Jacksie & Jess

"Shit Uncle Mike really?" I feigned. After giving Jess and academy award winning fake sigh of frustration I continued. "OK, I'll drop off Jess and meet you at the office in thirty minutes."

"Thanks Thomas! Again Jess, I'm so sorry."

"You owe me and Jess a steak dinner in the next two weeks Uncle Mike. Capital Grille, not Texas Roadhouse!"

"Deal kiddo!"

"Dammit Thomas, this is getting really frustrating," Jess complained loudly. "What does a girl have to do to get her husband in bed with her?" I'll refrain from sharing the answer that went through my mind at that moment.

"I know babe, but I'm sure you'll catch a break any day now and you'll be free to fuck to your heart's content." If she picked up on me saying "you'll" instead of "we'll" she never let on. She just huffed and pouted that last ten minutes of the drive and slammed her door when exiting the car.

I rolled down my window and shouted in a fake hopeful voice, "I shouldn't be more than three hours babe, maybe you could wait up for me." She never broke stride or turned to face me. She just flipped me off over her shoulder and entered the house.

"Yep, that's right bitch, fuck you!"

Friday was the most unproductive day of my career. I showed up early leaving Jess a note I was going in before the crack of dawn to ensure we had an uninterrupted evening. After pushing some paper I'd gotten behind on, I made a few calls to clients. When I looked up, I was sure it would be around noon. It was 9:30 AM. I told my assistant Donna I was headed to the gym where I worked out furiously. After meeting Dad and Uncle Mike for lunch I went back to the office for another unproductive two hours and then headed home. I arrived a good hour before Jess's anticipated entrance.

About the time I was hitting the front door, Jess was dismissing her last class of the day. Chuck the Fuck popped his head into her classroom while a sporting a hard on and a lecherous grin.

"He sweetness, how about a detour on your way home this afternoon?"

Chuck was a good-looking guy and could lay on the charm with the best of them. However, Jess was the woman "who had been born with a face that would let her get her way," and she was becoming bored with her paramour. She had to admit he was very good in the sack, but he was in a job that had a very definitive ceiling. He'd never be rich, and he was fifteen years older. Beyond this, he had no intention of abandoning his wife and three children. The more she thought about it, the more she realized Chuck was a dead-end street. She needed to end it, but she wanted to let him down politely since he would still be her boss.

"I'm sorry Charles, Thomas and I have been off all week, so I need to get home to him. How about we meet Sunday late afternoon? Thomas has a hockey game at five so I could meet you from four until six." "At the end of which I'll let you know we've had fun, but we're done," she thought to herself.

Chuck wasn't pleased but he understood. Maybe it wasn't too late to get his mother-in-law to take the kids for the evening. His wife wasn't as gorgeous as Jess, but she was a fine-looking woman and he always enjoyed sex with her. "OK, I'll pick you up at the rest stop at four sharp!" She could hear him whistling as he walked away from her classroom.

Jess felt relieved that she was going to break it off with Charles Wellborn. He treated her like a princess, but he also was beginning to think he was entitled to her pussy. She always had the upper hand with men in her life, even to some extent with Thomas. No way Charles, or any other man for that matter, was going to control her.

As she sat for another thirty minutes grading math quizzes, Jess also began to realize she absolutely adored her husband. He could be strong with her when she needed it, but he also spoiled her as she deserved. He was an excellent provider, and he would be an amazing father, following in the footsteps of his dad and grandad. She knew in her heart she could never promise herself she wouldn't cheat on him again, but she did make a promise to re-devote herself to loving him well.

Whatever synapsis in the brain that help one connect the dots of love, fidelity, commitment, and honesty as foundational to a healthy marriage were not firing in her brain. She was completely oblivious to the guilt and shame she should have been feeling. Jess should have been aware of just how selfish and self-absorbed she was down deep inside, but it was lost on her. It never dawned on her that her true ugliness went all the way to the bone. All of that was about to change.

"Excuse me, are you Mrs. Jessica Rexford?" The woman asked as she approached Jess in the parking lot carrying a manila legal sized envelope. "Beecher" always used women process servers when approaching wives. Nondescript women, tended to put other women at ease.

"Yes, I am, I'm sorry I don't recognize you, who are you"

"I have an important document to deliver to you, so I'm sorry for asking but may I see some ID?"

"Of course," Jess responded both confused and curious. The polite, friendly ploy worked every time. Jess's faculty lanyard hung around her neck. She clasped it and held it out. "Will this be sufficient?"

"Perfect, thanks. Mrs. Jessica Rexford, you've been served."

The woman offered Jess the file which she reached out and accepted. The process server turned abruptly and walked away wondering why some women were so stupid. "The dumb ones always accept the paperwork without ever thinking," She mused as she got into her car and drove off.

"Wait, what? I don't understand, who are you, what is this?"

Jessica got no response, just heals and elbows as the woman walked away. Slowly, like a dawn breaking across a dark early morning sky, reality began to grip Jess's world. "No, it can't be" she hissed as she tore open the paper. The words at the top of the first page screamed at her. "Complaint for Absolute Divorce"

"No, no, no, this can't be right" her brain responded. "Thomas would never to this to me, he adores me, he loves me, he... he can't possibly know about Charles! We've been perfectly secretive, there is no way he could find out. If he knew, he'd have confronted me! Oh lord, I must get home and fix this!"

She fumbled with her keys, dropped the papers, began crying, gathered up the part of the file she dropped and tried to open her door all at once. After a moment she was able to collect everything, open her car door and start the engine. She was now sobbing and shaking with fear. She was trying to slow down her breathing but having led a life almost completely devoid of genuine shock or stress, she was flummoxed. It took her several minutes to regain her composure and begin driving home.

On the drive she went from hysterical to livid back to tears and then returning to furious! She would give him a piece of her mind when she got home. Nobody, especially Thomas Rexford treated her is such a shameful manner! How dare he pull such a stunt at her place of work. Fortunately, it had been after most folks were gone, but a handful of teachers were still on campus and no doubt a couple of them had witnessed the confrontation. Tongues would be wagging, and the full school gossip train would be flying down the tracks by Monday!

Again, it never occurred to her that she was the cause of her own pain. Her unfaithfulness to a man who loved her exclusively was at the root of this disaster. However, by the time she pulled into her driveway she had gathered her wits and was determined to remain calm. She was sure she could explain her dalliance with Charles away, assuming Thomas knew about it. She would claim sexual harassment and explain he forced her to sleep with him to forward her teaching career.

Yes, a battle plan was forming. She would never choose to sleep with another man. Thomas was her one and only, but she was too afraid to come to him. She was too embarrassed to tell him what happened, and she was afraid his temper would get away from him and he'd attack Charles, winding up in big trouble. Then she'd fuck him to death, and they'd be able to put this nonsense behind them. By the time she entered the front door she actually felt confident in her strategy.

I was seated at the kitchen table when she arrived. There was another file on the table, but Jess ignored it. She went full speed ahead.

"Thomas, my love, there must be some terrible mistake. Why would you divorce me? We love each other! You are my one and only soul mate. What on earth has possessed you to do something so foolish?"

I remained composed. "Jess, please sit down." She did.

"Jess, I've found out some disturbing things about your behavior as my wife. I am going to give you the opportunity to come clean and tell me the truth. I promise I will sit and listen without interrupting. If you give me an honest reason why my actions are wrong or misguided, I'll reconsider."

Jess began to interrupt. I held up a hand.

"But Jess, let me be clear before you begin. I'm going to record our conversation on my phone so there will be no confusion later about our discussion. You have this one chance alone to be completely truthful with me. Please don't hide behind lies or misrepresent what you've done. If you do that, I can promise you we are done, and I'll move forward immediately with divorce. So, if you want to share your thoughts with me, the floor is yours.

Still ignoring the folder on the table Jess launched in. "It's fine with me to record this Thomas, I'll tell you the truth. Charles Wellborn forced me to have sex with him. He used his position of power to force himself on me. Time and time again I fought off his advances, but he made it clear to me that my best way forward was in his bed. At first, I tried to just give him a couple of kisses and let him feel me up a bit. I hated every second, but I endured it because I was overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. But it wasn't enough for him, and he always demanded more."

Jess was beginning to tear up as she continued. "I didn't want to tell you because I thought I could handle him and was terrified you'd attack him and end up arrested, or worse, in jail. When it was clear sex was the only way to satisfy him, I did sleep with him. But it was only once, and I hated every second of it. In fact, he was in my classroom this afternoon after school trying to get me to sleep with him before I came home to you, but I refused him. Oh, Thomas, I'm so glad you know now. You can help me put an end to his abuse. I can't prove it, but I've heard the gossip and I think he's done this with other teachers before me."

At this point Jess put her head on the table and began sobbing.

Clap.. clap... clap... I gave her purely sarcastic applause. I was heartbroken by her obvious lies, but part of me had to give her credit. Maybe after the divorce she could pursue a career in acting.

"Jess, I'm so completely sad, but I must say, that was an amazing performance!"

"Thomas, what are you talking about, how can you say such a horrible thing after I've borne my soul to you?"

"Jess, you've always been able to get your way with men, me included. You are so beautiful on the outside and sometimes we are just so gullible to believe that there is also beauty on the inside. Let me tell you what I know."

With that I opened the file and began to lay it all out for Jess.

"You've been sleeping with Chuck the Fuck for at least two months. It may be longer than that, but of that much, I'm sure. The two of you go to the Hampton Inn down in Englewood." At this point I began sliding pictures across the table for Jess to peruse. She began to turn pale.

"At least six rendezvous in the last two months. On top of this, there was no Saturday morning math teacher's meeting in early December and there was no teacher's conference in Colorado Springs a few weeks ago. On top of this I have several recordings of your times together. Here is just one short snippet.

"Fuck, I love your cock, Charles! I love how you fuck me!"

"Damn bitch, you're so tight. Is your wimp husband so small he can't give it to you properly?"

"Ohhh Charles, yes, yes, right there, fuck me! Yes, your dick is so much better! Fuck my married pussy stud, take it, and make it yours!"

The conversation from that point turned into a series of grunts and huffs as they both climaxed together. I turned off the clip.

"So, my dear, loving, faithful wife, you certainly don't sound like a woman who is being taken against her will, or trying to reluctantly appease an abusive boss. Your voice and these pictures tell the true story. You fucked Chuck on at least eight occasions, one of them being for an entire weekend up in Gunnison, and that constitutes only one thing. A cheating slut wife who thought she'd cuck her husband and get away with it."

Jess sat with her mouth agape, for once in her life, lost for words and coming to the realization, you couldn't aways flirt, bat your eyelashes and make your problems go away.

I continued. "You've broken my heart, Jess. I have no idea how many tears I've shed over the last couple of months coming to grips with your betrayal. My work and family relationships have suffered. My self-esteem has hit rock bottom and I've asked myself repeatedly, why? Why would you destroy my love and our marriage for some fucking on the side with a high school teacher. I've seen the pics up close Jess. He's not bigger than me and while I threw up listening to the two of you on several occasions, I know he's not better in bed than me because he never brought love into the mix. Just raw fucking. Rutting like two animals in heat."

My anger was beginning to build. "But you know what Jess? I've realized that you're not worth crying over anymore. My emotions have been badly bruised and I'm not sure I'll ever trust another woman, but I'm not going to crawl into some hole and die because deep down inside you're an ugly selfish woman. I'll pick myself up and move on with my life knowing I gave you the best I had, and this isn't my fault. I'm far from perfect, but I never gave you cause to treat me with such contempt and disrespect. I'm done asking why because I just don't care for you anymore."

"Some people say the opposite of love is hate. But I think the opposite of love is indifference and that's how I'm going to treat you. I'm no longer going to care for you or about you. It will take me a long time to get over the hurt, but from this day forward you will mean nothing to me."

"Thomas I..."

"No Jess, no more. I've packed a bag for you. If you want to go upstairs and get some other things that is fine with me, but tonight you'll be out of this house. My attorneys' contact information is in the packet you have so when you want to come over and clear out more of your stuff just let her know. I'll make sure I'm not here. Take whatever your brought with you into our marriage. What you don't want, I'll throw away or burn."

"But Thomas, please, I'm sorry! I was too frightened to tell you the truth. I have fucked up royally, but we can get past this! I want to be with you and you only!"

"Frightened Jess? Really? When have I ever given you cause to be fearful of me? I've never laid hand on you and rarely even raised my voice. If you were afraid, it was because you were worried you couldn't have your cake and eat it too."

"Thomas I won't leave this house like a defeated woman! You can't kick me out, this is my home too!" The Irish in her was beginning to kick in and she wasn't going down without a fight.

"Jess," I replied keeping my cool, "I bought this house with my money before we were married. It is in my name. Thankfully, we have no children so you can't claim you need the house to care for kids. Our prenup is clear that I keep my assets if we divorce for reasons of your infidelity. I know your looks have allowed you to almost always get your way, but you should have read that document more closely before you signed it if you wanted to cheat and rob me of my home."

"Thomas, I don't want to rob you of anything, I want us to be together! Charles means nothing to me! I had already planned to break if off with him this Sunday afternoon!" She realized this was a mistake as soon as the words left her mouth.

"This Sunday afternoon, eh? While I was at my fucking hockey game? A goodbye fuck for Chuck the Fuck? Even if I believed you, which I most certainly to not, it would be far too little, far too late."

"I swear Thomas, I have no interest in him, it was an idiotic fling on my part. I have no excuse, but you can't throw our marriage away over this. We are meant to be together!"

"Yes Jess, it was idiotic. It was also selfish and hatefully cruel. But let's be clear, I'm not throwing away our marriage. You tossed it in the trash when you spread your legs for Chuck the Fuck. You destroyed our marriage when you let him bend you over and fuck you from behind at the Hampton Inn. You incinerated our love when you gave him a blow job in the car to and from Gunnison! You fucking ruined any love we have when you looked me in the eye and told me you had a department meeting with all the math teachers on that Saturday back in December after I'd planned a weekend getaway for us! You've ended us and if you can't see that, I truly pity you. All I'm doing is closing the book on our sham of a marriage."

The full weight of her illicit liaison was finally dawning on her, and she began to sob. I sat with folded arms waiting for her to gather herself and get out. Finally, she spoke. "Where will I go, what will I do Thomas?"

"That's up to you Jess, but you should know this. My family is aware of what has happened. They have been there for me over the last couple months as I've learned about your betrayal. I haven't told your folks; you'll have to do that. However, if you lie to them or shade the truth at all, I won't feel the least bit bad about sending them a copy of this file."

"I'm not going to physically attack Chuck the Fuck. However, you should know by Monday morning, your principal will be aware of what has happened. I'm not suing the school since the administration had no knowledge of your affair. But I certainly won't hide the knowledge of who you fucked or how often. Chuck will have to fend for himself. If his wife contacts me, I will tell her the truth. I assume you know he has three kids. Their lives are going to blow up and that's on the two of you as well"

"So, as I said earlier, I'm done caring for you. Where you go is up to you. Fuck Chuck or anybody else you want, I'm done. The locks on the doors are changed. I haven't touched your money or your accounts. You have plenty on which to get by. You'll see the divorce I'm offering is more than fair to you financially given the circumstances. You can sign the papers now or wait, but I would advise you to get your own counsel. Now if you please, gather whatever belongings you want and be kind enough to leave my home."

Jess finally gave up. She wiped her eyes, went upstairs, and packed a few more things. As she was leaving, she walked back through the kitchen. I was sitting quietly, emotionally exhausted from the confrontation, but relieved it was over.

"I'm sorry Thomas..."

"Yes, Jess, you are..."

So here I am, eight months later, divorced and headed for Santa Fe. Why would I leave town you ask? Good question. The answer is simple. I need some time away. I love my family deeply and I know they love me but, much like my sojourn to Oregon over fifteen years ago, getting out on my own again, was going to be difficult, but it was also going to give me a breath of fresh air.

I'll spend a year or two getting the business up and running and then hire someone to run the New Mexico office. I'll probably end up back in Denver, close to my family and friends. Obviously, my hockey team wouldn't win many fucking games without me! But for now, a little space, a little time to throw myself into something new, a small adventure is just what I need. The only women I planned to spend time with is Greta.