Aftermath of Cheating

Our usual group of four couples was having the normal once a month party. It was a Saturday afternoon start to the party and we normally partied well into the evening. We were having one hell of a good time having a few drinks and telling all kinds of wild stories. It was my wife Judy and I (Ray Staebler), my sister Pat and her husband Bruce Vincent, Nancy and Jim Seiver and Jill and Wayne Bissler. Pat, Nancy and Jill all worked with my wife at Conner Construction, Inc., a well known regional construction firm specializing in public buildings, schools and churches.

Pat had introduced me to Judy four years ago and after a short courtship we became a couple and three years ago we had gotten married. I thought we had a very good marriage and I know I loved her with all my heart and felt she reciprocated.

As I said, the stories were flying hot and heavy and the drinks were being poured strong and often. It wasn't too long before a couple of us were feeling no pain at all. Jill was pretty drunk by this time and was going on and on about how she had gone on a date with a guy named Jamie and got caught by her steady boyfriend Phillip. Phillip was pissed so of course that ended that relationship but she didn't continue to date James. Some time later she met and dated Wayne and eventually married him.

My wife Judy piped up, "Wow Jill that had to really be awkward. I never had any experiences like that, getting caught doing something I shouldn't have been doing."

Jill in her drunken state responded, "Are you kidding me Judy? Hell, you almost got caught with Carl's black baby in your belly after you fucked him for that whole week two years ago while Ray was gone."

Everyone in the room was shocked by that comment and I heard Judy gasp and then Wayne said, "Jill, why don't you just shut up."

I was clearly in shock at that comment and jumped up saying "What the f..."

The next thing I knew I was laying on the floor. I apparently had been unconscious for a couple of minutes and was just starting to come out of it.

I found out later what had happened to me. I had what is called a vasovagal response having to do with the vagus nerve. It comes about as a result of stress, sudden onset of extreme emotions and standing up too quickly. There are other triggers as well and one of the most recognizable is witnessing medical procedures. That is what causes soldiers to pass out while standing in line waiting to receive their shots. In that circumstance even watching another man pass out can cause one to pass out.

Anyway, I was stressed, had an extreme emotional event and stood up too quickly and there I was lying on the floor. They were taking care of me and as I slowly started to come out of it I overheard some of them talking.

"Jill, why the hell did you have to say that?"

"I just don't know Judy, I had too much drink and I am so sorry. I never wanted to do anything to hurt you and Ray. I am so sorry."

I decided to play it cool for a couple of minutes to see what else I might learn.

My sister Pat said, "Well the cat is out of the bag now and we just have to pass this off as a drunken babble on your part."

All of the others agreed and said, "We don't even know if he will remember what was said, so just play it cool and let's see if we can get past this. If he does remember we will just say Jill is drunk and stupid, agreed?"

I was finally feeling better and sat up. I knew I needed to relax for a few minutes so I just sat there and didn't say a word. I spent that time thinking about what Jill had said and figuring out what had gone on. When I was pretty sure I was going to be okay I slowly got to my feet and straightened myself out. Everyone was looking at me with questioning looks. I just played it cool for a minute while gradually working my way toward the door.

Judy asked me, "Baby? Are you alright?"

I looked at her and then glanced at everyone else in the room. "No Judy, I am not alright. I just found out that my wife is a cheating slut. I just found out that she fucked Carl Jackson for a whole week probably while I was away at Air National Guard training two years ago. I just found out that you were pregnant with his baby and probably had an abortion. I know now that you didn't have a miscarriage like you told me but you actually had an abortion. So NO, I am not alright."

I could see the tears streaming down Judy's face but at the moment I had not a speck of sympathy for her. "What's more I just found out that all of you, including my own loving sister, knew about it and no one bothered to tell me. No, I am not alright. I am getting out of here. Don't any of you follow me, don't talk to me and don't call me. All of you just stay the hell away from me."

I had to get away so I got into my truck and drove. I knew that I had to be alone for a while and think this all through. My truck was a bright red Ford F150 with a ton of chrome so I knew if I continued to use it I couldn't stay hidden from their prying eyes for long. My friend Jack lived on a farm about twenty miles out of town and he had a large machine shed that I could put my truck in. I knew he would be there for me so I drove out there. I let him know that I was having some problems with Judy and he agreed to help me out.

We parked my truck in the shed and Jack gave me a ride back into town and dropped me off at the Hertz rental facility next to the airport. I rented a nondescript Chevrolet Impala for a couple of weeks. I figured by then I would have made decisions for the rest of my life and wouldn't need to be "gone" anymore.

I checked into a decent hotel, the Courtyard by Marriot, on the outskirts of town with a lounge and restaurant. I had enough to drink earlier and I didn't want to be any more impaired than I already was. I sat around thinking about what had happened and some things gradually became clearer to me. It took a while but soon I think I knew exactly what had happened.

Two years ago at Judy's Christmas party Tonya Jackson had come on to me. She sidled up to me and said, "Ray, you are one hot guy. How would you feel about giving me go?"

I was shocked but truthfully flattered too. Tonya is a very hot woman with beautiful auburn hair and a body that would inflame desire in any man. If I was willing to have an affair, I could see she would be a lot of woman to handle. I kind of figured she was pretty drunk and really didn't mean it but I was flattered none the less. I told her however, "Tonya you certainly are beautiful and sexy as can be but I am not a free agent. Sorry, I just won't do that to Judy."

She smiled at me and said, "Oh well I tried. When you are ready for me just give me a call." I was a little confused by that comment but just let it slide and got back into the party. I must confess it made my night though and didn't hurt Judy's night too much either when I was extra attentive in bed later on.

In a repeat at this past year's Christmas party Tonya came to me again. "Are you a free agent yet Ray baby? I sure would like a shot at you."

I let my male ego get stroked for a minute but I told her, "You know Tonya this is getting old. I told you I wouldn't do that to Judy and I would appreciate it if you didn't do this again."

Tonya said, "Well that is too bad Ray because I think you and I would have a great time together. I won't bother you again but when you are ready, just call."

Now I realized that Tonya knew all along that Carl had fucked Judy and she was trying to get even with him. I decided to call her to talk.

After I had thought things through I looked up Carl Jackson's phone number and made the call. Fortunately Tonya answered the phone and not Carl. "Tonya, this is Ray Staebler. I am ready to talk. If you can get away I would like to meet in the lounge at the Marriot Hotel."

She told me that she would be there in thirty minutes.

"Great, I will be waiting there for you."

Right on time Tonya walked into the lounge and every eye in the place was on her. She was as beautiful as I remembered from the Christmas party. She had on a modest but very attractive dress and her long auburn hair hung down her back. I think everyone in the lounge turned to look at her as she walked up to me at the bar. I gave her a gentle hug and we took a booth in the back of the room because I wanted a bit of privacy with what I wanted to talk to her about.

"Tonya, I called you to talk and I am pretty sure you know the reason. Just tell me straight out, did you or did you not know about Carl fucking my wife Judy?"

She got a mischievous smile on her face and said, "Ray of course I knew about it. Why do you think I wanted to play around a bit with you? I wanted to have a fling with you and rub it in Carl's face and I still want to do that."

"Well I just became aware of that little dalliance today Tonya and I am not certain you and I playing around as you call it would be in our best interest at this time but I really do want to know everything you know about the situation."

"I know that they did have sex because I actually caught them in my house. I was supposed to be spending some time with my mother but decided to come home early. I caught them fucking in my bed Ray.

"They didn't know that I saw them because I left and went to stay with a friend of mine for the night. I didn't want to confront them together until I had time to think things through. I figured a night with my friend would let me clear my mind. If you need to verify that I will give you her name and telephone number.

"Anyway when I came home the next day I confronted Carl about having an affair. At the time I didn't know the woman's name and Carl tried to lie his way out of the whole thing but I told him I actually saw him and no matter how many lies he told me were going to get him out of it this time"

I asked, "What do you mean this time?"

"I suspected that he had had other affairs but had been able to lie his way out of them in the past. I never had proof before but now I did."

I was confused but asked, "If you caught him with my wife and suspected him in other affairs why are you still with him?"

"I can't help it Ray, I love him. We sat down and I told him I was going to divorce him unless he confessed everything to me. Unless he promised me that he would never cheat on me again. Unless he promised me he would agree to let me get my revenge with you without a word. We went to a lawyer and he wrote it all up for us and Carl signed it. If he goes back on his word I get everything in a divorce.

"He confessed everything about his numerous affairs, every little detail, who, when, where and how many times. He was pretty detailed Ray so I think I know it all. He did promise to never cheat on me again if I would stay with him and he did promise that I could get my 'fucking' revenge without any comments or repercussions."

I smiled at her and told her, "Truthfully I am not ready to be your 'fucking' revenge man just yet Tonya, not until you tell me every gory detail you know. I want to know everything no matter how painful it might be to me."

Over the next two hours Tonya filled me in on everything I wanted (or didn't want) to know about Judy and Carl's affair. It started with flirting and downright pursuit on Carl's part and eventually with Judy's curiosity about a black man and me being at Air National Guard camp for a full week. She gave in to his advances and spent hours with him every day while I was gone. As far as Tonya knew Judy never knew that she and Carl had been caught dead to rights by her.

She told me what she knew of the other affairs and when she had finished with that subject I think I knew as much about Carl's affairs as he did.

By the time we were done I had made some decisions about what I was going to do about Judy and what I wanted to do about Tonya. I asked her, "Tonya, I am going to get away from here for a few days. Will your 'fucking revenge' allow you to accompany me?"

She actually grinned at me. "As far as I am concerned YES but I will have to tell Carl and I am not sure he would agree."

"It seems to me from what you have said that he can't say no, but tell him this. Either he agree to let you go away with me on a little trip for, let's say a week, or sometime in the near future I am going to beat the living shit out of him and fix him so he never fucks you or another wife of some other poor bastard ever again. That ought to motivate his decision I would think."

Laughingly she replied, "I would think."

"Come up to my room for a few minutes then while I make the arrangements."

With that we walked out of the lounge and took the elevator up to my floor and walked down the hall to my room. Once inside I took Tonya's hand and lead her over to the sofa. Before I let her sit down I pulled her close to me and kissed her with only a bit of tongue but enough to make the point that we weren't brother and sister.

I said, "If we are going to be flying off to Vegas for a week I should at least have a sample of what I hope to be getting there."

She squealed, "Vegas? You are going to take a 'little trip' to Las Vegas with me? I don't care what Carl says, I am going with you. I have never been to Las Vegas and I have always wanted to go."

"Okay then, let me make a couple of calls and then I will send you home to inform Carl and do a bit of light packing."

I turned on my cell phone and saw several messages from Judy which I deleted without listening to them and I saw one message from my sister Pat. I decided to return that one immediately so I hit the redial number for that call. When she answered I didn't give her a chance talk when I simply said, "Pat I thought I made myself perfectly clear when I said no one, and that includes my traitorous sister, should call me. I said no calls. Believe me when I tell you one last time, ALL OF YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!!" Then I hung up.

I went to my contact list and dialed up Vince Amato. His real name is Vincenzo but he had pretty much americanized it to make it simpler for himself. He and I were best friends in high school and college. We still got together a couple of times a year and I think our friendship will last a lifetime. When he answered I said, "Vincenzo IF you say 'yes' I will think you are the best casino host in Las Vegas BUT if you say 'no' I will keep on thinking you are the biggest horse's ass. Do you have a room available for me starting tomorrow night? Can you make that happen? Which is it going to be?, 'yes' or 'no'."

His response was his usual, "Assuming this is the biggest asshole former friend of mine who should consider himself lucky if I ever even talk to him again NO WAY IN HELL would I ever give you a room. I might put you up in a broom closet. However, the Bellagio Hotel & Casino would be delighted to give you a room for a few days. Are you coming out alone or will you have that adorable wife of yours with you?"

"Vince, my adorable wife isn't so adorable to me anymore so she isn't coming with me but I will not be alone. I think it might be best if you can arrange for a room with two beds just to be on the safe side. We are both married to the two who cheated together and we may or may not get to use her terms 'fucking' revenge. At any rate two beds would be nice."

"I am sorry to hear about you and Judy but I will arrange everything and text you with the reservation information and so forth. Is there anything else you need Ray?"

"As a matter of fact, Vince do you have any flights from here that you could get us on?"

He laughed, "You know you really are an asshole Ray but I can make that happen too. I will text you with details. See you tomorrow."

Tonya just sat there with her mouth hanging open totally confused with what just took place.

"I suppose I should fill you in. Vince is a long time friend of mine who happens to be a casino host at the Bellagio. I was the best man at his wedding to Felicia and have known them both for years. I try to get there a couple of times a year and whenever I do go I can usually count on a room. I love to gamble and when I go there I usually manage to gamble a lot. They do like gamblers and I gamble enough that the casino likes me coming back and doesn't mind that Vince gives me a room. Just enjoy the ride Tonya because it will be a fun and wild one."

We spent four nights in Vegas. I always try to figure out how much the trip cost me and this time it was only about $750 with all food, drinks and gambling thrown in, Tonya enjoyed herself at the shows we saw, in the casino gambling with me and by herself and in the bedroom where we used one bed for "fucking" and the other one for sleeping. No one likes sleeping on wet spots. The sex was fantastic and I really enjoyed being with her too. I think we got along fantastically. On the last morning when we were done packing for the trip home Tonya told me she wanted to talk.

"Ray, after you confront your wife you need to decide if you are going to stay with her or divorce her. Either way I think I would like to be with you again and I hope you would like to be with me too. When you have made your decision will you give me a call? Depending on what you decide I might have a proposal for you."

"Okay Tonya, I definitely will call you in a few days. I have to say I had a wonderful time with you and enjoyed making love to you, you are an amazing woman. Thank you too for all of the information you gave me about Carl's affairs. It will come in very handy in the near future."

When we got back into our home town I called Judy and said, "I want to come home and talk but I won't do it unless the entire group gets back together so I can talk to all of you at one time."

Judy said, "Oh Ray, can't just the two of us talk?"

"No," Ray said, "I want to talk to all of you at the same time and if you don't arrange that I will not come home at all." She agreed and we set a time and Judy said she would have all of them there.

Tonya and I took an Uber to her house and I had the driver wait for me while I walked her to her door. I pulled her into me in a tight hug and gave her a long and passionate kiss. I don't know if Carl was there or if he could see Tonya and I but I certainly hoped he could.

The Uber guy took me to Jack's and I picked up my truck. I called Judy again to make sure that everyone was there and they were. When everyone was assembled in the living room I confronted Judy about the affair and the abortion. I accused her of deceiving me and lying to me for two years.

"Judy, you cheated on me and got yourself pregnant so you had an abortion. You knew I would find out you had a medical issue so you lied to me and told me that you had had a miscarriage. You said that the miscarriage somehow caused damage to you so that you could never have children. I felt so bad for both of us but I loved you so much and told you that it didn't matter. I treated you like a queen because you seemed so sad and I wanted to comfort you and let you know how much I loved you and how special you were to me.

"You didn't deserve any of that though. Your abortion was the cause of your not being able to have children in the future, not a miscarriage. Every day we have been together since then we have been living a lie.

"Judy, here is the bottom line. I forgive you for your affair with Carl. I forgive you for lying to me about the abortion claiming it was a miscarriage. I forgive you for all the deception over the last two years."

The room had been quiet during all of his statements but when he said he forgave her there was a collective sigh and some guarded conversation. Ray just sat there for a bit putting his thoughts in order.

I said, "Let me continue. Over the past week I have been with Tonya Jackson. She filled me in on everything about your affair. Seems she saw the two of you and confronted Carl. And yes, in case you were wondering we did have sex and it was amazing. Tonya is beautiful, sexy, fun to be with and hot as hell in bed. We have become quite close in fact.