Sex, Lies, and Confusion Ch. 03

Confusion

Sunday morning my Cell-phone started ringing the moment I switched it on. I'd got a whole collection of missed calls and messages, mostly from Caitlin's mobile and our home phone. Plus a couple from Jimmy's phone. I called Jimmy back, and Linda answered.

"Hi Lin, sorry that I had to make that scene last night, but it had to come out sometime. I wanted everyone to know what had been going on."

"Well we certainly all know now! But you left before the finale, Jean had another good rant at Tony after you had gone, and he hit her. She was calling him all kinds of names, he lost his temper and gave her a real back hander, and Jean's got the makings of a right shiner. Phil jumped in and decked Tony, then we called the police, they came and took Tony away. From what Jean said, I gather it wasn't the first time Tony has been violent to her."

"Oh yea, before the police came, Caitlin got at Tony as well and gave him a good kicking in his privates, then he threw up all over our new carpet. Cait was calling him all kinds of names. We couldn't really make much sense out what she was shouting, but we all got the impression that what was going on between her and Tony was not what you would normally call an affair."

"I can guess, Cait's always had a very high sex drive. She's probably decided she just wanted more than I can give her."

"No No. I'm sure its not Caitlin wanting the sex, she appeared to be blaming Tony, She kept calling him names and saying this was all his fault. Unfortunately Caitlin worked herself up into such a state that she went all hysterical on us and was completely incoherent."

"When the police finally arrived they called the paramedics to her, who then got Phil and Carla had to take her to the hospital. Carla called earlier and told us Caitlin had been put under sedation for the night. We were all worried about your kids. Where are they?"

"They're fine, they are with Caitlin's folks for the nght. They'll look after them until she's feeling better."

"What about you, where are you staying? We know your not at home we went around there last night."

"I'm all right. I'm staying with a friend for a few days. I think I've decided to take that job in Devon, I haven't got Caitlin to stop me now, so I might as well go and enjoy playing the big boss."

"You're definitely going to leave Cait and divorce her then?"

"What choice have I got Lin, I'm not staying married to a woman that goes sleeping around, I've got some pride."

"But you still love her don't you?"

"Yes of cousre I love her, more now than when we got married. Well you know all about that, I stood by her then, and soon fell in love with her. I have fallen deeper in love with her every year. To be honest I don't know how I am going to survive without her, but I will have to. Look, I've got to go Lin, I've a hell of a lot to do today, I'll call again you later."

"No wait a minute Roger. I don't know what happened when you were married, but I do know you two have always made a wonderful couple. As long as I've known you, you have always seemed so in love with each other. Please Roger? Come round here and talk things over with Jim and me before you do anything drastic."

"Well you should get Jimmy to tell you the story of my wedding. It's different from how most people marry. And OK I'll talk things through with you two, but I don't know what good it can do. Bye."

"OK we'll see you tonight for diner then, Seven o-clock alright with you?"

"Yea, I'll be there. But Lin?"

"Yes."

"NO Caitlin!"

"OK, I promise!"

With that I disconnected. I had guessed Linda had planned to have Caitlin there tonight but she was wasting her time. Caitlin and I were through.

Jean called me around lunchtime, and asked if I knew how long the affair had been going on. I told her that I was playing my cards close to my chest at the moment. If she started proceedings against Tony, I would give her everything that I had, but not until then. She asked for my solicitors' details and said she would be at their office first thing Monday morning. I told her I would meet her there.

++++++++++++++++++

Six o-clock saw me parked up the road from Jimmy and Linda's place. Caitlin's car was parked out front, so I waited for her to leave. She came out with the children about six fifteen. I saw her look up and down the road, she didn't spot me because I was in Greg's car again.

When she had gone I left the car were it was and walked down to the house. Jimmy and Lin saw me coming, and they were both at the door to greet me.

"Hi Rog. From your timing we assume you saw Caitlin leave?" Jim said, as Linda gave me a hug.

"What was she doing here? Explaining how she's the innocent party, how her fucking Tony was all my fault, I suppose. Well I'll tell you now! I'm not interested in her excuses; so please don't you two start trying to put any pressure on me. Caitlin is strong willed and she has always done her own thing. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she knows what I think about adultery and what I'm going to do now."

"But Rog it can't do any harm to talk?" Linda replied.

"Three or four weeks ago she had all the opportunity she required, if she had felt she needed to talk to me, she could have done so then. But while I didn't know she was shagging Tony, she saw no reason to talk about it. Now I've found out, she suddenly want's a nice conciliatory chat. Well that one's out of the window. I told her last night, Caitlin shagged her way into our marriage and now she's succeeded in shagging her way out of it."

"I heard you say that last night Roger. But I'm sorry, I don't understand what do you mean by it." Linda asked.

"Haven't you told her Jim, I'd have thought it was a juicy bit of gossip!"

"What happened between you and Caitlin back then was your own private business. You have always been my friend, my best friend come to that. The only people I have ever discussed how you and Caitlin came to get married with, have been you and your brother. I've always thought that I would be breaking your trust, so I have told Linda nothing about it."

"Oh Shit Jim. I'm sorry. That was rude of me. You're a better friend than I realised. I assumed, you thought I was a bloody mug like most of the guy's did."

"No I never thought you a mug. You believed Claire was your kid and you did what you thought was the right thing at the time, and I have always thought it was the right decision you made. That makes you a better man than the guys that would have walked away."

"Sorry Guy's. But you've lost me here. Could you please tell me what you talking about." Linda was looking very confused.

"Look Rog, you and Lin go settle yourselves in the lounge and then you can tell Lin the whole story. I'm bound to get it all wrong, I'll get on with the dinner."

"Domesticated him haven't you." I said to Linda as she led the way into they're lounge.

"He's a darn sight better cook than me." she replied.

I sat on the sofa and Linda perched herself on the edge of one of the armchairs. I could sense she was impatient to hear the saga of how Caitlin and Roger got married.

"Where do I start? You know I've never had to tell this story before, I have always assumed that it was relayed to everyone behind my back."

"You underestimate the respect your friends hold you in. Very few people know the real story." Jimmy's voice came from the kitchen. He was obviously going to listen in."

"Now Linda, you are bound to think this just couldn't happen. But it did! I first met Caitlin when I was at Uni. I lived in a house with about ten other people at the time, mostly students. Some real 'Hippie Type' called Willie owned the place, he was really laid back and stoned out of his head most of the time. Different people, kind of came and went all the time. I had been dating a girl called Kathleen for the three years I lived there."

"Sex on legs, boy, was she a cracker!" Jimmy's dismembered voice came from the kitchen again.

"If you're going to keep interrupting, Rog will never get this story out. Now please be quiet Jim." Linda scolded.

"Caitlin moved into the house and shared a room with a girl called Elaine. Elaine was a right little slapper, used to jump into bed with just about anyone that brought her a drink."

"Soon after she arrived Caitlin made it plain that she fancied me. God she was a real pain, and Kathy used to get real upset if ever she saw me talking to Cait."

"Well as far as I was concerned Cait was wasting her time, Kathy was my destiny we had been together three years. And besides the fact, that we had two different homes we were living as man and wife. We just spent half the week sleeping in my bed and the other half in Kath's."

"It just after Christmas and I was in my last year at Uni., when Kathy met me from a lecture one afternoon and told me it was over. She announced she was going to marry some guy and fly off to the States with him. I'll never know when she met the guy, Christ she was with me most of the time and had been for the previous three years. I don't know whether she had been playing me for a fool all that time or what. But she was gone and I was left devastated, I loved the girl."

"Anyway, I almost had a breakdown. I drank myself silly and missed most of my lectures. Assignments I didn't bother with at all and I was well on my way to flunking out big time. But Jimmy and the boys got tough with me, they made cut down on the drinking and got me to sort out my studies. I found that by throwing myself into my studies I could get through the days."

"But the nights, I kept having these terrible dreams, nightmares to me. I would dream about Kathy every night. I tried to get myself just drunk enough to fall into a stupor. But I still had those dreams, in them Kathy and I were always making love."

"I'm sorry if this is embarrassing you Linda but you wanted the story and believe it or not this is an important part of it."

"No. No. don't worry about me." Lin replied, "You carry on."

"Well these bloody nightmares went on and on for months. Until one night I suddenly realised I was awake and I wasn't having a bloody dream! Kathy was jumping up and down on my, Er, penis shagging me. Then I realised, it wasn't Kathy. It was bloody Caitlin. I threw her off me and demanded to know what the hell she thought she was doing."

"She sat on the floor grinning at me and told me that she had been coming into my bed almost every night for months and we had been having sex. I wouldn't believe her, but she swore that she had. Well, I kicked her out of my room, convinced she was lieing."

"Later in the day I was telling Willie about Caitlin being in my room and having sex with me, and he told me he knew all about it. As Willie put it,"

"Hey man, you were missing your woman and needed to get laid. We just laced your drinks with some 'Dust' and you didn't know who you were making out with!"

"I'm not joking. Willie and Caitlin had been drugging me at night and then when I was high, Caitlin had been coming to my room pretending to be Kathy. I hadn't been having nightmares, I had been stoned out of my bloody mind. When I came down during the day I had just assumed that I had been dreaming."

"I went ape-shit at the pair of them. But they didn't seem to think they had done anything wrong. Caitlin said she was in love with me and it was the only way she could get near me. Willie just kept telling me to, 'be cool man, you made out with a beautiful woman'. What was I getting upset about?"

"I had to admit Caitlin certainly was a looker, and if I hadn't been in love with Kathy, I probably would have dated her. But I was still hung up on Kathy and I couldn't believe what they had done."

"Well, after that the nightmare's stopped, but a month or so later, just as I was taking my finals, the what you might call day-mare started. I got home after sitting a real pig of an exam to be accosted by Elaine."

Elaine informed me that Caitlin was pregnant with my kid and demanded to know what the hell I intended to do about it. I told her. 'I hadn't shagged Caitlin. Caitlin had shagged me when I wasn't compos mentis. Caitlin would have to get herself an abortion.' Elaine went loopy and told me Caitlin was a devout Catholic and abortion was not an option.

Well what was I going to do? Caitlin was going to have a baby. My Baby! Could be I'm stupid. I had screwed a lot of girls over the years. But always, in the back of my mind I knew that if I got a girl in the family way, I would do what my dad would call, The Right Thing.

So two months later Caitlin and I got married. I didn't love her at first, but as time past, I fell head over heals for her. Within the year I would have walked on water for her. Nowadays my heart skips a beat whenever I see her. It did earlier, when she came out of your front door. Everything she has ever asked for, I have tried to give her. Except satisfaction in bed it seems.

"Now hold on Rog, you don't know the whole story there!" Linda said.

"I know enough Linda! But I have digressed let me finish. Caitlin swears she had not intended to get pregnant when she was getting into my bed after Willie had drugged me. It appears she fell foul of the antibiotic trap. You know it wasn't common knowledge in those days that antibiotics messed up the birth control pill. I have always believed that Caitlin told me the truth about the pill not working. It had been Elaine who told me Caitlin was pregnant, and I know that Cait was extremely angry with her for telling me."

"You don't think she got pregers to trap you into marriage then?"

"No, That's what most people think. But I am sure she just messed up with the pill. I don't think she would have told me about the baby if Elaine hadn't. Caitlin had already brought her tickets back to Ireland, I found them amongst her things when she was in hospital having Claire. You know up until this last few weeks I have never known Caitlin lie to me, well to be honest I don't think she has ever lied to me and I don't know what Caitlin would have said if I had challenged her about her affair with Tony."

"There was no affair!" Linda commented.

"What do you call the two of them rolling around on a Motorlodge bed then? After four weeks you can't call it a one night stand."

"Well personally, I would call it RAPE! I'm not a judge but I would say, being blackmailed into having sex with someone is rape!"

"What?"

"You heard me! Tony used blackmailed to get Caitlin into that hotel room. She wouldn't tell us what he was holding over her. Whatever it was, she believes that if you found out about it, you would leave her, so it has got to be something pretty bad. Caitlin told us today, she only went with Tony under duress. Roger you really need to talk to Caitlin get her to tell you what she was so scared of you finding out about."

"If she was that worried about it that she shagged Tony to stop me finding out. Cait's hardly going to tell me now, is she?"

"Well she might, she thinks she's lost you. You say she has never lied to you. If you asked her a straight question she might think it would hurt you less, if you knew what Tony had used as a lever to get her into bed. You're going to have to talk to her Roger and soon, before it's too late."

"What do you mean by, too late?"

"I think Caitlin is so upset about this that she might do something silly."

"I agree with Linda on that!" Jimmy said, as he came back into the room, "She is very down and was saying some unnerving things earlier."

"What kind of things?"

"Oh, you know, she said that there was no point in going on without you, and she might as well be dead. Christ, she said it with such conviction, she scared the shit out of us. So much so, that Lin called Carla before you came. She's going round your house to keep an eye on Caitlin and look after her. But we can't watch her all the time. Look Roger, you've got the kids to consider here."

"I thought by leaving her with the house and the children, I was being magnanimous. I didn't even contemplate her doing anything silly, I had assumed her had affair because she wanted out of our marriage and she would be happy I was gone."

"Well I can tell you, she's devastated that you have left." Linda said, "I've never seen anyone as depressed as Caitlin was today. I know I'm asking a lot of you. But please go and talk to her tonight. You don't need her suicide hanging over you as well."

Linda and Jimmy were sure that Caitlin was about to do something drastic and they convinced me that I had to do something to prevent it. Diner was forgotten, as I left them and drove over to my house.

End of part Three.