Sophia Pt. 01

"Robin, don't cry Daddy will be back soon. You know how much he loves us. He always says that no matter what happened, he is still the big winner, because he has us. Calm down, please." Megan reached into the back seat to pat Robin's shoulder.

"Okay," Robin did her best to quiet her sniffles.

Maria took a couple of deep breaths, maybe Don has had, some really bad things happen to him. And his girls haven't had a joy ride either, she thought. "So, he stared at me like a hungry wolf, it has happened before. Well, maybe not that intensely and not with a look that seemed to see my soul. But...., oh shut up. He rescued me. I'll treat him cordially, until I see the wolf again."

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

It took three trips down into the ditch to bring up everything. There was Maria's purse, a cooler chest, two large bakery boxes, a bag full of DVDs, and my tools. I had to strap the cooler chest to the roof of my SUV, there was no more room inside.

I was glad to be done. The water in the ditch had been well above knee height at the end. My feet were screaming in pain, from the cold and it was hard to walk. I stumbled to the driver's door to let myself in. There was a lot of mud on the my boots and lower legs, but I didn't give a shit. I just had to get warm.

I opened the door and plopped myself into the seat. I was shuddering and shaking from the cold. I couldn't believe how cold I was, I looked at the dash to check the outside temperature. It was registering forty degrees, oops dropped another degree, now it was thirty-nine. That thermometer normally registered at least two degrees higher than ambient, because of the heat of the engine too. I swear it was at least fifty, when Robin first spotted Maria's car.

"Dad, are you okay?" Megan asked with a worried tone to her voice.

"I just need to warm up a bit. It's a lot colder, than I thought it would be and I wore the wrong boots." My teeth were chattering when I said that. I tried to grin at my daughter, to ease her mind. That just made her look more worried.

"I'm okay Baby, honest. Now, that I'm in the car, warming up. Maria, where do you want to go? We're heading to the Elk Mountain ski lodge, but we can easily make a detour to drop you off."

"I live just five miles from the lodge entrance. If you could drop me off, that would be wonderful."

"No problem, just give me directions."

"My drive is off this road, about twenty miles down and five miles before the lodge."

"Beautiful." I put the SUV in gear and started to slowly drive down the road. I didn't have good control of the gas and break peddle because my feet were still too numb.

It took forty minutes to reach Maria's driveway. Maria had found out, that my girls were horse crazy and they had been having a happy discussion. I was too miserable to pay attention to anything but my driving. My feet were no longer numb, but they hurt a bit. Plus water had wicked up my pant legs, so the only place that wasn't soaked was my chest area. My hands looked a bit a swollen too, I hadn't been too careful in my desperation to free Maria. I've got at least three pairs of heavy leather work gloves in the back and I hadn't thought to grab a single pair, dumb guy.

"Just up ahead on the left, is the drive. Can you see the reflectors?"

"Red and yellow ones?"

"Yes.'

"Got it."

"There is a gate about thirty feet off the road. You've got to stop just before it, so I can punch in my code."

"Okay." I did as she directed and pulled up parallel to security box just before a heavy black security gate. I stopped the car so Maria's window was lined up with the box. The gate was one of those huge ornate affairs that you see in the movies. With heavy stone columns at either end.

Maria was fumbling in her purse for a moment and then lowered her window. I watched through the side mirror, as she slid open the door on the box. She then slid a key card through a reader and punched in a code. Pretty fancy system, must have a few bucks.

The gates started to slowly swing open. I was wondering how she handles it, when snow fills the driveway and blocks the gate from swinging open. So I asked.

"What do you do, when there is so much snow that it blocks the gate?"

"The motors on the gate are extra strong, so they can push quite a bit. I've also got a local man that keeps my driveway clear. I've only had problems once or twice. But I had to add the gate. There were too many tourists driving up and disturbing me. Some of them quite drunk, thinking my house was the lodge."

We drove up the drive. I was looking at the odometer, four tenths of mile, and it was all paved. Yep, she had some bucks. Automatic lights came on as we got closer. I could see why people thought her home, was the main building at the lodge. But there was a difference, her home was bigger. It was built of stone and logs and had an attached four door garage.

"If you can pull up to the left hand door of the garage, I can get out and punch in the code. Then you can just pull in and we can unload there."

"Makes sense, but you're not dressed for this weather. If you can temporarily trust me with the code, I can punch it in. You can change it later." I turned on the dome light and looked in the rear view mirror at her. Which I been religiously avoiding doing for the entire ride. Damn, she was gorgeous. That dress she was wearing was to light for this weather, it wouldn't be much better than naked skin. No, no, no, don't think about her naked skin. I carefully kept my face and eyes under control and looked at her eyes in the rear view mirror, so she could see mine. I wanted her to see that I had everything under control and she had nothing to worry about.

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

I stared in the mirror, and screamed. "Barbara you're an adulterous slut and scum. You don't deserve any happiness, you piece of shit!" I had to vent. It was only safe to do it, when Megan and Robin were gone. I took one of my lipsticks and scrawled all over my reflection in the mirror. I then collapsed down onto the floor with the shakes. At least this time, I didn't throw up.

My life was a complete wreck and it was my own damn fault, but Don's sisters had helped a bit too, SHIT!

I needed therapy but I had been avoiding it, because of fear of what the therapist would say. I had even stopped my girls' therapy, when their therapist had asked too many questions. You're a GREAT FUCKING MOM, BARBARA.

About six years ago Don and I were having problems, and what I did just made them worst. Or I should say, I was having problems, Don was just perfect like always. I had been taking him for granted. He was my rock, my comforter, and my life. He totally comprised everything that made up a safe and secure home to me, he was the essence of the word "home". AND I HAD BEEN COMPLETELY TAKING HIM FOR GRANTED, AND I KNEW IT!

Maybe it was the fact, that I made five times his salary. Maybe it was because he was always so nice, calm and reasonable. He always spoke with me calmly, no matter the provocation. Even if I was being a BITCH. But harsh words were not his way. I knew he had an iron will, but he wasn't a man of rage and violence. I loved him, with all my heart and soul, but our marriage was suffering and so I went to best my friends, his sisters, for advice.

I had first met his sisters, Diane and Michelle, at college. They were one year older than me. I don't know why, but we just hit it right off and became close friends.

They were constantly talking about their little brother, Don. How when his father died, and Don was just twelve. Don had tried to become the "man of the house" for the family. All the heavy chores he did, all the household repairs he did. When he found, he couldn't do some of the heavy chores around the house. He started exercising constantly, so he could do the heavy work, that an adult man is called on to do, from time to time.

Don went to the library and borrowed books about household repairs, so he knew how do them. He even got jobs, doing lawn work and window washing, and gave most of his earnings to his mother. And this wasn't a phase, he was still doing it, when he was a senior in high school.

Well that summer after my freshman year, I went Michelle's and Diane's home, to visit with them for a couple of weeks. The thing that immediately struck me about Don, was that he carried an air of competence. Like he was a man that could do anything, but he still looked like a kid. Don's mother was nice, but he was always in the shadows, ready to support her. The power behind the throne, so to speak.

Well, there was one evening when Michelle, Diane and I, all had dates with our boyfriends. We were going to a fancy dinner/dance club for a romantic night. At the last minute, my boyfriend had to cancel, he had problems with his student visa and was forced to hurry home. I told Michelle and Diane to go on without me, but they refused. Then Diane got the bright idea of having Don accompany us, he could be the designated driver, too. They said Don could keep the chair warm and maybe I would meet someone else at the club. Personally, I thought it was beneath Don, but they and his mother talked him into it.

At the club, I did dance a few songs with Don, but then I met some other people and spent most of the evening at their table. Both groups decided to leave, at the same time and Don went off to get the car. That's when the true colors of my new friends revealed themselves. I made it plain to them, that I was going home with Michelle and Diane. But they wanted me to go with them. There was no way, I was going to get into a car with three strange men. Flirting and dancing with them, okay. But go home with them, hell no.

Things got physical. Michelle's and Diane's boyfriends tried to help, but my new ex-friends were much bigger. Michelle and Diane were both screaming for Don, and I was thinking, "what can one eighteen year old kid do against these guys?" I had already been forced into the back seat and was being held by one of my new boyfriends, when Don arrived.

He appeared and suddenly the two guys outside of the car, just seemed to magically fly about six feet, into the wall of the club. Don then reached into the car and grabbed my soon to be ex-new-boyfriend at the belt and collar. He pulled him from the car, with the guy screaming all the way, like a little girl. Don lifted the guy over his head and smashed him down onto the car's roof. Scaring the hell out of me, since I was still inside the car. The police came, charges were filed and my three very ex-new-boyfriends got two years probation. And I started looking at Don, in a whole new way. Let me tell you, there is something primal when a guy fights for you.

It took me four years to finally catch him, and then I went and blew it, eight years later but his sisters helped.

Don had been after me, to spice up our love life. He had books about different sexual positions and acts, that couples could try. I think he would have been happy, if I just started giving him blow jobs again. Lord knows, he deserved it, with all the oral he performed on me. I was still desperately in love with him, but he no longer got my juices flowing. And I wasn't even willing to try to do anything about it. I refused trying new things. I refused romantic evenings in or out of the house. I refused to see a counselor and most definitely, refused to see a sexual therapist.

There I was carping to my sisters-in-law, about what a lousy wife I was, shit. I should have just gotten off my ass, swallowed my pride and seen a licensed therapist. My two best friends and sisters to Don, made a confession to me. They said, that when they felt their own marriages were getting stale, they went out and had brief affairs. Never lasting too long and never more than once a year. They said, that when they returned to their marriages, that it made them appreciate their husbands more and they gave their husbands a lot of kinky guilt sex. They suggested, that I give it a try and like a damn fool I did.

I've always had a weakness for men with accents, they made me go weak in the knees. I'd dated quite a few men from other countries, while in college. But I never wanted to marry any of them. For me, there are just too many cultural differences when involved with someone from another country. I just can't get comfortable with them and relax into a long term relationship. But to have a brief affair with one, that was another story for my demented mind.

I had my masters and was involved with international finance at the time. I managed large loans and investments from the U.S. to overseas, and managed a lot of overseas investments into the U.S..

His name was Philippe, and he was from France. He was here on a joint venture project. Every time he was near and spoke to me, my face grew red. We went on two dates, before I let him go all the way. I even prepared for it. The books, that Don bought for our love life. I finally read them, but for Philippe. I WAS SUCH A BITCH! I did things for Philippe, that I no longer did for Don. I did things for Philippe, that I never did for Don.

And when the affair was over, did I then return to Don, hell no. Don was my fluffy down comforter. Don would always be there. He was nothing to excite my pussy. Ah, but Sean from Scotland, his very voice got my pussy wet. So I had affair after affair. I even got into a brief affair, with the president of Don's company. He was from England. That proved my undoing.

During the almost four years of my adulterous life. My sisters-in-law became increasing furious with me. But I always hit them with the fact, that they were the ones who got me started and that they were adulteresses too! Personally, I always thought, that they vicariously got off from my affairs. I was seeing exotic, exciting men. Michelle and Diane would always press me, for every detail of my dates.

When friends, finally discovered my affairs, I tricked them with the aid of Diane and Michelle. I told our friends, how Don was so ashamed but he got off, on me seeing other men. It helped Don to perform in the bedroom. I MADE DON OUT TO BE SOME SORT OF PERVERT AND THEY BOUGHT IT. They promised not to confront Don with my infidelity and embarrass him. Michelle and Diane would add to the story. They would tell, how Don had grown up in a house without any male, father figure, how sad. The only thing he had, for a role model was three strong women, what a crock.

Well the vice-president at Don's company, had picked up some clues regarding my behavior, from the president. And that fat toad, hired a P.I to follow me. Three weeks later, he was blackmailing me for sex.

I thought it was the most disgusting thing ever, when he laid hands on me. I was wrong, the second time was the most disgusting. I needed to get drunk to let him touch me and I swear he slipped me something too. But the second time, he brought in two of Don's subordinates. I did my first multi-partner sex act. THEY GANGBANGED ME! The next day, I called that fat toad. And with a calm and sincere voice I threatened to kill him, if he ever came near me again or told my husband.

But I couldn't do anything about Don's subordinates. Don overheard them talking about me. He didn't believe it, but he had heard enough to hire his own private detective. The man discovered virtually everything. How I had been having affairs for over three years and how I had a secret apartment.

Some evenings, when I was very late, could be excused as business related. But too many evenings would even make Don suspicious, he was a bit dense but in a good way. So, I became an imaginary frequent traveler. I did make many business trips, but only half of them were real. During the fake trips, I would still go into work, but the evenings were all about my lovers in my apartment. The apartment was also useful for showering and changing clothes. I have some beautiful gowns, dresses and especially lingerie, that Don has never seen. My lovers would take me to some of the fanciest affairs around town. Money can open any door, and we were money people.

I was disgusted with myself about how I was treating Don, but I couldn't stop. Many women read romance novels, well I was having real romances.

That is until Don found out.

I came home, from two days out of town, "at my apartment". When he confronted me. I tried to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Barbara, sit down at the table. There is something we have to talk about."

"Honey, I'm so tired from my long trip. Can't we talk later?"

"I'm sure you're tired from FUCKING Sergei. Sit your GOD DAMN ASS DOWN!" He roared. I almost fainted. Don never yells. The words penetrated and I did faint.

I came to, with a bucket full of ice cold water, hitting me in the face. Then, Don bodily picked me up and PUT ME IN A DINING ROOM CHAIR. Don had never been physically assertive with me before, and he never makes a mess. Yet there he was pouring a whole bucket of water on me and the floor. I knew Don would react badly to my affairs. In the back part of my mind, where I tried to never looked, I even suspected that if he found out, it would lead to the end of our marriage. But I had never imagined, that he would be so enraged.

He thrust some papers before me, on the dining room table. It was a detective's report on my affairs. "I thought about confronting you at your apartment, but I was afraid I might kill someone. Right now, if you're wondering, Megan and Robin are at Diane's house."

"What do you have to say for yourself Barbara!" I didn't say a word. I didn't even cry. I just looked at the papers and refused to look up. For a half an hour at least, there were no sounds made by either of us.

"Barbara the depth of your betrayal is disgusting, and we are probably heading for divorce. But if you have any hope of saving this marriage, you had better speak in the next fifteen minutes, or I am out of here!" My hand with my wristwatch was on the table. I could look at it without looking up or moving. I remembered doing a mental count down, like when a bomb goes off. "Fourteen minutes until my marriage is over. Thirteen minutes......"

True to his word, Don left. He had his SUV already packed. Initially he stayed with Diane, until he found out about his sisters' involvement.

There was one terrible meeting, that I had with my attorney, Don and his attorney. I couldn't believe all the evidence, that they were easily able to acquire, about my past affairs. Don said something like, "you've been cheating on me for years!" I don't know why I said it, I think I was insane at the time. But I said it sarcastically and looked at him mockingly when I did it. "Well, duh."

Don picked up, one of the heavy conference chairs at the table. And threw it the length of the table and into the wall. The drywall shattered, and he stormed out of the room. It was a good thing, that we were at his attorney's offices.

Then the divorce proceedings occurred. My lawyer was good, he was a real shark. He didn't care about justice, he just cared about winning. I was still in so much shock and mental anguish, that I let my attorney run the show.

First, I humiliated Don with all our friends, then they talked about Don's "problems" on the witness stand. When our friends were confronted with the fact, that Don's "problems" were a lie constructed by me and his sisters. Our friends, when pressed by my attorney, said Don still had to know about my affairs, because they were so blatant. They mentioned several pictures of me, in the society pages of the local newspaper, as example. Like Don, would ever read a society page. I had Don's absolute trust, and I betrayed it, absolutely.