A Different Punishment

Sunday Erica did some housework before going out on the rear patio and sunned for a while. I mowed the yard and weeded the garden and watered the beans and tomatoes. The corn was getting tall but hadn't tasseled yet. Corn needs water almost daily as those stalks grow so fast. After lunch Erica went out to get groceries. It was her weekly event. I wondered if Glen would happen to show up at the store so they could squeeze melons together and exchange sex innuendos.

I worked on my plan until I had it pretty well fleshed out.

Sunday night was a repeat of Saturday. We ate, watched some TV and then kissed good night. I wondered if Glen had told her to not have sex with me anymore. Somehow it fit with what she had described about his need to be in control.

Chapter Two—The Plan

On Monday I took the day off and visited with an attorney known to be a shark. She had a reputation for making errant spouses feel pain in a divorce. She might not be able to help me keep more of my money but she usually made the cheater feel pain when on the stand. From testimonials I read that she has made more than one cheater cry on the stand and that includes a large number of males who thought they were studs before getting on her bad side.

I gave her the list of what I wanted done and she actually smiled at me. First she wondered if I was a little naïve in the way of the court system but I assured her that this was what I wanted and that I would force Erica (legally that is) into complying. The only way this could go sideways on me is if Erica immediately filed for divorce. In that case all bets were off.

I suppose part of my deviousness was the thought that if I made her life difficult enough she would come back after learning her lesson. I suppose I was naïve but then again, Erica seemed a little bit naïve by the way she treated our marriage.

I had to keep my own counsel again that night but on Tuesday my attorney had the paperwork ready. That night was the confrontation.

I had done a couple of adjustments locally that day so I was going to be home at a decent time. I suppose that Erica had spent the late afternoon getting fucked by Glen. On my way into the house I imagined that she would have a just fucked look on her face and what she would look like after I presented my plan to her.

I decided to preempt supper. There was no use in putting this off. I got a beer for me and a glass of wine for her. By the way she really doesn't like wine that much. She would rather have a beer but I was trying to set the mood here.

She gave me a look of distaste when I sat the glass of white wine down in front of her. "What is going on, Stan?"

I put the manila envelope in front of me as I took a sip of beer. I then began. "Erica, I know we haven't been very close these past few months. We seem to have drifted apart and I propose we do something about it."

Of course she immediately denied that we were having trouble in our marriage. "Stan, that isn't true. We aren't having any trouble. We sleep together each night and have all our meals together."

"Okay, we aren't in a rut. Tell me, when was the last time I asked you about your day?" She looked a little flummoxed. "Next question. When was the last time you asked me about how my day went?"

Again she had a look of deep concentration. "I know it wasn't very long ago."

I hit her with the next question, you know the one every wronged spouse asks. "When was the last time we made love?"

Her face brightened at that one. "Why we made love just the other day. I remember it well."

I had to throw out the zinger. "Aren't you confusing me with Glen?"

"What. . . what do you mean Glen?"

"Oh, come on, the cat's out of the bag. Glen Rogers, the guy you have been fucking for the last month. You know, the guy who is blonde and about six foot tall with the eight inch cock that fills you so good. Yeah, the guy who face fucks you and takes your ass about every other time you meet up."

She actually tried again to deny it. "I don't know what you are talking about, Stan. Who is this Glen guy?"

I just took a drink of beer and smiled at her. "I really believe you left your journal on the coffee table for me to read last Saturday. It was enlightening to say the least. I never knew you liked pain while being butt fucked. You always denied me that orifice so I never had a chance to find that out about you. I have never made you deep throat me, darn it. I guess I was too intent on not causing you any discomfort so I never just slammed my cock into your mouth like a cunt."

She didn't like how I was portraying her love affair. I pressed on. "Here is how we are going to proceed. In this envelope I have an agreement written up by my attorney."

She jumped on that. "What attorney? We don't have an attorney."

I gave her a smile. "You don't have an attorney. I have engaged one to look after my interests. You may want to do the same."

I gave her a moment to work through this development. I continued. "This agreement is a trial separation. It outlines how our money will be split and who is responsible for what. I think you will find it equitable."

I pulled out the papers and handed them to her. She kind of had that deer in the headlight look as she just let them lay. I wonder if she thought by not touching them then nothing could happen.

"This separation will be for a maximum of six months. During that time I expect you to come to a decision. You have to choose between Glen and me. We can go out on dates with each other if you so desire. We can talk on the phone at any time. We will agree to not bother each other at work. That means I will have to find somewhere else to stop and grab gasoline or a coffee but there are a lot of convenience stores locally so that shouldn't be too much of a problem."

She nodded but still looked confused.

"Now, the occupancy of the house is up for discussion. You can stay here and I will move out if you can afford to do so. When we separate that means that I will no longer subsidize you. You will have to pay your own way, just as I will not have any of your wages to help with my expenses. We will close the joint checking and savings accounts."

She shook her head there. "You know I don't make enough money to pay the mortgage and the utilities."

"Fine, I guess you will be moving out. Can you be out by the weekend?"

"What. . .what do you mean, move out?"

"Just that. You can't afford to live here so you need to move somewhere you can afford."

I went on. "I will make arrangements to pay off your car so you won't have a car payment. You will be responsible for your own insurance on it, though. I will also take my name off the title once it's paid off."

We had purchased her car a couple of years ago and put it on a five year loan. It would greatly deplete our savings but she would start out fresh with it. My pickup was getting up there in miles and we had plans to replace it this fall but I would just have to make do for a while longer.

She now seemed bewildered. "Where will I go?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. There are apartments that are HUD subsidized that you might qualify for. Hell, you could move in with Glen since he has been asking you to leave me. That would work for the both of you. By sharing expenses you would both benefit. Also, you could fuck him all you desire since you wouldn't have to worry about me finding out anymore."

I was intending on this whole evening being a "shock and awe" attack. By hitting her hard and keeping her off center I hoped I could get her to agree to the settlement.

She blubbered a little. "But. . .but. . .but." She couldn't form a rational thought. Good.

"I have already closed the joint checking account. I split the existing balance 50-50 and put your half into another account." I slid the new check book over to her. The bank had changed her debit card to the new account so it should be ready to go.

"Even though you never add any money to the savings account I believe I have been generous to you. Since you provide about one-third of the income in this relationship I moved thirty-four percent of the savings into a new account in your name only. The old account has been closed and the rest of the savings are in a new account in a different bank."

We actually didn't have much money in savings. Most of our income went to pay the regular and routine bills, just like most everyone else in the country. It was more a symbolic gesture than anything else.

I gave her the passbook showing the balance.

"Since we have only a couple of credit cards I made arrangement to pay the balances off. The MasterCard will be yours and the VISA will be mine. The limits are just about the same so that should not be a hindrance to you."

I showed her where to initial each page of the agreement and gave her a pen. I counted on her bewilderment to get her to sign without reading the entire document.

I also kept talking. She was trying to understand what I was telling her while she was signing. "Since I don't know if you need more money than what you make at the store I am willing to also put an additional $200.00 in your checking account each week to help tide you over. This would continue even if we get a divorce unless you remarry."

She paused in her reading and initialing the agreement. "I don't want a divorce. Why are you talking about divorce?"

"Oh, come now, Erica. Don't you know your new testament? Didn't Jesus say you can't serve two masters? Your loyalty is split right now. You want Glen and have been more of a wife to him, even before you started fucking, than you have been with me for months now. Here you are just a cook and housekeeper, not a wife. I should imagine that you would jump at the chance to make a life with your new love."

"But I love you."

I shook my head and chuckled. "From your journal I gather that really you like your new love more than me. I am old news. Like an old comfortable pair of slippers, you are used to the feel of having me around but those slippers are getting rather worn and can't be seen in public. You like the look of a new pair of slippers and can't wait to show them off. Now you can."

She got to the end of the pages and found the line where she should sign. She stopped. "What if I don't sign?"

"Then, my dear, I grab your journal, where you confessed your affair, and I start divorce proceedings. I will not file for adultery since our state doesn't care much about why we get divorced but I will make sure everyone you know understands exactly why I am divorcing you. I don't think your parents or your siblings will be too happy to know that you have been fucking a man not your husband."

I gave her a moment to absorb this. Her family members were very conservative evangelicals. They would forgive murder before adultery. The sanctity of marriage was paramount, evidenced by the conversation I had to endure before her dad would give his permission to marry Erica. He was afraid I would be the one to fuck over our marriage. I almost laughed out loud at the irony of the situation. I think Erica was also realizing the irony.

I went on. "Sign the separation agreement, move out and fuck Glen all you want. If, after the six months, we go ahead with the divorce I will just tell the truth. I will tell everyone that we just drifted apart and fell out of love. I will tell your parents that you must have met Glen after we separated and that they shouldn't feel badly. It just happened. I am sure they will accept that if we both agree to that story."

She still hesitated. "Come on, Erica. How can you pass this up? You wrote that you loved how Glen takes charge and orders your meals for you and tells you how and when you will have sex. You stated you liked not having to make the decisions. Now you can submit to him to your heart's content. Obviously you didn't like being an equal partner in our marriage."

She didn't sign. "Okay, then, don't sign. I will sleep in the guest bedroom tonight and start the divorce proceeding tomorrow. Your funeral." I turned and left the kitchen. It was still early and I was a little hungry. Not a lot, since this kind of confrontation tended to kill my appetite. I don't know how hungry Erica was and, if she didn't sign, really didn't care.

"I am going out for a burger. I may or may not be back tonight. Since our marriage is now absolutely over I may start looking for wife number two."

That made her start. She began to cry as I left the house. My trusty old truck fired right up and took me down to the local fast food joint where I had their crappy cheeseburger and greasy fries. It was filling but sat pretty heavily on my stomach.

When I got back to the house it was still fairly early in the evening. I was not tired in any physical sense, just mentally. My marriage was over. I hated to destroy Erica but I wasn't kidding when I threatened to tell her entire family why we were divorcing. It just wasn't something I was looking forward to.

When I walked back in I found that Erica had left the table. I assumed she was in the bedroom. I looked at the paper. She had signed. I let my shoulders slump. Well, at least I could sleep in our regular bed. The guest bed had a poor mattress.

I made my way to the bedroom after watching mindless TV for a couple of hours. Actually the TV had been on but I had no idea what I had been watching. It could have been cooking shows, something I just don't get into, and it wouldn't have made any impression on my mind.

I found Erica curled up under the covers. She appeared to be sleeping. I did my nightly ablutions and put on a pair of sleep shorts. Normally I slept nude but we were entering a new chapter in our lives so the change in my sleepwear.

I crawled into bed with my back to Erica. It took a while but I finally fell asleep and I must have slept pretty good. I woke in the morning with Erica spooned against my back and her arm around me. She was slowly stroking my morning erection and whispering.

I finally woke enough to understand what she was whispering. "I am sorry, Stan. Forgive me. Don't make me leave. I will stop seeing Glen. It's you I love." She kept repeating it over and over. I suppose she was trying to get me to forget the separation while trying to tell herself she didn't feel anything for Glen.

I turned to her. She gave me a kiss, a real kiss, something she had not done in a while. She was crying again. "Make love to me, Stan. Make me forget Glen. Forgive me, please."

I shook my head. "Let's make the best of this, Erica. We are now separated. We are just sharing this house until you move out. You want Glen, you know it. You have never lied when writing in your journal."

I got up and relieved my bladder before showering and getting ready to head out. I had some fields to inspect a hundred miles away. There had been a hail storm go through that area a few days ago. After the hail it had gotten hot again and by now the damage would easily be seen.

I packed a small lunch along with a cooler of pop and water to take along. Erica came and helped make sandwiches, something she had not done for many months. I was surprised but didn't comment. I had not been keeping track of her schedule. It must have been her day off as she wasn't making any attempt to get ready for work.

I picked up the cooler and headed out the door. Erica stopped me and gave me a real goodbye kiss that almost made me stop and grab her and throw her on the table for a hard fuck. I emphasize the almost part. This whole showing emotion was a little too late. She was trying to keep from leaving her home. I had to be strong here for a while. If what I believed would happen we might just reconcile but I had to get her out of the house for a while so she could find what she really wanted.

I had a long day in the fields. My company insured most of that area so there were two or three of us adjusters working the area. We kept in contact with each other so no field was missed and no field was inspected twice.

By the time I was done it was about dark. Since it was late I hit a local café for a quick meal and then checked into the local motel. I then called Erica. She answered on the second ring. Frankly I was surprised. I figured she had gone to talk to Glen today.

"Erica, I just wanted you to know that I won't be back tonight. We finished late and I grabbed a meal here and checked into a motel."

"I understand, Stan. I really wish you were here tonight but I guess it will wait until tomorrow."

"Did you see Glen today?"

"Yes. He wants me to move in with him. He says he will take care of me since you don't want me anymore."

"Did you have sex with him?"

"I won't answer that."

"I guess it really does answer that question. When will you be moving and do you need any of the furniture?"

"You are really anxious for me to move out. Do you have a replacement for me already?"

"I assure you, Erica, there is no one that I am seeing. I have not had a thought about a different woman since we started dating. I just know that you need to find out what you want and you need to do it immediately."

"But I love you."

"You may love me but are you in love with me? Since you took this opportunity to go and fuck Glen today I feel you are not in love with me anymore. Why don't you go and spend the night with him? Why waste time waiting for me to come home when you now know I will not be back tonight?"

I hung up before she could answer. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night. Despite all my comments to her I really did and still do love her. Why she felt she could have me and Glen at the same time was a complete mystery.

The next morning I headed off to another storm damaged area. This was a bad year for farmers and the insurance companies. Everybody was losing to Mother Nature.

After another full day of adjusting crops I was back home about dark. The house was dark and empty. It was obvious that Erica had taken a good amount of her clothes with her. I sent her a text letting her know I was at the house. She didn't respond. I suppose she was in bed with her lover and too busy to acknowledge her husband.

Friday morning I took the signed agreement to my attorney so she could file it with the court. She was astonished that Erica had signed it. "Mr. Marks, I am amazed your wife signed this. Did she understand that the asset split was included in this document and that she will have little recourse if you proceed with the divorce?"

I gave her a sad smile. "Unfortunately for her she forgot the maxim of read before signing. While not in a great rush to get out of the house, nevertheless she accepted the terms without reading the whole document."

"Did you advise her to get a lawyer?"

I answered in the affirmative and she shook her head. She smiled as she agreed to file the paperwork.

I didn't have any work today so I went back to the house and did some yardwork. I actually had the thought that I ought to let the garden die since Erica wasn't there to put up the beans and tomatoes. Maybe her folks could use the produce. My parents lived too far away to take raw vegetables to them.

I went ahead and made sure the garden was watered and weeded. Maybe we would get some rain this weekend.

Erica had responded to my text early in the morning, possibly before I woke up. She said she missed me. Yeah, I bet.

In the next chapter our hero executes his plan to punish his wife. Does he punish young Glen Rogers while he is at it?