Sisters of Fate

"All I'd accomplished by following her at lunchtime was to miss my own lunches for a week. But still, I was sure that something was going on. When Terri's girl's night came around again, I found myself following her yet again. She went to the same bar and it was as busy as ever. Terri and her girlfriends were there acting just as silly. I watched Terri as the women at her table came and went. A couple of the women got up to dance and returned; Terri didn't. A couple of them got up and went somewhere else, presumably to use the ladies room."

"As I watched the bar, out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement on the rooftop behind me and to the side. I turned my head and caught a glimpse of something or someone there. Whoever or whatever it was ducked behind a projection on the roof."

"I turned back to the bar and noticed that something was different at Terri's table. I counted the women there and noticed that there was one of them missing. It wasn't Terri, so I didn't worry about it very much. It just didn't seem important."

"A few minutes later, I noticed Terri's friend Crystal coming across the street into the parking lot. I ducked behind a car and watched her. Crystal was walking with a guy and they went to her car. I'd never seen the guy before but I knew he wasn't Crystal's husband Ed. Ed is a fucking longshoreman and a fucking giant. Ed would snap this guy in two without breaking a sweat."

"Crys and the guy got into her car, but they didn't get in the front. They both got into the back seat. I crept over to the car and looked in. I pulled out my iPhone and started videotaping them. Thanks to a streetlight that illuminated the car, I got a clear video of Crystal's head bobbing up and down on the guy's dipstick. I wanted to make sure they knew the jig was up and to make sure that neither of them had any fun. I knocked on the window and snapped off a couple of still photos of their surprised faces as they looked up at me."

"The car door opened and the guy got out while Crystal started trying to put her boobs back in her bra and button her blouse."

"What the fuck are you doing, buddy?" asked the man with her.

"I know you don't I?" I said. "You work in the same office as Crystal and Terri. I don't know your name, but aren't you married? I remember you from the company picnic."

"Jason, what are you doing?" asked Crystal.

"Fuck what I'm doing Crystal," I spat. "I was just driving past the parking lot on my way home when I saw you and this asshole holding hands and walking to your car. He didn't look like Ed. So I thought that you might've been in trouble. I decided to come and speak to you just in case you needed help, but obviously Ed is the one who needs help."

"Why does Eddy need help," asked Crystal. Her voice was barely a squeak.

"Well he's going to need a good divorce lawyer," I said. Her eyes got as big as saucers. "He's going to need evidence. And he can use the video I just took and the still photos. He can also use them to identify your friend here."

"I looked at the man as I continued talking."

"You do remember her husband Ed don't you buddy?" I smirked. "He's damn near seven feet tall and close to three hundred pounds, all muscle. And he's insanely in love with this cheating whore. I don't think there will be much left of you when he gets his hands on you. They'll probably have to soak whatever he leaves up in a dishrag to get enough DNA to identify you. And, of course, while you're in the hospital they'll have to notify your wife."

"That was when he took a swing at me. The punch was laughable. I blocked it and held his arm. I thrust my arm into his elbow and then bent his arm back on top of it. I had him in a very painful elbow lock that I'd learned as a teenager in a Tien Shan Pai Gung fu camp I went to in the mountains of West Virginia."

"As I pressed the hold he went down to his knees. I saw tears forming in the corners of his eyes."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"You're damned right you're sorry," I spat. "I hate cheaters. But you'll be a lot sorrier when this is done. After Ed kicks your ass, I'll tell your wife about it if she hasn't found out any other way."

"Hey, I'll pay you," he said. "...Whatever you want. My wife doesn't need to know about this. This whore isn't worth my marriage. I just come down here occasionally to let off some steam. I just heard that she was a good fuck. This is the first time I've done it and I swear it will be the last. I'll write you a check for...three thousand dollars. I know you're thinking I'm trying to fool you but I don't have much cash on me. You cash the check and after you cash the check you destroy the pictures. If the check isn't any good then you can just use them. I swear the check will be good."

"Hm," I said. "The cost of my iPhone 5 was three hundred dollars with a two year contract. The price you've put on these pictures and the video, three thousand dollars. Destroying the marriages of two scumbag cheaters so two nice people can move on in their lives...priceless. I do want something, but you ain't gonna fucking buy it with a Master Card."

"I let go of his arm and told him to give me his driver's license. He started shaking his arm to restore the circulation to it. He gingerly handed me his license and I took a picture of it with my phone."

"He looked at me crazily."

"That's so I can contact either you...or your wife, if I need to," I said acidly.

"But what should I do?" he said.

"Pray that Crystal does what I ask her to," I sneered.

"He took off running back for the bar, then he remembered that he'd parked in the lot he'd just run away from. He looked back at me tentatively."

"Can I get my car?" he asked shakily.

"Get the fuck out of here," I told him.

"Jason, you have to understand. I love Ed," whined Crystal. "This isn't about love. I want to spend the rest of my life with Ed. This is just about fun and letting off some steam. I swear I'll never do it again."

"Why Crys?" I asked acidly. "Are you thinking about how badly you'll hurt Ed, or just how badly he'll hurt that little bitch that just ran out of here after calling you a whore and saying that you weren't worth anything? That guy ran out and left you here and doesn't give a half a God damn about what happens to you. Big Ed would have died for you."

"Don't you think I know that?" she screamed. "I feel the same God damned way about him. This wasn't supposed to happen this way. It was just supposed to be some fun until I got it out of my system, that's all. I have no intention of leaving ED for anyone or anything."

"Let me guess this is some kind of fifty shades of stupidity thing, right?" I asked.

"She looked at me as if she was trying to figure out what to say."

"No Jason, this is more about YOU than anything else," she spat.

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Terri getting up. It looked like she was about to leave."

"Crystal, you and I are having lunch tomorrow. Be in that park near your job at noon and be prepared to answer any and all questions I have for you. And be prepared to answer them honestly. If you lie, your marriage is over. She just looked at me and nodded."

"Don't tell anyone about me catching you. Do not tell a fucking soul. Do you understand?" I hissed."

"She nodded her head quickly, and I left before Terri came out of the bar. As I left the parking lot, I was sure I saw a hooded figure crouching in the darkness of the rooftop next to that parking lot. I figured it was a security guard. I had to make another of my super quick trips home. But at least this time the visit to the bar had been worth it. By the next afternoon, I'd have all of the information I wanted or at least more insight on what was going on with Terri."

"Crystal must have known I was serious because she was waiting for me when I got to the park the next day. She looked nervous. She came over and got into my car as soon as I pulled up."

"Do you want to do it here or go to a motel?" she asked.

"Do what?" I asked.

"You know...have sex," she said, looking around as if she was looking for a camera."

"Are you out of your fucking mind, or are you just that big of a whore," I screamed. "I'm not a cheater. I have never cheated on Terri; not once and I never will. Why do cheaters always assume that everyone else is doing it?"

"I'm sorry," she whined. "It's just that when you turned down all that money that Nick offered you and you said that our marriages depended on something that I had to do, I just assumed..."

"You have far too high an opinion of yourself," I snapped. "I don't want your disease riddled, stretched out pussy. All I want is some answers and the truth. I will be checking other sources and if you're lying to me, I visit Ed."

"As soon as I mentioned Ed, she shrank down in the butter-soft leather of my seat, as if he was watching her."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know," she said.

"You started the girl's night out a couple of months ago. Was cheating the main reason you ladies started doing it?"

"No," she said. "Of course not. We started getting together after a really stressful job ended successfully and we thought that we all deserved to relax and to celebrate. Accomplishing any difficult operation tends to form a bond among the members of a staff or a team. We're all different. Some of us are married. Some of us are divorced and a few of us are single. We're all different ages too. The only thing we have in common is that we work together."

"You said that I had something to do with your cheating. Explain what you meant," I told her.

"Jason, I didn't mean that literally," she said. "It's just that Terri loves you so much that she's always bragging about you. She talks about your muscles and your swords and your work outs. But she also talks about and we've all seen the way you just show up and bring her flowers for no fucking reason except that you were thinking about her. She talks about the way you treat her in bed too and a lot of us are really jealous of that. I wanted to find someone like that and play around with him, just for a short time. I mean I love Ed, more than life itself, but in bed he's..."

"He's what?" I said. "Shit his dick has to be huge."

"It is," she said. "Men...You guys are so hung up on size. If it was only about having a big dick then the one guy with the biggest dick in the world would be the only one getting any pussy."

"Then why do so many women leave their husbands for men who are more well-endowed?" I asked.

"Because they're stupid. They leave their husbands during the first few sessions with the big dick guys. They don't find out until later that really good sex requires variety and creativity more than size. It also requires that the person ringing your chimes or trying to, feels something about you. Ed has the big dick all right, but he uses it like a fucking club. He climbs on, forces his way in, stabs me with it, roughly 10 or twelve times and then grunts, squirts, tells me he loves me and falls to fucking sleep."

"His dick is so big that it hurts sometimes. There's no way I'm letting that thing anywhere near my ass. If he even tried it, I'd run out of the house naked and leave him. I just wanted to experience some of the things you give to Terri."

"Do all of the women in your little group cheat?" I asked.

"Hell no," she said. "Most of the married women wouldn't even think about it. And of course, the single women are free to do whatever they want, but most of them also don't go after married guys."

"She looked at me as if she could sense what was coming next and steeled herself for it."

"Does Terri cheat on me?" I asked.

"She looked away from me then. I know it was hard on her but she had a choice to make and I think she knew from the beginning where the conversation was going. It was her friendship with Terri matched against her marriage."

"Yes," she said. "...But only a couple of times with a couple of guys. Well the old guy makes three. But Jason, you have to understand, it's not what you think. ...At least not with the first two guys."

"Get the fuck out of my car," I growled. I was having trouble holding it together and I didn't want this whore to see me cry.

"No," she said. "You have to let me explain."

"Say what you have to say and then get the fuck out of my car," I snapped.

"Jason, Terri loves you. She would die for you. But women are hard to understand. You two have what most people would consider the perfect marriage, but women want variety."

"I give her variety," I snapped.

"Yes you do," she said. "...In some ways. But in other ways you're just like Ed."

"I looked at her like she was talking gibberish."

"Jason, I've heard all of the stories," she said. "I know that you two have done costumes and games and role playing and even experimented with some light B&D and a lot of wilder and milder things too. But there are two things that you miss, Honey. Number one, no matter what you two do, she always knows that you love her. She told me that you chained her to a post in your basement once, but instead of just fucking the hell out of her, you put lotion all over her wrists so the padded handcuffs wouldn't chafe her. Every once in a while she wants you to treat her like shit. She wants you to be really rough with her."

"My mouth dropped open."

"I don't think that's a deal breaker though," she said. "The biggest problem is you, Honey. That girl thinks you hung the sun, the stars and the moon. She's sure that someday you'll just get tired of her. She sees herself getting older and she's sure that you'll go after one of those younger women in your office. All of the things that you guys do in bed are things that YOU come up with. She wanted to experiment a little bit so she could bring some new things to you. She wants to be mysterious and creative for you too. If she fucks your brains out, you won't leave her. And lastly, Jason, she's already realized that part of what she was looking for was just stupid."

"She slept with a few guys before you, but she was pretty limited in her experience. She just wanted to try out another guy, to see if what the two of you have really is as special as she thinks. After trying out two guys who she said were just awful compared to you, I think she knows and was ready to quit until she met the old guy."

"Had," I snapped.

"Huh?" she said.

"You said what Terri and I HAVE is special. You should have said what Terri and I HAD; past tense," I said.

"Jason, you have to be kidding," she snapped. "That girl can't live without you. What she did is wrong as hell, but it's not worth losing your marriage over. Did you know that almost fifty percent of married people cheat one time or another? In most cases, they're never found out and their marriages go on without incident. In cases where they are found out, if the affairs were brief, most people with common sense forgive their mates and it never happens again. The cheating spouse usually understands so much better what they risk losing and never even thinks about doing it again. You and Terri are perfect for each other. Don't throw that away. Do you really know anyone who'd make you happier than she does?"

"Before you try to ram any more of your Dr. Phil bullshit down my throat...have you ever heard the expression once a cheater, always a cheater?" I asked.

"Tell me about this old guy, as you call him," I said.

"Well he's not that old," she began. "He's just older than us. He's really hard to describe, but you don't have to worry about him. He hasn't shown up in over two weeks. He just shows up when he does and Terri leaves with him. He doesn't even come over to our table, he just appears in the doorway or outside and Terri gets up and goes to him. You don't have to worry about him though. I don't think they have sex."

"Then what do they do?" I asked.

"Shit, Terri doesn't remember," she said. "When she comes back, she's always weak and woozy and never remembers leaving. It's like he hypnotizes her or something stupid like that. We know they're not having sex because once when he came to get her, she was on her period. When she got back, her tampon was still in place and there was no blood or anything on her panties. Plus, she's usually gone for less than five minutes and according to her she isn't even wet down there. She isn't even sure why she goes with him, but she always does. Maybe he's just moving really slowly with her."

"Here's my phone number," I told her. "I'm going to be watching her. I need evidence to help me in the divorce."

"No Jason," she gasped. "You have to give her a chance."

"Shut the fuck up whore," I spat. "Do you want to see one marriage end or three?"

"She remained silent."

"Crystal, you did your duty to Terri as a friend. You tried to stick up for her. You tried to defend her, but you have to look out for yourself. To thine own self be true and all of that bullshit. All I need you to do is call me if he shows up. For all you know, I might already be there. But if you don't, I'll still file for the divorce. The difference is that you'll go down with me. If you help me, I swear that Ed will not hear about what you've done from me. I will also not show him the video or the photos. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," she said coldly. "It's not as if I have a choice is it? But Jason, I need to tell you one thing. No one is perfect. Look at you. You have a temper and a short fuse. You judge people, and you enjoyed hurting Nick yesterday when he tried to hit you. You also don't seem to be able to forgive people. Terri made a mistake and a big one. But she really does love you. And the tears in the corners of your eyes that you're trying so hard to hide, tell me that you love her too. Are you cutting off your nose to spite your face?"

"What the hell should I do?...Slap her on the ass and say don't do that again? Maybe I am too harsh Crystal, but I do have this thing called self respect. If I let her get away with this, I'll never be able to look myself in the face again. Hell yes, you said it yourself. I LOVE Terri, I always have...but not enough to let her shit on me. Like you said, we experimented with a lot of different types of sex. But shitting on each other isn't something I'm interested in."

"I'm never going back to that place," she said. "This girl will only have nights out with her husband from now on."

"Fuck that," I said. "You have to keep going until I get my evidence. Then you can quit. If you tell Terri what's going on or do anything else to hinder my efforts, I'll not only send Ed the video but I'll post it on the internet. Am I clear?"

"What's my name?" she asked.

"I almost laughed as I said "Crystal."

"Later that day when I got home, Terri was all over me. I could barely stand to look at her. Luckily she could sense that something was wrong with me and asked me about it."

"Jason, are you okay?" she asked.

"No, I'm not," I snapped.

"My words and my tone were more harsh than I'd intended and I didn't want to give anything away until it was time."

"I haven't been feeling well lately," I said. "And I got some really bad news today."

"Her face softened and she smiled and put her arms around me."

"It'll be okay. Honey," she said. "You still have me. Tell me all about it. Maybe we should just spend tonight in bed together. We'll just snuggle up with some popcorn and a good movie. And once we get to rubbing against each other, who knows what might happen."

"I have to work out," I said, turning away from her.

"Jason, you shouldn't go out running it you're sick," she said. "And surely the other two Musketeers can handle it if you don't pick up your sword for just one night."

"I just walked away from her. As I left the room, I could hear her screaming at me."

"If you have that much energy, maybe you should channel some of it into having sex with your wife. We haven't done it in two weeks," she yelled.