How High a Price: Long Ending

"You would make a good lawyer with that kind of talent."

"I don't think so, I have a problem with honesty" Early replied in a sharper voice than he intended. He felt anger creeping into his thoughts and it was starting to show.

Early's sharp response was like a jab and Susan jerked back as if it had been delivered physically.

"Early I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry, I just wanted to understand what you meant."

Early eased back a little but continued on in the same vein "I'm not angry, you asked for an explanation and I am giving one, besides I think you need understand me clearly. Now seems as good a time as any to establish the ground rules for our future relationship. Are you sure you want to continue?"

Susan gave an affirmative nod, not trusting herself to speak for fear of breaking into tears again.

"Basically in the future I am going to take a more direct interest in what you are doing and how you feel about things. I believe that my nonparticipation in your life away from me led you to subconsciously devalue the conditions of our marriage. I am at fault for letting that happen."

"The other issue that evolved from my nonparticipation is one that you may or may not understand but it is enough that I understand it, you'll just have to take my word for it."

" Susan you are a stunningly attractive woman in a male dominated environment. Almost all of those males from 18 to 75 are looking at you and having at least the occasional sexual fantasy. Men do that sort of thing and mostly it is harmless. Occasionally however there is a John Stickner in the crowd that doesn't care about appropriate social behavior, including if you are married or not. He just comes after you, using whatever means to achieve his goal. In this case it is my responsibility as your spouse to discourage that sort of fancy by maintaining an obvious presence. If that fails to deterrent the unwanted intrusion, I should then do the macho schoolboy thing of gathering up the offending party by the nape of the neck and offering to separate his head from his body if he doesn't curtail his offensive behavior. That latter is usually reserved for when we boys are out of earshot of you ladies. It is one of those things we do that you don't understand at all. It's a guy thing as they would say today."

"I failed to do these things. I was so busy with my own activities and career that I failed to protect my claim. You can be assured that it will not happen again."

"Early you make it sound as if I were a piece of property that needed to be protected from burglars."

"Not at all, you are not my property as I am not your property. We do however; have obligations and responsibilities to each other. In this case you were like a diving partner that I abandoned to go off sight seeing on my own and you were attacked by sharks because I wasn't there to back you up. Perhaps not the best analogy, but close enough."

"Early I am a big girl, what happened was my fault, and I will shoulder the blame for it. It wasn't your fault"

"You are quite right Susan, you are a big girl and it was your responsibility to preserve the sanctity of our marriage. You will bear a large burden for your failure to do so, but I still had obligations that I didn't meet through my inaction and I to will have to share in the blame."

"Basically you are saying you don't trust me," Susan stated flatly.

"At this point in time, no" Early returned immediately. "It is the one thing that gets utterly destroyed by a betrayal and the hardest thing to get back. It is part of the burden you will have to carry."

"Love without trust, it's an awful concept" Susan said wistfully. "But you are right of course and I promise I will do whatever it takes to restore that trust.

"That's the best we can do, maybe the trust will return someday, I don't know. I do know that what I want more than anything is that I want you in my life forever and I will do what I need to do to make that happen. To do that I need closure on some things, I intend to make that happen."

After hesitating for a moment Susan looked away from Early and with a sigh she said "This dinner has not turned out as I had hoped, I wanted so much to have a nice quiet time and for us to enjoy each others company."

"Don't look at it that way" Early replied in a tender voice, "This conversation was one of many we will probably have about this subject. If we are being honest and sincere each will help us to a better understanding." Reaching across the table he took both of her hands in his "this is another step closer to being where we want to be."

"I hope so."

"Enough of this serious talk, how about dessert and then a quiet ride in the moonlight?" Early offered jovially.

"Sounds great to me" she replied, trying to following his upbeat change in mood.

They ordered dessert and as they relaxed and let go, their conversation migrating back to small things like married people do, exchanging touches and looks like friends and lovers who knew each other well.

They finished their meal on a high note, each having pushed their problem into the background. For the moment only the immediate here and now existed.

Walking out to the car Early took Susan's hand without saying anything until they gotten in and started the motor. "Are you ready to go driving in the country and looking at the moon?"

"Yes, it's early and I don't feel like going home just yet."

For the next two hours they drove up and down backcountry roads and talked about the past, the future and everything but Susan's infidelity. By the time they reached home they had come closer together than either one would have thought possible just a scant two days before.

As Early parked the car in the garage and turned the motor off Susan scooted across the console and laying face to face like a pair of parked teenagers she hugged him tight to her. "You know I really do love you don't you?" She whispered in his ear. "More than anyone or anything, more than my own life." And with that she began to nuzzle his neck and blow in his ear.

It didn't take long for Early to respond to Susan and soon he was returning her kisses and running his hands up and down her body. As their passion mounted clothes became unbuttoned, zippers came down and panties and shirts lay on the floor of the car.

"I feel like a teenager again," thought Early "how long has it been since we felt this kind of urgency for each other." Early was trying to maneuver her dress up and out of the way and was wiggling around to a more comfortable position when he felt Susan stiffen and stop the wonderful thing she was doing with her tongue in his mouth and hand on his steel hard member.

"Early we have to stop this!" Susan suddenly announced out loud.

Surprised, Early drew back from he, bewildered "Why, what's wrong?" His good mood began rapidly departing along with his erection.

Early felt Susans body shaking "Susan, what's the matter honey, are you OK? What's wrong?" he asked in alarm.

Pulling back from him Susan had a big grin on her face while she tried to move herself into a different position. Early could see she wasn't crying but giggling. With relief that she wasn't upset he asked, "what's so funny woman, you picked a hell of a time to get the giggles."

"I know but I think we need to go in the house to finish this where it is more comfortable."

"But this was kind of exciting, I was starting to enjoy myself."

"Me too but the gear shift knob keeps poking me in my private parts! She said with a laugh "and I had something else in mind for that job."

Something about the way she said it set Early off and he too began laughing until they both were giggling and laughing like a couple of kids. It felt great to laugh again.

"Come on Romeo, lets go inside where we can be more comfortable, I'm not a teenager anymore and I do like the comfort of a bed over the bucket seats of an SUV." And with that Susan picked up her shoes and panties and got out of the car.

Locking up the car Early followed her into the house eager to continue with what had started in the car.

The ringing phone greeted them as they unlocked the door and went into the house.

Susan picked up the phone in the kitchen "Hello."

As Early watched Susan turned pale and almost immediately slammed down the receiver. Trembling she turned to Early trying to speak but nothing came out, only a look of despair and hopelessness.

"It was Stickner wasn't it." Early said calmly as he went to her and taking her in his arms he held her close.

"Yes" Susan replied in a whisper. "Why doesn't he leave me alone? I told him I never wanted to see him or speak to him again, ever!"

Stroking Susan's hair Early spoke calmly to her, trying to settle her down. "These things are going to happen and we will deal with them together." Then looking down at her and smiling "Let's go to bed now and see if we can find a diversion to take our minds off of this"

Smiling reluctantly Susan knew the effort it took for Early to say what he had just said and determined to match his strength she answered "OK "

While Susan went through the motions of getting ready for bed Early locked up the house and went through his normal evening routine in closing up the house. Just as he completed his chores the phone rang.

"I bet I know who that is," thought Early to himself as he let it ring several times and then with an evil smile he picked up the receiver and growled "What do you want Stickner?"

When the phone rang Susan stared at it and backed away, and was relieved when Early answered it for she too knew who would be on the other end. She could hear his end of the conversation and stood listening as he spoke into the receiver.

"No you may not speak to her!"

"I don't care if it is important to you, its not important to me and it certainly is not important to Susan."

After a short silence Early's tone became decidedly menacing, "Stickner, I am aware of the indiscretion between my wife and yourself, Susan and I are in the process of dealing with that. What happened to you at the firm is of no concern to me. What happens to you is of no concern to me one way or the other. What you need to be concerned about is how you are going to deal with me, for I am taking this personally and you are going to have to answer to me for it."

"Yes, I am most decidedly threatening you."

"Look slime bag, just so this is perfectly clear to you, don't ever contact my wife again, not on the phone, not with an email and not personally! If you accidentally run into her on the street you had better run for your life for I am going to teach you a painful lesson about fooling around with another mans woman!" and with that Early calmly hung up the phone.

Turning to Susan Early could see the dread and fear in her eyes "Don't worry about him, I am going to fix it where you will never have to deal with him again."

Without speaking he gently took her by the hand and led her to the bedroom where they undressed slowly and silently both getting in his bed. They made slow tender love until sleep finally overcame them and the events of the day faded into the night.

Chapter 5 - Wednesday

Early woke the next morning before the alarm went off and lay staring into the dark mulling the events of the past week over in his mind. For the first time he allowed himself to feel optimistic about his future with Susan. Lying snuggled up against her back he smelled her hair and marveled at how being here with her like this could make him feel so wonderful. He would do anything to keep her, God help anyone who would try to change that.

Quietly slipping out of bed Early got ready for work and after eating breakfast he stopped to say goodbye.

"Are you awake Sunshine?"

"Yes, it is so nice and cozy here I just want to lay snuggled up in the blankets and remember last night."

"Stay there then, there is nothing in particular you have to do."

Getting out of bed Susan pulled on her robe and taking Early's arm "I'll walk you to the door you wonderful man."

Feigning surprise "Wow! To what do I owe those kind words?"

"All of the things you have done for us, your understanding and love, and last nights performance didn't hurt either!' she answered dreamily.

Kissing her goodbye Early reluctantly headed out the door "I'll call you from the office later in the day"

During the drive to work Early felt joy in their improving relationship. There remained issues to work out between them but changed attitudes and time would heal those. Of more immediate concern was how he was going to deal with Stickner. That he needed to be taught a lesson was a foregone conclusion. What that lesson would be depended on what opportunities presented themselves. Early decided to put that operation into motion today.

May greeted him with a twinkle in her eye with a pointed comment about his improved appearance. All around him in the office seemed more upbeat and positive than he had remembered for a while.

He had a pile of work on his desk and two meetings that required his presence before noon so he dug in with renewed vigor and was soon lost in the demands of the day.

Mays voice interrupted Early's concentration "Early, Susan is on the phone and it sounds important."

The urgency of Mays comment jerked Early back into the here and now as he picked up the phone "Susan?"

"Early, he called again and was yelling and making threats!" an excited Susan poured out over the phone.

"Whoa, slow down, who called and what kind of threats?"

"John called. He said he wasn't going to let me ruin his career and if I didn't fix things with the firm he was going to make me sorry! Early he was screaming and calling me terrible names!"

"Are you OK?"

"Yes I'm fine." Susan replied in a calmer voice. "Talking to you makes me feel better." Then in a more tentative voice "Early, I think he is coming here to the house and I am a little frightened, what should I do?"

"Stay there I will be right home" then as an afterthought "This son-of-a-bitch has really pissed me off."

"Early please be careful, don't do anything foolish." Susan replied, Early's uncharacteristic profanity catching her off guard.

"Don't worry, all of our foolish doings are behind us now" Early snapped back. "Stay in the house and don't let Stickner in if he shows up."

Hanging up the phone Early hastily prepared to leave his office, "May, I am leaving for the day. Please contact Sam and Jay and ask them not to go very far away from their phones, I may need some serious help before this day is over."

"What's wrong Early?"

"Stickner is causing trouble and I have endured all the abuse from him I am going to. I'll call you later if there is something I need."

"Be careful Early, and take good care of Susan."

"Not to worry mother May, I intend to do both." And with that last statement delivered over his shoulder as he went through the door, Early left.

The drive home seemed to take forever and it took a great deal of discipline for Early to stay within the speed limit and exercise reasonable caution. It would be a bad time after all for him to be involved in an accident.

As Early approached his house he saw Stickner's Jaguar parked in the driveway and his anger flared to white hot. The nerve of this arrogant son-of-a-bitch thought Early, coming right into my home, especially after I warned him to stay away from Susan. His day is about to become really unpleasant. "At least now I don't have to hunt the wormy bastard down."

Early parked his car alongside the Jag and he sat for a moment, collecting his thoughts and deciding what he was going to do. A different Early got out of the car and calmly went to the back door and let himself into the kitchen. This Early was cold and hard and God help anyone who got in his way.

He could hear raised voices in the living room and made his way to where he could see into the room. Neither Susan nor John were aware of his arrival.

"Get out of my house John, who the hell do you think you are pushing your way in uninvited!" Susan was nearly hysterical as she attempted to deal with a determined looking Stickner.

"I'm not leaving until you call Anderson and straighten out the things you told him. If you want to quit then quit but I've got a good thing going and with the amount of time I have invested I'm not ready to pack it in just quite yet."

"I'm not calling Anderson, I made a horrible mistake and did something inexcusable. I'm taking responsibility for that and paying a horrible price for it. You lied and cheated and screwed a bunch of people over and you are going to have to deal with that yourself, I am not going to help you slide out of facing the consequences of your actions!!"

"I'm telling you for the last time Susan, call Anderson and take back all of those things you told him about me!" Stickner was becoming hysterical and advanced towards Susan.

"I'm not calling Anderson" Susan screamed back at him as she backed away attempting to escape John as he closed in on her.

Stickner lunged at Susan and grabbing her by the arm he threw her down on the couch She cowered from him he stood over her threateningly "Yes you will, I'm not letting some sniveling cunt ruin my career! Now get on that Goddamed phone and...!?"

At that moment Early reached John and spinning him around, landed a hard right fist to the mans solar plexus, knocking the breath out of him.

As a surprised John struggled to breathe Early bent over and spoke into his face "I told you not to ever come into contact with my wife again, weren't you listening or are you just stupid?"

"Fuck you! I'm not going to lose my career and my position because some over achieving bimbo got her feelings hurt!" Stickner wheezed out.

"Wrong answer" Early answered calmly then he slapped John hard across his face with his open hand.

A wild eyed John lunged at Early with fists flailing "I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!"

Avoiding the enraged man Early hit John solidly in the face with his fist, knocking him to the floor and spattering blood across the two men and over Johns face.

"You've broken my nose! I'm going to have you arrested and thrown in jail! Stickner screamed.

"I don't think so" Early replied in a voice as if he were commenting on tomorrow's weather report.

Glassy eyed and on the verge of hysteria John held his hand to his bleeding nose "You don't know who you are fooling with" he snarled "I am going to have you arrested for assault, I know important people in this town. You are going to be sorry you were ever born!"

Like a snake striking Early reached out and slapped John across the face spattering blood even farther around the room "Shut up Asshole, you don't know anybody that can help you now."

In one last desperate attempt John lunged to his feet and hit Early a glancing blow on the shoulder. Early reacted to Stickners assault with an air of annoyance and stepping inside the mans outstreached arms hit him solidly in the midsection. John folded up on the floor again gasping for breath, the fight gone out of him.

"Early" a panicked Susan called as she rose from the couch "Please stop!"

"Shut up Susan" Early snapped back at her "I told you what would happen if you interfere, decide now whose side you're on!"

Susan stared at Early for a moment with a wild look on her face then backed away without speaking further.

Where Early had been cold and emotionless before, his expression now was one of pure malice. Turning back to Stickner he jerked the mans head up by his hair and hit him with an open hand across the face, waited a few seconds and did it again. Stickner tried feebly to raise his arms to shield himself from the assault but Early pushed his arms out of the way and slapped him again, blood now covering all of Stickner's face and running down the front of his shirt.