Guilt Ch. 04

"Honey? Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes. I think I am."

It took two days to get a flight, they were on it.

As soon as they were settled at home, he called his office to see how things were going.

"Smooth as silk," Martha said.

"Carla is really pretty good, she finished the Harris account and has a new one, we will bring you up to speed when you come back."

"I can come in if you want me to."

"No, that's all right. You need the time. How is it going?" She asked.

"It could be better I guess." He admitted.

"You really are a putz, you know. Don't you go fucking things up with Janet, you hear me?"

"Yea, I hear you." Same old Martha, no pulling the punches at all. He hung up.

Janet was running the messages on their phone, a bunch of them were from that Molly. He realized that as he walked in and heard her voice. Then the next one came on, it was a man's voice.

"I just wanted to say Hi, Babe. Give me a call if you changed your mind, I will be at.." and he left a number.

"Randy?" He asked her, already knowing.

Janet glanced at him with an upset look on her face.

"I'm sorry honey. I don't know why he is still calling, I told him not to."

"I think I need to deal with that!" Dave said, reaching for the phone.

"Honey, NO! Just let it go, ignore him."

"There are some things a man can't ignore, Janet." He told her.

"Please?" She stepped in front of him.

Frustrated, Dave went into the living room and sat down, picked up one of the newspapers that had stacked up since they forgot to cancel delivery.

A week went by fairly peacefully. It felt good to just relax at home, have the kids around. They had a nice outdoor cookout, enjoying the sunshine. Janet's Mom Sandra came by and Dave didn't even think to question her any, life was becoming normal.

Dave felt himself responding again, Janet was still making a lot of effort to encourage him during their lovemaking. There were no more calls or upsets. When they did make love, Dave was back to his normal gentle self, although he did make efforts from time to time to be more forceful.

Then Saturday night Sandra took the kids so they could go out for dinner. Dave got a table for them at a restaurant they had been wanting to try, it lived up to it's on the expensive side reputation.

"Let's stop and listen to some music, maybe dance a few, honey?" She asked on the way home, sitting close to him in the car with her head on his shoulder.

"Sure." He pulled into a nightclub they had been to a few times. He never gave that a single thought, they had been there several times in the past.

The band was good, they danced a couple of songs, had a drink.

Dave was talking to Janet about how little Sarah was up and running now, and beginning to get into everything. Just a normal evening, a night out.

"Mind if I ask the lady to dance?" Someone said. Dave looked up and instantly knew, he glanced at Janet and saw the expression on her face.

"Yes, I do mind." He said.

"That's up to the lady, don't you think, bud?" Randy said with a smirk.

"No. It's not!" He stood up suddenly, his chair sliding backwards. A few heads started to turn to look their way at his loud voice.

Randy was just standing there with a grin on his face. He was a good two inches taller than Dave.

"You need to leave us alone, you need to quit calling our house. Janet doesn't want anything to do with you."

"Oh, I bet I can change her mind." Randy said, reaching out to push Dave back.

"Keep your hands off of me." Dave told him angrily.

The man just laughed and gave him another push. That did it. Dave calmly reached up and trapped Randy's fingers against his own chest, turned them back towards the man. Randy struggled for a moment in surprise but his arm was turned.

Now suddenly finding his his hand upside down and his arm outstretched, all Randy could do was grimace and turn away, flailing with his other arm, unable to reach Dave.

Dave kicked him in the back of his knee, he went down to the floor.

"I asked you to leave us alone, now do you understand?" Dave asked him as he lifted on his fingers.

"Let go of me, motherfucker!" He snarled.

"I see you don't, let me make it perfectly clear. Janet is my wife, you will stay away from her. If you don't, I will keep these fingers." He lifted again, harder, getting a yell from Randy.

"OK! OK! I got it! Let go of me." Dave released him, Randy got to his feet, began to rub his fingers. He had a look of hate on his face.

"I will get you!" He snarled, his hands started to come up, his fists clenched.

"I don't think so." Dave said, flipping out one hand in a quick backhand, striking Randy in the solar plexus with two fingers. There was a look of surprise and a gush of air as he leaned forward, his hands coming around to protect his stomach. Dave drew back his hand and popped him with the next one in the mouth. His head snapped back, the next one hit in the groin.

Randy's eyes went glazed and his legs folded, Dave stepped in and caught him, holding him up. It all happened so quickly that almost no one in the room realized.

He looked up to see a very large man approaching.

"Can you help me, please? Our friend here has had way too much to drink." Dave gave him a disarming grin.

The man looked confused for a moment, then he reached out and helped support Randy. Randy's mouth was working but no sounds were coming out.

"Thank you." Dave smiled at the huge bouncer as he let go.

"OH! Be careful, he can get violent when he has too much to drink."

"OK. Thanks. I'll take care of it." The bouncer steered Randy towards the door.

Dave sat back down, Janet just stared at him.

"Would you like another drink, honey, or are you ready to go home?" He smiled at her.

"I didn't know you could....?" Her eyes were wide in surprise.

"Karate classes back in college." He grinned.

"Take me home now, honey." She smiled.

Dave was like a wild man that night, Janet was mostly naked in the car before they even got home. At one point they were stopped at a stop light and two guys in a Chevy 4 wheel drive pulled up alongside.

Dave had put the car in park waiting for the light to change when he heard the wolf whistle, looked up and realized they could see right in at Janet whose dress was pulled down to her waist.

The driver blew his horn, a big smile on his face as the man on the passenger side leaned forward to look over at them.

"Blow them a kiss, honey!" He grinned, putting the car in drive and taking off quickly. Janet started laughing at that.

Hopefully nobody was looking out the windows when they got home, Dave had Janet's dress in his hands, all she had on were her panties as she darted up the steps.

It didn't help that they had left the outside light on, he never did find out if anyone noticed.

Once again, Dave reclaimed his wife for his own. Finally, he felt at peace.

Later, they lay on the living room carpet, both of them soaked in sweat.

"Are we going to be all right, honey?" She asked him quietly.

"Yea, I think so. You are mine, that is the way it's going to be from now on!" He picked her up and carried her into their bedroom.

The next afternoon, Dave walked in to find Janet talking to someone on the phone. She was laughing, then she hung up.

"Who was that?" He asked her.

"Molly. She called to tell you thank you."

"Why would she want to thank me?"

"She said that Randy is swollen up so big he can't get his pants on, you really did a number on him."

"Why would she be happy about that?" Dave asked.

"I think she is pretty mad at him."

"Talk about a dysfunctional relationship. Say, let's change our phone number, get one unlisted. I don't want to hear from either one of those people again."

"Good idea."

"Hey, want to do a symbolic wash?" He grinned.

"What? What's that?"

"I wash you and you wash me..everywhere. Then it's all gone and no one can ever tell." Dave reached for his shirt buttons.

Janet started laughing, as she tugged her blouse over her head.

"Where do you keep that thing you use?" He asked, stepping out of his pants.

"What thing?" She asked, puzzled. Then it hit her.

"Oh, my God! In the top cabinet in the bathroom." She turned and darted for the bathroom, Dave right behind her.

He did too, as she stood there with her legs spread, squeezing on the little rubber bulb. They both were giggling, finally he finished.

"Now turn around and bend over!"

"What?"

"Yep, there too."

"I will need to go buy a new one of those if you do that."

"Oh, well." He told her, holding the nozzle out of the spray from the shower as he rubbed some slick soap on it.

+++

A week later, Dave went back to work. Carla had already returned to her job in Dallas. The first two days were normal, then Martha came in.

"You are going to hate this, but I need you to fly down to Dallas again."

"You are kidding."

"I wish I was, but there isn't anyone else to send." She said.

"You know I have a little problem about that, right?"

"Afraid you won't be able to keep your pants zipped up?" She grinned at him.

"Something like that, I just barely have things back to normal at home." He grinned.

"You men! So help me, you are all the same. Well, why not just take your wife with you? For protection?" She laughed at her own joke.

"Sure, that should work."

"OK, then. I will book the flight and hotel room. On the company, too. I am glad you are back." She turned to leave.

At the door, she looked back with a grin.

"Say, David? If you ever get in the mood again, why not just send a little my way?"

Dave blinked, surprised.

"I won't tell. I know you would like to, I have seen the way you look at me sometimes." She grinned.

"Martha!"

She tipped her head back and laughed, then went into her own office.

Dallas? Oh, man. But with Janet there, he figured he could keep things under control. He reached for the phone to call Janet, tell her to pack for a short trip.

Dallas he was sure he could handle, keep things peaceful. He knew he had to.

But now it was his own office that was a worry. Martha? For God's sakes, sure she was attractive and just a few years older, but he had never even dreamed that she was thinking about him like that.

But there was no way in hell, he knew that. Dave sighed, he thought he could deal with it, keep things under control there, too.

He shook his head, for a moment he thought of Carla but that vision was quickly replaced by his wife. He felt content, he knew where he belonged.

+++

Janet sat quietly in their living room, thinking. She was happy that Dave called, wanting her to go with him on the trip. She was over being upset that Dave had been with Carla, now he seemed to be even more attentive to her when he was home.

She wanted to make it work, she had to. She knew she was completely in love with her wonderful man.

That night at the resort in Mexico flashed back into her mind. Dave had been upset, irritated about Carlos. But Carlos was just a boy to her, she had felt flattered that he appeared to like her. Not once had he ever said or done anything at all out of line.

She had been so upset the evening before at all of his suspicions, after Dave was asleep she had gone into the bathroom and shut the door, sitting there quietly crying.

Then Dave had gotten so terribly drunk the next day. Janet had never seen him like that. She had sat by the bed, then feeling terrible, she walked down the beach to have a drink. She needed to be around someone, anyone to talk to. Those same dark clouds were starting in again.

Maria was there, she chatted with her. Then an older man had bought her a drink. He looked grandfatherly, kind, so they talked politely.

She remembered him telling her he would walk her back to their suite, that part was a blur but she remembered wanting to check on Dave. Then she had seen the small bonfire, heard the music.

The one man had been bothering her, she moved closer to the older man for his protection. He put his arm around her shoulder, then somehow she felt her elbows being held. Hands were on her bare breast from behind, the older man had her dress pulled up.

Janet had felt the sensations of being helpless as the man reached down and pressed his fingers against her bare sex. Her body slammed into her first orgasm, she could not stop it.

He pressed his small penis inside her as she stood, other hands all over her at the same time. She felt her body begin to respond again, that warm feeling deep inside her began to grow. She felt another much larger erection, pressed into her hand.

Suddenly she knew she didn't want this.

"Stop that!" She protested, but he didn't stop. He kept on thrusting at her as she tried in vain to free her arms.

She had just stopped struggling and begun to go with the sensations when she saw the lights.

Carlos was there, the hands let her go. There were some shouts, there was a struggle, one man fell, then the other, and the older man ran.

Janet felt sick. Carlos reached out and took her hand, led her meekly to the vehicle. He reached over and gently tugged the top of her dress back up, started the machine and headed down the beach towards their suite.

She remembered Carlos telling Dave that she had been "dancing on the sand" but she didn't remember doing that.

The next thing she knew Dave was carrying her into their room.

Did Dave know? Did he suspect? If he did, he never mentioned it.

Now they were home. Home felt good, safe, but not when she was alone. She got up and went into the kitchen, way back in the rear of the bottom shelf where she kept the pots and pans was the little bottle. The medicine her Doctor had told her to take, the same medicine that Dave worried about her taking.

She had stopped because of Dave's worry about it.

She took one of the pills, put the bottle back. In just a few minutes, a smile came onto her face.

From now on, she would be careful, and always take them with her wherever she went.

Janet went back into their bedroom and began to pack for the trip to Dallas. A small tear trickled down her cheek even while she smiled. She wiped it with the back of her hand.

She knew had gone with the man willingly, even drunk she had known, or suspected what was probably going to happen. Something powerful pulled her, it was like she could not think.

When she saw the others there, their huge grins, she was sure, but still she did not resist, run. There was no control.

That wasn't what she wanted, she knew that. What she wanted was her family, her husband Dave.

Janet also knew that in the future, she would need to be very careful. She was not sure she could ever trust herself again.

She also knew she would never tell Dave. Not now, not ever. Telling him of her last mistake had led to all of the rest, she thought.

It would have to be her secret, her burden.

She was finished with the packing when Dave got home that night. She had also prepared his favorite meal. The chicken was fried perfectly, using her Mom's special recipe. The gravy was hot and bubbling, she had carefully stirred in the few pinches of brown sugar that she knew Dave liked.

Her timing was perfection, ready the moment Dave walked in the door. She had showered and fixed her hair, put on a trace of makeup, even dabbing a tiny drop of the perfume she knew he liked on.

"Something smells good, hon." He said, kissing her on the tip of the nose, his hand lightly brushing her side. She smiled at that. It felt so nice, so normal.

They ate and chatted about his day, he had finished the new contract. Later, they sat on the couch and watched some TV, she leaned her head on his shoulder, he reached down and held her hand. It was peaceful, with the kids over at her Mother's.

She knew Dave would want to make love to her, she was hoping he would anyway. She wanted his gentle self, that was normal and it was just fine.

Today everything was fine.

Tomorrow? She would not worry about that until then.

Dave stood up, clicked off the TV. He looked at Janet, so beautiful. She was the only thing on his mind. He was hoping she was in the mood, he knew he was. She smiled and slipped into his arms, for a soft kiss.

"Ready for bed?" He asked her.

"I have been ready all day, honey!"

He grinned and took her hand, they headed for the bedroom.

For today? Everything was just fine.