A Husband's Revenge - Sequel

While we were waiting, something happened. A slight, cute red-headed young lady, obviously pregnant, entered the room, walked up to Steve, and pecked him on the cheek. He smiled and hugged her. He pulled up a chair and set it down next to him, but slightly behind his right side.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce my right-hand person and head paralegal, Casandra Adams.

"She also happens to be my wife."

She blushed and smiled at everyone. "I brought the divorce paperwork with me. We have it in front of a judge. The Court should take it up tomorrow morning. She better get a lawyer, not that it will help much. The State, Local, and Federal charges against her should be enough to put her away for a long time. Then you have the pornographic indiscretions committed over the last thirteen and a half years, and it's pretty much a slam dunk."

Grandpa looked like he would spit nails. Grandma was pale and very distraught-looking. She started to sniffle, and my daughters moved closer to her and attempted to console her. Jan got up and moved behind her and wrapped her arms around her.

Just then, Susie was brought in and looked at everyone assembled there. Her gaze rested on me, and the hate was visible to everyone.

"YOU GOD DAMNED CUCK!! I told you what would happen if you fucked with me. I am going to rape you!!"

Before anyone could stop her, my mother-in-law rose and went up to her and slapped her across the face so hard a tooth flew out.

"YOU DAM SLUT. YOU THREW AWAY A GOOD MAN AND A GOOD MARRIAGE, CAST YOUR CHILDREN ASIDE, AND SPREAD YOUR LEGS FOR ANYONE AND EVERYONE!!!"

Bill got up and rushed over to his wife. "All right, Julie, let it go. She is going to suffer enough soon enough. Come, and sit with your girls." Taylor took grandma and led her outside to the waiting area. They eased her to a chair,and helped her sit.

Then he turned his stare to his daughter. "We are severely disappointed in you, Susie. What you did was inexcusable. You almost destroyed your husband and your daughters."

"HE STARTED IT!!!"

"No, ma'am, he did not. YOU did. We have the canceled check and the contract with your signature on it, slut. You set him up and threw him away."Jan was on a roll and enjoying it.

"YOU!! You're the tramp he hooked up with ten years ago—a one-night stand my ass. I should have had you fired when you started snooping around. But DARREN said you were good at what you did."

"That's because he was looking to upgrade and push you out the door, bitch. He has been sniffing around my ass for at least two years now."

"NOOO!! That's a lie!!"

Steve Adamson started, "Be that as it may, Mrs. McCallister, you have several state, local, and federal charges against you. You have been Mirandized and are aware of your rights. Oh, by the way, you have been served."

Casandra stood and presented the envelope to my catatonic wife. She started to blubber and crumbled into the chair behind her. The female officer with her cuffed one wrist to the arm of the chair and stepped back.

"You have been charged with unlawful possession of controlled substances, i.e., marijuana and cocaine, in amounts that indicate intent to distribute. You have tested positive for both substances in your blood and are on suicide watch."

At this point, Special Agent Lenget took over.

"You are also being looked at for the illegal theft and disposal of firearms, which you did not own. The weapons were registered to your husband, not you. That is a violation of Federal Law."

Jameson took over, "You are also a suspect in the death of a Columbian drug lord, one Juan Melendez. It would appear he was strangled after engaging in sexual congress with you. We have that one on video, courtesy of your husband's cell recordings."

Susie was devastated.

"Darren said he had destroyed the check and the contract. He said the recording was only for his personal records. He wouldn't do this to me. He said he loved me."

"You stupid woman. I loved you. He used you. I did everything for you. I put up with your idiotic episodes of mental trauma and loved you. One drunken mistake, coupled with the fact of you setting it up, destroyed our marriage!!!" I said.

At that moment, Casandra turned to Jan and said, "You were in the trade??"

"Yes, ten years ago. Then I met Dave, a good guy" shooting a look at my soon to be incarcerated ex-wife, "and he turned my life around; he gave me hope."

Casandra said, "So was I." She blushed slightly. "My street name was Candy."

"SO WAS MINE!" said Jan.

Cassandra continued, "Steve was my good guy. He was a public defender, and I was his first case. He had faith in me. He found out that the police, three, in particular, were coercing sex from several girls on the strip. I refused, so they trumped up drug charges on me. He got me to wear a wire, and we busted them. That was the first of my five blessings from him.

"Then he got me to clean up my life and hooked me up with a group of nuns who helped poor girls like me. That was my second blessing. Then he got me enrolled in college, and after graduation, he proposed to me, and we were married. That was blessing number three.

She rubbed her very pronounced tummy and smiled. "This is blessing number five."

My oldest daughter piped up, "You said five blessings. What was number four?" said Amanda.

Casandra grinned and said, "Steven Michael is three years old and is in daycare. We are thrilled. He is number four."

"I pay her to say all that," grinned her husband, and she slugged him in the shoulder.

The distaff side of the group were giggling and misting up. My wife was borderline hysterical.

"You can't just dump me like this! I am the mother of your children."

Amanda sounded off on her mother, "You gave up being our mother a long time ago, lady. And that is an insult to all ladies everywhere. Get out of our life, mother."

I love my daughters, and I am so proud of them.

Agent Jameson turned to the remaining two agents, one female, and one male, and said, "Get this 'person' out of here and get her a lawyer. Take her to headquarters."

We gathered up all our paperwork and other stuff and left for Grandma and Grandpa's spread. I rode with Jan, and some serious conversations took place. I learned some interesting things.

...............................................................................................................................

"You need to know some things, Chase. There is a possibility that Taylor is not your child. I don't how you feel about that, but I don't think you need to find out." She looked at me. "You are too good a man to do that, and it won't change anything. Taylor loves you, and it would shatter her."

"I had thought about that. It wouldn't surprise me that my wife was cheating on me long before my indiscretion. It would explain the intimacy and attention she didn't lavish on me. But you're right. I can't shatter Taylor's life more than it is already. If the bitch doesn't bring it up, it will remain buried forever."

I turned to her as she drove, and said "I can't thank you enough, Jan. But I would like to try. When my divorce is final, I would like to see where this goes. I'm sorry, but even with all this shit, I can't cheat again."

She grinned that shit-eating grin she has.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, lover."

WOW!! Talk about blindsided. She was enjoying this. I was just along for the ride.

"I have thought about you for ten looong years. You have been on my mind and in my prayers for ten looong years. When I realized where I was working, I thought, 'This is my chance.'

"That's when I figured God got tired of listening to me." She smiled.

O.K., so I was totally clueless. As I said, I'm just along for the ride.

"There is one more thing. While I was working there, I started skimming money off his shady side of the operation." She blushed. "It's in an offshore account in the Caymans. I'm not proud; ....well, maybe just a little bit. They will appear as payments to the cartels. The money is gone, as far as the government is concerned.

"I did it for you. It is a small attempt to rectify the horror of the past ten years."

I was overcome with shock that this woman would feel this way. We drove in silence for a while. Then I looked at her again. She seemed to be grim. I thought for a moment. I had to get to the bottom of this. I turned again to her.

"So, where does this leave us?"

"It leaves us wherever we want to be." She turned and looked at me. Then she turned and looked at the road. Then she flipped on the right-hand turn signal. She eased off the road into a parking lot. She stopped the car and put it in park. She turned and faced me.

"Look, I have feelings for you. I'm not sure what the feelings are, but they are there. I want a chance to find out. If you don't want that, I think I can accept that. But if we decide that, if YOU decide that, I think it will be wrong.

"Your daughters are beautiful, strong young women. I think they will be fine in the long run, but they will need some strong female guidance. And while your current mother-in-law is a peach, she will not be around forever. I want the chance to fill that slot. What do you say?"

I looked at her like I had not looked at a woman in a long time. Finally,-"I think I would really like that."

I leaned forward, and took her into my arms, and kissed her like I had not kissed a woman in more than thirteen years. It was almost consensual sex without actual intercourse. My manhood acted as if it had awakened from a long slumber and started to look around.

Jan giggled, and said "EASY, TIGER!! We have to wait, remember?"

I blushed, grinned, and slid back to my side of the car.

"Let's get to Grandmas and Grandpas," I said.

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We pulled into the drive at Gram and Gramps and got out of the car. We entered the house. My daughters, Grandma, Steve's wife Casandra, all of them welcoming Jan. I stood there like a bump on a log. Kind of like on your wedding day, when it's all about the bride? Know what I mean?

Then, Julie, my mother-in-law, took Jan by the arm, led her out through the glass patio doors to the deck, and closed the doors. They walked to the patio chairs and sat. They started to talk. Gestures, head shaking, and tears ensued.

My father-in-law came up behind me, slapped me on the shoulder, and said, "You didn't think I was the brains of the outfit, did you?" gesturing to the conversation taking place on the back porch. "The two of them make quite a team, son." My daughters stared and had their fingers crossed.

He sighed. "Chase, I owe you an apology. When you proposed to Susan, I could tell you were head over heels in love with her. I didn't see what she saw in you, though, so I begrudgingly gave you my approval. I wish I could have seen the future. You're a good man, son. Those girls of yours are a blessing, and that young lady out on the patio is a keeper. If you didn't realize it, she is madly in love with you. I hope you feel the same way." He looked at me. "You deserve it, son."

I sniffed a little and hugged my father-in-law.

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The Patio Talk

Julie closed the sliding glass door and turned to look at Jan.

"Sit down, young lady."

Jan took a deep breath and found a chair. She fixed her skirt and looked at my mother-in-law. She had no idea what was coming, but she had come too far to back down now. She looked Julie square in the eye.

"What is it that you think I've done, ma'am?"

"You have made a deep impression on my grandaughters. I am concerned with your intentions. If you have the hots for my son-in-law, that's one thing." She came over and sat facing Jan.

"But there are some somewhat innocent children involved here, and while Dave is deeply concerned with their wellbeing, I have no intention of letting another useless, low-life, amoral slut into their lives." She skewered Jan with a stare.

Jan cringed and started to cry.

"I'M NOT LIKE THAT ANYMORE.

I love Chase, and I think he cares for me. And I would like nothing more than to replace Susan in their lives. But that is up to them. I have already told Chase this, and it is up to him and the girls what will happen. I've never been in this position before; it's all new to me. But I'm not about to cut and run until I find out."

Julie stared at her with her most severe mom look for a moment, then said, "That's good because I think I will need a new daughter to replace the old one and help me with those two handfuls." She grinned at Jan and held out her hands.

Jan gulped and stared. Then she collapsed into Julie's arms and blubbered, "OH, MOM!!"

They talked for a while, and Jan laid out her life story. Julie listened attentively and said nothing. Finally, Jan took a deep breath and raised her eyes to look at Julie.

Julie said, "I haven't heard anything that changes my opinion of you. You have triumphed over some pretty tall odds. I think you will do an excellent job with your chosen task. And if that young man doesn't make the right choice, I will have a come to Jesus talk with him. Now, you have to promise me at least two new grandbabies to chase around before Bill, and I get too old to do that. Can you do that?"

Jan grinned and said, "I think I can manage that!" Then Jan sniffed and smiled at her. "Thank you, Julie."

"Ahhh Ahhh Ahhh," said Julie. "Remember, it's Mom."

They hugged and rose to come inside. I tensed, anticipating a small storm coming. Jan had a slight grin on her face; Julie crooked a finger at Bill, and he obediently went to talk to his wife.

She said a few things to him, pointing and gesturing as wives do when they are making things abundantly clear to their husbands. Bill turned and looked at both Jan and me, then turned back to his wife and smiled, and nodded. She returned the smile and plastered his lips with a big kiss. I still wasn't sure what was going on, but I didn't think it was terrible. My daughter obviously agreed and rushed over and hugged Jan and their Grandmother.

Bill walked over and looked at me. "Well, looks like you get to live another day," he grinned.

We broke for dinner, and the conversation was animated. Lots of laughing, crying, and talking over each other. Just like a family.

I loved it.

We stayed until 11:00 p.m., and then we left to go home. Jan said she would see us tomorrow morning for breakfast, and the girls hugged and kissed her. We went into our house, and for the first time in more than thirteen years, it seemed like home.

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The following day, bright and early (6:00 a.m.), the doorbell roused us. Standing on our doorstep, with four suitcases, was Jan McCarthy. (Jan)

"Daddy, Daddy, she followed us home! Can we keep her???"

Well, something like that.

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Epilogue

My divorce went through with very little resistance, seeing as how my wife was found guilty of all charges, and her lawyer convinced her to sign the divorce papers before they got through the remaining videos and audio recordings. Three months later, I was single.

My daughters refused to see or talk to my ex-wife. She was convicted and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Part was a plea deal on the murder charge against her paramour. She also was found to have several diseases that would probably shorten her life span.

Darren Bledsoe was convicted of numerous federal charges and sentenced to ninety-nine years to life in Arizona's federal supermax prison. Somehow, the Columbian cartel learned of his involvement with the death of Juan Melendez. Darren was found dead in the showers in the Federal holding prison in Dallas, just before being moved to Arizona.

No one was ever convicted.

Too bad.

Lucius Jamal Wilkes was given ten years, as promised, for his co-operation against Bledsoe. Paroled after six years, he was then subject to the state and local charges mentioned by the Feds. He garnered an additional fifteen years of incarceration.

But wait- there's more! When his wife saw only some of his cinematic exploits, she sued him for divorce and child support. She said she was emotionally devastated by what she saw and refused to allow him any visitation rights.

Small satisfaction to me, but it beat nothing. I wound up suing Bledose Imports for various things-the alienation of affection, extortion, coercion, and extreme emotional stress. But I had to get in line behind various federal agencies and creditors. I wound up getting nothing.

I had that a sit down with young Mr. Garza and put the fear of God in him. It turns out Amanda's grandfather had more impact on him than I did. He also had a serious talk with Antonio. But he did say he liked me a lot. (And I have to admit, I do like him. We'll see how it goes.)

Oh, Yeah, Jan McCarthy --You didn't really think I had a chance, did you?

The females in my life (all three of them) informed me that I needed to make an honest woman out of her. I proposed to her, and she readily accepted. We had a relatively large wedding at the ranch, followed by a small reception at the La Hacienda Restaurant. We honeymooned in Can Cun at the La Playa and proceeded to break the bed in the honeymoon suite.

(Honest!! I have the bill to prove it, framed and hanging on our bedroom wall.)

(To which my daughters remarked 'EEEWWW!!!')

We did our part to make Grandma and Grandpa happy when Jan presented them with twin grandchildren, Julie Jan Marie and William David. We are still delighted, ten years later.

Incidentally, my wife presented me with a wedding present on our third night in Can Cun: A card with a passbook for our bank account in the Seychelles Islands. (She had moved the money from the Cayman Islands, as she said she always wanted to visit the Seychelles Islands. I looked in stunned silence at $2,350,000 deposited in our name. I turned and looked at my new wife.

"So far, you're worth it," she said with that shit-eating grin.

It was that night that we broke the bed.

I do so love her.

FINI