Cryin' in the Rain: Conclusion

"I go out every night to find company," he said. "I'm locked in this shitty apartment all day long. You take the car to go to work. So at night, I have to find people to talk to and interact with and women to..."

"Why can't you talk to me?" I whined. "And I'm a woman."

I tried to put myself out there then. "You could have sex with me," I said. "We haven't really done it since the two times we did it when you first came back."

I was willing to have sex with him to keep him in the apartment; mostly to keep myself from being embarrassed by people I knew telling me about what he did. I didn't really want to have sex with him, but at the same time when women are pregnant they get really horny.

He just laughed in my face. "Surely my brother has told you that I don't find you even remotely attractive," he laughed. "To me, you are flat out FUGLY. And worse than that, you are the single, worst fuck I have ever had. The first time I did you when I got back was just out of curiosity. I wanted to see if you'd gotten any better with age. You haven't. The second time I was drunk, and I needed to make sure you understood that we need to work together to get Dylan back. But I wasn't drunk enough to enjoy it." He laughed some more.

"I feel almost sorry for Dill," he laughed. "The boy is so in love with you that you can give him tuna every night and convince him that it's steak. Dylan clearly has no idea what really good pussy is like."

I was hurt. No one ever hurt me that badly. He had basically explained to me, in no uncertain terms, that I was ugly, unattractive, and terrible in bed. Furthermore, he had no interest in our child, and it was my fault alone that I was pregnant.

I had realized since the very second that Dylan had walked into our house and stared at me that I had screwed up. The pain in his eyes mixed with that almost puppy-dog love that I had taken for granted had shown me the depth of the wrong I had done. But somehow I had told myself that it was all going to work out. I told myself that it was like when a doctor tells you that the needle stick won't hurt, just so you give him your arm, and he gives you medicine to make you well.

But just like doctors lie. I was wrong. Jimmy was a fucking monster. Dylan had been right not to even tell me anything about him. We should have gone on with our lives and forgotten about him.

I saw then the real differences between them. They were like opposite sides of the same coin. Dylan was nice to everyone and only forceful when he had to be. Jimmy treated everyone like shit, and was only nice to Dylan. He didn't even call his own parents yet.

I needed to get back at him then. I needed to stand up to him like Dylan had. Maybe he would respect that.

"You probably don't enjoy fucking me because you've noticed that I don't react much," I said.

"Yep, you're a dead fuck," he sneered.

"I guess that isn't your fault," I said. "Dylan's dick is so much bigger that I barely even know you're there. And you don't really last long either. Before I feel anything, you're done. Maybe when Dylan comes back you can get him to give you some less..."

I never even saw it coming. I was just dazed. He didn't completely knock me out. But I was too out of it to be able to stand up, and my head was spinning. I vaguely remember him standing over me and talking at me.

"See what you made me do," he said. "Get up and sleep it off. Your mouth is bleeding. Maybe you should put some ice on it. I'm going out to calm down. You need to learn to watch your fucking mouth. I'm not Dylan. I won't take that kind of shit."

The next day, we didn't talk at all. He never apologized, because after all, it was my fault. I was still in a daze. When my sister came to visit me, she told me to call the police. I told her that we were both just upset about Dylan. She broke down and started crying.

She told me something that gave me hope and also something that pissed me off royally. She told me about how the families all got together at Dylan's beautiful new house. She also told me that he had asked them all never to tell him anything about Jimmy and me. He didn't want to know anything about us. That made me feel like I was going through all of this for nothing. Then she told me about trying to seduce Dylan and failing. She told me that she had told him I was pregnant and how she thought that she hadn't been able to get Dylan to have sex with her because deep down in his heart, Dylan still loved me.

She also made something clear that I had wondered about. I had seen my mother the week before, and she'd had her hair up in a bun. She had never done that before. Abby explained to me that she had started doing it because at Christmas, Dylan had been so uncomfortable looking at her because she was so much like me.

Smiling, hurt my bruised mouth, but I smiled anyway because I knew it was only a matter of time before Dylan came back for me. Now that he knew that I was pregnant, and he knew how Jimmy felt about me, Dylan would never leave me with Jimmy. I also knew my sister. She would back off on trying to fuck Dylan for a while, but she would try again. And she would also tell Dylan about Jimmy hitting me.

Over the next few months, things got worse between Jimmy and I. He even got to the point where he would hit on my sister in front of me. My father tried to have him arrested, but I refused to press charges. I think Jimmy and I both knew that when the final reckoning came, all three of us needed to be present.

So almost exactly nine months after Jimmy came back in my life, I gave birth to a little girl. I named her Pattigail after my mother and sister. I just knew that Dylan would show up, if only to see the baby. I was ready to tell him everything and leave with him on the spot. I would just take my baby and get on a plane and fly to wherever he lived now. I would leave everything else behind to be with him. But Dylan never came.

Another thing that was odd was that Jimmy never came either. He did not once come to the hospital.

My mom and dad came. My sister came. Jimmy's mom came, along with his dad. His dad went back home but surprisingly Jimmy's mom stayed and actually called Dylan's mom.

The two of them looked at me as if there was something they really needed to tell me. I chalked it up to them wanting to apologize for Dylan not showing up.

"You don't have to... Please don't say anything," I told them. "I already know." They both nodded.

"But we're going to talk to him," said Dylan's mom. That left me with a lot of hope. What I never realized was that we were talking about completely different subjects. I was under the impression that they thought Dylan should have been here and should apologize to me for not coming. I gathered then that someone had broken the Dylan rules and told him about me having my baby.

However, they were upset for a completely different reason. They thought that I knew what they had discovered instantly upon walking into the room. I thought that they knew how miserable I was and knew that no matter what, Dylan and I belonged together. We had both made mistakes, me more than he, but in order for anyone to be happy, Dylan and I had to act like adults and get back together.

I knew from Abby that Dylan hadn't taken her bait and wasn't dating anyone. He still loved me; he was just too fucking stubborn and too hurt to come back.

I also knew that it was time for me to grow up. I had to stop thinking of myself as some sort of fairy princess. That was another thing I had developed through Dylan. I had to realize that except for in Dylan's heart; I was just another ordinary woman. I still had bills to pay and responsibilities. And one of the things I had to deal with was that it was time to abandon the bullshit. I would give Dylan's mothers a little bit of time to get him to see reason. But after that I would go to him myself. I would make him talk to me, whether he wanted to or not.

But no matter how things went; Jimmy had outlived his usefulness to me. It was clear that he had been wrong about us needing each other to get Dylan back. Both, he and the mothers also were wrong about nothing coming between the two of them. Clearly, I had come between the two of them, and Dylan had kicked Jimmy's ass over me. He had never looked back. I had heard surprisingly that he still loved and missed me, but never that he had even so much as asked about Jimmy. Our partnership was at an end. Jimmy, by not showing up to see the birth of his own child had burned his bridges. It was like he'd run out on me all over again.

I don't know what I expected. I guess I hoped that he had a good reason for not going to the hospital even once. The hospital and my insurance company only allowed a healthy mother and baby to stay in the hospital for two or three days after a birth. I wanted to start doing things on my own, so I told my family that Abby was going to drive me home from the hospital, and that we'd have a party at a later date to celebrate my baby's birth.

In actuality, my homecoming was not what I expected. I was carrying my baby in her car seat/ baby carrier while Abby used my keys to open the door. I was on edge because during the drive, Abby, had observed that it was weird that she had her own key to Dylan's house, yet not one to my apartment.

I found out that she had, in fact, told Dylan that I was pregnant months ago, and he had told her he wished us all well. He hoped that Jimmy, the baby and I were all happy. After further grilling of my ass brained sibling, I discovered that Dylan really believed that Jimmy and I were happy together. I needed to convince Abby to give me Dylan's contact information. She abjectly refused. I knew then that she still hoped that someday she could have him for herself. She also refused to carry any messages for me, but she would tell him that I'd had Jimmy's baby.

When Abby opened the door for me, the mystery of Jimmy's absence was solved.

There was a woman with a huge ass with her back to me. She was bouncing her ass up and down on Jimmy's dick while he thrust upwards into her. Her ass moved like some sort of fleshy pump as it cycled upwards and downwards making squishy, sucking sounds with each movement. Those large ass cheeks flexed and rippled with every movement as she jumped him faster and faster.

She turned to face us and sneered for us to close the door. Her obviously fake breasts were clutched on Jimmy's hands as he licked and sucked them. Suddenly, his eyes locked to mine and surprise registered.

"Shit, I thought you were the pizza boy," he spat. "I leave the door open, so he can come in and get a thrill." All during this exchange the woman's ass had never stopped moving. Another thing that surprised me was the lack of shock on my sister's face.

"Jimmy, you and your... friend, need to get out of my apartment," I said.

"I thought this was your place," she said suddenly. I finally got a look at her face and was surprised. The woman was far older than I had ever suspected. The long blond hair that framed and nearly covered her face hid a multitude of line and wrinkles. As she got up thought I noticed how toned and shaped her body was. Her breasts were so big that you could see them from behind her. Her ass was so rounded and stuck out so far that I could barely believe it. But looking at her face, she had to be my mother's age.

She calmly put her clothes on, while I stood there clutching my baby. She reached over onto the table and took Jimmy's wallet. She took out a couple of bills.

"Hey, I never said anything about paying for it," yelled Jimmy.

"I'm a stripper not a whore," she said. "If you were paying for it, I would have cost you a hell of a lot more. But you promised me a place to stay until the paint fumes in my apartment died down. This is for my motel room." And then she left.

"I thought you stayed in the hospital for a week after having a kid," he said glancing at me. "I was gonna come and pick you up on Friday. What did Dylan say about the kid?"

I just left him standing there. I later found out that Jimmy had also wrecked and abandoned my car, while I was in the hospital. I reported it stolen, and my insurance company investigated it. They discovered that on the day of the accident, I was in the hospital having my child, so they paid me.

They cited depreciation and the age of the vehicle. So they only paid me enough to buy a used Chrysler minivan. It was an awful vehicle considering that my Caddy was only three years old.

I also found out that Jimmy had raided my bank account. I needed to borrow money from my mother just to make my rent that month. Things between Jimmy an I got a lot worse. He was angry that my apartment was a two bedroom, and he had to sleep on the sofa because I turned the other bedroom into the baby's room.

He was angry because I stopped giving him money and would no longer allow him to drive my car. He was also angry because I refused to beg my parents or my sister to contact Dylan.

"He has to be over it by now," he spat. "It's not like you're some fuckin' prize."

"Maybe he's afraid to come back because the next time he kicks your ass, he might end up in jail," I said. "He probably has a great career, like a real man, and doesn't need to live off of a woman."

He slapped me so hard my teeth rattled. "I am a real man," he spat. "And Dylan didn't kick my ass. He surprised me."

I shook my head. "You guys fought twice," I laughed. "You never even got off a punch. The first time he laid you out with one punch. The second time he almost killed you. And he never even worked up a sweat. You went down as easily as those sluts you fu..."

I woke up to find my next-door neighbor banging on the door and my baby screaming. I got up gingerly and opened the door and then staggered in to see about my baby.

"Honey, sit down," said my neighbor Natasha. Tasha, as I called her, was a nurse at the same hospital I worked at. She was an older black woman who was built like a four by four; four feet tall and four feet wide. She had the kindest heart of anyone, I knew except for Dylan. She waddled into the room and picked Pattigail up from her crib. She was still rocking her when the next knock on the door came.

It was the police. Another of my neighbors called them. As usual, I didn't file a report, and the officers just shook their heads thinking I was another stupid woman who enjoyed being beaten. Even though I hadn't filed a report they had noted another in a long series of domestic calls at my address. I just didn't want to be seen as a victim.

My father came the next day and tried to get me to move back home with him and my mom. I told them that I would be alright, and that I needed to grow up and do some things on my own.

"I swear to God, the next time he lays a hand on you. I'm going to have Dylan come over here and kick his ass," said my dad.

"Dylan moved back here?" I croaked in surprise.

"No, Honey," he said. "But I needed some money to give him, and I pulled it out of my retirement fund instead of getting a loan. So he came here to meet with my banker."

"So Dylan is no better than Jimmy," I sneered. "He likes taking other people's money too. I thought he had a great job and all of that stuff going for him. Fuck them both."

"Gretchen, I never thought of you as stupid before," he said. "I always thought that maybe you had made bad decisions. I had to beg Dylan to give him the money. He's finally opening his automotive shop. I'm doing it as an investment. I think he's going to make a lot of money. His dad and even Jimmy's dad are going into it with us. Jimmy's dad is going to work with him part time. Believe it or not Dylan is going to continue working at the plant until he has so much business that he can't do both. He's a very enterprising young man. Maybe the reason he seems to be so successful is that he has nothing in his life except work. He doesn't have time to watch TV, drink, sleep, and beat on women."

For the first time that I could remember, my dad turned and walked out of my apartment without hugging or kissing me. He was really disappointed in me. Even I have no idea why I said what I'd said about Dylan being the same type of freeloader I was living with. I think that I was just down on everyone because my life was shitty.

I worked my ass off all day long for much less than I thought I was worth. My health care insurance for myself and the baby and all the other things I needed like formula, diapers, wipes, baby food, toys meant that I was always behind in my bills. I just never caught up. Every time I caught a break, or got a few hours of overtime, something broke in my apartment that I had to pay for. If my parents hadn't been helping me out, I would have been homeless. My mother provided free daycare. My father slipped me money every time he saw me. Jimmy did nothing.

The only thing that cheered me up, my only shred of daylight at the end of a dark nightmarish tunnel was hearing occasionally that Dylan wasn't seeing anyone. I knew that he still loved me, and I hoarded that bit of information like a fat girl trapped in an elevator hoards the donuts in her purse.

I busted my ass every day and came home to be a punching bag every night. I just knew that every time Jimmy hit me, Dylan would give him back. I merely needed to be patient. I knew that Dylan would come back for me, and I knew if he... Or when he heard what Jimmy had done to me, he would hurt Jimmy.

* * * * * *

Dylan

"Sarah," I gushed. As I watched she moved slowly towards me. Her unusual Honey-Blond hair glittered as I watched her. It had been over six years since I had seen her. More than seventy two months, more than two hundred and eighty eight weeks, more than two thousand and sixteen days, or... Before I could continue calculating her arm reared back, and she slapped the cowboy shit out of me.

Everyone in the restaurant stared at us. The impact of her open hand knocked me back in my chair. She yanked my chair away from the table and then straddled me. She kissed the reddened area of my cheek where she had slapped me and then moved her lips across my face. When our mouths met it was like magic, and a hush settled over the room.

Our arms raised and began to caress each other. Everything around us ceased to exist... Until a voice rang out beside us.

"I guess he ain't gonna order anything, huh? He's just going to sit there and suck on your face? We'll have him leave me a tip anyway, since this is one of my tables," she said. It was the woman who had waved me towards this table.

Her pretty caramel colored skin seemed to glow in the sunlight streaming through the window blinds. Her outlandish blue lipstick contrasted with her skin wildly. She was pretty enough to pull it off though. She was one of those women who were pretty enough and had a sparkly enough personality to pull off almost anything. If Sarah hadn't been there, she would've had a chance.

"Not that I want you to stop kissing me," I said. "But why'd you slap me?"

"I don't know," she said. "Why'd it take you six years to find me?"

"Well, you didn't leave me any clues, and you didn't seem to want me to find you," I said. "And if you wanted me to find you why did you leave in the first place?"

"Dylan, I needed you to get rid two hundred and fifty pounds of useless fat if we were going to have even the ghost of a chance," she smirked. I was confused.

"I never weighed close to two fifty," I said.

"I know," she smirked. "But Jimmy did. Dylan, everything between us started out wrong. Jimmy met me first. However, you and I were so much more alike. Did you know that Jimmy didn't convince me or tell me to sleep with you?" I looked at her.

"I know what you remember... Or what you think you remember," she said. "But Jimmy never had any kind of control over me. The reason why I slept with you was because of the things you said. You said that you wanted your first time to be with someone special... Someone you loved. That was exactly what I wanted. Jimmy and I fucked a few times, but once you, and I made love; he never touched me again. I always told him that I wasn't in the mood. But I wanted so badly for you to be."