February Sucks, YAAE

Detective Pitney thought the situation over and decided that going in with guns blazing would likely cause this family more harm than good, not to mention the long-lasting effect it might have on the children.

"OK Linda, so why is your husband so angry with you? What really happened last night that would cause Jim to leave so suddenly? I promise you, in this job I've seen and heard most everything, so nothing is going to shock me."

With that, Linda bowed her head and relayed the story of their wonderful, romantic night out with friends and how she had skipped out with a famous football player for a night of sex with a perfect stranger instead of spending the night, as planned, with her husband in their fancy hotel room. When Marc dropped her off this afternoon around two o'clock, she learned that Jim had taken her kids on a vacation without her. When finished with her story, Linda could feel her face burning with embarrassment.

Detective Pitney was tapping her ball point pen on her notepad, her eyes staring at the notes she had taken. "Linda, it sounds like your husband is extremely hurt by what you did last night and probably just needs some time to cool off before he comes home. I've seen similar things happen before, well maybe not these exact circumstances, but similar nonetheless. By the way, how do you know that he went on a vacation with the kids? Maybe he just took them out for the day and will return later this evening."

Linda admitted that Jim had left a note at the babysitter's house that was given to her when she went to pick up.

"Do you have the note with you? I'd like to take a look at it if I could."

"No, I forgot and left it at home. Jim was very angry in the note and said he was using the money that he had been saving for a trip to celebrate our tenth anniversary on a vacation for the kids instead."

"Do you think that he might have just said those things to pay you back for how you treated him last night? Maybe he just wants you to get worried, like he was last night, but plans to come back later tonight and won't really be gone on an extended vacation. You said he has his own business; can he really be away for an extended period without any planning?"

"I don't know... you might be right. This all just seem so out of character for Jim. I just don't know what to do." Linda looked up and saw the look in the detective's eyes that conveyed, I bet that's exactly how Jim felt last night when he found out you left him at the club to go home with a perfect stranger and give him a wild night of sex, leaving your poor husband to sleep alone in a strange bed.

"Tell you what, we can address this in a few different ways. We could issue an APB and an Amber Alert telling everyone to be on the lookout for your husband and kids. While that might be the easiest way to find them, I don't think I need to tell you that -- if you want to save your marriage -- that is probably going to make things worse. On the other hand, you could wait a few days and see if your husband contacts you or shows back up at home."

"Since there's no protective order preventing him from traveling with the children, even if we find him, we can't arrest him because he hasn't actually broken any laws. Kind of like how you didn't actually break any laws last night when you left him at the club to go have sex with Mr. LaValliere."

The detective's statement seemed like a gut-punch to Linda. Linda didn't mean to break Jim's heart by leaving with Marc but she was just so caught up in the moment that she no longer considered Jim's feelings. She just knew that he would allow her this one dalliance and that, in the end, he would forgive her. Maybe she didn't know her husband as well as she thought. She blushed again as she thought, after last night, I'm sure Jim thinks that he doesn't know me as well as he thought either. Damn, this sucks -- way worse than February!

Detective Pitney interrupted her thoughts, "You might want to give him a few days to cool down and return on his own, so long as you don't think he would actually harm himself or the children. If he hasn't contacted you or returned within a certain amount of time, we could always issue the ABP and Amber Alerts. Its completely your call Linda, just let me know how you would like to proceed."

Linda sat motionless, staring at the top of the detective's desk mulling her options, knowing that if she further antagonized Jim her marriage to him would most definitely be over. How had things gone from so great to so horrible so quickly? Damn, she really wished Marc would have just set his sights on some other married woman last night. She wouldn't have experienced an amazing short-term thrill, but she also would have avoided having her long-term future with her husband and children placed in extreme jeopardy.

Detective Pitney remained silent while Linda contemplated her options. Finally, Linda responded "I think I need to give Jim some time to cool down. It will drive me crazy, but I'm willing to give him up a few days. If I still haven't heard from him after three days, I'll be back to ask that we pursue the APBs and Amber Alerts option."

"OK," detective Pitney said, "I think your making a good decision, after all he hasn't even been gone for a day yet. We've got your contact info and you've given us the information we'll need to track him down if that becomes necessary. A case number has been assigned to your case. I've written the case number on my card and my card also has my phone number on it. If Jim contacts you or returns home, you need to call this number and let us know so that we can close the case. If he doesn't return within a few days, call us back and the information I've taken from you will be in a file for this case number and we can proceed with other options for finding them."

Linda thanked the detective for her help and assured her that she would call as soon as she heard from Jim or when her family returned. She returned home and found that she was actually hungry and recalled that the last time she ate was some fruit and coffee for breakfast that she ate naked while at Marc's house. She wasn't able to finish breakfast as Marc interrupted her the meal, screwing her right on the kitchen table before carrying her up to his bedroom where he plowed her over and over again.

---------- o ----------

The turmoil of finding her family missing caused a mix of emotions -- anger, fear, concern, worry. She found herself wondering what mix of emotions Jim felt when she left him at the club to go fuck Marc for the night. God, he must have felt terrible!

The next three days passed by slowly. Every time the phone rang or her cell phone chimed, she rushed to see who was texting or calling only to find that it was either spam or one of her friends, usually Dee, trying to cheer her up and see if she had learned anything about Jim's whereabouts.

Over the three days, Linda repeatedly used the FindMyPhone app that Jim had installed on their smart phones so that they could always find each other, but each time it indicated that his phone could not be found and that the last known location of the device at their home on the morning before she arrived back from Marc's. If she had not heard from Jim by noon the next day, she was going to call the detective and ask that they issue the APB and Amber Alert to find her family. She prayed, something she rarely did, for Jim to call her so she wouldn't have to use such extreme measures.

That night her cell phone rang but the Caller-ID indicated that the call information was "Private Caller," usually indicating that the call was some sort of robo-call or other form of spam. Given the circumstances, however, Linda quickly answered the call, "Hello?" she said.

"Its me," she heard Jim's voice. "I thought I'd call so you'd know we were all right and having a good time." She noticed that Jim's voice seemed flat and emotionless, so unlike his usual telephone demeanor.

"Oh, Jim, thank god! I was so worried about you. Where are you guys?"

"Sure you were, would you like to talk to the kids?"

Linda realized that he hadn't told her where they had gone, "Sure, I'd love to talk to them, I miss you all so much! Look, Jim, I know you are mad at me and you have every right to be..." Jim interrupted her, "Here, you can talk to Emma first."

Emma got on the phone, "Hi mommy, I love you."

"I love you too sweetie, are you and Tommy having fun with your dad?"

"We're having so much fun! Daddy took us to Disneyland and I got to see Mickey and Minnie, I even got them to sign my book!"

"Wow, that's great honey, I'm so glad you're having fun at Disney. I'm sorry I wasn't able to go with you guys."

"That's OK mommy, daddy told us how your friend Dee had to have a metal shunt put in her head so she could use her brain again and that you had to stay and take care of her. I hope she's OK."

"Emma, Dee is doing just fine, I'll let her know you're thinking of her. Do you know when you'll be coming home?"

"I don't know mommy; we're having so much fun at Disney I wish we could stay forever! Maybe you could come and stay with us?"

"I'd really like to see you guys; I miss you so much. Let me talk to Tommy for minute and then I'll talk to daddy about seeing you."

"OK mommy, here is Tommy."

Tommy, being only 4, told Linda about all the fun they were having at Disney and about the rides and things he saw. When he trailed off, Linda asked him to put daddy back on the phone.

"Ya," Jim said emotionless.

"Jim, I'm so so sorry about what happened the other night."

"Sure you are. Wait a sec, let me step into the bathroom so that we can talk without little ears overhearing..."

"No Jim, I really mean it, I never intended to hurt you and I'll never forgive myself for hurting you the way I did, I just wasn't thinking."

"Well, you sure weren't thinking with your brain but we all know what body part you were using."

"I deserve that and more, Jim. Maybe I need a metal shunt installed in my brain just like you said that Dee had put in her head."

"She, and the rest of your friends from that night, are dead to me. I had to think of some reason to tell the kids why you weren't coming with us, didn't feel right to say that you were off fucking some strange man that you had just met."

"Jim, I know you're angry and you have every right to be, but making me sound like some sort of whore isn't going to help us resolve anything."

"You know, you're right. You're not a whore, you're a cheating slut, at least whores get paid to fuck. You just jumped at the chance to fuck that NFL jock without even thinking of your poor, pitiful husband."

"OK Jim, if it makes you feel better to call me names, go ahead and give me your best shot, but I don't think you are poor or pitiful."

"I'm not calling you names, I'm just correcting your use of the word 'whore.' You don't have the decency or morals to be a whore."

"Wow, OK Jim, you win. I don't want to fight with you, I've just been worried sick about you and the kids for the past few days."

"Just like I thought, it's all about you. You could care less how I felt when you left me at the club, with me acting like an idiot thinking that you were sick inside of the ladies' room. You know, that was the single most selfish and despicable act I've ever witnessed. You snuck out of the club to go to a stranger's house and be his slut. A dream come true for you I suppose. Meanwhile, your same selfish act gutted me, the man you swore you loved. It tore my heart out right in front of all of your friends. I'm sure they all got a good laugh out of you turning me into a clueless cuck. But you couldn't give two shits about me or my feelings, could you? I never knew you were such a cold-hearted, selfish bitch!"

Jim had never spoken anything like that to her before. She knew he was hurting but didn't realize the extent of his pain until she heard the contempt and vitriol in his words. Tears were streaming down her face as she sobbed at what she had done.

"I'm, I'm so so sorry honey..." she sobbed into the phone.

"DON'T YOU DARE call me 'honey' or any other terms of endearment you self-entitled bitch! You lost the right to do that when you went home with Asshole and shit all over the romantic night that we had promised each other as well as pissing all over our wedding vows!"

Linda sucked in a shock of air hearing Jim's anger and, daresay, hatred aimed in her direction. "Jim, I don't know what to do, how can we fix things if you're not here? When are you going to come home? We really need to talk and fix things between us, maybe see a counselor together. I know you don't want to hear it, but Marc was never a threat to our marriage, he can't hold a candle to you. I was with him for one night, but you are the one in my heart and the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"You're the one that broke it so maybe you should figure out how to fix it. I have absolutely zero trust in you now. I have no way of knowing that you won't skip out with the next jock or celebrity that looks your direction the next time we go out. How are you going to reassure me that something like this won't happen again? Before Friday night, I would have bet everything that I own that my wife wouldn't ditch her husband of ten years for a perfect stranger, let alone embarrass me and make me a cuckold in front of a bunch of people that I thought were my friends. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Jim, I'll do everything in my power to fix things, but I can't do it alone and I can't do it when you and the kids aren't here. Please, I'm begging you, work with me to put this behind us and save our family. I know I caused this mess, but I just can't fix it without you. Also, I found out that you pretty much emptied the bank accounts and canceled my credit cards when you left, could you please transfer some money back to our checking account."

"OK, I'll transfer some money back after we hang up. I was so angry when I got home from the hotel that I'm amazed I left you with anything. Did you like the adornment I put on your lingerie? I'm sure Asshole liked my words of endearment when you showed it to him."

"I have no intention of seeing Marc again, so no, I did not show him the beautiful lingerie that you ruined. I bought them for you. I'm sure he wouldn't have been happy to see it. Despite what you think, he was nothing but a gentleman and would really hate to see what's happened because of our night together."

"Sure, only a fine gentleman seduces a dumb, married woman right in front of her clueless husband and sneaks her out of a club for a night of sex back at his place. A real upstanding guy."

"You've made your point. Can you at least tell me when you'll be coming home with the kids?"

"We'll be home on Friday around seven o'clock in the evening, I'm sure the kids will be worn out. I'll take an Uber from the airport so I can delay seeing your cheating face just that much longer."

Linda did a quick sob at his latest outburst and choked out, "OK, I can't wait so see you and the kids, I love you all so much."

"Sure you do, too bad you don't love any of us even half as much as you love yourself."

She started to respond but noticed that Jim had already ended the call.

The next day, Linda called Detective Pitney and let her know that Jim had finally called and was due back on Friday. The detective wished her luck with repairing the damage to her marriage.

---------- o ----------

The days dragged on and Linda racked her brain trying to think of some way she could repair even some of the damage her tryst with Marc had inflicted on her marriage. She scoured social media and read various accounts of how troubled marriages had been repaired, sometimes with the help of marriage counselors.

She read how some marriage counselors actually made the issues worse when they turned out to be bra-burning feminists that had ill-conceived notions that it was always the husband's fault. She knew she needed to find a marriage counselor that would make her actions be seen as serious, but not so bad to cause divorce. After hearing the anger and hatred in Jim's voice on the phone, she knew that finding the wrong counselor would surely be a disaster.

As Friday evening approached, Linda felt herself becoming increasingly anxious, knowing that her family would be home soon, but not knowing if Jim's anger and apparent hatred towards her had abated, even a little, since their phone conversation. I will just have to shower him with love and affection and show him just how much I need and want him.

Every time she heard a car go past, she found herself looking out the window, hoping that it was an Uber driver delivering her husband and children safely home. A little after 7:30, a dark car parked at the curb outside their home and she watched her husband help the two little ones out of the car as he directed them to go and ring the door bell. Emma and Tommy, both sporting new "Mickey ears" hats, sprinted to the front door. Linda dashed to the door and swung it open just as Emma reached the front door, her younger brother a few steps behind.

"There are my two little angels!" Linda cried, leaning down to catch them both in her arms.

"Mommy, mommy!" the two cried as their little bodies came crashing into their mother, smothering her with kisses and hugs. Tears streamed down Linda's face as she tried to hold her two babies as tight as she could without hurting them.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Emma asked.

"I'm just SO happy to see you baby girl, these are tears of happiness, silly!"

"I'm not a baby," exclaimed Emma. "Tommy's the baby and I'm two years older than he is!"

"I know, I know, you're my great big girl, aren't you? Did you take good care of your dad and Tommy while you were on vacation?"

Tommy then interjected, "I'm not a baby momma, I'm four years old and I'm a big boy."

"I know, my sweet little guy. Only big boys can go to Disney and ride the rides. Did you have lots of fun at Disney?"

Linda looked up and saw Jim with two rather large suitcases walking towards the front door while the Uber driver drove away.

"Do you need any help, Jim?" Linda asked, careful not to use any forms of endearment, still needing to gauge Jim's anger level, hoping that he had sufficiently cooled off during the past week at Disney.

"Nope, I got it," Jim responded. "Why don't you get caught up with the kids while I unpack the suitcases and put the clothes in the laundry?"

"OK," she replied, "just let me know if you need any help." Linda corralled the kids and led them to the kitchen asking them if they were hungry. While munching on some snacks and milk, the two urchins regaled their mother with the fun and adventures they had at the amusement park, in the pool at the hotel resort where they stayed, and even in the airplane on the way home. Linda had to fight back more tears as she regretted missing such a wonderful vacation with her family.

After their snacks, she sought out her husband, finding him putting the now empty suitcases away in the closet.

"Wow, those two sure are full of energy. Sounds like you guys had a great time at Disney."

"Well, its two hours earlier back in California, so they feel like its only 6 o'clock instead of 8 o'clock. They sure are a handful, but ya, we did have a great time together. Its been a busy day today, so they'll probably be ready for bed in another hour or so."

"I missed you SO much, this has been the longest week of my life. Maybe we can go to bed a little earlier tonight so I can show you just how much I missed you?" Linda said with some mischievousness in her eyes.

Jim slammed any chances at a loving reunion down hard and fast. "I don't think so Linda. Tell me, did you use a condom with Asshole last Friday night and I'm sure a couple of times last Saturday morning? He seemed like the kind of prick that would just insist on fucking his married women bareback."