YMMV

Yes. But they normally serve it to you with a casserole full of yellow curry sauce and inside, only 3 small pieces of chicken.

Same here. Lots of flavor text, but the 'drama' elements were few and far between. I happen to like more meat. And all my comments to the cook have been roundly ignored (wink)

Another one that gets 5 stars from me.

A brilliant portrayal of one modern example of "altruism" - that really isn't.

It's just so easy for many people to be "altruistic" to strangers while acting completely otherwise to spouse and kids.

Also perhaps another case of "marry in haste, repent at leisure." The wife here was just way too young and inexperienced to actually get married, and the much "street" smarter husband should have known it. Ah, but one of the most frequent Catch-22's got him, as it got me once in real life as well. Hard to turn down hot sex with a beautiful young woman nightly, especially when she SEEMS desperately "in love" with you. ;-)

She needed a "man" - but pretty much ANY man would do when Hubby wasn't around. Never mind the reason for Hubby not being around was Wifey's total volitional choices - excused as "altruism" and her "sacrifice" for the greater good - except it was her FAMILY that really did all the sacrificing, while she got accolades from society in general and hot sex (enhanced by real danger) in particular.

Well done, once again.

Ending with a separation while the cheating cunt is in Africa and a beautiful woman at home is showing interest in our protagonist isn't an ending. We need to hear about Simone's newest relationship while in Africa, with a husband away from home.

We need a clean break with Simone coming home with AID's!

I agree about Deke being uncomfortable because he had a core decent nature, but do believe he was helplessly enmeshed in Claire's thrall and under her thumb due to him being a few dozen IQ points behind Jimmy in terms of functional , worldly intelligence and psychological insight ( approximately comparable to sub- level intell of average member of Bore-g Anon Collective ).

1) Why would Deke want Jimmy to join him in cuck purgatory?

The same reason one crab reflexively pulls down one of its upper tier brethren who stands a chance of escaping mesh trap. It's probably Hella - Lonely in real life cuckville, not so much in cyberspace.

2) Why would Claire consent to Esjefe branching out to Simone and adding her to his carnal tally ?

There's any number of reasons. 3-somes ? Two hot women with multiple common interests ( cucking hubby, exercise, medical profession) are more like then average to feel sapphic attraction on some level . Crab theory says maybe Claire wanted to drag Simone to her level.

Why , after all, would Claire allow herself to be dropped off first and allow Esjefe the amoral lothario solo time with Simone the night of Porsche dropoff if extramarital exclusivity was of paramount concern ?

3) If Deke and Jimmy were actual best friends, as you put forth , wouldn't Deke have asked Jimmie for legal help/ advice when apparantly Claire dropped cuck ultimatum or divorce plus economic havoc threat. When Jimmy asked Deke where he learned that Simone and him had problems - Deke got evasive. REAL besties' are far more straightup with each other.

To me , Deke and Jimmy liked each other but hung out because of wives lockstep alliance that transcended even respect for the law which happened when Simone castigated her husband for having arrested Claire for prison imbroglio. Never mind that she knew Jimmy was honorable to bone, Claire was her friend. That elastic moral mindset of Simone is what doomed her marriage.

I respect a lot of your points and have said so in multiple other stories but there are a lot of nuances to pick up on in this tale , I think you should reconsider. the points brought up here.

It needs a continuation, please!

I have you three stars just for the effort.

This story is bad on so many levels. Husband is weak character with no real emotion.

Wife is even worse. She screws half of the Hospital and says she is a good woman.

Pretty damn good tale. Strange characters taking such interesting paths.

Wasn't it odd that Simone did not even mention the fact that she was receiving the award to her husband? Wouldn't any husband react very negatively to this omission and not just act like it was nothing like our husband did?

Isn't the reason Simone took off for second trip to escape her marriage situation and the falderal surrounding her boyfriends prosecution by her husband? Finally, husband is in a great position for the inevitable divorce and getting custody pf his children after Simone has abandoned them twice.

anon.1

I did not find this to be one of Richard's better stories. There is a disjointed nature to the narrative stemming from multiple themes that did not really mesh or at least needed further development. By the way the standing joke in the legal profession is that a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich if the prosecutor asks. Obtaining the indictments in this situation would have been a lark. The thing that makes this story truly memorable to me is the character of Simmone. The BTB readership would dismiss her as a cheater who deserves to die of a dread African disease. In fact Richard has created a female character of amazing complexity. She is a doctor with extraordinary skills willing to forego the financial benefits of her education in order to help some of the most devastated people on the planet. This would merit high praise if it were not pursued on her part with a callous disregard for the feelings of her children and her once devoted husband. So what is Simmone--Angel or demon? Or does it depend upon the world in which she finds herself? If she dies or disappears while providing desperately needed medical care how will her family remember her? In 15 or 20 years what kind of relationship, if any, will she have with her daughters or even grandchildren? These are the sort of questions that will linger for me and they will do so because Richard has crafted a character with a hauntingly uncertain nature. If provoking thought is a writer's goal then Richard has succeeded here,

Well told and entertaining to read. Some grammar errors that were irritating. "I love to hear who the Father...." I THINK you meant that Claire would love to hear who the Father was? There were others. The ending was disappointing in that he seems to be "legally separated" from his wife, but who filed? I assume he did. Does that mean they're getting divorced? And while I believed your outcome of his investigations wherein NO ONE goes to jail, I would have preferred some of them go to jail. If only to give the appearance that he was more successful in his work. Since he has burned so many bridges what is he going to do to make a living? Go back to his $60k a year gig IF he can even do that anymore? I felt he got the short end of the stick in this deal. IF he gets divorced his wife will likely get custody and he'll really be out in the cold. I don't see Tara being happy if he wants or needs to play "Daddy" to Lisa's kid if he loses his kids in a divorce. This really needs a followup chapter to close out all the loose ends. Without a further chapter this is a "3".

Very long story without an end. Great story right up to the last sentence.

At least tell us he divorced her cheating ass. He should take her to the cleaners. I gave it a 3 until there is more.

Of pumping up Simone as a descendant of God but it is clear for anyone with half a brain that she is nothing more than a selfish spoiled heartless Cunt who treats her husband and family as servants. But then the husband is a poster boy for Losers Our Us. He is supposed to be this worldly guy criminal lawyer but yet totally clueless about his Cunt wife and totally balless. After the first couple of pages you just don't care about him or anyone else. It just doesn't work. Nor does it matter that he grew a set later. It was just too late.

Really enjoyed your story. Would be nice to have it continued.

I didn't mind the detective story in this, but in the end it left a dry taste in my mouth, and I kind of looked back at what I read and asked myself what it was I read. I realize 'real life' stories don't always have happy endings, but this story had a lot of potential and just kind of died without any real resolution. Has Jimmy given up on Simone, has Simone decided that her work is worth more than her family? There are people like Simone out there, who are much better with other people than with her own family, there is a classic stereotype of the liberal who sees everyone's else's pain yet cannot see the pain in their own family, so that resonates.

And so much isn't explained..why does Simone not invite him to the award ceremony, is it humbleness or something else? Why does she do the gala under her maiden name, if she loves Jimmy the way she claims to. And how can she not realize that her behavior after coming back from Africa is why Jimmy is all closed up, she isn't stupid, is she deliberately trying to drive him away?

In the end if you take away the criminal detective story and the sideline with his sister you end up with a story of a husband and wife that is kind of like a Seinfeld episode, something about nothing, you don't really understand either Simone or Jimmy that much, it is more like some old Swedish movie by Bergman where the marriage just kind of bores itself to death, and that took it down a notch for me. The lack of a real ending is part of this, it implies Jimmy will end up with the governor's assistant, but the relationship with Simone has't really died despite them being separated. I think Simone really does love Jimmy, and the way the story is written we never figure out why she does what she does, why she defends the people in the story he is prosecuting, why she claims to want to keep the marriage going, even when she says she is leaving to go to Nigeria, I think she probably does, but why can't she find it in her heart to realize why Jimmy pulled back, why her whole time back from Africa she basically treated him as a fuck buddy in the night, like the guy she screwed in Africa, and not her husband who she apparently loves. She openly admits keeping the scummy surgeon on a string, knowing he is a sleaze, and basically tells her husband he is waiting for her as her 'real man' if her husband doesn't come through..that doesn't make sense, she can't be that cold hearted a bitch, it makes no sense.

Real relationships are complex, but this one, maybe because the story ends where it does, makes no sense in any terms. I know I am a romantic at heart and I would hope that two good people find their way back, but at the very least I would have liked to see someone in the end come out of this happy, if not both of them, even if they didn't get together again, but as it is left they are to flawed but good people left drifting in the wind.

This story needs to decide if it's a crime drama or a tale of adultery and reconciliation (or revenge). I found the investigation part of the story to be annoying and a distraction. Even though it was well told, it was not integral to the plot. There was nothing in it that added to the main conflict of the story (the wife cheating and the fallout from it).

Everything in the story should add to or feed off of the main conflict between the characters. You never really dealt into what was going on in the marriage, We got dragged along trying to care about the crimes being investigated while you ignored their relationship and the wife's God complex and how it destroyed their marriage. There was a lot of red meat left on the bone that could have added depth to the story. There were so many threads that had potential that were abandoned. At the end, the whole thing ended with a whimper or, at best, a 'meh'.

It might have been interesting to have the wife involved in the sex scandal. Then the crime drama would have actually had some relevance to the plot.

I know you’ve got to stop someplace, but this story didn’t feel finished. I hope you come back with a sequel. What happened to his wife and Claire? Did they come back from Nigeria? Was she just stringing him along or did she really want to reconcile? Did they or was he able to start a new relationship with Carrie Wilson and live happily ever after? Wish I could write the way you do but the best I can do is read and wish for more. Thanks Richard Gerald.

She just had this little flaw about fucking black dudes in Africa that weren't her husband.

Hitler was a a great guy, too, he just had this little flaw about killing Jews.

Since I didn't know where the author was going to take this, it required me reading the entire story, then many of the comments, to realize I actually understood this couple's problem from the very beginning of the story: The marriage ended when the husband and wife decided the first time to let the wife leave her family to work in Africa. Maybe after the kids were grown and the husband could accompany her, or they both retired, or they finally admitted that they didn't have much of a marriage anyway. But a decent wife and mother doesn't abandon her family for ANY reason, and a decent husband Does Not allow it. They made a commitment to each other, then to their children. She wanted to go off and save the world. He was too lame or lazy or insecure or unsure of himself to guarantee her she would be a divorced woman if she left. Period. The marriage was over when Simone went to Africa. Simone gutted and shit on its dead body when she decided that fucking was a biological need rather than an expression of love and commitment. Simone will spend the rest of her life being a good doctor and part of her life being a great fuck. Eventually she will be a famous doctor, and a worn out fuck. She will never recover being a decent wife or mother, and never be a real woman. And she won't even notice, as long as she has her work. Her self-anointed saint hood will be almost as obnoxious as her life long opinion that her husband was just too narrow and petty to allow her to fully blossom to her full potential. She did her daughters and husband a favor losing herself early in their lives, so maybe they can find a real woman to replace the professional mannequin their biological mother had become.

Why didn't you just tell us the really compelling and heart wrenching story of a woman who loses herself and her marriage for what she thinks is the greater good, and the closest warm fuck when she feels the need. The really interesting story is buried, the same way a really interesting woman buried her heart and soul. Too bad.

Really good writing, largely wasted.

Reminded me just a bit of Jack Nicholson in Chinatown with a better twist at the end. I am going to be following your talented pen in the future. Thanks for this totally entertaining yarn!

This RichardGerald upstart cruelly and purposefully forced me to bring my reader A game to fully understand his free story . Bland it up for me , Brightboy or else .

Everyone is telling you the same thing, RG!

I won't call this a failure of a story, but one with a fucked up emphasis and a total violation of what you STATED you wanted to dwell on.

The question YOU asked is how does one 'toss out' a 'saint' who cheats?

Was this question addressed in any way? No. The closest you got was some (cheating) family friends warning him of the perils of divorce...which are the same if she is a saint or a stay at home mom, and conversations with his sister and her lover, which again, had nothing to do with sainthood.

Nor were his inner ruminations at 'how selfish a prick am I that I am keeping this woman from saving lives'. He didn't care. And so I did not care.

Nor, when the rubber hit the road, did she try to USE her sainthood to save herself. "I saved 53 kids with gunshots the last 14 months!"

Nor did anyone else, with a media blitz of 'what a piece of shit is this guy at divorcing this beautiful and accomplished woman', assail his decision.

(I will gloss over the fact that no decision was ever actually MADE in his marriage...nor anything else of note happening except vehement bouts of 'not talking about things' and some vigorous sex.)

Please note: This is a good story, with too many layers, the wrong emphasis, and some interesting ideas and flavor. But I am not the one who laid out the premise.

You did and you didn't answer it. Instead you spun off into 'Special Prosecutor Land' where obviously going after prison hacks is much more important than his marriage and the mental welfare of his two daughters. Maybe that is more important to you. The readers have a far different desire.

My suggestion? Get a beta reader or two. Ones whom you will LISTEN to. When you start going off the rails with your crime drama nonsense, they can ask you 'what the hell about SIMONE?' and maybe get you back on track.

Probably not. But it is worth a shot.

There were two stories going and you never treated either of them in a complete manner. Seems to me you tried to bake two cakes and in one you left out half the eggs and in the other you shorted the flour.

good read, I don't bother about spelling, who's perfect

and needs another chapter or 2

Five stars. I can understand the criticism, but this is such a true to life story. Is there resolution? I actually think there is. Is it the "kick her to the curb" kind? No, but that's the way life is. This should be rated much higher. The writing is excellent and the storyline has multiple layers. I can't agree with those who complain that the prison story is the main plot and the LW the subplot. Both came together. You just became one of my favorite authors. Look forward to much more.