Rewards of Virtue

The buildings came with a small acreage behind them. After he got the buildings remodeled he was going to put in a small truck garden on the acreage. He thought he could sell produce to the people that lived in town and worked elsewhere.

Alex worked most of the winter on his buildings. He borrowed his father's machinery to plow his eight-acre vegetable patch and was ready for spring to plant his vegetables. He opened his store and café in late February. Business was slow but steady. After the first month he was breaking even.

One day he got a phone call from one of the Chief Petty Officers he had known in the Navy. She had retired and was looking for a place to work and live. She had a small child and no husband. Alex remembered she had been an excellent cook and had a great idea. "Chief," he said. I don't..."

She cut him off and said, "Sir, it's not chief any more. I'm retired remember? My name is Marian. Now what were you going to say?"

Alex laughed and said, "Well, Marian I guess two things now. One, I'm not Lieutenant or Sir. I'm Alex. Two, I have opened a small café and quick pick store here in Steelville. I have also promised to help my parents on the farm and I am raising vegetables to sell commercially. If you are interested I could hire you to cook and run the café, to sort of be my right hand woman here in the business while I am gone. I can't pay much but there would be living quarters for you and your daughter. The local school is a good one too. I know you would fit in real well here in town. What do you say?"

"Well you know sir... Unh Alex, I've always wanted to move back to a smaller town. I grew up in one you know but, well. Tell you what. I'll come and see what it looks like. Hell I might even try it for a while. It sounds interesting and you sure made Steelville sound nice when we were talking about our hometowns. I can be there in about three weeks. Is that OK?"

Alex heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Great. That'll be fine. I'll get busy working on your quarters."

Alex had been thinking about turning the unused part of the café building into one or two small apartments and that is what he started to do. By the time he was finished he had two apartments of about a thousand square feet each. He lived in one and Marian and her daughter lived in the other.

While he was working on the apartments the owner of the pool hall had approached him about buying that building. He wanted to retire and the building wasn't even paying for insurance and expenses as a pool hall. Alex looked it over and made an offer. The owner didn't even blink before taking the offer. As soon as Alex finished his and Marian's apartments he began turning the pool hall into apartments. There were already two apartments in the upper floor. The upper apartments hadn't been rented in years so they needed a lot of renovation. Alex put two more downstairs. By the time he had them finished he already had all four of them rented. The rent on the apartments paid the utilities and insurance on all the buildings as well as leaving a little left over for living expenses. Things were looking better and better and Alex was enjoying his life. He worked long hard hours in his businesses and on the farm with his father but it was fun.

Of course there was one thing missing. He hadn't found a woman yet. Almost all of the young people his age were either married or they had left town. He had never been fond of the idea of picking up a permanent partner in bars. He did go to the larger towns to find female companionship for an evening or two but he was too gun shy to let himself get serious about one of them. Alice and the women he had met in the Navy had cured him of that failing.

One hot summer morning Alex was sitting in the café visiting with the farmers and few town residents that were either having breakfast or taking a morning break. He heard the door tinkle and looked up to see the most beautiful woman he had seen in months walk into the building. She turned left and entered the café. When he had remodeled he had made the café door and quick pick door the same. That way one clerk could handle both businesses. The cash register was centered on the door with the café on the left and the quick pick store on the right as you entered the building.

The woman walked up and sat at Alex's table. Just before she sat down Alex saw it was Alice. "Hey stranger," she said. "How ya doin'? It's been a while."

"Hello Alice," he said. "I guess it's been almost five years now hasn't it? You doing OK? I heard you got married. What are you doing back in town?"

"Well, right now I am staying with Grandma. I guess you could say I got a dose of my own medicine. I was married but I caught the bastard cheating on me so... I'm waiting on the divorce to be final then I guess I'll have to go somewhere and find a better job. I work part time right now at the YMCA. Staying here with Grandma I make ends meet. How about you? Still in the Navy?"

"No Alice. I got out almost a year ago now. I really didn't want to do anything away from here to I came home. I help Dad on the farm and have some rental property here in town. I have been trying to make a little extra here in the café and store. I guess you could say I just get by but at least I am living where I want to be."

They continued talking and before they knew it the lunch crowd began crowding into the small café. "Alice, I'm sorry but I have to get busy now. Marian needs help handling the lunch rush. It was nice seeing you again."

That first visit got Alex thinking about Alice once more. He had to admit he really enjoyed the conversation and felt very comfortable with her. Somehow she seemed more mature and relaxed than she had before he went into the service. Two days later Alice once more came into the café for morning coffee. Once again she and Alex visited and he was sorry to see her leave.

The next time she was in Alex was filling in for Marian because she was enrolling her daughter in school. He didn't have time to talk to Alice. They would visit in passing. It was frustrating. During one of his short stops at her table he did what he had sworn he would never do again. He said, "Alice I've really enjoyed visiting with you these last few weeks. Would you like to go to Centerton with me Friday evening for supper?"

"OK," she said. "What should I wear?"

"There's a really nice French Restaurant there with a night club attached. Why don't you wear something nice and we will eat there."

When he arrived at Mrs. Fowler's home to pick Alice up Hope met him at the door. She looked at him as she let him in and said, "Boy are you sure you know what you're doing here? Alice is my Granddaughter and I love her but... Well, anyway it's good to see you again. I've missed our talks since you got so busy over there at the store. Come on in. She's being fashionably late as usual."

Alex and Alice dated the rest of the fall and he was falling for her like a ton of bricks. He was getting very frustrated too. She would make out like the hottest babe in town but wouldn't put out. Just from that he was convinced she had turned over a new leaf. He was impressed with her resolve and the way she had turned her life around.

Valentine's day finally arrived and Alex had a date once again with Alice. He had made up his mind. This was the night. When he picked her up, before they left her grandmother's home he said, "Let's do something different tonight. Instead of going right out to supper and dancing how about we go shopping first?"

"Shopping," Alice yelled. "It's Valentines Day for gosh sakes. Why do you want to go shopping today?"

"Well honey. I thought if you wanted to get married you might like to go pick out an engagement ring?"

Alice's mouth dropped open and her eyes bugged out. She stood silently for a moment then wrapped her arms around him. As she was leaning in for a kiss she said, "YES, Oh, Yes. I think I would really love to go shopping with you tonight."

Alex looked over Alice's shoulder and saw her grandmother looking at him. She looked into his eyes and frowned then shook her head from side to side. She said nothing, just walked back into her den.

The day after Alice's Bachelorette Party Alex's sister Barbara drove back to her hometown to see him. She walked into the café about 3 p.m. and gave Alex a serious look. She cut straight to the chase too. She said, "Alex let's go to your apartment. We need to talk."

Alex felt a surge of fear and his stomach began to hurt. He knew that she had taken their mother to the doctor the day before. She had not been feeling well for almost a year and he feared the worst. Before they even sat down Barbara grabbed the Glenlivet and two glasses. She poured each of them one and began to talk.

"Alex," she said. "I don't know how to say this but it needs to be said. Have you lost all your sense? What in the hell possessed you to ask Alice to marry you? You know what she was like when we were younger. You know she is divorced for cheating"

Alex was getting more and more angry as his sister talked and he broke in when she said Alice had divorced because she was cheating. He said, "Hold it right there Barb. I know she used to be pretty bad but she has changed. Hell, I was pretty bad when I was in the Navy but I don't do things like that now. Besides, she said it was her husband that caused the divorce."

Barbara looked at Alex and sipped her drink. She took a deep breath and said, "Now, let me continue. I wasn't invited to her Bachelorette Party and as far as I know none of the women from Steelville was. I made it a point to find out where it was and I went to the bar uninvited with David. Alex if she has turned over a new leaf I'm the Queen Mother of England. She danced every dance and in my opinion none of her dances would pass the husband test. She let the men touch her inappropriately and kissed them all. I never saw her do anything else but there were many times during the party when she was out of my sight for thirty to forty five minutes. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she had gotten royally screwed during those absences. Alex I really think you should rethink this decision."

Alex sat and stared at his sister. He had never been so angry with her before. "You spied on Alice? Now you tell me I should dump her? Damn it Barb she is the only woman I have ever found that I love enough to ask to marry me. I know she was a little wild but she's over that now. Hell, I saw you sometimes in a bar before you got married. You got pretty wild also. Should I tell David about how wild you used to be and that he should watch you because you might cheat on him? I don't want to hear any more about this." He got up and walked back to the café.

Barbara sat there for several more minutes then sighed and followed Alex back into the café. She stopped beside his chair and said, "Alex, I'm sorry. You won't hear another thing from me about Alice but I felt I had to make the effort. I love you and I really, really don't want to see you get hurt. You don't know how much I hope and pray you are right and I am wrong." She bent and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek before she left for home.

Alice and Alex had a June wedding. They took a week off for a short wedding trip but he had to get back fast so he could work his vegetable patch and do the summer work on the farm. Alex had hired Pablo the year before and he was a big help but he and his father still needed Alex there during the busy part of the year. Alice wasn't too happy with such a short trip and complained about it incessantly. Alex wondered where the sweet woman he had dated had gone.

Alice continued to work part time at the YMCA in the town about 20 miles away. She didn't want a more responsible job but she and Alex did enjoy the extra money she brought in. She also said she really needed the contact with her friends there. Alex told her if that was the only reason she was working he could find her something to do in the café or store. Alice refused to consider that. She said she wanted to keep her job so she could visit all her friends that came to the Y.

Alex began worrying about the way she worded that statement. He dropped by her work unannounced from time to time to see her. After being there several times he decided there was nothing to worry about. He had noticed the hours she worked most of the customers were women of all ages. He did notice when college started there were a lot more young men using the weights but they were mostly 6 to 10 years younger than Alice so he felt they would be no bother.

Time went on and their sex life was good. In fact it was better than good. At times Alex thought Alice was going to fuck him to death. She was an excellent lay and didn't seem to ever get enough. If he was not totally exhausted she would fuck him twice a day for over an hour. He actually looked forward to her periods so he could get some sleep! He admitted to himself that the old rumors were right. She was fantastic in the sack.

Time progressed and Alex was happy. He and Alice were doing well. Marian and he had fine-tuned the menu and on Friday and Saturday nights they began serving some continental cuisine. They got so busy they hired a young woman named Brandy to help in the café/restaurant and the store. More and more often they noticed people were coming to eat from Centerton, a city that was almost 70 miles away. Sometimes people would wait for over an hour for a table! Alex's sister had a friend that lived in Houston Texas. She sent him a newspaper clipping from the daily paper in Houston giving a very favorable review of his restaurant. More business developed as his establishment became better known.

Alex redecorated the unused part of the building behind the small café, expanded it and opened a restaurant. He put in a patio and paved it. There were three huge old shade trees on it and put some tables out there for patrons to use during nice weather. He got so many requests for reservations he began taking reservations, then people began asking if they could come down during the week. He finally hired more help and they became a full service restaurant open from 6 in the morning for breakfast to ten in the evening.

He always kept the original section of the building set aside for local walk in customers. It was still called the Steelville Café. The café was separated from the restaurant, which was called Alex's Place by a partial partition. It was not as fancy as the restaurant and was open only for local customers. The restaurant served supper only but the café served all three meals and had a separate entrance. There were separate menus but any meal could be ordered in either section if the restaurant was open. Many times Alex would leave people without reservations waiting even if they had driven a long distance so he could seat his neighbors in the café part of the business.

The busier he got the more he had trouble with Alice. She wanted him home in the evenings and she wanted SEX. Finally he began making sure he was home two evenings a week and they quit serving the evening meal Monday and Tuesday.

Alex routinely drove to Centerton and shopped at Sam's Club and some of the other supply houses for his groceries and the ingredients for the meals he served in the restaurant. He could buy the items retail at those establishments and bring them back to Steelville himself cheaper than he could buy them off the delivery trucks. That way he could keep his prices low enough that many of the town's residents would buy the majority of their groceries from him instead of going to town for them. He had to expand the store and put in freezers and another cooler for his produce and meat.

His next project involved taking orders for produce then delivering it the days he went to shop for the store. He could actually charge more for the produce delivered than the people would pay in a local grocery store. They didn't mind though because it was fresh from the farm and it was delivered to home or office. It was very convenient for his customers and Alex didn't mind doing it-especially since it enhanced his bottom line so well. Alex had a minimum amount that he would deliver and many times people would buy more than they wanted just so he would deliver. By now Alex was making almost as much as he made while he was in the Navy and having a ball.

After Alex and Alice had been married almost two years Julia came along. Alex thought she was the most perfect baby he had ever seen. Alice however didn't seem as pleased. She seemed to resent the time it took to care for her. She complained about being a dull, boring Mommy now. A year later came Samuel, another perfect child. Alice insisted on having her tubes tied after that. She said there was no way she would tie herself down with any more children.

Alex was hurt at her attitude but decided to let it pass. She did seem to be a good mother and he loved his two children to death. Within a very few months after Sam was born Alice was once again the slim beautiful woman he had married. She made exceptionally good use of her free access to the machines at the YMCA where she worked.

Alice began complaining she was bored and wanted more to do. She began badgering Alex to let her buy his supplies and deliver his produce. She said there was no reason she couldn't go to Sam's for him and buy his inventory or deliver his produce. She said that way she could meet people and have a social life as well as help Alex. Besides she had friends in Centerton and the other towns he delivered to so she could visit them when she went to town.

Alex decided this was a good thing and agreed to let her make the trips. Unfortunately from time to time he was out of stock and needed her to get back rapidly on market days. There were times it was late in the evening before she would return. Finally he decided he would have to make the trips himself. He said, "Alice this just can't continue. There have been too many days when I needed something you were buying and you didn't get back from town until too late for us to use the item or I missed some sales because I was sold out. I think I will begin making the shopping trips again. I'll go back to leaving at 630 a.m. then I can be home before the lunch crowd hits the café."

Alice became angry and said, "Why? If you are out just use something else. You know I always get home before dark. I admit sometimes the girls and I lose track of time but everybody does that from time to time. It sounds to me like you just want to keep me down here on the farm. Well I'm going to town a couple of days a week to visit my friends whether you have me buy your stock or not." She turned and stomped out of the business and left the parking lot in a cloud of smoke from her burning tires.

Alice began going to town around ten in the morning to visit with her girl friends and sometime she wouldn't get home until after 6 in the evening. At first it was once a week, then twice. Next, she began going on Saturday sometimes. She began coming home with alcohol on her breath and he was sure she had been drinking more than a drink or two at lunch. Alex began to worry.

Finally Alice's actions became so blatant he couldn't ignore his fears any longer. He was coming out of the Sam's parking lot about 1030 one morning and saw Alice's car pull into the Holiday Inn parking lot. The Holiday Inn was across the street from Sam's parking lot. Another car had followed her into the lot and parked beside her. Alice walked from her car to the driver's door of the one that had followed her. A tall well built man got out of the car and Alice grabbed him, hugged him then gave him a deep, long kiss. The man rubbed his hands up her sides and flicked her nipples with his thumbs.

Alex sat in his truck at the stop sign and stared in shock. When the couple turned they walked arm in arm into the Hotel. Alex was almost T-Boned when he tromped his accelerator and shot across the road to park beside Alice's car. He walked into the hotel in time to see the man sign the registration. When they turned, once more arm in arm Alex saw the man was Jason, one of Alice's first boy friends. Part way to the elevator Alice stood on her tiptoes and gave Jason another kiss. This time his hands fell to her ass and he pulled her tightly against him.