Ammunition

After the last one disappeared out the door, I grabbed my keys and headed toward the garage myself.

"Where are you going?" Traci asked in puzzlement.

"To pick up Bobby if that's okay," I shot back.

"I was hoping we could, you know, get reacquainted physically tonight. Watching them have sex in front of me on our bed revved my motor and nothing could hide that tent you carried around in your pants. Why don't we do something to help us both out before picking him up? Besides, she's expecting him to spend the night. There's no reason to go get him right now is there?" She said coyly as she twirled her hair, licked her lips, and strutted provocatively before me.

"I miss my son. Evidently, you do not. I'll be back after a while," I advised. She thrust her hands on her hips in frustration but I ignored her and proceeded out the door. I drove to the Angus Steakhouse Restaurant. I was starving having had no supper yet, and was missing what I had ordered but not eaten the last time I was there. They did not disappoint. I took my time and enjoyed the tender beef as I replayed tonight's events in my mind. Hopefully, everything would work out as I had intended. Only time would tell.

Kind Mrs. Stephenson profusely thanked me for the generous tip I paid her above her usual hourly fee. I might need to depend on her in the near future and wanted to ingratiate myself with her apart from Traci.

Bobby was thrilled to see daddy and I kept him cackling all the way home. I gave him his bath and fed him right before putting him down for the night. Traci informed me that she was preparing something light for us since we had not eaten. I informed her that I'd already grabbed a bite to eat and she should just look after herself and not worry about me. Disturbed at my pettiness, she steered clear of me, not wishing to upset Bobby with our upcoming 'discussion'. Since it was Monday night and we both were working tomorrow, I prepared for bed myself. She wanted to talk.

"What's going on, Brian? You seemed very interested in Elliot's proposal about our group and both of us were horny after everything that played out before us, then you dropped me like a hot potato. What gives?"

"I'm so glad you asked. Let me answer your question with some questions of my own. Perhaps your responses will provide you clarity," I suggested.

"Go ahead," she volunteered.

"Right before they left, three men grabbed me in my own home and you never said a word against it, is that correct?"

"It wasn't like that," she countered.

"It wasn't, huh? Did three men grab and restrain me in my own home? Yes or no, Traci, did that happen?"

"Yes, but..." Before she could retort I interrupted.

"Yes, they did. And did you say a single word of protest to any of the other witnesses who also remained silent? Yes or no, Traci. Just answer yes or no," I commanded.

'No," she replied sheepishly.

"Finally, we're getting somewhere. Now then, listen to this next question very carefully. Did I ask you to remove my cellphone and delete anything off of it? Did I? Yes or no, Traci. Come on girl. You were doing so well, don't stop now. Be honest," I fumed.

"No," she quietly stated.

"Now then, please bear with me because this is going to be a long question. Pay close attention so I don't have to repeat myself. You admit you offered no objection whatsoever to my being restrained in my own home. You admit also that you removed my cellphone and deleted recordings off of it, not at my request, but at the request of someone other than your husband. Is that correct, Traci? Yes or no, is that true?"

"Yes."

"Good girl. We're almost there. Now then, since I was standing right there in the room when it happened, and I didn't hear anyone say to you or ask you to delete anything off my personal cellphone, then you must have previously engaged in conversation in my absence whereupon you agreed to perform that task without my prior knowledge or consent; is that correct?"

Traci looked down at her feet. "Yes, that's correct. I didn't think of it like that. You make it seem like an act of betrayal on my part."

"It IS a betrayal, Traci. Now let's revisit your first two questions, why did I drop you like a hot potato? What gives? Your own answers should reveal the truth of why I am acting this way. You proved tonight that you're on THEIR side, not mine, not ours, THEIRS. Now if you have no objection, I'm going to go to bed alone tonight.... again. I don't want to look at or be around someone who stabs me in the back so indifferently." Traci began sobbing as I left her in the hallway to consider her behavior. Of course, I locked my door. Somewhere around 4 am I heard the doorknob being tried. Three or four fruitless twists were sufficient to foil her attempt.

Tuesday morning I spoke with the vice-president in charge of the facility where I worked. "Dan, can you give me a recommendation for a divorce attorney? I mean a good one, one who will fight just as hard for a husband as they would for a wife?"

"Please tell me you're not asking for yourself, Brian," Dan pleaded.

"Unfortunately that's the case, I'm afraid. I figured a man of your position would be in the know on such matters. You seem to know everything else," I chuckled.

"I'm good friends with Ted Russ. He's our contact with the firm that handles all of our legal matters. I'm certain he would be able to provide the name of someone good. Let me give him a quick call and get right back to you."

"Thanks, Dan. And....."

"No need to say it, Brian; this stays just between us. I respect another man's privacy."

"You don't know how refreshing that is to hear. Thanks, Dan."

I called the office of B. Thorenson at Ted's recommendation and scheduled an appointment at 2:30 that afternoon. Turns out it wasn't the letter B. It was Bea, as in Beatrice. She informed me that her cases were 70% women and 30% men. But once she agreed to take a case, she was all in and fought hard for her client regardless of formidable circumstances. It didn't take long to convince her of the validity of my position as the wronged party and she was only too happy to take me on.

She did advise me that I'd be on the hook for child support for 15 years until Bobby passed his eighteenth birthday. Then again, college expenses are usually factored into these things for the benefit of the child. I explained that I had no problem whatsoever providing for my son. But I was hoping for at least 50/50 shared custody either on an every-other-week or bi-monthly schedule. She couldn't make promises but would fight hard to get me those terms.

As to alimony, she spelled out that I'd most likely be on the hook for three to five years, depending on the particular judge we drew. Owing to the disparity of income, the general outcome in this state was one year of alimony for every two years of marriage up to twenty years of marriage. Then it was capped at ten years. Although I'd have to live with that, it galled me to think that I'd be paying her to have sex with that group of slime-ball swingers.

Expecting our family to grow, Traci and I had been renting the house where we lived for the past four years and had been diligently researching house plans and available lots to build our dream house upon. I had accumulated quite a few sketches of features that were to be engineered into our special retreat. All of those dreams now were nothing more than a puff of smoke. At least there was no house to sell, split or fight over. Bobby wouldn't be attached to any particular dwelling at his tender age, so if Traci continued renting the house, it would be of no consequence to me. I knew that I'd never sleep in the master bedroom ever again, knowing that it had been contaminated by that asshole. Who knows how many times he'd already christened that bed with her before I discovered her cheating?

Bea explained that the average amount of time it took to get a divorce in our state was eight months uncontested and a year if contested. I was sure hoping to become one of the eight-month statistics. Being yoked to a backstabbing slut held little appeal to me now that my decision to divorce Traci was clear. Bea explained also that there was no financial advantage to filing claiming infidelity, however, she advised that the claim might become useful if custody became contentious. She stated that she could have the papers ready to be served as early as Thursday afternoon. I asked her to have Traci served at work Friday at 10 am where many of her friends and coworkers could witness the event. After the divorce issues were addressed and her fee agreed upon, I asked her about potential living arrangements until the divorce was finalized.

"What sort of questions do you have, Brian?"

"Well, my only concern is time spent with my son. In this early formative period of his life, eight months to a year can seem like an eternity both to him and to me. I have no desire to be an absent father to him any more than necessary. Would it be illegal or inappropriate for me to continue living in the same house with her to maximize time spent with him?"

"Although it's not unheard of, Brian, it can be quite the challenge."

"How so?"

"First of all, once she is served divorce papers on Friday, she is going to be extremely upset with you. If you're in the general vicinity where she is, she is likely to rain down fire and brimstone on your head. Are you prepared to face a woman's wrath?"

"Absolutely. I can easily compartmentalize my emotions once she is served because in my mind, we would be legally separated and I could treat her indifferently, much as she has been treating me lately."

"And that brings me to my next point, Brian. She may very well not want a divorce. Very often cheating wives want to have their cake and eat it too. Letting you go may not be an option for her and she may pull out all the stops to prevent it."

"But this is a legal process, right? She can't subvert the law to her will simply because she wants it that way."

"You're right, of course, BUT, she could throw a monkey wrench into the whole works," Bea informed.

"How so?"

"If you two were to have conjugal relations at any point before the divorce is granted, then the time period is reset and the clock starts ticking from a new beginning and you'll have to wait another eight months," she provided. "The state will view your conjugal relations as your desire to stop the divorce proceedings."

"That would never be a problem for me, although I could easily see Traci endeavoring to tempt me into her bed to subvert the proceedings. I have an iron will, Bea. I will not succumb," I stated emphatically.

"You don't have to," she insisted. "All Traci has to do is CLAIM you two had sex and unless you can prove otherwise, which would be nearly impossible to do, then the clock would be reset whether you were conjugal or not. A judge would have a difficult time believing your claim of never being with her intimately while still living together under the same roof. I've seen this happen before, Brian and I strongly advise against it."

I countered, "Let me ask you this. If she does make such a claim, would she be required to give specific details such as time and place, etc.? I don't mean intimate details of the hypothetical session itself, but dates and times that I could potentially refute?"

"Yes. Yes she does but again, it would be your word against hers, and the judge is likely to believe her, especially if she is tearfully convincing."

"Leave that to me. Thank you, Bea. You've been most helpful." I then spoke with her about handling another legal matter for me to take place immediately after the divorce.

Traci usually gets home a half-hour before I do, so it was no surprise to find her preparing supper in the kitchen. Contrary to my normal form, I avoided the kitchen and went directly upstairs to get my shower. Since I now use the hall bath, there are fewer opportunities for her to intimately trap me. I had taken my change of clothes into the bathroom with me. It was time for me to begin practicing living separate lives under the same roof.

When I came out of the bathroom fully dressed, she was waiting for me in the hall. "Supper will be ready in a few minutes. Bobby's already in his high chair in the kitchen. You smell nice and fresh," she said flirtingly.

"I'll be right down, thank you," I replied as I ignored her remark and unlocked my spare bedroom door. The tension was palpable but she said nothing acrimonious.

While we were eating, she began, "I'd like to explain about the cellphone deal last night."

"Knock yourself out," I said calmly.

"While you were downstairs evaluating potential partners and the three of us were upstairs alone, Elliot informed me that he knew you were recording the events of that evening and that it wouldn't be fair to allow everyone to be exposed to the professional risk you could subject the group to with video. After you confronted me with pictures of him and me together, it greatly concerned him. The right thing to do was eliminate the threat. The way you were moving your chest around to aim the camera was obvious. He said they couldn't leave there that night until that threat had been neutralized. Not knowing if you had a password on the phone, they were prepared to take it with them and return it later after it had been 'cleaned'. Elliot suggested that I could prevent all of that if I would delete the recordings myself in front of you."

"I see. And why in the world would they believe you would do such a thing to your husband?"

"Because I gave them my word, Brian."

"I don't understand?"

"Understand what?"

"Well didn't you give me your word to remain true to me the day we were married?" There was significant silence following my remark. I was glad about it.

"Honey I don't want you to think of me being on their side. It's not like that at all."

"It's not? What if the circumstances had been reversed? What if those three men had grabbed you in our home? Do you think I would have just stood by quietly and allowed it?"

"What other choice would you have had, Brian? The three of them could easily have taken you, silly."

"That's true. But that knowledge wouldn't have stopped me. Hell, it wouldn't have even slowed me down. I might have been beaten down but not until after inflicting a lot of damage myself. I would have fought for you because I would be on your side, not theirs. We used to be a team, you and I. Last night, you weren't acting as my wife. You were acting as one of them."

"I'm sorry you don't see it my way, Brian. I explained about the cellphone. I don't know what else to say."

"There's nothing else to say, is there?" I bantered.

"About that subject, you're right. How did you come by those pictures, Brian? I'd like to know."

"I'm sure you would. Wouldn't it be interesting if one of your 'friends' was not as committed to your cause as the others in your group? What if one of your own coworkers outed you to me and delivered those pictures to my office? How would you feel about that?"

"Who? Please tell me! Which one? Male or female?" She urgently inquired.

"I....I can't say, Traci."

"Why?"

"I gave my word," I said with a big grin. She could see that she was getting nowhere with her line of questioning so she decided to pursue another topic with me.

"Did you enjoy watching all the lovemaking going on last night? Wasn't it exciting?"

"I'm not into group sex. All I saw was a bunch of people rutting like animals. My body may have physically responded to the visual stimulus but emotionally, it was flat."

"Exactly, Brian. It's not meant to be emotional for any of them. All of the emotions and love are reserved for their husbands and wives. What you witnessed was just pure raw sex, nothing more. And because it's confined to our familiar group, it's clean and safe, with no worry about disease. We could share in that with all of them, honey. We've been invited to join them. It's a wonderful opportunity, don't you see? We can grow closer together and learn to please each other in ways never imagined before. It will enhance our marriage."

"How's it working so far? Our marriage is hanging by a thread. I feel closer to you already," I sarcastically added.

"Don't be like that. You haven't even tried it yet. You don't know what it's like. Go ahead, try one of the girls out, even three at once as Elliot suggested if you want to. I won't mind. Heck, I'll even watch if you'd like."

"Traci, has our sex life been so boring, mundane, and unimaginative that you fear we won't survive as a couple without inviting other people into our bedroom?"

"I didn't say that. It's not that we wouldn't survive without it. But don't you want to do more than merely survive? Shouldn't we take advantage of opportunities to enhance our marriage when they present themselves? What would be the harm in that?"

"The harm, as I see it, is destroying the trust we once had. That's what you've already done by your experimentation. Instead of enhancing our marriage, it is ripping the very fabric of it in two. Perhaps no one else you know views fidelity as an admirable character trait, but I do. Obviously, your friends place no value on it. They proved that last night. I no longer trust you, Traci. Since seeing those three pictures of you with that asshole, I constantly wonder who you might be fucking or sucking today. You've proven that you're quite capable of doing whatever you want behind my back. If this is so important to you and you believe in it so much, why didn't you come to me and talk it over with me first, before jumping into bed with another man?"

"Because this is how I knew you would react. I thought that if I could participate and realize the benefit of it first, then I could bring home everything I'd learned to you and we would be the better for it. Once you saw the improvement in me and my attitudes toward sex, I figured you would recognize the value of it and agree whole-heartedly."

"So basically you and that smug asshole deem yourselves to come from a superior position of enlightenment and understanding, believing that low-lifers like me need to be spoon-fed to slowly glean life's truths you two somehow instinctively grasp? How elitist of you to charitably allow your superior knowledge to trickle down to this lowly peasant. I had no idea how lucky I was." Sarcasm was now dripping from my every word and she picked up on it.

Undaunted, she countered, "Why don't you let me show you what I've learned? I picked up some techniques from my time with Elliot and I closely watched Gayle with him last night as you asked. The whole purpose of this process is to enhance our love life, not ruin it. Let me show you what I can do right now. I swear you won't regret it," she enthused.

"Every time I look at you, I see your mouth sucking his prick. That's not conducive to making me want to kiss you anytime soon. If you were to spread your legs for me, I'd see his prick in there also and his semen running from your diseased cunt. All you would be offering me is a contaminated slut who freely shares with other men what used to be solely mine."

"Solely yours? You don't own me, Brian. You never have and you never will," she said defiantly.

"You're absolutely right. I never claimed to own you. I falsely believed you were mine because you said you GAVE yourself to me. Now you've taken that back and given it to another man. You've broken something in me, Traci, and I'm not sure it can ever be fixed." She began sobbing again. Needless to say, that was the last conversation she initiated until Friday. I spent all of my available time with Bobby. I didn't hesitate to change his poopy diaper and never asked her to help me with him in any way. We almost made a game of it to see who winded up giving him his bath. Bobby seemed to relish the constant attention and I was happier for it as well.