Dawn's Mistake

DAWN'S MISTAKE

(Maybe this story isn't for everybody. I started it, and it took on a life of its own.)

Dawn Peabody was in tears as she stepped inside her comfortable suburban home. It was two pm, and she had come from a tryst. She'd met a man - Frank Byers - at her gardening club session the month before. Frank was an avid gardener, tall and handsome, with dark hair and eyes. All the women in the club liked him. He was personable, easy to talk to and, of course, easy on the eyes.

Frank flirted mildly with some of the women, including Dawn. Frank and Dawn were both thirty-six. Dawn was happily married, with two children, a son - Darin, 12 years old, and a daughter, Ellen, ten. Her husband Bob was thirty-six, as well. They married at age twenty-two, after college graduation. They'd been together at school for two years before that. She and Bob had always been compatible, and she loved him very much. Nevertheless, here she was sobbing in her empty house.

At this morning's garden club meeting, Frank had been particularly friendly to Dawn. After the meeting, he asked her out for coffee. They went to a local shop, where Frank was more aggressive. He had his hand on Dawn's thigh, and on her arm, close to her breast. Dawn knew what Frank wanted. It excited her. For sixteen years, Bob had been her one and only lover. Before she met him, she'd had several. She was always the object of male lust, even now. But since she met Bob, she'd never really been tempted.

Until Frank moved his hand up her thigh, beneath the leg of her sturdy shorts. He squeezed her leg, and said, "My apartment is just a block away. Let's go now."

She stammered, "Frank....I'm married. Happily....oh!"

That last was Frank moving his hand to rub her clit, through her panties.

She said, "Okay, okay." She was breathless with lust.

They got up, and walked the short distance to an apartment complex, where Frank had a ground floor unit, with an outside entrance. He had her inside and in his arms in a flash. He kissed her and pulled her into him, so she felt his hardness. She was long gone by now. She let Frank remove her blouse, and bra. When her breasts were free, Frank sucked each one. Her shorts and panties came off next, as he was on her chest. She had a passing thought that Frank was very skilled at this.

He picked her up and carried her to his bedroom. He tossed her onto the bed. She was naked and exposed when he took off his shirt, shorts and boxers. His body was lean and hard, and his cock was quite a bit bigger than Bob's. She saw that when he straddled her. And there it was, so close to her lips. So lewdly inviting. She kissed it, and she licked it. Then she sucked it into her mouth and started moving her tongue over the underside.

Frank had her head in his hands as she sucked him. Then he withdrew and positioned himself between her legs. She spread for him, wanting him fully, and quickly. He didn't disappoint. He entered her slowly, and she moaned as he upped his pace. His cock was rubbing her clit each time he thrust, and she had an intense orgasm. A few more thrusts, and he started pushing faster and faster. She could feel it when he started to come. She had another orgasm as he filled her with his seed. He slowly withdrew, and said, "So good, so good."

She said, "Yes."

They lay there, side by side, until Frank got up. "Do you need a drink? Water?"

"Sure." He got her a glass of water, and she watched him and his beautiful body moving as he did it. He handed it to her. But she put it aside, slipped to her knees and took his flaccid dick into her mouth, cleaning him. Frank got hard again. And, in a few minutes he was ready to erupt. This time he came into her mouth, as she swallowed. She got it all. Not a drop spilled. Then she sat back on the bed.

She drank the water. He said, "How long can you stay?"

She looked at the clock. One-thirty-five. "I have to go. The kids." She quickly put her clothes back on. Frank watched her do that. He was enchanted. Another conquest!

She was about to walk out the door, when she turned and gave him a hug.

She said, "Thanks, it was great."

On the drive home she began to feel the guilt. She felt Frank's ejaculate seeping out of her. She tasted it on her tongue, still. She started shivering. She was overwhelmed with sorrow. She knew that she was tainted, forevermore. It couldn't ever be made right.

She started intoning, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus......" Over and over in a monotone. She parked in the driveway and shambled to the door. She had to try three times to get the lock undone. When she crossed the threshold, the remorse came down on her like an avalanche. It took her to the floor.

She lay there for quite some time, until the clock chimed the half hour. She realized that her kids would be getting off the bus at three o'clock. She scrambled to her feet, rushed upstairs. She quickly took off her clothes and threw them in the hamper. She turned the water on in the shower. She plunged in, not waiting for it to warm.

Dawn scrubbed herself up and down. She squished the soapy water into herself, to try to remove all of Frank. She gargled with the warm, soapy water. She let it cascade onto her, head to toe.

At three, Dawn was waiting down the block, wet hair and all, when her two kids came off the bus with their buddies. She didn't always meet them. But sometimes she did.

Darin and Ellen walked with Dawn to their home. Ellen was jabbering away about her day. But Darin had been surprised, and unsettled, when he saw his mother waiting for the bus. She didn't look right. He kept quiet about it, though, since he couldn't understand the situation.

Dawn sent the children upstairs to do their homework. No snack, as would have been normal. Even Ellen noticed. She and Darin consulted about it when they were in his room. They decided to wait and see what happened when their father came home.

Bob, of course, had no idea what awaited him at home. He worked as a 'computer engineer' for the federal government, defense department. It was normally an eight to four job. The generic title was an attempt to hide the fact that Bob and his section were employed to monitor and hack certain computer networks maintained by foreign governments and by businesses that dealt with the department. Bob didn't speak much at home about his work.

Bob was very intelligent and lively, always joking, sometimes with a barb. He was six feet, 180 pounds, and quite fit. There was a good gym at his office, and he used it daily, which is why he was arriving at 5:45 instead of five.

When Bob opened the door from the garage, he smelled no dinner, and heard no sounds at all. He half-shouted, "I'm home!" He heard the pounding of feet down the stairs. His children came into the front room and Ellen gave him a hug. Darin stopped and said nothing.

Bob said, "What's wrong? Where's your mom?"

Darin said, "She was odd this afternoon."

Bob shouted, "Dawn! Dawn, where are you?" He walked into the kitchen. Dawn was sitting at the table, in Bob's normal place. Her eyes were open, but apparently not seeing anything.

Bob rushed over to her. He touched her shoulder, and got no response. He called her name, several times, louder each time. He took her pulse, which was at sixty-five. He turned her head toward his face, and saw no one there. He pulled out his cell and called 911.

The EMT's showed up promptly. Meanwhile, Bob had his neighbor, Emily Carson, come over to sit with the kids, so he could go to the hospital, if needed.

The EMT's worked on Dawn for ten minutes, and consulted with the hospital. They got no response from her, and so put her on a stretcher, and off she went. They arrived at the emergency room and Bob was able to accompany Dawn into a cubicle. There, after a few minutes, a young woman, Dr. Sylvia Preston, came to look. She took a pulse, blood pressure, temperature. All normal. She left and returned with a needle, and gave Dawn a shot.

She said, "We'll wait about thirty minutes to see if she responds. If you see her responding, tell the nurse at the desk."

About twenty minutes later, Dawn started rolling from side to side, and saying....chanting really, "Devil, Devil....He's the Devil.....Evil....Evil....Fuck!"

Bob called the doctor. Dr. Preston heard the same thing, over and over.

She asked, "Was there any indication of sexual assault?"

Bob said, "No. She picked up the kids, sent them upstairs. She was dressed. Her hair was a little wet."

Dr. Preston said, "The meds seem to be having some effect. The first shot was to see if that happened. It did. She's catatonic. I'll give her a bigger dose. That should work."

Bob sat by Dawn's bed for some time, watching her gradually come to herself. Her chanting stopped and started. Then, about three hours after the shot, she opened her eyes and saw Bob.

She screamed. Bob ran for help. Dr. Preston came and had two large men with her. They took Dawn off the bed and walked her back and forth in the hallway. And she gradually calmed down. Dr. Preston took her vitals again, and gave another shot. Dawn fell asleep.

Bob was drained. He watched Dawn as she fell asleep. The Dr. Preston said, "Some people are here to speak to you, sir."

The people were two police detectives.

Det. Wilson was a blond guy, young and eager. Det. Garson was a fortyish women dressed like a homeless person. But she was in charge.

They asked if Bob had noticed any evidence of sexual assault.

"No. Like I told the doctor, I came home, and she was like a zombie. But she was dressed, and the kids were up doing their homework. Why are you guys here?"

Garson said, "The hospital called. Your wife seemed to them as if she'd been assaulted. Sexually assaulted."

"I see. Well, if so, there was nothing apparent to me. My son said she seemed strange when she got them from the bus."

The officers took some details, including wanting to know what plans Dawn had had for the day.

Bob said, "She works part time at the library, but not today. Today she had garden club. Not much else."

They took the details of the garden club and her work.

At about eleven o'clock, Dr. Preston told Bob that Dawn would sleep the night, and he should go home. She said that she believed that Dawn would 'come around' in the morning.

Bob suspected that she didn't want him there when Dawn awoke. He went home, sent Emily home. The kids were asleep.

Bob started looking around the house. It all seemed normal. When he got to the bathroom, he looked in the hamper, and saw Dawn's clothing. He was shocked to find that Dawn's panties showed unmistakable signs of sexual activity. They weren't torn, but dried ejaculate was present. He called the detectives.

Garson showed up by herself. She took the clothing in several plastic bags. All that took only a few minutes.

Bob went to bed, but slept little. He was quite certain that some guy had fucked Dawn. Knowing her, he had to assume that she'd been forced. But the clothes didn't seem torn. Maybe drugged. Maybe she had been drugged.

He fell asleep, but woke and got the kids off to school. He assured them that their mom was going to be okay.

Then he went to the hospital. Dawn was in a room on the second floor. He checked in with the nurse station and went to see her. She was awake.

When he walked into the room, Dawn started to cry. He rushed to her to comfort her. But she pushed him away.

She said, "I ruined our lives." Then she shut down again. Bob ran to the nurses' station, and they went into the room. Soon another doctor came. Russell Djanni. Bob stood outside the room. He was now fairly sure that Dawn had had sex yesterday, and had not been forced. He considered who might have had her. He thought right away about the garden club. There were only two men who participated, that he had heard of anyway. Jacob Miller and his son Buddy. Neither of them could be considered. Jacob was seventy-five and Buddy was a three hundred pound apparition.

Bob pulled out his phone and called Dawn's buddy Felice Butler. He knew that Felice attended the weekly garden club meetings.

Felice answered, "Hi, Bob. What's up?"

"Felice, I wonder about yesterday's garden club meeting. Did anything unusual happen?"

"I didn't go. Why are you asking?"

"I...Dawn was very upset when I got home yesterday. I wondered....."

"Bob. Bob, you're fishing here. What's happened?"

"Dawn....she seems to have had sex with a guy. And, you know, I....." He broke down.

Felice said, "It had to be that guy Frank Byers. He's why I didn't go. He's been sly about it, but he was definitely....looking. But Bob, please don't act precipitously." (She was a lawyer.)

"Oh. You can be sure I'll wait until I know what happened. She's in hospital. She had a breakdown."

He gave her the details.

Now, he had to consider how to react. Clearly Dawn reacted negatively whenever she saw him. Also, he believed that she must have had sex with Frank Byers. Or, at least, some guy. Dawn's reaction seemed to him to be one of guilt. She'd betrayed him, and she felt bad about it. Well, more than felt bad. It appeared to have destroyed her.

Those were his initial conclusions.

These conclusions left him in a true quandary. He had rage. Rage at Dawn - how could she do that? He also had love and sympathy. Until he came home that day, he was fully invested in her and his family. Now? He was paralyzed. He was actually happy that he provoked Dawn's intense reactions when she saw him. Because, he didn't know what he would say or do if he had to speak to her. He knew what he would do if she weren't so screwed up, though.

Bob was a guy who liked to act - to confront problems head on and immediately. His indecision was troubling to him.

But there was one thing he knew he could do.

He peeked into Dawn's room. The doctor was looking at her, but she was again asleep.

Bob called an acquaintance of his, who had been a problem for his work unit, until spoken to by a representative of our government. His name was Vick Parrisi. He asked Vick to look into Frank Byers, a deep dive. Vick owed him a big favor, and readily agreed. Bob didn't do this himself. He was quite capable of doing the research. However, he didn't want to be associated with it at that time, until he found out about Frank. It was possible that there would be an investigation.

Bob had finished the conversation with Vick, when Felice showed up. She was a short, voluptuous red-head, about forty. She had been divorced for four years, and was Dawn's BFF. Bob asked her why she had qualms about Frank Byers.

She said, "He was okay for a while, jolly and good-looking. All the women liked him. Then things went a little off with him. He started in on me and Dawn and Marie Soltice. Small things, that I believe he hoped would lead to more. So, I decided last week to give the meeting a miss. I spoke to Dawn about it, but she didn't seem bothered by him as much."

"So, what.....I mean, I believe Dawn and he had sex, and that she had an extreme reaction. She won't...she gets upset when she sees me."

"Do you want me to see her?"

"Yes, please. See what she says about why she flipped out."

Felice patted Bob on the arm and went into Dawn's room. Bob sat outside and waited. Felice came out about an hour later.

She waved him over and said, "Let's go somewhere."

They went across the street to a coffee shop. They sat in a far corner drinking lattes.

Felice said, "She talked to me some. She was quite emotional. She said that Frank had seduced her, and that she'd had sex with him at his apartment. Then she felt really bad about it. It...she wasn't able to see how she could be so weak."

"And so she shut down?"

"She didn't know why she shut down. Apparently, that happened to her when she was eight. Over her parents. Something about her parents."

"Okay. Well...I don't know what to do. I guess I shouldn't see her right today."

Felice said, "Seems like the truth. She's pretty fragile."

They left it at that, and Bob went home. His mother was there for the children.

He let her know what had happened. Eileen Peabody was Bob's first sounding board, apart from Dawn. She and his dad lived nearby, and he spoke to them often.

When she heard the explanation, Eileen said, "She's a weird one, Bob. Always been too rigid. Some guy probably got to her, and she broke instead of bending."

Bob said, "I don't know what to do about her, Mom. If she recovers and comes home, and I kick her out, then what? But if I don't, I'll maybe....it could be worse."

"Worse how? For whom?"

"All of us. You know my level of tolerance is low."

"You can't go crazy on her now. Just....chill."

"Easy for you to say. Maybe she could stay with her mom."

"I don't believe that would be wise. Are you gonna dump her?"

"Right now? I guess I might."

"Just stall for now. See what happens. What she says."

"Okay."

That's how he left things. He played with the kids, and helped with their homework. His mom went home.

Later that night Vick called. He wanted a meeting, and they set it up for the next morning. They met in a park mid-way between his work and Vick's. Vick gave an oral report, and Bob took no notes. It seemed like Frank had been responsible for two divorces over the last seven years. One in Seattle, and one in Laramie, Wyoming. Apparently, the Wyoming incident involved an actual gun fight, in which Frank shot and seriously wounded the husband of a woman who worked for him. Frank was not charged, because he was defending himself. But he was run out of town. That was four years ago. His name, at that time was Frank DeLong. He changed it after the shooting incident, but kept the same social security number. Under the new name, he had worked for a real estate company in St Louis, until about six months ago. Then he took a selling job in D.C. and joined the garden club.

Bob had info on his apartment, and his automobile, a newish Nissan. After the debriefing, Bob rolled by the apartment, scoping it out. On his way from work, Bob rolled by again, and the Nissan was parked right outside the apartment. A casual walk by the place revealed that there were security cameras on the front and rear, but none on either side. Frank's door was on the east side. There was plenty of lighting about, though.

The next day, a youngster on a bicycle went by Frank's car early in the morning. The boy stopped to check his tire, right by Frank's car. Then he rode on.

Three days later, the same boy rode by again. He stopped then as well. He stuck something in his pocket as he rode off. He left the object in a trash can outside a McDonald's.

Frank normally ran to his gym three nights a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. He left at about six, and returned around seven-fifteen. The gym was across a park from Frank's door, maybe half a mile away. Frank was jogging slowly back from his Thursday workout at the gym when a man in a dark hoodie and jeans came out from a tree as Frank went by. The man stabbed Frank in the center of his lower back, causing him to drop to the ground. Frank hit his head hard on the asphalt. The man then took Frank's fanny pack, and as he did that, the man checked the location of the wound. Then he ran off.

Frank started yelling, when he recovered full consciousness. He was panicked beyond anything he ever felt. That was because he couldn't move his legs.

His screams attracted two women walking nearby. They called 911, medics came. Frank was transported to the emergency room of the same hospital where Dawn had been treated.

Dawn was staying with Felice. She had wanted to see Bob, when she was to be discharged. But Bob was not yet willing to speak to her. She really did not want to go stay with her mother, in Baltimore. So, Felice. She had a guest room.