Fooled Me Twice Pt. 06

Two weeks earlier, before my world imploded and almost destroyed me, Liz told me another 'Guess who I met today at the job site story, which was my que to retreat into Marty World. Right after asking her question, Liz gave me her cell phone to show me a picture and free her hands up for storytelling. I quickly exited Marty World when I saw the image on the screen Liz took of the subjects of her story; two women who would be close seconds to my wife in any beauty contest. While struggling to keep my mouth shut, I began listening to Liz's fable.

"...came back from the hardware store with a load of 2X6 lumber, and there were two Corvettes parked on the street, a copper 71 Stingray and a Lemans Blue 2007 ZR1."

Using my fingers, I blew up the picture, then returned to the story.

"...KC is the blonde, the stingray is hers, and the ZR1 belongs to Electra. They recently started dating Chad, a carpenter, and John, a bricklayer."

"Where do they work to afford a Corvette?"

"Oh, they're dancers, and I'm going to hook up with them to go shopping tomorrow. Georgie knows I won't be in."

George was the contractor building our home. These girls are dancers, and that I could believe. Before returning her phone, I sent the picture to my email.

The next evening, when I arrived home on time, the house was dark, and Liz's Escalade was missing from the driveway. Since I didn't want to cook, I made sandwiches and grabbed a couple of beers before settling in my recliner to watch TV. I took my first bite as Liz burst through the door carrying three shopping bags and a bag of barbeque from a place I went to once.

"I'm sorry, Marty, I lost track of time. I brought you a couple of pulled pork sandwiches that smell good." Their barbeque smells good but tasted like crap the only time I ate there.

"I made my own; you eat them."

"Oh, we ate inside." Well, that's a lie she just told. The dining room inside was a dump, fit only for druggies that hang out there.

She started talking about her day, but I didn't tune in until I heard the words girls' night out.

"What did you say, girl's something?"

"Girl's night out, probably on a Wednesday night because they're both off. We're still ironing out the details, so it won't happen until late next month."

Fortunately, the Marty radar was fully operational, which kept an eye out for crazy Liz.

The next morning, Liz slept past her usual wake-up time. As I was leaving for work, her purse was on the counter, and since she lied to me, I opened it up and found a receipt for a different restaurant, 'Jianna' with a date/time stamp, yesterday at 3:45. I was about to replace it and leave when I decided to check her wallet. Folded inside were three more receipts from Greenville's best department stores, totaling; mother trucker over $3,700. Well, Liz didn't bring home anything except a few bras, a pair of sandals, and a hat. Maybe I should check her Escalade before I go to work? Nah, I'd feel worse if there was nothing in the back of her Cadillac.

When I got to work, I made a five-minute call from my car and forwarded an email before walking in late.

*****

Twelve days later, I got home from work at my usual time, and the kitchen was dark. As I looked down the hall, Liz came out of the bedroom, startling me, and stepping backward, I almost fell over the coffee table. She was wearing a mini wrap dress with long translucent sleeves that were silver and sparkled, and the bottom part of the dress was so high that I could almost see if she had panties on. A pair of four-inch wedge shoes that she loved to wear dancing completed her outfit.

In addition, she was wearing gold hoops in her ears and a silver choker with a two-carat diamond in the center that was a birthday gift from me. Her eighteen-carat gold and diamond watch was on one wrist, and several gold bangle bracelets were on the other. Topping off this bizarre nightwear outfit, Liz was wearing an Auburn wig, with big curls over the shoulders hanging down her back. She was carrying a small gold clutch in her left hand.

"Wow" was what I said, but I thought she looked like a high-priced hooker.

She smiled and did a pirouette for me.

"Where are we going tonight? Do I need to change?"

The doorbell rang, and I looked at Liz, and she waved her hand, meaning I should open the door. Boy, my heart stopped when I opened the door. Two women wearing less than Liz were standing on the porch, her new friends KC and Electra.

I stammered a bit, "Um, please come in, um, I'm husband, Liz's Marty, I mean...."

They ignored me as they brushed past and did that cheek smooch thing, then turned around, and all three posed with a hand on their hip before walking toward the door without a 'hello, goodbye, or fuck you?' I stepped in front of Liz before she got to the doorway, and I closed and locked the door before leaning against it.

"Is there something we need to discuss?"

"Marty, get out of the way. I'm just going out dancing, aren't I allowed to have fun once in a while?"

Her dismissive tone was pissing me off, so I responded in anger.

"So you havn't had any fun, what since we met? Your selective memory is incredible. Did that start when you met those strippers who work at the 'Lust Gentlemen's Club' dancing topless for deviants and perverts? Have you watched them dance two feet in front of men, letting them slip five and ten dollar bills under their G string, with their greasy fingers lingering on their mound? Were you so jealous when you watched them dancing that you wanted to get a job, stripping at night? Have they told you about the private lap dances they give behind closed doors?"

Her eyes were wide open, betraying her, and she looked surprised that I knew what her friends did for a living and what went on inside the club.

I knew all this because the phone call I made from my car twelve days ago was to hire a PI to check Liz's new friends out and report back ASAP. And with the report in hand, I took a couple of divorced vendors there Monday night, and they stuffed about three hundred dollars in these two girls' G strings, and both received lap dances, paid for by your truly.

"The blonde has a tattoo on her lower back of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse doing it doggie style. The brunette has an impressive tattoo of a diamond on her hairless mound, with a dollar sign in the center."

The doorbell rang continuously, and I made a promise to myself to rip it out.

Liz looked shocked when I described the tattoos, so I wondered if they had already had a threesome. I continued lecturing her, "Obviously, you've already decided to go out without talking to me, so don't let me stop you."

I still had my jacket on, and I opened the door and bulled my way between the two strippers to get to my car. Backing out of the driveway, I noticed that their ride for the night was a black limo. I peeled down the street with no clear idea of what to do next.

Somehow I ended up driving eastbound on I-26 to Columbia. I was heading toward an accident or a 'reckless driving' ticket when I saw a blue light about a mile ahead. I figured no woman was worth killing myself or going to jail, so I slowed down and set my cruise control seven miles above the speed limit.

I felt vibrations over my heart, and for a second, I thought I had palpitations before realizing it was my phone on vibrate and someone was trying to call me. I ignored my phone and kept driving until reaching the outskirts of Columbia, where I stopped to get something to eat and get gas. Before returning to the road, I looked at my phone and saw eighteen missed calls, eight unread texts, and three voicemails. I looked at the missed calls; fourteen were from Liz, one from mom, and three from Danni. So I called Danni back, and she answered after one ring.

"Marty, thank God you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Liz is going crazy at the house; she thinks you've left her. So what the hell is going on?"

"She'll have to tell you. Just pass this message on to her. Say 'slut dress,' 'red wig,' 'two strippers,' and 'black limousine,' and she'll confess."

"Marty, where are you?"

"Got to go, sis. I'll call you later. Love you."

After hanging up, my car took me North on I-77, and I landed in Charlotte at 2 AM. I parked in a truck stop behind a tractor-trailer and slept until tapping on my window woke me up.

I couldn't see who was standing there because the sun was directly behind them, but I shielded my eyes, squinted, and saw a trooper hat, so I hit the down button for my window.

"Good morning, young man. Do you realize you're breaking the law by parking a car at a truck stop?"

The trooper was a large black man, a massive man at least six and a half feet tall, and the muscles not covered by his short-sleeve state trooper shirt were impressive.

I stared back but was still half asleep and couldn't reply.

"I need your license, registration, and proof of insurance."

My license was in my wallet, the other two items were in the glove box, and I handed the trooper all three.

"I'll be right back."

Great, just what I need to start this wonderful weekend.

He wasn't gone for five minutes, and I could see he was slowly walking toward me in my mirror, his left hand resting on his pistol.

"Sir, I need you to get out of the car."

"Uh, okay."

I opened the door and got out, and he walked me back to his car, where he searched me for weapons before putting me in his backseat. At least he didn't handcuff me.

"Are you aware there is a BOLO alert out for you?"

"What's that?"

"Be on the lookout. It's not an arrest on sight alert, merely stop and make sure you're not a danger to yourself or others. So, what are you running from?"

So I gave him the abridged version of the story leading up to last night and described what happened after I got home and who I was driving to see.

"That sucks. So you don't know where Ruth lives, but you have her phone number?"

"Uh-huh."

"So, call her up."

So I dialed her number, Ruth answered and gave me her address, and I thanked Trooper Washington before he led me to the exit I needed to take.

Thirty minutes later, I was knocking on her door. She opened the door, and a little toddler was right behind her, peeping around her leg at me.

"Marty, what are you doing here? Is everyone okay? Get in here, dummy."

She made me breakfast, and I began telling my story while holding Jason's little girl in my lap and feeding her from my plate.

While Ruth fussed around the kitchen, there was a knock on the front door, and Ruth excused herself and answered the door. Lissa and I were still eating when I heard someone crying. Picking Lissa up, I went down the hallway, and I could see a Marine officer and a Navy pastor, their hats under their arms.

"Oh no. Please, no, not Jason," I cried before rushing to comfort Ruth, carrying her daughter in my arms. Ruth was the one I heard sobbing, and she was holding a piece of paper in one hand when I wrapped my right arm around her.

"Ruth! What happened? Is it Jason?" I looked at the two officers, looking very uncomfortable, standing by the front door.

The Marine officer held his hand out and introduced himself, "I'm Major Winters, and this is Commander Croft, and we're stationed at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia. Are you related to Mrs. Carter?"

"Related by blood, no, but we're best friends, and in times of need, we help each other the best we can."

Ruth took Lissa from my arms and wandered down the hall toward the kitchen.

"Major, can you tell me what happened?"

He glanced at Cmdr. Croft, who nodded, and the Major mechanically stated, "I just informed Mrs. Carter that her husband, 1^st Lieut. Jason Carter, USMC, died last night when the aircraft...." And I drifted away, only hearing bits and pieces about the accident.

"... engine flameout... couldn't restart... inverted spin... aircraft recovery... body... notified."

I turned and staggered away toward the kitchen. I wrapped both arms around Ruth and Lissa and began to cry. How long we stayed this way, I couldn't tell you. The two officers must have let themselves out because we didn't see them again. When we stopped crying enough to talk, I picked up Ruth's phone and asked her, "Can you open your phone so I can call your mother?"

She used her thumbprint; I found Anna's contact page and made the call.

"Hello Ruth, how's my beautiful little granddaughter?"

"Anna, this is Marty. I had a problem, and I came to see Ruth, but something happened to Jason. Ruth needs you, Lissa needs you, cuz I shouldn't be here. Please come help."

"Oh my God. I'll be right over."

Anna came over, and I remember we ate something, and I tried to leave, but Ruth wouldn't let go of my arm and begged me to stay. So after agreeing, I called Liz.

"Oh, Marty, please come home. I am so sorry for the way I acted. Please come home so we can talk." Evil Liz must be gone.

"Liz, I'm at Ruth's house, and she needs, um, shit."

"Marty, what's wrong?"

"Jason, her husband Jason, plane crash, dead."

"Marty, where does she live? What's her address?"

"Charlotte, that's right, she lives in Charlotte, in a house with Jason and Lissa, their little girl."

Anna took the phone out of my hand and walked into the living room, talking to Liz, with Ruth behind her, carrying Lissa. I sat down on the kitchen floor with my back against the wall, knees pulled up, my arms lying on top, and my head resting on my arms.

My mind was spinning as I thought, 'Is someone or something keeping track of me? Why was I here right before they came to notify Ruth of her husband's death? Did a higher power make Liz temporarily brain-dead, resulting in me getting pissed off and running to see Ruth? Do I even believe in human evolution anymore?'

I was still sitting on the floor, weeping and trying to figure out what happened, when Liz wrapped me up in her arms.

I think someone gave me a pill because I slept all night and woke up with Liz in a strange bed. Liz was awake, staring at me, and when I opened my eyes, she began apologizing, "Marty, please forgive me. I'm so sorry...."

"Stop, Liz, we can't do this now. Ruth needs our support, and I need your help to keep me from diving into the deep end of an empty pool. I'm scared and confused, so before we can save our marriage, you need to help me save Ruth."

I called Dad and told him what had happened and that I needed a week off. He told me not to worry and transferred me to Carmen. I let her know what was going on and put her in charge of our three-person department. After hanging up, I looked out the window and saw Liz looking pretty animated, talking on her cell phone. Then I began going down my list, calling Momma next, then Dianna, Dixie, and Danni. Dianna was very quiet, and all she said was 'Marty' and 'okay.' While I was on the phone with Dixie, who was crying, Liz came back inside and wrapped her arms around me.

After my last call to Danni, Liz told me she'd called George and informed him she'd be gone for a while.

Ruth and I were walking zombies, I'd get up and go to the next room, and she would follow me. Anna tried to comfort Lissa, but Lissa didn't want Grandma; she wanted her daddy.

Liz saved the day by taking charge. She handed the baby to me, and Lissa stopped fussing and wiggling around. Next, Liz talked Anna into making lunch and then doing some laundry after eating. Then Liz took Ruth into the living room with a notepad and made a list of everything that needed doing in the next week.

Oh, how could I forget? Liz had to bury her step-parents when she was eighteen.

I carried Lissa into her room, and we played until she yawned, so I replaced a soggy diaper and rocked her until we fell asleep.

Lissa was awake, squirming in my arms, but the foul odor escaping from her diaper woke me up. I cleaned and changed her, and we went to the kitchen. Anna saw me coming and warmed up a bottle of formula from the refrigerator. Ruth was asleep on the couch, and Liz was talking on the house phone with the phone book in her lap. While I fed a hungry little girl a bottle, I ate a sandwich Anna made, and we went back to the baby's room to play.

The following five days were a total white-out for me and probably Ruth and Anna. I gradually reintroduced Ruth to Lissa because I'm pretty sure Liz wouldn't let me stay with them. This week, my wife was a rock star, taking care of all the arrangements, including burial at the national cemetery in Winston-Salem. Brad and Dixie, Cliff and Danni, and Mom and Dad drove down the morning of the funeral and brought Paul and Larry.

My cousins didn't stay for the funeral; they came down to drive my car and Liz's SUV back home for us. After the service, I stood on one side of Ruth, holding Lissa while people were giving personal condolences to Ruth.

The sun disappeared as a huge black man walked up to me, and I recognized him; it was Trooper Washington. I introduced him to Ruth and Lissa, and we moved a few feet away to talk. I explained what happened to Jason and asked if he believed in coincidence?

"No, Marty, I don't. You were delivered into my hands, and I sent you to Ruth when she needed you, almost like we were all pawns in a gigantic chess game. Don't lose faith, Marty; there's a reason for what happened this week, and someday it will be revealed to us." We shook hands and parted, and he was right, although it took forty years before the puzzle was solved entirely.

The two grieving women insisted I return home with my parents and Liz the following day. Ruth said they needed some space and time to grieve properly.

Early the following morning, Ruth and I embraced on the sofa and clung to each other, sobbing and hugging. When we finally separated, I quietly told Ruth, "You are my first love, and I know nothing will ever happen because of Liz, but if you need me, call. I'm only an hour away."

*****

Liz and I rode back with Mom and Dad, and I heard someone mention the day was Sunday.

I was still lost, filled with sorrow, and I couldn't shake these feelings off. I was in the center of my pity party when a face filled my thoughts, my big sister, Dianna.

"Liz, where's my phone?"

"It's in your pocket. Who do you need to call? I'll do it for you."

"No, I have to do this. God, I'm so selfish. I should have thought of this when those two officers notified Ruth. I hope I'm not too late."

I hit her quick dial number and waited. The sun would be coming up where she was, and I felt guilty for not thinking about her all week.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded weak, like she'd been crying.

"D! It's Marty. I'm so sorry I didn't call, I didn't think, I don't know what I was doing, I'm so stupid, please don't be mad at me, are you okay?"

"Oh Marty, I'm so sorry for Ruth. It's been tearing me apart all week, knowing how Jason died, and thinking about Joe flying the same jet off a carrier."

"I'm sorry, Dianna. All I could think about was poor Marty and poor Ruth. I never thought how this would affect my big sister."

We talked for most of the trip home before mom pried my phone out of my hand. I was okay now because I had someone else to worry about again.

Liz made lunch, and afterward, Mom and Dad went home. Liz and I ended up alone on our big sofa, and she started apologizing again about that Friday night.

"Stop, Liz, nothing to forgive. You had an evil Liz moment that became a terrible error in judgment, but you acquitted yourself more than enough this past week."

And I stopped talking and kissed her, a soft and gentle brushing of our lips, with her perfume floating through my nose up to my brain, slowing thought processes and ramping up primal urges. I cupped a breast covered by a bra and softly caressed it. Liz relaxed and melted into my space; her hand came up and stroked my cheek as she worked her body over mine until she straddled my waist. Freed from holding her body close to me, my other hand joined its partner, feeling the fullness of the ripe melons that would one day feed my child.