America's Watching

Jake then tells her he's getting close but doesn't want to sleep on a wet spot. Sherry flashes an evil grin then ducks under the covers. The position and movement of her head left no doubt even to a naïve, brokenhearted, inadequate fool like me what was going on.

Again I began to breathlessly plead to an empty room, "Please stop honey... don't..."

A moment later Jake's face began to morph and a look of ecstasy replaced that fucking arrogant smirk. The deed was done and for all of America to bear witness to.

My lovely wife appeared from under the covers licking her lips that were far glossier than when she disappeared under the covers.

To add salt into my already gaping wound, the service she had just performed for her boy toy was something she never did for me because she always said it was disgusting. Not that that was on my mind at the moment, but I think it's worth mentioning now.

Even with the betrayal on Sherry's part I couldn't help feeling a little bad for her. Oh there was a part of me that wanted to strangler her too, but I couldn't help thinking what everyone was going to think about her afterwards and the things she's going to have to put up with for the rest of her life. People whispering behind her back and having to face family and friends; most of whom are old fashion conservatives like myself.

As I've said before, the worst part for me was I could do nothing but watch as my biggest reason for living cruelly betrayed me.

She didn't know it yet, but our marriage was no longer slipping away; it was over.

######

Even though I didn't necessarily want it to, life went on and the sun rose on a brand new day.

I had cried myself to sleep the night before, I mean what little sleep there was, however by lunch my decisions were already made. The decisions themselves were fairly easy to make due to Sherry's actions. The hard part was going to be living with and accepting those decisions.

I never expected anything like this to happen to my marriage so I was like a ship foundering in a storm on the ocean. I was totally lost and had no idea where to turn. I was going to need a lot of help and lean on those willing assist.

One thing I had to do was get away before Sherry came home. There was time of course because even if she was voted out of the house she still would have to stay until the final show in that "Peer House' thing or whatever it's called and that last show was nearly a month away.

I had to get away. I couldn't face her and certainly didn't want to talk to her ever again. I was bound to do anything in my power to distance myself from all of this. Yet there was more to it than just getting away from Sherry. Because of her I wanted to...no wait...I needed to get away from almost anything and everything associated with my soon to be former life.

My daughter Lynn was the lone exception to my wanting to leave everything behind, yet in an ironic twist we were to be separated none the less. Regardless of the miles between us, my intention was to speak to her as often as she's let me.

My first conversation was with Lynn. I told her I might be leaving soon and if she wouldn't mind staying at her friend Debbie's house if her parents wouldn't mind so they could report to school In Maine together in a few weeks.

I then talked to my boss and asked for and received a transfer to our office in Deland, Florida. This was just one of many things I needed help with and fortunately my boss stepped to the plate and not only set up the transfer but also set me up with a place to stay.

He never said as much, but it was obvious he had watched the show, probably with his wife and that his willingness to assist me in every way possible came from putting himself in my place. I really couldn't thank him enough and told him so.

Then I talked to the lawyer to discuss many other details. He wound up being a pretty good guy. I know, I was surprised too.

We talked about the divorce and he was shocked to hear that aside from a few thousand dollars to get started again, I was walking away from our marriage with nothing. I just wanted out and giving up the house, her car and all of our savings worth a few hundred dollars was well worth it to me. Everything was paid off so she and her new boy toy would be set for life and she should be able to live happily ever after to complete her fantasy life.

You may ask why not try to break her like she broke me. Well it's as simple as this, I still loved her and always will. That's what hurt the most I think. Loving someone as much as I did while despising her nearly as much if not more.

I'm also more than aware that my approach for the divorce was the worst choice I could make, but if it meant her not contesting it and never having too see her face to face again it was money well spent in my book. My offer obviously fell short in her eyes, but not because of the finances, but I'm getting ahead of myself again. We'll catch up with point a bit later.

It was time to play hardball with the network and my first pitch was going to be directly at Zach Blevins head. Why go for a brushback pitch when a bean ball would be much more effective?

I told my lawyer my idea and when he was finished laughing he said it just might work though he was the first admit that the entertainment industry was a totally different breed. I assured him he was my guy and wanted him to handle any possible settlement.

But a lawsuit, I mean a highly publicized lawsuit would be a last resort. It was time to try and make a deal with the producer of the show. Something that will make the both the network and Lynn and I happy. My idea was far from a sure thing, but it was certainly worth a shot.

One drawback was that Blevins might still be upset at Lynn and me for vacating our living room in the presence of the cameras not long ago. If he held a grudge he just might tell me to take my deal and shove it up my ass.

Believe me when I say I wanted to nail them as hard as I possibly could though I knew my best chance was to remain realistic. Any threat of a lawsuit would probably remain just that, a threat. They had too much fire power for a guy like me to go up against and even if I did have a good case they would be able to tie it up in the courts for the next fifty years not to mention that the legal costs would be astronomical.

So my legal team, well my team of one advised me to ask for a reasonable amount and said they would probably not be held responsible. Basically I was going to take what I could get.

My lawyer said that Blevins, the same producer that aired my wife's descent on the national stage and ITN Network actually agreed in principle to my proposal within an hour. One of the things that put us over the top was when my lawyer mentioned that I could always go on the talk show circuit to basically bad mouth the top rated show in America. They actually feared that I would go through with what I thought was a fairly innocuous threat.

Hey...whatever works right?

But what really caught their attention was my idea that would send their precious ratings through the roof. My lawyer said that when Blevins heard my outline he practically had an orgasm. We had to have a couple of contingency plans in case the game went in a different direction than we would have liked though in the end we wound up using plan A. It's the only God damn thing that had gone right since this whole thing began.

Oh...and the network did agree to bribe me, I mean reward me $800,000 and pay for my daughter's college education just as long as I don't bring an individual lawsuit or name Blevins or the network in any future suit.

Let's face it, it was still probably a drop in the bucket for the network though I did find it sadly ironic that Sherry went on the show to win $500,000 and I'm the one that received a check that was $300,000 over and above that amount.

Don't get me wrong, the money doesn't make up for my lost marriage and being totally humiliated in front of an entire nation, not by a long shot, but it was better than nothing and would make it easier to get settled in Florida and into my lonely new life. All things considered my ultimate wish would be to go back in time and return my old life.

I had a lot to do that kept me busy, but I still hurt like hell...

#######

The network show wasn't on the next night so not as many people were going to see the upcoming carnage. Unfortunately our family and friends as well as most of home town were going to be watching.

Lynn would be watching up in her room under the guise of being too tired to watch it with me. There was nothing I could do to stop her really. Like I said earlier, she was 18 and old enough to understand what was going on. Despite this we seemed to have an unwritten and unspoken rule not to watch the cable version together any longer. Though the network show could get uncomfortable to watch together, the cable version was as close to porn as you could get without any actual nudity. They do blur out the nudity, though it seems that Sherry's best work was under the covers.

Nothing special happened until a half hour into the show when Sherry was out on the outdoor couch smoking with her boy toy and Harley, the other asshole. Was this the same woman I married?

Jake then whispers to my wife to join him in bed. She blushes and flashes a sexy smile and every misstep she makes tears me apart inside.

He then stands up and offers his hand to assist my wife to her feet like the gentleman he'll never be. Still holding her by the hand he led her into the kitchen where the houseguests were sitting around the counter talking.

They were all shocked at the sheer audacity of the asshole as he paraded my wife past them like a sheep to slaughter or a virgin being helplessly offered as a human sacrifice.

She looked so vulnerable, so sweet and innocent that a part of me still yearned for her to be mine even though I would never be able to live with her betrayal, a betrayal that was still nowhere near complete.

Sherry followed him up the stairs to his room, her delicate hand in his as the eyes of the remaining houseguests looked on in disgust. Step by agonizing step he claimed my wife as his own and there wasn't a God damn thing I could do about it.

As much as wanted to, I couldn't get a read on what was going through her mind. She did look somewhat timid, possibly unsure she was doing the right thing yet there was certainly no sign of resistance and a sparkle in her eyes that suggested she was excited to be alone with him.

The feeling in the pit of my stomach indicated there would soon be more permanent mental images to add to my collection of sorrow. You say just look away? Trust me it's not that easy. I wanted more than anything to be able to turn away, but there was something drawing me in. It was the same with Lynn also. Perhaps it was just the suspension of common sense, I really didn't know.

It didn't take long once they reached his room. He stripped naked and the producers blurred out what they needed to. The cable version was basically unedited, especially the audio, but the video was another story. The blurred out parts saved it from becoming a porno but didn't leave much to the imagination.

He held the up the covers inviting my wife into his bed and she slide under them with the same grace and ease she's used when entering our bed for more than two decades. Her face was aglow with two emotions, anticipation and lust. At least that's how I would describe it, although I couldn't swear to it because she had never looked at me quite like that. Not with either anticipation or lust and certainly not both."

Not long after she lets her panties dangle off her finger in a very sexy manner before letting them fall to the floor.

Soon the pillow talk begins and one could say it was very enlightening. One would never think that pillow could turn ugly yet this was no ordinary situation.

I could see movement under the covers and by her reaction I could tell that he is teasing her with his fingers but not yet going full tilt.

He begins asking questions but none of which are overly personal. He just setting her up for the kill and she was totally unaware what was happening.

She does seem somewhat hesitant to answer a couple of his questions and he assures her that the network would never consider putting this on the air.

He knew they would air this on the cable version but never mentioned it. Then again, why would he? Things had been falling into place perfectly for him all along; though it did help to have someone as gullible as Sherry lying beside him.

Yet how could Sherry have forgotten about the cable show? She never missed an episode and though we never signed up for that particular channel in previous seasons, she definitely saw the promos for it over and over again. That being the case the better question was probably when did Sherry get stupid?

After a few minutes of teasing her she tells him his touch feels wonderful. This time she offered up that nugget of heartbreak without even being asked.

After a few minutes he asked her if he gave her more pleasure than I do and she nodded and smiled.

After a few more questions he asked one that I never would have thought of in a million years. It was meant to send a husband who was totally helpless over the edge.

He asked in a faux caring tone, "Have you ever had an affair?"

"What do you mean? Like a long running affair?"

This caught both his attention and mine for the same reason that being she didn't deny it out right and wanted clarification before answering.

He smirked while I felt like I was going to be ill once again. It might be a heart attack or merely vomiting or possibly both, but something was going to happen. Actually if I was offered a fatal heart attack at that moment I would have gladly accepted it and said thank you.

She then confessed to having an affair with one of her co-workers when they went to out of town conferences. She said she slept with him every night they were away. Thinking back I remembered her taking just a couple of trips a year and four to five nights.

When Jake pressed her on the matter she admitted that the affair lasted about three years and the exhilaration she experienced that first night far exceeded any guilt she may have felt. She also said by the end of the conference she couldn't wait for the next one.

When he asked if there were any others she acknowledged that she hooked up with one of our married neighbors a few times this past year but it was never serious.

My heart sank yet again.

Then he asked the question that almost gave me that heart attack I was now openly rooting for.

"Did you ever do it in you and your husband's bed?"

"You mean with the neighbor? Yes. It was always in our bed at home. He didn't really make enough money to get a room and I couldn't take the chance of using my credit card and leaving a paper trail.

"In your husband's own bed? That's sexy."

"Yeah...I have to admit that it was pretty exciting. We mostly met during the day and that chance we might get caught always heightened the experience."

"Wow...that's hot! While your husband's working his ass off for his family, you were making it the neighbor in your marital bed."

He smirked. He was now rubbing her nose in her affair for some reason. I started to believe he was sadistic.

He then asked, "Did you ever have your neighbor over while your husband was out somewhere with your daughter?"

"What do you mean?"

It was obvious she was stalling so while he picked up the pace with his hand he said, "Well you told me your daughter played softball in high school. Did your lover come over and make it in your bed while hubby was at her game?"

She shook her head and moaned, "No."

I had been holding my breath and exhaled loudly when she answered, relieved that she wasn't quite that heartless. My relief was short lived as a moment later she added something that made my heart stop momentarily.

"It happened...when my husband volunteered to be a chaperone at my daughter's senior prom. My neighbor came over and..."

From Lynn's room I heard a shout, "That Fucking bitch". A part of me wanted to call up to her and tell her not to speak of her mother in those terms, but who the hell am I kidding, the kid nailed it.

Lynn's shout drew my attention away from Sherry's admission for a few moments, but soon regained my few remaining senses and pieced together what I had just heard.

Actually my first thought was did I know my wife at all? After all...never once on the night of chaperoning my daughter's prom did I think she was home knockin' boots with a married neighbor. Never thought I had a reason to.

Speaking of the prom...did I mention that it took only a few weeks before this damn reality show thing started and that she begged off from helping out because she wasn't feeling well? No...I didn't mention that before, did I?

And if you're wondering if I know who neighbor was the answers no. Wish I did though.

My last observation might have been more wishful thinking than anything else. As her voice trailed off after saying our neighbor came over for a "visit", did I detect a trace of guilt and remorse?

I was certain that his nationally televised foreplay had far exceeded even his expectations. She was putty in his hands as he continued his relentless manipulation. And this manipulation worked as a truth serum as Sherry answered all of his question including admitting to two other affairs. If she had knowledge of any national defense secrets they too would have been as good as gone.

I'm not going to lie. Knowing that another man was responsible for her expression of sheer ecstasy hurt like hell and left me feeling extremely inadequate at being both a husband and lover. I believe Sherry thought this as well and still does. I know I've since accepted it as fact.

Anyway...I could tell that she was getting close by the way her breathing increased and she started to murmur things like, "That's it baby, right there" and "Oh God...please don't stop".

Then he asked, "When the game is over are you going to invite me over to see your bedroom?"

"Oh yes baby."

"Do you want to show me tonight what you plan on us doing in your husband's bed?"

"Oh yeah baby. I can't wait. I need you inside of me."

I could hear things being thrown in Lynn's room. I felt sorry for her and wanted to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright and this would all blow over, yet that would be a lie of epic proportions. What's more, what father would want to be in the same room with his daughter under these circumstances?

If there was any doubt where this was all headed it was erased as asshole prepared to put the finishing touches on the seduction of my wife directly on the national stage. America's been waiting for this moment for almost two months and their patience was about to be rewarded.

What happened next happened surprisingly quickly. It also happened surprisingly unscrupulously, even for these two.

Jake tells her he doesn't have a condom. Smiling sweetly she says she feels close enough to him that he doesn't need to wear one if he doesn't want to, unless of course he wasn't interested in her.

The arrogant asshole got on top of her and although they were covered I could tell when he entered her just by the look on her face.

When her expression turns to one of pure ecstasy there is little doubt that they had finally gone the distance.

It was that quick, but I guess they were both pretty worked up at that point.

A moment later I heard her little whimpers before the high pitch squeals escaping from her lips, all sounds that until that moment I only heard while we were making love.

The floodgates opened as torrent of tears began cascading down my face. Was I turned on by any of this? Absolutely not and knew I would never be able to erase the images from my mind which made me doubt if I would ever be able to touch a woman again. I was crushed beyond repair and that fatal heart attack I'd been hoping for was sounding better and better.