An Ordinary Man

"Fuck you, boy. I do what I want." Jerry snarled. He laughed at Will.

"What are you laughing at? I took your wife, not so funny, was it?"

"Good riddance, I say. I see you didn't keep her long. Did she find a better fuck?"

"Hah! You're one to talk old fella."

Jerry could see that Will was becoming bothered, more and more. Some people came into the park, but Will didn't see them. Will was very tense, as if he had come for more than words. Jerry decided to push things.

"Old or not, I can beat you like a drum at anything. So just back off." Jerry said this, but started backing away from Will. Will stepped to him, emboldened by Jerry's apparent retreat. Will shoved Jerry hard. Jerry took the shove and fell backward. He went down on purpose. Will stepped toward Jerry and let go with a kick at his belly.

Jerry took the kick rolling away. He had seen it coming. He barely felt it, although he would have a bruise the next day. The people who had come into the park ran up toward Will yelling at him to stop.

Jerry sprang up as Will was momentarily distracted. He shoved Will.

"You brute!" Jerry mocked Will. "Attacking a smaller, older guy. You should be ashamed!"

Will was over the edge with that. He knew Jerry was mocking him. He launched a full attack on Jerry. The people around the scene -- two men and a woman -- were too timid to intervene.

Jerry let Will get close, then he swiveled and punched Will in the gut. Will let out a big "OOF" sound. But he assumed a boxer's stance and fired an overhand right at Jerry. Jerry had to admire that. He had hit Will hard, and knew that Will was hurt. Jerry ducked the right hand and punched Will in the gut again. He followed with a left hook to Will's kidney. He shoved Will up against a swing set and hit him several more times in the body area.

Jerry stepped back and Will dropped to his knees, clutching his belly. Jerry turned and walked away. The whole thing had taken less than two minutes. And the real damage done -- all to Will -- was over in twenty seconds. The people who watched went to Will and helped him stand. Jerry crossed the street and jogged away. As he did that, he saw a police car approach the park, lights but no siren.

Jerry never heard from the police, or Will, about the fight. He assumed that the witnesses told the cops that Will started the fight, then lost it. Or maybe Will just refused to file a complaint.

Jerry decided that the punch up with Will was enough. He knew that he'd suckered Will, and that, if they fought again, Will might win. The two never saw each other again.

Meanwhile, Joann analyzed the entire episode, hoping to learn something about how she could have been so out of control regarding Will. She had given up a good marriage and a nice family life for a fling with Will. Looked at in hindsight, it was monumentally foolish.

Joann decided that it wasn't really Will that she wanted so much that she blew off her family. It was her job. Work. That was what she was most passionate about. That's why she almost fucked Fred. That's why she did fuck Will. She loved her work so much that she wanted to fuck her co-workers. Especially the ones she was working closely with. Sex was the ultimate closeness. She kicked herself for not seeing this earlier. She determined that this was a flaw in her make-up. She'd have to be careful in future. Maybe that was closing the barn door after the horses fled, though.

What she failed to grasp was that her 'fling' was her way of withdrawing from her family. It allowed her to work, work, work, without the guilt caused by failing to live up to the paradigm of "Mom." The family was now neatly compartmentalized, every other Sunday.

Jerry moved along smoothly. He began to date about a year after the break up. He met a nice woman, a single mother of eight year old twins. Her name was Naomi. They had several nice dinner dates. Then he invited her and her kids for a Saturday. All of them got along well. Jerry was happy, because he was quite attracted to Naomi.

He asked her to come with him for a weekend at a resort. He made it clear that it was for sex.

They made arrangements for the kids, left Friday, and had a magnificent time. Naomi was a sexy woman. Jerry, an ordinary man, had a sexual creativity that she hadn't experienced before.

About six months later he proposed. She accepted and the families were merged. Jerry had to buy a new house, with more bedrooms, further from town. He missed the old house, which was now a rental. But the new one had a pool, and a pool table. In the basement there was a heavy bag, just for Jerry.

Jerry was happy with the way things worked out. He didn't regret dumping Joann, despite their long marriage. She was an unfaithful workaholic. He was convinced that Naomi wouldn't cheat. She was an elementary school teacher, not a high pressure lawyer. He didn't feel the need to keep tabs on her, as he did with Joann. That was a lot more comfortable, and allowed more love to grow. It did grow. Jerry and Naomi both regarded family as the center of their lives. Their combined family kept them busy, and fulfilled.

The end.