I Knew They Were Fucking

She apologized for her daughter. That didn't cut any ice with Joseph.

"We don't need to be treated like second-class citizens," he told her, "and we don't need your furniture, so you can have it back. Besides, it was her fault she fell. She should have been watching where she was going."

She stood there and watched as we unloaded the few pieces we had, set them on the driveway, and drove away. The store manager, Arch, was waiting for us when we got back. He told us our services were no longer needed, so Joseph and I went down the street, had lunch and a couple of beers.

That evening my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number so I ignored it. The caller left a message. "Hi, it's Susie Blake. I just heard what happened and I feel badly. I don't think I would have handled it the way you and Joseph did, but I wasn't there. Our general manager has asked me to ask you to have a chat with her on Monday, if you can. Her office at 10:15 if you can make it. I'm here if you need anything."

I figured I didn't need anything, especially their unpaid volunteer job, so I didn't respond. Besides, I worked and couldn't just leave my office to attend some meeting with someone I didn't know.

It was around that same time that I started looking for a house to buy.

Susan Blake called back on Tuesday. She told me that the owner of the furniture we left in the driveway, called to apologize for her daughter's conduct. She still wanted to donate the furniture so she would pay for a moving company to move it. That would preclude our staff from having to come back and move it. She was also going to send a sizable donation. "So it seems that all's well that ends well, and we expect to see you back on Saturday."

I called her back. "I don't think I have the temperament for volunteer work, so I'll pass on coming back."

She voiced regrets, but allowed as how she understood my position. An hour later my phone rang again, and again, I didn't recognize the number but there was a message. "Mr. Morris, my name is Cynthia Roman. I'm the General Manager of United Industries. I'd like to talk with you, please. I will not try to convince you to come back and volunteer for us again, but I would like to discuss what took place and try to understand it. I am available at your convenience."

I ended up calling her back and setting up a meeting. Since I worked, we were going to meet in her office after regular hours.

It turned out that I liked Cynthia Roman. She explained the company's business plan to me and told me how important donations, especially of quality items, was for their survival. She explained that the company was a 501 (c) (3) organization, which meant they were non-profit, tax exempt and survived on donations. It was the sale of items in their retail store coupled with cash donations that made it possible for them to provide support to the learning impaired children of our community, and aside from her and two other staff members, nobody else in the organization was paid. She told me that the sale of the furniture Joseph and I left in that driveway would provide two tutors for one whole semester for four children. "We can't afford to lose donations like that. Fortunately, the home owner saw what happened and didn't blame you and Joseph. Actually, Joseph told me the whole idea to leave the furniture was his."

The next Saturday I was back on the truck with Joseph. He allowed as how he probably overreacted.

I had been back a month when Cynthia Roman saw me. "Mr. Morris, do you have a minute?" she asked.

I did and we walked to the front of the truck.

"May I ask a personal question?" she asked.

"Of course."

"Are you married?"

I grinned. "Not anymore."

"Was your wife's name Gloria?"

"Yes."

"Ralph Godwin is my brother. Roman is my married name, although I'm no longer married." We just looked at each other. "He's an asshole and I'm sorry about what he did to you and your wife."

After I got over a slight shock, I spoke to her. "You have no reason to apologize. None of us can control the actions of our asshole relatives and all families have them."

"Anyway, I'm sorry Ralph did what he did."

Three weeks after that meeting, I closed on my new house and Cynthia and I had our first date. Then our second. Two months after she told me her brother was an asshole, Cynthia Roman and I had sex. Not just any sex, but mattress pounding, mind blowing, down and dirty cock in pussy, trying to kill each other with passion, sex. Her body was perfect, but more important than that, her mind was perfect for it. I had never met, nor did I believe that nymphomaniacs really existed... until I met Cynthia. Her public persona never gave any hint about her private craving for sex; other than the fact that both men and women drooled over her perfect body, and nothing erotic was off limits. It was like a switch was flipped and both her body and mind switched to "automatic" and once started, stopped only when there was no more sex to be had. On more than one occasion, I wondered what would happen if other men were there when I was too worn out and she was still ready for more.

We were both very happy with our relationship for about six months.

One Saturday, there were no pick-ups for Joseph and me, so I decided to wash the truck. I was in back of the building and had almost finished the truck when I heard a man's voice.

"You're in trouble, you son-of-a-bitch."

I turned and Ralph Godwin was standing there. "Why's that?" I asked.

"You're messing with my sister."

"I'm not 'messing' with your sister. We're dating."

"The only reason you're dating her is to get even with me."

"You're full of shit. We're dating because we like each other. At least neither of us is married."

"I'm warning you. Stay away from her."

"And I'm warning you. Stay away from me." I said and as I turned to continue working on the truck, I saw a head duck back inside the building. I assumed they had listened to at least part of the conversation between Godwin and me. I looked over my shoulder and Godwin was gone.

Cynthia called me fifteen minutes later. "Is it true?" she asked.

"Is what true?"

"That my brother was there?"

"He was."

"And you talked to him?"

"I did."

"What did you tell him?"

"He accused me of messing with you to get even with him. I told him that you and I were dating because we liked each other."

"Is that all?"

"Basically. Why?"

"Are you sure it wasn't the other way around? You didn't tell him you were dating me just to get even with him?"

"No. He said that. I didn't."

"Someone overheard you say it."

"Well that someone either heard wrong or is lying."

"I've known him for a long time and he's never lied to me before."

"Does that automatically make me the liar?"

There was a pause.

"I don't want to see you again, and we don't need your services anymore."

"Wait. Cynthia." But she was gone. I went inside to see if she was there, but she wasn't. Susie was behind the counter. "What men are working today?" I asked her.

"Thomas and Arch. Why?"

"Where are they?"

"Arch left for lunch just a couple of minutes ago. Thomas is running an errand."

I left all the truck cleaning supplies where they were, got in my car, and went home. I tried calling Cynthia, but my number was blocked. I knew Arch and didn't care for him. He was a toad and nobody trusted him; nobody but Cynthia. He was the store manager and one of the two people on staff besides Cynthia to be paid: his secretary was the other. They were the only fulltime employees. Everybody else volunteered and only worked a few hours a week.

After a couple of days, I gave up trying to talk to Cynthia.

One evening several weeks later, I was grocery shopping and ran into Susie. She told me that she was the temporary store manager because Arch had been fired. "Cynthia overheard him on the phone telling someone that he had gotten you fired by lying about you. She confronted him and he told her the truth about your conversation with her brother," she said.

I told her the whole story starting with my ex-wife and Cynthia's brother up until Cynthia told me she didn't want to see me again.

"Wow. That's some coincidence," said Susie.

"Yeah, well, it's all water under the bridge now." We chatted for a few more minutes and she left.

Another month came and went. I decided to buy some new furniture for my house. I called Susie and told her I had some furniture to donate and asked if someone would come pick it up. She told they had a truck available, but just the driver. They didn't have anyone to help load and unload. I told her I would help so they sent Joseph and his truck. We loaded everything and I followed him to the store. We chatted while we unloaded and put the furniture pieces inside the store. Cynthia was there, saw us and came over.

"May I talk to you?" she asked me.

Joseph excused himself and left.

I didn't say anything.

"I made two mistakes and I'm sorry," she started. "The biggest mistake was the first one. I believed Arch and not you. The second mistake was not coming to you immediately when I found out he lied. I was embarrassed and ashamed and didn't know how to even start apologizing."

I looked at her and she looked back. Our eyes locked and neither of us wanted to turn away, but we were forced to when the cashier called Cynthia and needed her.

"Can't you handle it?" Cynthia asked.

"No, ma'am. We need you."

She reluctantly excused herself and went to the checkout counter, and I was left to ponder what I was going to say or do, but did I want to stay alone and lonely when she was trying to get my forgiveness?

She came back. "Paul, I'm sorry, but this is an emergency. One of our trucks just had an accident. May I call you, please?"

I nodded and she hurried off.

Three hours later she called. "Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yes. A new driver backed into a wall. No serious damage, and nobody hurt." She paused. "Can we talk, Paul, please?"

"Why don't you come over and we'll have a bite to eat?" I asked.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes."

I took some cold cuts, cheese, and condiments out of the fridge, put them on the table with bread and two beers.

We fixed sandwiches and ate in silence. No more talk or apologies were necessary. After eating we took our second beers to the sofa and sat. She ended up snuggled close to me and I didn't object. In fact, I liked it. We weren't like that long before we had our first kiss. Then the second, then third, then the frantic tearing off of clothes followed by some very enthusiastic fucking which lasted until early the next morning. It started again that evening and lasted almost as long as it did the night before.

My life was almost perfect for another four months. Cynthia and I discussed one of us moving in with the other. We had almost decided on her moving in with me and renting her house when Jonah appeared.

Jonah and Cynthia had been friends for most of their lives, and his sudden appearance changed our lives. He had spent the last several years digging for gold in Alaska, and to all appearances, had been moderately successful.

He and Cynthia met while grocery shopping. They met and he asked her to have dinner with him and she accepted thinking it would be fun to spend time with an old friend. When she told me she was going with him, I agreed with her that it be fun for both of the old friends to spend time together. I just never knew how much fun it would be. That dinner led to another dinner and another. It wasn't long before she and I stopped communicating altogether. We never talked about ending our relationship, it just died.

My life went on, but I really missed the sex and companionship she and I had.

I was driving near the retail store one Saturday and saw Joseph putting fuel in his truck at a fuel stop near the store, so I pulled in. We exchanged pleasantries and chatted for a few minutes. As he finished fueling, he asked if I had talked to Cynthia lately. I told him I hadn't. He told me that she was pregnant and her boyfriend was back in Alaska.

I told him I didn't care, and I realized I truly didn't. What she did with her life was up to her and I was no longer part of it. I did briefly wonder if she was going to move to Alaska or if he was coming back to town.

Joseph told me that Susie mentioned me occasionally. The store had a new, permanent, manager. The position had been offered to Susie, but she turned it down. She had no desire to work full time.

I was food shopping one day and felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see a very pregnant Cynthia.

"Hello, stranger," she said,

"Hello." We just looked at each other for a couple of seconds. "You've gained some weight," I said.

She turned a pale shade of pink before speaking. "Yeah. I guess I have." There was a pause. "How have you been?"

"Not too bad. You?"

"The same."

The silence was deafening.

"Well, it was good seeing you again." I said as I started to push my cart away.

"Uh, Paul. Would you like to have dinner sometime?"

I made it a point to look down at her stomach. "I don't think so. I'd be afraid another old friend might come along and ask you to have dinner with him."

"That was a mistake, Paul, and I'm sorry."

"Besides," I added, "what would Jonah say?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him in a couple of months."

"Does he know you're pregnant?"

"He does. When he found out, he went back to Alaska."

"That's too bad. Well, I have to go."

"Of course. It was good seeing you again. Maybe we......."

I was moving away from her and never heard anything she said after that.

Another couple of date-free months went by. I would see the trucks around town occasionally, but not Joseph, Cynthia, or Susie.

I was in a meeting one day and my boss announced his immediate retirement. He never elaborated, but we found out later that his wife was ill and he wanted to spend time with her. He introduced us to his replacement, a man I had heard of, but never met.

His name was Frederick Johansen and he invited his senior and mid-level staff to a cookout at his house the following Saturday afternoon.

His house looked familiar as I pulled in the driveway.

I had just gotten a drink and was chatting with one of my fellow employees when we were approached by a young lady about my age.

"Hello. I'm Christine Johansen, Frederick Johansen's daughter." She shook the other employee's hand then reached for mine and looked at me. "Don't I know you?" she asked.

"We've met before." I said and immediately excused myself, put my drink on the nearest table, and headed for the door to leave. I hadn't gotten far when I heard her speak again.

"I remember now. You're the guy who made me trip and fall."

I turned to her. "I did no such thing. You weren't looking where you were going and tripped."

"Bullshit," she said.

I ignored her and left. I went straight to my office. I figured I'd empty my desk and get everything I wanted before Security escorted me out Monday morning.

Sure enough, as soon as I walked in Monday, I was told that Mr. Johansen wanted to see me. I went to his office and was sent in immediately.

"You left the party before we had a chance to eat. Then this morning I saw from the video logs that you came in Saturday." He was smiling.

"Didn't your daughter tell you?"

"Yes, but I want to hear your side."

"It's pretty simple. Some months ago, I was at your house taking your old, donated furniture when she tripped and fell. She accused me of tripping her. I assumed that when you found out who I was, I would be fired, so I decided to come in and take all of my personal stuff."

Frederick Johansen started to laugh and stood. He reached his hand across his desk. "Paul, I want to shake your hand. I've heard nothing but how some clumsy S.O.B. tried to kill her and it gets funnier every time she tells it." I reached and we shook hands. "And it was even funnier when she told me you were at the party; but you don't look anything like the ogre she described." He sat back in his chair. "Sit down, sit down." Frederick Johansen and I talked for over an hour. Most of it was about the company and his plans for it, but some of it was about his daughter. "My wife saw everything and agrees with you that it was Chris's fault, but like she's done all her life, tries to blame everything on others. Tell me. Why were you working for them? Don't we pay you enough?"

It was my turn to laugh. "My pay is never enough, but that was volunteer work, and I only did it on Saturday."

"Good. Good. I wish everybody who could, would do some volunteer work. Are you still doing it?" So I told him about my time there. He laughed again. "You're a smart guy or you wouldn't be where you are. As you probably know, that charity you volunteered for pays tutors to help kids with learning problems, but they need unpaid volunteers as well. People to work in the office and schedule the tutors. You will find that most of the tutors stop taking pay after a short time with these kids, but the pay is used as an inducement to get them onboard. I'd like to open one of the admin offices right here with us and we can become a corporate sponsor. I'd like you to consider helping organize that office; only you won't be volunteering. You'll be doing it as part of your regular job. What that means is you're busy now, but you'll be even busier then. What do you think?"

"I think I have to think about it."

"Of course. Take all the time you need and tell me by next Monday." He grinned.

I was walking out of his office and someone was leaning over his secretary's desk. She straightened up and turned and bumped right into me. Our eyes met and hers flashed. "You are the most clumsy asshole I have ever met," she said.

"Me? Do you ever look where you are going or are you always like a bull in a china shop charging around willy nilly?

"Willy nilly? What kind of expression is that?"

"It means haphazard, something you are apparently intimate with. I suggest you find yourself a guide dog to keep you out of trouble. They're smart enough to look where they're going." I heard laughter and turned to see Frederick Johansen standing in his office door.

"Call me, Paul, and let's get it going." He said as I left.

I was busy most of the rest of the week and had little time to think about his plan. I figured since it was a pet project of his, that I could earn some "brownie points" if I did it, but then I thought that would be doing it for the wrong reason.

Monday morning I found myself sitting outside his office, still not having made a decision. I wasn't aware until after I saw him face to face what my decision would be. I walked straight to his desk and stood.

"Well, Paul? Are we going to do this thing?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, we are." I had made the decision at that very moment.

"Good man," he said.

"Aw shit." I heard from behind me. "Daddy, I can't work with him."

I turned, saw her and asked what she was talking about.

"Sit down both of you." We sat glaring at each other. "Paul, Chris has been doing this for a long time and knows what we need and how to do it. Chris, Paul wants to help, so I suggest the two of you kiss and make up and come up with a plan to help these kids. Do I make myself clear?" I looked at him and started to retract my consent, but he's a smart man and knew how to stop me. "It isn't about egos, Paul. It's about kids who deserve some help if they're going to succeed in this world."

"Yes, sir. I'm all in."

"Good. Now move whatever of your work you can to Thompson. I've talked to him and he knows you might be bringing it. Then I suggest you spend some time with Chris and find out what she needs from you. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir" and "Yes daddy" came out at the same time. We left his office and stood in his reception area not saying anything to each other. Finally, I spoke.