Finding Bathsheba Book 2Chapter 15
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"Several days ago an acquaintance approached me about my family," Sharon said, as she looked down into the dark liquid that filled her cup. She noted how the liquid rippled as she cradled the cup in her trembling hands.
"What did this acquaintance say?" Bill asked quietly.
What did Dr. Goodwyn really say? Much of the conversation was lost in the murky depths of her frazzled mind, but she couldn't shake the feeling she got from her conversation with Dr. Goodwyn, and this disturbed her. That was why she now found herself sitting on the soft sofa in Bill's warm, comfortable office, baring her soul once again to her spiritual leader and confidant. She snapped herself from her trance and looked up at Bill.
"He, um, he told me news about my family, about my daughters, and Jack."
"Was the news good?"
Sharon nodded and then shrugged. "Analise had a baby. A boy. She named him Josh ... Joshua, I guess. That's a nice Biblical name."
"I take from your words that you weren't aware that you had a grandson."
"No."
"I didn't realize you and Analise had ceased communicating. Was that your choice or hers?"
Sharon winced. What he wanted to know was whether she had cut Analise out of her life just like she had Abigail and Allison. His question, while necessary, still cut her to the core. Sharon felt her first tears begin to fall. Bill leaned forward and held a box of tissues towards her. She set her cup down on the table in front of her, snatched three tissues from the box, and wiped her eyes and nose. Then she gave a rueful chuckle.
"I must be the worst mother in the world. I cut two of my daughters out of my life and the other cuts me out of hers." She still couldn't bring herself to pick up the phone to call her daughters—any of them. She choked back a sob.
"It must feel like that right now, but believe me, Sharon, you are wonderful mother, proven by the fact that Abigail and Allison have such love and compassion and carry themselves with a confidence that they obviously learned at a young age. And Ben, as fine a young man as I've ever seen, would defend you to within an inch of his life if that was ever needed." Bill sat back with a sigh. "You are definitely an influence for good, given the other ... negative ... influences in their lives."
Sharon knew to which negative influences Bill was referring, and truth be told, she didn't have the strength or will to defend her husband anymore. Bill's comment, however, forced to her consciousness the part of her interaction with Dr. Goodwyn that really made Sharon uncomfortable.
"This ... acquaintance, he asked me some questions about Ted."
"Oh?"
"Well, really just one question, but it held some pretty strong implications." She took a deep breath. "He asked me if I really know what kind of man Ted is. What kind of question is that to ask a woman about her husband of nearly 30 years?"
Sharon expected Bill to look surprised or even humored at the question, but he instead raised an eyebrow and rubbed his jaw.
"What do you think your acquaintance was implying?" Bill asked.
"Well, I..." Sharon stammered. She was back to that question. What DID she think he was implying? "Well, he was questioning Ted's decision to cut off our contact with our daughters, questioning other actions. What was I supposed to infer from the question? Clearly Dr. Goodwyn thinks Ted might be involved in some things that might be in poor judgment or questionable."
"And what do you think?"
"Ted has done many wonderful things." The intense look in Bill's eyes made her stumble on. "I mean, he's helped lots of people. I admit I sometimes question his choice of who he helps, and his views on some moral issues seem..." She shook her head. "I've never seen nor heard Ted do something illegal or unethical."
Bill didn't say anything for nearly a minute, content to just sip his tea. The silence seemed eternal to Sharon and began to unnerve her. She couldn't think of anything else to say, so she sipped her tea as well, and she thought. She sometimes wondered why Ted chose the people to help that he did, but as it was really related to the affairs of the bank, she never voiced her questions aloud. He often spoke of the many good things that he and the bank did for people in the community, but he never spoke of problems. Surely, he encountered some. Maybe that's what all of those late nights in his home office were about. What DID he do behind the closed doors of that office? She thought she knew her husband, but did she really?
She felt renewed anger towards Phil Goodwyn for raising these doubts, as well as disappointment in Ted for giving her any reason to doubt in the first place. Her anger was interrupted by Bill's next question.
"Sharon, do you feel loved by your husband?"
"My husband loves me," she answered, automatically.
"That's not the question I asked, though," he said gently. "Do you FEEL loved by your husband?"
Sharon paused to think about his question, and she was overcome with the all the feelings she'd been trying to repress for more than a year. She felt that Ted was more devoted to his work than his family, that he was more intent on doing things to show the community how good he was than on trying to show her how much she meant to him. She felt that he was becoming increasingly self-serving.
There was only one way to answer Bill's question, if she was being honest, and she had no reason not to be.
"No. No, I don't feel very loved," she said, as new tears silently trickled down her cheeks.
Bill frowned. "I'm sorry, Sharon, to come back to these difficult questions. We've discussed the state of your marriage before, and you had concerns then. Before you can truthfully answer Dr. Goodwyn's question, you need to work out your feelings towards your husband." He leaned forward. "I'm going to ask you some questions. Don't worry about thinking beforehand exactly what you want to say. Just answer, verbalize your feelings, and we'll work through this together."
She dropped her head in defeat, but nodded for him to continue.
"How does your husband make you feel?"
She fought down the instinct to try to form the "right" words, and just started talking. "He makes me feel like a subordinate, like I'm an employee who provides good service to him. Kind of like how he refers to Jean, his assistant. Jean manages his office; I manage his home. She gets his coffee and schedules his lunch reservations; I cook his supper. She keeps his life organized; I birthed and raised his children." She felt the anger begin to swell inside her again, and she laughed derisively. "He's as happy with me for giving him three daughters as he is with Jean for establishing an efficient filing system. Oh, but giving him two sons? That's akin to Jean helping close on a successful business venture." With the wounds laid open, she bled it out. "I married him because my father wanted it, even though he wasn't the man I really loved. But when I made those vows, I committed to him completely, and I quickly grew to love him. I hoped he would grow to love me, but now I wonder if he even has it in him to love anyone but himself. I've been telling myself lately that he's not really the man I married anymore, or that I wasn't really sure what kind of man he was. I was lying to myself. I've always known what was most important to him. When a business partnership ceases to be beneficial to him, he ends it as quickly as he feasibly can. Allison and Abigail, they were a business partnership destined to lead him to bankruptcy."
Sharon stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. The tears were still there, but now they were fueled by righteous anger. Though she had not planned any of her words, she knew with certainty that everything she said was true. Sure, she would second guess her statements in the days to come, would be overcome with guilt and feelings of betrayal, but none of that would change the fact that sometime in the last year, not only had she lost her love for her husband, she had come to loathe him. That thought brought a sense of hopelessness, even as she felt relief at finally being able to speak her feelings. With a new understanding, she looked up at Bill.
"What do I do now? I've given up my children for a farcical, loveless, marriage with a man I hate."
Bill placed his hand on Sharon's knee and squeezed it gently.
"Sharon, I have sensed for some time that you are not truly happy or at peace with yourself, nor with God. God wants his children to be happy, and by that I mean true, eternal happiness. I don't know what's going to happen to you. I don't know where things are going to end up with your husband, or with your children. What I do know is that there IS hope. What God wants for you is still attainable. Whether you search for it with or without Ted, is left up to you to decide. Through faith and prayer, Sharon, and courage to follow your heart, you will know what is right. Just remember, you will never be alone in this search."
Bobby wondered if he was making the right decision. Truthfully, he knew he was, but he was scared. Not that it mattered anymore, since his mother now knew everything. That had been the hardest part, seeing the horror on her face, the supreme disappointment. That she kept wondering aloud how she had failed as a mother was like a knife to his heart.
His mom choked back another sob. "Your father would be so ... devastated," she whispered, despair evident in her voice. "Your aunts always talk about how good a brother he was to them, how he tried so hard to protect them from boys like..." She bit back the obvious last word with a whimper and a sniffle.
Protect them from boys like ... YOU, she was going to say, and Bobby was too ashamed to even acknowledge her comment, which was like so many she had said since he confessed earlier that evening.
He looked down at his hands in his lap, turning one to look at the photo cupped in his open palm. He lovingly rubbed his thumb over the visage of Melissa, the one girl he ever truly loved. She was now attending an alternative school while she received counseling to deal with her trauma. He was pleased that she seemed to be recovering, no matter how slowly, and she seemed more and more comfortable with his visits.
A solitary tear splashed onto the photo, and he quickly brushed it off. There was no way she would want anything to do with him when she found out that not only did he witness Tyson's "sex game" and do nothing about it, but that he also participated. Much to Bobby's distress, he was sure Melissa was lost to him forever.
"Where did I go wrong, Robert?" She never called him by his given name, always using his nickname instead. Hearing it now thrust another dagger into his heart. "I did the best I could, after your father died. I taught you to respect girls, to respect yourself, and then this? That poor, poor girl." Another strangled cry as she turned her head away from him.
As it often did, the images flared into his conscious mind, and he was unable to repress them. Chrissy had already been naked, and clearly out of her mind. Matt Painter, Bobby's former best friend, held her face tilted up, his fingers clamped tight on her cheeks so she couldn't close her mouth, while Seth Jordan poured more booze down her throat. Her face was stained with tears, but she was laughing, Bobby had told himself, she was smiling and it wasn't hard to ignore the fact that the smile never reached her glassy eyes.
Matt let her go and she collapsed onto the floor at his feet. Bobby couldn't remember who picked the tiny girl up and put her on the coffee table, or who the first guy to fuck her was, but pretty soon, it was a free-for-all. Bobby should have stopped them or something, but he didn't. He didn't even leave. Instead, after everyone had had a turn, they looked at Bobby. They plied him with more liquor and taunted him, until he gulped one final mouthful of liquid courage and took his turn with her. Per Tyson's rules, though, he pulled out just before the end and finished in her mouth, and thus completed Chrissy Pelphry's gang bang.
Gang rape.
Bobby scrunched his eyes shut and fought to keep the vomit down, desperately trying to erase those images from his mind. He wiped at his eyes and winced from the residual ache of his black-eye, another unwelcome gift from Tyson and his sycophant, Adam.
"We had high hopes for you, Robert," his mother said. "College, track scholarship, and now..." She looked at her watch and sighed in frustration. "Where is Mrs. Lewis?"
Bobby ignored his mother and focused his attention on Melissa's picture. It was a small one, given to him after freshman year. He didn't turn it over to read the message she wrote on the back, but he knew what it said.
'Bobby, thanks for being such a wonderful boyfriend. I love you because I know you'll always treat me right. Oh, and you're damn cute, too! I love you always and forever ... Melissa XOXOXO'
Another, different message entered his thoughts.
"You have to come forward with what you know," Brianna had said, in the waiting area outside Melissa's hospital room.
It was too late for Melissa, Chrissy, and all the other girls, but maybe Bobby could stop it from happening again. This was the hardest, scariest thing Bobby had ever done, but he owed to all those girls. He owed it to his mother and the memory of his father. He owed it to himself.
"Mrs. Jensen?" Bobby didn't look up, but he recognized the voice of Officer Warner, the female officer who had handled Melissa's suicide attempt.
"Yes, hello, Officer Warner."
"Please, why don't you and Bobby come back to my desk?"
Bobby somehow found the strength in his legs to lift himself and carry his body after the two women. They stopped at an office with four desks, two of which were already occupied.
"Do you think we could talk in privacy?" Brenda Jensen, asked the officer.
"Sure, sure." Officer Warner didn't say anything else, but the other officers gathered some things and left the office. She closed the door behind them and gestured to the seats between the desks. Bobby pulled a chair next to his mother's in front of Officer Warner's desk.
"Well, I was surprised to hear from you, Mrs. Jensen. What can I do for you today?"
Bobby couldn't look into the eyes of the officer, so he glanced at his mother. She looked back at him with red-rimmed eyes that suddenly seemed unsure. Their interaction must have intrigued the officer.
"How is your friend, Bobby?" Officer Warner asked, as she settled into her seat.
Bobby looked at the picture of Melissa in his hand and tried to gather his courage. "She's ... OK. Doing better," he answered, without looking up.
"That's good," she said. "Looks like you have a nasty bruise, Bobby." Bobby flicked his eyes to her, and her eyes opened wider. "Oh, nasty BRUISES, I should say, though they appear to be healing well. Get in a fight?"
The images from his altercation with Tyson just a little more than a week ago flashed into his mind. In hindsight, it was stupid to confront the bastard in front of his friends, but Bobby hadn't been thinking straight. He was angry and demanded Tyson confess to what he did to Melissa. Tyson laughed at him, so Bobby got in his face. He didn't see Adam behind him, but he felt the pain as the huge guy's fist sank into his side. Then he held Bobby while Tyson basically beat the shit out of him. Countless blows to the stomach, two shots to the face, even, one that split his lip and bruised his cheek, and the other which blackened and swelled his eye shut. Between punches, Tyson gave Bobby the detailed description of what happened at the party where Melissa got knocked up. Then he told Bobby WHICH party, and reminded Bobby that BOBBY was getting drunk in the backyard, while Tyson and a dozen other guys were upstairs fucking his "slut ex-girlfriend". Adam gave Bobby another kidney punch and let him go. Even as angry as he was, Bobby had no fight left.
"Well, that's part of why we are here," Bobby's mother finally answered the officer. She glanced towards the closed door behind her, clearly hoping that their attorney would show up at that moment. "Bobby has been ... involved in some things, and he, um, he would like to talk to someone about them."
"Oh? What kind of things?"
Bobby felt Officer Warner's eyes on him, which made him want to shrink into his chair.
"Officer Warner, Bobby is a good boy, always has been. His father and I have tried to teach him right from wrong, but when his father passed away four years ago, Bobby became a bit ... misguided, I guess. I tried to raise him the best I could, and he has good grades. He is going to college on an athletic scholarship ... er, at least we hoped he would, but..."
She let out another strangled cry, unable to continue.
Officer Warner came from behind her desk and leaned on it in front of Bobby.
"What's going on, Bobby?" she asked firmly, but gently.
"Maybe ... we should wait ... our attorney..." Brenda choked out.
Bobby looked at the picture of Melissa again, focused on the beautiful smile and the light in her eyes, and vowed again to stop Tyson from stealing those two things from any other girl. He looked up at Officer Warner.
"I want to talk to you about my girlfr--um, about Melissa." Bobby was surprised at how strong his voice seemed, and he felt emboldened by that. "I know some things I didn't tell you, about some guys that, um ... I used to be one of them, but just the once, and I don't want to be, you know, be like them ... anymore. I'll take whatever happens to me if it means they can't do stuff anymore, like what happened to Melissa..."
Detective Warner motioned for him to stop. "Hold on, Bobby. I think your mother is right. You really should have your attorney present."
There was a knock on the door just before it swung open and a young woman rushed in, short of breath. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was detained by a traffic accident." She glared at Officer Warner. "Has anything been said?"
Officer Warner sighed and moved back behind her desk. "He was just beginning to tell me, but I suggested he wait. Would you like a few minutes alone with your client?"
Allison was squatting down next to her backpack, rifling through the textbooks and papers, looking for her missing page of notes.
"Did you find it?" Wendy asked, as she came into the room. Allison glanced over her shoulder at her friend, who was setting a can of Mountain Dew on the desk where Allison was studying.
"Nope," she answered, and turned her attention back to the search.
"Ooh, what have we here?"
Allison suddenly yelped as she felt a tug on the waistband of her panties just above her butt. Her baby tee was short enough, and her low-rise jeans low enough, that she'd obviously given her friend quite a view.
"Hey!" She quickly stood as Wendy tugged the panties and laughed.
"A THONG?! Ooh, naughty girl!"
She let go of Allison's underwear and plopped back to her study spot on her bed.
Allison grinned and rolled her eyes, as she tried to reposition her panties. "What, you don't have at least one thong?" she asked. "Great, now I have a wedgie. Thanks a lot, Wendy."
"No problem. And no, I don't have any thongs. Don't you always feel like you have a wedgie?"
"I didn't mean I had a BUTT wedgie," Allison shrugged, as she unbuttoned her jeans.
"Ooooh," Wendy said knowingly. "THAT kind of wedgie."
Allison noted that her friend at least had the decency to blush.
"As for feeling like you always have a wedgie, not really. You get used to it after awhile." She slid her fingertips under the cloth that disappeared down the front of her jeans and tried to rectify her problem.
Allison had been skeptical, as well, when she and Abigail decided to spice up their wardrobes. One of the first things they'd changed was their underwear. Now, all Allison wore were thongs. She loved the way it looked--no panty lines--and especially loved the way it made her feel ... so damn sexy. It really seemed to increase the incidents of spontaneous intimacy that she shared with her lovers. Just the day before, Abigail had gotten a view probably just like Wendy's a second ago. Instead of yanking up on Allison's thong, Abigail jerked her jeans down without warning, pushed her over so her elbows rested on the dresser, yanked the panty's crotch to the side and ate Allison to a screaming orgasm. Then, while Allison stood panting and quivering, Abigail innocently fixed Allison's panty, pulled the jeans back up, patted Allison's ass and went back to what she was doing, whistling contentedly.
Another side effect to the sexy clothes was that Allison found herself becoming less inhibited around others. Here was a perfect example. She had no qualms with unbuttoning her jeans, reaching inside them and fixing her underwear, even as Wendy watched. If Wendy was uncomfortable, it didn't show. She just went back to reading her notes and sipping her Diet Coke.
Allison pulled the smooth fabric of her thong from between her labia and repositioned the panty until it was more comfortable. "Ah, that's better."
"Hey, Babe's, what's--oh, shit!"
Allison shot a look towards the bedroom door. Ryan and Chris stood in the doorway, both wide-eyed as they looked at Allison with her hands stuffed down the front of her pants. She blushed. Maybe she wasn't COMPLETELY uninhibited yet.
"Quit drooling on my carpet, you thugs," Wendy said, with a laugh.
That pierced Ryan's shock, and he blushed and looked away. Chris, on the other hand, kept his eyes glued to Allison as she quickly buttoned her jeans and zipped it up. His blush had crawled up his neck and practically radiated from his face. Allison pulled the scrunchie from her hair, ran her hands through it a few times, and reformed her ponytail, hoping that this innocent action would ease the embarrassment all the way around.
"What are you doing here?" Wendy asked. Ryan leaned over her and met her with a kiss.
"Movie ... we need to go see a movie," he answered. "I'll drive, we'll pay." He nodded to Chris.
Allison glanced over at Wendy, and thought she caught a hint of guilt in her friend's eyes. That was all Allison needed to confirm her suspicions: Wendy and Ryan were playing matchmakers. This was the third time the boys had just "shown up" while the girls were studying, and the first two times--once to grab a bite to eat, and the other to go to the school basketball game--Allison had gone with them, thinking that it was just a group of friends hanging out. However, Ryan and Wendy somehow found a way to leave Allison and Chris alone each time. Whether he was in on it or not, Chris wasn't stupid. He had stepped up his flirting quite a bit in the last few weeks.
"Sorry, guys," Allison said. "We're studying. It's what serious students do."
"Is that what you were doing just now? Studying?" Ryan teased. "Come on, you are both A students. You'll be fine to take one evening off."
He crept down the sidewalk. That's the only way to describe it. If Tanner could have made himself any smaller, he would have. As it was, he was hunched over, his head down, his hands stuffed into his pockets, and his feet shuffling in tiny steps. It was quite a bit earlier than Allison would have normally started out for school—her desire to get there too early was pretty miniscule—but she was worried about her friend, and not to mention a tad bit perturbed. He was shy and awkward from the...
Brianna pretended to be searching for something in her locker. In reality, she was paying very close attention to the interaction happening at the other end of the bank of lockers. She couldn't hear what was being said, but from the gestures and expressions from Melissa and Tyson, she could make a pretty good guess. Something happened between the couple, and from what Brianna could make out, it had been building. During the last month, the pair went from regular public displays of affection...
Jack closed his eyes and savored the heavenly explosion of flavor in his mouth. The crispy, toasted coconut breading, the tangy citrus of the dipping sauce, the succulent, tender shrimp meat. Abigail chuckled, but he ignored her, chewing slowly in an exaggerated show of enjoying his birthday meal. "You think you're sexy when you make love to your food," Abigail said, "But you're not." Allison giggled. "I think he is." He swallowed his bite, cracked one eye to locate his water...
Ninety-nine times out of 100, a visitor at the front door is an innocuous event: a friend over to visit, a salesperson, a politician, a wrong address. But every now and then that visit means so much more. Abigail could point to monumental moments in her life that began with a seemingly harmless knock on the door. Jack opened her parents' door that fateful fall day to be surprised by Analise's visit, a visit which led to the discovery of his affair with Allison. Her mother knocked on her...
Jack's fingers flew across the keyboard for a minute, then he clicked over to the PDFs of the financial records and scanned down until he found the next set of recurring entries. He copied the text, clicked back to Excel, and pasted them in, then typed up his notes for those entries, too. He wanted to get this done before the girls returned home so he could spend the rest of the day with them. He was enjoying his internship, and found that digging through financial documents for clues and...
Allison seemed unusually preoccupied with her pizza toppings, while Abigail rummaged through the office, looking for whatever it was she was looking for. Jack had just taken a huge bite of pizza when Allison reached over and dropped something into his can of pop. He looked at the can for a minute, then back at her. She grinned, so he raised his eyebrow. "Piece of sausage," she said, gaily. "Just like old times." Jack was confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked, around his...
The field was a mess. Between the November evening temperatures down in the low 40s, and the steady drizzle that Seattle is so famous for, Allison was pretty miserable. Mud covered her from head to toe and clung to her like a thick, freezing paste. She'd given up cleaning her cleats within two minutes of the beginning of the second half, and now her shoes felt like they were made of concrete. She felt like she was running in slow motion AND like she was running on ice. The extra effort to...
"Get up, Ben. Oh, God, please let him get up." Brianna was woozy, but she could still see what was going on. Tyson stood over Ben, a HUGE knife in his hand. He was covered in blood, and so was Ben. Brianna tried to move, but her body wouldn't cooperate. Panic welled up inside her when Tyson turned towards her, an evil grin on his face. "I'm gonna enjoy this," he hissed, as he crawled back onto the bed and between her legs. Brianna mentally screamed at her legs to close, at her arms to...
"What about this?" Brianna said, holding up a soft, cotton bag for Tammy to see. "It's for your shoes so they don't get your clothes dirty in your suitcase." Tammy was zipping and unzipping a rolling carry-on suitcase, obviously testing its durability. She looked up and shook her head. "Plastic bags from the grocery store are better AND cheaper." Brianna thought for a moment. "Good point." She hung the bag back on the hook. It was the day after Independence Day, and Tammy was...
A screaming bladder woke Jack. He looked at the clock and saw that it was a little after three in the morning. He extricated himself from underneath his wife and padded to the bathroom. The faint light from the living room peeked under their bedroom door. That surprised him; Allison hadn't planned on coming home from the after-prom party until after five. He quieted his bladder first, then pulled on his boxers and went out to check on his young lover. He expected to see her sleeping on the...
Allison glanced at Brianna as they took their seats overlooking the water. Brianna caught her and smiled widely. Allison returned the smile and went about preparing her lunch. The two friends had come to downtown Seattle to pick up the wedding gift Allison and Abigail had gotten Jack. They'd picked up the special photo album and were grabbing lunch at Ivar's on the waterfront before heading up to Pike Place Market to get fresh flowers and fruit for the wedding. "Do I get to look at the...
Sweat soaked into Allison's practice jersey as she watched the play from the sidelines. Her team was next up again on the three-on-three keep-away drill, and she was watching the other players closely, looking for their tendencies or weaknesses and trying to determine a plan of attack. This would be her third round in the drill, and so far she was feeling pretty good about her passes and her ability to anticipate her opponents passing lanes. She was a little disappointed with her initial...
"Malthus felt that man was doomed to live a life of poverty because the population, he said, would always grow faster than the food. It was this prediction that led writer and historian Thomas Carlyle to call economics 'the dismal science.'" Jack glanced at the clock on the wall behind the class. He was just concluding the second day of his new teaching assignment, and needed to take care of one last order of business before he set the students loose. "Before we wrap it up today, and...
Allison groaned as she flopped onto the floor. Abigail stepped over her supine sister to take the last box to the master bedroom, then came back out and looked down at her sister. Just watching Allison stretch out on the floor was enough to make the older girl swoon. Allison stretched her arms above her head and arched her back, which forced her youthful breasts to stretch her t-shirt, her tiny nipples little bumps beneath the fabric. By the playful expression on Allison's face, it was...
"See you in a couple of hours, Abbie!" Allison called through the bathroom door. Abigail didn't answer, so she opened the door and stepped into the steamy room. She watched Abigail's murky form through the frosted glass door. Even when she thought she was unobserved, Abigail moved with a sexiness that made Allison's heart thump. The way she glided her hands over her soapy body was mesmerizing. If Tanner hadn't been waiting in the living room, Allison would have stripped down and joined...
Jack wasn't sure if it was the six times Allison asked that evening if she could help him with anything, the eye-rolling Abigail gave whenever she asked it, or the way they practically fought over who got to refill his water glass at dinner or put his dirty clothes in the laundry room a millisecond after he pulled them off. Whatever it was, he knew they were up to something. Allison had just returned from taking the clothes to the laundry room. "OK, both of you, sit down," he said, in a...
Ted was holed up in his home office and had been since mid-afternoon when John had called him about Tyson's arrest. He gave Sharon a cursory excuse for why he was home early, and had even refused dinner. He spent several hours on the phone putting the admittedly rusty gears in motion when the evening news caught his attention. As the reports detailing the charges against Tyson unfolded, Ted felt the urge to panic. It was one thing when the Ramirez ... problem ... surfaced years earlier. It...
Allison reached for the remote, and with a contented sigh, she turned the TV off. "Quit moving," Abigail said, "I'm almost done." Allison nestled back into her corner of the couch and arched her neck so she could see over her bent knees. Abigail had Allison's feet in her lap and was painstakingly painting a toenail. "That's such a good movie," Allison said. "And sexy, too." Allison sighed happily again. "Yeah, I'm glad Pearl stayed with Marty. He's way cuter than...
She was so beautiful, it made Jack's heart hurt. Even after being with her so many times, gazing on her, she was still stunningly beautiful in his eyes, maybe more so now. Jack noticed Sharon watching the visual interplay between the three. She snuggled her newest grandchild under her chin and turned to the others in the room. "I'll go help him with the grill. I'm not sure two men are better than one, in this case." She left the room, kissing the baby's downy hair as she...
"Hello? Anyone home?" Abigail stood up from behind the kitchen counter. "Hey, folks." Brianna and Merrigan stepped into the living room. They were dressed to work, clad in tennis shoes, jeans and t-shirts. Merrigan had a baseball cap on her head, her long red ponytail sticking through the hole in the back. "We're ready to work," Brianna said. "Where's the heavy stuff?" She flexed her biceps. Abigail smiled at the sight of the blonde's slender arms. Another figure stepped...
Allison was just closing her locker when she was verbally accosted by her two best friends. They seemed surprisingly chipper for so early in the morning. Allison was 16, but since her birthday fell in the fall, after school had already started, her parents had years ago opted to delay enrolling her in kindergarten. That made her one of the oldest in her sophomore class. Well, at least one of the oldest in the college bound track. She was also one of the few that had her license before...
They came from different worlds, hers much more privileged than his, his considerably more dysfunctional than hers. Or so he thought when they met. Jack had been to hell and back, a trip he embarked on despite the best efforts of Phil and his grandmother. He had only himself to blame for his demise. At sixteen, he was angry. Angry at God, at the world, at the system, at his grandfather for dying and leaving Jack without another father figure. He was angry at himself. He tried to find peace in...
"We'd love to! It'll be fun ... Nah, he'll be fine with it ... Sure ... See you tomorrow ... Love ya." Abigail hung up the phone. She was lying on the couch with her legs draped over Jack's lap. He tried to focus his attentions on "ER", but his curiosity in her conversation made it impossible. He looked at her, waiting for an explanation. She turned back to the TV and said nothing. "And?" he asked impatiently. Abigail kept her eyes on the TV. "What?" she asked, feigning...
"Hey, Abbie, I'm ho-ome!" came the feminine sing song call from the direction of the living room. Abigail heard the front door shut, but since she was trapped by a wall of boxes in the guest room, Allison would have to seek her out. "I'm in the guest room, Allie!" she called back. She blew some stray strands of hair from her face while she continued to stuff a box with books. A moment later she felt more than heard Allison's presence in the doorway. "Wow, Abbie! You've made some...
A quiet knock on the door woke Brianna from her fitful slumber. She opened her eyes as her mother opened the door. Light streamed in through her blinds, so she knew it was morning. "Brianna, there's a man on the phone for you," she said. Brianna just looked at her. "Jack?" Brianna jumped out of bed and ran across the hall to her parent's room to grab the phone. In the background she could hear her dad in the shower. He was singing some weird freedom rock song, as usual. "Hold on,...
Sharon pulled her housecoat on and stood before the mirror again. What a horrific night's sleep, and she looked it. Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyes were rimmed in red and carrying bags. She had hoped crying the night before would get all the emotions out, but she still felt awful. She washed her face, scrubbing away the stains of her tears, then brushed her hair in an attempt to tame it. She stepped out of the bathroom and saw Ted watching her. "Do you feel better this morning,...
Jack felt her warm body before he opened his eyes. He was just coming into consciousness and one at a time his senses activated. Sense of touch ... Allison was warm, her lean naked body molded to his. Her skin was soft and smooth against him, her supple breasts pressed into him as she lay tucked into his side and shoulder. Jack could feel her warm, moist breath blow across his chest. Sense of smell ... The fragrance hit him next, a mixture of her strawberry shampoo, flowery perfume and...
How? That was the biggest question on Ted's mind as he looked at his adversary. How did Williams find out about all this? How did he get the proof he says he has? How could Williams sound so confident and articulate? And most importantly, how could this lowlife simpleton best a man of Ted's aptitude, intelligence and power? Ted wanted to jump across the desk and strangle the devil. That's what Williams was ... a devil. Yet, Ted knew that in a physical confrontation, Williams would...
"Looovvverrrr ... Rise and shine, Lover..." The quiet angelic voice seemed to permeate every nook and cranny of Jack's exhausted body. Surely it couldn't be morning yet. He grumbled, but refused to open his eyes "Com'n, big guy. Open those beautiful green eyes of yours." Her voice was still so tranquil and sensual. Still, Jack would prefer that it just go away. Allison had fucked him senseless the night before. Now he needed sleep. He refused to acknowledge her attempt to pull him...
Allison's pussy quivered. She looked down at Jack as she straddled him, his cock wedged inside her wet cunt. He'd come over for some private time. Her parents and brothers were at a road football game, Abigail was working and Analise was visiting some friends. Allison closed her eyes and began to rise and fall on his cock. It felt so good, each time together better than the last. She smiled and then looked down at him. She realized that he'd stopped moving, and she noticed his eyes were...
Analise's stay lasted another five days, and each night she visited Allison's room. Allison was able to get herself off twice while going down on Analise, but neither was all that pleasurable. It was very apparent that all Analise wanted was her own pleasure. Once, Allison tried to stop her, but Analise only had to mention Abigail's name, and Allison's defense would be breached. Allison loved Abigail too much to let her find out about her affair with Jack this way. Allison realized that...
Allison heard the knock on the front door, but didn't move from her seat on the edge of her bed. She listened to the muffled conversation down the hallway. "Why, young Mr. Merrill!" Her dad. "Nice to see you this fine evening." "Thank you, Mr. Garner. You are looking quite well today." Allison rolled her eyes. Tyson the Charmer at work. "And you, Mrs. Garner, are looking as lovely as ever." "Come with me into the den. Sharon will go see if Allison is just about ready. Could I get...
Allison bounced up from her spot on the living room couch and practically flew to the door. She opened the door and shrieked as she wrapped Abigail in a tight, though sisterly, hug. Abigail kissed her cheek. "Hey, Allie Cat." "Abbie, I'm so glad you made it over." She pulled Abigail into the room, shut the door and hugged her again. This time Abigail kissed her on the lips. The kiss was firm, and filled with passion. Allison moaned when she felt Abigail's tongue seek hers. The kiss...
Grandma and Grandpa Fuller. Phil Goodwyn. Abigail. Allison. Jack tightened the knot on his tie as he thought of the people who never stopped believing in him. Each one did his or her part to bring him to this point. Sure, he had to change himself first before he could start on this path, but it would have been a lonely, virtually impossible journey without the people who cared about him. Leaning closer to the bathroom mirror, he fixed his collar. "Yummy," Allison said from the doorway of...
"If I try these things on, will you give me your honest opinion?" Analise asked Abigail, as they came through the door of their parents' house. "I don't want to look like a fat cow on my honeymoon." "Nothing can be as bad as that piece of granny underwear I got at my shower," Abigail remarked, laughing. "Are you talking about the atrocious shapeless one from Patty?" Analise threw her bags on the loveseat in the family room. "No doubt. It was the worst. Bet Jack loved it." "I...
Jack was sitting in his car outside of Dana's house, waiting for Allison. He was very anxious. It was Sunday morning, and he still hadn't been able to talk to Allison. By the time he dragged himself out of the bed the previous morning, she'd already gone off with her friend. Before she left, she had informed Abigail that she would be staying at Dana's that night, but would need someone to pick her up and take her home the next morning. So here he was, waiting for her to make an...
Allison lay in bed, wondering about the day and what lay ahead. She and Abigail had decided on a way to confront Analise about the rape and blackmail. Allison smiled at the mental image of Analise's face when she realized her scheme was over. However, it didn't take long for Allison's mind to wander back to Abigail. It all made sense to her now. When she was explaining her rationale for her relationship with Jack, it just all kind of fell into place. Sure she loved the way that Jack had...
"Hey, beautiful," Jack said into the phone receiver. "Been busy today?" "Definitely. We slept in, but we took a cab up to downtown and visited some of the sites. We had dinner at a great seafood place overlooking the waterfront." Abigail hesitated a moment, seemed unsure. "Jack, there's some stuff we need to talk about." Jack's blood went cold. "Um, OK. What's up?" Did she know? Had Allison confessed their indiscretions? He wouldn't blame her if she did and part of him wanted...
"Look what I bought." Abigail came bounding down the stairs into her parents' family room. Allison was reclining in an overstuffed chair flipping through a magazine. She had been waiting for her sister to arrive for their usual midday rendezvous, but Abigail was late. Allison let out a frustrated breath. Abigail was never late for these meetings. They'd worked out a nice system over the last couple of months. Abigail would come over after Allison got home from school, usually about 3:30....
Abigail let her eyes flutter open. An unusually bright light streamed through the parted window curtains. She smiled. The annual spring snowfall. Every March there was a late snowfall, and it seemed to always catch everyone by surprise. It was Abigail's favorite snowfall when she was in school because it came late enough and was big enough to force schools to close their doors and break the monotony of the spring semester. Even now she liked this snow because it was usually the wettest snow,...
"Do you think he'll be awake?" Allison asked, pointing at the clock on the radio. It was just after two in the morning. "Definitely," Abigail answered. "We vowed we'd never go to bed angry with each other. He'll be awake." The two had drifted off to sleep, wearied by the emotion of the day and the passion of their lovemaking. When they woke, they knew they had to make some decisions. The news of their sister's pregnancy threw another wrinkle into the relationship, and Abigail knew...
"You'll never see Allison again." Jack felt the anger rise inside him again. That was Ted's last statement before they parted company. Jack scoffed at the idea of leaving his wife and her sister behind, but his father-in-law was insistent. He never raised his voice, but the venom was evident. "I'm not an unreasonable man," he had said. Jack laughed out loud now as he drove his car back to his house and hopefully to his waiting wife. Ted agreed to redirect the rumors until Jack's...
Sharon quietly polished the silverware. They'd needed it for a while, but it wasn't a task she particularly liked, so she usually waited until she had something on her mind. Then she could polish and think. This was one of those times. She glanced nervously at the clock, quietly wondering what was keeping Allison. She prayed that her youngest daughter didn't do anything rash. She thought back through the day, wondering what she could have done differently, what she could have done to...
Abigail shoved the last thick file folder into the overstuffed drawer, then plopped down in her desk chair. She fantasized about working in a paperless office, and wondered if she should ask about that when she interviewed for jobs in Seattle. It was hard to believe that she and Jack—and hopefully, Allison—would be moving in less than a month. She hoped that something would pan out with one of the interviews she'd been able to line up. She checked her desk calendar. She would be flying out...
Ted stood in the doorway of his house and watched his family getting in the car. He glanced at his watch. They still had time. "Sharon," he called to his wife. "We have one issue we need to take care of before we leave. Come with me to my office." She nodded in acknowledgement and said something to Allison and Ben. Just then Brad brushed past him without a word and made his way to the car. Ted saw Sharon's eyes widen with surprise at the sight of her oldest son, who didn't even glance...
"Earth to Ja-ack!" Jack's wife said, snapping his attention back to the present. "Where'd you go?" He blushed when he realized he'd really zoned out. "I, uh, I started reminiscing. You know how the mind works. One memory leads to another which leads to another and so on. So I guess I was taking a ride on a memory roller coaster." Her eyes twinkled at him. "That was bad, Jack. Memory roller coaster?" He shrugged. "Trust me. It was quite a ride." "Want to talk about it?" He...
The day of the party arrived. Briony turned up on time and was met at reception by Tom as arranged. She was wearing a 'little green dress', dark green which enhanced her eyes. It stopped just above the knee and her forearms were bare. It showed off her pretty figure. She had pearl earrings and a pearl necklace. On her right wrist was a gold charm bracelet. Tom thought she looked stunning and told her so. She smiled her thanks happily to him. She linked her arm through his and he led her to...
The company won the contract and everyone was thrilled and delighted. There was another party but it was drinks only and Tom and Briony decided that only he should attend. Clive was miffed. He had hoped to work on Briony again. He said nothing though either to Tom or Angela who was required to accompany him. The project management team deployed. For the first three months work was devoted to site clearance, access to and within it. Then construction started: foundations and piles. All went...
At university Tom had been a member of the shooting club specialising in pistol. He still had his .22 automatic. There was no time to obtain export or import permits but he determined nevertheless to take it with him. He placed it in the middle of his hold baggage and hoped it would not be found. If it was he would just have to surrender it. He also took some ammunition. The eight hour flight was uneventful and straightforward. Tom and Susie chatted inconsequentially for a while and then...
It was clear at breakfast that Susie had not slept well if at all. Jenny was still with her. They ate their breakfast in silence. Susie only picked at hers. She was in no shape and far from her usual vibrant self. As they drank their coffee Tom took her hand in his. "Susie," he said gently, "we've got to go and report this formally to Tony." She nodded resignedly. He told her what he was going to suggest to Tony. "OK," she said listlessly. "I just want to get away from this...
Over a drink and supper Tom told Briony what had happened to Susie and what Tony was going to do about it. "Poor girl," said Briony with feeling. "Horrid, horrid, horrid. On the other hand, she didn't seem that low this evening and she called you a special man so, apart from saving a damsel in distress, what else did you do?" Tom shrugged. "Not a lot really other than be there for her. I told you about Jenny. She was super. She really was." "Go on." "Well, when we got on the...
Everything went back to normal pending the trial. There was a rumour of a possible major new project in Scotland but no more than that. Susie came prancing in the following Monday morning. "Rory would like to meet you," she said to Tom. "I'd like to meet him. Has he got wheels?" "Yes, why?" "Well why don't you both come down for the weekend? I know we haven't got anything on and Briony would love to see you again." "That sounds a super idea but do you mind if I run it by him...
As they were getting ready for bed Briony asked Tom whether he was aware that Susie did not much like Clive. "No," Tom replied. "We've never talked about him probably because she knows that I would never be disloyal about him to one of my section. What's he done to upset her?" "Suggested that after West Africa she might have a crush on you." "That's pretty cheeky." He chuckled. "I know what might have set him off though. The first Monday after it all she was absolutely bubbling...
Tom did his best to concentrate on his work but what Susie had said disturbed him deeply. Why should Clive with a beautiful and intelligent wife of his own want to pursue Briony? He must be nuts if he thought she would respond to his advances. If nothing else he knew they were only relatively recently married. It just did not make sense but yet Susie had been utterly serious. His mind continued to go round in circles. Briony has beaten him home and gave him his usual warm welcome but she...
Angela had foreseen that the weekend with her parents was going to be tricky. The sudden invitation to spend the previous weekend with her sister, Laura, had been a warning. It had been pleasant enough but she knew Laura was observing her throughout and would be reporting back to their mother. Her parents, Arthur and Pauline Foster, welcomed her warmly on Friday evening. After a drink Pauline pulled her and Arthur out to the kitchen. Once Arthur had helped everyone to a second drink he was...
Arthur rang Angela the following morning. "Presumably you want to seek divorce on the grounds of adultery." "Yes, Daddy." "In that case I suggest you move out. Has he ever knocked you about?" "No but I wouldn't put it past him." "You definitely ought to move out." "Not until after next week. It's half term." "Can you maintain a façade?" "No change," she replied bitterly. "Right, Poppet, I can't act for you myself, conflict of interest, but I'll see if Henry...
Despite what Briony had said Tom rang Angela from the station car park on his way to work. "Hello, Angela. It's Tom Clifford. Sorry to ring so early," he began. "Nonsense, Tom. You must think I'm a slugabed." She laughed cheerfully. "What can I do for you?" "Your conversation with Briony yesterday has me worried. I've never really trusted Clive after the first time he met her but do you really think that he'd be up to abduction or rape?" "If you'd asked me six months ago,...
The company dance was held at a large local hotel. There were tables of eight and a buffet supper and two bottles of wine per table. Tom and Briony put their heads together to decide who they would like on their table. Susie and Rory were naturals. Tom suggested Margaret Tennant and her partner and, because she did not belong to a section, Trish and her partner. Briony was happy to agree. With it being an official function there was a top table for members of the board. Betty Nugent had...