All Comments on 'February Sucks - The Two Notes'

I have to say that this is not a doubt the best O all of the sequels to this ridiculous story. And what's really unique is that it's told from Linda's point of view. Gyms wording and his ideas in the note that Linda sees when she comes home from the overnight fuck Is absolutely spot on every possible way.

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A key point that so many people have missed about the story is not a big cheating by Linda In deciding to dump her husband and having a night O fantasy sex.

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SHE DIDNT BOTHER TO TELL JIM HERSELF BECAUSE JIM ISNT IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO BOTHER WITH.

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And that is why any attempted reconciliation in these stories simply does not work and it will never work. Linda and Dee May claim that they were trying to spare Jim's feelings but that's an actual lie and it's another form of direct attack disrespect and humiliation that jim never deserved..

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It's bad enough that she decides to go Fuck another man on their special night and do so publicly in front of everybody.. But to not even bother telling him directly Is a second form of humiliation emasculation and disrespect

Another second rate effort of a great original.

I enjoyed all the February sucks sequels, but this one got it right.

What a sorry sad story. Well written and felt real. I thought it was heading for reconciliation but could see why it didn't go that way. A really great take on the original story. 5 stars

You gave her a GOOD ending, not a happy one but still a good one, that makes your version garbage

Absolute drivel yet again in an attempt to polish a turd of a story.

1*

A nice low key, yet sad version of GA's FebSux tale. I truly enjoyed reading it. It was not RAAC and definitely not BTB. The writing could have been tighter, but still a good read. Though, I did think, for a bit, that there was the possibility that Gary Patterson's story could have facilitated a reconciliation between Jim and Linda.

I particularly like the last 2 sentences. "It is a good life. I try to limit the times I think all I had to do to get this good life was throw away a great one." I think they sum up what happened nicely.

Thank-you

Pasqual

Parts of this reminded me so much of A Boilerplate Rendering by TheUnoriginalist but without the anger and the mind games. There were no games here, Jim flipped a switch and saved himself like a man on death row except his execution is the divorce or waiting for his kids to come of age. He is trapped but he knows these two exits, what's the point of hysterics or complicated acts of revenge, he's transformed his marriage into a difficult visit to the DMV. It's a soulless empty task but eventually, it will be over. I'm glad 012Say whittled down the extra cast to just Linda, after the note is composed Jim fades into the background and we focus and Linda's recovery. Because she's injured herself in this situation, it's as if she decided to chop off her pinky finger, it's not going to grow back if she regrets that decision, it's gone. So yeah maybe it's unrealistic to think this premise would ever happen but the response Jim comes up with is I think in the realm of the possible.

A very dark story and without the fireworks show the real reason why February sucked.

Very original.

Keep up the good work

good god best one bravo. still think a personality like hers would have cheated before and again as i commented on GA original story. ppl that shallow cheat. that was a damn good read though. even better than GA lol. dont see that many stories that deal with cheating that way mostly bc it doesnt work. sometimes ppl have to learn the hard way

This was very good and quite realistic.

The sad reality is that what Linda did to Jim was so horrific a betrayal that no man could get past it. There's no way you could continue to love a woman who was so selfish that she casually treated her husband like a piece of dogshit.

I think there'd be a lot more anger from Jim and a furious confrontation when Linda crawled home after being Marc's slut, but the end result would be the same. Hatred or total indifference is the only plausible outcomes for Jim towards Linda.

My favorite out of all the 'February sucks' stories. nice job.

A good version of the original story, though the husband acted more like an automaton, something I would think wouldn’t be possible for such a long time. Having impersonal sex sounds bizarre and unwelcome. Really, I think the most reasonable ending would have been to just divorce from the outset- children are subjected to that all the time. No way a fake parental pair could work for very long. As others have said, the truly fictional part of the original story is that the wife would have even considered leaving with a strange guy on their special night. That was jumping the shark.

very well done. I generally am not a fan of the masochistic passive-aggressive husband types in these stories, but at least the husband here did fuck his wife fairly often. I do agree the greatest crime here was the abandonment.

5 stars probably one of the best if not the best alternate version. It gets the DirtySingleMom stamp of approval for the way they tried to minimize the impact on the kids. That is one of my pet peeves when authors use the kids as a weapon they're the innocents and they're not property to be divided up. Some will say that there was no revenge against Marc, so what? It was up to Linda to make the moves and she did so, she eventually took responsibility for her actions.

Flawlessly written and downright moving. The key point was a home run for me, he disliked that she had sex with the other man, but dumping him in front of everyone was an unfixable transgression. That single notion may be the key to understanding why 'Feb. Sucks' has more follow-on stories than any in the history of Literotica. I would give it 6 stars but there aren't that many on my screen.

Thoughtful and focused interpretation of the original premise. No distraction into revenge or punishment. No angry confrontations with the so-called friends. No guilt slinging after the fact. Just an in-depth examination of the motives, justifications, and consequences, the postmortem. Her slow transformation from delusion to understanding, appropriately told from her point of view. Very well executed. A worthy addition to the “February Sucks” stories. Thank you.

This brought nothing new to the picture. For me the main issue was: how could te other husbands (in particular Dee's husband) stand by their wives support to the disrespect and cheating she showed. Were all three wimps and pussy whipped? It's difficult to believe. 3*

Probably one of the best and most realistic offerings for this story. Well done!

This is the best of the sequels.

Not enough pain for those truley guilty...

Marc...Dee...Linda...the "peanut gallery" of unsupportive friends.

Burn them ALL

Meh. I don't know who to hate more George or the people who perpetuate this dumb ass story and add absolutely NOTHING to the category other than boring variations on a theme. It's boring!

This was probably one of the better versions of the original story.

The BTB versions and the "beat Marc up" stories don't seem real.

I can see why Jim did what he did. I think Linda was sorry, and like she said, would never do it again. This could actually happen in real life. The shame is they couldn't get past it. Linda will never even think of doing it again. She should give Gary some children and Jim should do the same. So sad to watch good love go bad... WONDERFUL STORY!

Jim should make sure to make Marc Asshole pay dearly. Yes, even arrange his near demise or worse...

Honestly, I have said this before, we don't need yet another end to this story.

This time I mean it.

I mean it because I think you nailed it!

5*

One of the better reincarnation of this story... why this story sticks in the painful spots in our brains to make so many try to write towards its emotional end is baffling. I have enjoyed many of these stories written to exorcise whatever demons this story becomes to each of us. Ultimately the best ones are bared scars and painful awakenings to our deepest fears of rejection. Thanks for taking a good swing at this story.

One of the best alternate ending I've read.

Another brain dead bitch and far too civil husband.

I liked it, it was a good story, and from the wifes perspctive.

Excellent story. I think this is the best alternate take on the original that I have read.

Ok. Not bad. While I can't see staying with a piece of human detritus like Linda, I do appreciate his very accurate description of what a ridiculous excuse for a human Linda really is.

I didn't see much in the way of Linda growing or redeeming herself though she could never redeem a marriage she so clearly never deserved, but she did at least crawl a little ways out of her crusty butthole to behave a little more like a human despite being a lizard herself.

There are women who are as pathetically depraved as Linda in real life but many more who aren't.

There are fewer men who would stay with a worthless piece of shit like her but there are some.

Thankfully, I know many women who wouldn't and many men who wouldn't put up with it.

Interesting and original given it’s the latest alternate ending of MANY. Well done.

Great story investigating the other side’s view and her unthinking destruction of her family.

I believe the ending was weak and contrived but it’s the author’s world. As for me the end would have started the morning after and been completed quickly affording both sides less long term turmoil.

Me, My, Mine! All she thought about was what was good for her! Jim was right to treat her as a piece of dog crap, just like she did to him. Maybe this will be the LAST of the February Sucks stories. I'm getting tired of the ways that this subject has been handled. At no time have I seen the female MC apologize! Really apologize!

The problem with all of these stories is that the original premise is utterly unrealistic. No wife at all except an ingrained whore is going to abandon her husband at a table of 'friends' on an evening of 25th year celebration to chase after an erect penis. To each there own I suppose.

Wow, excellent take on the story. In the end they worked it out. Probably one of the most realistic stories. Thanks for posting.

Excellent take!!!!

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Good writing, but again, you did something most writers fail to do, and that is explored all those gray areas between two people working through a crisis! And thanks to George Anderson for this amazing vehicle that keeps producing more alternate endings than a time-travel, sci-fi mystery!!!

Well done! Of all the "February Sucks" stories, I believe this one to be the most realistic.

Brava. I think this is very well written. Definitely a nice take from her point of view. Still sad to think of the devastation a fantasy can cause.

Nice. I really don’t understand how one can sacrifice more than 10 years, pretending a marriage. Eventually the kids realize what’s going on, and that’s where the damage begins: the kids move forward thinking it’s normal, and the way a marriage should work.

In this rendition, I’d change the ending a bit. Either Linda doesn’t remarry, or it takes more than a few years. Garry Patterson was too convenient as a romantic interest.

Enjoyable story and well executed, thank you for this latest effort on a sad tale.

Only complaint would be that I didn't feel the emotion and despair coming from her, the poignancy of purgatory.

I look forward to reading more stories from you.

Just when you think, “no one can come up with another decent version of February Sucks,” someone does.

In my humble opinion this is a breakout story for 012Say. Congratulations!

One of the best alternative endings. Good job!

Your best attempt so far. Five stars from this reader although the ending was a bit weak.

This was probably the best follow up (to me) that I have read so far.

The only decent follow up to the overrated original.

The wife didn't leave with a stranger, she left with a local football hero. The only problem with this one is Marc didn't get punished at all. But I have to admit, I think this is probably closer to the real way things happen than any other so far. The most reasonable would be divorce with Marc getting his career cut short because of an injury.

Very good story. The only part you missed is her going back to Dee and the others and telling them of her mistake. She will have major regrets for the rest of her life and I bet Jim doesn't socialize with her unless he has to.

The aftermath is about as realistic as it gets. This was well done. I gave it 5 stars.

I think I have read all of the February Sucks stories and this one best captured what I think the result of such an encounter in the real world would be on a marriage. I read the intro to the original story and could not believe women who claim to love their husbands would honestly expect a man who they claim to love would ever trust them again. I also believe that any one of those women making that claim would destroy their husband if the roles were reversed.

This version matches my thoughts - as bad as the extramarital sex is, it pales in comparison to the way it was done, on that night, in front of those people - so my vote is probably biased; but well done. Excellent version.

In other renditions I've written about the visceral reactions I have when reading. This to touched me but in a different way. Maybe it's because it's the closest to how I think I would have reacted. I loved how you wrote the process of how she finally came to the realization of how she hurt him. I also loved that he stuck to what he said he'd do and that she was the one who had to work through the devastation that her actions brought.

One friend who I've talked through about living in a dysfunctional relationship for the sake of the kids said something that hit me hard and made me question my decision to stay for the sake of my son. He said, "it's better to be from a broken home than live in one". I never gave that as much thought about how it impacted my situation as I saw from my parents who stayed together when they shouldn't have as how I should do the same. If our conversation had happened before he left for college I may not be married today.

Your story gives hope to all, especially the children who have a chance to grow up realizing that while mom and dad love each other, they can't be together. Sometimes love isn't enough.

Great take on George Andersons February Sucks. Can't wait to read more from you.

Very well written from that different perspective. I can see and feel Jim's pain, and very often the offending spouse can not see it. Just as Linda had not until her Doctor pointed it out to her. Some people can just recover like it is nothing, some people experience a hurt so deep that interaction with the spouse becomes unbearable. That is what made your story touch my heart. Well done, you earned your 5 stars,just saying....

Brilliant job!

Including the conversation that George Anderson used to begin his indelible story is a clever way to try to get us to understand how a wife could do the unthinkable: she was trapped by her own fantasy. We watch with approval as she evolves from being unaware of how badly she injured Jim to realizing the magnitude of her betrayal and accepting the inevitability of the end of her marriage—but we still don't really understand how she could have done it. At least I don't. Although her efforts to understand and atone justify her somewhat happy ending, we can only hope that Jim fared better in his marriage to the widow with a daughter; the story is told from her perspective, though, so the sketchy picture of his ever-after is appropriate.

I'll bet GA had no idea his dark story would inspire so many others. A signal achievement, sir.

Now this is a GREAT ending for this story. Other endings were good, but this IS great.

FROM THE STORY.

LINDA "I snuck out while we were together with friends. He was expecting a wonderful evening and instead got humiliated. God, how could I be so stupid?"

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JIM: "I just never could figure out how anyone who loved someone could walk out on them. It is such a betrayal that it couldn't be ignored.

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BING FUCKING GO...

Nicely done. Loved the last sentence.

Hooked

it isthe wife who cheats, humiliates the husband in front of his friends and gives him an emotional scar of a lifetime and yet the author only focuses on what SHE went through, what SHE wanted. Apart from the note in the beginning there is nothing much in the story that tells us how Jim coped with this disaster, from his perspective. I know some might find this version of February Sucks quite "realistic" and therefore one of the better ones, but in my opinion it doesnt do justice to Jim's character. Linda is a selfish, narcissist woman (and remains exactly same at the end) who has no change of heart and robbing her of her points of view would be most satisfying thing to do. thats something both the BTB and the RAAC writers have failed to realize. We dont want to know what happened to the heartless selfish cheating bitch. Let the hero move on and restart his life afresh!!

Wow! 5***** all the way!

I understood Jim better here than in any other version. I thought his decision to end the love in the marriage was a form of punishment, but it was clearly true. His love died and there was no going back. The pain, the desire for revenge, and the loss of his own sense of worth conspired to create a marriage of the living dead until it finally ended. I understand that too well. Very well done.

Thanks for this version. It is one of only 2 or 3 versions that actually go through enough so that Linda understands, which for me, is a must for a good LW story.

Good story, thanks for the read.

Not a story that will be popular with cheaters and the Reconciliation Industrial Complex, because it illiterates just how difficult real reconciliation is to accomplish. Here's the hard fact - You don’t owe a cheater, even a remorseful cheater reconciliation.

Anyone who is truly remorseful should understands this. Because reconciliation has to come from a place of humility. Cheaters have to understand that THEY are the person broke the marriage vows and the spouse owes you nothing. You broke it, and if the person you betrayed stays? Well, that’s a GIFT and that effort doesn’t come with guarantees. It’s conditional upon your behavior. You, the cheater, the responsible party, are going to have to do the heavy lifting for the foreseeable future. This story shows how difficult staying in such a marriage would be. Forever on probation, slowly earning back trust with no guarantee of ever earning that trust again. Giving up all the goodies of entitlement that got you here in the first place and constantly facing the emotional ruin and of the person you hurt and abused by your selfish actions.

Best of your stories to date, for sure. There is another alternate that closely parallels your story but this is still well written. (Not implying for a second you plagiarized...can't remember who wrote it.) As I usually comment for writers the use "Epilogue", it was too short relative to content and depth relative to the rest of the story. 5*

This is very nicely done, but the fundamental problem with the story—the original and all its endless variations—remains. It makes no sense. The wife, as described in the story up to Marc approaching their table, simply would have not done what she did. The cruelty and recklessness of her betrayal does not match the loving and decent woman portrayed to that point. The story is irredeemable.

Very good story. I love the change of perspective to Linda and her slow realization of what the true costs of her actions were. Looking forward to more of your work

Again....so didn’t want to read yet another one....but glad I did.

Linda was a hyper selfish bitch. Just lying to herself for so long about what she did, and more importantly, WHY she did it. This version brought that out.

Suspension of logic is required to read most stuff here at Lit, and this version is no different 😎. First, that Jim could live with this bitch in such a nonchalant manner for so long. Even fucking her. Not possible! Second, Linda would take so long to seek help....on the assumption of the story that she wanted Jim back.

But given those things, the ending was not satisfactory. It just kinda petered out.

But all up, well written and a good take. 4****

I was prepared not to like this - but was _very_ pleasantly surprised.

Of all the depictions of the wife, this by far portrays her as the egotistical, evil, self-centered, and one-dimensional. If that was your goal...good job.

Good story. I liked the logical thought, and felt it was closer to the way the male mind works. It's just my opinion because nothing even remotely like this ever happened to me. But I think most men would require at a minimum of one or two days for the venom and hurt to surface and begin to subside before the calm and logical thinking of his letter, or as you say, note to form. I think the condoms sent a subliminal message that the closeness they once had in there love making was gone and from now on it was just going to be a mechanical action to relieve a need. I could only give it 4> stars, not because it was not entertaining. Not because it was poorly written but because I have read so many "February Suck's" stories that now I think the all suck one way or another. If anyone was a winner here it was only Marc and maybe in a round about way the kids. One of the better endings. Thank you anyway. I'll be watching your work and following your future stories.

"But spending a night with him, just one night out of our whole marriage, would be something I could remember for the rest of my life." - Excuse me if I'd prefer that my wife remember her nights with ME for the rest of her life.

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"Come on, guys, don't be that way. It's not that big a deal." - I wish one of the guys had asked if it was her husband going off with a super model if it "[wouldn't be] that big a deal!"

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"When can we talk?" - The time to talk was last night, BEFORE going off with Marc.

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"But this wasn't really like infidelity" - Not only was it "like" infidelity, it WAS infidelity.

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"Who would have thought it would hurt him that badly?" - Only someone with an OUNCE of empathy, which obviously excludes her. While she might deny it now, but if things had been reversed, she'd have his balls in a jar.

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"A big part of a fantasy is being something you otherwise could never be." - A big part of a fantasy, is that it is a FANTASY, not reality.

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"I so want to go back to where we were. What can I do?" - She doesn't get it - there IS no going back to where they were.

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"I texted back" - Texted, but then it seems like a regular conversation.

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"I am going to go knock on his door, one day soon." - Kind of presumptuous, assuming that Gary would be interested in a relationship with her, which is what she seems to be saying.

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Despite how guilty she felt, I can't see her lasting for months in the loveless marriage before asking for the divorce.

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I thought the ending was a little flat and anti-climatic.

This was an amazing story and so well written..cheers to you author..cheers indeed.

Sad and very realistic for the facts of the story. Well written, perfect pace and drama filled this is one of the best alternate endings of this classic story. It matches the original as a perfect 5 star performance.

Many thanks for a wonderful read.

She probably got more than she deserved. Hers was a heinous betrayal. Your story and ending were fairly mundane and realistic. I guess that's my objection to this story. Besides the fact that I'm tired of people beating George's original story to death, your ending seemed too "gentile". After all, this is a porn site and I believe readers like myself want to see some fireworks. Cat fights, back stabbings and over-the-top BTB are the staples of the LW section. You went out with a whimper, not a bang. Unsatisfying to say the least.

3 stars

Strikes me they are getting better as time goes on. Thoughtful, realistic and certainly well written. Well done and thank you.

Perhaps the best of the many alternative endings, as it is well-written and edited. I felt the ending was a little weak, even though gratifying because both characters found some degree of happiness. But the central issue remains unresolved, which is the issue of a woman's desire for a big strong alpha male for sex and her need for a good, steady, loyal husband for a safe and secure marriage in which to raise children.

Tepid

Tepid

Poor Jim he didn’t make the right decision at the start. All he did was drag out the inevitable and to actually still fuck the whore was stupid. I don’t really give a fuck what the cunt feels. She caused it and got of easy. Hhhhmmmmm do tight ends that have a permanent limp get paid well in the nfl. Just a thought.....

Certainly one of the better FS endings and a nice take from Linda's POV

Got a little confusing with the italics around the start of Jim's letter.

There were a couple of mentions of "all of us would cheat, one night with the right movie star or the right whatever". The 1st time it's mentioned, it read like Jim was part of the conversation. Either way in GA's there is an agreement among the couples from 'that' night that they all disagree with infidelity and it's one and done. Your take on the 'right whatever' makes it seem like Linda (and if the other wives from the group were part of the conversation) was lying when they had the 'one and done' talk in GAs. This lost even more sympathy for Linda, from me.

I like that the people from 'that' night appeared but only as cameos, I think Marc warranted one too - just a simple I heard that <insert any fallout or not for him>; but I liked that the appearances were low key and kept the focus on Linda and Jim and how you built her understanding of Jim through those interactions.

It did feel you ran out of steam a little, the end came a bit easily and too cleanly.

And stepping into the real world for a moment...

Living as they were was never going to work, not if they really loved and cared for the kids. So glad you didn't drag that out.

Both getting back in the sack so soon after the divorce had been filed didn't feel natural, nor did Jim getting married just a year after it was final. Her relationship with Gary felt odd, she was building that but going on dates with others whom she was sleeping with (that's the impression I got), would he want to go there after? It did feel more natural that, in time, they would come together as damaged people, but again (real world) not the basis for a great long term marriage.

BUT these are minor niggles, it was well written and kept my interest throughout (hence the long arsed comment) and I did feel sad when they, inevitably, pulled the trigger on the marriage. I know, I'm a sucker for a well worked HEA :)

As Scorpio said, Good job!

Very well done. One of the best alternative endings I have read yet.

Really good version of the story. I liked that this author has more closely examined the whole "forget the sex for a moment, what the fuck is up with the ditching your date and the disrespect it states" aspect.

I think the reason that George Anderson's original story has shook so many readers and generated so many alternates is because at the end of the day, the detailed character sketch of the couple (Linda and Jim) would basically preclude Linda from ever doing what she did the way she did it. Anyone might get caught up in a bad decision, but it just seems so unfathomable a truly "loving" spouse would ever ditch their date, especially one forged with so much thought and purpose. (just my opinion)

Of course, the other side of the coin is that it's just that kind of story (the plausible yet ultimately impossible situation) that twists the imagination of so many. Remember the set-up for the original story (and this author has stated it again) concerns a supposed real life conversation about a hypothetical situation which entails how some women are bragging about how they would fuck a celeb/hunk/star. GA made it clear that IF that were to actually happen (and it certainly never would with a "true" loving spouse) then how would it go down? The answer, it wouldn't - at least not as described. (again, my opinion)

My comments below are just my take on the subject. No reflection on the writer and his piece. It was well written.

The truth is, women rarely feel remorse for what they threw away when cheating. That's because they made the decision that their marriage was not that important before they stepped out. Honest women admit and accept that reality. Even those that "act" remorseful deep down know the truth: They did it and know that they chose to do it willingly. And if they are sorry, it's that they got caught. Not that they did it.

And since most characters don't get caught, there are many women who have cheated and gotten away with it.

This case is extreme in that she did it out in the open. Which makes it worse. Like a spouse who does it then confesses. It's a double stab in the heart. Not only did she cheat, but she rubbed it in his face.

I will get hate for this, but here goes. There are some cases where there is still love yet a spouse cheats. If that is the case for you, your punishment is to keep it a secret and take it to your grave. Try and make up for it and be a good man/woman to your spouse from now on. But once the cheated spouse finds out what you did, there is no coming back from that.

Free advice from doctor Kal.

Good argument for a 0 stars rating. No revenge, no reconciliation, no love shown by anyone, just a victim and an unrepentant wife, with no seeming effect on the kids by the resulting damage done by BOTH spouses. The husband intentionally comes off as an unfeeling zombie who mind games the cheating spouse into looking for other men. You attempt to find an angle to this story that hadn't yet been written isn't worth a single star rating but it is sadly the lowest I can give you.

Very enjoyable story and great she finally realized what hurt her husband so much, walking out on him especially on a planned romantic night. Too bad people don't realize fantasies are only fantasies and if ever fulfilled they are fantasies anymore. In other words be careful what you wish for. Excellent ending to February Sucks and the insight from the wife's point of view. It's funny, I can't recall ever having any kind of fantasy. I've just lived life hand fun times, bad times, boring times, hurtful times and very sad times. Times of understanding and times of understanding nothing. Very good story.

The best of the lot! I will exclude G.A.’s story from the rest of the lot because, without that, this one never happens!

For those who think that Sweetie did not get severely burned, re-read her last comment about the trade she negotiated. And ... that burn will gradually diminish, but continue until Alzheimer takes pity on her!

5*and FAV

Great take on the GA classic. “I loved you, you loved you.” Jim’s belated recognition of the true dynamic of his marriage was dead on. His reflection on the two despicable acts, ditching him, fucking the asshole, made me pause. Not sure I agree, but humiliating him in a very public way is an absolute marriage ender. Of course, fucking the asshole was also a deal breaker. Maybe, and that’s a big maybe, I could get pass an unplanned, drunken encounter away from home that would never be repeated. After what she did and how she did it, I would work for an acceptable shared custody arrangement and then dump the bitch.

Best version of all.

I enjoyed your take on this story. That ending line was powerful. Thank you

Two stars

She isn‘t a hero, because she destroys her marriage.

And you give her a new husband. What is wrong with you?

You like cuckold and pussy with a creampie?

one of the better endings.

Best of the bunch.

First off, for those who constantly say no more 'February Sucks' add on stories, I would say don't read them. You know what any story starting with 'February Sucks' is going to be about. If another of these stories bothers you, DON'T READ IT.

I liked this story. 5 stars. One of the best follow ups to the original. Do I think Jim's solution of staying in a loveless marriage for the kids for the next 14 years or so is doable, not a chance. Even if Linda agrees to this life of Purgatory, as the kids grow older, they will figure it out and may or may not accept the perverted status quo of their home life. So much for sparing the kids. It is also hard for me to believe that Jim (or anyone) is capable of living a Jekyll and Hyde existence in their home life for any extended period of time. Loving and caring when the kids are around then cold and indifferent at all other times. This would also require that Linda agree to go along with this behavior. Don't see this happening until the kids are out of the house!

The author also used one of my pet peeves in LW stories, having someone waiting in the wings when the marriage finally goes south. Usually it's a woman neighbor, coworker, personal assistant, etc who is more beautiful and presumably more suited for the soon divorcing man who is ready and willing to swoop in and make the man forget his cheating soon-to-be wife. In this case, the author introduced Gary as the presumed (at least for me) replacement for Jim. And it turned out, that is what Gary became. Personally, I would have liked for Linda and Gary to try getting together, but that it not last. Besides both of them having recent tragic experiences in common, they really didn't have enough else in common to build a life on. Oh well.

I would also like to say, I am mystified with the idea in several of these stories that being with Marc is a fantasy or a once-in-a lifetime experience for Linda. In the original it's made clear that Linda, Jim and all their close friends all agree that cheating in a marriage is a deal breaker. Most of these FS stories acknowledge that Linda knew who Marc was but never show or infer that Linda somehow had a crush on Marc or that she would jump at the chance to have sex with a celebrity. Jim was her sexual soulmate with no indication that a mister "tall, dark and handsome" could come in and sweep her into his bed. These arguments seem to be more of an after the fact explanation rather than something that existed before the act.

All in all, a very good story.

The only true ending to this story would be a dark one. Your story is very good but once she told the shrink her decision was made, the next paragraph would be a description of her funeral. That is the absolute only way she could demonstrate her regret for her actions. He gets the kids, can tell the "group", especially Dee, that they are responsible for her death, and with the insurance money could put out a hit on the jock. As it ended, there was no proper closure and the dumbass still was a part time Dad to his kids.

Would have been 5 stars for excellent writing, but had to deduct 2 stars for the totally unrealistic reactions of the main characters.

what a sad hubby.. i understand he needed time to process but shouldve cut his losses sooner but in a way glad he made her suffer some

An interesting and thoughtful end to the February Sucks story. Nice job. 5*

Again a ending where the asshole didn't get what he deserved the idiot football jerk gets off scott free having destroyed a "great marriage". Just sad. It was well written but again the jerk gets off.

One of the two or three best of these alternative endings. Thank you.

Eh, one of the better "interpretations" as of late, but I couldn't get into it. Quite frankly, I have no interest in seeing the wife's struggle to get back what she voluntarily threw away. She showed her true colors and acted in a way that's unforgivable; pandora's box was opened, putting the lid back on means nothing. He knows she's a snake and is smart enough not to pick her up again.

That said, if we're going to add a mundane solution to an over-the-top situation, this is how I'd prefer it to be. Both parties move on with their own scars and lessons learned.

This version is great. Still SAD. I gave this a 5. Top 3 I'd say!