All Comments on 'Fair-Weather Friends'

Alicia's good intentions don't make up for her disappearing for two weeks to get things started on Marc's book without saying anything to him. She sets up the come-meet-my-son dinner that turns out to be an I'm-not-considering-decisions-you-might-make-about-your-book and moves on to making a good deal for her son. That's one, and the second strike is her not talking with Marc about Megan and then giving him that ultimatum. He should have given her the count right then. When he and Alicia get ready to go through the pre-nup together, the message had better be included that the next time she goes around him, she goes away.

Oh, I have to say it. I LOVED that Wifey crashed into the window! HAH! What a metaphor for how Hubs felt -- he didn't see it coming either.

She lied and cheated for six months, including at her 25th wedding anniversary celebration where, likely, she greeted with an embrace both her former-neighbor-now-lover and his wife in the receiving line. Did his being there have her juices soaking her drawers when she reaffirmed her wedding vows? Foul, foul, foul that she did that and went back to the motel room!

After less than half of Wifey's cheating time, Hubs is ready to speak with her, but she kills herself. He might have gotten back to her sooner, but Stuart and Megan's constant interference let him know that not only his wife but also his two elder children lacked the morals with which he believed they'd been raised.

I Say (As per Story ) He could have gotten out of his Hissey Fit Funk and talked to His Wife, things would be different! .... At the same Token what His two Kids did was unforgivable!..... To sum up the story!... Shooott I can't sum up the story, as this has never happened to Me! I Pray that it Never Will?

Well That's My Comment 5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ WOOF!

You know that JERRY SPRINGER Would Have Given His Left Nut To Have- Had This On His Show! ? JERRY! JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!

You are wrong the author tried and I think succeeded in telling a story that felt real. The main character is a man, like many from that generation, that was taught men do not show emotion. When she cheated it caused all that emotion to be released and almost caused him to have a nervous breakdown. As for killing the wife off, it was a believable outcome. Did she have to die, no but killing her fit the plot better than just divorcing her and made it feel more real. Of course I feel there is a very special place in hell for all who cheat on those they claim to love.

5 Stars from me!!!!

Great read.

Just don't like stories where the interloper gets off! Yeah, he got scared and left the country....BIG DEAL!!!! He would be making a lot of money. Eventually he'll come back to the states with lots of money and move to another city! So he gets a pass. TO HELL WITH THAT!

...And Megan??? Well, now she wants to apologize??? What her mother did was just plain WRONG but both her and her brother just blew it off. Didn't matter how he dealt with it. IT WAS WRONG AND SO WERE BROTHER AND SISTER!

Your argument is illogical. You blame the husband for the wife's suicide. How could he possibly know she would kill herself?

Must all separated couples reconcile because of the possibility that one of them might commit suicide? By your logic, it would always be the surviving spouse's (male or female) fault if a suicide occurred.

There are hundreds of LW stories on this site where the husband refuses to listen to his cheating wife's excuses for her behavior. The husband frequently limits communication via his attorney until the divorce is final. Are all these husbands "selfish, ego driven assholes"?

Think again.

It was fascinating reading the comments for this one. I'm amazed that people would blame the husband for his wife's death, I certainly didn't see it that way.

Marc was totally devoted to Connie, having been with her since high-school. It's not stated in the story, but it's pretty obvious that she was the only woman he'd ever slept with. He was still totally in love with her even after being together for 30 years and being married for 25. Everything in the first few paragraphs talks about how he basically considered her to be his soulmate...

Then he found out she'd been fucking another guy for 6 months.

The husband was quite understandably devastated. That kind of betrayal by someone he had put on such a pedestal basically destroyed him. Connie knew that and killed herself because she couldn't stand the guilt anymore, knowing she'd ripped his heart out. It was a selfish final act from a very selfish person.

Marc didn't force her to commit suicide. There was still a slim chance that they might reconcile, he hadn't even filed for divorce at that point! In the story he actually had decided to talk it out with her just before her death.

The only part of the story I really disliked was Alicia's actions at the end. Going behind his back to contact Megan and giving him ultimatums made her seem really manipulative in a condescending "I know best" kind of way. Definitely not the kind of behaviour I'd look for in a future-wife!

Excellent story about betrayal and it's tragic aftermath. Marc was in no way responsible for Connie's suicide. She cheated and then couldn't deal with the fallout. We don't know what she told her kids about her affair or her entire situation. We don't know what information anyone had, except Marc. My only quibble with the story is not knowing "why". We needed to know what was in the letter, why did she do it after 25 years? Other than that, a great story.

Maybe you SHOULD write the Great American Novel. This was easy to award 5 stars.

I have read 4 of your stories now and 2 of them are among my favorites.

What is most interesting - is the comments; in effect either she is a shank or he killed her (not). Either your in Stuart's camp or Faye's. She split the family by her cheating.

I would say there is a miss within the story that being 'the WHY she felt she needed to get some strange and CHEAT.' She was clearly wrong at all levels but it would add to dynamics of the story to disclose this. I'd like to know how he handled the letter in his book too.... I will say that I wanted to see retribution to her paramour - a mere divorce by his wife was not enough.

Until it was revealed near the end, I thought the name of the town should be Cheaterville. Did this story remind anyone else of some RichardGerald stories where EVERYBODY except the protagonist thinks "It's just sex. Why make such a big deal about it?"

Other than possibly coastal CA, I don't believe we live in such a world. She did the crime, but she can't do the time. So she takes the coward's way out, leaving her children motherless and causing even MORE pain. I have only the tiniest, ephemeral sympathy for Connie.

I am also reminded of another LW story where the husband does a "dirty laundry" burn on the wife: pictures/video sent to everyone. I was bothered(pissed) that his youngest adult married daughter (named Darlene) held to the belief that the cheating was a lesser evil than the humiliation of her mother. I would have had a word with my son-in-law...

"I hope my daughter's feelings about cheating don't bother you when you leave for work every morning. If you have to go out of town on business, I hope you sleep well..."

I think I would have said the same to all the fair weather friends at Connie's funeral.

She CLEARLY knew what her mom had done. She was livid and, as I recall, was pretty vocal about how her mother 'didn't deserve our love' - right? Why, then, did she do an entire 360 and turn her dad into the villain, spreading shit around about how HE was the one who killed her? Even if she did wish her parents had reconciled, she fuckd up entirely by involving the entire world and their dogs. Fucking bitch. And let's not forget that it was her 'heartless bastard' father who reminded her that the Connie whore was still her mom. Well, I guess she is her mother's daughter. Question is, is she HIS daughter?

I'm surprised that all his friends think they had "...A disagreement over something minor..." and he won't forgive her. You would think that the rumor of cheating would have been an open secret in their neighborhood. It wouldn't have been called "minor" if they knew.

People believe what they are told and casual friends are just that - casual with little depth. I'm not surprised he became the villain in their story. I liked the way the story turned on the writing of a book. It was an interesting change.

After reading this story I was left sated. I needed no more embellishment. What happened to the lover or the "reasons" for the affair were of no interest and would add nothing to the story. True such information would satisfy the curiosity of some readers.

But I do not believe that was the authors intend. The focus of the story is the indescribable pain and anguish that Connie, knowingly and willfully reined upon a man who did nothing but love her and cherish her for 25 years.

After the affair was discovered she wallowed in self pity while watching and allowing her children to turn against their father and spread the insidious lies that he was responsible for her plight. Finally she performed her crowning despicable act. Suicide.

This was a story of survival and healing. The author kept us focused on that theme without unnecessary distractions. He did it superbly and succinctly.

Bravo!

Who can count the tears in a life with no love? *****

This is, I think, my third reading of this story and each time I came away with a different opinion of it. The first time I read it, I thought ‘Marc was right-on, dump the cheating bitch. And, Oh, she killed herself? Good, saves on the cost of the divorce and Marc keeps all the community properties ‘. My second read, I was more ambivalent. I felt like Marc should have sat down and listened to Connie’s side of the story before he completely wrote her off. This last time I read it I decided that Marc is a hypocritical piece of shit. The first example of that was when his younger daughter said she hated her mother. Marc basically told her that she couldn’t hate her because she was her mother. What an asswipe. Nobody, *NOBODY* gets to tell another person how to feel. And anyone who tries is a moron. And then there’s his book. He wouldn’t listen to her side of the story, refusing her every attempt to talk to him. Sure, he read her letter but that’s just not the same. But then he wrote a book, and told his side of the story to the whole damn world. Making a lot of money doing it. I’m certainly not one of those “RAAC” people, but if a friend or relative of mine had acted as Marc did in this situation I don’t think I’d ever speak to them again. Just my 2 cents.

I thought this story was profound. I read another recent review where the person had read the story three times and came away with different opinions each time, the last being that the protagonist was a hypocrite and an ass. While I disagree with this opinion I have no plans to reread this story anytime soon. I am, however, adding the author to my favorites and look forward to more of his stories.

Why is mom’s love unconditional the dad’s come with conditions. And Most stories it’s forgive your mom because she’s your mom. With the dad theres no such luck in most Cases, they are eating tuna in the basement apt. With no contact with their children while struggling to survive while they support some cheating bitch.

Great story. I don't blame the husband for anything; she was cheating on him while reaffirming their vows at their 25th wedding anniversary, for pity's sake. People respond differently to traumatic events in their lives. Since his wife was the source of those events, she had no right to insist on her timeline and expectations of a resolution and subsequent reconciliation. He'd finally come around to listening to her "reasons" for cheating, but she'd killed herself by then. Too bad.

Nicely done, radk. Thanks for posting.

Very interesting and entertaining story. It would have been better if we knew why Connie cheated on a man she was supposed to have loved for 25 years and it would also be interesting to know what happened in the hotel room when she found out her husband knew, did she just run into the door or what, was she that frantic that she got caught and if she loved her husband that much why did she do it. Still a great story.

I enjoyed hearing Baltimore, Annapolis and Ellicott City being used as scenes in the story. I grew up in those towns.

Like some others, I find myself wondering why she cheated. I guess that's the sign of a compelling story. Sometimes you just can't fix what you break. That's the sad part of a story like this.

Well done!

Did the readers not get the "why"? A 6 month affair? A letter! Why?

I would like to have had the knowledge of the letter, and I also would like to know about his wife's lover. He didn't get off Scott free, however a good lawsuit to the company he worked for would have been nice. Also a quiet meeting in a dark, deserted place with the finer points of a baseball bat could have been most entertaining for the readers. Still, He found Alicia, and fell in love again. A nice ending to an excellent story. Thank You.

Way too much left unsaid. Too many holes in the tale. Hell there was more information about the son then the wife. It left me feeling empty, it was almost as if the author couldn't bad mouth a women, but a man was a easy target. Didn't like the way his girlfriend forced him to reconcile with the daughter, not that she did it, but how.

Loved everything with one exception. I know, i know it's always the small black smudge that gets noticed. Wasn't too crazy with her ultimatum with the daughter. Maybe it's me, but i tend to react badly to ultimatums. When the girlfriend stated that she was just a guest but if you didn't do what she wanted an react a certain way she would leave. I just might have shown her the door, just my knee jerk reaction, hell i would still listen to Megan, but i could only handle so much bossy behavior.

For those who are asking. Lets see

She just renewed her vows weeks before and lied several times to her husband. god knows how many other times there were that weren't caught. She in her depression did not come clean with her family and friends about what happened. Another lie. So I can help all you who want to know why? Who gives a fuck. Connie was a slut, deceiver, liar, a backstabbing bitch. She taught her son to be one and almost another daughter. Someone who in the end when unmasked by the "one she loved" was also a coward and killed herself because she could no longer live with her deceit. Good riddance.

Still enjoyed

Caught and punishment for both cheaters

This is.your best work and.it holds up.against anything in LW. Great story.

Yep, Wow. Just how long was he going to need to be able to make a decision. How can a person profess to have marketable skills when he can´t decide on anything? Even his daughters apology took days for him to answer. This man drove his wife to suicide and then decided to write a book to make money off of it. And his kids had to grovel at his feet and accept what he had done or be cut off from him. Not only that before the daughter could even think of asking forgiveness she had to buy copies of his book, take it to their former friends and have them apologize to him also. Wow. Doesn´t paint a good picture of what a man should be. Forgiving is one thing he was not unless it served his purpose.

Now this story I just read was written way back in 2013 . Radk did one masterful job of story telling. It could be a classic. I think he stopped writing here ,so a loss.

Ending is self indulgent. I am embarrassed for author.

Kappa

Truly awesome

Not sure what point there is to adding a comment as this author stopped writing six years ago, but hey, why not.

The story is interesting and well written but the MC is weak and indecisive, who on earth takes months to make a decision. Every single female in this story has the uncanny ability to manipulate him and he willingly accepts it, the wife managed for twenty-five years, the daughter took five years before she had a decent enough excuse and his new squeeze bulldozed her way in taking over his decisions, yet he’s looking forward to another twenty-five years.

A glutton for punishment.

How much time can a man take to make a decision? If in no mood to listen to her, he should straight away divorce her and move on! Or he was enjoying keeping the whole family including the children on edge?

I enjoyed the story. But you can always tell the author is old school, when they tell the kids "now your mother destroyed our family, and is unstable and unreliable, but she she is a great mother and deserves your respect" I am sure the kids start looking at their father wondering when his brain fell out of his head.

A BTB story that never reached a climax, made a point, resolved the conflict or fleshed out the story.

Hmmmm... why did we have to read this?

I guess i didn't HAVE to read it, but I was hoping that the author would finally get to the point, but they never did.

Did it entertain, yes it did. But, it is virtually identical to so many other such stories.

The suicide angle is a bit extreme. Sad but probably true to the theme.

Did we need the self-righteous bumpf of the last 3 pages? NO.

Could this have been a much tighter, more succinct, more powerful piece without all that crap? YOU BET.

Was the story well written? YES, though we never learned anything of the wife who was actually so pivotal to the story.

Read it a third time. I think this is how so many affairs happen - with no forethought and great risk to what they value most, they put their responsibilities aside and pay a terrible price. I suspect most affairs are not based in love, but in play. It's a pity, really, as her regret and ultimate demise suggests she valued him above all and just forgot it. I think that happens more than we like to think.

I don't know why some writers like the storyline of the new girlfriend getting the man together with the kid. If he doesn't want to she may try to convince him but she has no business arranging for his life that which he's made clear he doesn't want. It is wrong and she should get the boot for her lack of respect.

Usually those who go write about the happy ex-cuck forgives and trusts more than ever just cause can't break the bubble into a story like this. didn't think you had it in you . Good job.

Deserves to be read and re-read a lot of times.

Once more for this remarkable story. Like the others say, one of the best ever written for LW.

THIS is the best story on here. Really? Hahahaha. Oh man. I swear some of you men are just...

She said she was weak when she cheated. That means to me that her lover sweet talked her into cheating. Why wasn’t he punished?

This story isn’t that good. Stories like Penny Whimsy are better written and flow more nicely.

Too much drivel!

Shock Yes then face problem

5 years what a wimp

jtwheels

I know you didn't pose it as a question yourself... but that's obviously because your grasp of language is rudimentary at best. Ah well... even so, no-one one can mistake the tone of your comment.

As you are an anony commentator, I reserve the right to make judgements and assumptions.

While I don't consider this the greatest work on here by a long shot, I still regard it as a very decent study on human reactions and emotions. The telling part for me is that the author attributed part of the action to the husband's own failings.

Obviously, all of that is well above your pay grade. Never mind. It won't matter to you, if this story has not illicited an emotional response. This says to me that you are obviously self absorbed to the point of being a sociopath.

Don't worry, you will always have your cat for companionship. Just don't forget to feed it, ok? That way, the cat won't decide that it rather live down the road with the octogenarian spinster who gives it snacks and a little rub now and then.

Wouldn't want you to discover that you're actually, truly and utterly alone.

The only thing I actually wonder about, is why you're reading loving wives stories in the first place. It makes me shudder. Shouldn't you be reading things like Karl Marx?

Where were his true friends? He had plenty of shallow friends, but where were the men and women who knew him and would not accept what his daughter was saying? Everyone needs a few of those. It seems to me there was something missing in his life before his wife decided to cheat on him.

I really like to know what's in the letter, why was the man she has an affair with was not punish by him. But i really like the story...gave it a five star...

I rarely feel the need to read nor leave comments but for some reason my attention fell to a few of the comments left. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, do not pay attention to their rubbish. I enjoyed this story as much as any other on this site. Good work.

He should have kicked his new girlfriend out because she threatened him with their relationship. Good people don't do that.

I would really love to know why she cheated. For how long did she cheat and how often did she meet her lover?

I completely agree with dlh143. The girlfriend has no right to butt into his business and invite the daughter he's said is dead to him. He may or may not be making a mistake but if so it is his mistake to make and not hers to correct.

Alicia would have been gone. I normally always side with forgiveness but the hubris on that bitch really rubbed me the wrong way. Fuck her.

He might have pointed out to Megan that among the lessons he tried to instill in his children, was the idea one should keep their promises or vows. Something Connie should have remembered. He told Megan she and her brother were dead to him. He should continue to keep that vow and she should be treated as a zombie. An animated corpse.

As for Alicia, when she made that ultimatum, even if he made up with Megan, he should have kicked her to the curb. Trying to get him to do something with threats!?!?! That is a betrayal of its own.

Good story though. Thank-you.

Pasqual

not a very good story.

I agree with other commenters, that Alicia should have been dumped on the curb.

A threat from a woman who has expressed love for you, wants to marry you and then does something like that - NOT believable and NOT acceptable.

The portrayal of his wife's reaction when she was discovered was rather interesting, almost amusing. We didn't seem get much character developement about her but we know what she was.

It was sort of priceless when he called from the parking lot after listening to her lies on the phone about being at the mall.

Then he said:

“You have a good time and don't let Greg catch you missing that stop sign at the Holiday Inn when you leave today. Bye."

Then he heard the scream. Here she was a duplicitous bitch cheating on her husband but the goes crazy when she realizes he now knows she’e cheating? Where was her guilt before she was caught? Guess she was having to much fun.

I thought that was a very good scene. It might have been even better if he had been in the lobby when they came down, or if he’d just stayed on her car and had been there when she came out.

Great story though about the ones cheating who seem to have no idea how many lives they are hurting and destroying families. Alicia and he were close and she helped bring him back to the living. I've been there and holding on to hurt for 40 years. After read many of these stories it's time to let go.

Forgive? That's more difficult.

Damn

Tremendous re-read of a great tale. Funny how the cheating cunt felt no guilt until she was caught. Our hero did everything he was supposed to do and had nothing to be sorry about. Nice that he found love again and can live a loving, peaceful life. Sometimes things work out.

Writers writing about writers writing... Seems like a lazy plot point when you think about iit, but it tends to lead to some HARD-hitting stories, doesn't it? Radk especially is amazing at capturing the emotional details of betrayal and loss that comes from a cheating story, it's always a treat to read his tales of woe.

This reminds me of another LW classic called Discovery, which I won't spoil here but also deals with a father losing his relationship with his daughter after his wife's infidelity. You should go read THAT right now if you haven't already!

Good story

1. The son of the main character has one part of the truth. The minimum one extramarital event for life time for a spouse is 55-60%. However it is extrem interesting that, 85% of the people think the FAITHFULNESS is important for a mate. The unbilevible avalanch of the cuck stories in the LOVING WIVES also show the HIGH IMPORTANANCE of the FAITHFULNESS, because the cuck husbands must be faithfull and the wives can have many extramarital activities. Funny, but the cheaters (similar to the hot wives in the cuck stories) want faithful husbands, who forgive everithing. Connie got a surprise, her husband also was in the 85% of the people.

The cheating and the cuck stories talk about the lack of the HUMAN EQUALITY, the one of the spouses is free for everything the other spoose should swallow every dirt and the main task of the other spouse to forgive.

The son of the main character may be in the 15% of the people to beleive the faithfulness is not a value he meets the 85% of people to hope to find mate from the 15% of people.

2. DO NOT FORGET! The majority of the suicidal people have seriouse DEPRESSION, which was not detected by any doctors, so the main character must not be accused for Connie's suicide, he is not profesional neurogist/psichiatrics to diagnose and to treate with antidepressants his cheater wife!

good story, should be a lesson for adult kids.....stay out of the fight

Not bad until the end:

"All right, since the two of you aren't going to say anything I'll do it," Alicia said with a gruff tone. "Marc, I invited Megan here because she has something she wants to say to you. I knew that you wouldn't invite her so I did. I know that I'm only a guest in your home but if you want me to keep being a guest then you'll sit right here and listen to her."

The correct answer to that is "buh-BYE." "Girlfriend" does not equal "Mom" No wonder his wife cheated on him, he's a wuss.

Good on Marc for not listening to Connie. The need to explain is all the cheater’s. The desire to have the cheated one listen to an "explanation" is not that, but a desire of the cheater to find a way to be forgiven and forgiven quite regardless of what the cheater did. That way cannot be provided through talk: cheating cannot be explained. The only effect that listening to an explanation has is to amplify the damage. The cheater’s need to explain is a continuation of the desire to project out the guilt, the blame, the responsibility for the cheater’s actions upon the audience, to make them responsible for finding a way through. It is an attempt to validate the self-centered point of view that justified the destructive behavior of cheating in the first place and a continuation of the behavior to more directly include all of those hurt by the cheating. The immediate pleas made by those others that the cheated one “sit down and talk” with the cheater for “closure” is a demand that the destructive effects of the explanations (upon them) be stopped.

The theme of disrespecting the male in a relationship continues with Alicia. It is far and away the shared opinion of LW authors that males deserve to be disrespected. It is their lot in life. Some try to explore why this is so, but most vie to find more and more imaginative ways to portray it. Disrespect of others is one of the primary stumbling blocks for Western society. Maybe an LW author will show a way beyond it.

LWlurker

My thoughts on this nicely written story.

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While Marc's pain in learning about Connie's violation of their Wedding Vows is very understandable, he did, metaphorically, put those pills in her hand. By allowing the emotional wound to fester, it only got worse. I am not saying that they would or even should have reconciled, but at least there would have been closure, an ending. If he had she could very well still be alive. Losing a mother, when the father could have prevented it, even if he did not realize the seriousness of the situation, could, very well, be considered a betrayal to a son/daughter.

By not really talking in-depth about how he was feeling Megan and Stuart could not know his version. Megan admits to not knowing his side of things. She should not have had to learn about his side of things from a book. Why should have Marc talked, at least to his children? Because extra-marital affairs and divorce affect the whole family and not just the spouses. Marc mentioned helping Stuart with getting his Eagle Badges. Presumably, he tried to teach him the values that go with those badges. It seems. to me, that by avoiding confronting Connie he is not facing problems/issues, which would be something one would teach. It seems to me this would be a case of do as I say not as I do.

-

I have issues with Alicia's violating Marc's confidence. He did not give Alicia permission to show his manuscript to anyone else. He let her read it so that she could learn about him. I think, by letting her son read it and then him having two others read it, without his permission is an act of betrayal. Same could be said about her inviting Megan to visit with telling Marc about it. She and Connie seemed to share the idea what she wants/thinks is what's best and to heck with the consequences. Admittedly, what Alicia actions were not as egregious as what Connie did, but the mind set seems similar.

-

Finally, is it legal to write about someone else, that is not a celebrity or historical person, without their permission. I imagine that what Marc wrote when talking about Stuart and Megan, may not have been complimentary. So would not their release be needed before publication of the novel? I do not know if that is a necessary or not, but am under the impression that it could be. But under what circumstances it would be required, I do not know.

-

All that being said, this still was good solid story. A sad one, but a good one. Thank-you

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Pasqual

Story is well-written, but I did not like the content. I don't like men who get depressed and cry a lot. Shit happens, and deal with it. In this case, the author took a cheap shot by having Marc refuse to talk to his wife, and so author did not have to address the hardest part of any of these stories, and that is why the wife did what she did. For all we know, it was Marc's failing that cause the cheating -- probably not, but we will never know because the author cheated us of that opportunity.

Second comment: I am still wrestling with what it is that Marc could have written that would get publisher interested, much less make the NYT list? Marc was such a pathetic loser that he never even talked to his wife to have her say and explanation. Nobody wants to read about another husband wallowing in self-pity, particularly given that he was instrumental in his wife's suicide. His story strikes me as self-indulgent and an attempt at exoneration rather then anything anyone would want to read. I like the author's writing style, it is just the lack of insight and the superficial overlay of an weak soul.

Well written but the hero was an ass. He didn't have to forgive but he could have set her free in a humane way. She killed herself in large part because of her guilt reinforced by his silence and bitterness,

No, just no. I don't like Marc, I think Alicia ought to avoid him at all cost because little Marcie with his stiff neck and obstinant pride will sour everything around him. I don't understand how his book, if truthful - could be a hit or how it could convince his ex-friends that he was not as vile as they originally thought. My sympathies to Connie ......

I sampled some of the comments on your story and found them totally missing the point of the character. They seemed to go along the lines that men should not cry a loss, that he put the pills in her hand, he was an ass. Total BS. Who of us outside of the characters in these stories are truly prepared to deal with this situation, all the what I would do if that happened does not include the cloud of pain, emotional impact of BEING in the situation. Great story and I found the character very believable.

Connie should have known after 25 years how he would emotionally retreat if her affair came to light. Hasn't his father taught him to not show emotions? This is quite common amongst men who have been raised in quite traditional surroundings. Not everyone has the capability to manage situations in the way which caters to the needs of those involved. At a certain point grownups have to bear the consequences the of their doings. I would have been inclined to give 5*. However, the why of Connie's affair was never disclosed, therefore"only" 4*.

Marc was too weak and immature to face his problem like an adult, so instead he ran away. He deserved all the crap he got.

Helluva story but why are LW women like Alicia such bossy bitches fucking with their men's lives without asking permission? Jimh67, you are a dumbass. His wife cheated. He was done. End of story. Suicide is cowardice. Stay here and deal with the issues.

By the way, old retrievers don't hassle young retrievers. It's the opposite.

Loved the story! Like many of the author's works, it has a dark side to it.

We're all flawed in some way. That's what makes this story, to me at least, believable and engaging. I see the comments about how he should have been strong and not cried and spoken to her but not a single comment about the cheating bitch not being strong enough to "hold on" until he was ready to talk. In my mind, he wasn't responsible for her death. She was weak in more ways than one. Any sympathy for her from me died the instant the MC revealed that the bastard she was screwing was even at their anniversary party. Damn cold of her - she deserved what she got.

And, oh yeah...I'll ask again. Does anyone know if this author is still with us or how to reach him to convince him to write again?

This is an impressively well-told story. You portrayed your characters very convincingly. I could almost feel the many emotions. I liked that very much. And all without sex, bravo! 5*!!!

Well written story. Read it several times in the past months. 5*

Strange story. I was particularly annoyed with Alicia blind-siding him with Megan and threatening to abandon him if he didn't comply. You'd think he would have had enough with these attempted manipulations.

sucks, his new would be lifetime love stabbed him in the back. I would have quietly wandered back home and left the others stewing in their juices. People - women - think oh we are so very sorry so get over it.

I would have dumped the whole bunch of them.

Uh?!

She cheated he completely lost it?!

Maybe military Vietnam etc but can't understand that. Want All the facts and then make decisions

Don't hide head in sand etc

Quit

He totally opposite of my idea of man.

Told she was pulling out of motel and ignored.

Then had total meltdown.

Then blamed everyone But himself when had not bothered to get all the facts. Forgiveness? BUT at least how long, episodes etc. And get both. Two to tango

Awesome story! I loved the reconciliation with his daughter! Alicia was indeed a keeper.

Thanks for a beautiful story about having your heart ripped out.

Ed

"The biggest unresolved issue was the extent of my responsibility for Connie's ingesting those sleeping pills. I didn't put them in her hand and force her swallow them but I sure as hell helped to create her depressed emotional state by refusing to talk to her."

This is just blame shifting pure and simple. Connie cheated and was the author all her own problems. She never took responsibility for her shitty decisions and bad behavior and shattering her husband with her cheating and betrayal. She was self-center and entitled to the bitter end. People cheat because they give themselves permission to cheat — and that’s a matter of character. or rather a lack of character. Connie was an entitled cheater who felt she was entitled to reconciliation and forgiveness. You’re not obliged to honor a broken contract. You don’t owe a cheater reconciliation. Cheaters who assume reconciliation is their right and due fail to understand the gravity of the offense. Connie never once thought about the pain and agony that her husband was going through. She only cared about her feelings.

2nd reading for me and well worth the time, thanks for writing this. Still trying to understand his stance on never talking to her again or answering her letter without starting divorce proceedings.

Connie went into the affair with the expectation of being forgiven if it came to light. Since the reader wasn't privy to the why, one can only assume things not in fact. I didn't like that the author did this; this was a wife so in love with her husband she comitted suicide either because of the pain and suffering she caused him or because she did not want to live without him. She didn't even take her children into account. So the WHY is extremely important to give the story credence. And we did not get it!

Great story. Good writing and flowed well.

Comparing cheating to stealing a tool, in order to sell and buy a dress for your spouse, is just down right stupid.

Nice story, a little sad yes, but a nice story.

I would’ve liked to find out why Connie cheated, that you did not tell us. It was that missing piece of the puzzle that cost you a point

4/5

Just WOW!

I enjoyed it the first time, but much more the second time.

Great story that I enjoyed. LP

I agree with wargamer and others about the missing part of this tale. They had a perfect marriage so what drove her to cheat? The lack of anything about the why lets this very well written story down. So 4 stars from me.

Zero character explanation for "Connie", awful simplification on "Stuart" character and the last two pages are what I call effeminate writing (i.e., for chicks) without much if any plot. Turnaround on "Megan" is also a typical sugary lemonade style.

There are some heavy exaggerations like hateful comments during funeral. Really? If you have ever been to any funeral you would know that most of participants only want for ceremony to end and they are hardly in mood to draw attention to themselves.

Not much.

For dark2donut: Connie wasn't simplified, she just never got a chance to shine. The author left her out, no perspective, and no meaningful dialogue. This is a solid story in that it stays in ONE perspective ONLY. Just like real life, we aren't privy to the thoughts of others. She wrote a letter, and the husband read it. The story COULD have disclosed the letter to us, but chose not to. Was that a good choice? I have no idea. From what little the husband states, the letter sounded like 1 part remorse, and 3 parts excuses. So maybe that's why it wasn't included. There is rarely a good reason to cheat. He was willing to met her halfway with the letter, and later went even BEYOND that by attempting to contact her face-to-face. But she up and self-yeeted. Cuz she's a weak coward. No one forced her to have an affair, and no one forced her to commit suicide. She seems like a deeply written character, but it's not explored. She's the villain. Betrayal does that.

Stuart is written as an impressionable young man, that slowly slid into depravity. Guys like him exist. It's not that your assessments are wrong, but they are off-base. The author could have absolutely fleshed these characters out, and gotten a better story. Sure. I'v seen authors do what you asked, and do it poorly...and ruin the story. Sometimes less is more.

And never under-estimate neighbors burning desire to gossip about others. It's crude, but an addictive vice. Even at funerals. In any case, it seems megan and stuart accosted the neighbors to create the gossip, so you're not wrong on that count either. The only thing megan was good for is the grand babies. I don't see the main character actually forgiving his daughter. He seems hesitant even at the end. I think he agreed mentally to tolerate her in order to be with his grand kids, and I can't fault the man for that.

Usually I'd like the details or more info but I honestly don't care or need to know more of why Connie cheated or for how long. The story is about the impact or consequences cheating has to the loved ones after they find out. She took her own life because she was selfish and couldn't deal with her actions and guilt Again, I hate time limits on reconciliation otherwise great story.

Hahahaha Oh God that's hilarious he decided to sit down with the old whore and she kills herself😳😂

This prick was going to take his Wife back typical Cuckold😂

1, for the comment about the "california lifestyle". I've been married 51 years, and live in a large neighborhood, there is no california lifestyle here, are there people in california who fuck around, yes, but people fuck around everywhere. Dont demean us with stupidity.

Wow. Did the other readers read the same story I just did? It was well done and focused on the main character and what he was going through. It is just a story folks and the author put in the work to write it.

Unlike some of the other commenters, I don't believe he ever forgave Connie. He did forgive Megan but I'm not sure I could've been that strong. She was an adult who knew what she was doing when she turned everyone against her father. In many ways, it was a greater betrayal than Connie's because unlike Connie's, Megan's actions were intended to inflict pain. Radk was (is?) a master at delving deep into the emotional pain of betrayal. This story was one of his best.