Freddy Fingers

I was almost ready to turn off the news, thinking I might as well go grab the suitcases and check out of the hotel room we no longer needed, when the anchor announced that up next was comments from Freddy Fingers, himself.

I felt my face getting warm as I waited for the seemingly endless commercials for that bearded turd standing outside the hospital and talking into a microphone.

"So what made you think that was a good idea?" a monotone female voice asked.

Brayden smiled and shrugged. "We seemed alone enough, and you only live once, right? Definitely, neither of us expected to be filmed."

"You said us. That would be Patricia Stanos, whose husband was coaching while all that was going on."

Brayden laughed. "I'm not going to comment on who she was, sorry."

"But, her wedding ring is visible, so she was someone else's wife."

Brayden shrugged. "Sorry, no comment. Just that it was quite an experience and hope the video doesn't ruin what was a great moment for both of us."

"Son of a bitch," I snarled and grabbed my phone. I called Sunja, the IT at West Hope General Hospital, where Brayden worked as a nurse.

"Hey boss, what's up?" said Sunja's cheerful thick East Indian accent.

"Sunja, I need a really big personal favor. I need to know if Brayden Garde is working tonight and when his break is. Find out and text me."

"But, I can't..."

I interrupted him, "Do what you always do in order to time your break with that pretty brunette nurse you like. Just do it." It might sound like Sunja was a creep, but he was a really great kid and probably my most reliable tech. Also, that thing with him spending his breaks with that nurse, it was common knowledge she liked him as well. Everyone figured it was just a matter of time before they started dating.

I hung up and texted my kids that I needed to go check out of the hotel and run some errands. I wasn't even in my car when Sunja came through. Brayden was working and I had enough time to check out of the hotel and get to the hospital to meet him outside for his smoke break.

About an hour later, I was pulling into the hospital and parked in staff parking. During site visits over the past year, I'd seen Brayden outside smoking a few times and knew where to wait. It turns out I didn't have to wait, he was already outside wearing a coat over his scrubs smoking along with a couple other guys.

He had a big smirk through that hipster beard of his with his arms outstretched like he expected me to huge him.

"Coach Carl, what do I owe this pleasure? Is Patricia around?"

Yes, he was a little taller and looked like he worked out regularly. I gained a bit of pounds and probably looked more overweight than athletic at that time. However, when I played, I had the reputation of never shying from dropping my gloves no matter how much bigger the other guy was.

I was flashing back to that time in my life as I quickly moved in on Brayden, grabbed his coat with one hand and clocked him in the side of the face with my other.

"Did you fuck her?" I snarled.

I'll admit, Brayden took the punch really well and quickly started fighting back, giving me blows to the face.

I kept repeating my question, as I got a good punch in to his gut, doubling him over and I followed up with one to the nose. At that point, other guys were trying to separate us. Again, I flashed back to my time in hockey and squirmed out of their attempts to grab me, just like with linesmen on the ice. Eventually, two of them had me restrained. While I was defenseless, Brayden took the opportunity to give me a parting shot in the groin with his knee. He messed getting me right on the balls, but it still hurt enough to drop me to my knees.

One of the guys went to grab him, but he waved him off, signaling it was over.

"Fine, you want to know?" said Brayden, wiping his bloody mouth, "Yeah I fucked her. Doggy style in one of the arena washrooms after I fingered her till she came right in front of you. Guess what? I fucked her Friday night too. She thanked me because it had been so long since she had a real good fucking and then took a cab home to your sorry ass. Fucking touch me again, I'll have the cops charge your ass and have you fired. Michelle is done with hockey, you're a shitty coach anyway. See ya, cuck."

He walked away, leaving me to pull myself up and headed back. I thought he looked worse than I did, but what he told me after was the finishing blow. Patty was cheating with him and it wasn't a one-time thing.

The kids were still up when I got home, and upset when they saw my face. My kids weren't idiots, they knew who I was fighting. Reese gave me a look that pretty much said, 'Did that solve anything?' And I felt a little bad. I definitely didn't feel any better after hitting him, but at least people will see his face and know I didn't just accept him fucking my wife.

The next day, a reporter called me while I was getting the kids ready for school. I rudely said no comment and hung up. Halfway through the morning, a few showed up at my work. At lunch, Reese called from school in tears asking to be picked up. Kids were teasing her -- including her ex-best friend Michelle, and some guys were taking pictures of her in the playground. Of course, if the media tracked me down, it wouldn't be hard to track down my kids. The reporters and cameramen knew better to approach them, but the fact they were hanging around a middle school pissed me right off. I took the rest of the day off and checked in with Ty before heading to get Reese. He was getting harassed at school by both other kids and a couple reporters. I grabbed both my kids and headed home to find a news van waiting.

I rushed my kids into our house yelling, "No fucking comment." Ty flipped off the camera and Reese stuck out her tongue. Once we were inside, I knew we couldn't live like this. The thing between Patty and I was bad enough without the media circus. I remembered what Ty's vice principal told me. I thought he was being a dick at the time, but he was right. The best thing for my family was to get out of town and quickly.

I called my supervisor and asked if he had time to meet that afternoon. He told me that the board wanted to meet with me, and I should come in if I was up to it.

I've spoke to the board a few times, all around their sixties -- like my supervisor, Hal, and all semi-retired health professionals -- doctors who moved into administration. Usually it was me explaining some issue that was going to be expensive to fix, or advocating for some upgrade that seemed expensive but would save a lot of money down the line. When I walked in and saw blank expressions, I knew this had nothing to do with technology.

Hal glanced at the board members and then turned to me and said, "Carl, let's just cut to the chase. Everyone knows about the video with your wife and Brayden Garde. Reporters are around hanging around here asking people questions about you. Security cameras also caught you assaulting him outside the hospital where he works. This is becoming a publicity nightmare for us. Something has to be done."

I snorted. "So I'm getting fired because someone videoed an asshole nurse seducing my wife? Let me guess, Garde is keeping his job?"

"Look," said a female member, "With the union we can't touch him. Even for the brawl -- you clearly started it. He has been warned to not give any more public interviews, but in reality, if he does, it's not illegal. After all, that video was shared without his permission as well."

I rolled my eyes. "So, because I'm in an out of scope position, you can get rid of me, right?"

"Shit, Carl, it's not like that at all," Hal said and looked at me with pity. I hated that. "We all feel awful for what your family is going through right now -- especially your children. Off the record, after the interview he gave, most of us here were glad to see that prick get some five-finger justice. However, it seems a ton of people are following this story and probably will be for a while. That's not good for you and for us."

Realizing they weren't about to fire me after all, I calmed down a bit. "Okay, that's actually what I wanted to come in for. As long as my kids are in Winfield, the spotlight will be on them. I'm sure I can run things just as well in Rosetown. It's two hours away, and people won't know us even if they know the story."

They looked at each other, almost talking with their eyes. A man nodded at Hal who then looked at me and sighed, "That's not exactly what we were thinking. A number of health districts run on the same system as ours. We were thinking of doing a trade, getting someone to come replace you and you move and take over there. We have a couple of potential locations in mind already and will reach out to them after this meeting."

"What locations?"

Hal frowned. "There's three. One in Washington state, one in Arizona, and one in Alaska."

"Alaska, are you fucking kidding? Pardon my French. Those are all across the country."

"Alaska will be a last resort, I'm optimistic one of the other two will pan out. One is close to retirement and the other is younger and single. I'm sure we can entice one of them to come here."

I shook my head slightly. "Let me guess, this position swap isn't optional is it?"

Hal shrugged. "Yes, either way, we're asking you to resign. But, think of how good a move will be for your family. We'll make sure all your moving expenses are covered and have a place for your family to live right away. Carl, I wouldn't have supported this if I didn't think it would be good for you. I heard Patricia was fired, this could be a new start for both of you."

"I guess I have no choice. But, there's no way I'm moving to Alaska. Washington would be nice. Great state for hockey for Reese." I paused briefly, then added, "And it would just be the three of us. Patricia will not be coming. I'm going to make an appointment with a lawyer as soon as I can."

Again the look of pity from Hal. "Carl, I'm so sorry to hear that. You two were so great together. I guess I don't have to say you're not to have any contact with Brayden Garde at all. You walk into a restaurant and he's there, turn and head out. He will be told to do the same."

It was a few days after that I received confirmation that Arizona was the winner. I would be taking the children on an eight-hour drive, or two hour flight away from their mom and only surviving grandparents. The kids did return to school, but after a day of frustration, I pulled them. It was easier to ignore the media vultures in our own house. I was also naively thinking in a few weeks I'd be enrolling them in a new school in Arizona anyway.

It ended up not being that simple, after several video chats with my new soon-to-be bosses, nothing was confirmed for a month -- even though I was directed to clear out my work space and have it all ready for my replacement ASAP. With my banked time and overtime worked, I was getting my full salary for three months as well as a generous severance package -- which was to cover all moving expenses. Even though I wasn't working, I did consult a few times with Sunja, who I named as acting supervisor until my replacement started.

Even dealing with my marriage seemed to needlessly drag on. It took a few weeks to finally meet with a lawyer that friends recommended. With me soon to be moving out-of-state, it really complicated things. I didn't want to go for adultery unless I had to, as angry as I was, I knew Patty and I would need to find a way to co-parent some how. Considering I was already taking the kids, I didn't want to burn her needlessly. The house would be sold and split evenly, as with our retirement savings. Ty was adamant that he didn't want to live with his mother at all -- even for just the summer. So, I was allowing partial custody of Reese, and my lawyer recommended what he considered a fair support payment for the situation -- especially if Patty remained unemployed.

What really surprised me and pissed me off almost as much as her cheating was Patty still refused to even talk to the children. Both kids talked to Bob or Mary, who passed on messages of love and apologies, but she refused to even talk to them. I tried for months, after I calmed down to even communicate by email, but nothing. My soon-to-be-ex-wife blocked me completely off and my in-laws kept giving me the run-around. It was almost like they thought the whole thing was my fault and not their precious daughter's. I felt something like the Arizona move should be discussed in person, so I even told my kids not to say anything to their grandparents until I spoke with their mother.

It was seven weeks since the Freddy Finger video was released that the media presence finally let up. However, the kids and I still got looks whenever we left the house. I think we were all looking forward to the move and a fresh start. Reese put on a brave face, but I knew the fact her mother was ignoring her was eating her up inside. I tried to explain that to Patty's parents, but they just say 'she's not ready and this is for the best, tell the kids she loves them.' Now my anger for her cheating spilled over to anger for her abandoning Ty and Reese. I was at the point of thinking, 'fuck you, you can find out about Arizona when we send you a postcard along with the divorce papers.' I also got confirmation that I started in four weeks, and they'd have a place for us in three to settle in. It was time to move on.

A couple weeks later, a realtor sold our house discretely. It was never listed or had one of those signs, but he showed around potential buyers and found one. Since we weren't working or in school, the kids and I had things mostly packed up and just had week-to-week items not packed away. Finding family mementos that included Patty was especially hard. I think it was really starting to sink in that we were moving away from the city we were all born in, and from Patty. I had the divorce papers waiting in an envelope for about three weeks at that point, saying that I would deliver them myself since it detailed the parental arrangements with us living out of state.

I doubt it was a coincidence that the day after the house sold that Bob called me and said Patty wanted to meet with me alone, and then wanted to see the kids. I reacted by telling him that she had her chance and then hung right up. Of course I knew I had to see her, but I was so mad for everything that I wasn't going to make anything easy. Not even an email or text in months?

Bob called back an hour later and laid it on thick of how he knew this had been so hard on everyone -- even his daughter -- but there was no way to move on without us talking. And that Patty still loved me, and of course loved her children, blah, blah... I told him that I'd see her. We set a time to meet at their place, because Patty still didn't like going out in public.

Reese was so excited, she was shaking. Ty, on the other hand, loudly argued with me about going. After voices were raised, we apologized and hugged, Ty agreed to see his mother. However, he said that he refused to hug her or anything. I figured that would have to be enough. I felt a little queasy in my stomach as I grabbed the envelope with the papers and we headed off.

I tentatively pulled up to the condo. Bob and Mary came out immediately and waved Ty and Reese to join them in their Cadillac. After Mary and the kids were in the car, Bob came up and quickly shook my hand. I noticed him frown as he glanced down at the envelope I was carrying.

"Carl, I'm glad you came. Please, have an open mind and remember this has been as awful for her as anyone. This time apart has been for the best for everyone. She didn't want it -- she needed it."

"I will and I strongly disagree with that," I said grimly.

As the car pulled away, I walked into the condo. As I passed the dining table by the front foyer, I set the envelope down. I figured if Patty saw it right away our talk would get a lot less civil fairly quickly.

"It's me," I announced.

"Here in the den," came the anxious response from Patty.

In all the time we've been together -- even when we broke up when Patty first became pregnant -- we've never gone more than a week without talking to each other. Here was my first contact with my wife in nearly two months. First thing I noticed was her long dark hair was cut short into a bob and dyed red. The second was Patty looked like she lost a lot of weight, which made her look over forty. The fact she was wearing no make-up at all didn't help.

"New look?" I said pointing at her hair.

"You hate it, don't you? Just like you hate me," Patty said sourly, "I'm surprised you even agreed to do this."

"Well, your dad figured we need closure before ending things."

Patty frowned and shook her head. "Then it's really over. Before you even hear my side of things, you're just walking away."

"For fuck's sake, I'm not just walking away, you left us. Remember? Half the country knows what you did. I can't pretend it didn't happen, and neither can the kids. They deserve to get some space from this." I took a breath, realizing I nearly blurted about us moving, and spoke in a forced calm voice. "Besides, I'm here to listen."

"And then hand me those papers that you brought in with you or were you leaving them for me to find after you left?"

I shook my head, a little frustrated at her attitude. "Look, you said you wanted to say your side. Say it."

Patty frowned and looked like she would cry at any moment as she fidgeted with her hands. I noticed she, unlike me, was still wearing her wedding ring. "First, Carl, I can't say how sorry I am and how horrible I feel that you had to endure all of this being dragged out in the public -- especially our kids. Believe me, I hated myself way worse than you ever could for putting our family through that. You're all blameless and this is all my fault. But the things they're saying aren't true. I made an awful mistake, but not nearly as bad as people -- and I'm sure you, think."

I laughed coldly. "Really, because there's a video out there that really looks like foreplay -- and then there's the picture of him getting to second base at some dance club."

"For fuck's sake, Carl, can't you please let me tell my side of things?" Patty snapped.

I crossed my arms I gestured for her to continue.

"Fine, I was in the dance club with him, but it's not what you think. Look, I went out with Heather to that pub on Twenty-third Avenue, like I said I would, and we're drinking by ourselves when Brayden walked in alone and joined us. We were all drinking and having a good time, but the drinks went too much to my head. I wasn't thinking clearly at all. Heather went to the bathroom and I texted her I was going home, but then Brayden convinced me to go the club with him instead.

"It was the stupidest thing I could've done, but I did it. I just felt so...warm and fuzzy, like in a trance. Something was not right with my head. Yes, I kissed him while he touched me... inappropriately and then I left to go outside to behind the building with him. Once there, he undid his jeans and tried to guide me down to my knees to suck him off. That snapped me into reality. I knew I never should've let it get that far and felt guilty as shit. Brayden was mad, calling me a cock tease, but I knew I needed to get away from him. I took a cab home, and saw you texted and how I replied. Honestly, I don't remember clearly enough to know if I even typed that text or he did for me. Once I got home and saw you in bed, I remembered I was supposed to wake you for cuddles. I felt so dirty that I just stared at you crying instead. It was later that I suspected..."

"I don't need to hear a whole fucking backstory," I cut her off raising my voice as I felt my face getting warm, "Yeah, I've gotten drunk a few times too around sexy women -- especially at work functions. Funny think I never ran off to suck face with any of them at a dance club while they rubbed my cock."