It Sucks To Be Me: Marc's Story

Lisa and I went out for dinner and drinks a couple weeks before our wedding. As we sat in the club nursing our drinks, a tall, well-built man came to our table. He extended a hand to Lisa.

"Hello," he said. "My name is Robert. Would you care to dance?" Without even a glance at me, Lisa took the man's hand, stood and went to the dance floor. I was shocked. How could she do this to me? As I watched, the two of them danced through several songs. There wasn't any inappropriate touching, but I saw him whisper in her ear a few times, making her laugh. What were they talking about, I wondered.

Robert said something to the band leader, and the group began playing a set of fast songs. Robert and Lisa danced through the entire set. When they finished, they came back to the table. Lisa grabbed her purse and looked at me.

"Robert has asked me to go home with him tonight," she said. "Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow. This has nothing to do with us and won't affect us at all. I still love you and I still plan to marry you. It's just something I need to do." Before I could respond, she turned and walked away. I saw the smirk Robert gave me and I felt like kicking his ass right there.

I didn't, partly because I knew that if I did, I would get arrested. I also knew that if I caused a scene, my whole life history would be news again, and I wasn't sure I could live with that. I looked around and saw the looks from the other men around me. They knew that I was going to be made a cuckold. So this is the thanks I get for turning my life around, I thought. Well, fuck that.

I was furious and left for home. If Lisa thought she could do this to me and just come back like nothing happened, she was out of her mind. By the time I got home, it hit me. This was exactly what I had done to so many men over the years. The pain I felt at that moment was probably what those other men felt as I took their wives from them.

Talk about karma! How many men had I done this very same thing to? Did they all feel like this, I asked myself. At least Lisa and I weren't married yet. And we never would be married. Not if this is what I had to look forward to.

I slept fitfully that night, my dreams filled with images of Lisa with Robert, the two of them laughing at me as they fucked each other's brains out. I now fully understood what drove that veteran to shoot me that night so long ago. If I had a gun, I would probably do the same thing.

It was about 10:00 the next morning when I heard a key in the lock. I was sitting in my recliner when Lisa walked in. I know I looked like hell. I hadn't slept very well and I hadn't even shaved that morning. Lisa came in the apartment, looking as fresh as she did when left me the previous night. Behind her was Robert. I couldn't believe the nerve of this woman, bringing him to my place like this. I stood up and was about ready to punch the motherfucker, but Lisa stopped me.

"Marc, I told you last night I would be back, and I'm here, just the same as when I left last night," she said.

"What are doing bringing this son-of-a-bitch in my apartment?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I never introduced myself," Robert said as he extended his hand. "Robert... Collier."

Collier? What? I shook my head in disbelief. Was this her ex-husband? He continued.

"I'm Lisa's brother," he said.

"Brother?" I asked. I looked at Lisa. "You slept with your brother?"

"No, silly," she said. "We're close, but not THAT close. We had things to discuss. I told you it was something I had to do and it wouldn't affect us, and I meant it."

"I don't get it," I said. Robert laughed before he continued.

"We were actually discussing your bachelor party," he said. "And she asked me to walk her down the aisle since our father passed away a couple years ago."

"And that's it?" I asked. "Why the act in the club last night?"

"You can blame me for that," Robert said.

"I don't understand," I said. "I never met you before. Why would you do something like that?"

"A few years back you did the very same thing to a friend of mine," he said. "It destroyed him. He ended up divorced and is now a single father. He never got a chance to get back at you. Lisa told me you'd changed, but I wanted to see for myself and maybe give you a taste of what you did to my friend. You see, I love my sister and I'm very protective of her. She's already been hurt once, and I don't want to see her hurt again."

"I understand," I told him. "I love your sister as well, and I promise I'll never hurt her. I've learned my lesson."

"I hope so, Marc," he said. "I really do. Because if you ever do hurt her, I promise I'm going to hurt you. Got it?"

"I got it," I said. "I'm not that man anymore. I've learned my lesson and I love Lisa." He nodded his head and extended his hand again. "Welcome to the family." I accepted his hand and shook it.

"So what's this about a bachelor party?" I asked.

"We decided to throw you a party, but there'll be no strippers or anything like that," Robert said. "Just us guys enjoying a few beers. Maybe we'll watch some football or something. I'd hate to see you get tempted into doing something stupid."

"Yeah, me too," I said. I looked at Lisa. "You knew about all this?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "And I'm sorry if we gave you the wrong impression, but Robert said it was something that needed to be done. Do you still love me?"

"Of course I still love you, but you have no idea how bad I felt last night," I said. "I was ready to call it quits."

"Robert told me you might feel that way," she said. "After he explained it to me, though, I decided to go along with it. You see, I know how it feels to be cheated on. I'll never cheat on you -- ever. And I won't tolerate it from you, either."

"Message received," I told her. After Robert left, Lisa and I spent the day making up. The next Monday, Brenda cornered me.

"I heard you met my nephew, Robert," she said.

"Yes, I did," I told her.

"Lisa told me what they did to you," she said. "They've always been practical jokers. I can't say that I totally approve of what they did, but I understand it. I hope you got the message."

"I did," I said. She smiled.

"I'm glad," she said. "Everything okay between you and Lisa?"

"Yeah, we made up after Robert explained himself," I said.

"I take it the wedding's still on?" she asked.

"It's on," I told her.

"Good," she said. "Cause I'd hate it if we had to cancel the caterers," she added with a smile. "I hear Robert and some of the guys are taking you to a sports bar for a bachelor party this Friday. Have fun."

"Thanks, I will," I told her.

"And just so you know, the girls and I plan to take Lisa out that night as well," she said. "Don't worry, her virtue will still be intact when we bring her back."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said.

As planned, Robert picked me up that Friday and took me to a small bar on the outskirts of town. We had a good time, drinking beer and watching videos of my old team. Brenda picked Lisa up shortly after I left and they went out to another club where they did God only knows what.

Robert finally got me home and helped put me to bed. I woke up the next morning to find Lisa in my bed. She told me Brenda brought her home and helped her get into bed. Both of us looked like we had seen better days.

The wedding went off without a hitch. Robert walked Lisa down the aisle and I had never seen anyone look as beautiful as she did that day. When the preacher asked who gave her to be married, he said, "her parents and I," then shook my hand and sat down next to Brenda.

We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, then settled down into married life. So far, things are looking great and I can't remember the last time I felt so content. I even dumped the subscription to that porn site. Who needs to fantasize when there's someone as beautiful as Lisa right there?

So why did I say that it sucks to be me? Simple. You see, I'm not even a real person. I'm just a fictitious character in a story that never seems to end...

After I ended my story, the doctor stopped the recording and looked at me.

"You're right," he said. "It does suck to be you."

"Is there anything you can do for me, doc?" I asked. He thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. LaValliere," he said. "You're right. You are just a character in a story, and I have no doubt you'll be written about many more times before it's all said and done."

"So, what can I do?" I asked.

"There's not much you can do about it," he said. "But I will give you one piece of advice, though."

"What's that?" I asked, hopeful. He smiled and looked at me.

"Embrace it," he said. "Embrace the suck."

* * * * *

Note: The incident with Greg was told in my story, "Greg and Allie 03: February's Curse."