The Mechanic Ch. 03

The first lie of the night! Well! Now I knew what was coming and how she was going to play it. Now, my mind was suddenly made up. I decided to encourage her to tell me more. Maybe a few details would help. Maybe some of what they did to me would help her make up a good story!

"They worked me over pretty well outside, Heather, the four of them. I had a concussion, some broken ribs, and some internal bruising. It hurt for weeks afterward. They knocked me unconscious and put me in my car. They stood there, Heather, waiting for me to wake up. And do you know what they told me that night? I'll tell you the exact words: they have never left me. They said, "Get the fuck out of here and don't come back. Your wife belongs to Drake tonight and you'll get her back tomorrow. Tonight she belongs to him, not you. That's what they told me, Heather! They told me if I tried to get to you, they would make sure I went off the cliff into the lake. That's what they told me.

"I guess I wasn't so stupid as to think of dying for you since you chose to be with Drake, so I went home and waited and you never came home. No calls, no excuses, no pleas for me to come get you. Not a word! It was morning before I decided you had been with him all night. Since everyone saw what you did and what happened to me, I decided that I couldn't live with the shame. I left."

She had tears in her eyes as she listened to what I said. When I said "I left", she broke down and began to cry. I watched, unable to make myself go to her as her shoulders shook and her sobs filled the quiet. She stayed that way for long minutes before the tears stopped and she quieted. She wiped her eyes and again, raised her eyes to mine. I could see the tears had not been real! Her eyes were bright with her contempt!

"Nothing happened, Jesse! All I can remember is that Janie grabbed me and pulled me toward the back as Drake and his guys pushed you out the door. I was with Janie and she and Jake made sure that Drake didn't come for me. He and Janie stayed with me all night and into the next morning. I tried to call you all night but I couldn't get an answer. When it was light, they took me back to the trailer but you were gone. I had no idea where you were and I waited for you to come home. But you never did."

"Why would you expect me to come home, Heather? You deliberately shamed me by going to that bar with Drake and sitting with him and making out with him. I saw where his hands were and I saw the smile when you saw me: it was one of satisfaction! I was so angry that I could have killed both of you, but Drake decided to be a big man. That's when he and his men took care of me.

"And just so you know, I didn't even leave until late that next morning. I waited all night for you and you never once called. You never came home and you were with him all night. And I talked with Jake this afternoon. He said you wouldn't go with him and Janie. They never saw you again until later the next day. They even went to the trailer to try to find you but couldn't. So much for your lies, Heather

"As I sat in our trailer, aching from the beating I had been given by Drake and his gang, and waiting for you, I remembered that night at your apartment when I was going to propose. I know now that I made a mistake by trusting you then. I should have been more suspicious, but I loved you and I let my love convince me that you were telling me the truth. I guess with what you did that night and with my thoughts on what I saw those years ago, it came to me that I had been a fool. So, I chose to leave."

"Oh, God, Jesse! I was the real fool. I know what I did and I will regret it the rest of my life! That night at the apartment, I was telling you the truth. The only thing I did wrong was to tease Drake a little by telling him I was in love with you. I wasn't going to take him up to my apartment! He had never been there and I was making sure he wasn't going to get up there this time. I had already told him no, but I wanted to get the door open and have it between me and him. That's when you showed up. I let him touch me earlier just to make him less suspicious. That was my mistake and that's what you saw. I swear to you that all I said was the truth.

"And the night of the party. Everything I did was wrong! I was angry and in my anger I got stupid! I wanted to hurt you, but never by doing anything with Drake other than using him to make you jealous. I wasn't drunk, only a little tipsy. I knew what I was doing and when I smiled, it was just because I was happy that you finally came to get me.

"But when Drake got up and rushed you, I knew then that everything was going wrong! That was not what I planned. It wasn't what I expected and when Drake got up, I was so surprised that I just sat there. I saw him swing at you and I started yelling at him to stop, but no one listened. Then everything went to hell and the next thing I knew, I was in my driveway at home. I spent the night with my parents.

"It wasn't until the next morning that it all came home to me what I had done. You were gone and I then understood what you must have thought. You didn't know where I was and the last thing you knew, I was still with Drake. It all came down on me then. I knew that I had driven you away and I had no idea where to reach you. I searched for months afterwards but I was never successful. Polly cried herself to sleep every night for weeks and I had no way to comfort her. What could I tell her? That I had driven her daddy away from home by my stupidity? I had no words to ease her pain and no lies to tell myself to ease my own.

"All I can say to you now, Jesse, is that I never betrayed you and I never stopped loving you. In all this time, I've been with no one else and I never will be. My life without you is now only about our daughter. All of the money you sent has been set aside for her. All our savings are still intact. I've taken nothing of yours since you left. I've stayed here in our home waiting for you to return. Now that you have, I've said all I have to say. It's up to you now.

"If it's any help to you, all I want is for you to forgive me and come back to me and our daughter. That's all I've wanted since the night you left. I'll never make the same mistake again, I swear that to you."

I sat there almost in shock at the lies this woman told me without a blink! All lies and all denying what I now knew was true. Heather had spent the night with Drake at least twice that I knew of. The night I almost proposed and the night of the party. Probably many more I didn't know about. And Heather, for all her skills and her love of adventure and partying had always been a good liar. The story she told me tonight was one lie after another and she did it with a straight face! She lied to make her story what she wanted me to believe. Just like that night all those years ago. That was one of the reasons I had chosen to believe her all those years ago.

Heather did the things I knew about: making the decision to go without me, making the choice to sit with Drake and have too much to drink, making the mistake of expecting me to come to her rescue without any consequences. And when I did come and things got out of hand, she simply took advantage of the situation and spent the night with Drake. It was clear to me that she had always had a thing for him but knew he would never make a good husband. So, she chose me and when the novelty died, she found a way to have her cake and eat it too. She did those things all right, and the result was me getting the beating of my life and leaving her and my child behind.

But hadn't she paid a price? I had gone off and found a new life for myself with good friends, good money and a new start. I hadn't made the decision to start looking for a new woman in my life but Shawn had fallen into my lap and I would take advantage of it once I finished my life here. Now, I was sure I wanted to do that. Heather was still my wife, but she lied to me when she had a chance to tell me the truth. Her regrets were hollow and I had no reason to believe her when she claimed she wanted me to come back to her. But she should have known that wasn't going to happen: not the coming back part. I would never live here in this God-forsaken place where Drake and his kind did as they pleased.

And the other thing was that I now was positive about her association with Drake, both in the past and now. She said nothing had ever happened between them but I no longer believed that. I thought she was a virgin when we married and that I was her first, but I remember now that she told me her cherry was broken during her time as a cheerleader so not to worry about causing her any pain. I believed her because she felt so tight but then she was always tight, even after Polly was born. I caught her that day and felt I had stopped her before she had a chance to go with Drake. But, she was gone that night and most of the following morning before coming to me. When I asked her about Drake, she said nothing happened, but I no longer believed her. And what about in the years since I had been gone? Had she ever been with him in that time? The gift of the car seemed to answer that question.

I made up my mind then to end this without any further lies and deceit. I wanted to let her know without any question.

"Heather, the car you came home with tonight is Drake's old car. He gave it to you. The car waiting for the other driver was the one I delivered to Drake's father just this morning. And his dad told me that Drake was with a woman whose husband had run away after cheating on her."

Her eyes widened and she started to say something, now that she knew I was aware of the gift from Drake. I continued on, waving my hand in her face to still her lying.

"And both nights you said you were with someone else, you were with Drake. The night I almost proposed and the night of the party. Even your mother didn't know where you were the night of the party and had never known about the night I wanted to propose. She didn't see you either time. And my phone never rang once. Neither my cell or the house phone. So, why continue with the lies, Heather? Just let it die."

Now there were real tears. As I threw her own lies back at her, I could see the surprise turn into fear and finally into actual pain and tears. She knew it was over now. Why she cared was beyond me but I had to ask.

"Why are you crying, Heather? It was over that night you chose to cheat on me in public! You had to know that! You must have known me better than that! You had kept it private before that and I didn't have a clue. At least, I wouldn't let myself believe you could do something like that. But that night, you had to know I could never accept you with him or any man. You had to know that!"

"I'm sorry Jesse! I was crazy mad that night and I couldn't help myself. I had too much to drink and I made a stupid mistake. That's all it was! Honest, it was just a mistake! Drake doesn't mean anything to me! You're the only man I ever loved. You have to come back and forgive me!"

"No, Heather. It wasn't a mistake and it wasn't the first time. You had been with him even before we were married and you probably never stopped. I now wonder if Polly is really my daughter. I don't know any more. All your lies, your deceit and your contempt for me. It's too much!"

"No! Please, Jesse! You can't believe any of what you're saying! Polly is your daughter and you can't doubt that! And you're wrong about Drake. I don't love him and I'm not with him. He gave me the car just to help us out! And I haven't been with him before. You're wrong! You're wrong!"

"No, Heather, I'm not wrong! You've told me and others too many lies! Me, your mom, Jake and Janie. Anyone who could find out the truth, you lied to. And I believed you! That was my mistake! You liked to party way too much and you couldn't stop. And Drake was a big man who had money to spend and to buy you things. You slept with him the night I was going to propose and then you came back to me the next day and convinced me that you were still a virgin.

"I should have known it was all a lie, but I loved you then. I would have believed anything you told me and I did. But now, I caught you in those lies and I know the truth. You've cheated on me in the past and you've never stopped. But it makes no difference now. I'm done! I'll be gone tomorrow and you'll be free. I'll file for divorce as soon as I get back."

Heather was now stunned with the way things had gone. Why she wanted me to stay was beyond me. Could she really love me as she said? It was clear she at least thought she did but it wasn't enough to make her remain loyal. She had to cheat with Drake. He was rich, a playboy and someone who didn't care about rules or fairness. She and he were of a type and deserved each other.

"I'll give you all I have here, Heather. The savings account, the money I sent, the trailer, and anything else here. Take it all! It means nothing to me anymore. I just want to forget you and what we had. It was all a lie and not worthy of remembering. The only thing I will demand, is time with Polly. If you try to fight that, I'll destroy you and Drake in any way I can.

"I'll agree to child support but not to alimony. I'll never give you a dime to spend on that son of a bitch you're screwing. I hope both of you rot in hell for the rest of your lives. Just call me first and I'll come get my daughter. I'll be glad to take her now if you want. She'll just get in your way. Party girls don't need someone to hold them back."

I was finished and ready to leave now. I had said my piece and I suddenly felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from my back. I felt light and happy. Shawn and Billy were waiting for me and I couldn't wait to get back. I looked down at Heather who was still crying. I wanted nothing more than to walk out, but just as I started, I heard a small voice ask, "Daddy, is that you?"

I looked down and saw my daughter standing there with her eyes wide and a thumb in her mouth.

I looked at Polly, smiled a big smile and said "Yes, baby. It's daddy"

"Hi, daddy. Are you going to come home to live with us again?"

I looked at Heather, back at Polly and made up my mind. "No pumpkin, I'm leaving tomorrow. But I will come to see you as often as I can. Would that be OK?"

"Why can't you come home again daddy? I want you here with us."

"Your mommy and I aren't going to be together any more baby. Mommy has someone else she wants to be with. So, I have to go back to where I live and be with the people that care about me like she cares about you."

Heather had tears in her eyes as she spoke calmly for Polly's sake. "That's right honey. Daddy has someone else now and he has to go back to them. But you'll see him really often now. He'll come to see you as soon as he can."

She stood and looked at me for the last time. I felt a tug of the old affection and love that hadn't completely died. How could it die so quickly? I was human and I had feelings that would take a long time to go away. But now I had someone else to help me and I couldn't wait to get back to her.

I walked over and took her in my arms. I was amazed at the fragility of her body now. I held her and she wrapped her arms around me as if afraid I would pull away. She whispered in my ear, "I'm so sorry, Jesse. I was crazy and I'm paying a horrible price for it. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I already have. Just take care of yourself and our daughter. I'll have everything to you as soon as I can and I hope for the best for you. Never forget that I loved you with my whole heart once. I would have done anything for you if you had only asked. Now, it's too late."

"I know, Jesse, and I don't know how I'm going to survive without you. Regardless of what you think, these last two years have been hell for me. I believed that since you hadn't divorced me, there was still a chance you'd come back to me. I never stopped loving you, Jesse. Drake is a distraction, nothing more. He does love me but I never loved him. And Polly is your daughter. Don't you ever doubt it. I swear to you on my life that you are her father!"

"Thank you for that, but it isn't important. She's my daughter and nothing will ever change that. Maybe you can let her come to visit me. She'll like Billy and Shawn. They're waiting for me now."

I let her go, her sob almost making me change my mind, but it was too late. I leaned down to kiss my daughter and then, with one last look around, I left to go back to what was now my home and my only thought was "Shawn, I'm coming home!"