Checked Out

I was still upset at her, but her story didn't have a happy ending as mine did.

"I spent every moment since then trying to regain the confidence he shattered and get back to something like the person I used to be."

She choked back tears and looked at me. After all these years, that look was the Annie I used to know.

"Arthur, I am so sorry. I treated you like dirt. I did it because I was convinced Paul knew everything that you didn't. I left the only man who ever truly loved me unresponsive, and." She stopped and grasped the edge of the table, "You could have died because of what I did! I know you can never forgive me. But I want to say I am sorry."

She was openly crying now. Surprisingly, Sally had come over standing beside me. She was also hearing her mothers apology. I looked at her, and she gave me a weary smile and grabbed my hand. I don't know if it was time, or perhaps she saw that her mother was genuinely sorry for the first time. But her eyes softened, and she reached a hand out to her mother.

Seeing Sally standing there and then holding out her hand, Annie panicked and tried to get up and leave. But Sally was having none of it and blocked her way.

"Mum, stop. You don't need to go anywhere!"

Sally slid into the booth next to Annie while I slid in on the other side. I looked over to Tina and saw her nod. So for the next hour, mother and daughter talked. There was a lot of reconciliation going on, there were quite a few tears, but for once, they were helpful, not hurtful. Once the girls had caught up, Sally and I took Annie over the table and introduced her to everyone else. I could tell Annie was a little upset being introduced to Keegan as 'Auntie Annie'.

After that day, we sort of let Annie back into our lives. Sally reconnected with her mother slowly. Every week or two, they would have coffee. Trust grew slowly between the two but did happen. When Sally got married, Annie did get to play mother of the bride.

Tina invited Annie over to the house now and then for dinner, and at first, I think it was to spite Annie for everything she'd given up, and Tina had gained marrying me. However, while never BFF close, Tina and Annie did have some weird friendship that I never understood.

Rhonda never forgave Annie for what she did to me, though she would be polite to her when they came in contact.

And me, well, with Tina's blessing Annie and I did a little post-marriage counselling. We talked through a lot of our troubles from that time over five years ago. The counsellor thought that Annie might have been having a hormonal issue. However, Annie would have none of it.

"No, I threw away the most important thing to me that day. I had a husband who loved me and a daughter who wanted to be with me. No hormonal imbalance can justify how I systematically dismantled everything good in my life for some asshole whispering sweet nothings in my ear that was shit in the sack and had a dick so small you never knew it was in." She smiled sweetly at me with that statement.

"Arthur and Sally deserved a lot better from me." She cried then used a tissue to wipe away her tears. "Five years it took before I could reconnect, five years I lost with them. I thank God every day that Arthur has let me back in his life. And Tina too." She blushed at the admission. "She had every right to hate me, yet has treated me warmly every time we meet. No, she got lucky getting everything I threw away, and I will pay for that for a long time."

Annie got a lot more out of those sessions than I did. It was valuable to validate that neither Sally nor I did anything to cause Annie to leave us. And she was right. Tina had picked us up and made us a much stronger family.

They say that people pay for their mistakes if they make them long enough, well Paul did. He moved to the next state over and again tried to steal a married woman and her money. Though this time, the husband caught Paul with his wife and turned him into a eunuch. The husband got ten years, but it sounded like he would be out soon if the rumours from Rhonda were true who was now representing him.

Tina and I are still very much in love. I never thought I could ever love as much or as deeply as I had Annie. But Tina proved that wrong. Tina not only gave me her love but gave her very soul without reservation. We still work in her company, and I am still in the same job. We have our ups and downs but never let anything get in the way of communicating when it matters. Her body is still outstanding, and we make love often. We have even made love in some exotic places while on holiday. Usually, it just takes one look, and I'm locking the bedroom door and ravishing her!

One time we had just finished making love, we had showered and dressed, and when we came into the kitchen, we found Sally and Annie talking. We had found out last month that Sally was expecting, so there was a buzz in the room as the girls were planning the arrival of my first grandchild.

"My goodness, Sally, you would think these two were teenagers that way they act. Tina, you need to tell me what you are feeding Arthur. Maybe I can get some of it to feed Fred!"

The girls all laughed, and I blushed. Annie had been dating a little lately, but nothing serious until Fred came along.

"Mum, leave them alone. We all know that daddy has been a man on a mission since that time."

"Since what time, sweetie?" Annie asked.

"You know," Her eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief. "I think that dad's libido kicked up three notches ever since he came round after being 'checked out'!"

Annie baulked, Sally laughed, Tina blushed. Me, I just sat back, smirked at my girls and felt myself harden again looking at Tina. I then got up, wandered back to the bedroom. Tina following a moment later, locking the bedroom door behind her.