History

Dwight's initial instinct was to run. He hated confrontations, especially one that would be as contentious as his relationship-ending divorce would most assuredly be. But Reginald was right. He was born and raised here, and dearly LOVED his job and the people he worked with. If he were to transfer elsewhere, he might not have the same magic as was the case here. His decision was made. If he could get the shark on his side, perhaps he might survive the ordeal without giving up too many body parts. And on top of that, he had a gazillion friends to help him get through this. But then again, he suddenly realized that they were THEIR friends, not HIS friends. That being the case, he wasn't sure which side many of them would come down on. He knew that Steve, Sonya, Greg, Debbie, and his parents were squarely in his camp, along with Jeanette, but he couldn't say for certain about anyone else. Only time would tell.

Dwight made the call to Vera Tanner's office and made an early morning appointment two days hence. It suddenly occurred to him that he wanted to make a clean and smooth break from Evelyn and if he confronted her before completing all of his preparations, it could end up being a lot messier than he wanted it to be. He needed at least the next two weeks for the DNA results to come in. He was going to have to buy some time and stay with the betrayer until he had all of his ducks in a row. The first thing he needed to do was conceal the gold until he was ready to confront her with it. He found an old cardboard box nearly the perfect size to hold it and put forty-nine of the rolls of gold coins in it and sealed the box securely with packing tape. Then he carried the heavy box to his backyard and unlocked the door to the crawl space. That was a place Evelyn had never visited before so he felt good about temporarily stashing it there. He concealed the box behind the water heater and covered it with a piece of an old tarp.

Feeling good about the hidden gold, he placed the single roll of coins that he had intentionally kept out, under the spare tire in the wheel well of his vehicle. Again, there would never be a reason for her to look there for anything. He went to a copy center and made copies of the documents she had with the gold. He kept her originals to take with him to his office. He could lock them securely in his file cabinet beside his desk. It remained locked and no one else had the key except for Jeanette, and he trusted her. He tossed the briefcase in a shopping center dumpster and returned to his office where he stashed both copies of Evelyn's documents.

Jeanette saw that his door was open and decided to check on him.

"Dwight, how are you doing? Are you okay?" She asked with genuine concern.

"Much better now that I see your smiling face" he rejoined.

"Have you decided how you're going to handle things? I mean with the divorce and all?

Chapter 12

"I have an appointment with an attorney two days from now. I have copies of documents that are proof of her infidelity securely locked away in my file cabinet. Her betrayal has made me even question the paternity of little Dwight, so I've sent off for DNA results which should arrive here around two weeks from now. I'll know better how to proceed after talking to an attorney, so until I have a firm exit plan, I guess I'm gonna have to stay around here for the next couple of weeks until I get the results back. I'm a lousy actor, so faking headaches to avoid sex with her wouldn't bode well for me. But the thought of ever touching her again disgusts me. She's ruined everything for me as far as intimacy goes, but I don't know how to avoid sex without revealing what I know. I don't want a confrontation with her until I'm ready for it and I need more time. How do I put her off, at least for the next couple of weeks without giving away what I know?"

Jeanette thought for a moment. "You could have a hernia."

"A what?" He asked.

"A hernia, specifically a hernia in the groin area. I remember a couple of years back, my sister's husband had strained himself doing some heavy lifting one day and he had a lot of pain in his groin region due to the hernia. He was told to do no heavy lifting for at least three weeks. It drove my sister crazy. Sex was out of the question because it was too painful for him and she has a healthy appetite, shall we say. They got through it and are fine now. For a while there, his doctor thought he might require surgery to fix it. You could tell Evelyn that you strained yourself somehow and went to the doctor and was diagnosed with the hernia. That way, she won't bother you for sex, nor expect you to get involved with anything involving physical activity. That one excuse ought to hold you for at least two to three weeks and maybe by then, you'll have a better idea of how things are going to play out for you."

"Jeanette, you're a genius! That's exactly what I'll do. I'll say I was helping move some cabinets around in one of the lecture rooms and felt sharp pain. You took me to the ER where I was diagnosed with the hernia and the University is covering all of the expenses. It'll buy me the time I need and keep her at bay without hounding me to death. It's perfect. And you would be the only one here to know about it. If she calls you asking questions...."

"I'll have your back just like always professor. You can count on me to protect you." She giggled.

The ploy worked beautifully. All Dwight needed to do was wince every now and then and Evelyn was completely convinced. She expressed her disappointment at their lack of intimacy but realized that it couldn't be helped. She never let him pick up little Dwight or do any housework or lifting of any kind. He still had to make himself kiss her but he was happy for the absence of sexual intimacy. He vowed to never touch her like that again.

His meeting with Vera Tanner, Attorney at Law went as well as he could expect. She informed him that, even though he was certain of her infidelity, she wouldn't advise filing for divorce claiming adultery without absolute proof, such as audio/video recordings, photographs, or paternity results that do not match his DNA. At the time, he had neither. At the moment, she advised him to consider filing for no-fault, fifty-fifty, which was very commonplace these days. He asked her not to file anything just yet until the paternity results came back in a couple of weeks. Then he could make a better-informed decision.

When asked about payment, he gently placed the single roll of gold coins on her desk. "There are twenty Gold American Eagle coins in that roll, each weighing exactly one troy ounce. The current value is $2,000.00 per ounce. Twenty ounces at $2,000.00 per ounce yields a value of forty thousand dollars, give or take a few bucks either way. Let me know if you need more." He could see no reason why Evelyn's infidelity and betrayal shouldn't be used to pay for her own divorce. He didn't want to waste his own hard-earned money on her any longer.

When the DNA results finally arrived, Dwight was exposed to another unexpected shock. This one shook him to the core. He was almost delirious with rampant emotions. Jeanette had her arm around him as he read the results. The chances of him being the biological father of little Dwight were less than fifty percent. But what shocked him, even more, was the footnote at the bottom which said that, although he was legally excluded from being the child's biological father, it was extremely likely that either his brother or father would be the most likely candidate to be the biological father given the close nature of the results. Dwight knew that he didn't have a brother. His whole world was unraveling right before his eyes. He had just received the gut-punch from hell. He didn't have exact precise proof yet, but it appeared as though his own father was the biological parent of little Dwight. Then it hit him. It struck him like a ton of bricks falling on his head. That's why she wanted the baby named Dwight Earl Underwood. Earl after his father, because she already KNEW he was the father!

Dwight repeatedly threw up violently into a nearby trash can until nothing but bile was forthcoming. This unexpected betrayal was beyond the pale. Evelyn whored her body to the billionaire and lied to him about it. For some reason, she fucked his dad too and was impregnated by him. Little Dwight wasn't his son, he was his half-brother! No wonder why his parents were so closely connected to him. They knew! They knew he was Earl's son! His mom had been babysitting, not for her grandchild, but for her stepson! They still didn't have a grandchild! Dwight had never felt so lost and alone in his entire life as he did at that moment. Realizing the pain that he must be feeling, Jeanette threw her arms around the sobbing man and refused to let him go even as he thrashed about as if trying to break loose of her hold. She had no idea what he might do after learning of the extent of betrayals by those he had loved the most for all his life, but she wasn't going to allow him to hurt himself, not as long as she drew a breath!

Right at that moment, he just wanted to shrivel up and die, but that damned Jeanette wouldn't let him.

She kissed him all about the face and said, "Damn it, Dwight, all is not lost. You haven't lost EVERYthing. You have ME! I love you, Dwight, ever since we first met. Why do you think I follow you around like a puppy dog all the time? I know you don't care about anything right now, least of all me. But I want you to know one thing, if you never know another thing for the rest of your life. YOU ARE LOVED! YOU ARE LOVED BY ME! I care what happens to you whether you do or not. I would DIE if anything ever happened to you. I hate the pain you're feeling right now, but all I can do is love you through it. And damn it, that's what I'm going to do! Let me, PLEASE LET ME LOVE YOU, Dwight!" She said sobbing with tears of her own mixing with his."

"What? What do you mean Jeanette? How? Why?" He sputtered.

You listen to me Dwight Underwood and you listen to me good. Right now you feel all alone in the world. The whole world has come crashing down on your head and it seems as if you're going to die fighting off the pain. I can see you there in my mind's eye, back against the wall, leaning over, flinging and flailing your arms at the world fighting for all you're worth with your eyes closed yelling at the top of your lungs right before you die. But there's something you don't see. You can't see because your eyes are closed. If you'd just open your eyes for a moment Dwight and take a glimpse, just one glimpse, then you'd see that I am right there by your side flinging and flailing for all I'm worth right along with you. You aren't alone, Dwight. If you die, then I die with you. And if you are victorious, then I celebrate your victory with you. I will NEVER hurt you. I will NEVER betray you, Dwight. NEVER!

He was stunned. Never before had he felt the love of another expressed so strongly, so fiercely, and with unparalleled commitment. This wasn't just love, this was love with legs on it. Suddenly his pain became bearable. It was no longer overwhelming. He knew for certain that he wasn't carrying his burden alone. It was a defining moment in his life.

He instinctively pulled her into him and kissed her with passion and then asked, "Did you really mean that, what you just told me?"

"With every fiber of my being, every cell in my body. Yes, I mean every word and I hope and pray you'll give me the chance to prove it.

"Then, with your help, I think I can get through this. If you'll stick around and help me from time to time." He encouraged.

"Stick around? Stick around? Dwight, you're gonna be tripping all over me everywhere you turn because I'm gonna be right there through thick and thin. Whatever you need, I'll supply." She added.

A serene calmness pervaded him, unlike anything he had ever known before. A peace beyond his understanding. He had just been given a gift worth way more than any mere two million dollars. It was a gift that money can't buy. It was priceless.

Dwight had a sudden clarity of purpose and resolve. He realized that something had filled the vacuum left in the wake of the insurmountable betrayals he had come to learn. Trust. He had someone he knew he could trust and it was enough for him to cling to and see everything through that he had to face. He thanked Jeanette for being there for him when no one else was, when no one else could be. He promised her that he would call her if he had any need that she could assist him with. She told him that her phone would never be turned off and that she would be available to him twenty-four seven.

He grabbed the copies of Evelyn's safe deposit documents and took them home with him and placed them on the kitchen table. Next, he retrieved the box of gold from underneath the house in the crawl space and opened it up on the table. Then he wrote a note for Evelyn to find when she returned home from work that day.

As you can see, the cat's out of the bag. We both know what this means. You lied to me, you betrayed me, you cheated on me and you deceived me every day for the past two years. Nothing I believed in is true. Take all of the money you earned whoring yourself out to another man, with you, ALL of it. If you think about leaving any of it behind for me, it will just get thrown out in the trash.

I already know that this gold means more to you than our marriage ever did. Now you don't have to keep it secret any longer. I did keep one roll for myself. I am using it to pay for our divorce. Funny isn't it? The money another man paid you to fuck you is being used to divorce you. I thought it ironically appropriate.

I'm going out to eat this evening. I want you gone when I get back. You shouldn't have trouble finding a place to stay with nearly 2 million dollars at your disposal. Let me know where you would like the divorce papers to be served.

Build your dream house, but leave me out of your dreams forever.

Dwight the gullible.

Dwight called Jeanette and invited her out to dinner with him. He drove her to Gastonia to avoid running into their myriad of friends. He didn't want to have to fake any conversations with anyone knowing that his divorce would be forthcoming. They had a heart-bonding time. Joel dropped her back at her door at 9 pm. She invited him in but he wanted to start rearranging the house without a wife to worry about.

His gut twisted when he saw her car in the driveway. It was where he lived, for now, so he glibly walked inside. She was waiting for him, sitting at the kitchen table. He didn't hear the sounds of a child in the house.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for hours for you to get home." She inquired.

"I told you in the note. Why are you still here? You should be gone as I requested."

"I live here. That's why I'm here. You do too. We live here together. I'm sorry you found out. I've been racking my brain all evening. How DID you find out?"

"Does it matter how I found out? Would my answer to that question change either of our lives one whit?

"Look, Dwight. I'm sorry, so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am about all this. I never wanted you to find out. I feel horrible. We need to fix this. We need to get past this. Our son needs us to get past this."

"Don't talk to me about him. This is not about him. This is about what you did two years ago. This is about your lies, deceit, betrayal, and infidelity. Does that about cover it?"

"Honey with all this money, we can do anything we want. We can build that dream house now. We can have it all. We can have whatever YOU want! Don't you see?"

"Can you use that money to un-fuck Daniel? If so, that's my vote."

Chapter 13

"Don't be so crass. Stop and think for a minute Dwight. This doesn't have to affect us. It hasn't affected us for the past two years, why should it affect us now? Haven't I been an attentive wife? Have I ever denied you sex at any time? Haven't I gone out of my way to make up to you for my mistake? Can you honestly say that you haven't been happy with me every single day since that time? Well, can you?"

"Sugarcoat it any way you like. Convince yourself anything you want to believe. But the plain and simple of it is that you're a WHORE! And I don't want to be married to a whore. Please leave and take your earnings from fucking another man with you. I want nothing to do with a prostitute's earnings. I'm sure there are tons of men who will happily marry a whore with a two million dollar dowry, but I won't be counted among them. Now go and don't come back!"

Evelyn finally understood that he was intransigent in his position. She was certain that he would listen to reason, that she could explain her way out of her predicament. She believed that he had only recently found out, and was hurting and very angry at her right now. But given some time, he might mellow and soften his position. She decided to honor his request and leave, but she hadn't packed a thing, so she would be a while and he knew it.

"I can see that it may take you a while to gather your things. I wish you had honored my original request and had been gone when I arrived, but no; you always have to do things your way, don't you? Okay, I'll give you the night. I'll stay somewhere else tonight, but when I return in the morning, I want you out of here. Understood?"

She nodded, still sniffling and crying.

He grabbed a change of clothes for tomorrow and left. As he drove away, he once more called Jeanette.

"Hey, sorry to bother you again. Change of plans for me tonight I'm afraid. Would you mind if I slept on your couch tonight?"

"My couch? Hell, you can share my bed or have it for your own. You don't need my couch." She effused.

"I appreciate your offer, but your couch will be just fine for tonight. I'm bringing a change of clothes for tomorrow. She's not out of the house yet, thought she could talk me out of kicking her out. She was wrong. See you soon." And he ended the call.

The next day after work, Dwight made his way back to his house. She hadn't taken all of her things yet, just about a week or two's worth of clothing and toiletries, as well as a number of the baby's things. He was happy to see the gold gone. He checked, and the safe deposit key was gone. He figured she'd put most or all of it back for safekeeping or switch it to another box to keep it from him. Either way, he didn't care. All that he'd ever spend of it would be for the divorce from her. He did remember to stop at a big box store and purchase new locksets for the house. He didn't want her to be able to go and come as she pleased. She would have to make arrangements through his attorney to try to force the issue.

He took off work the next day and updated his attorney on the latest developments. Since he had proof that he was not the biological father of little Dwight, she could easily prove infidelity, unless Evelyn later claimed to have been raped. But then she would have told him if she had been raped, so he could easily prove adultery and she would have no defense. When he told Vera about the two million, she thought he was stark raving mad for not wanting half of it. He told her all he wanted was the house and everything in it. She could keep her whore money but he wanted her embarrassed for her adultery by it being in the public record. He also told her that he had a good idea who the biological father was, but he wanted to make sure before making any confrontation. She told him that if he provided her a name, she could go after him for back child support. He said he'd let her know.

He had a feeling Evelyn was staying with his parents because of the baby situation, but he couldn't be sure. So he asked Vera to serve Evelyn the divorce papers the next day at work in front of her coworkers. Vera said she would be only too happy to do just that.