Ammunition

Traci shakily rose to her feet. "You have a maximum of eight hours to return the child to Mr. Wilson. If you refuse to comply, you will be found in contempt of court. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your honor," she tearfully cried.

"Very well, the judge granted. I suggest you make arrangements to do so before leaving this building today. All restraining orders are rescinded and I hereby grant the petition of divorce in the case of Wilson versus Wilson. You both should receive your divorce decrees within thirty days."

Traci was crying despairingly realizing that she'd lost her family. She approached me to comply with the judge's orders. "If it's okay with you, Brian, I'll bring Bobby to you at the house after supper today. I'd like just a few more hours with him before I turn him over."

"No need for that, Traci. I was just waiting to see the outcome of these proceedings. I've already scoped out a new apartment and will have some of my friends help me move there as soon as I leave here." I handed her a slip of paper. "Here's the address of my furnished apartment. I'm only taking Bobby's things, my personal items, and tools. You can have all the furniture. Bring Bobby to that address at noon tomorrow. I should be settled in by then."

She sadly nodded at me. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry, really sorry. This is not the outcome I ever imagined."

"Well, since life with me was so boring and humdrum, from now on you can have the exciting and fulfilling love life that you aspired to have, without me. Good luck with your next open marriage," I sarcastically asserted.

She didn't respond in kind. "Brian, I want to thank you."

"For what?"

"For not going after Elliot and Gayle Franklin. They're really wonderful people. It's a shame that you'll never know them as I do." She said appreciatively.

"No problem. I have no interest whatsoever in either Elliot or Gayle Franklin. As far as I'm concerned, they don't even exist to me. No, not Elliot or Gayle. But I can tell you who I AM interested in dealing with, the company where you work. I found out from your HR department that your company has a very strict non-fraternization policy in place because so many women work there and they want to protect them from predators. Tomorrow I'll have your company served with a lawsuit claiming that blatant violations of their policy resulted in the destruction of my marriage and almost cost me my son. Ronald Hensley will be named as the primary culprit. It seems that he has bedded over a dozen of the ladies who work there in violation of company policy. You may have heard of him. He's your manager."

Traci stood there in disbelief, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. I continued, "As it turns out, Ronald has a beautiful wife, Lydia, and two elementary school-aged children. I'm not sure if she knows about his antics screwing around with all those other women. But don't worry, I'll make sure she knows everything, including Rita Consuela, the woman he claims to have been married to for so long and his greatest love on earth. You might know her as Gayle."

"But why? Why would you do this? His wife and children don't deserve to be destroyed like that," she pleaded.

"Why? He destroyed my marriage. Why shouldn't I destroy his? He almost cost me, my son, why shouldn't his children know the truth? Even now, still to this day, you defend and protect him. How enlightening. If you hang around for a while, Traci, you just may be able to snag that man of your dreams, your lover extraordinaire. Something tells me he may be divorced within a year or less. The only downside to lover boy is that he also may be unemployed very soon along with all of your other group girlfriends at the call center. It seems that their silence in not calling out Ronald's despicable behavior is also in violation of company policy."

"You're gonna get us all fired?" But how will I support myself now?" She argued.

"Oh, don't worry. Your job is safe. I promised your company that I wouldn't go public with this as long as they keep you on. Hey, just think, in time, you can start your own new slut group! I can only imagine how wonderful your life is going to be now that I'm no longer in the way holding you back! Once you explain to them how slutting around enhanced our marriage, I'm sure that the ladies will be chomping at the bit to join you. You might have a tough time recruiting another manager. Perhaps one of the other husbands will take over the leadership role. Just think of all the new exciting possibilities!" I enthused.

"But why would you protect my job and get everyone else fired?" She blurted.

"For one reason and one reason only, Traci. I agree with the judge that Bobby needs his mother in his life. It's not exactly a dream job and doesn't pay very much but it's enough for you to live on without coming to me for money. One day when he asks me how I treated you in the divorce, I want to be able to honestly say I was fair. If you tell him differently, I'll show him the proof."

What Traci nor any of her friends knew was that I had already known her lover's real name since day one. My private investigator is quite good at his job and is worth every cent he charges me. An engineer always approaches a problem from a position of knowledge. If we don't have an answer, find someone who does. That's what we do.

Bea, my shark attorney sued Traci's call center for a million and a half and settled for a cool million. She kept two-hundred and fifty grand and I received the rest. On the day I received the settlement check, I wrote Traci a check for forty-two thousand dollars in one lump sum. My alimony obligation was paid in full by her own company with a lot left over. I could now build my dream house. Word spreads quickly through the workplace. Quite a few of the single ladies where I work are eyeing me as potential prey. But after just getting off this roller coaster marriage ride, I think I'll focus on Bobby for a while before jumping back into the dating pool. Free at last!