A Wife's Revenge Ch. 03

My useless phone didn't have a data plan. I couldn't even tell where I was. Or where the next town was. I decided to start driving. Something would show up eventually. I drove for about 30 minutes and came to a town. I put gas in the truck, and added oil. I guess it burned a little. I didn't really feel like a greasy burger and fries, but when I looked at the menu, it was the only thing that didn't make me want to go puke again. It didn't sit the best in my stomach, but at least it stayed there. I also drank a ton of water. I felt a bit better.

I found a general store. I bought a shirt, jacket and pair of jeans. I changed in the bathroom. I tossed everything I wore in the store into the garbage. Except my shoes. I had to go commando. Oh well.

I just started driving again when my phone rang. I pulled over and answered. I knew my mom would be worried as hell. Time to face that music.

It was my dad instead. "What the fucking Sam hell do you think you are doing? I didn't raise you to run away from problems. Your family needs you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and pull your shit together"

My mom took the phone from him. "Hello Chase? Your dad is upset"

"No shit" I said. "I was just about to launch the phone into a wall. I am finding it to be kind of therapeutic to throw them."

"Don't you dare. We have been trying to get hold of you for days." She scolded me. "We have your girls with us. Sue is staying with her mothers." Her voice took on a hushed tone, " she told us everything. I'm so sorry Chase. But your children need you. She is too broken to care for them and so we have them. They need you though."

I was stunned. "What happened?"

Sue quit her job. She called me to take the kids and help you with them. She couldn't face you to talk to you. She is with her mothers. I think she had a breakdown." she told me. "Why did you run away?"

My head was trying to pull this together. Sue left the kids to me? She quit? And I ran? When did any of this happen? How?

"Chase? Are you there?' She asked

"Yeah mom, I'm trying to put this all together. When did this all happen?" I asked

"We were trying to get hold of you Monday afternoon. She called just after lunch. We had to hurry. We've been trying to get you all week. Your work wasn't any help either. The one new girl knows, but isn't saying anything. They are ready to hang her. I am about ready go provide the rope"

"Mom, she is the only friend I had in this" I couldn't think straight. "Mom, I don't even know where I am. I need to get home."

"Get here as soon as you can. These girls need a parent and both of you left. That isn't fair to them."

"Are you at the house? Or your place?" I asked

"We are at your place." She said

"I'm on my way mom. I love you! Thank you!" I hung up.

I turned the truck around. I headed back to the gas station. I needed a map.

By the time I made it home it was past 10:00 pm. I was exhausted. I barely got out of the truck when mom came out.

"What In God's name happened go you?" She looked at me. I hadn't given any thought to the beating I took from Darren or the driver. "I tried to fight the guys who took Sue away."

"Go take a shower. Clean up a bit before you wake up the girls. They need to see you, but not like this" she said

I went in. My dad just shook his head at me, "what were you thinking?"

Mom shut him down. "Not now!" The look she gave him gave him reason to pause.

I went to the bedroom. It was exactly how I left it. The bathroom was the same. I hopped in the shower. I shaved. I brushed my teeth. And put deodorant on. I put on my regular clean clothes.

Mom took me in to wake up the girls. Amanda started crying as she hugged me. "Where were you daddy? Where is mommy? Is she ok?" Taylor hugged me and wouldn't let go.

I did my best to explain. "Mom was dealing with a problem. I had to deal with a different problem. I finished with mine first. Now I am home."

"Mommy will be home soon too?" She asked

"We'll see" I hated myself for not being able to reassure her, but I didn't have much hope for us to be together.

"What happened to you daddy? Your face is bruised." She asked

"A bad person tried to hurt me. But they only bruised me a bit"

"Will they hurt you again? She asked, looking scared.

"No, they can't hurt me anymore. The police won't let them." I said

"Is mommy hurt too? Did they bruise her like before?" I saw the connection she made and how it scared her

"No mommy doesn't have any bruises. Those ones are all better." I said

"Why don't we read you two books to fall asleep. Tomorrow we can catch up." My mother said, calmly.

Taylor grabbed her favorite right away. I lay on the bed with one girl on each arm. They fell asleep fairly quickly

I got up and went to the living room. My mom was making tea. My dad was sitting in my chair. He was frowning. Mom came out and set our teas down.

"How come you left, instead of taking care of your children?" Dad asked

"When Sue's lover taunted me by screwing her while making her call me, I had two choices. Divorce her and let her have the guy she chose to screw around with, or let her continue to screw around and pretend to ignore it. I couldn't take the taunting and humiliation. I left giving her the house and car. The cabin will be sold and I sold off the business so she is set up with the girls. The lawyer drew up the stuff Monday to give her Tuesday. All she had to do was agree." I told them.

"I texted her the details and left. I didn't know anything else happened till now. I did get into a fight with her boss later in the week. He is a better fighter and he cheats. After that I left town." My mom was looking at me as I finished speaking. Tears running down her cheeks.

We were quiet for a while. "Have you heard anything about how Sue is?" I asked

My dad shook his head. Mom started speaking softly. "She isn't doing well. She knows she messed up everything. She is giving up."

Her answer scared me a bit. "What do you mean 'giving up'?"

"When she went home, she told Julie everything. How she planned to hurt you, but she went way overboard. She destroyed everything. She got used, manipulated and toyed with, and she killed your love. Since then she has been shutting down. She won't eat. She wanted to get help originally, but now she just wants to give up."

"What should I do?" I asked

"Grow a set, son." My dad said

"Brad!" My mother reacted.

"I fucked up in my day. Nothing like what you did, but stupid in my own way. Your mother sent a very clear message. Either work for it, or don't. But if you don't, it won't be there when you want it" he explained. "Marriage takes effort. sacrifice, humility, and nothing you do is for getting recognition, it's done for love."

"I called Julie early the next morning. I told her we were coming over. Don't tell Sue. We are bringing breakfast." I loaded Mom and Dad and the girls into the van. We picked up a mountain of pancakes at IHOP and a few jars of syrup.

I had the girls help carry the food. I had my parents watch the girls. I went in the house ahead.

"Where is she?" I asked Julie

"She's in her room, Chase, wait...."

I didn't, I barged in. She was curled in her bed. She looked at me surprised. She tried to pull the covers up. I pulled them back.

"Our daughters are here, they need their mother. We brought breakfast. Come and eat. Let them hug you and love you."

I just finished saying that when Amanda Burst in," Mommy!" She charged and jumped on the bed. Taylor followed and I pulled her up on the bed. "Daddy said you were getting better, are you coming home?" Amanda asked.

Sue looked at me and looked away. I saw her withdraw. "Let's get through breakfast and then we can talk about getting mom ready to come home with us."

Mom and dad took the kids out. I stayed and pulled her to sit up. I sat down. "Do you love me?" I asked

"Yes, but..."

" No buts... I love you. I hurt you, and you hurt me. We still love each other. It will take a lot of work for both of us. Let's decide if we are worth it in time, when we are ready." I don't know if I made any sense, but her eyes teared up.

"Lets go have breakfast" I took her hand and pulled her by my side.

Breakfast was kept light by the kids talking and babbling on. They told tales to Sue about things their grandparents took them to do and see. After breakfast I suggested the kids Sue and I take a walk to the park. It was a decent distance away, but easy walking.

I carried Taylor most of the way there. Amanda latched onto her mothers hand and stayed with her. Walking a country lane in spring is pleasant. The leaves are fresh and green. The air has scents of early flowers and freshness. The sun was giving a radiant heat that made the day feel warmer than the 70 degrees.

When we got to the park the girls wanted swing rides.I pushed Tay and Sue pushed Amanda.

The girls enjoyed play time and soon wanted to be spun on the merry go round. I tried to hold Tay but had to get off. I was getting really dizzy and I realized my concussion was probably causing some after effects. Sue rode with Tay, and Amanda both. From there the girls went to the slides and generally all over the platforms and forts.

Sue and I sat watching them.

"Why are you here?" Sue asked me.

I looked at her. She couldn't look me in the eye. "My mom said you were giving up. Shutting down. It sounded like you were going back to when you had postpartum. You were suicidal at times then. I worried you would um, end it. I had thought about that too. The hurt I caused, I felt worthless. It sounded like you were feeling the same. " I took both her hands. "In spite of the hurt, the thought of you being gone, of giving up, not being there was something I couldn't deal with."

She was crying. " I really screwed up."

I pulled her into a hug. " Let's look ahead. Not back. We can't change the past." I tilted her head up to look at me. " it make take time, to heal, and build trust again, but I would rather we started talking, instead of building walls up and hurting in private"

The girls came over to see why Sue was crying. I started to answer but she interrupted me "Because I am finally feeling a bit better, thanks to you two and your dad"

It was time to head back. I picked up Amanda and gave her a piggyback ride. Tay was happy to walk holding mommy's hand, at least for the first 200 yards. Then she wanted to be carried.

When we got back to the house our parents were sitting around the dining room table. The conversation stopped when we entered the room.

"You know, there is no better way to make someone uncomfortable than to stop talking when they enter the room" I looked at the four of them. Then at Sue. "I wonder what I did this time?" And I laughed. The girls laughed too. Sue even started to giggle a little.

I sent the girls to go get their stuff. After lunch we would probably head back home.

I pulled Sue into her room. "Are you wanting to come home with us?" I asked her

"I don't know. I feel like I don't deserve you. I read your text. I wanted to die, because I destroyed us, and you still were good and cared."

"I also have a lot of anger to work through. I don't want to rage hatred on you when I can't cope and drive you away." I said truthfully "There are some parts of me feeling pretty fucked up and evil."

"I think I still need time. I think you may want some time too. I think we need to get mad as hell at each other, and I'm not ready for that." She said softly "that scares me too. Not being ready in case you are gone for good then."

"That's my fear too." I said

We sat there for a few minutes. Reality weighed heavy in the air and silence.

"Stay here for now" I said.

"Ok" was all Sue said.

I got up and pulled her up. Together we walked into the living room

"Ready to go girls? Mom is tired out and needs some rest. We can come back later"

Both girls broke into tears. Both sets of grandparents echoed the need for Sue to rest and get better before coming home. My parents loaded the girls in the van after a long teary hug. I gave Sue a kiss. "Call me" I said and I got in and drove away.

It was a sullen quiet ride. When we got home the girls were tired. We cheated and went to McDonald's. for supper again. Then it was bath time and bed.

After the girls were asleep, my dad started talking " You have your work cut out for you. Sue needs some time. You need time to get over being angry and sorry for yourself. You need to find your footing. So does she. Then maybe you can work through this. In the meantime, you have two girls to think of, who did nothing to deserve this. You need to make a normal life for them to fit into, so they feel safe and secure. I can't hold your hand through this. You need to stand on your own two feet. Tomorrow your mother and I are going to head home. I need to go back to work. So do you."

He got up, and went to the guest bedroom. My mom had already gone to bed. It was 9:00. I sat and thought about the day. It was good to see Sue. I went to bed. I lay there forever waiting for sleep, but it didn't want to give me any relief.

My next several days were a blur. Not that they went by fast without much activity, actually the opposite. Slow days of basic nothing. Walks, stuff for kids to do. Patching the rest of the living room. Reading stories. The blur masked the nothingness of it all.

Monday morning I dropped the girls at daycare. I went to the office. Jan gave me a huge hug followed by a gut punch that took my breath away. I got another hug after.

"You fucking piece of shit. You gave me 1/5th of your company and no one knows me here. They thought I was fucking you to get it. They know I know what's going on and won't tell them, so they all fucking hate me." She gave me another shot to the gut. I was better prepared. I called everyone. We did a conference with Jillian on video.

"Jan knows what happened to my marriage. It's embarrassing, and I am not going to go into details. I sincerely appreciate the support she gave me. At the same time she was helping me, she needed a chance. If my marriage dissolved the company could go too. I didn't want that, so I figured how you all could keep what we had. And I could keep a promise to Jan."

When I stopped talking, everyone started talking all at the same time.

"Stop, you all own this company. You need to get your shit together on how you work together. Everyone here has a skill that is needed."

Jillian interrupted "We decided not to take your offer though. The company is still yours"

Everyone nodded. The bunch of bobbleheads I thought. "You need to take it. If Sue and I divorce and the deal isn't done first it gets sold for scrap. Everyone loses. Sign the fucking papers!"

That silenced them. "I also have a favor. I need a job. Part time. But I need income, and I have to raise my daughters. I need both. A job and time."

They all became bobbleheads again. Some day I will laugh about it. Today I was grateful.

They started tossing out titles and job positions. Executive Director, General manager, President, CEO, COO. Again I asked them to be quiet. "I want a salesperson, and a business consultant on the side."

They all agreed in an instant. Kyle asked "How much do you want to make?"

"This advice as a consultant will cost you $200 an hour. When do you ever ask any employee what they will make. The question is how much can you afford to pay me, and what are the expectations that I would get paid for"

"How do we figure it out? "Scott asked. He was one of the crew leaders. "I don't know how to figure that out."

"You aren't all the sole boss. You own a piece of the company. Does Jillian know how to run a crew?"

"No" Scott replied

"Who does?" I asked

"Me and Wayne" Scott replied

"Exactly, you do your job. You get paid a wage to do your job. Do it well, the company makes money. Do it badly and the company loses money. Who knows the books on this place?"

"Jillian" everyone answered

"So who can figure out what to pay a salesman?"

"Jillian" was the answer.

"Who is the head boss then?" Kyle asked.

"General Manager you mean?" I suggested

"OK, GM"

"You." I said. "But remember, your boss is the other four. Same for everyone."

"Any other questions?" I asked

Jan raised her hand

"What is it?" I asked

"Is there anything we can do to help? Now or sometime? Let us know, please"

They were all bobbleheads, yet again. I smiled.

"OK, that's $200 you owe me. " I said

They looked at me, blankly....

"Consultants aren't cheap. Don't waste your money, but pay up when you do use one." I said "that tidbit is free!"

Jan went to the safe. She pulled out $200 "We will need a receipt, and next time we will need an itemized invoice"

Scott stood, "ok we have work to do! Let's get at it. Jan, can you set up a team meeting sometime tomorrow. We need to get crews hired, products ordered, and we need to clarify who is doing what. One other thing. Jan, sorry for not trusting you. We know Chase has good judgment. We should have believed that. I apologize"

Jan gave him a hug, "Thank you! I would be wondering why someone new and with no experience gets here too!"

The crew filed out, each saying sorry in their own way. Finally it was Jan Jillian on the monitor, and I left.

Jillian spoke first. "Is it really that bad Chase? To make you give up your dreams?"

"It's worse than that bad Jill, but, for now I have the girls, I have the house, and I have a job that will support me, I hope." I said.

"We will do whatever it takes to make sure you have that." She said, "On the plus side, my dad is scheduled for surgery the day after tomorrow. So I am coming home. I will spend a day with Jan getting her on some stuff, while I organize finances and inventory. Can I call on you for some consultation time in the afternoon?"

I agreed.

I stayed and caught up with Jan for a bit, and then decided to call Jimmy. It had been over three weeks since I had talked with him. He was my best friend. I also knew that his response to this would be a harsh one. He wasn't very tolerant of cheating. When he found out I cheated on Sue, his response was to go tell Sue how to take everything and leave me with nothing. He also punched me in the face. Now, the clarity of his decisiveness would likely be redirected.

He answered on the third ring. "Hey you douchebag, about fucking time you call! What's up?" He answered.

"Actually a lot has been going on, but I'd rather talk in person. What's your schedule look like?" I asked

His voice belied his concern, "That serious, huh? I haven't had lunch yet, how about we meet up and eat. Maybe grab a few cold ones and make it an afternoon?"

"Yeah, it's that screwed up. How about Rickie's?" That was a pretty decent bar. They served a great lunch and dinner.

"See you in about thirty." He said.

I told him everything that happened. Initially when I told him Sue cheated, he told me I deserved it. I was surprised by that.

"What is good for the goose is good for the gander" he explained. "If you broke the trust, then she has the right to as well."

His position changed as I told him more of the details. That it was planned, premeditated, and was ongoing, and very graphically rubbed in my face.

"A guys got to do what a guy's got to do. You fucked up the guys who fucked you over. But you don't know if they are still fucking her. You only know that they aren't rubbing your nose in it. Or maybe they can't because of the accident, but will again when they can. What's your exit strategy?" There was the decisiveness I knew he would break it into.

"She still loves me. I still love her. There's the girls to consider. I was ready to leave and start over. She just left and left me with the girls. While she tried to get her head on straight."