Nighttime Confessions: Daylight's Exposure Ch. 02

Kicking Frank in the ass Don hissed from between clenched teeth, "Get out of my sight and remember, be gone in a week or I will come looking for you." Frank Morello moved away from the madman in front of him to the nearby stairwell and was gone. Don never saw the ass again in his life.

Don waited a few moments for Frank to get to wherever he was going then walked down stairs to the room where the private detectives were staying. His anger spent, the only emotions left were loss and pain, and these struck him like a wave after he sat down on the bed in the room. Brenda, who had downloaded and sent the video to the home office, left to go back upstairs and make sure Peta was okay. Jorge was packing up equipment preparing for both him and Brenda to check out.

Sometime later Don felt a hand on his arm, "Donald are you OK?". It was Peta.

Don replied wearily, "Yeah I'm just emotionally wrung out, all I can feel right now is pain and some deep almost abstract sense of loss. Kinda like I felt when my grandpa passed away."

Peta nodded, her smeared eyeliner testifying to her own pain, "I ripped my soon-to-be ex-husband a new asshole, and explained all about how his life had just changed. He was crying, begging me to forgive him, to not divorce him. I think I would have had more respect and willingness to listen to him if he owned up and asked me to just give him another chance. I still wouldn't, but I would have respected him more."

Peta looked at Donald and continued, "Brenda and I just helped your wife to her room. She isn't functioning very well and I don't think that Lisa Manning, Rachel Morse or Sam Miller are in any better condition this morning.

Brenda told me Rachel's husband had a sheriff serve her divorce papers and a restraining order in Art Wallace's room. Sam's wife just called him, and told him not to come home she would send his clothes and personal belongings to where ever he sets up house. I'm also sure the mood in Lisa Manning's household is very subdued after Lisa's husband got home tonight. He was livid when we talked this afternoon. She did leave the group last year but she was the first one with my husband.

Yeah, I am being a bit vindictive, but these women took what was mine and plundered my marriage. I will not allow them to do that and go scot-free. The after effects on the 'single,' people will not be as harsh, but it will be nasty. Rachel has already reamed Judy, and that has started trouble in paradise.

One thing I will say to you in Marge's defense Don, she was pulled in by a couple of wolves. Judy and Art are very anti 'closed relationship'. They have both been badly burned in the past and now want to have their cake and eat it too."

Don listened to Peta's ramblings. She just kept talking; he could see in her face she was a mess and didn't want to show it to anybody. "Thanks Peta. Well you have my e-mail, we will talk again when I get back from my week of camping."

Don stood and, looking at Peta, spoke, "I am so sorry for everyone involved, but sometimes being sorry doesn't fix the problem. I really wish we could all just wake up and find none of this happened. But it did happen and now life is going to be a bitch for a while." He hugged Peta and thanked Jorge and Brenda as they came in looking for Peta.

Don found his rental car waiting for him at the front door, got in and headed back to his shattered life.

Between the emotional backwash of the evening and just being plain tired Don made the three hour trip home in just over five hours.

Pulling up to his parents home, Don came up to the door just as his dad come out to grab his morning paper off the front porch. His dad jumped back, obviously startled, then said, "Oh Donald you scared me, I wasn't expecting anyone." Don watched his father's eyes narrow as he looked hard on hat his son. "Boy you look like hell what's the matter?"

Don took his father's arm asking, "Is mom up?"

"Yes" his dad replied holding on to his newspaper with more force than he realized.

Don sighed as he closed the door, "Good. I only want to explain this once."

Over coffee Don gave a very condensed version of the past forty eight hours and the actions of both himself and Meg.

As he finished he said, "And now I'm here, a whole lot worse for wear," and slumped down over the table, barely holding himself up on his elbows. His mom and dad sat silently, stunned at what Marge, a woman they considered to be their own daughter, had done to herself and her family.

His mother spoke first, "Donald I am so sorry for all of you, and if the details are even close to what you described, this doesn't look good at all. But I am asking you to do one thing honey,"

Don forced himself to look at his mother tears running down his cheeks.

His mother touched his face. Even now after all these years her touch was such a comfort to him. She continued, "Promise me you won't make any long term decisions about all of this until after you've a chance to let the emotions and pain calm down some and you can think straight."

Don smiled, "Mom, I'm taking the kids camping with me later this morning for a week, just to clear my head. If or when Meg calls, tell her to leave a number and I will call as soon as I get back from the wilderness."

Both his parents nodded, his dad stood and pulled Don to his feet and embraced him. His mom did so next, after which they led him to a overstuffed recliner and told him to rest.

The next thing Don knew, a few hours later his daughter was shaking his arm, "Come on daddy grandma says we are going camping and we're burning daylight."

Don smiled and looked at his watch, realizing he had slept for four hours. He pulled Sarah to him for a hug and replied, "Ok I'm up!" He borrowed his mom and dads SUV, loaded it and after signing the kids out of school the little group of three headed to the mountains some five hours distant.

On the road Sarah asked, "Is mommy joining us later daddy?"

Don began to tear up, but was able to keep most of the emotion out of his voice as he replied, "No baby, Momma will be away for a while, so at least for the camp out and for at least a bit when we get home, it's just going to be just the three of us OK?"

Don saw Sarah smile as he glanced in the rear view mirror, "That's OK daddy, mommy is such a wimp about camping out. I think she just comes along because she knows we like it."

Responding quietly Don said, "Well right now she has some other things on her mind. We'll talk some more while we are at the camp site Ok?"

"Sure daddy!" Was Sarah's cheerful answer as she slipped on her head phones and picked up her book.

Don glanced over at Brad; he had an inquisitive look on his face, and mouthed the word, 'Problems?' Don quickly looked at Sarah who was lost in her own little world, then looked at Brad again and nodded.

Don watched the different emotions wash across his young face. Before he could ask Don said, "All three of us will talk this week, I promise."

Brad nodded again, put on his earphones and stared out the window.

The first three days of camping out were non-stop activities; rock climbing, canoeing, hiking and exploring different parts of the park. The evening of the fourth day, which was spent swimming near their campsite, they finished doing the dishes and sat down to enjoy the sunset. The kids sat on either side of Don who was lost in his own thoughts. Don didn't see Sarah give Brad a wave of the hand indicating she wanted Brad to talk first.

Brad cleared his throat and said, "Dad? Is now a good time to talk to you about mom?"

Don felt his shoulders slump and the heaviness of his heart threaten to reduce him to tears. He'd been thinking about little else over the last four days - what did he want to do? What could he do? What to do about the kids? Well, that part was easy for him, he wasn't going to let them stay with Meg. Her warped sense of responsibility in the marriage made him very uncomfortable now about her parenting role.

He heard Sarah ask, "Daddy are you ok?"

Don put his arms around both kids, "Yeah baby I'm as good as I can be. First off, you know mom and I love both of you very much, right?"

Two frightened voices replied, "Yes."

"Mom and I have had a situation occur, and at least for the time being she is going to be living away from home for a few weeks. But it could become permanent."

Don heard Sarah's soft but obvious sobbing, but, calming herself enough she asked, "Are you two getting a divorce?"

Brad interjected, "Yeah that's what we both want to know dad."

Don took in a long deep breath and exhaled slowly in an effort to calm himself as he answered. "Kids, your mom has decided she wants to explore a relationship with another man, and for the time being I have asked her to stay away from the house. She will have full access to both of you. I will not keep the three of you from one another. She is your mom and has done so many things, sacrificed so much for the two of you.

It is very possible this will end in divorce… but." His thoughts were interrupted by Sarah's now uncontrollable deep sobbing, Don pulled her to his lap and let her cry out her pain.

When she had calmed down Don continued, "As I said, but… for the time being I have not filled in any divorce paperwork. I needed this time away to think through a lot of things and to get my head on straight. I won't tell you any more, except when we get back I'll set up a time for your mom and I to talk, OK?"

Sarah could only nod and Brad just mumbled a "yeah!"

Brad asked, "Dad, who would we live with?"

"Son, I would be asking to be the primary custodial parent. I don't know if you will be allowed to go with the parent of your choice or what. But, that is in the future and I want both of you to know I love you very much. I want to make sure you know that I love you, just like mommy does, and I will make sure you are part of both of our lives."

All three of them sat and stared at the gathering darkness, Sarah and Brad turned in for bed shortly thereafter. Don, understanding they needed to talk with each other, stayed up until well past midnight, staring at the campfire and thinking.

The next morning Brad and Sarah both came to Don and hugged him, Brad speaking for both of them said. "Dad we talked last night, we're scared as we imagine you and probably mom are too. We don't want you guys to divorce and we want you go slow with any decisions. Please! We love you and mom, just remember that."

Don hugged and kissed each of them on the cheek, then after breakfast they headed to the lake to rent a boat and go water skiing.

The last two days in the park were a lot of fun as the three of them walked, and swam and rock climbed to their hearts' content.

The trip home was much quieter than normal as Don and the kids headed back to an unknown future. Don had come to the hard decision that he would probably ask for a divorce, but for the sake of the kids would meet with Meg, ensuring both their lawyers were present. He was hoping against hope that she would give him some reason to salvage their marriage.

After they arrived home Don's mom and dad came over because they had letters from Meg for Don and the kids. The kids read theirs and told their dad that mom took full responsibility for the situation but hadn't gone into details about the reason.

Don was pleasantly surprised about Meg's confession to the kids. Maybe Meg could convince him to stay in the marriage. But, then when he read her letter to him it rambled and she kept saying he didn't understand everything that went on at the resort. She was guilty of so many things over those two days, that she was so sorry, she was wrong and needed to talk to him. She even said she loved him. She put her lawyer's name and phone number so he could contact her through him if he didn't want direct contact.

He read the letter about six times and decided to call his lawyer the next day to work out a time to meet with Meg. He wasn't sure what to think when his lawyer called him back and set up a meeting three nights later. He accepted.

Later that first evening home Don looked in his e-mail and found he had two sets of pictures one from Peta and one from the detective agency. He didn't even look at the photos. He downloaded them into a locked file, copied them onto a disk then copied them for his lawyer and made a third copy for Meg's lawyer just in case. He grabbed a beer and went to bed early to try and recover from the week outdoors.

***********

Marge sat in her room on her bed, she was trembling. All the tears had run out hours ago. She looked through the curtains leading to her balcony, the first orange red streaks of dawn painting the Eastern sky.

In her whole life she could not remember ever being this humiliated, this embarrassed or in this much pain. Everything she had done, everything that had happened in the course of the last thirty six hours was her fault. Everything that would happen from here on into the foreseeable future was out of her hands.

She could still see Don's eyes, ablaze with righteous anger and numb with pain as he confronted her earlier that morning. The scene kept playing over and over in her head like a slow motion video replay; her nude and uncovered on the bed being screwed by another man. Enjoying the feelings the married man who was not her husband was giving her body, laughing at the illicit feelings the affair was giving her; then, there was Don, and in seconds her world collapsed.

Closing her eyes and bowing her head she could hear his words echo in her mind with stunning clarity. "You disgust me 'WIFE'. At least cover up your cheating pussy before trying to talk to me."

'Disgust me wife', 'cheating pussy', the words Don spat at her with such disgust in his voice rattled inside her head until she felt it would explode. What the hell had she done? Sixteen overall wonderful years destroyed by her own selfish desires? "All because I wanted it", Marge thought, "because thought I deserved to have what Don had, a little on the side? What the hell was I thinking?"

The rest of the day was a slow dull ache for Marge, she was tired and the she couldn't comprehend last few seminars of the day. She ate lunch and dinner alone that day, then went to her room and passed out after dinner.

When Marge woke up Friday morning she lay in bed and stared at the ceiling; her world was gone. She had broken the heart of her mate as well as her own. All she had to look forward to was a long drive home and a search for a place to live. She hoped Judy would stay away. Marge would probably blow a gasket at her. She took full responsibility for her own actions and foolishness, but Judy had been wrong too, to push her own agenda.

On the drive home she became more apprehensive the closer she came to the exit. She pulled up to her house and tried all the doors. Marge was really shocked to find out Don actually had changed the locks; she was crying as she got back into the van. Luckily she worked with a few people whose spouses were in real estate, and by 5:30 she was had signed a month to month lease on a nice two bedroom town home near where she worked.

Marge spent that evening and the next morning unloading the U-haul, returning it when she was finished. The rest of her week was spent at school with long lonely nights at her new place, thinking about Don and the kids and wondering if they were having a good time camping without her. She also decided to hire a lawyer in case of a divorce, and to write a letter to Don and her children.

Marge was surprised when Mrs. Jordon the principal called her in and asked her, "Mrs. Prescott do you know anything about Mr. Morello's reasons for his sudden resignation? He says that another school from out of state has recruited him during the convention, is that true?"

Marge shook her head at the news, replying, "I don't know anything about that Mrs. Jordon, I spent most of my free time with some married friends." Marge noted she had a foul taste in her mouth when she mentioned the group she had been involved with, and her stomach began to hurt.

Mrs. Jordon nodded then surprised Marge by asking, "Mrs. Prescott, there are four teachers here at the school who are qualified to be promoted to Mr. Morello's job. Would you be willing to be considered for promotion to Athletic Director?"

After thinking for a few moments Marge replied, "Mrs. Jordon, your offer to consider me is like a dream come true. But I will respectfully decline at this time. I have some important issues to deal with in the family and they need to take top priority at this time."

Mrs. Jordon looked at Marge as if she wanted to ask something more but instead just nodded. "I understand, balancing the issues of life that come with working and family stresses isn't easy. Thank you for being so honest. I really think you are ideal for the job, Marge. Think about it over the vacation. I won't talk to any of the others until I have your final answer." Standing she shook Marge's hand and saw her to the door.

On her way back to her office Marge realized that the first big loss connected with her affair may have just occurred, the job she may have to turn down had real clout and a nice pay increase attached to it.

On Friday after work, Marge stopped at her in-laws. There was a definite tension in the air, but Marge's mother-in-law was very gracious, holding Marge and telling her she was praying she and Don would get through this together. Her father-in-law was less congenial, but not nasty. Marge asked them, "Would you be so kind and give these letters to my family for me?"

Don's parents agreed, and Marge handed over the letters as she was leaving, "I messed up and am praying for a second chance with Don." His parents nodded, then she turned and left.

Marge was surprised when two days later her lawyer called and told her about the meeting with Don. She quickly agreed to the time and date they would be meeting in his lawyer's office. After hanging up Marge sat thinking about everything she wanted to say, needed to say. She knew she wouldn't be sleeping well over the next few nights. She missed her babies something terrible and now the ache to have Don hold her and talk to her was almost beyond reason. For the thousandth time since that night she asked herself, "Why? When I had it all? Why did I play games? Why?"

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