Tales From Behind the Bar Ch. 01

“Alright! Alright! I was his bitch okay? I was his whore is that what you want to hear? Fine! I fucked him every chance I got. Does that make you happy? Jeff (sob) I love you. I can’t lose you. I love you baby.”

“Yeah? You love me huh? Well now you can find out if it’s better to have loved and lost. Your things will be here in the garage for another 48 hours. Then what ever’s left I’ll set on the front lawn. The locks on the doors will be rekeyed tomorrow morning and the garage door opener will be reset in two days. I’ve already closed the main bank account. I put half of the $ in your personal account. Now I suggest you load what you can and go.”

“NO! Noooo! JEFF DON’T DO THIS! Please I’m begging you. I’ll do anything! Anything you say baby. Just please let’s go inside and talk this out!”

“I grabbed his arm and held on for dear life. He yanked it out of my grasp like it was nothing. The next thing I knew he had his hand on my chest holding me at bay like I was some child. The look he gave me chilled me to my soul.”

“Don’t put your hands on me again. I might forget who you are.”

“I was totally undone. I stood there as he walked into the house and with a slam closed and locked the door. He flipped the switch on the deadbolt so my key was locked out. I beat on the door till my hands hurt. I screamed myself hoarse but Jeff never came to the door or even looked out the window. As I stood there sobbing I had to admit he was right. If our roles had been reversed I would have done the same thing and probably much worse. Still I couldn’t just give up so finally I came to you Uncle Samuel.”

I sat back in my chair and stared at the floor. On the outside it might have appeared that I was in deep contemplation. On the inside I was deep in shock. First Phoebe, now Denise? I wandered if my female relatives were losing their minds. Both had good strong men in stable marriages. Neither of them is stupid. So why would they make such stupid mistakes and destroy good relationships that they say they loved and cherished? Phoebe’s ex, Floyd, divorced her and left for Europe on an international investment project for the bank he works for. Phoebe was devastated, still is. Now am I going to watch it happen all over again to another member of my family? Denise and Jeff have 10 good years behind them. Why would she throw all that away? She sat there looking at me with pleading eyes. I had to say something, but it may not be what she wants to hear.

“Denise I love you. You know that but I got to ask you the hard questions.”

“I know. Why? Why did I let it happen? Why didn’t I stop it? Why did I let Marc escalate it? Why did I put my marriage, my husband at risk? I don’t know. I don’t have an answer, not even one that makes uncommon sense. I just let myself get caught up in a situation. But Jeff should know that I never stopped loving him. That should count for something.”

“You say this AFTER you cancelled plans with your husband to run over and jump in your lovers bed.”

Denise cringed as my statement bit deep. Her response was soft as she choked back the shame.

“I love Jeff. I never stopped loving him.”

“Jeff had a good point Denise. What if the roles had been reversed? What if he had cancelled plans to go jump in bed with one of your friends. What would you have done after catching him in mid stroke?”

Again she cringed and the tears that she had been holding back came tumbling down. I was both sorry for her and angry with her. I went to get another drink, straight 7-Up this time. When I returned that round of showers was over.

“Uncle Samuel (sniff) you have to help me. I don’t know what else to do. Please talk to Jeff for me. He won’t listen to me but he will to you.”

“Me, talk to Jeff? What makes you think he’ll listen to me?”

“You’re a man. He loves and respects you. If you tell him how sorry I am and how I’ll do anything for another chance he’ll listen to you.”

“He’ll also think I’m trying to stand up for his wife, my niece. It could make things worse.”

“Uncle Samuel things can’t get any worse. I’m locked out of my own house and my husband won’t talk to me. What could be worse?”

“You really have to ask?”

The look on her face was like someone clinging to a fraying rope while staring into the bottomless pit.

“Uncle Samuel I – can’t think about divorce. I can’t let that happen.”

“Denise you know me. I got to keep it real. There is the very real possibility that it’s already to late. You may have blown your marriage apart.”

“NO! I told you I can’t let that happen! I love Jeff. In his heart he knows that. He’s just too mad to see it. Once he calms down he’ll remember that I love him. That Marc means nothing to me. In the meantime you’ve got to help me Uncle Samuel. He won’t listen to anyone else. Please Uncle Samuel?”

Denise was falling apart. I have 2 brothers and 1 sister and a total of 7 nieces and nephews. If there is any one lesson we’ve taught them it’s that you got to stand tall and persevere in times of trouble. When things get tight you have to persist until the very end no matter the obstacle. But THIS! With the exception of Phoebe no one has been in anywhere near the mess that Denise was facing. Phoebe lost her marriage due to somewhat similar circumstances. When her husband Floyd found out he wasted no time in becoming her ex-husband. It devastated her. That was nearly 2 years ago and she still hasn’t completely recovered. Oh she’s picked herself up and is moving on with her life but there is no joy in her. Jeff is a man out of that same mold. Passionate in his affections but when angered takes immediate steps to resolve the situation. That is what worries and terrifies Denise. Still she is flesh of my families flesh, blood of my blood. If nothing else I could ask to hear his side of the story.

The next morning I pulled up to their house. The blinds on all the windows were closed. If I hadn’t called ahead I would’ve assumed that no one was home. As I pondered what I would say a white Lexus LS 400 pulled up. Out of the Lexus stepped Marva Wilson-Smith 5’8”, 140lbs of thick shapely light skinned woman and one of Denise’s best friends. Marva had the kind of body with round ass and long legs that made men develop neck problems from turning to look as she walked by. She was only medium size up top but put her in heels and those rolling hips made you forget all about her tits. Her main drawback was a pompous attitude and a sharp tongue. The look of concern on her face led me to wonder if Denise hadn’t called her in too. If that were the case I would be sure to express my displeasure at her NOT waiting till I was done. A man will sometimes tell another man certain details he won’t express in a woman’s presence. She saw me and her expression was one of surprise.

“Sam? If you’re here at this time of morning something must definitely be wrong. I heard that Jeff kicked Denise out. What’s going on here? Have you seen Denise?”

“(Sigh) Yes Marva she’s over at my place. Look why don’t you go over there? She really could use the company.”

“Has Jeff lost his damn mind?”

“Marva listen – “

“Did he hurt her? If he did – Oh never mind. Since I’m here I may as well ask the crazy fool myself.”

I barely managed to grab her arm as she started toward the door. She turned around looking like she was ready to knock me out.”

“Whoa slow your roll Marva. Before you go and make as bad a mistake as Denise stop and listen to me.”

She gave me a scalding glare but stopped her advance. Here was a woman that was used to having her own way.

“You better listen to me before you march your high yella ass up in there and wake up in the hospital. If you’re determined to find out what happened then you have two choices. Either go to my house and talk to Denise or stay here. But if you stay here you MUST keep your mouth shut do you understand? You put that mouth of yours in park or I’ll bounce your wide ass down the street myself. Do I make myself clear?”

Marva’s brown eyes were wide with shock. She was quite well off and not used to being addressed in such a manner. Fortunately for me I was one of the few people in town that she respected – and feared. I’ve had to straighten her out before when she got crossways with me. I’m sure she didn’t want that embarrassment again. When she responded her voice was ice cold.

“Very well Samuel. We’ll do it your way. I won’t say a word. For now.”

I made sure she stood behind me when we got to the door. When the door opened the expression on Jeff’s face was not one of surprise but more of annoyance.

“Well this is something you don’t see everyday. Since you called Sam I assumed that Denise ran to you for help, but Marva too? I’ve never known you to need backup Sam.”

“Look Jeff I don’t know about Sam. I just want – “

“Marva what did I tell you?”

“But – “

“Marva!”

She turned her nose up in a huff but closed her mouth.

“Alright Jeff, you’re correct that Denise came to see me. Now I want to hear your side of the story. You gonna let us in or slam the door in my face?”

For a long tense moment I waited on his response. This was the ultimate test of the relationship I tried to build with him over the years, one of integrity and confidentiality. Most of the time women have older female friends they can call on for “sage advice.” It’s decreased in recent times but it’s still there. For black men though it’s different especially in today’s society. These days there seems to be a “wisdom gap” in black society. Brothers more often than not have to carry the burdens of life alone. More and more men that are beat down by life or suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune have to lick their wounds and do their crying all alone in the dark. It is partly our own fault. Societies worship of youth has had the effect of secluding the older more seasoned men as whack and out of touch. The rise of the hip-hop mentality has added to the gap. No thug wants to be accused of being so weak that they actually listen to an older man, be it father or uncle or informed stranger. I think possibly only the gay community has it worse. My father in law said it best:

(Sam I know you got smart friends and all but sometimes being young they can also be foolish. Some things do not change like affairs of the heart. Some times you need to listen to the voice of experience. Measure yourself not against your friends but against someone who’s been down the road you’re traveling.)

Now I was putting his advice and my personal pledge to be there to the test.

Jeff’s visage was clouded as he wrestled with his own emotions. Even after 24 hours the pain was still white hot his nerves still raw. Slowly he stepped back from the door. I took hold of Marva’s hand and ushered her to a seat beside me on the sofa. She started to remove her hand but I tightened my grip. She remained silent and left her hand resting in mine.

“Alright Jeff tell me what happened?”

“If Denise told you her side you already know more than me. Why don’t you tell me?”

“Jeff who else has been here? You ain’t answered the phone and you ain’t been out of the house. We’ve talked about this on many occasions how men especially black men do their crying alone in the dark. To often this is when the madness sets in. Black men especially keep it all in because most of the time they don’t have an older man or mentor they can go to and talk it out. I’m not asking you to cry. I just want to offer you an opportunity to ventilate. Your call.”

Another tense pause as Jeff eyed me then Marva, then me again. He shook his head as if clearing the smoke away.

“For weeks now I felt things were different. Denise wasn’t as joyful, as lustful a she used to be. We still made love, but where there used to be urgency on her part now there wasn’t. There used to be times when we never made it to the bedroom. She used to be hungry-determined to get with me and have me with her. Suddenly it was like if I get some fine if not fine.

“At first she made excuses not to rush home to be intimate. Her favorite one that I accepted was that she wanted to broaden our experiences. I mean sure after 10 years things can get stale. So I tried to expand my horizons. Plan some new things, a weekend getaway, a day trip, anything to get us out and about. I even went to my boss and told him that I had to slow down. He hated to do it. I’m one of the best he’s got but he figured it was better to placate me than to lose me altogether.

“I thought slowing down would make things better but all it did was make it seem more out of place. I mean at times things were good just like always but then there were the other times. Like when we would go out with a group of friends. Things just seemed to be coming together. She would be so hot that some of our friends would crack on me about how I wasn’t going to sleep that night. Then we’d finally get home and NOTHING! It’s like she turned every thing off. I’d literally be standing there with my dick so hard it hurt but she’d be too tired or have a headache. Now that I think back on it those nights were times when Mark was present and they spent quite a bit of time together. I never dreamed, never ever considered that –“

Jeff stopped to compose himself. For the first time I saw the grief welling up inside him. Marva started to speak but I gently squeezed her hand and she remained silent. Jeff cleared his throat and continued.

“I knew something was up, but it took awhile for me to accept what was happening. My mind added 2 + 2 but my heart couldn’t accept that 4 meant Denise was having an affair.”

“(GASP) Denise? Jeff that can’t be …”

I squeezed Marva’s hand hard till she grimaced in pain. Jeff waited till she settled down.

“My reaction was just like yours Marva. It was beyond belief. I tried to look at other options but the more I looked away the more I was forced to look back at the obvious. After 10 years my wife was playin on me. More dates and events we planned together were cancelled, many at the last minute. She either had to work, she was tired or she wasn’t feeling well. Intimacy became an ever-decreasing event. When we did make love it was good but now it only fueled my suspicions.

“I almost decided to just live with it. Treat it like a phase she was going through but yesterday it all exploded in my face.”

“What happened yesterday Jeff?”

“We had planned an outing to the new spa then down to the docks for some good seafood. It had been set for weeks. Yesterday was Presidents Day; a holiday and I had the day off. Like I said we had planned this trip for weeks but Saturday she comes to me and says she has to go into her job. They are close to finishing a special project and she had to be there to help close it out. Since I was half expecting that I just shrugged my shoulders and remarked how sweet it was of her to waste our money and my time. She tried to apologize but by now I was to pissed to care. She tried to tell me that we’d have all afternoon and evening together but by now it was all just a song and dance to me. I didn’t have much to say to her the rest of Saturday or all day Sunday. Monday morning she was up and out of the house before the sun rose. I decided that when she returned we would have a long talk. Not about her infidelity I still had no proof but about her irresponsibility. Waiting until I spent both time and money before backing out. If she didn’t want to go she should have said no from the start. As I considered what I was going to say I turned on the radio. I like to listen to DJ Rock on the radio. He’s always good for a laugh. Yesterday it was a best of the best bits day. I love those shows so I decided to record the program for laughs later. Good thing I did or I might have missed this.”

Jeff went over and switched on the entertainment system. He stared at the floor as he queued up the spot in the tape I know he’d listened to again and again. I watched as Marva’s face went pale as she recognized Denise’s voice. Her jaw dropped as the tape rolled on. She couldn’t look me in the eye as Denise went on and on about Marc. I had heard it from Denise’s mouth and still I cringed as I heard the enthusiasm with which she voiced her comments. When it ended Jeff switched off the tape.

“That’s when it hit me. I still couldn’t accept it but now it could no longer be denied. It was the only way things made sense. I thought of the nights when I told my best friend my troubles and he said I was trippin. That I had 10 good years of hot sex and now maybe it was time to cool off. As much as I clowned Marc over his escapades with the ladies I never dreamed it would ever involve me personally. Watching night after night as women he turned out gladly came back. I didn’t want to believe it but there was no other perfect explanation. I had to be absolutely sure so I grabbed my digital camera and went to Denise’s job. That’s where she said she would be. That’s where she told me she had to go.

“She wasn’t there, hadn’t been there all morning. I know, the guard showed me the sign in log.

“So now I verified the lie, I still had to verify the betrayal. I drove over to Marc’s apartment. There parked three spaces from Marc’s 300ZX was Denise’s Corolla. Since my camera was programmed with time and date I took pictures of her car in his apartment complex. I was livid but what I saw later was even worse. Marc is afraid of heights so his apartment is on the ground floor. I walked around to his bedroom window. The sheers were drawn but I still had a good view of the action inside. There was a split at the bottom of the sheers that gave me good camera shots into the bedroom.

“There in his bed on her hands and knees was Denise. She looked like she was doing those female pushups as each time down she took his cock all the way in her mouth. I didn’t need to see Marc’s face to know he was enjoying it over the years that’s been one of her favorite positions. My heart broke as I watched her lips and tongue thrill another man’s cock. After a few minutes of this Marc got behind her and slowly put his cock inside her. I took pictures of both of them. Denise and I had video taped our lovemaking before and it made me excited to watch and hear her passion. This however was in a totally different vein. To see her moving and hear her moans as she fucked another man both excited and sickened me. I saw their world thru red and green glasses as I watched her move with him as if THEY had been married 10 years and I was the outsider. From the window I watched as my ‘closer than a brother’ best friend pulled my loving wife by her hair until she reared back screaming not from pain but from her erupting pleasure. I watched as he pulled her shivering body back to his so she could twist around to kiss his lips.

“He let her fall face first back to the bed and she buried her face in the pillows as he began slamming himself into her still recovering cunt. I knew from experience that she was having yet another orgasm on top of the first one and my heart sank even further. I watched feeling helpless as he got reactions from her body that in 10 years I’d rarely seen.

“Suddenly he pulled all the way out while holding her face down in the bed. I saw his lips move and he slapped her ass cheeks. Her body jumped but she made no move to stop him. She reached back with her hands and what I saw made my heart and dick hit the ground. I watched in shock as my wife pulled her ass cheeks apart to allow another man to apply extra lubrication to her brown hole. I faintly heard her wail as he slipped two then a third finger inside her ass. He worked her ass for several minutes with one hand while his other applied the lube to his cock. She buried her face in the pillows to smother the scream as in one smooth motion he buried his cock in her ass. I’m sure it was only a few minutes but it seemed like he pumped that ass for an eternity with long deep strokes. Then came the final straw.