Jim and Bonnie and Julie

Plus, Bonnie was a great mom, and Nathanial would be raised with love, and after a few months, the little guy wouldn't even remember me anymore. I would still remember him, but he wouldn't me.

I would have given anything to see the look on Bonnie's face when she saw my goodbye package. I hate confrontation, but she'd ruined my life and stabbed me in the heart, and I wasn't above vengeance.

All the evidence would be on the kitchen table when she got home that night, and I'd be hours away, traveling south.

Bonnie had no idea I knew, but she would now, and she'd have no idea where I was going. I cut her out of my life like just like she cut my heart to pieces.

The pictures were self-evident, as was a brief note from my doctor confirming that Nathanial couldn't be my child based on our blood types. I wonder if she knew Nathanial wasn't mine. I didn't care.

That was it! There was nothing in writing from me. Nothing. My parents knew I was leaving Bonnie, and Bonnie's mom knew. Bonnie could find out from them. I didn't owe her anything!

She wouldn't get a chance to apologize or plead with me. She wouldn't get a chance to ever talk to me again. The only person who knew where I was going was Denise, who wasn't feeling charitable towards Bonnie.

We had sixty-thousand in equity in our house and fifty-thousand in our joint savings account, so I withdrew thirty-thousand from the savings account to cover my half of the equity. Bonnie made enough to cover the mortgage payments on her own, and if for some reason, she couldn't, then it wasn't my problem anymore! Nathanial wasn't my son, so the law couldn't track me down for parental support. And Bonnie made as much money as I did so the law couldn't track me down for wife support.

Bye, Bye, Bonnie!

===========================================

The place I picked for my temporary hideaway was Silver City, New Mexico. It was a tiny city of ten thousand people in a sparsely populated area in the southwest of the state with an eclectic mix of people. There was an artistic community, some tourism, some mining, and the Western New Mexico University.

The only reason I knew about Silver City was because of my uncle. He lived there when I was a kid, and we got along great. When I was thirteen, he asked if I'd like to come down and stay for March break. I loved it there! When I left my house, it was cold and dreary, and there was snow on the ground. When I got to my uncle's, it was sixty degrees and sunny and dry, which felt like heaven! And I could see low mountains in the background. I'd never seen mountains before! Cool! There were miles and miles of desert scrub driving from the El Paso airport to Silver City. I felt like I was in the wild west!

The week flew by. I went for my first horse ride, went hiking in the Gila National Forest, ate at an authentic Mexican restaurant, and saw a real cowboy. It was the best trip I ever had, and I was bummed out when I had to go back home.

I went back every year for the next three years and loved it. Then my uncle moved. Bummer!

But, because of him, I didn't think twice about where I was going when I left. I was going to Silver City. It was halfway across the country in an isolated place that Bonnie didn't even know about. I could hide there until I decided what to do with my life.

My mood picked up somewhat when I arrived due to the brilliant sunshine and the feelings of nostalgia I had for the place. I smirked when I heard the locals complaining about how cold it was because sixty degrees felt sweet to me! I forgot how small the town was. You could cross from one side to another in a few minutes. There were no traffic jams, and the air was crystal clear. I found a nice two-bedroom apartment within days, and the rent was dirt cheap compared to back home.

I called Denise when I arrived to let her know I was okay, and then I did absolutely nothing for a week except brood and drink. That got boring, though, and I hate feeling hungover, so I started investigating the local economy. Perhaps I could get an accounting job or start up a company down here. It gave me something to keep me busy, and my mind preoccupied. I wasn't worried about money. I still owned half my old company, had lots of investments, had the thirty-thousand from the savings account, and living in Silver City was cheap.

Denise and I skyped every day to discuss business issues because life went on even though I was gone. When my internet connection was in place, I resumed some of my work duties. I didn't want to abandon Denise. I couldn't expect her to do her job and mine while I decided what to do with my life. If I chose not to come back, she'd hire someone else. Until then, she was willing to cut me some slack. She was a good friend!

I heard from mom and dad and Bonnie's mom that Bonnie frantically tried to find out where I was from them, but they didn't know.

Denise was the only person that knew where I was. I didn't tell mom and dad because they were still seeing Bonnie, and she might find out where I was from them. Bonnie could be quite persuasive! Mom and dad weren't happy with Bonnie cheating on me, but their desire to see their grandson was greater than their irritation with Bonnie. They didn't seem to care that Nathanial wasn't really their grandson. Plus, they liked Bonnie. Who didn't? I used to love her.

Denise called me one day and was not a happy camper.

"You owe me BIG time, Jim!"

Oops! She didn't call me 'boss'! Something bad was up. "What's wrong?"

"Bonnie showed up at work yesterday, and it wasn't pleasant!"

"What happened?"

"Bonnie was polite at first. She asked Carla at the reception desk if she could see me. Said it was important. Carla knew Bonnie was your wife, so she buzzed me, and I agreed to see her."

"Carla showed Bonnie to your office, which is now my office, and Bonnie got confused right away."

"Where's Jim, Denise?"

I played dumb. "I don't know, Bonnie."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean, he's gone, and I don't know where he is."

"Why are you in his office?"

"It's my office now. Jim's gone and said he won't be back and told me to take his office."

"He's gone for good? He left the company?" Bonnie asked with a shocked look.

"That's what he said. He said he wouldn't be back."

"Did he say why he left?"

"He said it was personal. That's all he said."

"And you haven't heard from him since?"

I'm not a good liar Jim, so when I didn't say anything, Bonnie started to get suspicious.

"You've talked to Jim, haven't you?"

I didn't say anything, and Bonnie started to look upset, and I started to feel anxious.

"Denise, this is important! Jim's gone! He's not at home anymore! He didn't even leave a note! I'm worried sick about him, and Nathanial is missing his dad! If you know where he is, please tell me, Denise!"

I was getting quite concerned because Bonnie had a distraught look on her face, but I was also pissed at her. After all, I knew she had cheated on you for years, and Nathanial wasn't even yours, so I was having a hard time being sympathetic, plus I knew you were okay, even though Bonnie didn't. So, I repeated I didn't know where you were.

Bonnie lost it. She started screaming about how she didn't believe me and wasn't going anywhere until I told her.

I was starting to worry about my safety, thinking Bonnie might go psycho on me! Her face was beet red. Bonnie's screaming made the staff curious, and I noticed Tod standing outside my door, to see if I was okay. Thank God! Tod is over two hundred pounds of muscle. I felt safer and asked Bonnie to leave. She didn't, so I nodded at Tod, and he escorted Bonnie out as gracefully as possible. She was not happy, Jim, and neither was I! I know you didn't leave a note to spite her, but I bore the brunt of your little stunt! You owe me big time for having to go through that!

"Shit! I'm sorry, Denise! I should have known Bonnie would show up at work looking for me. Sorry! What can I do to make it up?"

"I'm still thinking about it!" She said gruffly.

I knew I was okay at that point because the angry tone was draining out of Denise's voice. I apologized one more time for good effect, and she grumbled softly.

============================================

I waited a bit for Denise to calm down, plus I wanted to make sure she got the 'sorry' flowers I sent her. Then I called to see what she thought of me opening an accounting office in Silver City. She thought it was a great idea if it would make me happy. I loved Denise!

I would need at least one person to help me, though. I could hire a local, but it would be nice to start with at least one seasoned person I knew. Most people in the office had families, though, and wouldn't be interested in moving to a small remote place like Silver City. Denise said she would ask if anyone was interested in my idea and moving down. A week later, I called her back.

"Hi, Denise!"

"Hi, Jim! How's it going?"

"Good! The weather is sunny and sixty degrees. How about you?"

"You just can't resist mentioning the weather, can you? Asshole! You know damn well it's freezing here, and we're knee-deep in snow."

I chuckled. "Sorry, Denise!"

"No, you're not!"

"So! Anyone interested in moving to Silver City?"

"Actually, yes. Julie Kim is interested. Do you remember her? We hired her three years ago straight out of university, and she's been amazing. Remember her, Jim? The girl with the beautiful cross of Asian and white features? The girl with the curvy body that you couldn't stop looking at during the interview."

"Denise! Are you implying that I hired Julie because of her looks?"

"I hired her, remember? I wasn't going to let you decide! You were drooling too much. Anyway, apparently, she likes cold winters and humid summers about as much as you do, which is to say, not very much. And she's single, so she doesn't have any ties holding her back. And..."

Denise had stopped talking. "Denise? And what?"

"And I think she likes you."

"Me? I never noticed anything."

"That's because you were happily married to Bonnie and oblivious of the romantic feelings of your female employees. Trust me, Jim, there was interest! So are you interested in having her come down to help you out? I promised her she could have her old job back if she didn't like it down there."

I was interested! Julie would be perfect for helping me get started. She was young, energetic, and talented, and I didn't believe what Denise said about her liking me. I was eight years older than her!

For the first time in a while, I was excited!

"If Julie is interested, then I'm interested! Tell her to come down as soon as she can. I know we can make some money here. Thanks, Denise! I owe you big time!"

"Damn right you do!"

===========================================

Apparently, Robert made an effort to be a responsible parent and moved in with Bonnie, but it only lasted a few months. Bonnie may have needed to scratch her wild itch occasionally, but the other ninety-nine percent of the time, she wanted a supportive, responsible spouse. Robert was none of those. He was a mediocre salesman at GM and didn't make a lot of money and liked to spend it smoking, eating out and boozing it up. And he wasn't interested in helping make meals like I did. And he wasn't interested in changing diapers or mowing the lawn or buying groceries or doing any of the 'boring' things that I used to with Bonnie.

And Robert had been sleeping with other women. After moving in with Bonnie, he took a brief hiatus but then continued his philandering, which Bonnie discovered. She was not impressed and threw him out.

Apparently, bad boys were exciting lovers but not good husbands and fathers.

Several months later, Robert was leaving Bonnie's place when mom and dad showed up to see Nathanial on Sunday morning, and Bonnie looked a bit flushed like she'd just had a good fuck. She probably had! There was obviously some physical connection between Bonnie and Robert, even if she couldn't stand living with him.

===========================================

Julie had an old car, and it was a long drive to Silver City, so she stored her vehicle at a friend's place and flew into El Paso. El Paso was only a three-hour drive to Silver City.

Julie's plane had arrived, and I was waiting in the exit area for her. A big smile crossed her face when she saw me, and she made a beeline in my direction as fast as she could, given the two huge suitcases she was dragging and two shoulder bags she was carrying.

I extended my hand to greet her, but she blew right past it and hugged me. I didn't want to be rude, so I hugged her back. She smelled nice.

I grabbed her suitcases, and we walked to my car, as she filled me in on her flight. I'd forgotten how pretty she was. Her face was an exotic fusion of Asian and white features. Unlike most Asian women I knew, she had a curvy hour-glass figure with sizeable breasts. It was quite a potent combination.

She still had on her winter coat and boots from back home, but when we exited into the beautiful sunny seventy-degree weather, she stopped and basked in the warm sun. It was something I did often. I couldn't believe how pleasant the dry, sunny weather was compared to the weather back home. Julie ditched her coat and boots when we got to the car and put on a pair of sandals. Several times on the ride home, she stuck her hand out the window and seemed to delight in feeling the wind caress her arm, and she looked at me with a big grin. She had a beautiful smile.

She planned to stay at a hotel and rent a car and look for an apartment. That seemed dumb to me, given that I had a two-bedroom apartment and a car. She could sleep at my place and use my car until she found her own place. I brought up the idea, and she said she couldn't impose, but I persisted until she finally said, "Are you sure?"

"Positive!"

A big smile crossed her face, and she squeezed my knee in excitement. "Thanks, Jim! That's so kind of you!"

My knee liked being squeezed, and I saw Julie staring at me out of the corner of my eye several times as we drove home. I filled her in on my plans to start a business, and she seemed excited and peppered me with questions. It reminded me of the excitement I felt when Denise and I started our business years ago. It felt good to have that excitement in my life again.

I was curious about something Denise mentioned. She said that Julie's resume indicated she was fluent in Spanish, which would be a big plus in Silver City, which was fifty percent Hispanic.

"Your resume said you were fluent in Spanish. Is that true?"

She smiled at me. "Si!"

"Are you totally fluent or just a little bit?"

"Well, I may be a bit rusty, but my mother made me take Spanish courses from grade one and made me speak Spanish to our Hispanic cleaning lady, and I had a few friends who were Hispanic, so I think I'm fairly fluent."

We stopped at a roadside stand selling some fruit and got out to stretch our legs. A couple was speaking in Spanish to the owner of the stall. After the couple left, Julie grinned at me and began an effortless conversation in Spanish with the owner. I'd picked up a bit of Spanish since being in Silver City, but Julie and the guy were talking so fast I had no idea what they were saying, but it looked like Julie really was fluent in Spanish. Bonus!

We crashed early that night and were up early the next day to get going. I gave Julie a tour of Silver City and showed her a building with some empty commercial space that I thought would be a good location for our new business. No matter what we did or looked at or discussed, Julie always had a ton of questions. There was a sharp, analytical mind in that beautiful head of hers!

We bought some groceries, and then Julie said she wanted to go for a bike ride. Julie was a fitness buff, and one of the first stops we made earlier in the day was to buy a used bike. By the time she got back, the smell of lasagna and garlic bread filled the room.

"Hmmm! That smells yummy! I didn't know you cooked."

"Yup, I did most of the cooking with Bonnie. She cleaned and did the laundry, and I cooked and bought the groceries and did the dishes. I had to learn to do laundry when I got down here, but it's not brain surgery, and I haven't ruined any of my clothes except for the white dress shirt that's now pink! I only made that mistake once, though! I also cut the lawn and shoveled snow, not that there is any snow to shovel here or green grass to cut."

Julie stared at me for a second as I boasted about my domestic skills, and then a tiny smile crossed her face. I think she was pleased with what she heard.

"I'm going to have a shower. I'll be back in a minute." She said.

I cracked open a bottle of wine and got out my two wine glasses. It seemed appropriate to celebrate our first day, and I was pumped that Julie was so enthused.

Julie entered the room a few minutes later. Her jet black hair was still wet and had a fresh shampoo smell. She had on some short faded jean shorts and a white t-shirt that highlighted her curvy breasts, and she was barefoot with a gold bracelet on her ankle. Fuck, she was hot looking! She seemed pleased when she saw the wine and glasses.

"Are we celebrating?"

"Yes, we are! I haven't felt this excited in a long time! It reminds me of how pumped I was when Denise and I started our company. I felt the same way when I was out with you today. You seemed excited, which made me excited."

I filled our glasses, and we toasted.

"Here's to a great first day and hopefully the first of many!" I wanted to say 'relationship' instead of 'day,' but I caught myself. I didn't want to make Julie feel uncomfortable. I sensed some chemistry between us, but I wasn't sure, and she was almost ten years younger than me. I'd feel horrible if I did anything to make her uncomfortable, and it would make working together awkward.

She didn't seem uncomfortable, though, and clinked her glass against mine.

"Here! Here! To the first of many days together!"

I hadn't said 'together,' but Julie did, and she was looking at me with one of those cryptic female smiles that always confused me. I wasn't sure what to think and started eating.

============================================

It was the 'big' day! Julie and I were making our final presentation to a sizeable family-owned local construction business. If we got the contract, a lot of other local companies might follow.

We'd moved into our office several weeks ago that Julie decorated. Her female touch was evident. When you entered the lobby area, it felt welcoming and bright. It was a large area with several couches and plush chairs and lots of lush-looking plants. The effect was uplifting.

There was a very cheery, fully bilingual female receptionist to welcome you and get you a beverage while you waited. Juanita was a real catch! Not only was she cheery and bilingual, but she was a competent administrative assistant.

We'd already sent a lot of proposals back and forth and had numerous calls with the company we were meeting. Today was decision day. They were going to let us know if we got the contract.

I had on a business suit, and so did Julie, but she looked way better than I did! Her outfit made her look totally professional, but there was no hiding her femininity! The coat hid the details of her breasts, but you could still see a gentle curve beneath the fabric. She had on classy heels, and her fingernails were red to match her lipstick. She also had on a gold neckless and just a touch of makeup to transform her naturally beautiful face into stunning.

I could tell the male owners were impressed with Julie's looks.

"We are pleased with your proposal. The price is very competitive."

Damn, right, it was! We lowballed the price to get the contract. We wouldn't lose any money, but we wouldn't make any.