Busted by Technology

I frowned and decided to change the topic. "By the way, I didn't say anything yet, but I like the new look. The hair, the glasses... it really suits you."

"How about the muscles from all the yoga? Or my tits?" Janna said with a smirk, wiping her eyes.

I blinked thinking I heard her last word wrong.

"Okay, now I'm a little insulted," Janna said looking shocked. "Come on, you saw them last night. Didn't you notice how much firmer they are, and smaller?"

I wasn't imagining things the night before, but wasn't really there to discuss my ex-wife's breasts.

"Um, I thought we weren't bringing last night up?"

Janna frowned slightly. "We aren't. I was just worried you might think I spent your money on a boob job, which I didn't. A couple years ago, I was starting to have a lot of back pain," Janna explained, "So I went to my doctor and for medical reasons, my insurance covered a breast reduction, which included a lift. You're the first person of the opposite gender to have seen them now that the scars are all faded. Really, you didn't notice?"

I couldn't think of anything to say. Of course, I noticed they were smaller, and how toned she was, but I was trying to not think about that. While I was silently attempting that, I felt my cock stiffen and I glanced down and saw her nipples were visibly erect through her bra and blouse.

Janna grimaced. "Shit, I hope you weren't caught up with how ungroomed I was - Todd, I truly wasn't expecting anything, or I would've shaved. Even my pits had stubble showing."

I nearly said that I liked her with a full bush, but I rubbed my neck instead. "Janna, I... Well, last night was a bit of a surprise and hasn't really sunk in yet."

"And I said we wouldn't mention it," Janna made a face, "I'm sorry. I'm just truly happy we're able to sit and do this - I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too, and glad we had this talk, but I should probably go," I said standing, hoping my half-erection wasn't visible through my jeans.

Janna stood too and nodded. "Todd, I truly hope we can continue to do this - talk. This summer's going to be really hard on the kids - especially Eva - when Mary tells them about the cancer. I want to do anything to help them or you. I still do love you and care. It's going to be hard on me as well." She started to cry again. "We don't have to ever have sex again, but I hope we can still hug."

I nodded and she came and hugged me. I didn't think she meant right that moment, but I hugged her back. This time, my jeans kept my erection at bay, and there was just a polite nod goodbye when we released each other.

I headed back to my hotel room to change into a business casual outfit for the ceremony while I reflected a bit on the last twenty-four hours. While I wouldn't say finally 'having the talk' with Janna was pleasant, it was nowhere near as awful as I imagined. The detail of fooling around in the bar when Aiden was just a baby was surprising - more than she admitted that it happened. Something like that was exactly why I'd put my foot down about Jayleen. I didn't know if Janna was fully disclosing to try and earn my trust, or just didn't see a point in hiding that detail. Either way, it definitely didn't seem like Janna wanted to hurt me anymore. If anything, it's almost like she was psychic about me regretting moving away and trying to justify what I did.

The graduation ceremony was brief, but it was emotional for all of us. Janna and I sat on the ends with Eva in the middle of my parents. My mom was right beside my ex-wife and held her hand almost the entire time. I knew when we were married, Janna and Mom were very close. I was just realizing that they still were, after everything. Even after seeing those awful pictures of Janna and her lover. Janna was wearing a nice short dress and heels that proved I wasn't mistaken - her legs had gotten even sexier since we were together. Her make-up was fully done, and I caught myself staring a few times. None of my flings were remotely in her league.

'I used to have sex regularly with that hottie,' I thought as I stole a quick glance at those toned calves.

I expected the family barbeque after the ceremony to just be us. However, a few of Aiden's friends - including his first girlfriend, Claire - attended with their families. There were about fifty people in my old house, with Janna running around playing hostess, with Eva's help of course. My mother offered, but Janna gave her a look and told her to just relax and enjoy herself. To prove mostly to myself that I wasn't an asshole, I jumped in and assisted restocking snacks and drinks, and cleaning up after.

I noticed the punch was running out. When there was no more soda in the fridge, I figured it was in the basement fridge and headed down to grab some more. I went downstairs into what used to be my basement office that held the extra fridge. There was Janna with another bottle of soda in her hand.

"Oh, I just was heading to grab that," I said.

"Yeah, I'm not completely helpless," Janna said and then squinted her eyes and shook her head, "I'm sorry, Todd. That didn't come out like I meant. I shouldn't have had to rely on you for help. You're a guest."

I raised my eyebrows. "What happened to this always being my house?"

"Fuck, you can be frustrating at times," Janna said and laughed. "Thank you, I really do appreciate your help. And, coming to this, talking to me, I can't tell you how much that means to Aiden, Eva, and mostly me."

Her eyes started to tear up and she started babbling, "After how horrible a person I was, I don't deserve anything from you. I broke your heart so bad you couldn't even be in the same city as me. I saw those pictures you took. I still can't believe you could stomach touching me the other night after seeing that in person. I have so much to make up to you, and I didn't know where to begin. Selfishly, I was glad you moved away because if I ever saw you in public, it would've hurt so much, that I'd want to kill myself."

She started to cry, and again my instincts took over for the third time in twenty-four hours, so I hugged Janna because she seemed to need one.

"Tell me what to do," Janna wailed. "Tell me how to make up for hurting you. I'll do anything to make it better. I hate that you're living away from the kids, unhappy because of me. I want you to not hurt, to find someone beautiful, marry her and be happy. How do I help you do that? Tell me."

"Shh," I said softly as we continued to hug. "Janna, it's not your job to make me happy. Not anymore. You've apologized and been an amazing mother. Just keep doing that."

"Oh God, Mary is dying." At that she cried harder. "And you're going to lose your mother. I'm losing her. I don't want this. I fucked everything up."

I kept holding her until she composed herself. She looked like a mess, like the night before when she came to my room.

She handed me the soda. "Can you please take this up and make more punch? I better go make myself presentable. I didn't deserve someone as amazing as you, you know? I know my actions don't seem like it, but I always thought that. I know you'll find someone you deserve who will make you happier than I could."

I watched her run off and went back to the party to refill the punch. I interacted with some of the other parents, including my son's girlfriend's parents, who all seemed to know I was Janna's ex and didn't really give it another thought. After twenty minutes, Janna was back playing hostess with her make-up done to the nines again. This time, I gave her space for her sake and not mine. The party was winding down, and we were about to get ready to return to the hotel - apparently with just Eva since Aiden wanted to visit with Claire more before leaving town for the rest of the summer.

I saw my mother going up the stairs to the bathroom and just flinched in obvious pain. Worried she'd fall, I quickly rushed to help her.

"I'm fine, Todd," she protested, but still let me help her anyway.

"Don't push yourself too much, Mom," I said in a lowered voice.

"I'll be all right. Let me enjoy what time I have left," she said and then touched my cheek, "I see you and Janna aren't trying to kill each other. That's a good sign. I take it you signed a peace treaty then?"

"I didn't think it was war," I said half-laughing, but really trying not to think about my mother dying, "We're talking and able to be in the same room."

"Good." she smirked and was about to head into the bathroom.

"Mom?" I said before she shut the door. "Just how close have you and Janna been?"

My mom shrugged. "Ever since you married, she's been like a daughter to me. You don't abandon a child even when they make a huge mistake. I needed a little time after seeing those awful pictures that you never should've made public. Now, we probably talk two or three times a week. She drives to visit me a few times a year. I guess close enough to know this will be as hard on her as you. That's why I didn't want you two not talking - you were always a lot better together than apart. I think it's the same even if it's not as a couple, but as parents and hopefully friends again."

I left her and went to sit by myself for a moment while I waited for Eva to be ready to leave. Janna was getting her ready and probably wouldn't see her for a few months - unless there was a funeral. I was surprised my mom kept in such close contact with Janna and I had no clue - not even from the kids. It now made sense that Janna said I was unhappy - my mother would tell her that. To be honest, she wasn't wrong. While I was more than happy, after the past few months, to actively co-parent with Janna, I couldn't see myself being her friend. I was surprised she told me that she wanted me to find someone and to see me happy. While I wanted the best for her, I didn't want to see her in a serious relationship with another man, either. Mind you, a few months prior I could never see myself even in the same room as her. I was thinking maybe I should be more open to things when my dad announced they were ready to leave.

I felt bad disappointing my daughter, but I was not into water-sliding that night and let her go with my dad instead while my mother watched. I had too many things going through my head and needed a bit of space to process everything. For one, I had sex with Janna again, and it was incredible. It was hard to not think about doing that again, even though I still felt I could never get back together with her. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know Janna would get back together in a microsecond, if I asked. She just didn't think she had a chance. The night before was just on impulse, whereas a second romp in bed would definitely get Janna's hopes up, and I didn't want that.

Besides, I still was living two hours away. I was seriously starting to question that decision. Why was I living so far away from the kids in a small city with no job prospects? Yeah, the idea was to avoid Janna, but if I didn't need to avoid her, I wasn't accomplishing anything there anymore. I was strongly debating to moving back to Keypid after Mom passed when I heard a knock on the door.

I looked through the peephole, and of course it was Janna. This time looking more angry than upset. I closed my eyes and shook my head, thinking, 'what now,' before I opened the door.

"Janna, what a lovely surprise," I tried to say not sounding sarcastic.

She walked right past me and sat down on the chair. Her arms were crossed, and she was definitely not happy.

"Even when we were married, I sucked at guessing why you were mad at me," I said calmly.

"I am not mad at you," Janna said in a huff and then shook her head in frustration. "Fuck, Todd, why didn't you tell me right away you're unemployed?"

"Because it's my problem," I said, not wanting to be lectured by the woman who'd cheated on me. "I made my payments and will continue to make them. You don't need to worry."

"Todd, I make enough to cover everything until you're back working," Janna said. "Really, the house is already paid for, so I have no problem if you stop sending your payments early. There's just a few months left, anyhow"

"I don't think the courts would like that much. I've heard horror stories about skipping alimony payments."

"Well, we could've found out together what the options were. Fuck, Todd, do you really think I want you to drain your savings?" Janna made a gesture squeezing her hands together. "Can't you tell how much I still care about you? I really wish you weren't so stubborn and let me know so I might have helped."

"Really, help how?" I shrugged.

Janna put her hand on her hip. "Do you really still need to live in a different city than me? If you could stand living within fifty miles or less from me, I could make a call to Collette."

"Who?"

"From scrapbooking, Don's wife."

I looked up in the ceiling and took a breath. I'd worked with Don at the university. He was a dean that I worked closely with as communications director. I never knew his wife was one of Janna's scrapbooking friends. He was also someone I completely blew off when I moved to live with my parents. I was sure the college wasn't too pleased with me giving my two-week notice the same day I started my last two weeks holidays, leaving them suddenly without a director of communication.

"Collette says Don asks about you from time to time. He figured you'd be upper management in some company with how good you were at the college. Mary never really said much, except that you hated your job, so I didn't pry. I wouldn't have said anything if I did know - I know you wanted your privacy for a reason."

"Yeah, how about because I'd just fucked off and left them in a difficult place after announcing publicly that I was cuckolded," I spat out. "I can't see Don having that much respect for me after that."

"Is that why you cut everyone out of your life - all your friends, our old friends?" Janna covered her face.

I was worried she'd start laughing - I probably would've lost all self-control if she did.

My face got tight and I said coldly, "Mostly it was like you said - risk seeing you or seeing things that reminded me of you hurt too much. Yeah, I regret posting those pictures. I didn't want to face some people after they knew I couldn't keep you happy, and you cheated on me with a guy like that."

Janna's hands came down and I was starting to lose track how many times she cried in front of me. Well it was one more time.

"You think those pictures made you look bad?" Janna snapped, as tears ran down her face. "Why the fuck do you think I changed how I look? They're probably still out there, and I hope I look different enough that people don't recognize me. As is, I'm sure half the city knows how stupid I was, fucking a stranger in a bathroom when I had the perfect guy at home. People didn't think any less of you after seeing those pictures, it was me they didn't respect anymore. It was probably two years before Collette would talk to me again. Deborah never did, as with almost all of our old friends. They would've taken your side if you'd kept in contact with them."

Deborah was the wife of Mike, who used to work with me in communications and the one that got Janna into scrapbooking in the first place.

"I told you, I was angry but am over you doing that. Especially when its peanuts compared what I did to you, but I still worry those pictures are out on the web. What if friends of our kids see them? What if Aiden sees them? Shit, I'm sure he's looking at porn since he masturbates now." Janna wiped her eyes and raised her hand up in defeat. "Sorry, I nearly forgot what I was trying to say. Todd, please don't be a martyr. I want you to be happy and successful - even though we're through. Please, let me do something to help if I can."

"So what if you call Collette? I doubt Don has connections where I live now. Our alma mater closed years ago. It's not an academic town anymore. Would you really be okay with me moving back here - if we're not going to be together?"

Yeah, I'd already been strongly considering moving back regardless of how she felt, but she pissed me off. I didn't like my parents lecturing and coddling me, so I really didn't like it from my ex-wife. Considering all the hurtful things I could've said angry, that was fairly insignificant.

"Of course, I would. I never wanted you to go. I never wanted a divorce. I know I said I was glad you left, but I'd rather have gone through a little heartache in order to have my children's wonderful father in their life. To not have to be all alone for two months every year. If you remained in town, I would've told my lawyer to go for split custody and probably would've gotten an apartment and let you buy me out of the house."

"Don't complain about those two months alone," I said with a snort, "I know what your libido is like. Yeah, Eva told me how you hardly date when they're around, but I bet those two months is when you really enjoy your single life."

Janna looked like I'd just slapped her face. "Because of that one night, you still think I'm some slut, don't you?"

"No, I..." I rubbed the back of my neck and squirmed a bit. "I'm just saying, you're not going out to get your needs met much with the kids around. I'm the same and abstain for the entire time they're with me. Fine, so you haven't found 'the one' yet, but I'm sure you still enjoy yourself when they're gone. I'm not judging and fully admit I do the same - just not as successful as I imagine you'd be."

Janna held up four fingers from each hand. "Eight. That's how many times I've gotten laid since our divorce and that includes you last night. Three of those times were with the same man, and all but you wore condoms. You're still the only man I've ever given a blowjob to and one of only two who's ever been in me unprotected. I think you know about the other.

"Plus, for the record, I'm a fucking mess each time the kids leave. That's probably why I'm so emotional now. The first time they left, I did let a former friend talk me into 'recently divorced sex' with him - that's the one who I was with three times. However, the sex was disappointing. I couldn't even let him spend the night, and I just hated myself more for the situation I put myself in. I nearly bottomed out, was ready to start drinking again after being sober for six months. I called your mom, and was surprised that not only did she not hate me after seeing those pictures, she said she still loved me like a daughter and worried about me.

"So, I spent those times alone trying to distract myself with scrapbooking the kids lives for those books that I didn't even know if you'd want. I also visited with some of my scrapbook friends - the ones that I didn't lose for being a cheating bitch, and talked a lot with Mary. When I have time off, I've even driven there and we would do something while you were occupied with the kids. That's how incredible your mother is - that precious time she gets with her grandkids visiting, she spends with me moping about how unhappy and lonely I am. Soon, I won't even have that when they leave."

She got it all out, and again came the tears. This time, I didn't go hug her - it didn't feel right.

I just took a breath and said calmly, "Okay, tell Collette that I'm looking for work and am willing to relocate back here - if the pay is right. However, I don't want to start until after this summer." I didn't want to deny my mother that time with Aiden and Eva.

Janna smiled slightly, wiped her eyes and then pulled out her phone. I didn't expect her to contact Collette that moment.

I went to grab a tissue from the bathroom, as Janna's eye makeup had run again. When I handed it to her, she was reading something on her phone, carefully.