A Normal Affair

"Me too," I said feeling worry drift away slightly.

"So, what do we do now?" Margie asked quietly. While I had heard she was preparing to leave me, I don't think she knew how, which was why this had been going on so long. Perhaps it was time I took the reins of this relationship.

Looking at her and digesting our conversation, made some of it sound like I was some fool that got a girl pregnant, while other parts were wholesome. Well, I guess I was a fool, but I wasn't much better than her, not after everything I've done.

"I figure Adam's got less than ten years before he's an adult. I'm not sure if we try to keep things together or go our separate ways. When I found out about you and Derek, I lost my head a bit and slept around too," I said shaking my head. "I said I wouldn't do that and be like you, but I was so mad, it just happened. I can't take it back and it doesn't really matter now anyway, too little, too late. I think our marriage is finished, don't you?" I asked looking at her. "I assume you're going to be with Derek?" She was sad and nodded.

"I'm sorry I made you just like me. You're a good man, Brett. A really good man. I'm sorry I screwed everything up. But yes, Derek and I want to be together. He's in the middle of divorcing his wife and that will take a little while longer. He has a couple of kids too," Margie said sadly. I had to wonder if she realised, he didn't want to have kids with her, but then again, what do I care. My marriage is over because of it.

"Okay, well, perhaps we start our divorce proceedings as well. I don't want to fight, but I'm not going to be made a fool and pay all this money that I shouldn't have to. He's rich, isn't he?" I said to which she nodded.

"I don't want to fight either. If it all goes well, I'd hope to give you the house and only take my money and belongings," Margie said looking at me with those pleading eyes. She knew she had hurt me.

"Okay, but can I make one request?" I asked looking at her.

"Anything..."

The tone of her voice told me, Margie seemed to want to do the right thing and grant me anything to make up for her betrayal.

"No more kids, for either of us. I feel like we've got our family and I don't want to change that dynamic. We created something special, even if it was a slip up when we had the twins. I don't want to change that, in any way by either of us having more kids," I said to which she relaxed and nodded.

"God no, I'm done having kids. I'll even get my tubes tied to prove it. If I do that, will you get a vasectomy?" Margie asked hopeful. It took her a moment of reflection before she continued. "I agree our family is special, and I don't want to disrupt that. Divorcing will be hard enough."

"That's the idea. I get the snip; you get the snip and no more babies. I think we've done enough to repopulate the world, don't you?" I asked with a slight smirk. I couldn't help it, even though I was sad, I still had some sense of humour in me.

"That we have. Thank you, Brett. I know that doesn't mean much, but I've got so many happy memories with you and the kids, and I'd like to keep making them, even if we are no longer together. I know it will take time, but, if possible, I'd like to try," Margie said reaching for my hand and clutching it for a moment.

"Sure, I can't make any promises, but we can try. Okay?" I said to which she nodded.

"Okay."

We went to sleep that night; sure, it was different now that it was all out in the open, but we managed it. I probably slept better than I had in a while, and I think Margie did too. No, we didn't go thermonuclear and while it was hard to accept what she had done, I had done it too. At least now I had a clearer path forward and a future to look forward to, with hopefully someone that wanted me for me, not as a second choice.

Chapter 6

Things had been progressing on the home front. We had filed for divorce and got things underway in the simplest of fashions. I couldn't really argue with my wife given I was just as bad, and she was giving me the house. It had been over a month, and I was starting to get used to being a single man again, even if the divorce would still take time to be completed. Anyway, you know those times when you think things are getting better yet they only get worse? I mean I only have myself to blame really, believing some unspoken rule that things would be a certain way, yet they weren't. Not making sense, well, I will enlighten you. You see, I was walking down into Warehouse 4, making my way from the rear to the loading docks when I saw Victoria bent over and being reamed by Mike Avery. I thought we had some unspoken thing, that it was just Victoria and I, but when I saw her look at me, her eyes opening wide, the surprise and fear on her face before settling again, I realised we actually hadn't had the talk.

So, what did I do? I'll tell you what I did. I walked out to the loading docks, wondering how stupid I could've been when I miss stepped and the sudden, searing pain I felt in my head disappeared and everything turned to black.

Chapter 7

The sound of beeping, hustle and bustle, and people talking is what I awoke to. My head was throbbing, and my left arm hurt which was weird. My eyes finally adjusted, and I realised I was in hospital. I moved, painfully to see my forearm in a cast and the usual leads attached to a patient on a hospital bed. I noticed something move to my right, and as I turned, I noticed Madelaine Giovanni standing there, looking down at me with a concerned look on her face.

"Hey," I said trying to focus. "I fell, right?"

"Yeah, straight off the loading dock. Hit your head on the side of the truck and broke your arm in the fall. I saw the whole thing," Maddy said calmly, but I could tell she was worried. Thank God she was taking one of her walks around the place, otherwise I don't know who would have found me. "Are you okay? I'll get a nurse."

"Yeah, bit of a headache," I said as Maddy gave me a partial smile and went to the nurse's station.

I thought back to what happened, and it came back to me. Seeing Victoria having sex with Mike shouldn't have upset me, but it made me feel weird. I don't remember much, but I was heading out of the loading docks and then pain on the side of my head. Now I was here, in hospital. I looked around getting used to the thumping headache when I realised it was only Maddy who was with me in the hospital. Surely, the others would have known, and even Victoria wasn't here. Maddy came back just as I had another thought.

"Which hospital are we in?" I asked hoping it wasn't my wife's place of work.

"Epworth Private," Maddy replied confirming my thought. Before I could say anything my soon to be ex-wife appeared looking worried.

"Jesus Brett, when I heard you were here, I came as soon as I could. You've been out of it for a while," Margie said with a concerned tone. She looked me up and down and then at Maddy. "What happened?"

"I took a wrong step off the loading docks. Hit my head on a truck, thought the ground looked comfortable and thought it would be fun to use my arm to cushion my descent," I replied with a smile. Maddy gave a small smile and Margie let out a long breath.

"It's obvious now you hit your head, but when did trying to crack your skull become so funny?" Margie asked looking at me like only a mother can. Yeah, I know, not my mother, but it seemed to be that's how she treated me now. What can I say, I don't necessarily want her back, but still, didn't our time together count for something?

"Well, it could have been worse. Maddy was walking by on one of her breaks and saw it all happen. I'm in good hands, don't worry," I said trying my best to smile even though my head hurt. A nurse came over, which disrupted our chat.

"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked looking into my eyes and doing that thing they do.

"Sore head, sore arm, just peachy," I said with a smile which made the nurse chuckle a bit.

"Good to know. Looks like you've got a concussion. You didn't crack your skull, but we're keeping you here a bit longer just in case. Overnight to make sure nothing goes south. Okay?" the nurse said to which I tried to nod.

"Ah, yeah, thanks," I said.

"Okay, good, I'll leave you all to it. I'll check in on you later," the nurse said with a smile before walking away. Did I glance at her ass jiggling in those tight scrubs. Yes, I did. Did she have a nice backside, again, yes. Look, it's the concussion, okay?

"Well, I've got to get back too. I'll talk to you later and once we know when they will release you, we'll work out the home stuff," Margie said with a nod. We'd been living in the house since the talk we had with one another and after we told the kids what was happening, but not as husband and wife. They were upset but once their mother outed herself the kids were a lot more supportive of me, but they understood we had grown apart and understood why we were acting more like roommates than anything else.

"Okay, thanks for coming. See you," I said as Margie turned and left. I looked at Maddy who seemed calmer now. "You okay?"

"Better now," Maddy said giving me a lovely smile.

"Good."

"You certainly know how to give someone a scare," Maddy said putting her warm hand on my arm. Yeah, it felt good to touch her.

"Sorry, I didn't plan that, I was a bit preoccupied," I said with a sigh. The flash of Victoria and Mike went through my mind again, followed by the photo of Margie.

"That's okay. It is kind of nice to have someone fall at your feet," Maddy said trying her to best to hide her smile in the cutest way possible. I started laughing but stopped as I felt my head throb with each exhale. It felt like my head was going to pop off each time.

"I'm glad it was at your feet. Thanks, Maddy, I mean it," I said taking her hand. "I could have been there for a long time if not for you."

"Well, it's in the past now. Let's get you better and then we can discuss who owes who," Maddy said with a light tone.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I think lunch or even dinner could be good as a thank you," Maddy said going slightly red. It was clear she was out of her comfort zone on this one but really wanted to have a chance with me. With our conversation when she visited me in my office and now this, it was clear she was certainly genuine.

I looked at her and gave her a glance before I smiled which seemed to calm her down.

"Dinner and wear something nice," I said which made her brighten up.

"Ball gown or something more casual, you know, above the knee or still below?" Maddy asked her eyes sparkling while she asked the question. I swear she seemed flushed and for a brief moment, thinking of Maddy in stunning dress made me forget about my headache.

"How about we save the ball gown for later. Maybe above the knee, more casual. It'll still be a nice restaurant, but I won't be wearing a tie," I replied which made her bite her bottom lip a little. "I'll let you decide if we go to a movie or dancing afterwards."

I swear I saw her nipples harden and make their presence known under her shirt. That was out of the corner of my eye, and I wasn't about to take my eyes off hers to check out her chest. This 'thing' between us seemed to be going somewhere and I wasn't about to ruin it. I hope.

"Okay, great. I'll hold you to that," Maddy said cheerily. "Now, you just rest up. I've got to get back to work and sort a couple of things out."

"I can do that," I said casually.

"Good. I'll come by later before visiting hours are over and I'll be back tomorrow," Maddy said as a matter of fact.

"Maddy, you don't have to do that. I'll be fine," I said but she shook her head and smiled.

"It's okay. I want to," Maddy said grabbing her handbag. "Besides, I have to make sure you're okay for our date."

She let out a little giggle and came back over to me.

"That is true," I said before she leaned over and kissed my cheek. "What was that for?"

She was still leaning close to me, and I then realised her chest was squashing my arm. In a good way!

"I'm sorry, did I," Maddy said with a worried look, but I smiled and with my broken arm, I wiggled my finger to bring her closer.

"Not at all," I said with her so close to me. I then did something I probably shouldn't have done, but I moved forward and kissed her on the lips. She let out a hot breath and I could tell she swallowed hard. "Thanks for looking out for me. I really do appreciate it."

"No problem," Maddy said staying close. It took her a few moments before she stood upright, composed herself and seemingly calmed down. "I'd better go."

"Bye, Maddy," I said with a smile. She returned my smile and gingerly began walking out of the room before stopping at the door and turning.

"See you later," Maddy said before she smiled and left me to my thoughts.

It was then I realised I was still in the hospital, with all the noises coming back. The beeping of machines, the shoes squeaking on the floor, the mumbled tones of speech from other people in the hospital and the coolness of the temperature. Suddenly I was alone for the first time in a long time, and it didn't feel right. Like something was uncertain or unsaid and it needed resolving. It hit me that I missed Maddy, which was odd because we didn't know each other that well, but still, without her presence, I started to feel a little naked.

Not wanting to dwell on that, I put that aside and tried to think of other things. Firstly, what was I going to do now with my home life. It was clearer now Margie and I couldn't stay in the same house. Sure, we wanted to be there for the kids, but it was like rubbing salt in the wound and we needed to be apart to allow the healing to fully happen. Until we moved away from each other that wasn't quite possible. With nothing else to do, I was going to make a plan and set goals to move on with my life. Hopefully.

Chapter 8

Surprisingly, I slept quite well over night. Perhaps it was that I had worked out a rough plan on what I was going to do with my life. I spoke with all my children last night, which helped fill the void I was feeling and reminded me what was important. My children were at the top of the list and making the transition to moving Margie out was a close second. That was going to be hard given she wanted custody, and there was no word yet on the move in with Derek. But once I resolved to not caring about her issue, I had fallen asleep. Anyway, once I woke up this morning, my mind started trying to reconcile the other things that had happened lately. Okay, sure, seeing Vic bent over and taking a reaming from Mike wasn't what I expected, and it wasn't something we had discussed but at the very least I thought we had something going on. But now, it didn't seem that way. Victoria hadn't come to see me at all, and it was only Maddy and Melissa who had paid me a visit last night. Margie was coming today to make sure I got home okay, but other than that, I was alone for now. Maddy did say she would be back today to check in, which was nice, and she had sent me a couple of messages in the meantime. That was nice too, but not hearing from anyone else, did play on my mind a little.

Anyway, what happened next was unexpected. I was dressed and waiting for my discharge papers, knowing it could be a few more hours yet, when Derek walked into my room with that swagger. You know the one, the arrogant, smarmy swagger that was a little too embellished. I was sure Margie was coming but instead I got him.

"Hey," Derek said looking around the room to seemingly make sure the coast was clear.

"Hey," I said back wondering what was going on. "What can I do for you?"

He looked at me and gave a little chuckle before his big white teeth shone through in the form of a smile.

"I just wanted to make sure you're alright. Margie was worried and well, I want her focused, you know," Derek replied with a half shrug.

"Focused?" I asked trying to figure out what he meant. "Meaning?"

"Meaning, she's with me now. In her rightful place. I don't want this little accident you had coming in between us," Derek said his smile gone. The arrogance was clear, but I was also going to make sure I was clear with him.

"Derek, let me make something very clear," I said standing up to face him. He wasn't that much taller than me, still well built, but right then I didn't really care. "I don't want Margie back. We've got kids together and we're going to try and work at co-parenting. If you come between us on that, well, we'll have words. Otherwise, she's yours to do with what you like, got it?"

"We're clear," Derek said with a smirk forming again. "She is going to help you get home, but once you're settled, she'll be coming to my place for some fun," Derek said obviously trying to needle me and get a reaction.

"Jesus, Derek. I don't care. Really, I don't. I'm not some lowlife scum that goes after married women. At the very least, you could have waited until we were divorced, but noooo," I said trying to be more dramatic and sarcastic. I think it riled him a bit, but I shouldn't have said anything. Douche bags with egos this big, well, you know what I mean.

"You don't get it do you?" Derek said with a chuckle. "She's a freak. The only reason she married you was because I was busy with my career, making millions and bedding any hot female that looked my way. If you didn't know already, I'm good friends with Marc LaValliere, and we made a bet to see how many women we could bed during our careers. I won by two women."

"Good for you. Again, I don't care," I said looking around for a nurse so I could get out of here.

"Yes, you do. All you wimpy white boys are the same. Did you know that Margie is a gangbang queen. Always has been. She'll do five guys at once and then do a whole team, multiple times a night. That's what's happening on Friday night. I've got my old teammates coming around and we're taking turns," Derek said with a laugh.

Did I really ask for this? Really? I let out a big sigh and shook my head.

"Good for you. Now, will you just leave?" I said motioning at the door with my head.

"Sucks to lose, doesn't it?" Derek said turning to leave. "Have fun with all your kids."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked getting angry.

He just smirked before turning and stopping.

"It means, Margie won't have much time soon and she'll forget all about you and those little brats. Good thing she knows how to suck," Derek said before Margie arrived which put him on the back foot. His demeanour changed instantly. "Hey baby. How's it goin? I was just seeing Brett before he left, making sure he was alright after what you told me."

"Hey sweetie," Margie said giving him a kiss on the lips. She then looked at me, realised what brought us to this point and her smile faded. "Sorry, Brett."

"No, it's fine. You belong to him now. Derek and I were having a lovely talk. I didn't know you were a gangbang queen," I said which made Derek lose his swagger and look worried, while Margie turned sharply.

"What!?" Margie asked looking at Derek. "Tell me you didn't try and rub his nose in it? Tell me you didn't bring up that dip shit Marc LaValliere? Tell me you didn't try to be the big man? Because God help me if you did, we're through!"

I have never seen such an egotistical maniac back pedal as fast. If backpedalling was an Olympic sport, I reckon Derek would have claimed gold.

"I was only teasing baby, shit. I'm sorry. You know I like to fool around. That's all it was," Derek said on the defensive before she turned to look at me.

"I'm sorry Brett, truly. Derek has a big mouth but not much else. It's something I will shut for him," Margie said angrily. "Let me get you home and then I'll deal with Derek."

"It's fine. I'll find my own way home. I don't need any more reminders of what you are going to do all Friday night with his old teammates," I said dismissing her and adding fuel to the fire. I don't think I had ever seen Margie get as angry as she was right this second.