Chocolate and Caramel Ch. 01

I watched her reaction. She recovered well.

"That's great honey. I'll hate it late at night, but maybe you'll get that promotion you want out of it. I'll miss you when I go to bed."

I grinned.

"Speaking of that, you're here, I'm here, there won't be any patter of little feet to interrupt us. How about it? Afternoon delight?"

I saw the panic in her eyes. He had just left and I knew she wasn't clean.

"That sounds great, hon. Let me take a quick shower, I've been grubbing around the house all day."

I grabbed her from behind as she turned, rubbing her breasts.

"Ummm. No bra. That'll save time."

She wriggled out of my arms.

"Stop it Bobby! I told you I need a shower."

I wanted to push it as far as I could.

"All right, we'll shower together, make sure we're all squeaking clean."

"No! Give me a minute."

I looked at her, watching as she was unwilling to meet my gaze.

"What's up, girl? You don't want me to touch you, you want a shower before we make love. It's almost as though you're hiding something. Something you need to tell me?"

She actually went pale, no mean feat on someone that dark, before she went bright red.

"You asshole! Is that what you think? Fuck you. No, wait, unfuck you. If you think you're getting any now, you're delusional."

She stomped into the bath and locked the door. I left to go get Josh.

Gram could tell something was wrong.

"You all right, Bobby? You don't look right."

I gave her a big hug, holding it. Her eyes were big when I let go, we didn't touch much.

"You know me and Josh will always love you, right? No matter what."

Tears came to her eyes.

"What did she do, Bobby? Can it be fixed?"

I let my own tears fall.

"No, Gram, I don't think it can."

I picked Josh up and took him to McDonalds for a happy meal. I got the usual stares, ignoring them.

One redneck got a little mouthy, but one look at me shut him up. I was primed and ready, and people could feel it. I did deep breathing exercises to calm down and get centered.

We went home, and he showed his Mom the toy he got in his meal, talking away like any happy four year old. I wondered as I watched him how happy he would be in a few weeks.

Shondra walked around me like the floor was covered with egg shells. I pretty much ignored her unless she asked a direct question. She sat on the couch looking miserable while I got Josh ready for bed. He kissed her goodnight and she wrapped him in a huge hug, only letting go when he started wriggling.

I came back from reading him a story. She had changed into a sheer gown, one of my favorites. She smiled, still looking nervous.

"Bobby honey, I'm sorry about this afternoon. I was just in a bad mood because I can't find another job. Would you like to go to the bedroom with me, let me make it up to you?"

I know I shocked the shit out of her when I refused. It was probably the first time in our lives that I didn't want to make love to her.

"I really don't feel like it tonight. I still think you're hiding something from me. You're not the same woman you were a year ago. If something is wrong, now is the time to tell me. Whatever it is, we can work through it."

There wasn't a chance in hell we were staying together, I just wanted to see if she'd come clean.

She went pale, then red.

"You asshole! The only thing wrong with me is being married to an idiot. I don't know what you've been imagining, but there is nothing wrong, nothing going on. I just need some space."

I looked at her until she dropped her eyes.

"Really? Look me in the eye, swear on the lives of Gail, Josh, and Gram everything is fine between us, and I'll forget my doubts. Swear it, Shondra."

She stood up, not looking at me.

"Fuck you and your over active imagination. I'm going to bed, alone. Don't even think about coming. I hope you like the couch."

I stood up, grabbed her and forced her to look in my eyes.

"I'm sleeping in my bed tonight. I bought it, I paid for it, just like I paid for this house. If you have an issue with that, you're the one who should make other sleeping arrangements."

I went past her into the bedroom, her mouth hanging in shock. Surprisingly, I went to sleep fairly quickly. She was in bed with Josh when I got up.

I left early, without much conversation.

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

I watched from the woods as she took Josh off to her grandmother. Forty five minutes later I saw asshole's car come down the drive. I slipped in the backdoor and turned the recorder on. Ten minutes later Shondra pulled it. They got out and hugged, swapping spit like teens. I had a good 35mm camera with a zoom. I got several very clear pictures.

I waited thirty minutes, getting more and more angry. By the time I slipped in the back door I was in a rage. It took all my training to remain quiet, but when I burst through the bedroom door I was screaming.

To say they were surprised would be accurate. He was doing her doggie, both hands on her sweet ass as he pounded. I took full advantage. Still coupled, My kick knocked them both off the bed.

He never had a chance. I was giving him the asswhipping of his life while Shondra was screaming for me to stop. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and then things went dark.

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

I was in jail, after three days in the hospital.

I tried to sit up but the pain made it too much effort.

I knew the jailer, we had gone through school together. He heard my groan and came in.

"Best lay still, Bobby. You're banged up pretty bad. Broke nose, broke finger, three broke ribs, Hairline fracture on your cheek. You look like shit. Black eyes, and bruises everywhere. He kicked your ass pretty good."

"Why am I in jail?"

"Shit, I forgot. You were out cold when you were arrested. Assault on a female, aggravated assault on a male. Your wife has a restraining order in place. Good thing you're here, you got nowhere else to go."

Two days later I made bail. I got my buddy the deputy to go with me to my house to remove my clothes. I almost lost it when I saw him sitting on my couch.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

He had no idea how bad I wanted to smack that smirk off his face.

"Shondra asked me to be here. I think she's actually afraid of you."

I was about to tell him they both needed to be when I felt Jim tighten up on my arm. Shondra came in just then. She refused to look at me.

"Shondra! Look at me. Are you really sure this is how you want things to be? This will be your only chance to tell the truth."

She looked up sullenly.

"I got nothin' to say to you."

I sighed.

"All right. When the smoke clears, just remember, you had a chance to make it right."

I picked up some clothes and personal items, making sure the tape recorder went with me.

I was in a world of trouble. Aggravated assault was a class C felony in our state. I took the recorder to the room I was renting, and got really lucky. There was thirty minutes of silence, then the bedroom door opened.

Shondra:

"I don't know about this. Maybe we should cool it for awhile. Bobby knows something is up."

Sensei[he insisted everyone call him that]:

"That honky is dumb as a rock. He really thinks you cleaned the dojo for lessons? I was tagging that sweet underage ass the whole time you were dating him. It really pissed me off when you stopped."

Shondra:

"Don't talk about him like that."

Sensei:

"all right. But if he ever finds out, I'll have to kick his ass."

Shondra:

"Don't be too sure about that. You haven't seen him fight lately. He's really good."

Sensei, laughing:

"Don't worry, it'll never come to that. Now, bring that magic mouth over here and let's get started."

There was about five minutes of slurping while he encouraged her.

"Damn, I never get tired of that. Get up on the bed bitch, let me slam this dark meat to you."

There was about fifteen minutes of them fucking while he talked shit. It would have been funny listening to him talk about his massive[five inch]cock if it hadn't been for who he was talking to. He told her to get up on her knees

'like a good bitch'. There was about five more minutes of them slamming together when you could hear the door slamming open and me screaming.

There was about ten minutes of the sounds of me kicking the shit out of him before it went silent.

You could hear Shondra saying over and over "shit, shit, shit"

Then she asked if he was all right.

"Hell no I ain't all right. Is my nose broke?"

You could hear his squeal as she tried to pull his nose straight.

"Ow! Motherfucker, that hurts. Thanks for knocking him out."

Shondra actually showed some decency.

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for him. I really thought he was going to beat you to death."

"Asshole caught me by surprise."

Shondra actually laughed.

"Wonder who he learned that from?"

There was a few seconds of silence before she spoke again.

"You better leave, he's gonna be really pissed when he wakes up. What are we gonna do?"

He grunted.

"We gotta come up with something or asses will be in a sling. My wife will kill me, literally. He'll divorce your ass anyway, but he might try to take your kid. We need to figure out how to make him the bad guy."

"How?"

There was another minute or two of silence.

"I got it!" He burst out.

"We'll say we were practicing new moves for a tournament coming up, he came in, accused us of screwing around, and started beating you. I had to knock him out to protect you. Fearing for your life, you called the cops."

She obviously thought about it.

"I see two big drawbacks to that plan. I don't have a scratch on me, and he's gonna tell his side when he wakes up."

I could hear myself stirring, then grunting as he kicked me. Shondra was screaming for him to stop.

"Teach that honky motherfucker to mess with me."

he said, finally.

When he got her calmed down he told her to shut her eyes.

"Why?"

"Sorry, babe, but if we're gonna sell this to the cops, I have to mark you up some. If you see it coming you'll react from instinct."

He split her lip, gave her a black eye, and squeezed her arms hard enough to leave bruises.

The tape ended just after they made the 911 call.

I played the tape for my lawyer. He made two copies, and gave one to the DA.

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

The DA called them in, and asked them to repeat the events of the day, separately. They interviewed Shondra first, having her repeat the sequence of events that had put me first in the hospital, then in jail. She repeated what she had originally said, almost word for word.

"This is your official statement?"

"Yes sir it is."

The DA sighed.

He had a tape recorder going during the interview. He had her sign the paper copy as he rewound the tape.

As soon as she signed it, he asked her to review the tape for accuracy. As soon as he switched it on, my tape played. Her eyes became enormous. He nodded towards the deputy in the room.

"Shondra Turner, you are under arrest."

As he read her her rights, her mouth hung open in shock. She was handcuffed and seated.

It was like watching a building implode, she seemed to collapse from the inside. Tears leaked from her eyes as she made small whimpering sounds.

I was watching from the other side of the mirror.

Conspiracy. Aggravated assault. Filing a false police report. A few lesser charges. She was looking at four years.

Of course, she rolled, blaming the whole thing, including the affair, on him, saying she was forced to do it.

In the end, she had to move out and return Josh to me as she faced her trial. Gram took her in, unwillingly.

We struck a bargain. I dropped the assault charges against them if they did the same for me.

The conspiracy and false report charges were beyond me, they happened after I was unconscious. Plus, they had to pay my hospital bill.

My divorce wasn't as ugly as I thought it would be. Still under indictment, she couldn't fight over custody. I kept the house, but had to pay her half of the last three years of payments, because she worked and contributed to them. She got half the accounts, not very much. I refinanced the house and paid her off. She had to use the money for lawyers.

He didn't fare so well. His wife divorced him, after kicking his ass. Seems she was more skilled, having been raised by a grandfather who held a tenth degree belt.

He lost his dojo. After the story came out, most married women quit, pulling their kids out too. No new students appeared, and he went broke.

He got found guilty of the aggravated assault, a felony, and could never teach again anyway. Under pressure because of his statement of having sex with her before she was eighteen, he finally admitted, after Shondra gave a sworn statement, that he he been having sex with her since she was fourteen, he had statutory rape added to his charges because the statute of limitations hadn't run out.

He ended up doing two and a half years, disappearing as soon as he got out.

Shondra pled out to the conspiracy and false report charges, and ended up on probation. I got full custody, but allowed her visitation as often as she would like.

She got to see him often because she lived with Gram, and she kept Josh while I worked. She would have done it for free, but I paid her because I knew she could use the money.

After eight months she gave Shondra a choice. Get a job and move out. She got a minimum wage factory job packing socks into boxes. She hated it, but it brought money in.

Ed never returned after his wreck, and I got his job. In less than a year I was named night operations manager. A year after that I was recruited to go to Mexico, to help set up a plant there. If I stayed two years they guaranteed me a plant manager position.

I thought long and hard about it. It was too good an opportunity to pass up, and I thought Josh could benefit from being exposed to another culture. He was already encountering racism. I hoped another country might be a little more tolerant.

Since I had full custody and she was still on probation, Shondra couldn't stop me. In the end, she didn't even try to fight it.

She asked to see me right before we left. I had nothing to lose so I agreed.

"I want to apologize, Bobby. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I threw you away. I'd give anything to get you back, but I know I'd be wasting my time."

She looked really nervous.

"I'll probably be getting married soon. Since I can't have you, I'll have to take what I can get. Marcus is back, I'm sure you know he blew out his knee after a year in the pros. He had good insurance, and has a little money. He's trying to buy into the Ford dealership. It's pretty much a done deal. We've been dating. He's changed, and he really loves me."

I held judgement on that. Time would tell. If she was really just settling for the best offer, it was a doomed relationship.

We were leaving right after Christmas. Josh was seven now, old enough to understand we were going far away. He was sad and excited at the same time.

Gram was devastated. I tried to talk her into going with us, but she was afraid to leave her friends and Gail. I made sure she got to spend as much time as possible with Josh.

What really surprised me was how my mother reacted.

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

When the whole mess exploded, I was unconscious for thirty six hours. It was an induced coma so they could be sure of my head injuries. My sister was listed on my insurance as next of kin following Shondra and when they notified her she told the family. I woke up and saw my mom sitting beside me, holding Josh in her lap. I thought I was hallucinating.

"Mom?"

She didn't say a word as she gently put Josh down. Then she draped across me, crying violently.

"I thought I lost you! Then I realized I already had, years ago. I just had to see you, make sure you're going to recover. I just wanted to say I love you, and I'm deeply ashamed of the way I've treated you all these years. I'll go now."

I didn't let go of her.

"Please, momma, stay. I love you too."

The tears came harder for awhile. When she finally dried up, I asked her how she liked Josh.

"He's adorable! And smart as a whip, he has to get that from you. He has his grandfather's jawline."

She stayed, holding my hand. My sister and Gram had gone to get coffee,and ran into Gail. When they found out I was awake, a regular sobfest broke out. Josh and I just looked at each other in wonder.

We healed our rift, and did all my family except one older brother. He learned to keep his mouth shut at Sunday dinners pretty fast, so he tolerated Josh and I. It was enough.

He finally came around some when he gave Josh a slingshot he had made and taught him how to use it. After he hit eight tin cans in a row, he glowed under his praise.

"Thank you for teaching me, Uncle John."

We saw him flinch slightly, but he put his hand on his shoulder.

"You're welcome son."

Mom smiled happily.

She pitched a fit when I told her we were moving to Mexico.

"No! I just got you back. Please son, stay."

I never really opened up to anyone about how badly Shondra had hurt me. I put up a good front, but it wasn't unusual for me to wake up months later with tears sliding down my cheeks. I had sacrificed everything, even my family, to be with her. And she betrayed me like it was nothing.

I needed to be away, and this was a golden opportunity. I thought it would, I hoped it would, heal me. And I hoped it would be a better environment for Josh.

The day finally came. Gram, Gail, my family, all of them. The tears were flowing freely. Shondra showed up, hugging Josh tightly.

"Look, we're not that far away. We'll be back, or you can come and see us. I'm as close as a phone.

We love you all, but it's time to go."

I looked back just before we went through the gates, to see Gram and my mom hugging. A good note to leave on.

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

Hope you liked the first part. Racism is still alive and well, it's just more subtle these days.