Bread Crumbs and Wallpaper

Bread Crumbs and Wallpaper

There is no sex in this story.

This year we were spending Thanksgiving with my wife's family. For the last eighteen years it was always at our house, but now that the boys were gone, things changed. Josh went to Alabama and Jordan picked Auburn. I think that they did that on purpose just so that there would always be an on going family conflict. It was sort of traditional, and always in good fun.

I worked as an insurance claims adjuster for the last fifteen years and I absolutely hated it. I always wanted to do something outdoors and of a manual nature. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn't want to work behind a desk any more. My family situation made me a slave to my job. Connie never had worked.

Over the last few years, the boys were super active in sports and other activities. I became the involved parent and Connie was more laid back, but supportive. As I spend more time with the boys, she spend more time with her parents.

Connie's parents were in their late sixties. They were still in good health, but starting to feel the stress of aging. Every couple of years they would spend Thanksgiving at our place, but we had never gone to theirs. It was anticipated to be a very low key, laid back weekend. The weather was fine so the two hour drive went pretty well. Connie's dad, and I enjoyed getting caught up, while Connie and her mom got busy getting ready for the next days meal.

It was just the four of us and everything went quite well. The food was delicious and the company pleasant. Frank, Connie's dad, and I were looking forward to a long afternoon of football and cold beer. Connie's mom just wanted to be left alone with her new Patterson novel.

"John, if it's okay with you I am going to go spend the afternoon with Harriet Miller, from high school. I haven't seen her for over ten years. Are you and dad going to be okay?"

"We'll be fine, Honey. Stay as long as you'd like, but lay off of the spirits." I smiled as I waved her out the door.

Connie's mother, Teresa, was just finishing the clean up, as I was getting a couple of fresh long necks for me and Frank. "Where did Connie run off to John?"

"I think she said that she was going to go see an old friend, Harriet Miller, I believe."

"That's nice. She will probably be there most of the afternoon." She gave me a weird smile.

"She said she would be back later this evening."

It was a slow quiet afternoon. Teresa was comfortable with her book in the living room, and Frank and I were trying to get enthused about the football games, but not having too much luck.

"John, would you mind getting a couple of Black and Tans out of the frig. I think that we need to talk a bit." When I got back Frank had just closed the door between the den and the living room.

"What is on your mind, Frank?"

"First of all, I think you should know that Harriet Miller died from colon cancer about six months ago. I have no idea why Connie said that she was going to see her. She could have just as easy picked a name of someone that wasn't dead."

I didn't respond to what he said.

"I am not sure, but I think that it is an in joke between Connie and her mother. They seem to have these little secrets between them that I am not privy to."

"What you are saying is that something shitty is going on that I don't know about."

"Exactly" I got two more long necks.

"It has been going on for the last five years or so. That is why Connie has been coming to see us so often."

"What exactly are you trying to say? I am a bit confused."

When Connie comes to visit us lately, she hasn't been staying here. I don't know where she goes, but I have been very specifically told to keep my nose out of it."

"You are saying that Connie is doing something that she should not be doing and her mother is helping her do it."

"I knew that you were a smart fellow."

I finished my beer and we both started faking interest in the ball game. We didn't talk about it anymore.

As the time went on, Frank started nodding off, and I caught my self thinking about what my wife was really up to. I got out my cell and started to play around.

Connie had turned off her 'find a phone' app. I fiddled around with it a bit, but did not have any results. I didn't try and call her, but I assumed that her phone was still on and active. I wondered how those police show were always able to locate a cell phone and I couldn't. I made a fresh pot of coffee.

Frank fell asleep on his recliner. Teresa put a cover over him as she went up to bed. Connie finally got home.

"So how was Harriet?" I tried to say it with a straight face.

"She was fine. They redecorated the whole house, now that their kids are gone. It looked nice. The problem is that I drank a little too much wine. I shouldn't have driven home." I didn't reply.

"John. I am really tired. I am going to catch a quick shower and hit the sack. We'll talk in the morning,Okay?" I filled the thermos with fresh coffee. I also stuck Connie's cell phone in my pocket.

As I walked out the door I heard Frank whisper, "Go get em, Tiger." I didn't know what he meant, but it did bring a smile to my face.

[]---[]

There was no real plan, so I just sat, waiting for the heater to warm up. I finally decided to try and use the GPS system in the car. For what it cost, I was hoping to get something out of it other than finding the nearest MacDonald's. I went to the history section and selected 'bead crumbs'. Yes! It was all there. I had a nice little line of red dots showing me everywhere my loving wife had been that afternoon. I had no idea where Harriet lived, but it didn't matter. All I had to do was follow the yellow brick road...er I mean, red dot road.

Fifteen minutes later I was in a modest little subdivision in front of a small brick home with a one car garage. This had to be the place, because the dots turned around here and started going back. I pulled out my phone and went to google maps. It took a bit of manipulating, but in a few minutes, I knew that I was directly in front of 321 David Drive. If I had known what I was doing, I could have figured everything else out in a matter of minutes. I didn't know what I was doing, but I did stumble through it and found out that the house was owned by Henry Parker.

Henry Parker was Connie's high school boy friend and, if I remember correctly, had even taken her to the senior prom.

[]---[]

So she visited an old boy friend and spent some time with him. That doesn't necessarily mean that they spent the afternoon actively engaged in sex. They might have, but I had no proof. All I had was enough to cause a bit of grief in my marriage. I hated half-way crap.

I was going to just go back to the house, but at the last minute decided to continue backtracking the bread crumbs. It turned out to be a good decision. It seems that Connie did not go directly to Henry's house. She stopped by a local CVS drug store that was on the way. So what could I do with this information? I turned on the interior light in the car and searched around, looking for an empty paper bag or a receipt. I found nothing. Connie was a creature of habit, of course. She never paid cash. She charged everything.

I turned on her phone and hit the Master Card icon. It worked just like it was supposed to. Purchase history took me right to the Lakeshore CVS and I immediately had a copy of the purchase that was made today at 3.45 PM. My loving wife had bought a Trojan Pleasure Pack for $7.89 and a tube of KY jelly for 10.77. There were twelve condoms in that package. I hope she got her money's worth.

Now I had enough information. I could go home, but I had one more thing to do. First, I saved a copy of the CVS receipt as a JPG. Then I went to the phone settings. I was not real good at this type of thing, but I kept at it until I prevailed. I saved the picture of the receipt as wallpaper. Then I made it the default for her phone. Now whenever she opens her phone, it will be the first thing to come up. I am sure she will have no trouble getting rid of it, but not before she realizes that I am fully aware of what she did. I also sent myself a copy of that picture.

Twenty minutes later I was back at the house. Frank was still sleeping on his recliner. I assumed that Teresa was upstairs in bed and my loving wive was fast asleep in the guest room. I quietly gathered up all of my things and moved down stairs. I put Connie's cell phone on the kitchen table with my wedding ring. There was no note. I didn't feel that it was necessary.

I was ready to walk out the door when I saw my father-in-law in the doorway. "How did it go John?"

"Just as you expected." He smiled and gave me a small wave.

Five hours later, I was home. Five hours after that, I was on my way to Florida. No more crappy job. No more crappy weather and no more cheating wife.

[]---[]

I was tempted to stop and see the boys, but decided not to. For some strange reason, I ended up in Baldwin County, Alabama instead of Florida. It seems as if there are hundreds of deserted mobile homes located in developments around the area. Retirees buy the homes and then die. Their heirs are then stuck with having to continue paying lot and community fees until the units can be sold. Sometimes this takes years, so there were many rentals available. Within a week I had a new address, a new drivers license,and a new bank account.

All my Pennsylvania accounts were closed out. After filing a declaration of domicile,I contacted Alabama and Auburn to change the status of the boys to residents.

I transferred all of the monies from all of the accounts and even the boys college funds. Because I am a good guy, I paid off all of the credit cards before closing them. Connie still had her Kohl's card. I canceled the insurance on the house and on Connie's car. The car was in her name as was her cell phone. I was going to cancel the utilities, but changed my mind at the last minute. I wasn't hiding, but I was not letting anyone know where I was.

I won't bore you with all of the other mundane actions that were required. You already heard that story a hundred times. I did call each of the boys and explained the situation as well as I could without sounding like an asshole. They were not happy and did not understand, but seemed to accept it.

I got a job at the Escambia Boat Works, scraping boat hulls. They were not interested in paying me under the table for insurance reasons, so I ended up having to go the above board route. It didn't matter, since I didn't care if anyone found me. I didn't break any laws.

I got a ten dollar a month membership at the closest Planet Fitness. I had no desire to get into an exercise regiment, but I did need a good place to shower after work. The bathroom facilities at the rental trailer were barely adequate. After showering, I usually ate out or picked up something to go. The routine smoothed out quickly and I was a happy camper.

[]---[]

"Frank! It's me John. Just thought that I would check in and see how things were going."

"Hey guy! Good to hear from you. How long has it been now; almost four months?"

"Just about! I've been busy just getting settled. I had my phone turned off almost the whole time. I only turn it on when I need to use it. Mostly to order take out."

"So what the hell are you doing?"

"I rented a small mobile home and got a job working at one of the local boat yards. I lost almost twenty pounds already and I am not even dieting. The boys are coming down for spring break. I am looking forward to seeing them, but not to having to explain why I left. We'll see how it goes."

"Well, I am glad to hear things are going well for you. Everything went to shit here. Did your wife contact you?"

"Frank, I have not heard a word. Not one message popped up on my phone. I was actually expecting to be inundated with stupid calls, but I did not get one. The only messages I got were spam calls. What the hell is going on?" I could hear Frank laughing on the other end.

"John! John! You would not believe it. Connie and her mother actually celebrated for a whole week after you left. The first thing that Teresa did was take your wedding picture off of the mantel and put up an old picture of Connie and Henry going to the prom. I didn't even know that she kept that picture."

"Well, I expected some kind of fall out, but not that. I guess everyone is happy now?"

"Well, not really. The chickens did come home to roost, so to say, when Connie returned back home. She could not even pay the utility bills, let alone the mortgage. Things went to hell pretty fast. The house will be going back to the bank next month. She still owes the back utility bills. Hell, she can't even pay her Kohl's bill."

"How is she living?"

"She was going to move in with us, but at the last minute she decided to move in with Henry. I was relieved at that. She is pissed that you closed out all of the bank accounts, but not enough to contact you about it. Henry seems more than willing to support her."

Frank and I chatted for a few more minutes. I promised to call again after the boys went back to school. I had mixed emotions about the whole thing. On one hand I was happy that I got away clean, but on the other hand I was a bit upset that there was absolutely no remorse. I guess I didn't do it right.

[]---[]

The boys stayed for a week, but to be honest they spent most of the time in Gulf Shores or Panama City Beach. They refused to get into any discussion about the marriage. They said that Connie called each of them one time; said that I left and gave no further explanation. They didn't hear from her again. They were happy to hear that I would still be able to take care of their tuition. I told them to get Alabama drivers licenses and use my address.

I had no social life. I did not go to bars. All the waitresses at the restaurants I frequented were either too young, too old or too desperate. I did start working out a bit at the fitness center just because I was bored and looking for something to do. It was nothing like you read about in the erotic stories however. Of course there was not much going where I lived either. I think ninety percent of my neighbors were on Social Security.

I became addicted to YouTube videos. Two years passed.

[]---[]

Nobody ever knocks on my door, especially on Sunday morning. I finally decided I had to find out who it was just to shut them up.

It was Frank!

"Damn Frank! How the hell did you find me?"

"I stopped on the way down and saw Jordan, He gave me directions. I couldn't find Josh. You got a cold beer for a weary traveler?"

"It's six in the morning. Wouldn't you rather have coffee?"

"Got some?"

I did have enough stuff on hand to throw together a pretty good breakfast. One of my many vices. We chatted and ate for a while until I ask the big question. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I got in a little trouble and felt that it was time to leave the Keystone State." I didn't respond. Henry leaned back a bit in his chair and tried to get comfortable.

"Connie and Henry got married Saturday Morning."

I didn't even know that I was divorced. "That's interesting, but it doesn't seem like a reason to leave."

"While everybody was at the church, I went over and burned down Henry's house."

"Now that seems very interesting. How did that go over?"

"I don't know. I didn't see them after that."

"Well, since you are here, I guess they will just have to move in with Teresa now?"

"Not likely!" I gave him an inquisitive look.

"I burned down my own house just before I left."

[]---[]

And then another surprise. Josh and Jordan showed up.

"What did I do to deserve this visit?" Frank and I helped them bring their bags in.

"Actually we were trying to figure out where Grandpop disappeared to. This was my best guess. Josh figured that he would go to Mexico."

"I take it that you both went to the wedding?"

"Yeah! It was a blast. Not what we expected by a long shot." Jordan looked like he was trying to keep from laughing.

Frank nudged me with his elbow. "John, I think your boys are playing us."

I got four long necks out of the fridge. "So, how do you like your new stepdad?" That got both of them snickering.

"What the hell is so funny?"

"They never married, Dad. In the middle of the ceremony somebody piped up and said that Henry's house was on fire. Everything stopped as he rushed out to see what was going on. By the time things settled down, we found out that Grandmom and Grandpop's house was also on fire. Mom kept trying to get Henry to finish the ceremony, but he finally got pissed off, yelled that the wedding was off, and stormed out. We had no place to stay so we drove right down here."

"So they never got married?"

"Nope!"

[]--[]

Josh and Jordan stayed a few days and then went back to school.

A few people showed up making inquiries about Frank, but I was able to misdirect them to Ocala. After a few weeks they stopped coming around.

Frank got a job with Home Depot, and life got a whole lot more interesting. He was a bit more gregarious than I was, so in a short period of time I actually started to get a social life of such. All of a sudden we were going to cook out's, bar-be-ques, and birthday parties. We even got invited to a funeral and a couple of weddings. That is where I met Argie Sue Baker. Argie was a divorcee who worked in the garden department at Home Depot with Frank. After running into her several times at different events, we sort of became a couple. One thing let to another and six months later she moved into the trailer with me, after Frank moved out. He found a rich widow who owned a condo in Orange Beach.

Argie and I didn't get married, but we did buy the trailer together. She talked me into quitting the marina job, and now will are both working at Home Depot. Ain't love great?