After the Fact Pt. 01

After the Fact, part 1- Gloria and Johnathan

This is the first in a multi-part series about what happens 'After the Fact'- two people getting on with their lives. It is an excerpt from newspaper interviews for the "Literotica Sex Times" newspaper.

The main characters are from a story I wrote and published, "Jack's Rebirth, Parts 1-3". I got pretty good reviews but there were some nitpickers (aren't there always??). I will attempt to address any discrepancies found and tell you what happened in their lives. Hopefully, there will be several of these stories coming, dealing with those whom I feel are basically good people who overcame shit in their lives. I hope you will enjoy them. (Well, probably most of you will. Some people you just can't please.) Read and enjoy. Grandpa says so.

Also, I want to thank saddletramp1956, for the multi-part of plot idea. I like it. I hope this does his idea justice.

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Gloria's take on her life

"Where to start? What to say? How can I express my life?

"It has been ten years since the events that changed my children's and my life and brought Jack Stone into it. They have been the luckiest ten years of my life. I have been blessed with two more wonderful children and a husband who is the best man I have ever met. It has not been perfect. We argue (after all, I am Puerto Rican) and he is extremely easygoing. But after that one instance in his parent's house, after he had broken up the robbery of the jewelry store, he has stood up for himself many times. When he felt he was right. (He is not often right, but I yield very easily now because the make-up sex is SOO good.) I also have a better understanding of my beloved husband's psyche due to a conversation I had with his mother on Thanksgiving about 4 years after we were married. I started to remember that day, THAT conversation. ...........

Dinner was finished and the guys were in the living room watching football. His sister-in-law and future sister-in-law were riding herd on the kids and we had all finished cleaning up, started coffee running and were setting out dessert. His mother poured us some wine took my hand and led me out onto the back porch. She shut the door led me over to the fire pit, and lit the gas logs.

"We need to talk, dear." I understand that that is a phrase that men dread hearing, but seldom spoken to a woman, by a woman.

We sat down, she took a healthy sip of her wine and stared at me.

"Gloria, you are without a doubt the best thing that ever happened to Jack. And as a bonus, I think Thomas is about to make an honest woman out of your friend, Amanda. Your children, ALL of them, are priceless, and four of the most wonderful grandchildren a grandmother could hope for. Now I have six. Soon I will be ahead of Carolyn Richmond at church. She only has ten." She chuckled. She and Mrs. Richmond were good friends and the 'competition' was friendly.

"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Her eyes clouded and her face looked down, contemplating her hands and her wineglass.

"There is something in Jack's past that even He doesn't know of. Remember, I talked to you about it before you were married?"

"Yes, Mom, but you never told me what. I mentioned it to Jack while we were on our honeymoon, but he said he didn't know what it could be. I'm a little concerned about what it is. Jack didn't seem too worried. He assured me he was fine and he couldn't figure out what had you so concerned."

His mother sighed, shrugged, and took another drink of her wine.

"What I'm going to tell you must forever remain between us. Jack doesn't know, CAN'T know, ever. And his brothers and sister don't know. It is very embarrassing to me and I live with it every day." With that, she started to cry and almost fell to the deck. I jumped to her side and cradled her in my arms.

"MOM, TELL ME!! What could be so horrible??"

She wiped her eyes and sniffled.

"I'm so embarrassed.

"Many years ago, I made an awful mistake. I cheated on Jack's father. I got drunk, and I was seduced by the bastard, and it only happened once. I was so ashamed and shocked that I thought of keeping it from Michael, swearing I would never do it again. It was all my doing, my fault. I had given him three wonderful children and I knew it would risk my marriage if he found out. So I decided to keep the secret and take it to my grave.

"Then I found out I was pregnant. I was devastated. I was a wreck. I knew I could not go on, holding this secret in. So I told my husband. It was the hardest thing I had ever done, up till then.

"He was devastated. Crushed. I have never seen him like that. The look on his face, the sadness in his eyes. If I could have died or disappeared without leaving a trace, I would have. But it was done.

"My personal feelings aside, my religion left me no choice but to have the baby. So I was doomed. Condemned by my own indiscretion, my OWN actions. I never want anyone else to go through what we experienced in the following 8 months. The tension, the sorrow, the lack of trust. We were not intimate for over a year. We slept together, but the gap, the chasm between us was huge. I'm sure our children sensed something was wrong, but they never guessed what.

"When I went into labor, Michael took me to the hospital but stayed in the waiting room. The only one of our children that he was not in the delivery room for. He was living in hell, but he was there, still trying to come to grips with the situation. When Jack was born, he came into my room and I gave him the child. I told him 'Here is your son.'

"He took Jack in his arms and held him. We sat in silence for several hours, till visiting hours were over. Then he left. I had a DNA/paternity test done, and the results were mailed to the house. We went home two days later. Several days later, I received the results. I kept the sealed envelope until your father-in-law got home, then I handed them to him and said, 'This is the paternity results. I have not looked at them. Whatever you decide, I will abide by it. No matter what.'

"Then I got up and went out onto the new patio and sat. And prayed. And prayed. And cried, and then prayed some more. The Blessed Virgin and all the saints in heaven, especially Saint Jude, probably got tired of hearing my voice.

"Then my husband came out and stood over me, and looked down. I was scared. Petrified. I had no other recourse. I steeled myself and looked up at him.

'Well?'

"All he did was smile, ruffle the boy's hair, and say, 'Son!'

"I cried for what seemed like hours. He couldn't shut me up.

"He told me the report stated that Jack was my son, and his. Our biological child. He said he was sorry for what we had gone through so far, and he wanted to try to fix our marriage. I told him I loved him, and I was sorry for the pain I had caused him. And I thanked him. Thanked him for loving me enough to take a chance on me- again."

This woman that I had come to look on as my second Mother, as a rock in a relationship, was devastated. I held her and comforted her as best I could. What else could I do??

Finally, she composed herself. She extricated herself from my arms, drained her wine glass, and wiped her eyes. She sniffled and burped. I laughed and hugged her. She started to cry again, then to laugh. She gathered herself and looked me in the eye.

"Gloria, I told you this in strictest confidence. The ensuing year was fraught with conflict, pain, and strife. But we came through it. I like to think it made us stronger than ever. I don't want that for you and Jack. You don't deserve it. I don't think you are that kind of woman. I've seen the way you look at and treat Jack, and all your children. I see how Jack looks at you, and treats you and the children. All of them. You are good for each other, and together. I don't want you to ever have to go through what Jack's father and I did. Ever. I have great faith that you won't, but if sharing my secret with you can help keep that from ever happening, I will take that risk."

Now it was my turn. I broke down in tears and hugged her again.

"OH, MOTHER, I am so sorry for what you went through. It must have been tragic. I would never do that to Jack. He is my everything. My reason for living. And I will be forever grateful for you telling this." I hesitated. "I will take this to my grave. I will never betray you. You have my solemn word, on my children's souls."

I shook myself and realized that I could never divulge this story.

And that is the reason every Sunday I kneel before the Blessed Virgin's altar and thank her for my husband, my children, my life, the mysterious woman at our wedding who gave us the admonition to love each other and the piece of engraved gold, and to pray for my mother-in-law and father-in-law, who continue to give me so much. I am very lucky.

I just hope he doesn't write about my breaking wind, in the restaurant.

Darn, I shouldn't have mentioned that.

Jack's take on his life

Okay, so I have been asked to write this. I know that Gloria is contributing to this narrative and that everything is confidential. So I don't know what she is saying. So this is honest.

When I first met Gloria, she looked like a scared teenager being accosted by a thug in the supermarket. I wound up arresting him and paying for her groceries. Little did I know she was 27 years old, a mother of two, feisty, tough, and alone against the world. I did know she was cute and had a phenomenal butt. But I'm getting ahead of myself........

She was very independent and caustic. I think it took a while, like a day or two before she had a nice word for me. But when she looked at me, my world wobbled. She was pretty. Not gorgeous, just pretty. She was tough and ready to take on the world, but she was pretty close to being beaten down. She was sure all men were after one thing from her. I am smitten with her. I didn't know it at the time, but everyone else seemed to see it, like I had a neon sign on my head, flashing 'I love her'. And I'm a detective.

I was lost. I didn't know what to do. But I did know what the right thing to do was. I had to help her. And that was what led us to fall for each other. It didn't happen overnight, although it seemed like it. And when it did, I was taken for the greatest ride of my life. The roller coaster that was our courtship was phenomenal. I was in seventh heaven. Okay, you get the picture. I love her.

She gave me two more wonderful children, and we decided that four were enough. We were happy, and our family grew. (If your diabetes is acting up, I apologize for the excessive sweetness. It is what it is.)

So we got on with our lives. Every Sunday we would go to mass, at 10:00 a.m., and afterward, we would patiently wait in the pew behind her as she knelt before the Blessed Virgin's altar and prayed. Usually, it was only about three to five minutes, but when she was pregnant it sometimes would stretch longer. Sometimes she would rise and turn to us with a beatific smile on her face. Other times, there were the traces of tears and a small smile, followed by a chaste kiss for me, and a hug for our children, Micheal and Marilyn. After Johnathan Michael Mariano, and Evelyn Maria came along, it was a bit antsy because everyone wanted to go to breakfast. Normally it was IHOP because our kids loved pancakes. Mommy loved the crepes. I would eat just about anything.

We had our usual table, at the back by the big picture window. Over the years, we added two more seats when the babies arrived. Occasionally, my sister, her husband, and their two kids or my folks, or my one brother and his girlfriend (now his new wife) would join us, and IHOP was always accommodating about a few extra chairs (maybe an extra table, you know). They appreciated the police, and, while they couldn't give anything away, they always took care of us.

Anyway, we were seated. My children were being children. Mommy sat at the head of the table. On her left was Jack Junior, on her right was little Evie, then Mikey next to her, and across from him Marilyn. I was at the other end of the table, facing my wife. Makes for a lot of smoochy kisses and smiles. Occasionally there was some lip licking (on her part) wiggled eyebrows (that's on me) and lots of laughing and joking. In year eight of our marriage, in April, the third Sunday, it happened.

They had just brought the food, and Mommy was raising her coffee cup to her lips when the noise hit. Loud, and fairly deep, if it had been a guy, it would have been impressive, even commendable. You know, guys.

But it wasn't. The sound came from my loving wife, the soul of our marriage, the mother of my children. Her coffee cup stopped as it reached her lips. She froze. Her eyes locked on me. She blushed, deep and red. I mean RED.

She had farted. Now, being married, I had heard my sweetness fart before. Nothing special, hardly worth talking of. Sometimes stinky, usually not. But chaste and cute. I would chide her and tease her. Sometimes she would make a face, stick her tongue out, or giggle. We would laugh. Hey, I loved her.

But this one was different.

Micheal's eyes bulged, and he exclaimed, "WOW, Mom. Impressive!!"

Marilyn gagged and choked out, "EEEWW, gross, Mother. What are you trying to be, Dad, or Michael??"

Little Jonathan Michael laughed and pointed. "Mommy made a poop!!"

Little Evelyn Marie just giggled at her mother and gasped.

Me??? I swallowed my food, and said, "Sorry, sweetheart. Next one's on me."

Cool Huh? Well, maybe not. All eyes pivoted towards me. Stunned looks at me.

All, that is, except my wife. The gaze I got was 'You will pay for this!'

The kids broke down in hysterical laughter and tears of joy. I just sat there. (Probably the smart thing to do.) My wife stared at me, possibly calculating costs for divorce or jail time for my murder. Then reality. Blushing, she set her cup down and busted a gut in laughter. The kids were beside themselves, seeing Mom as human. Gloria stared at me with humor in her eyes and blew me a kiss. Then she parted her lips, snaked her tongue out, and licked her lips, followed by a more soul-searing kiss.

Now I was blushing. Breakfast resumed.

This became part of our 'Family lore', stories and anecdotes we treasured for the rest of our lives.

But surely, she wouldn't have mentioned that,..... Would she??

Thank you for bearing with me. Now, lighten the F*** UP-

I asked my wife a technical question- Did she know what lesbians and mechanics had in common?

She squeezed her temples, probably thinking- 'Why Me?'

"No, dear, what do they have in common??"

"They both use Snap-On tools." Snicker, snicker. She had a puzzled look on her face.

"I don't get it."

"What don't you get, babe?"

"Well, you were a mechanic and you used Craftsman tools. Are you saying you're better than others?"

Well, she does have better writers than me.

Happy Holidays, from the BEARS.