After the Cruise, Day of Redemption

Tales from Behind the Bar 3

I read a story posted by one of the authors on Literotica that uses the pen name Irishdragon. The story was entitled "Cruise of Deception". It was a rather short story about a married couple on a cruise where they meet a guy from the husbands past. The guy seduces the wife and the story ends with the husband reading the note left by the wife saying she's running of the other guy. As with most stories it left me wondering about the aftermath. The following is my take on what may have happened afterwards. My thanks and respects to Irishdragon for his story. Since this is my first posting to Literotica I would appreciate any feedback the readers and fellow authors may have. Read ya later -- Bishop

Story 3 AFTER THE CRUISE - DAY OF REDEMPTION

"Hey how ya doin? Welcome to the Midnight Bar and Grill. Sam's the name. Samuel Sanders, I'm the owner, chief cook and head bartender of this establishment. It's a good business and we have a pretty decent clientele. Runnin a café and bar is no easy thing though, there's various business and liquor licenses to keep current not to mention sales taxes, liquor taxes, restaurant tax, corporate tax, payroll tax, the list just keeps growing. If not for some of the people and the other benefits it wouldn't be worth it.

Being a bartender means more than just pouring a glass of gin and juice. It's a lot about how you treat the customers. I teach my staff to treat each customer as if they are special even if they aren't. It's a quirky business sometimes. People talk to you and sometimes tell you things they won't tell their best friends. Sometimes you're glad you're NOT their best friends. I remember this guy by the name of Raymond. Over drinks he told me some pretty raw stuff about someone who is very close to me. He ended up running out of town literally. However saying anything more about that may be getting in a bit deep. A good bartender understands that there is an obligation of privacy between the bartender and a customer. It's almost as sacred as that between a doctor and his patient, except where the police may be involved. That being said what I'm about to do may seem to some that I'm violating the right to privacy of my customers but what you're about to hear is already common knowledge and in the past.

The old folks used to say if the haints in the walls could talk there would be no secrets what so ever. In this establishment it's not so much the walls as the booths. Some of the booths have been given special names by the staff. For instance that one in the back there is called the Baxter booth because of the many times that Jeff and Amy Baxter sat there and ate and talked and argued and loved. These days however it isn't used much except by one particular person, but let me run the whole story and you can judge for yourself.

Jeff and Amy got married after what many called a whirlwind courtship. To some it just didn't seem to fit. He was a shy but very smart teaching assistant while she was an outgoing and headstrong athlete. They say that opposites attract and I guess that's what happened in their case. When Amy brought Jeff home to meet her parents I'm told it wasn't the best of meetings. Her father thought she could do much better than Jeff, especially in the physical department. Jeff wasn't mousy or wimpy but he wasn't the tall broad shouldered athletic type either. Despite the rather cool treatment from the parents Jeff and Amy were married and moved into an apartment not far from here. They had their struggles as all couples do but seemed to dote on each other. At least until they left on that cruise.

Some people have called it a Cruise of Deception. Some called it a Cruise of Awakening and/or Dumping depending on your POV. The details of what actually happened no one knows. All we do know is that Jeff returned home – alone. Word soon got around town as to what happened. Jeff met an old schoolmate by the name of Dan on board the ship. Before the cruise was over Dan got off the ship – with Amy. Yeah you guessed it, Amy ran off with Dan apparently after having an on board affair with him.

Jeff was crushed and it was weeks before he seemed to have any life in him. He quietly filed for and got a divorce due to alienation of affection and abandonment. Amy didn't even bother to show up in the courtroom her parents hired an attorney represent her. It was the talk of the town. Jeff basically walked away with nothing. He lost one job but picked up another at the bank and was surprisingly very successful. He now made good money but still lived like a pauper in the apartment where he and Amy had been.

One thing he does do is drop in to the bar every now and then. He talks I listen. He tried to get with a few other women but never really invested himself in it. He was hurt and very bitter at what happened. Can't say that I blame him. Townsfolk didn't take to kindly to his version of what happened. Apparently Amy was the golden child of the town. Her parents called him a liar and swore that he drove their little girl into the arms of another man. Since they were very well respected and this was the town Amy grew up in most people that knew Amy before sided with the parents. No one would believe that Amy would do such a thing. Why Jeff stayed here I don't know. My guess is it was to have a chance to confront Amy and Dan should they ever come back.

I guess that's where the real story begins. It was 11 months after Amy had ran out on him. Jeff returned home from the bar one evening to see the VMS light on his phone blinking. There were 6 messages. He played back 4 of the messages but never heard 5 or 6.

Message 4 said: "Jeff – this is Amy. I know I'm probably the last person you want to see or hear from. I've been in town now for about 3 weeks. It's taken me that long to work up enough nerve to call you. Jeff I – really would like to see you. I – need to see you. Please call me. The number is ___- ___-____. Please Jeff I really need to see you. Call me please.

Jeff was numb for a moment. He didn't sleep that night because he relived the whole nightmare of the cruise over and over again. He found out from some of the ship's crew that Dan and Amy had a number of private rendezvous all over the ship. Several crewmen saw them disembark arm in arm. His humiliation and how it seemed that everyone on the ship was laughing at him haunted him all that night and the next day. Then there were the people here in town. Amy's parents accusing him of running her off. His own father implying that he didn't stand up and fight for his woman. That she ran off with a better man. He was the one betrayed yet society seemed to brand him as cuckold. He didn't return her call.

A couple of days later he came in all agitated holding a note that was left taped to his door. It's from Amy. She says she desperately needs to see him and to please call. He shows me the note then crushes it and throws it in the trash.

Several days later it's Friday night and Jeff is sitting at the bar shooting the breeze with me. There have been a couple of other attempts by Amy to contact him. He was nursing a drink in the midst of his brooding when in walks Amy. She looked as beautiful as I remembered. Jeff didn't see her walk in and nearly fell off his stool when he turned and saw her standing there. For a moment her shoulder length dark black hair and blue eyes mesmerized him. Her 34 B breasts and the rest of that tight petite body still turned heads. Then his anger and grief boiled to the surface. She saw the smoldering emotions in his eyes and quickly averted hers. She spoke softly almost a whisper.

"Hello Jeff."

"Amy."

"You didn't return any of my calls."

"No I didn't."

"I understand. You're angry and you have every reason to be. Jeff I really need to talk to you. In private."

Jeff looked at her like he was about to bite her head off, but she didn't flinch. Finally he motioned her over to their now famous or infamous booth in the back.

"Okay talk."

She opens her mouth to speak but the words get caught in her throat. She closes her eyes to regroup and starts again.

"I'm surprised that you aren't calling me every bitch, whore and slut in the book."

"I have and I still might. What is it you want to talk about?"

"Us."

"What?"

"Us! You and me."

"There is no us Amy. You destroyed us when you ran away with Dan."

"Jeff, baby I made a terrible mistake. I was – mesmerized by Dan's personality, his looks—"

"His cock."

Amy's face reddened as she looked away, "Yes his cock."

Jeff choked back the urge to reach across the table and strangle her.

"You run out on me. Sneak off with Dan like some thief in the night. Leave a damn note talking about how you need time apart for a while and you expect me to what, welcome you back with open arms?"

"Jeff I'm so sorry that I did what I did. You are a good man and a good husband. I never should have left. I never should have let things get out of hand with Dan. I look back and I feel so stupid and foolish. I never wanted to hurt you Jeff you must believe that."

"Take a good look in my eyes Amy. Listen carefully to the sound of my voice and try to tell me that again."

Tears began to run down Amy's face. Jeff paid them no mind.

"I loved you Amy. I loved you with every fiber of my being, my heart and soul. Do you understand what kind of love that is Amy? It's the kind that forms that thin line between love and hate. Guess which side of the line I'm on Amy?"

"Baby I'm sorry. What can I do to make things right?"

"Make things right? Ha ha that's so like you, always trying to tackle the situation head on. Like you did when I objected to Dan having his hands all over you. Like you dealt with my not wanting us to go to the health spa with him. You dealt with it head on by pooh poohing my concerns and kept right on going. Well M(s) Baxter what makes you think you CAN make things right? "

"Jeff I –"

"Don't say it Amy. Don't even try it. You have no idea what you put me through on the ship or here at home. People laughing at me, calling me wimp and cuckold. I stayed in my cabin the rest of the cruise. Then I got home and the things really got out of hand. One of the stewards retrieved your little note from the trash and returned it to me anonymously. I kept it this time but even with the note in your own handwriting NO ONE BELIEVED ME! Your parents swore I drove you away. My own father thinks I wasn't man enough to hold my woman. I thought that somebody would sympathize with me, see my side of the story but no. I got put down on the high seas and cut down at home. No one would believe that Amy Baxter could do such a thing. Not Amy she's to sweet, to pure, to good to ever do something that horrible. Friends that have known me for years vilified me. I lost my job behind you. I got another one but even there the stigma remained. Yeah Jeff is great shakes when it comes to making money but he's a dam sissy when it comes to holding on to his wife. You have an affair and run out on me and I'm the one who gets the blame. Even in court your parents hired an attorney to represent you and argued that half of the assets belonged to you and that it should be divided equally between us. They marched in all these people that swore up and down how good you were and that if you left it was because I did something bad to you to make you run away. They made it seem like you were afraid to appear in court because of what I might do. Do you know what happened? The judge BOUGHT it! The judge agreed with them and appointed a trustee over the few assets to be liquidated. Most of the funds went to pay the trustee's expenses. I had to start over with nothing. Nothing! What can you possibly do to take away the months of victimization? What can you do to make all of that right Amy?"

A red-faced Jeff nearly came over the table at Amy in his anger. Stunned she hid her face in her hands as she tried not to break down. Then with a sob she got up and ran out of the bar. Jeff just sat and glared at her as she left.

It was after midnight when I sent a slightly inebriated Jeff home. I didn't have to worry about calling a cab because he lives only about a block and a half away. He rarely drives over here unless he's leaving to go someplace else in which case he usually orders something weak like a wine cooler. What happened that night he related to me days later. He said he turned on the stereo to try and lose himself in the music. He thought about what he said and didn't say. All the things he wanted to tell her and the curses he wanted to heap on her head. Things to make her hurt as bad as he still did. Then there was his heart. His heart that skipped a beat the moment he saw her. His broken heart that still loved her. Then there was his libido. His cock was hard from the moment he saw her. Part of him wanted to ravish her. Make her scream for mercy and in pleasure. Fortunately that part didn't control him like other men. Still the thought of her moving under him screaming as she orgasmed had his cock straining in his pants.

He threw his clothes in the laundry hamper and grabbed his robe. Still a little dizzy he decided he was done with the hard liquor. He went back into the kitchen for an OJ nightcap. Not that he was going to get any sleep. Even more than in the past few nights he would be up running things over in his mind. He shivered as much from his emotions as from the cold glass on his bare chest. As he sipped his juice there was a knock at the door. Without thinking he opened the door and there stood Amy. Looking for the all world like a scared little girl. He was stunned speechless and she didn't waste the moment. She brushed past him and went to sit on the sofa. He followed and perched himself on the far arm.

"Amy what are you doing here?"

"What I didn't get a chance to do at the bar."

"I thought I made my position clear at the bar."

"You're angry and hurt and you have every right to be. I knew that going in. I just wasn't prepared for the intensity. I thought that I was ready. I mean I had been planning this ever since I got back 3 weeks ago. I thought I had gathered my courage and then you took it all in seconds. I ran out because the shame and grief overwhelmed me. I'm past that now and there's something I need to say to you."

Jeff sighed and rested his head in his hand, "What?"

"That I love you."

Jeff sat back his cold exterior never changing, "Well now you've said it. You know the way out."

"Jeff I made a horrible decision for a horrible reason and I'm sorry. In the end though I realized that I loved you and what we had. Like some tramp I saw what I thought was greener pastures and like a fool I went for them. But after I got there I found out that the love I left behind was the one true love that I wanted. Jeff I love you and I know it sounds crazy but I'm here because I want to try to rebuild what we had. I want you back in my life."

Jeff was silent. Amy pressed on.

"I know that part of you wants to throw me out, but I also know that deep down beyond the hurt and the pain that you still love me. I know that we're legally divorced but I want to be reconciled with you. When all the mess in my head finally washed out the one thing that remained there was that I loved you. I was never sure just how much until I realized what a fool I'd been."

Finally Jeff seemed to find his voice, "Yes I know you were mesmerized by his good looks, his tanned broad shoulders, his dreamy blue eyes, his muscular physique, his 13 inch cock."

"10"

"What's that?"

"It's only 10 inches long."

The stone look on his face told her she had stumbled into a trap. Jeff started to rise and she grabbed his arm.

"Jeff wait I'm sorry."

"No you're not. You're sorry you slipped up but you're not sorry about Dan."

"She held on to his arm tightly, "I'm sorry I ever left you Jeff."

"What was it that made you leave Dan? What happened that your sweet little ship board affair suddenly went sour?"

Amy looked long and hard at the floor and began to speak softly.

"I guess it started a couple of months after we left the ship. I thought life was perfect. Dan makes lots of money and he showed me things that I'd only dreamed of seeing, took me places I'd never been before. After those few months though little things started to irritate me. Things like listening to all the great things he'd done. How great he thought he was. No one seemed to be as good at anything as he was. Suddenly I found myself comparing him to you many times to his detriment. I found myself wondering what you would have done in certain places and how much fun I would have had sharing it with you. Then I noticed him eyeing other women, with me right there on his arm. I thought when I left the ship with Dan that maybe I had found my true love and that I really had to take some time to come to a decision about whether or not to continue our marriage. Dan however answered those questions when at a club one night I caught him dancing with and kissing another woman. Suddenly I knew exactly how you felt that first night when we met Dan on the ship. I confronted him and he treated me the same way I treated you. He blew me off like it was nothing. I knew then that it would only be a matter of time before I caught him. It took a couple of weeks but early one afternoon I came home to find him and a buddy in a threesome with that same girl. I was horrified and humiliated. After the other two left I screamed and hollered and cursed at him for hours. Finally I stormed out. I came back a couple of days later to pack my things. It took the next couple of months to get enough money together to come home."

"Hmm home to mother and father."

Amy looked at him puzzled. As if asking why would you think that?

"No. Jeff I've been in town only a little over 3 weeks but I haven't been to see anyone not even my parents. The only one I wanted to see was you."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really. I needed to see you, talk to you. I needed to find out if there was anyway to salvage our relationship."

"Uh huh, it took you three weeks to call me?"

Amy looked him straight in the eye, "It took me that long to gather the courage to face you."

Jeff's countenance darkened, "And just how much courage did it take to write 'My Dear Jeff: Please forgive me for what I'm about to do for I never meant to hurt you. I am going away with Dan for a while. I beg of you not to follow us. I think we just need some time apart for a while. You are a good man and I never meant to hurt you, but I need time to figure things out on my own. I am so sorry for this but I need to do it.'

"I didn't even rate the respect of your signature on a note. How the hell could you expect me to believe anything you say? You were my wife, MY WIFE. What does it say about your love and respect for me if you run off with an arrogant asshole like Dan after just a few days? You know, nowhere in that note did you once say I love you. All I rated was ' You are a good man and I never meant to hurt you.' Was I your husband or just a good friend? Why did you marry me if I was only A GOOD MAN? You humiliated me when you left. What does that say about me if I were to take you back?"

"It says that you have a love that is better than I deserve," she said softly, "One that is to be cherished. One I learned the hard way that I need more than anything."

"One that you had and threw away."

"Baby I'm not denying any of the horrible things I did. I'm here to take responsibility for them. I'm here to try to redeem our love at whatever the price."

"Humph! Really? What is the going price for a broken heart and shattered dreams? How much is it worth to you this rebuilding of the trust you betrayed? What do you have of value that can redeem such a base deception?"