Ammunition

For several days I researched the names, Elliot and Gayle Franklin. I was hoping to find their connection to the group. I came up nearly empty-handed. I did find one Elliot Franklin in my public records search, a homeless man who had been arrested for harassing people for money downtown as a panhandler. The picture and age weren't even close to the man who fucked Traci. I would try to find out more about them.

I chose to have Traci served at 10 am Friday because I was attending a local chapter meeting of Facility Managers. We typically meet every quarter for two to four hours which includes lunch. Numerous contractors sponsor the event to make their pitch for their services at the various facilities represented by the membership. That way, not if, but when Traci called, my secretary would confirm my prolonged absence and I would intentionally leave my cellphone on silent. The only call I would respond to would be an emergency requiring my attention at work. I wasn't avoiding Traci altogether. I simply wanted to give her time to overcome the initial shock before speaking to her. When I eventually returned to work, I returned her call from the many messages she had left me. I could hear her quickly walking out of the earshot of others as she began talking to me.

"It's about damn time! Are you serious? Having me served in front of my friends? Do you know how embarrassing that was for me? Are you really going to divorce me over this? I told you it was nothing, Brian. When are you going to get that through your thick skull? Why haven't you answered your phone? Why do you refuse to talk to me about this?"

"My secretary should have informed you that I was in a Facility Managers meeting. I just now returned to the office and immediately returned your call. I do have a job to perform, you know. It doesn't stop simply because you want to talk. And as far as talking goes, when have I refused to talk to you? You're the one who has been avoiding talking to me the last two days. I never once refused conversation. I'm talking to you now, am I not? But as we both have jobs to do, why don't we resume this conversation at a more appropriate time after work? I'll talk to you then about anything you wish."

She started crying over the phone, "I don't want a divorce," she wailed. "PLEASE, Brian. Don't divorce me."

"Tonight, we'll talk tonight, alright, Traci?"

"Alright," she said sniffling. "I love you."

"Tonight then. Goodbye, Traci."

I only had one meeting left at work that day and it was a brief one concerning a lab that was experiencing problems. I called our building automation contractor to resolve the issue. Surrounding yourself with quality people makes work much simpler. I knocked off an hour early as Friday afternoons are typically less problematic. Most people don't want to deal with problems Friday afternoons. However, I realized I was going to have to deal with this one. And the best way was to buckle down and meet it head-on. Realizing that she may not be in a cooking mood this evening, I picked up Chick-Fil-A for supper and texted her that I had done so. She arrived shortly after I did. I grabbed his diaper bag and brought Bobby into the house from her car.

She lunged at me, hugging me as I held our boy in my arms knowing I would not sharply rebuke her and upset Bobby. I put him in his high chair and helped feed him. Toddlers certainly can be messy eaters. He's at the stage where he likes to toss his food, so very little gets left on his tray in front of him to throw. She thanked me for the takeout.

We both cooed and talked with Bobby happily, though some tears leaked from her eyes while doing so. I spent most of the evening with him never straying far from his side until he was once again put down for the night. He was my focus, my purpose, my reason for enduring arduous circumstances. I knew what was coming and was as prepared as I could be. She was looking over the divorce paperwork as I entered the living room where she was. She took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking.

"I'm sorry, Brian. Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"To be honest, it's the first apology you've offered me since this all came out. What exactly is it that you're sorry for. Traci?"

"I'm sorry that you saw those pictures and found out the way you did. I can only imagine how unsettling that must have been for you."

"I see. You're sorry that I found out, but not sorry that you cheated on me. Got it."

"Don't put it like that. Elliot said that once you realized the benefit of our 'association', you would come around and embrace our group at the intimate level because of the freedom you'd be afforded to be with other women just as I would be with other men."

"Naturally he would say that. It appears that you and Elliot both suffer from the same mistake of not checking with me first about such matters as infidelity. It's a shame that you put more faith in his word about my character than you do mine. Contrary to popular belief, Elliot is not the repository of information about me or our marriage. He may be an expert at many things but he's an abysmal failure when it comes to knowing me, just as you appear to be."

"Look honey, I realize now that I went about this all wrong. You're right. I should have come to you first about this before entering into it without your knowledge. After seeing your reaction the other night, Elliot told me that in hindsight, had I approached you first, the end result would have gone much smoother. He's still convinced that you'll come around but now I'm not so sure. Will you please call off this silly divorce and let us get back on track?"

"Back on track? Traci that train has derailed and caused irreparable damage. There is no track to put it back on. You blew that up with dynamite when you allowed that asshole to bed you and then betrayed me again on top of that. Just sign the papers and let us both pick up what's left of the pieces of our lives and move forward on separate paths."

"I know you, Brian. You don't want Bobby to come from a broken home being raised by two parents who live in different houses. If I were to remarry, you wouldn't want him to call another man daddy. No man wants that for his son. Think about that. Reconciliation is the best possible option for both of us. I'd hate for him to call another woman 'mother' should you remarry after a divorce, same as you."

"Perhaps so. You should have thought about all those things BEFORE you betrayed your vows, not after. You're right. It would kill me to hear him call another man daddy. But better to come from a broken home than to live in a home full of lies, deceit, and debauchery. If we didn't divorce, I'd still never participate in your group of sluts and whores. They might be physically attractive but to me they're disgusting. And you'd go on fucking whoever you felt like that night. But it would never be me. I could never be intimate with you again, Traci. Put that in your pipe and smoke it."

"You don't mean that. You're just saying that to hurt me and it does hurt, so score one for Brian. Look, what if I gave up on the idea completely? Swore that I would never participate in anything with them ever again? What if I turned my back on them as friends? I'm desperate, honey. You and Bobby are the two best things that ever happened to me in my entire life. I'm sorry that you believe I've turned my back on us but it's not true. I value the two of you above everything and everyone else."

"I hear the words coming out of your mouth, Traci, but I just don't believe you. You've already proven yourself to be a liar. I can't trust anything you say now. It's too little too late. Just sign the papers and get this over with as quickly as possible."

"Never! I'll never sign those damn papers as long as I live! I don't want a divorce and I'm going to fight you every step of the way no matter how long it takes. I may have lost you for the moment, Brian, but I aim to win you back! I'm not giving up on us. I have more faith in us than you do. I'll crawl on my hands and knees to you until you take me back."

"It's a shame you didn't have enough faith in 'us' to remain faithful to your wedding vows. You've heard the old aphorism, 'once a cheater, always a cheater'. And that's the lens through which I will always view you," I stabbed.

She began sobbing again, perhaps at the realization that she faced an impossible task. "What now?" She asked. "I hope you're not expecting me to leave. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with Bobby. Besides, neither of us has anywhere else to go," she spouted.

"You're right about that. With you out of the picture now for me, Bobby has become my whole world. I don't want to spend any more time away from him than necessary. So I've decided to continue living right here as the divorce proceeds." She jumped up and down clapping her hands together in excitement.

I continued, "Don't worry, I'll stay out of your way. I will no longer expect you to do my laundry, prepare my meals, or pick up after me. You take care of your needs, I'll take care of mine, and we'll both tend to Bobby's. All I ask is that you avoid touching me with your contaminated body. To me, you are a walking disease from head to toe, repulsive to look at, disgusting to think about, and impossible to remain married to. We'll both coexist under the same roof but that's all it will ever be, coexistence until divorce that will never lead to reconciliation."

Her ebullience soon evolved into dejection as she considered what I'd just stated. "I heard what you said, Brian. But divorce is a long way down the road. And we both know a lot of things can happen in a long time. I'm going to win you back, honey. I swear I will."

"As long as you continue seeing and talking to your so-called friends, there's not a snowball's chance in hell. I will never be around them again. As you so aptly pointed out, I don't own you and I have no control over your behavior, but if you EVER bring one of your dipshit-fuck-wad asshole lovers here to this house, I swear on my life that you and he will seriously come to regret it. Is that clear?"

"Of course honey. I already told you that I'd turn my back on them if that's what it took to win you back. Do you want me to quit my job and become a full-time stay-at-home mom?"

"No. It's too late for that now. Besides, if you did, it would only cost me more in alimony in the divorce."

She didn't like my come-back but maintained a cheerful smile for my benefit.

I had decided that our days of being confrontational were behind us. There was nothing she could now say that would induce me to lose my cool and berate her again. Both of us had suffered enough from insults and innuendo. I could be a professional both at work and at home. I elected to view it as a temporary business arrangement. Nothing was going to be allowed to interfere with my time with my son. For a couple of weeks, we had curt, polite conversation, saying only what was necessary.

We did surprisingly agree to a few suggestions my attorney, Bea, had proposed. In the interim, I would pay all of the rent if Traci would pay all of the utilities. I had all of the utilities canceled in our joint names and reissued in her name alone. Both of our cars were already paid off so we each took care of our own gas and insurance costs. We each took care of our own food so there was no sharing required for groceries. Extricating myself financially from her wasn't as challenging as I had anticipated. Since I was still paying the lion's share of our expenses, she was amenable. I moved half of our savings to a new account in my name alone and left the remaining balance in the account in her name alone. She became pretty nasty to me for a few days after that but soon realized that I was only executing what had been spelled out in my terms for the divorce agreement which she still politely refused to sign.

Once all of my moves had been executed, she decided to execute some moves of her own. She began dressing more and more provocatively around me. She'd wear conservative clothing to work but after her evening shower, she invariably appeared in skimpy and sometimes translucent clothing. I ignored her exhibitionism, maintaining my professional demeanor. As she became more frustrated, she'd shed more and more clothing until she eventually paraded around the house nude. She made sure that all of her assets shook to their best advantage in my presence. Bobby didn't care a bit if mommy was dressed or nude.

Traci made every effort to think of reasons to ask me questions and engage me in conversation. I was always polite and never refused her unless she became personal. I never asked anything of her nor initiated any conversations. My lack of response induced her to step up her game. For example, long after Bobby had gone to sleep, she would leave her bedroom door wide open and loudly masturbate, making sure I heard every groan of her demonstrative passion. I chuckled to myself every time she performed for me, picturing in my mind that her lover was fucking her. I never experienced arousal under those circumstances. That's not to say that I didn't have my own needs. I usually took care of them while in the shower behind a locked door.

One day I was rummaging through a drawer in my room looking for a particular color of socks when it occurred to me that I had not seen the three photographs I had of their tryst. I urgently searched through every drawer in case I had moved them and forgotten about it. They were gone and I knew who had taken them. I carefully examined the lock on my door with a magnifying glass and it was then that I noticed the fine scratches. She would never have been able to pick the lock herself. She must have called a locksmith to do it for her and make her a key. It was the only explanation. I purchased two new identical locksets the next day and installed them on my bedroom and bathroom doors, again pocketing the only new keys. She wouldn't want me to know that she could get into my room anytime she wished and I didn't want her to know she no longer had access until she tried it again. Her continuing betrayal to protect her lover reaffirmed that my decision to divorce was the correct one. Now I wondered if she would lie and claim that her tryst with Elliot never even took place.

After a few months of detente, she began periodically asking me to take her out to eat or to a movie, anything resembling a date or couples activity. I always politely declined such offers. I could tell she was getting antsy. She was accustomed to going out several times a month with her friends. She ached to be with them again but remembered her declaration not to interact with them. Then I started getting calls and texts from them inviting us out or even me alone if I so desired. After each such call or text, I blocked the number without responding to prevent a reoccurrence.

Mid-December, she invited me to attend her company's Christmas party. I politely declined, stating that I'd promised to babysit a small boy but told her to thoroughly enjoy herself. We had always attended together in the past. I'm wondering now if she was sad solely because the swingers only accepted happy couples into their close-knit club which, we certainly weren't. The following weekend was my company's party. I had planned on going alone but she would have none of it. She took Bobby to the sitter's home earlier that evening. I deftly left for the party without saying a word to her. Apparently, she followed soon after in her car and quickly found me at the party. As usual, she was breathtakingly beautiful. She endeavored to encourage small talk with me in front of others but I interacted minimally. When I was alone with him, VP Dan asked if we had reconciled. I explained the situation and he just laughed saying I had guts to live under such conditions. I made it clear though that I didn't want to lose any time with my son for the duration. He understood my plight.

Upon leaving the party, I went directly to the sitter's home and picked up Bobby. He slept all the way home. I expected Traci to be bitterly disappointed after the party and rake me over the coals but she was so pleased just to be out with me under any pretense that she seemed grateful for what few scraps of attention she was inadvertently afforded in a public setting.

Traci regularly stripped completely nude every time she entered the house and remained naked until she turned in for the night. She invariably paraded sexily in front of me if I was watching TV or reading the news on my cellphone. I put my engineering skills to work and soldered in a resistor parallel to the thermistor built into our digital thermostat for temperature control. The resistance value I selected caused the heating set-point to be five degrees lower than the temperature displayed, making the house cooler than normal. My idea was to induce her to wear warm clothing. I was partially successful. She began wearing sheer nude stockings attached to a very skimpy nude garter belt. Added to that were see-through panties and bra which apparently added sufficient warmth for her to continue nearly nude in my presence. After two weeks, I removed the fixed-value resistor restoring normal accurate operation. At least I had tried.

Five months after she had been served, she informed me that she was going out to eat with Cassidy, her best friend, on Saturday nights if I was okay to watch Bobby. I nonchalantly responded that I was fine with it as long as she didn't bring the slut nor any of her lovers here to the house. There was a bowling league sponsored by my employer which I chose to join on the Saturday nights she went out. I had a blast making an utter fool of myself on the lanes and Bobby was thrilled to receive so much attention from the ladies who attended. It was much better than sitting at home wondering what Traci must be doing or WHO she must be doing. One time I arrived home after she did and she inquired where I'd been with Bobby. I told the truth. She asked if she could go with me the next time, and again I told her truthfully that I only go out when she does rather than sit home alone. My response immensely frustrated her but then again, pleasing Traci was no longer my concern. She often asked me, how can we get back to being a loving couple if I never gave her the chance? She never signed the divorce papers. It was going to take the full year.

Six months after service, Bea Thorenson, my attorney contacted me informing me that Traci's attorney had successfully argued for ten mandatory marriage counseling sessions, two per week. I was required to attend and could not simply sit there saying nothing the entire session. I would be required to respond to every question asked of me by the counselor. I asked her if I could repeat the same simple short sentence to each question. Bea said she didn't care what I said as long as I said something that was pertinent to our marriage. I thanked her and hung up.

Of course, Traci's attorney arranged for the marriage counselor to be one who heavily favored the wife and readily vilified the husband. I was unconcerned about what the therapist thought of me as long as I complied with the letter of the law. I responded to every question and statement from both Traci and the therapist by saying, "I do not wish to remain married to a promiscuous woman." It didn't take long for them both to become frustrated and angry with me but although my repetitive remark may have been succinct, it also pertained to our marriage. I withstood the barrage of verbal abuse heaped upon me by both women with a smile on my face. I never raised my voice, called anyone names, nor used any vulgar language. After the fifth unsuccessful session, the therapist called off the remaining sessions citing unproductivity and a waste of time.