This Was Going To Be The Last Time

"Danny you really have changed Cara whether you can see it or not, I've known her all of her life and I can see it. Last night just after you left to go get the beer, and all of the guys started heading upstairs, me included, she made an announcement. She told all of those guys, that last night was going to be the last time she ever had sex with anyone except for you because she loves you and just couldn't stand doing this anymore. So last night really was supposed to be her final performance, whether that means anything to you or not." he said.

"Like I told you before, I've known Cara all of her life, and even when she was going out with a guy, she always had her eyes set on the next one. I've never imagined that she could be happy with just one guy, but I think she really is and really does love you. Even before all of this happened last night you and her boys were all she talked about. They say a leopard can't change her spots but I really believe Cara has. And I stopped by this morning before I came over here, and you should go and see her, she is really torn apart by this." he said.

"At any rate, you can handle this how ever you'd like, I just came by here to apologize and tell you that I'll do whatever you want, from me to make this right."

After he left I sat there and I thought about it for a long time and I just got more confused. The thing that hurt me the most was finding out how long this had been going on behind my back. When Jane had told me that last night wasn't the first time I'd thought that maybe it had happened at a party some other time and she thought that I knew about it, but now I could see that the woman I married and loved with all of my heart couldn't possible have felt about me, the way I felt about her. She had never stopped cheating on me. She had obviously done it while we were dating, and throughout our marriage and would probably never stop. Even if she gave it up for a while, sooner or later the memories would surface, or we'd have a fight and she'd end up doing it again. Thought I loved her with all of my heart and soul I am simply not the kind of man to put up with that. Even if she was sincere about quitting now, how the hell could I ever believe her or trust her again.

She could have brought me home a disease at any time. Did I even know for sure that the boys were mine?

I packed all or Cara's clothes and personal items that she'd need for a long stay, in her car. Before I was done, Ernie called me back. I explained the situation to him and told him what I wanted. I also told him I wanted full custody of my boys, if they were mine. I told him I'd probably also be charging at least two of the men from the party last night. I sent him the video of Cara and the pictures too. Before I could finish packing up Cara's things the fucking doorbell rang again.

I was ready for a meeting with another one of those guys from the party last night and was surprised to see a woman standing there and a cab in my driveway.

She was a very pretty woman with features that were different but still reminded me of Cara and Jane. Where both Cara and Jane could be considered thick, she was thinner but still had their curves. She had a few lines on her face and was obviously older than the sisters. She was also older then me, but her over all impression was still quite stunning.

"Hi Danny," she said putting her suitcase down and extending her hand.

"Hi back," I mumbled, wondering who this woman was and why the hell she had a suitcase.

"Where's my daughter?" she asked looking around.

"Who's your daughter?" I asked in return.

"Cara and Jane," she said smiling, "You're married to Cara, and apparently I have two grandsons that I've never met too."

"I know this is a big surprise for you and I don't have any way of proving this to you, but I'm sure Cara will know me. Can I send my cab away?"

I just nodded my head and moved out of the way so she could come in.

"You don't need to prove anything to me," I said, "I can see the resemblance, so I have no doubt that you are who you say you are. But I kind of thought you were dead. Neither Cara or Jane ever talk about their family other than each other so I just assumed when they said you were gone, that they meant...well you know."

"It must be a pretty big shock for you then," she said smiling again.

"Not really," I said, "Over the past 24 hours I've had a lot of shocks and this is nowhere near the biggest or the worst. In fact your timing and your presence might just really help me."

"As you can see, neither Cara or Jane is here, but I can take you to them," I said.

"That would be great," she said, and then there was that smile again.

I explained to her that Cara was staying with Jane for a while and I was on my way to take some of her clothes to her. She just nodded and followed me outside.

"It looks like you're taking more than few of her clothes," she said.

"Well I don't know how long she's going to be there," I said.

"So Jane and Randy are having problems again huh?" she asked.

"Something like that," I said wondering how a woman who had never met me or Randy knew so much about us. "It'll probably be easier for you to drive Cara's car," I said, "And you can just follow me over there. That way she'll have her car and her clothes, and you'll be there with them."

"Sounds fine to me," she said cheerfully. I had to admit that even though I didn't know the woman's name; her disposition was growing on me. Since she'd been here, I was calmer. My own mom had that kind of influence on me, though my dad and I just never seemed to see eye to eye on anything. Mostly because my dad thought that his shit didn't stink, and I was the only one who'd tell him that it did.

I drove much slower than I normally would have to avoid losing her and we got to Jane's house in about twenty minutes.

Randy came out to see me as I pulled up. He clasped me firmly on the shoulder and looked at me. "Danny what the hell is going on?" he asked. You two are the happiest people I know. That girl loves you more than anything I've ever seen. I would die to have someone love me that much. She's so miserable right now that it almost makes me want to cry, but no one is saying anything." He looked really helpless, like he wanted to do something or hit someone but he didn't know who.

We were saved from further awkwardness by the front door opening and Jane sticking her head out. When she saw me talking to Randy she got a real nervous look on her face and stuck her head back in the house. She tentatively came over to us, and then the door open wider and Cara came running out. Much as I'd been told she looked awful, there were big circles under her eyes and her eyes were so puffy and swollen it was a miracle she could even see out of them. My shock at seeing her gave way to revulsion as I realized she was heading straight for me.

At about that time the door to Cara's Car opened up, and the woman inside got out. If I'd had any nagging little doubts that his was actually Cara and Jane's mother they were erased immediately.

"Danny who i...Mom," began Cara

"Who?" exclaimed Randy.

"What the fuck is she doing here, and why did you bring her to my house?" snapped Jane.

Seeing the three women together was interesting for a lot of reasons. First the three of them together represented three completely different body types. First there was my Cara, she was short and curvy, not a lot going on in the breast department, but her ass was a work of art. She was a tiny bit pudgy and had a rounded belly from giving birth to 2 kids. Cara had short collar length blonde hair. Her eyes and nose were near exact duplicates of the other women. Next there was Jane, she was taller than either of the other 2. Jane was very blessed in the rack department, but was what the kids call N triple A.

For those of you who haven't heard of it, that means No Ass At All. Jane had that hippy styled long thick brown hair. I'd often joked that she wore her hair that long to cover up her lack of a butt. The woman standing between them was clearly the original. Her daughters had both inherited parts of her, but neither got the whole package. Their mom was about 5' 6" which put her about halfway between Cara's 5'1" and Jane's 5'10" heights.

She had a beautiful set of breasts not as overwhelming as Jane's but perfect for her form. She also had the kind of butt that made anything she wore look good. It wasn't as big as Cara's jungle booty, but it wasn't far behind. Her hair was a dark shade of red and you could if you looked closely make out highlights of Cara's blonde hue and some darker browns that echoed Jane's brunette locks too. There were of course a few gray strands in there as well.

Her face was exactly like the two younger women's only with a few more lines in it, and an expression of both experience and I don't know how to describe it any better, but she seemed to be at peace with herself in a way that her daughter's weren't. Maybe it was just the impending divorces, maybe not. But she seemed to have the look of someone who's been through hell, survived, and come to accept herself for what she is. She doesn't need to put on airs or try to promote herself because she knows what she is and has accepted it.

"Why the fuck are you here, how'd you find us?" snapped Jane breaking the silence.

"Hello to you too darling," said her mother. "I've had PI's checking up on you occasionally for the past few years. At most of the significant events in your lives, I've been there perhaps not in form or function, but in spirit. Through the magic of video, I've vicariously enjoyed many events with you. I was at Cara's wedding to Danny. I even had a piece of her cake, albeit a day old. I was at yours as well Jane dear, though I didn't get a piece of your cake. I know all about your occasional tiffs with Randy here, mostly due to the pressure of his stressful job, and your lack of one. I've seen my two grandsons, from birth til now, maybe not in person but I've been there just the same. Cara, did you ever wonder who it was that was always sending you those unsigned cards on the kids birthdays or yours? well now you know."

"Just fucking great," said Jane, "It's not like we don't already have enough stress going on around here. Now we've got you fucking stalking us as well."

"Mom," said Cara. "Why d.."

"What the fuck do you want," interrupted Jane, "You gave us away, you don't get to just show up and plop your ass back in our lives, just like that. My husband is a cop. By tomorrow I'll have a restraining order against your ass, so whatever you want to say, just say it and make fucking tracks."

"I don't want anything from you, I just hoped that now that you're both grown ups we could spend some time together, maybe talk and sort out the past. Maybe even put it behind us, and let me become a part of my children's lives. That's all I want."

"Well in the words of Daffy Duck, "Th Th Thanks for stopping by," said Jane coldly. "If you take that same road you came in on and just keep driving, then turn either left or right, I don't fucking care which, it'll get you out of here. The sooner the better."

Then she turned to me. "What were you and Randy talking, about brother in law?" she asked, "Or were you just here to see Cara?"

"Danny, baby I miss you so much," said Cara. "I'm so glad you came to see me. I know that we can get past this. I was wrong, I admit it and I'll do anything to make this up to you." she was practically hysterical as she said this and constantly stepping towards me. I on the other hand was in full retreat mode. It looked almost as if she was chasing me around my Mustang in slow motion. If I weren't involved in it, and I wasn't so heartbroken it would have been funny as hell.

Finally the thrill wore off and I just said "Stop, Cara, you're supposed to be giving me time, to think about this, remember. I was trying to be nice about it. I brought you your clothes and some personal items, and your car. But if you insist on pestering me, the whole thing can be over now. I even brought your mom out to be with you and Jane. Maybe that's my problem, I'm too nice and too, trusting to people who don't deserve my trust."

"Danny what do you need to think about?" asked Randy. "You have to tell me what's going on. I'm sorry man, I thought that you had done something, to upset Cara, Jane made it seem that way, but I'm starting to see that I made a mistake didn't I?"

He looked at Jane with the same expression cops always use on people they've caught in a crime or a lie.

"How does Jane fit into the picture?" he asked me seriously.

"Look Randy, you and I will sit down and have a talk as soon as I get my head on straight. there are still some other people from the party I need to talk to, first and I still have to sit down with Ernie tomorrow, but very soon we'll talk I promise."

Both sisters started talking at the same time.

"No," screamed Cara, "Danny please! anything but that. We don't need Ernie. This is us, we're going to be together forever. No matter what. You promised me that."

"Yeah, but you promised me a few things too," I said sadly. Cara just slumped on the ground and started crying.

"Danny you don't need to drag other people into your problems," said Jane. "Just because I'm supporting my sister doesn't mean you need to have a talk with Rand.." she immediately stopped talking and almost bit her tongue as I looked at her. I could tell she was trying to make Randy think that her only involvement was trying to help Cara. She quickly changed tactics. "Well at least you can drop Sandra, off at the airport or at a motel, I don't care which," she snapped. "Even if we were on speaking terms, there's no room for her here, Cara's sleeping in our second bedroom and the bed is too small for two people."

Well at least I knew my mother in law's name now. "Cara if you're interested, which I don't know since you haven't asked. The boys are staying with my parents for a few days while we work this out, one way or another. I didn't see any reason to drag them into this and make their lives any worse for something so stupid. I also didn't tell them anything about what happened. So they're just having a good time with their grandparents, at least until they have to find out." Almost as if she hadn't heard me Cara just sat there in the dirt in the driveway crying her eyes out.

If it had been a scene in a movie, that movie would be pretty fucking depressing. Five adults all upset for different reasons not looking at each other and not knowing whom they could trust. Randy was upset at me because he thought that I was withholding information from him. He could sense that his wife was somehow involved in this and he didn't know if he wanted to know or not. I kind of envied him in a way. At least he was getting a bit of a warning, so he'd get a softer blow. He'd get his news in small steps if he got it at all. First he got the warning that something was going on, then he found out Jane had something to do with it. Then finally he got the news. His situation wasn't like mine. I had no clue about what a whore Cara was until I walked in and found her servicing at least five guys. Five guys that I knew, who had all probably been laughing at me behind my back for our entire time together. They were probably laughing since before we were married. I felt like the latest contestant on that new game show, "Who can we trick into marrying the town slut."

Jane was upset, first because Jane was always pissed about something, this time she just really had something to be pissed about. she was angry at Cara, not because Cara had done what she did, but because she got caught and started all of this. She was angry at me because I had caught her in the act and was holding her marriage over her head by a thread. she also knew that deep down inside I loathed her and held her partly responsible for what happened to Cara and me. She was angry at Randy because she knew he would never understand what she'd done and knew she'd lose him. And because in her own way she loved him and losing him would be hard on her. She was also angry at her mother, but I didn't know where that came from.

Cara was angry at Jane, but I didn't know why. She was mostly upset that she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and was now going to be punished. I didn't try to understand her feelings or motivations because, I didn't know her at all. Before yesterday if anyone had told me that Cara was cheating on me. I'd have had them at both ends. I'd have laughed in their face and kicked their ass, but I wouldn't have believed it. One of the cornerstones of my life was the fact that Cara loved me, and now it had been destroyed.

Sandra was upset because even after all of these years her only children were not willing to forgive her for whatever she did in the past, and also because she could see that there was a big problem here and no one would let her in so she couldn't help. She had to just watch it and do nothing.

We all know why I was upset so let's move on.

With nothing left to say Sandra and I got into my Mustang and drove away.

"Well that was fun," I said trying to cut the tension, on the drive back.

"I guess I probably should have written a letter, or called before just showing up," she replied. "I don't have a flight back booked yet, because I'd planned on getting an apartment and staying here if things worked out. You can just drop me off at any motel we pass." she said sadly.

I looked over at her and saw that she was trying to hide her tears. She was suffering just as badly as we all were. I imagined if I'd had a falling out with my boys and tried to get back in their lives and they had rejected me, as badly as Jane had rejected her. I'd have been devastated.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she never looked up, the whole trip back. When I pulled into the driveway and stopped the car she recognized that we were back at the house.

"You forgot about my motel, Danny," she said.

"No Ma'am, this is your motel. I have plenty of room. And if you stay long enough, you may get to meet your grandsons. Besides maybe you shouldn't be alone after that kind of disappointment. You also don't seem like the type to just give up, that easily. And if getting back in your daughters' lives is what you want, you may as well view this circus from a front row seat," I told her. She laughed a little at that, and nodded her head.

I gave Sandra or Sandy as she told me to call her our guest room. She took a shower and went straight to bed that night. The next morning I woke up and the house smelled great. I looked at the clock and realized that I had overslept but it didn't matter since I didn't have to be back at work until Wednesday, and I wasn't sure I was going back then. the boys had the next two days off from school as well so everything was fine.

I had to figure out what the hell that smell was though. I went downstairs and found Sandy in the kitchen. She had set two plates and had made coffee and pancakes and the delicious bacon that I was smelling.

"I had to use your car, I'm sorry," she said, "You guys only had fake bacon. You had turkey bacon and tofu bacon. How do they make bacon out of tofu?" she smiled as she said it. Her accent had that Midwestern twang to it. It was a nice change from all of the fake California surfer talk that even people who moved here from other parts of the country tried to pull off. It sounded genuine and warm.

"Danny, I know I'm a stranger in all of this, but I think we really need to have a talk." she said.

"I promise Sandy," I said, I have some running around to do today, but we can talk over dinner. I'll be grilling on the deck out back, so we can relax and talk then."

"Okay," she said trying to smile.