February sucks - BTB - Epilogue

I never planned on adding to this story. Many of the comments, however, made it clear to me that some people had misconceptions about the ending. I also read a comment by swordwielder that made me finally want to take this further with an epilogue. Thanks for reading, I hope you like it.

Epilogue:

Linda smiled, "Why are you smiling at me?"

I dropped the smile as reality set in. "They're going to be looking for whoever ran Marc down. It's a very big deal and they won't rest until they pin it on somebody." Her smile quickly disappeared. "The kids need a mother, you can't go to jail." She started bawling loudly.

"That fucker ruined my marriage and my life. We don't even have friends anymore. That should count for something!!!" She wailed loudly again.

I brought her a water and started to try and calm her down. "We have to take this very carefully. The only evidence they have on you is that car. It stays in the garage until I figure things out."

"Does this mean you still love me and want to stay married?" she sniffled.

I sighed deeply and long. "Linda, Marc sleeps with married women so that both the husband and wife will think of Marc every time they have sex for the rest of their lives. It's a power trip. I refuse to live with that even once. We will NEVER have sex again." I paused. "But what you did to Marc, that was classic. I applaud the effort and hope your intent was to kill him. Therefore I will help you avoid being caught. The only drawback is that if I get caught helping you, we both go to jail. That can't happen for the sake of the kids. If we get caught, I will admit that I ran him down. Emma and Tommy are all that matters in this marriage anymore. Do you understand?"

Linda looked back in horror, "No, fuck no, you didn't do it, I did."

I took her hand, "Tommy and Emma need a mother. You can't go to jail, I can."

"They need us both, but if anyone goes to jail it's going to be me. You are just as good with the kids as me. I will do anything for this family."

"That's anything but be faithful," I countered. She looked at the floor and said nothing. "Whatever you do, do NOT speak a word of this to anyone!! They will be trying to contact every husband and wife he has messed with. It won't take long before they get your name and come here. We need that car to be fixed and clean before that happens."

My plan was to leave NO evidence. The first place I would leave no evidence is on my phone or laptop. Therefore I could not search for replacement parts for Linda's car on the internet unless I went to the library. I didn't even want to get the parts nearby. I made a plan. I would go to the town where I lived in my youth 200 miles away. I knew of several junkyards to visit. I would find a car with matching paint to replace Linda's parts. Brand new parts would be a dead giveaway. If they don't have the parts, they can at least help me find them.

"Last night we were here together watching TV. Got it?" Linda nodded sniffling. "I'm taking your car tomorrow to fix it. That way if the police show up here the car will be gone. I'm taking out some cash so they can't track my credit card to where I traveled and what I did. If they ask where I went you tell them I went ice fishing. I'll bring all my equipment with me. Tell them that's why I took your car, because it has all-wheel drive and the roads to my fishing spot are not well plowed. Got it?"

Linda squeaked out a "Yes."

"Now Linda, you have to get a hold of your emotions. They'll see right through you if you break down crying. Toughen up, get mad, do something other than cry."

Linda looked up with red eyes and snot on her upper lip. "How do I keep making such bad decisions? I've effectively ruined my life."

"Linda, you have put yourself in danger, but the last decision you made saved some people from the pain you and I are experiencing. I wish someone had done this before we met that piece of shit. I'm proud of you for having the guts. Now let's see if you can get away with it." She nodded apprehensively.

I loaded her car up and headed to the bank for enough cash to get the job done. Then I headed to Normal, my childhood home. I only spent cash the entire trip. I stayed off toll roads which made the trip slower but safer.

The first junkyard I stopped at is a small one near where I grew up. They didn't have a matching vehicle but the guy helping me got on the phone and made some inquiries. His second call ended and he said, "They got one with the same color paint over at Palmer's salvage in Bloomington." I slapped a hundred dollar bill on the counter and thanked him profusely.

I was able to replace the parts in the parking lot in just a couple hours and for a slight fee I disposed of the old fender and headlight in their dumpster. I told Linda I wouldn't be texting or calling her so my location stayed secret. In fact I had removed the battery from my phone before I left, just in case the police wanted to see where I went.

The car was perfect. I went to the carwash at home and washed it before heading for home. I nervously slipped my battery back in my phone and turned it on waiting to see if anything had happened while I was out of town. It was now dinner time. Nothing of importance came up as I let out a sigh of relief.

At home things looked normal. Linda was putting out dinner for the kids. When they saw me come in the front door, Emma and Tommy ran into my arms with excitement. This is why I still live.

I was pretty confident the police wouldn't have gotten to us in less than 24 hours but you never know. Once the kids had gone to bed Linda and I discussed what to do when the police finally did arrive.

"We have to be honest about everything except what you did last night. You understand? They ask how I feel about Marc and I will say I fucking hate that piece of shit and he got what he deserves. Got it?" She nodded.

"Thank you for fixing my car and protecting me. I owe you a favor, whatever you want, I will do it." I assumed she was hoping I would want some sort of sexual favor, but that wasn't going to happen.

"Fine, I know what I want," I said with a scowl on my face.

Moments later she came downstairs with her blue dress in her arms. She also grabbed something of mine that I asked for. While she had gone upstairs I lit my grill on the deck. I wouldn't touch the dress so Linda willingly set it above the flames and watched crying as it burned. Once the dress was mostly ashes, my Bears jersey went in the grill. It was harder to burn and mostly smoldered. I gave up and just threw it in the trash afterwards.

"Go Packers!!" I said. Linda looked at me in horror. If everything I had said up to now hadn't convinced her of my state of mind, this would make it very clear.

Our confrontation with the police came much sooner than I had anticipated. Only an hour after the burning ceremony there was a knock at the door. Detective Monroe of the CPD announced his arrival.

I had coached Linda to be brave and convince herself that she HAD stayed home last night, to believe her own story but don't worry about any emotions she displayed, it's natural to be upset. Tell most of the truth.

Monroe asked me, "I was told that you two had dealings with Marc LaValliere a short time ago. Can you tell me about that night?"

I answered, "Shouldn't you be asking my wife about that? She's the one that cheated on me. I just went to my hotel room and then home."

Monroe asked, "Did you want to do him any harm for what happened?"

"You're fucking right I did. I had my fucking gun out ready to go shoot the both of them but didn't know where he lived and assumed I'd never get near his house."

"Did you decide it would be easier to just get to him at Morrison's, maybe run him down?" the detective asked.

"I might have if I thought about it but once my emotions settled down I realized it would devastate my family. Besides, it was my wife that was to blame. She went with him willingly. It's her I should want to murder." Both Linda and Detective Monroe looked shocked at my statement.

"Ma'am, do you feel unsafe staying here with your husband?"

Linda shook her head, "No, he would never do something like that."

The detective looked skeptical but continued his questioning until finally asking, "Do you mind if I look at your cars? I can get a warrant if I need to."

I answered, "That won't be necessary, follow me." As we entered the garage I flipped on the lights.

Monroe looked at me, "Which one is yours?" I nodded towards the white BMW. "Hmm, doesn't fit the description. Do you ever drive your wife's car?"

I quickly answered, "Sure, sometimes."

Monroe proceded to inspect the car. He looked carefully at the front end for damage. A few minutes later he said, "Ok, everything seems in order here. We may be back to talk to you folks again but we have a ton of people to question." He looked at Linda with a look of maybe disappointment before he left. "I hope you folks figure things out."

The news that night showed the hospital Marc was at. They talked about how many possible suspects there were. The big story became what a sleazebag, wife stealing womanizer Marc is. His reputation took a huge hit. People were saying really bad things about him.

When the CPD had trouble finding a suspect they went back and interviewed everyone again but more in depth. It was hard on Linda but we both got through unscathed. Afterwards Linda told me she wanted to just confess and get it over with. I told her the worst was over. They had nothing on us and we had likely gotten away with it.

-----

In the coming months we had a couple more phone interviews with police and handed over phone records still with no issues. The danger had passed.

Linda and I continued raising our little rugrats successfully. The fact we weren't sleeping in the same room became a nonissue to them. We stayed positive and friendly in our same home separation.

We dated others here and there. Nothing serious for either of us. I knew in my heart that finding another woman like Linda was not going to happen. I knew someday I might settle but for now it was just about having sex. I'm positive that many men would want Linda to be theirs. It was a fact I had to accept that someday she would want to divorce and remarry. Our current arrangement is temporary for sure but the older the kids get with both of their parents at home the better.

-----

Marc LaValliere left the hospital with pins and screws in his leg and foot. He walked with a cane and soon gained 50 pounds. Without football he was an afterthought, more famous now for his philandering than football. He couldn't dance anymore and every husband and wife knew his game now.

He was never on television anymore since he was the face of depravity. No analyst or announcer jobs, no endorsements, nothing.

He moved to Las Vegas where he started the next phase of his life, as a gambler!! It took him less than a year to become penniless. The last story I saw about him showed him in the streets doing drugs, offering blowjobs for money. He had no more entourage or even one person helping him. I thought about how easy it would be for one of the disgruntled husbands like me to go put a bullet in his head. I think we all saw it wasn't worth going to jail for since staying alive was a much better punishment.

-----

Five years into our family arrangement, Linda had been dating a man for almost a full year. One day I asked her, "Is this a serious relationship? Should I be looking for a place to live?"

She smiled a crooked smile, "No, it's not like that. We have good sex, very satisfying. I haven't made love to a man since you. It's always just getting fucked. Most men that aren't married by this age are just looking to get laid. But Darren is pretty nice and we have a good sex life together." She had a tear rolling down her cheek. "I can never replace you, there isn't anyone like you. You were the best and I blew it. Someday I will settle for someone to spend the rest of my life with. I just wish it was you."

My sex life was decent. I had a different approach than Linda. I slept with different women all the time so as not to become too involved. I even went back to Dee and Jenna a couple times. Dee had moved out a couple months after moving in. She now has her own apartment on the other side of town. I liked Jenna and always felt dirty about her age but she kept telling me that she just likes to fuck me and not to worry about her so much.

As predicted by me, the friend group disintegrated pretty mightily. After the debacle of that night it turned out not everyone was on Linda's side. After Dee and Dave got divorced, Rick and Jenn got a divorce after a huge fight about that night. Dennis made Rose sign a post nuptial agreement since he now doesn't trust her for backing Linda.

There were bad feelings all through that group to the point that only two couples remained friends. I never contacted any of them again. Linda kept several girlfriends from the group including Dee but stopped seeing anyone from the group except Dee when she realized how ashamed she was about her actions. She knew her friends looked at her differently now.

Emma and Tommy seemed to deal with the changes very well. We didn't keep up the facade of being affectionate with each other, it seemed like a lie. Besides, I didn't think I could control myself much longer.

------

Ten years after our separation, the kids were old enough to stay home alone. I decided it was time to formally divorce the woman I had once loved so deeply. I tried to be gentle about it. I warned her the paperwork was coming. She seemed to be ready until it was right in front of her. She cried for a long time. I made hot chocolate and sat with her until she was finally able to speak.

"I never thought we would end up divorced. It couldn't happen. We were SO in love. I can't believe I took that for granted. That I thought I could do anything I wanted and we would still survive. I made a grave misjudgment. I want you to know that I have regretted my decision every day since. I'm so sorry that I destroyed us, Jim. I really am, not just for me but for you. I feel so bad about messing up YOUR life. I deserve what I got. You did nothing wrong and still lost everything."

With tears dripping on the papers, Linda signed all the documents necessary to dissolve our marriage.

I still saw her at family events. It hurt every time. Neither of us remarried although we both moved in with a steady partner eventually. I don't know if Emma and Tommy ever heard the reason we divorced but I never told them and they never asked me. I am happy they grew up in a good environment and went on to start their own happy families. I finally moved away from this god forsaken hell hole of a city that depresses me every February. I moved to Miami with my girlfriend but I visit the kids often and bask in their happiness.

The end