All Comments on 'Ghost on the Wind Pt. 02'

Nice follow up to the original story!

5

Fitting and classy epilogue to part one. A treat to read. Makes me want to go back and revisit a tale or two from Mainefiddleheads. Thanks much for your story.

Always enjoy a cheated on husband that gets his revenge by living well. Even though I wouldn't have minded Frank get familiar with a good old hickory axe handle.

I understand that the husband will always be connected to his cheating exwife through their children. But I don’t see how that would justify trying to have and maintain a friendly relationship with the cheater, and unapologetic one at that. I understand letting gonof the hurt, but why have that kind of people around more than the minimum required?

I nice conclusion to the first chapter, thanks for wrapping it up.

My one criticism is that there was still too much narration and there's no better way of sucking all the emotion out of the story. The final scene with Karen coming to visit could have been the perfect conclusion to the story, but without any dialogue her apology just came across as flat and insincere.

---

Kate gently squeezed my hand, her expression full of compassion. "Please go and talk to her. She's upset..."

I grimaced at the unpleasant prospect, then turned to look out in the garden, where my ex-wife sat alone on the wooden bench among the roses. Years of loneliness and depression had not been kind to Karen, leaving her a bitter shadow of the woman who had once been the centre of my world. With a sigh of resignation that earned me a kiss from from Kate, I left the house and walked across the lawn, bracing myself for another angry tirade full of recriminations.

Hearing me approach, Karen looked up... and I was shocked at the depth of pain I saw in her eyes.

"Kate's so happy with you... but that should have been me," she whispered, her voice leaden with regret. "I made a terrible mistake... and ruined my life."

I sat down on the bench beside my ex-wife and wondered what had prompted this abrupt change in outlook. In a moment of epiphany, I realised that Karen had been holding out hope that we'd eventually get back together... and seeing me happily remarried meant that those hopes were dashed.

"I'm so sorry, AB... I swear I never meant to hurt you," Karen sobbed, her voice breaking. "The way I behaved back then... I was so stupid, arrogant, and selfish... I don't know what I was thinking!"

---

Show don't tell!

And of course Frank and Karen are still unpublished.....

J_W, very nice and well told story and follow on romance to your LW tale. AB was incredibly lucky to adjust so well and meet the right women so quickly. In real life, how often would a divorced man, in a new town meet a real candidate for a new wife/partner so quickly?

The interplay with his daughters and the selfish wife are believable and you paced the story very well. Full 5 and thanks for sharing it with us.

My comment after part 1 included echoing a wish originally made by management91399 - that AB wrote a story about his journey from married to betrayed to enraptured; which became a best seller - sticking the blade deeply into Frank & Karen's hearts who both wanted to be published authors.

It was not to be the author chose a different route, but that the one chosen was every bit as good a story as one could ask for.

The writing drew the reader inside the character "AB" allowing us to rejoice with him as his 2nd life unfolded. Very well done. *****

"If you come back, I'll end it with Frank." - LOLOL! "Ending it with Frank" should be a given, no a conditional! She should say, "I've ended it with Frank. please come back."

Let's see, his wife has already cheated and is living with her lover in THEIR house, he's filed for divorce, yet they can't do anything until the divorce is final? {Face palm!}

I know this is new, but I feel like I've read it before.

I like what you wrote and almost wish I'd written it.

In my mind, those words you give her aren't true. She only wished not to hurt him to the extent that her lies hid the truth. It was a convenience that would keep his behavior within the parameters she wanted. Her disrespect was evident as she left for her trip.

For me, that last meeting (and I don't imagine it becoming a regular occurrence) was a chance for her to admit that she was responsible for what happened and for AB to get just that much closure. In AB's world, it was more important that he got through the weekend without pain. It meant he was over her. The one true apology was meaningful, but nothing else from her was needed. His story was about healing, not her willingness to face the truth. That's why I kept it short. The destination was a better life, not her acknowledgment.

To me, the two stories contrast two views: her desire for what she wanted for herself and his desire for those around him to be happy and to be a part of that happiness.

Still, I liked what you wrote and almost wish I'd used it. Be well.

Really enjoyable coda to part 1, of course part 1 has all the fireworks and gets the old adrenaline going as our bloodshot eyes scowl at the tail of writing workshop hi-jinks! Here is the resolution and not with a bang but with the sound of two older people who were lucky enough to get a chance at a second act. Nicely done. The one thing, and it's not just this story here, a lot of these husband moves out stories the thing I can't imagine is moving away in under 6 weeks. I've moved several times and I think building the Brooklyn Bridge took less time! Okay I have a lot of crap but wow, AB must have been a minimalist to be able to pack and split in under 6 weeks. Catch a cheating spouse, start the divorce, transfer your job AND PACK THE HOUSE? AB is superman.

Thanks for an enjoyable couple of hours, keep it up, good stuff here.

back east you have Kiss me Kate and Ghosts on the Water, who is to say they are not relatives. TK U MLJ LV NV

back east you have Kiss me Kate and Ghosts on the Waterways, who is to say they are not relatives. TK U MLJ LV NV

This dovetailed well with the first chapter. You maintained the character, or lack of same, of the cheating wife. She never really got it. Reasons and excuses flowed when none were acceptable. Nice job.

chur m8 awsum story

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have been looking for part 2 and just discovered it. If this was the only chapter then Romance would have been ok but since it relates to both AB's old and new marriage, it should have been in LW. You are an excellent writer and I encourage you to write more. Please don't make your protagonists saints. No mature man would wait for a divorce to move on when his wife has already moved her lover into his old house. AB should have been celebrating his divorce after all this time.

Thank you for your work. I look forward to reading more from you.

reasonable man

5 stars but I'm with powersworder. A dialogue with his ex where she takes ownership of her lies and deception and offers a sincere apology would have added to the conclusion.

I enjoyed this wrap-up and moving-on.

I agree that it was good to stay consistent with your characters and have this chapter be about his getting on with his life, now that he is away.

Not every LW story has to be about a nuclear retaliation. Sometimes, it is better for it to simply be over, which is why this category is better for this than LW.

Thanks for sharing, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

I loved every aspect of this fine story!

For an unplanned sequel, you did a mighty fine job!

Damn, Kate turned out well. Karen had her face destroyed by Kate.

Well done, indeed.

Powersworder‘s suggestion of adding a formal dialogue where Karen apologizes to AB leaves me “FLAT”! AB would say “I don’t want to hear my ex-wife’s apology. I want to saver her humiliation for ruining our marriage due to her selfishness and shelf indulgence. Every-time I think about my failed marriage, it brings a smile to me face knowing that Karen is still suffering! I told her point blank that I would divorce her if she cheated with Frank but Karen laughed about my comment and still cheated! She thought that I was cuckold. There is no verbal apology which can right her wrong. Only a cuckold would forgive her! I will always remember the video of Karen ridiculing me in front of Frank while sitting nude on their hotel bed during my phone call to her. That was the worst thing that Karen did to our marriage.”

So I will infer from the above that Powersworder is just another cuckold like Swinger Joe and all the other forgivers!

This was lovely. I married my husband in York. His family is from Maine. With the exception of his grandmother, they don’t like seafood. I think it’s weird and so does Grammy. We hit the Rockland Lobster Festival every year but had to miss this year. That sucked.

Very Professional

You tell a good story, Just_Words. Interesting, entertaining and believable; not to mention very human.

I look forward to reading more of your work.

Brilliant. Great theme. Well written and characters we got to know. Please keep on writing. 👏

Heck of a writer! I enjoyed every word, and have now read all the pieces you have posted to date. They are all wonderful, and I hopefully look forward to many more stories from you. If you are not a professional writer, I strongly suggest you consider it.

Thank You!!

Wonderful story. Keep up the good work.

Great until the new wife wants to bond with the ex. Turned into a big load of scrap.

I gave Part 1 a 5*. This Part 2, however, was just pablum with everything too good to be true.

I decided not to leave a score.

But a good story. The only flaw is Karen's attitude and the MC's naivity. Karen fell out of love with him years before the Illinois trip, not months. You did not touch on it but it was extremely obvious from her actions.

Great followup with far too much Maple syrup drizzled everywhere. Overly sweet.

Didn't like Kate meddling and bring Karen up there, but otherwise liked it.

1.Karen's apology should have been in words and with a break down and realization of what she had lost.

2. The Husband should have taken to writing and got published. That would have been the best snub.

Just_Words stories often contain something original. Then, every once and again, I stumble over some annoying cliche that I've read a couple of times to often. Telling his adult daughter how they have to feel about the woman their mother blossomed into? Presuming, no stating, that at their age they would still need a mother? My goodness, what should those two learn from their mother? Deception, cheating, scheming; when caught- how to play the blame game, laying the guilt on the insured party, thus shifting the responsibility for the results of your decisions and actions onto the betrayed?

They probably need a motherly friend from time to time, but they have both of their grandmothers for that, a friendly female professor perhaps and later his new and improved wife....

Agree with reader from germany.

Also mourn when divorce finally all done. Celebrate

Great all round story. Loved it. AAAAAA++++

2nd read, still damn good, better.... Got to love your line "That night, she made sure that Karen heard." it wrapped it up very well and spoke volumes.

/

6*, Hooyah, many Salutes....

What a lovely read! When I decided to marry lo these many years ago, my dad took m aside and said you've made a good choice. I nodded. He continued, but not the only choice. This story reminds me of that great, gentle advice.

Didn't add much to the original. Given what Karen said to her boyfriend and how much she totally disrespected her daughters father, she doesn't deserve the time of day. There is a difference between infidelity and seeking to humiliate and dishonor. Her actions were treachery. She can't even claim statements in the throws of passion. Fuck. Her. The new wife is too weak. I would NEVER put my husband through that if his first wife was as disgusting and nasty. He deserves better from ME. He is the most important person to me. No one else. I will always choose him because I love him. Everyone else is secondary.

Liked it right up until Kate decided to disrespect AB by bringing the cheating slut into his house. Closure happened when he received the final divorce decree. For that after, why did he need to talk the the whore when he went back too Raleigh for Christmas before the divorce? There was nothing to be gained from that. And to embrace her before leaving her parents place the night before was an impossible task. No man could ever think about touching a skank like that. So except for those ridiculously weak touches, both parts were entertaining.

Good take on a marriage that has run its course. I do wonder why you felt the need to take a shot at another author of this stories genre with the diesel ford pickup comment...?

Merlin, I wasn't taking a shot except at the genre. I figured there were two ways to leave - with a lot of noise so everyone knows or so quietly that he just disappears. I wanted to stress the other.

A good one Just_Words

Stupid entitled ex wife.

Kate overstepped her bounds by forcing AB into accepting his ex into his new home.. She doesn't deserve to be part of the loving family she blew apart. 5 stars until the ending lowered it to 2.

WELL WRITTEN

I think a lot of readers missed the point that when Kate invited Karen up for the weekend it wasn't just to make a relationship for the girls sake, but it was also a way to show the bitch what she gave up by cheating on AB. Kind of like rubbing her nose in it while smiling all the while because Karen's still the looser. AB had his revenge and while not forgetting what she did, life still goes on it's too short to keep hating someone. Showing Karen that he came out ahead is just icing on the cake, so to speak. Loved the story and I had to give it five stars.

@oldpantythief, thanks! You got it. She wanted to erase the pain with closure and demonstrate her firm hold on what was hers.

Loved both chapters. 5 stars each. Howeverrrrrrrr!!!! In the first chapter he changed all the locks, put the PI's report on the table. How did she get in? (Unless I missed reading something). Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be critical. It is just my curiosity and takes NOTHING away from enjoying both chapters. Thanks so very much.

@GrandEagle53 - I figured it was her house, too, so either she could go to the trouble of hiring a locksmith or breaking in. It was only meant to be an act of rejection rather than taking the house from her.

Very well done and definitely a keeper in my favorites list.

Oh my God you write from the heart with such warmth.

You must destroy some literally brought tears to my eyes.

Again thank you thank you thank you for wonderful stories.

Nice… very nice. Such a sweet, fulfilling story. Thank-you

Whether she is right or wrong in her comment, angelrider would have been the one of the first to comment about the story not being finished. I disagree, it was a very good tale built just from words. Thank you - 5 stars.

somewhere east of Omaha

I feel so much better with part 2 it now feels like the story is complete. I still feel like Karen never paid bough if a price but in the end living well is still revenge enough. I feel you out so much feeling into your characters as a writer well done.

A good romance, at the beginning, then got trite and silly at the end. Karen had become mentally dysfunctional, a bit of a psychopath. Well, at least a narcissist to the extreme. Giving credit where credit is due, who should know more about what words mean than a writer? So when the wife was spewing her dishonest self-serving non-apologetic bull shit, even blaming her husband for her adultery and contempt, she was displaying borderline psychosis. She was acting and talking crazy. She offered to end fucking Frank if her husband would come back? Is that like the bully offering to stop beating you if you give him twenty dollars a week? If that sounds stupid, then that's how Karen sounded, stupid, and completely soulless.

Which of course begs the question, when did she change, why did she change, or did she really change, or just reveal herself. Given all the other tropes you used I was disappointed the husband didn't ask his daughters for a DNA match test.

Just too timid and demure and gentle for me. Frank was a predator. Predators need to be instilled with pain and fear to change their behavior. The husband probably would have saved other marriages. In fact he should have crippled Frank before the asshole got to spend six weeks fucking his wife. Guess you lack the imagination how that might be accomplished without getting caught. Read more. So, kind of George Anderson weak and tepid. But thanks for the effort.

At the risk of belaboring the discussion of this one point in the story line, for Kate unilaterally to extend Karen an invitation to spend a weekend at their home was a presumptuous and manipulative action that showed a lack of respect for her husband. I suspect Kate would find little joy in AB attempting to manage her relationship with her first husband and would not be pleased if AB attempted to bring their sexual activity to her ex-husband's attention if the opportunity ever presented itself. It seems doubtful there was a more petty and pathetic way to make it clear that the ghosts of the past lived on in the minds of the new couple. Karen likely was pleased to realize her thoughts and feelings meant so much to her ex-husband's new wife that Kate felt it necessary to put on a mating ritual display that typically would be associated with non sentient creatures. That was pretty clear evidence Karen was living rent free in the middle of Kate and AB's marriage.

3 stars - the story was OK, BUT kind of veered off into LALA LAND, when Kate invited Karen without consulting AB.

Yeah, I could have done without the ex showing up...

Another pig story

Same as for the first chapter, I like it.

I liked that story, well told and well done.

Others have pointed it out but I feel that inviting your husband's ex-wife after a bitter divorce without consulting him beforehand is totally unrealistic and very disrespectful. Totally out of character.

4 stars just for the ex showing up at the end. I know the new wife wanted to build bridges but I think some bridges can never be rebuilt. The level of disrespect during the MC's marriage and even after where she tried to blame him for straying in between begging him to come back destroyed any sort of good faith between them. Even if there was a way to at least be friends the new wife should have talked it over with him instead of springing it on him, doing what the ex did both springing something on him he didn't want and walking all over him. Almost expected another ghosting about that time.

I may be remembering wrong, but I wasn't thinking about building bridges. I had in mind exorcising demons. She wanted him to face his pain and cast it off. But it's been some time and maybe I'm remembering wrong.

Marvellous story, well written with a beautiful touch of humour.

Excellent. Yes, I'm a sucker for a happy ending. But look at the phraseology. That's truly impressive. And lots of fun.

THANKS

Well written with a good plot and decent characters.

The only wrinkle is the ex being invited at the end. Kind of puts a damper on ab otherwise excellent story.

4*.

Decent story,though why did Kate have find him a boat not his sailing friends?.

Thanks I enjoyed this. Would've like more pain for the ex, but I'm a vindictive bigger; so that's on me.

OMG Better than a Hallmark movie, it left me feeling better about life in general.

Absolutely delightful story. Small bitch though. I honestly believe plunking his ex in at the last was clumsy and unbalanced the ending.

Beyond that, it was really well done.

Good tale, think this is my third read - thank you!

somewhere east of Omaha

As Kate said, AB allowed the slut Karen to get away with too much hence the skank dragged the divorce!!

AB is really a wimp that needs to find his man bits!!

Good story that was fucked up when Kate invited the skank Karen to their home

Good story overall but I find it flat and without relief.

AB and Kate are too perfect, too nice and too moral.

This makes the characters too smooth and leads to a lack of interest.

The life of an angel or a demon is too predictable and devoid of interest but a being who oscillates between the two, there you have matter.

AB and Kate are just about perfect, and just right! Marvelous story! Well told!

Well, as quibbles only, Frank needed a big punch or two in the nose, which he never got, as early as AB knew he was over the line with Karen, and she should not have been welcomed into their home at the end. But I respect Just_Words' choices as to his characters.

Great 2nd chapter!

You finished the story very well.

I loved this, my second read of the stories. I thought I was reading something from MFH and that is the greatest compliment I can give. Thanks!

I only wish he had written a book that was published , but that’s just a little bit petty. Maybe.

Really good writing. I could hear the narrator's voice. I was disappointed that he gave his ex any respect at all at his Christmas visit and I hated that his new wife interfered by inviting Karen to stay without telling him. That killed my belief in the loving and respectful relationship the author had created so convincingly. Or will her ex be turning up at our MC's invitation? Doh! Spoilt the end for me.

Great story by a skilled story teller. Everyone got what they deserved

Would have been a definite 5* but you lost them at the end by having Kate invite Karen for the weekend. Not just no but HELL no !

Probably the 3rd or 4th read for me. Great story!

Such a sweet and heart warming story!

Thank you!

Well written. Loved the family support from his kids and in laws. But Karen must have developed a mental disorder. Premeditated planning of cheating for six weeks to live as another man's wife as a "newlywed"? After 25 years of marriage? And all the deceit to try and set it up? But worse when he pushes back and warns her and they argue, she still goes through with it? Wtf? That isn't just arrogance of self-entitlement, that is abject stupidity. And probably worse, after discovery she takes years to apologize, continues to blame her ex husband for like 5 years and moves Frank, her soon-to-be divorced husband into her house like a week after her husband fled?? That seems simply delusional. And all of this despite the condemnation and disgusting of her family, parents and kids, and her friends. Huh? Pure denial of any wrongdoing. There were no signs of this willful disconnect from reality during their 25 years of marriage. Hence can only rate 4 stars.

Tell me on what planet does a wife want her husband to be friends with his ex wife, a good story nearly ruined by that pc crap.

What a terrible ending. Genuinely so disappointed

Quite long but well told story, nicely put together with good characters and descriptions

Too obvious.

Pretty good in lots of ways, but the attempted closeness with the ex was over the top. It didn't go well when he tried to talk with her that first Christmas, did it ? And then for the new wife to invite the ex for the weekend without asking him first ? Totally unacceptable. She was trying to "build bridges" ? But then she purposefully got loud during sex so the ex would hear ? That's some seriously twisted passive-agressive bullshit right there. And the fact that he just accepts whatever she wants shows that he didn't learn much from his first marriage. If you always treat your mate that way, always caving to whatever they want, even if you think you're doing it out of "love", you are setting yourself up to be taken advantage of. His old wife certainly did, and he's not doing anything differently this time, so he's a dumbass in that regard. Maybe his new wife won't end up treating him as badly as the ex did. I hope not. But if she doesn't, it will be because of her, and not because of him. He has clearly given her all the power, and that's not healthy in any relationship.

As a sailor, I would have like more info about the boat he chose, and his times on the water, but this was a good story, well structured and related. Thank you

I was hoping he would write a novel since Karen was snobbish about that in the first part. :)

@avidreader123 - What a great idea! I'll think about that.

5 stars - good story - I liked it.

The end was a bit of a disappointment with Karen being invited up but it was a mere blip in an otherwise excellent story. One thing, though; Karen's belligerent insistence that her ex's "fragile male ego is making a mountain out of a molehill" was never satisfactorily called out. I'd have liked to see the following response to that one:

"Really? So perhaps you'd like explain some things to me. First up, if it was only a trivial little adventure for you why did you go to such extraordinary lengths to conceal both your plans and their execution from me?

Second, you fell out big time with our daughters over this; at one point they disowned you and things are only now starting to heal. They clearly didn't think their father's 'fragile male ego' was exaggerating the seriousness of the matter.

Your parents are mad at you and want to continue a relationship with me, so they don't think so either. Some of our friends have disowned you. You are pariah in your own neighbourhood and the only men who show any interest in you are the ones who think you're an easy fuck.

Yet still the blinkers stay in place and you persist with the view that my ego is the problem rather than your deceitful, spiteful personality".

Pick the bones out of that, bitch!

Some people didn't like the new wife inviting the old wife up to visit. I figured there were 2 things going on. One reason is to clear the air because with kids and grandkids their paths are destined to cross, so get it done and settle the matter. The second reason is healing. She remained as this source of pain for her husband, but now he was once again loved, so it was time for him to confront the pain and put it away. He would see that with his new life and new wife and new friends and still having his kids in his life, she was the past and nothing more. Making noises during sex while the ex visited was just bragging.

Excellent story, one of the best I have read in some time. Love the idea of him writing a book below

Humm: 44 percent of US marriages end in divorce, the rest end when someone dies. Which is better? Good read!

Karen was unspeakably delusional and non repentant. She consistently lied after the fact and had Frank move in with her. She showed no remorse. Yeah he finally got a real apology over a year later. Whatever. Karen was venomous, self-centered, and a nutcase. Her conversation on Christmas morning with AB was disgusting. Glad he found someone else. Someday pretty realistic. Yeah I am of two minds about having Karen come visit to "bury the hatchet".

So finally Karen realizes what she foolishly discarded. For too long shed didn't see that an affair is not "just sex." Unless you're viviting the old Mustang Ranch there is intimate talk, caressing and complete closeness. Not many women can have just sex unless they also have a close emotional bond.

nice romance.

If Frank is married with two kids,how can he spend six weeks on a writing course?.