Generation Conversations

Generation Conversations

Simple solutions for all

Here's a short one with a little twist. At the very end, are some tips and encouragement for all the newer authors. Apologies in advance to Sbrooks103x and Harryin VA for being my examples. SB probably won't mind. Harry, I just made you kinda famous. Kinda.

Relax; it's just a story, people.

May 2018, a resort in the Bahamas

It's funny just how quickly a great vacation can turn into the shittiest vacation ever. When you're far from home, so many more things can go wrong - and not just wrong, but really wrong. Ironically, the thing that went horribly wrong in the Bahamas, in the merry month of May of two-thousand-and-fucking-eighteen, was something we'd brought there with us.

My wife, Leah, had booked the getaway in January. At first, I'd questioned why in May when our fifteenth anniversary was at the end of June. She'd said it was the best deal, and we could make our money go much further at the all-inclusive resort she'd found. She'd left it a little vague, but I'd decided to let it go. Leah and I - that's John Thompson, for the record - had been having more than a few marital problems, and I'd figured that taking a vacation might help. I'd also figured that giving my wife the third degree about it in advance might defeat that purpose.

For thirteen years, I would have said we had a very good marriage, although not perfect. Leah and I had both agreed before marrying that we didn't want any children. Looking back, at least one rug rat would have stifled the boredom. Still, she'd never complained.

In the two years prior to our trip, Leah had changed gradually. There had been the little digs, and the cold shoulder on occasion as well. Recently, she'd decided that she wasn't going to make dinner as often, saying she was tired of it. Some of the changes had raised red flags for me. That, in turn, had made me consider a life without Leah, and begin to explore what I really wanted out of my life and my future. Still, I'd been committed to my wife for a long time, and I loved her, so I'd resolved to fix our problems. Despite the changes in her demeanor, I supposed I'd assumed the same of her. She had gone ahead and planned a vacation for us, after all.

Then, near the end of February, Leah had informed me there'd been a change of plans. Leah's family had always been an odd. Her mom and dad were fine, as far as I was concerned, but some of the other characters, were, well, strange.

Leah's sister, Margaret, and her husband, Reginald, had one child. Her name was Amber. Reg was a strange sort of fellow, but Reg's brother, Gerald, was another story. Gerald was a giant of a man, both in stature and in liveliness. He was a self-made multi-millionaire, but never a snob about it. Family was everything to Gerald. He was at every holiday party, including OUR family holiday parties. I really couldn't find anything not to like about the man. I had always wondered if he was invited due to his money, though. I'd not wanted to consider Leah and the others as being that shallow - grubbing for money off the old guy. He was rather old, too, relatively speaking. Gerald was the oldest of seven siblings, while Reginald was the youngest.

When Amber had left for college, Marge and Reg had decided to move to Europe - Germany, to be precise. That had left Gerald without any real ties to Leah and me, so we'd seen him less often starting about four years ago.

Imagine my surprise then, when Leah had informed me that Amber and Gerald were coming along on our anniversary vacation. I'd about lost my mind. Leah had patiently explained that Gerald had an inoperable brain tumor, and, at seventy-eight, he'd had less than a year to live. Amber had been asked to tag along to keep Gerald occupied while Leah and I enjoyed our time together.

I'd begrudgingly given in again. What could I have said, that wouldn't have made me look stupid and callous? I'd asked several times about our itinerary and the room arrangements, and Leah had simply told me that all was taken care of. Gerald had gotten a suite for himself and Amber, and they would have their own thing going on. Gerald had only wanted to cross the Bahamas off his bucket list, and being around family members that he loved, was a bonus. That had provided at least some relief. I'd started to get an uneasy feeling in April when I'd walked into a room where Leah had been a phone conversation with Amber, and she'd quickly stopped talking and abruptly ended the call. Even in the best of circumstances, that would make a man curious. Our marriage, like I said, had not been at its best.

May came, and we went. I had to give my wife credit; everything went smoothly, and the only thing I had to worry about was packing my own stuff into my luggage. Leah even took care of organizing our passports and other key documents.

The first three days were indeed very enjoyable. Leah and I went parasailing and diving. We made love three nights straight, and I almost forgot Gerald and Amber were there. Almost.

The next two days, Leah asked - no, basically told me that she made plans with Amber and 'big Jerry,' as we all called him. When I started questioning her, she told me to stop whining, and to go take in an activity of interest for myself. That spoke volumes, since her first inclination wasn't to invite me to join them. I wondered why she would want to make plans to get away from me, considering how wonderful our first few days had been. As I was pondering that strange twist, Amber came strolling into our hotel room.

"Hey John," she said with enthusiasm. "What are you up to?"

"What?" I replied with a question of my own. "What are you talking about, and how did you get into our room?"

"Geez!" she scowled in reply, "what's the matter with you? I was just trying to make conversation."

"Sorry," I said more evenly. "Where's Leah?"

Amber sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. I picked up on her quickly-changing mood. She ignored my question and asked if she could use our bathroom, then went straight there, not waiting for a reply. Something was really off. I wasn't looking forward to her return.

When Amber came out of the restroom, she asked, "Can I have a glass of wine?"

"Are you going to tell me where my wife is, Amber?

"Can I please have a glass of wine?" she repeated, ignoring my question and placing her hands on her hips. "And get one for yourself, John."

I just shook my head and went to the fridge. The mini bar was the only thing that wasn't free at this place, so I'd taken the opportunity earlier in the day to walk to a local market.

"Here," I said, handing her the glass. She could sense my discomfort and anger building. I sensed the same in her. I had no idea why she would be angry, or uncomfortable.

"John," Amber said stoically, squaring her shoulders and standing up a little straighter, "Leah won't be coming back to the room tonight." She left it there.

I raised my eyebrow, staring her in the eye. Now, there's plenty of things that I am, but stupid isn't one of them. I had toyed with the idea that possibly Leah had seen or met someone, and that was why she wanted to suddenly have her two days alone. Now it seemed that this mystery fucker had likely propositioned her, and she'd decided to throw away our entire fifteen-year relationship.

"Aren't you going to ask me something, Uncle?" Amber asked, surprised by my lack of urgency.

"Who is he?" I finally did ask. "When did she meet him?"

Amber's look of confusion changed to amusement in an instant. "Him?" she stated, implicitly. "There's no 'him.' She's spending the night with Gerald."

Suddenly I was the confused one - beyond shocked, actually. I immediately sat down. Amber sensed that I was overwhelmed and came to sit by me, but before she could get started, in her attempt at consoling, I motioned her towards the chair opposite where I was sitting. If she was playing some kind of sick joke or stupid prank, I wanted to distance myself, and that included physically.

"She's with Gerald, John," she reiterated. "She'll be back in the morning."

"Leah is with Gerald," I started, half curious, half awaiting the punchline. "And what, she's fucking him? Is that what you're telling me?"

She confirmed my questions with a simple nod. The problem for me, and certainly it was a real problem, is that she didn't seem to be kidding - either that or she was an amazing actress. I'd hoped the 'F' word, and the accusation alone, would have shaken Amber out of whatever game she and they were playing.

It wasn't a staring contest. I sat there, trying to read her face for any tell - for any crack in her armor. She sat, returning my gaze, seeming to want to let the revelation sink in. Finally, she broke the silence.

"John," she said carefully, "I'm sure this is a shock. I, myself, am a little shocked that she went through with it. I didn't..."

"Amber," I shouted, "this isn't funny! Not fucking funny at all. You need to tell me the truth right now."

With that, I stood, making my way to the door at a rapid pace.

"They aren't there, uncle," Amber yelled after me, loudly but sadly.

I stopped, frozen - mostly because I didn't want to believe her, but partially because I wasn't sure what to do next.

"John, please come sit back down," she stated harshly. "He's booked them in at another resort to avoid any confrontation."

"You mean to keep me from stopping them," I spat as I turned back into the room. "So he doesn't get his ass kicked."

"Maybe," Amber said in a more soothing tone. "He's not coming back to this resort, and has already arranged a flight back to the main land. He said to tell you that he's doing that out of respect for you, as a man. He also said he's always liked and respected you, so he hopes you can indulge a dying man's fantasy for one night. He told me to tell you that he knows you're the kind of man who can forgive your wife for this gentle and giving act of kindness. He's going to... compensate you, for any hardship."

I couldn't think. I was numb. Obviously Gerald didn't know me at all. Leah was a different story. She knew better. Maybe whatever he'd offered her had clouded her judgment, but deep down, she surely knew that no amount of money was going to repair what she was about to break.

"And Leah went along with this willingly?" I asked my niece. "Did she, or did he keep her from talking to me about it?"

"You'll have to ask her that, John," she said more passively now. "I know they started discussing this back in February, after Leah told us about this vacation. I don't think she was coerced, if that's what you're asking."

I was pacing the room, even though I couldn't remember getting up. She had to know I'd never allow or forgive this. Clearly, she hadn't asked for permission. Even if asking for forgiveness was going to be easier for her, tomorrow, after the fact, she had to know that it would be nearly impossible to actually get it. She'd proactively made a plan to fuck another man, and roped me into a vacation to help her do it - and not just any man. My rage naturally shifted to Gerald. My first thought was that I was in a race against time; I couldn't let the cancer kill him before I did, because then he'd win.

I was getting dizzy; my brain was running white-hot at a thousand miles per hour. I sat down, leaned forward, and put my head in my hands. Amber was suddenly next to me with a cool washcloth, gently wiping my brow.

"I'm sorry, uncle," she said, "for having to tell you all this. I didn't want to be the one to do it. It's just that I'm... well, I stand to inherit almost all of his money, so I'm a little stuck right now doing his bidding. I didn't like it, but I couldn't afford to say no."

I thought I was perhaps getting a new image of this fucked-up family. I had to ask the obvious question.

"Are you... you know...?" I asked, leaving it hang there.

"Oh, no," she giggled her reply. "He's never asked that of me, and I wouldn't anyway. He may be a lot of things for a rich man, but an incest freak isn't one of them. Leah, of course, isn't blood to him."

"Well," I said, "I guess I should start getting packed. I have a lot to do." The shock hadn't really worn off, but I'd at least come to a few decisions.

Amber looked confused, if not shaken. "John, where are you going?" she asked a little worried. "Don't react or do anything stupid, please. I know you, and I'm sure you're not going to just let this go, but why not think things through - sleep on it, even. I can stay and keep you... company."

The way she put the emphasis on 'company,' brought both realization and disgust.

"Is that part of the package deal, Amber?" I berated her. "You have to tell me, and then keep me busy, so Leah has that over me? And you agreed to that, for what, some fucking money? Okay, get your pants off, Amber. Let's get the first round out of the way."

"No, John." She seemed embarrassed now, as well she should have been. "I... I wouldn't agree to that - for exactly the reason you just said. I never said I agree with or condone what they're doing to you. I wouldn't want to be part of something they could hold over your head. It's just I can feel your pain, so, I don't know, I thought maybe a BJ, or a little anal."

"Anal..." I half-whispered, now so completely lost, I couldn't even get words out.

"Yeah," she whispered back, and then seemed to have an epiphany. "Oh, I forgot. For people my age, anal is basically the same as what I think your generation called... um, second base."

"Amber," I stated seriously, and with a very strong desire to leave. "listen to me. We're not having any sex. I need one thing and one thing only from you. Can you help me?"

She seemed stunned, but nodded. I looked at the calendar app on my phone.

"I'm going to call you in ninety days." I began. "Let's say, August fifteenth. From a number that may come up as spam. I only need you to promise to tell me what's going on with Leah... and your fucking Uncle Gerald. Can you do that for me? If you ever cared about me as family, will you promise me that?"

It took a moment, and I almost told her to forget it, but she smiled and told me I had her word.

As soon as Amber left the room, I packed and took a taxi to the airport. Getting the next flight was a real challenge, but I guess in some other countries, a bribe gets the job done. Two hundred dollars and I had a seat on the red-eye flight back to Miami. While on the plane, I booked another flight back home, and then one more to San Diego. My sister, her husband and two kids lived there, and that's where I was going - indefinitely.

At home, I quickly paid off our credit cards from savings, took all but five hundred dollars from all our accounts, changed insurance and beneficiaries, and took what I thought I'd need for three to six months. Lastly, I filled out the forms for a leave of absence from my job. I was walking away with a few possessions and a measly thirty-one thousand dollars. The house could default, for all I cared.

By the time I was finished, it was almost noon, and I'd expected my phone to be blowing up from my fucking wife Leah, making all the normal excuses. Strangely, there was nothing. Maybe Gerald was that good in bed. It didn't matter. He'd be dead by the time I ever showed my face around here again, and Leah was already dead to me. Fuck the both of them.

May, 2019, same resort in the Bahamas

I tipped the handsome waiter a little extra as I took my dirty martini and Cuervo Margarita, and then handed my Aunt Leah hers. It was going to be a special day, and I wanted to indulge myself.

Leah lifted her glass high as she waited for me to get settled. "Here's to us!" she said exuberantly.

"To us," I replied less enthusiastically, touching her glass to mine lightly. We were sitting in Adirondack loungers, facing the ocean, which was a mere twenty feet in front of us.

Leah giggled as she took a long sip. She looked so cocky and devilishly excited. Occasionally, over the past few months, I'd questioned my resolve on the matter before me, but seeing that look steeled me for what was to come.

"So Amber," she said looking at me, "are we going to dump Gerald's ashes today, or tomorrow?"

"Well," I snarled back, "we're not going to dump him at all. Show some respect, you cow."

"Oh my God!" my stupid aunt responded, "is that some kind of remorse I see coming on, or are you having a flashback to last year? I've told you a hundred times, I'm sorry you had to go through that with John. I know it bothered you, deeply. If I could make it up to you, I would."

She was going to make it up to me; she just didn't know it yet. I glanced back towards the beach bar, forty or so yards behind us. The man I was hoping to see was standing there watching us, wearing a button-down shirt and tie, along with cargo shorts and flip flops. That sight almost made my expensive drink come flying out of my nose.

"And," I replied, "I've told you a hundred times, that was the meanest thing I've ever seen someone do to a person they claim to love."

"Oh, now," Leah admonished me like a child. "You'll understand when you grow... I mean, get older. Besides, it worked out in everyone's best interest."

"Yeah," I almost spat back. I was quickly getting sick of her. She was, indisputably, a narcissistic bitch. "It worked out for you, at least. You covered all your bases, I'll give you that."

"What's this all about, Amber?" she said, defensively and irritated by my accusatory tone. "You already know it worked out for the best. When your Uncle Gerald first asked me about spending a night with him, I thought he was nuts. When I told him John would never agree to something like that, and he responded by telling me he expected me to talk to John about it, and that of course he'd have to agree - or we'd just forget the whole thing, I was flabbergasted.

"But the more I thought it through over the next couple of days, I realized the gift... yes, the gift and the escape hatch he'd inadvertently provided me. I had my Hector from work, that beautiful, bronzed, Puerto Rican Adonis, and I was faced with the prospect of divorcing John. It would be ugly - uglier still if John got all mushy on me, begging to get me back or to go to counseling."

She giggled, then. "Counseling, heh. Oh, my. That's what I told Gerald. I told him that John had agreed, but we'd need a little money to cover the marriage counseling!" She snorted. She was just so incredibly pleased with herself. She was sickening, but I bit my tongue. It was almost time.

"Honestly, I was astounded when Gerald just laughed, and told me about the cool million. I almost shit my panties! For that much, John might have actually agreed - not that I would've told him about it, obviously. My holes, my treasure - no no, wait, this is better: my booty, my booty!"

"Well," I told her sarcastically, "his will is going to be settled next week, so when we get home, I guess that's that." I'd convinced my uncle not to give 'Leah and John' their million dollars until after he passed. I'd also made sure Leah thought it was organized as part of Gerald's last will in a legal way, even though Uncle Gerald left it to me to simply write them a check. He was so trusting when it came to me!

"I don't understand, though, Auntie," I continued. "If you're with Hector, and you get your million, aren't you at least going to try to find John, and grant him a divorce? I mean, it seems like the least you can do for his fifteen years of service under you, and all the pain you caused him."

"Aw, you're sweet," she mockingly replied. "You really care about John. Are you sure you didn't try to help salve some of that pain when you told him? I think being here has brought back some fond memories. Do tell, dear niece of mine."