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Click here"When you covered yourself I realized that you felt that I was intruding on you and I was embarrassed for you and for me. When you dropped your hands and showed yourself to me, I wanted to possess you like I have never wanted to before. I wanted you in the most desperate way. If you had taken one step towards me or even held out your hand to me, I would have had you on that bed in a second. I don't think I could have controlled myself."
"If I had known that, I would have taken more than just one step," she laughed. "Ray, I still love you. I have never stopped loving you and what we had. I remember the best of our times and I regret the bad times but they have not reduced my love for you. In fact, I believe that as I grow and recover my love for you grows too."
Rising from her chair she stepped over to him and bending down, she kissed him on the forehead.
"I'm going to go up and get my clothes and go back to my hotel. I think that we should sleep on what we have and not force anything until we each are sure of where we are. OK?"
Kari was collecting her clothes and cosmetics when Ray walked into the bedroom. She acknowledge him with a smile and he watched silently as she slipped her feet into her sandals and picked her bag up off of the bed.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she said and leaning towards him offered her lips for a kiss.
They kissed with only their lips touching as if they were afraid that if their bodies made contact they would never make it out of the bedroom. Stepping aside, Ray let her go past him and he followed her down the steps.
"Goodnight," she said at the door and kissed him on the cheek before going down the sidewalk to her car.
Ray stood watching her SUV until it disappeared down the street.
- COMMENTS
Ruttweilerover 1 year agoYou write dialogue really well, both interior and exterior dialogue. You’re also really good with emotions, and understanding recovery.
Your plot is absolutely not out of bounds, and I can really imagine it truly happening with the right people.
You, of course, understand that a lot of the readers who denigrate your work are reacting negatively to the possibility of happiness. Many of them are miserable, and don’t want anyone else to be to feel better.
Anonymousover 2 years agoI'm sorry you only good 4 stars for this one from me and in the bit disappointed.
The sheriff mauer the emotional trauma he experienced but literally if hes around but who literally if hes a rational sin he remained not allow him to behave the way hes depicted in the story.
His daughter's behavior is absolutely deplorable and insensitive.
If both the children have seen one of those videotapes I can assure everyone here that this story would not be taking the direction that it is. Furthermore the daughter's absolutely ridiculous she keeps shoving them together and rubbing their affair in their face by calling them love birds it's really terrible and I felt like slapping her silly.
I give her points for Her addiction rehabilitation efforts that took a lot of strength and is admirable. That she shall briefly tossed off her unknowing a knowing disbelief of the turmoil he went through and that she was surprised he went through counseling is incredible. How could you be a sensitive human being and not realized that sure destructive force of what she had leashed upon him?
You did a superb job of unfolding the emotional issues of this kind of disastrous relationship relationships however you've really crumpled your story in this last chapter and rather disappointed in you.
There might be a reconciliation down-the-line but a brief after gone 2 years return to home and everything is starting to be forgotten and forgiven is just not possible.
Please give your reader little more credit Than that. We're willing to flow with a little disbelief for a bit but you're really stretching it it beyond his limits. If you will read the section you'll see I think we're all talking about.
Anonymousalmost 4 years agoIt is like the Chinese water torture. All of these are awful. Hubby is a weak and spineless fool. Wifey is just a slut wanting to have it all and have everything even after the horrible things she’s done. Stupid and ridiculous
Anonymousabout 4 years agoAnd I already want to blow my brains out
“Wimpy Cuck Shit” indeed
dyonysosabout 9 years agoThe time in all of it happend was barely 4 months,of those four months the first she was a receptionist and nothing happend,two weeks in school so in fact she became addicted and changed her ways in barely two months,the coke addiction was just after two days in vegas,the timelapse is a bit short for all that happend and tells a lot of karens very weak and self destructing caracter
loveoverlustabout 9 years agoAt least I hope so. I agree with the comments,things went too fast for comfort. I was hoping for a lot more emotional intensity. Anger & remorse with love/hate lurking behind.
Besides, Karen still doesn't seem to fully realize all the pain she has caused.
Oh well, 2 chapters to follow.
The trail of 5's continues.
Drbeamer3333over 9 years agolove how you started this chapter off, with it fast forwarding two years ahead.
Drbeamer3333over 9 years agofive stars. Good to see you slowly rebuilding their love. It's like they are starting all over again.
BobNbobbiover 12 years ago. . . how well this tale of recovery is written. I fits with the stories in the last section of the big book. I read this one again this morning almost two years after first read. The impact is still as vivid, as soul reaching. Reading about Karen-Kari's dealing with her program, working with her sponsor, reliving her past and fulfilling her ninth step hits home. This may be a case of takes one to know one.
bigguy323over 14 years agoNO WAY, NO HOW, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. She should have died in the bathtub.
bigguy323over 14 years agoNO WAY, NO HOW, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. She should have died in the bathtub.
clark3001almost 15 years agoI got very caught up with this part when the DVDs were watched, the pain and humiliation felt by Ray were too much to absorb and I had to stop reading further for sometime. And now the prospect of discovery of new love between Keri and Ray are making me look forward to the next 2 parts. You really deserve an 'A' for this story.
petletoover 15 years agoEverything in part 5 went way too smooth and easy towards eventual reconciliation (a lot of people didn’t like it) so I feel it was a set up to prepare us for the next 2 parts.
Anonymousover 15 years agoI'd be surprised if there isn't anymore twists--2 more chapters to go
andy1hardyover 15 years agoI give Kathi an "A' for effort. There was a lot of thought given towards organizing and preparing a fictional story of such length. The quantity was there, however the quality is suspect. This world is a better place for NOT having people like this....thank God it was all imagined. But one day Kathi will create characters that will enamour us and provide a reality that truly exists. She's good but not for this tripe.
petletoover 15 years agoA couple of clarifications:
Part 1 does say Karen/Kari was waiting to meet with her daughter. Here is a quote: "She could visualize that early morning so long ago and she let her mind wander as she recalled the events that led up to her waiting for her daughter in this restaurant on this important day". Karen's son doesn't have his own car yet - Karen bought a car just for her daughter and Brian took it for a ride a few times.
petletoover 15 years agowhy some people tend to focus only on the story's flaws and cracks. Can you mention a book or a movie that doesn’t have any? Why don’t you focus on the good first?
Since somebody mentioned Tolstoy. For those who don’t know he re-wrote his "War and Peace" several times (some sources say 4 times, some other – 5). Anybody who has had a chance just to take this book in his/her hand will know what it should take. We got 5 extremely long parts of this story in 3 weeks. How do you expect everything to be perfect?
There are some exaggerations in every book or movie but this is what attracts people attention. Most of times our daily life is dull and boring and nobody writes about it
Anonymousover 15 years ago<p>This part is poorly written. Remember the framing device in part 1 (K is back in Savannah after 2.5 years and is meeting a woman for lunch); well the author forgot it. Here we have the lunch with her daughter and no tie in to the frame. </p><p> The one framing device that the author brings up in this part frames a bad story. K began her descent by buying a Cadillac Escalade without consulting her husband. So here we have her on the rebound. 1st she buys a small used car (Good move), but once she has money she makes the same mistakes. She buys fancy cars for son and daughter without consulting Ray. She buys another Escalade. Rather than flying to Savannah she drives the Escalade (even though it is uncomfortable for long trips). Perhaps the author is trying to show us how stupid K is (rubbing Ray's face via the Escalade, Spending extra money when she should have flown or rented a car with unlimited mileage), but it reads more like a product placement. </p> <p>Ray's role is no better. Just before sending the kids off to college he quits his job as a college professor. Many colleges have reciprocity agreements to cover tuition at other private schools so this would be a bad financial move. Then we find out he is designing McMansions for his wife's former real estate firm. Why would he consider any dealings other than a law suit against the firm where the principals knew drugs and extramarital sex were condoned? And he finds this work so fulfilling that he thinks he should thank K for getting him out of his rut??!</p> <p>This part prominently features the son and daughter, but not in a good way. The son is mercilessly picked on by the daughter yet the author calls it normal banter. The father is so worried about the role of his ex that he has no protective instincts? They know that K lied to all of them in the past; what is the basis for any trust? Instead all sides don't let the truth get in the way of their own stories. [There are no secret college athletic scholarships announced in May. The son who distrusts his mother deliberately picks a college close to her and far from Dad.]</p> <p>The author writes well, but in this part the incoherent storyline, and dumb, unlikeable characters kills the narrative.</p>
Anonymousover 15 years agoIt was romantic, which I liked ; but it was disappointing because she blames drugs and booze for her descent into adultery. She badmouthed and insulted her husband at every opportunity, never once does she address her anger towards him when he called her on her behaviour. Neither does she answer how it can be proper to kiss another man and/or practically fuck him in their garage, in the living room, in the car. She blames drugs for the weekend in Vegas; but the truth was, she never made any attempt to escape it. The drugs and alcohol are simply an excuse for her to do what she wanted which was to cheat on her husband.
