Easy Thing

"I'm not fucking him. Damn it."

"Well, is there anything else? I'm kinda busy."

"No, I'm sorry to bother you at work," she said sadly after reigning in her arrogance.

"Goodbye then."

"I love you, Frank," She said to a dead phone line. Then broke down crying.

**********

Molly and Abby were making dinner when Frank walked in talking on his cell with Jesse.

"Yep, she said he thinks we did it." Frank told Ali's brother.

"No shit? Well we stayed at my folks for dinner so it wasn't me." Jesse said.

"I went straight home, but I was alone. I hope I find out who did it someday so I can buy 'em a beer or two."

"Yeah buddy, me too."

"Kiss the boys for me. I'll talk to you later." Frank said as he ended the call and put the phone in his pocket.

"Hey girls."

"Hi Daddy," they said in that sing song unison voice they did so well.

"Did you guys talk to your mother today?"

"No," Abby said.

"Looks like someone beat up your mom's boyfriend Saturday. Did a number on his twig and berries, I'm told."

"No kidding?" Molly said with a smile.

"Hey, where did you two go after we left your grandparents?"

The girls were horrible liars, and Frank saw the looks on their faces as they tried to come up with a story.

"Girls, truth."

"We couldn't let him take mom from you. Please don't be mad, Daddy. We told a couple of football players that like us what he was doing to our family and they helped us take care of him." Abby said.

"Daddy, we were careful. They looked around for cameras and didn't see any, and they wore masks," Molly added.

"Well, I don't approve, but I understand and appreciate it. Just stop taking justice in your own hands okay? I don't want to see you or your friends get into trouble. That scumbag wasn't worth it."

The girls cried and hugged their father.

"If anyone asks, you and those boys were here with me hanging out," Frank said hoping it never came to that. He knew all of the right people in the police department to make it go away, but hoped he didn't need to do that.

**********

The next day, Ali was sitting at the kitchen table when Frank got home.

"Well to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence today, Alison?"

"Frank, I'm really sorry. I'd like to come home."

"Oh yeah? Your boyfriend get scared off?"

"Please don't. This doesn't have anything to do with him."

"Really? Your timing sure seems to indicate that."

"I know. I almost considered waiting a week so you wouldn't think that, but I really don't want to be away anymore."

"It's always about you and what you want lately. What about what I want. What about what the girls want?"

"I know I've been selfish. I know that it's all my fault. Please, I'm begging you to be the bigger person and welcome me home."

Frank, until that moment, was waiting for her apology. He was desperately waiting for her to come home. He wanted her back so badly, but when she finally came to her senses and she wanted to come home, he said, "No."

"WHAT!" Ali shrieked.

"No. You're not welcome back and I don't want you back. If you move back in, I'll move out."

Crying, Ali asked, "Why? Why can't we be together?"

"That's easy, because you didn't want me until your boyfriend got his ass kicked. I wasn't good enough for you until your boyfriend was out of the picture. Well, dear wife, I am not going to be your failsafe, your fall back or your plan b. You threw away our marriage and used the bullshit of us growing apart as an excuse to go have a relationship with another man. To take it one step farther, none of the conditions that supposedly caused us to grow apart have been fixed, except for your boyfriend getting forced out of the picture. You're still a workaholic. I bet you're meeting a buyer tonight right?"

She put her head down and sobbed. She did have an appointment at 7:30 that evening.

"Frank please, I love you and I miss you. I want to come home and fix my mistakes."

"No, I'm afraid not. You aren't in control of our marriage anymore. You gave up that right. Please go. Don't make this harder on me than you already have."

"Frank please..."

"Just go."

Ali got up went to hug Frank and he backed away. She ran from the house sobbing.

"Fuck." Frank said to the empty room. "What have I done?"

**********

Ali's parents were sitting in Frank's living room getting ready to read him the riot act.

Frank's parents died when he was a kid and he was raised by his grandparents. They had passed on several years earlier so he had no family left. Ali's parents, John and Ann Malone, were as close to him as his own parents would have been. He began calling them Mom and Dad the night he proposed to Ali. Ann insisted on it. She and John loved him as a son anyway so it was natural.

"Frank, we think you made a mistake. She wanted come home and you sent her away. What you should have done is gotten into marriage counseling." Ann chided.

"I was all set to take her back. I really was and then at the last possible moment I couldn't. She was literally dating another man and there's no denying that. How am I supposed to accept being plan b while she tested out a new man."

"She never slept with him. You can rebuild off of that, Frank." John said knowing it was a long shot.

"Do I really know that? How can I be sure? Okay, you and Sara followed her around for a few days, Mom, but you weren't with her every minute of the day. She had plenty of opportunity to take him into the supply closet, or hell; how do I know she wasn't screwing him before she left me."

Ann gasped and John shook his head. "Son, what are you going to do?" John asked.

"God, I wish I knew."

++++++++++++++++++++++

Four days later Frank knocked on the door of Ali's room.

"FRANK!" She screamed and grabbed him in a hug. He merely stood there with his arms at his side. He knew what he was going to do, but kept it cool. He was going to stick to his plan.

"Let's talk Ali."

"Please tell me I can pack and come home. I miss you and the girls so much."

"First things first. Tell me everything about the asshole. From the beginning."

"Frank, I swear to you, I never did anything inappropriate with him."

"Sure, all wives leave their families to date other men."

Ali ignored his stinging remark.

"Two months ago, he started at the office. Almost immediately he started coming on to me.

I was flattered. He's really handsome and younger than I am, so I ate it up. We never went to lunch or anything until that first time when the girls saw us. The only time I had seen him outside of work was a couple nights earlier.

Some of us from the office went out for drinks and dinner and there was a dart tournament going on at the bar. Ryan was playing in it.

I was with 3 other girls and he saw us and came by. He bought us some drinks and was practically ignoring the other girls and focused on me. It was so thrilling and I guess I got caught up in it.

Jill mentioned that I was separated from you and Ryan immediately asked me to lunch. Obviously, I accepted.

He asked me to play a game of darts with him and was very handsy showing me how to stand and to throw. He's very good and I'm not, so he helped me. He hardly took his hands off of my hips. His breath on my neck gave me chills."

Frank was getting upset and squirming in his seat.

"I played one game and then left. I was so turned on, I came here and masturbated. The funny thing was I didn't think about him. I thought about you."

"Yeah right," Frank interjected.

"No, it's true. Anyway, the separation wasn't about him. He became part of it by taking me out several times, but I swear, I didn't see him until that first lunch.

I guess I felt like it was okay to see him as long as we were apart. Yes, you made it very clear that I wasn't allowed to date while we were apart, but I was caught up in the attention that i did it. I didn't even consider the lunches dates until you guys went off on me. I'm really not sure why I lied to you all and told you that he was a client. I guess I just panicked.

When he asked me to dinner, I wasn't going to accept, but I was so lonely and loved the compliments and attention, I agreed.

I didn't hold his hand. I didn't kiss him. I didn't do anything that wouldn't pass the husband test."

"What's that?" Frank asked.

"That's where if he saw what we were doing, would your husband approve."

"Going out with him failed the husband test in that case."

"Yes I see that now and I'm truly sorry. We only went to dinner. We didn't go out afterwards and he dropped me off here. He tried to get me to invite him up but I refused. I didn't even kiss him, I swear."

"Yeah well you'll have to forgive me for not believing that."

"The last contact I had with him was Monday. I called him to get the story on his attack. He blamed you, called me a prick tease and said I wasn't worth his efforts. You really didn't do it right?"

"Nope. I know who did though and let's just say you'd be shocked. I'll never tell you so don't ask. Only know that I didn't arrange it either."

"Frank, I've decided to quit my job. I tried to do it part time this week and I just can't do it. It's almost addictive. I just kept working, even after planning to only work for a few hours."

"What would you do instead?"

"I don't know."

Frank found himself at the moment of truth. Either believe her and take her home or walk out the door alone. He knew what he had to do, for himself and his family.

"Well, I told you when you were leaving that we can't fix our marriage if we aren't together and I guess I have to stick to that or i would be a hypocrite. Do you need help packing?"

She broke down crying and Frank got up and hugged her.

"Frank, I love you so much. Thank you."

"I love you too, but you know what? The girls are home and I think it would be a shame to waste the room," he said with a smile as he took off his t-shirt.

"Mmm, I like that idea," she said as she unbuckled his belt.

"Love, please let me show you how sorry I am," Ali said gripping his hard shaft.

He smiled remembering how great her blow jobs were. There were many times she would pull his soldier out while he was watching TV or sometimes while he was in the shed working. She would take advantage of the girls being away and lovingly service his needs. She did it with no expectation of reciprocation, but he always made sure they made love later when they went to bed. Those were good times and he hoped they could get back to that point.

She dropped to her knees and took his thick six inch rod into her mouth. She almost got it to her throat without her gag reflex kicking in, but pushed through it. Pulling her mouth back and off with a loud pop, she took his heavy balls into her mouth and swirled her tongue around.

"I'm sorry, I haven't had much of a need to manscape lately."

"I'll take care of that for you later."

Licking from the base of his love muscle to the top, she bobbed her head back and forth, holding his rear cheeks as if she were afraid he would back away.

"Honey, I'm close," he warned listening to her moan her approval.

Doubling her speed drove him over the edge and he unleashed shot after shot of his hot cum into her willing mouth.

"Ungh," he cried out as he released his first orgasm since she left.

She popped off his shaft again and made a point to show him that she swallowed his essence.

Pulling her up, he began to undress her. Kissing her tenderly along her jawline, licking her neck, her earlobe and slowly taking off her clothes had her dying with anticipation.

Already dripping wet, his fingers massaged her flower. Slinking down he licked and nibbled every erogenous zone he had discovered over their many years together.

"God, I've missed you," he said as he laid her onto the bed. He kissed her ankles and worked his way down to her center. Finding his target, he plunged his tongue into her overheated core. Licking her lips, her entrance and finally her clit she did not take long to shake with a powerful orgasm.

She begged, "Please take me. I need you so badly. I love you so much."

He entered her tight hole slowly, savoring each inch of her warmth. Even after all of those years, she still felt amazing to him.

He flipped her over and drove back in. He wasn't going to make love to her, he was going to reclaim her. He wanted to take back what he'd thought he lost.

He pounded and rammed as she screamed out, "Yes, harder! Give me everything you have!"

He felt her walls grip him tighter as she shook through another orgasm. Her face dropped into a pillow as she cried out his name in pleasure.

Moments later as he felt a poorly timed cramp in his leg, he came. Filling her with his cum, it was his turn to cry out but not from pleasure, from the pain of age.

"Oh baby, it's hell to get old," he said as he stretched out the cramp. "I love you so much, I really was worried that I lost you."

She nuzzled into his chest and answered, "You never lost me. I had a bad case of the stupids, but I'm always yours."

They both cried themselves to sleep, hoping for better days ahead.

**********

2 months went by and they were slowly rekindling their passion. They made every Saturday a date night and she did successfully cut back her hours. He knew she loved working and wouldn't let her quit. She was going to have to work as hard on her marriage as she did at her job, but she was determined to make it work.

Sitting at the kitchen table, she was beaming. She had just returned home from the doctor.

"Hey baby, you're home early," Frank said as he walked in.

"Yeah, I've got some news for you."

"What's up?"

"I'm pregnant."

"WHAT?" He shouted and grabbed her into a hug. "Fantastic, baby. How far along are you,"

"Just short of three months."

Frank let her go and backed away.

"What's the matter?" She asked afraid of his abrupt reaction.

"What's the matter? That is right in the middle of when you were gone."

"So? The timing isn't exact. It's just an estimate based on the size of the baby," she said, as her eyes welled up with tears. "You don't think that I cheated on you, do you? Seriously? We've been through that already. This baby is yours, damn it." She with a poorly judged tone of defiance.

"I need some air."

"No, Frank. Don't go. I swear to you, this is your child, our child."

"I have to go," he said as he burst into tears.

"Fuck!" She screamed as she watched him pull away. "What am I going to do now?" She asked the empty room.

**********

"Dad, what am I going to do?" Frank asked his father in law, after telling him everything.

John took a long pull from his Little Sumpin' Sumpin' IPA and said, "You need to get home and take care of your pregnant wife. You already believed that she didn't screw that asshole. Why does an estimate of a conception date matter?"

"I just can't get it out of my head. I can't let it go."

"We'll do a DNA test," Ali said quietly from the doorway.

"When did you get here?" Frank asked.

"Just a minute ago. I knew you'd come to Dad. As soon as you left I thought of the DNA test and came over. It breaks my heart that I've caused you so much pain, that you don't trust that you're the father of our baby growing in me, but I understand. I'll schedule an appointment and we can get the procedure done."

"Let me think on it. I don't want to add any complications to your pregnancy."

She sniffled and as a tear fell she said softly, "When I was pregnant with the girls you always said 'our pregnancy or that we were pregnant.' Have I dropped so low in your eyes?"

He got up and pulled her into a hug. "I love you, I'm just scared."

"I know. I'm so sorry."

**********

A week later, Frank walked into Fox and Hound and ordered a Guinness. Mindlessly he watched the TV, trying not to think about his trust issues.

Someone sat down two seats over and ordered a Miller Lite. Frank snickered and looked over at the guy. He looked familiar but couldn't place him.

The bartender must've known him because she asked him about a surgery.

"So how did the procedure go?" The cute red headed bartender asked with a tone of genuine concern.

"You tell me. Can you notice anything different?" The man answered.

"Not really. You're still as gorgeous as ever."

"Thanks, Callie. I'm just glad it's all over. I had a sperm test done as well and I've got some swimmers, so I'm lucky there too. Could've been worse I guess." He said with a frown.

Frank caught his attention and asked, "What happened to you, guy?"

"I was jumped. Two assholes ambushed me outside my condo." The blonde man said.

"No shit? Robbery?" Frank asked becoming more and more interested.

"Nope. The fuckers didn't take shit. They didn't even speak to me. I'm pretty sure I know who it was, but one of the guys is pretty high up in the police or fire department or something. They probably wouldn't even arrest him if I complained."

"Jesus, what did you do to piss him off?" Frank said trying to hide a smile.

"That's just it. Nothing. I went to lunch with his old lady a couple times and only one dinner, but the prick teasing bitch wouldn't even give me a hand job. Shit, I bought her dinner and listened to her bitch and moan, I earned a little something right?"

"Of course," Frank answered going along with him and getting angry.

"She was separated from the guy and trying to figure out how she could stay married. I mean how stupid are you? If you're trying to figure out how to stay married you don't leave the man right."

"Right."

"Well anyway, she's cute in a soccer mom kinda way and usually I can score with them easy, but I never had a chance with that bitch. It's like she expected me to be her friend or something. I had to call a fuck buddy that night after I took her to dinner. Shit, I even bought a good bottle of wine."

"Crazy." Frank said struggling to contain his anger. If he would've called her one more name, Ryan would've been back in the hospital.

"Oh well, I was in the hospital for a bit and needed surgery on my nose to make it somewhat normal. I guess they did okay.

Hey buddy, here's my card. If you ever are in the market to buy or sell, I'm your guy - Ryan Davis."

"Thanks, but my wife is a Realtor. See you around and maybe stay away from the married ones, huh." Frank said and left without looking back at Ryan.

***********

Frank pulled into his driveway and saw that Jesse's family was over. Normally, he would be happy to see them, but today he had some groveling to do with his wife.

"Uncle Frank!" Stevie and Johnnie yelled as they saw him walk in.

"You guys are getting big. How old are you 16? Frank teased.

"No, we're 5 silly," Stevie said giggling.

"Oh boy, well I think I've got some cookies in here somewhere. Who wants some?"

"Me!" They shouted together.

"Let's go find them while dodging moms and aunts "

**********

Walking into his bedroom, Frank grabbed a couple cigars and headed to the kitchen, where Jesse and Sara were sitting, visiting with Ali.

Ali and Frank has been cool towards each other all that week because of Frank's mistrust of the paternity. Ali had her back to them stirring the mac and cheese for the boys when Frank walked up behind her and hugged her. He nuzzled into her neck and whispered, "I'm sorry, I love you and our baby."

She turned quickly and hugged him back silently crying.

Backing away, he said, "We'll talk later. C'mon Jesse, I've got some NUB's for us to burn."

He grabbed a couple of ice cold Dragon's Milk stouts and led him to the deck.

"Jesse you're not going to believe who I bumped into..." Frank told him of his afternoon adventure with Ryan.

"Damn, I don't know how you kept your cool. I would've been arrested." Jesse chimed in.