A Clockwork Wimp

I just laughed at her face. I expected anger and more yelling but I only saw fear. She quickly turned around and ran towards their house. Of course, to get rid of the stash, she didn't give too much shit about her fallen husband. Their marriage has always looked like a compromise to me.

I walked back to the house without looking at Catherine. When I was inside, I looked out the window and saw Catherine running towards her sister's broken house. They were arguing but it looks like Christine doesn't want to talk to her younger sister anymore. I open the fridge and popped a can of Coke. It was time to handle my dear loving wife. My heart was pumping hard and I could hear it in my ears like a thunderstorm.

Still looking out the window, I saw my wife was still being ignored by her sister. She looked defeated for a second standing there alone and then abruptly turned around and stride across our lawn towards the house. I pulled out a bar stool and sat down.

'What the hell was that about? How could you have allowed that? I have never ...'

Before she could carry on, I interrupted her with the most aggressive attitude I have ever used.

'What the hell was that about? Let me tell you what the hell that was about. It was about you letting somebody call our kids 'brats'. It was about you letting somebody in my house to humiliate me. It was about you allowing your family to humiliate me for the last sixteen years. It was about you allowing your family to humiliate me by calling me a house-hubby. It was about you letting them humiliate me about my job. Were you fucking blind? Didn't you fucking see that he attacked me first? And what the fuck was you doing when he tried to attack me? Why the fuck were they in my house in the first place? Yeah, because you fucking told me and I will have to accept it. Didn't you fucking know that the other three members of this house don't want anything to do with your almighty, rich and powerful family? What made you think that you are the only decision maker here and that you could ignore the rest of us? Yeah. You say so and I do so. Just pull that fucking head of yours out of your ass and start thinking.'

Her facial features were priceless. She was trembling and her mouth quivered but nothing came out of it. It was not anger, as I have expected it but just plain surprise. Her shoulders were shaking. She looked defeated. More defeated then when her sister ignored her outside. She kept looking at me but didn't know what to do. I saw tears forming in her eyes but before any of them could roll down her cheeks she ran out of the kitchen and towards our bedroom upstairs.

I stumble down to the den and fell down on my love seat. There was a lot more to do today and I was more than ready. I am not the type of person to linger on for too long on unnecessary things.

As expected, Catherine came down from our bedroom about half an hour later with a little duffel bag. Without asking, I knew that she was going up to her parent's place. I wanted her to get out of the house as soon as she can. I have got something else boiling. She stopped at the door and looked at me like she was going to say something. When she got no response from me, she just opens the door and walked out, expecting me go fetch her in a day or two. But what she didn't know was that it was never going to happen.

Chapter 8

Once she walked out of the house, I slowly walked up to our bedroom. Gathering Mike, Tony and my own passports, I start making a couple of phone calls that was always in my plan.

Three calls. Three essential calls to make my plan work. Three calls that will turn my enemy, and anyone who comes in between, upside down.

Then I call Mr. and Mrs. Heale's place and asked to talk to Mike.

'Yeah, dad.'

'You want to go for that Disney movie we were talking about.'

'Cool, dad. But mom said she didn't want to watch that movie.'

'She won't be going with us.'

There was an awkward silence but Mike said,

'You pissed mom off because of what you did to shit-head Brian.'

'You saw that.'

'Yeah, Sheila and I were looking out the window.'

'Was Tony there too?'

'No, he wasn't. But I think he would love to hear this. I was going to tell him anyway.'

'No, I will tell him myself. Why don't you bring him back first and we will talk about it later.'

I was still in my t-shirt, shorts and slippers standing outside when Mike and Tony came back. I didn't let them enter the house and ushered them into my Porsche Cayenne.

They didn't ask once about their mother and they were busy whispering to one another. I knew Mike didn't wait for me tell Tony what really happened and they were discussing the incident among themselves. It was only when I drove pass the shopping arcade with the multiplex that Mike started shouting.

'Dad ... Dad. What are you doing? You left the cinema behind.'

'I though you guys wanted to watch that Disney movie.'

'We do. But where are you taking us?' Mike asked.

'Yeah. Where? Dad, where?' Tony repeated after his brother.

'Disney World. Florida.'

Chapter 9

Eleven hours later, I was finally able to make them sleep in the presidential suit in the Disney World Resort, Florida. They were tied but I made sure that they enjoyed every second of the traveling time. We traveled first class throughout our journey. And since there was no direct flight from Vancouver, we managed to change flights in New York once before arriving Florida.

I spend heaps of money but that was okay since I was going to spend a lot more in the coming week. I would have rather spend them on my kids then have it in the bank.

It was almost pass one when I walked into Mike and Tony's bedroom to make sure they were both sleeping. They were fairly tied after the long trip but refuse to admit it since they were really hyper about the trip. Tony asked a couple of time about his mother but I just told her that she and I have gotten into an argument about me beating up shit-head Brian. Both Mike and Tony were on my side. At least I made sure they were.

After making sure Mike and Tony were sleeping, I picked up two Mickeys of Jack Daniel from the mini bar and walked out to the massive balcony. It was finally time to think and reevaluate what I have done today. I was not a drinker at all but just needed something to burn my throat a bit.

I couldn't stop myself from thinking what I have become within the last 3 days. I did things that I could never imagine myself doing. Being a father of two wonderful kids I have trained myself to be exactly that. Father of two wonderful kids and a loving husband whose number one priority has been his family.

Beating up shit-head Brian and screaming at both Christine and Catherine was so unlike me but it was something that needed to be done. Just another part of the plan. These were the things that I want them to know. The rest will remain a secret. An embarrassing secret that I will never want my kids to know.

No matter how aggressive and violent I get, I was simply refusing to face the real reason for my behavior. The root of it all. The very root that has destroyed part of my life. Up till now, I kept concentrating on all the side characters but refused to look at the real problem. I kept wondering around all the side characters with a broken heart but did not allow myself to be flooded with tears. But now it was time to look at the real problem.

Catherine Sebastian, or who soon to be back to Catherine Packard. My soon be ex-wife. If she so chooses to be.

My head spins and my heart aches every time I pushed myself to get to the root of it all. I cannot believe the betrayal and the murder of trust. I have heard of these stories about two loving people but simply deemed them sad and refused to acknowledge them as something to do with me. But the sadness was reaping my very soul.

I know how it will end. I have made sure that it will end the way I wanted it to end. No matter how sure I got myself to be, I still couldn't stop myself from thinking how it all begins. But looking back, I doubt myself if I even remember how it all begun. I closed my eyes and forced myself to look deeper into what I have done wrong.

Chapter 10

It wasn't even the sexual betrayal, which according to that little conversation that I overheard three days ago, only happened once and over two years ago. It was the disrespect that was shared among the woman I loved and the two people I hated the most.

Though Catherine kept telling both Christine and Brian that she loved me and that one of the reason she will never do it again because I was much bigger in size. But it was when Shit-head and his Mrs. kept calling me a wimp that she laughed along. They kept encouraging her that I wouldn't even know when her pussy was full with somebody's spunk and I would be sucking out of it. She laughed. She claimed that she agree that I am a bit too trusting sometimes. And would never expect thing out of ordinary. And called me a 'Clockwork Husband'.

Shit-face quickly changed it into 'Clockwork Wimp'. The love of my life agreed and laughed along with the two who call our kids 'Brats' every time they open their mouth. I couldn't stand there anymore when they finalized on calling me 'A Clockwork Wimp' behind my back.

A decision was quickly made to tell them I was neither a 'Clockwork' nor a 'Wimp'. In fact, in the coming future, they should realized how wrong they were for giving me such a name. I would become their walking nightmare. I promised myself standing outside my house while trying to stop the tears from rolling down my face.

No matter, how angry I was with Catherine, I also recognized the fact that I was also the one at fault. I have just been too nice to her and her family over the years that she would think of me as a 'Wimp'. I just thought I was being a loving husband and a kind father. Ignoring her family's interference with my family and accommodating them whenever possible was my way of making sure my family stayed intact. Apparently, that gave an image of a 'Clockwork'.

Before I closed my eyes that evening, I thought about the calls I have made before leaving Vancouver. Three calls. They will starts working very soon. Will cost some money, yes, but that I have.

The first call went to the police. I summarized how I was attacked at my own place when I refused to let my two drug induced relatives, who almost burned their own house down the night before, to stay in my house because of my young kids.

I gave the police the address they were heading to. Which I was sure they were heading to my father-in-law's place. And, of course, I was really scared of them getting into an accident and killing some innocence person as I saw them with a little of bag of cocaine when they were getting into their car.

And I didn't hide the fact that my wife was on their side. Casually hinting that I am not sure whether she had taken any drugs too.

I told the police that I was threatened and that I will be leaving the country and if there is any reason that the police would want to get in touch with me they should contact my lawyer.

The second call went to my lawyer. He knew Catherine as long as I have known him. I quickly repeated the summarized story I have told the police. When I mentioned the fact that I want to slap Catherine with divorce paper as soon as he can, it took him a couple for minutes to digest what I was saying.

He got into his full fledged lawyer mode as quickly as I have summarized my story. He said he can throw in emotional abuse and a couple of other philosophical-lawyer-bullshits, like neglecting her kids to abusive relatives.

I didn't know what he was saying. But I knew he was good and that he was on my side. It was when he asked me about our finance and I said ... fifty fifty.

The third call when to my Finance Manager at the bank to quickly get in touch with my lawyer and I authorized him to pick up my car from the airport and sell it. Together with the house. And try his very best to sell Catherine's BMW Z3 too.

And I also thought about the usual call Catherine make every morning to wake her sister up for a morning jog. The kitchen full of Town Gas didn't fit too well with the phone ringing.

How very 'Clockwork'.