People Can Change Ch. 01

"It is my client's position that while married to my client, Mrs Maitland did star in a pornographic video which has since been posted on the internet site known as "Gang Banged Wives". In this video Mrs Maitland can be seen having oral, vaginal and even anal sex with four different men, none of whom are her husband. Furthermore," he continued, "my clients view is that Mrs Maitland's immoral and perverted behaviour, as demonstrated in the video, makes her an unfit person to bring up his two daughters. He asks the court to grant him sole custody of both girls and the use of the family home until such time as his daughters are deemed to be independent."

"If it please the court I would like to submit this DVD as evidence of the said video."

He passed the DVD to the clerk of the court.

The judge then turned to Julie's solicitor.

"And how does your client answer these charges?" he asked.

"It is my clients position that she has never appeared in any pornographic video or film and what is more, that from the time of their first meeting up to the present day she has been completely faithful to her husband."

"Oh come on," I yelled, "take a look at the video."

The judge told my solicitor to keep me quiet until he asked me to speak. He then asked the Clerk to bring in some equipment to show the video. The clerk fetched the equipment, put the disc in the player and set it going. The judge watched without comment for the duration of the video. He turned to me.

"Well Mr Maitland, the woman in that video does indeed demonstrate immoral and some would say perverted behaviour. The question would seem to be, is that woman your wife?" He turned to face Julie as he continued, "I have to say that the evidence of my own eyes would indicate that it is."

"What do you have to say in your defence, Mrs Maitland?"

Julie looked straight at the judge. "That woman is not me," she said. "It is someone who looks like me - in fact looks very much like me - but it is not me."

"Oh, come on, Julie. We have seen it with our own eyes," I yelled.

The judge looked over at me. "One more outburst like that and I will hold you in contempt Mr Maitland," he said.

Turning back to Julie he said, "If, indeed, it is not you then I would suggest that it is your doppelganger. Do you know of any such double Mrs Maitland?"

"Yeah, nice one judge," I thought, and then I heard the reply.

"Yes, I do," she said. "The woman in the video is my sister, Caroline Baker, and she is waiting outside."

My jaw dropped and my solicitor put his head in his hands.

"Well, bring her in and let's talk to her," the judge said.

Julie's solicitor left the room and returned with a woman. He led her over and stood her next to Julie. The resemblance was astonishing. Her face had a few more lines than Julie's which gave her the appearance of being a few years older, but apart from that they were identical.

"Are you Caroline Baker?" the judge asked.

"Yes sir," she replied.

"And what is your relationship to Mrs Maitland?"

"She is my sister, sir. In fact, she is my twin sister. The years have been kinder to Julie than they have to me, but that is probably to do with my lifestyle. A few years back you couldn't tell us apart."

"I am having difficulty right now," said the judge. "Now suppose you tell us how you got to make that video."

"Well sir," she said, "Julie and I were never the stereotype identical twins. We looked identical but personality-wise we were worlds apart. Where Julie was the good twin I was the bad twin. Julie worked hard in school, I mucked about and often when I got caught I would give her name so that she got blamed for my sins. Through all this Julie just accepted it. Even when at school I would fool around with the boys and lost my virginity at thirteen. Julie was little Miss straight laced and because the boys couldn't tell us apart she was labelled as Easy Annie the same as me. The only time she turned her back on me was when she found me in bed with her then fiancé. He claimed that he thought that I was Julie, but I told him who I was as soon as he got in the bed. I think he was hoping to have us both at once."

"After that I got into drugs. I became addicted to heroin and would do anything to get another fix. My parents disowned me after I stole the money they had been saving for dad's hip operation. I turned tricks on the street, I stole, and I did anything to pay for another fix. That video was made about seven or eight years ago. I would like to tell you that I was forced into it and that I hated every minute but the fact is I did it voluntarily and they paid me £400. I don't know if I enjoyed it because I was too spaced out to notice. I ended up being arrested for theft and I was offered a reduced sentence if I went into rehab, but there were no places available in the state system and I had no money for a private clinic. In spite of everything I had done to her, my sister paid for my rehab. This time, however, there were conditions. She said that when I got out of rehab I had to move at least one hundred miles away and she didn't want to see me ever again. She always knew where to find me but I could only contact her through a post office box number."

"What about now, young lady?" asked the judge.

"I have been clean since I left rehab, sir. I have a good life in Nottingham. I have tried to make my sister proud of me."

My solicitor made a last ditch attempt to save the situation. "Well, Ms Baker, thank you for that very touching tale, but as you said even Mrs Maitland's fiancé couldn't tell you apart. How do we know which sister is in the video?" he asked.

Caroline looked at the clerk. "Have you got zoom facility on that thing?"

"Yes," he said.

"Right," she said. "Zoom in on the right ankle."

The clerk zoomed in on the woman's right ankle and there clearly displayed was a tattoo, a small butterfly. She unzipped her right boot and pulled it off. There on her ankle was the same tattoo.

The judge looked across at me. "Mr Maitland," he said, "it would seem that your case is non existent. I am dismissing your petition." He turned to Julie. "Mrs Maitland, I will hear your petition after lunch, assuming that you still wish to go ahead."

As he left the courtroom I looked across at Julie. "I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know."

"And you didn't wait to find out, did you?" she said as she turned her back on me and left.

"I did warn you it was risky," the solicitor said.

The afternoon went by with me on autopilot. Julie went ahead with her petition and I decided not to defend it. I knew that I couldn't win and defending the case would only result in me being confronted with what I did to her. It was bad enough at the police station but now I couldn't even use the video as justification. The judge awarded custody of the children to Julie and gave her the house up until the children were eighteen. After that it must be sold and the money from the sale to be divided equally. All of our combined assets were to be split 50/50. When Julie said that she intended to continue working he ruled out maintenance, because she earned far more than me. However, I would have to pay child maintenance which would be decided by the child support agency. He warned me to expect a sum of between one hundred and two hundred pounds per week per child. Because I had an outstanding assault charge against me he was referring access to the children to social services. In the meantime the injunction would stay in place.

With my heart in my boots I left the court. When I got home there was a letter from the crown court setting the date for my trial on the assault charge in two weeks time. I desperately needed to talk to someone and the only person I could think of was Clare. I gave her a call and arranged to go over. On the way I picked up a bottle of decent Rioja. We sat on her sofa drinking the wine and me telling her all about what had happened. She was astounded to hear what I had done.

"And you thought that was the right thing to do?" she asked.

"Well, looking back I think it sort of got away from me," I said. "She was almost daring me to throw her out and I just lost it."

"Do you think it was right, now?" she asked.

"No, of course not," I said. "It wasn't even her in the video and I acted like a right bastard."

"Even if it was her, Greg, you had no right to treat her like that. To make it worse I think you still love her, don't you?"

"I don't know," I said. "Right now I feel like shit. I am ashamed of what I did and that is blocking out everything else."

"What would you have done if she had dropped her petition?" she asked.

"I would have tried to be the best husband and father a man could be."

"Just as I thought. You love her. I know these things, Greg. I lived long enough with a man who didn't love me to know one when I see one. What a pair of fools we are. You for acting the macho cowboy and me for being soft enough to think that he would change."

We both sat there drinking wine and were into the second bottle by the time we decided to call it a night. I picked up my coat to leave.

"Where do you think you are going?" she asked.

"Home," I said.

"After what you have had tonight, you are going nowhere. I am not having your death on my conscience." She took my hand. "Come on, cowboy, make an old lady very happy."

We made our way to the bedroom. I have to admit to a certain feeling of apprehension. I considered Clare to be a friend and I didn't want that to change. Although I had not had any sex for more than three months I would rather let it go a bit longer than lose Clare as a friend. She seemed to read my mind and squeezed my hand.

"It is just two friends helping each other out," she said.

Seeing Clare undressing was a revelation. She was broad in the shoulders and hips with quite a trim waist. She had large full breasts, which did sag a bit, but for a woman in her fifties they were pretty damn impressive. She had a little fat around the top of her thighs. She noticed me looking.

"Not quite the tight little bod you are used to huh?"

"Don't sell yourself short Clare,I was just thinking how much of a fool your husband must be to have let you get away."

"About as big a fool as the bloke who throws out his pretty little wife without checking his facts first."

I winced and got into bed. Exploring Clare's body was a delight. Using my lips, tongue and teeth on her large nipples produced amazing results and with a little help from my fingers in her vagina and around her clitoris I had her cumming before we even got started. As we made love my mind was on Julie almost the whole time. With every movement I was apologising for hurting her and trying to make her love me. We fell asleep in each other's arms. Not sleeping alone was almost as big a treat as the love-making itself.

Over breakfast the following morning we chatted. Something had been on my mind for a while and this seemed like a good time to bring it up.

"Clare, I go to trial for the assault in two weeks. There is every possibility I will get sent down. The prediction is that I might get up to six months. The two guys who work for me can handle the sales and fitting. Could you oversee the running of J&G Tyre Services while I am inside?"

Clare looked shocked. "You really think you are likely to be put in prison?" she asked.

"I think it is highly likely," I said. "I don't want to shut the business down. Although I think I can trust the blokes with most things, someone needs to do the ordering, paying of invoices and paying salaries."

"OK. I'll do it," Clare said, "but I don't think it will come to that. You are pleading guilty, right?"

"Yep. Throw myself on the mercy of the court," I told her.

Clare taking on that job was a weight off of my mind. At least I should still have a business when I got out. Two weeks later I was back in court. I entered a plea of guilty. My barrister started to enter a plea of mitigation. When I interrupted, neither the barrister nor the judge was very pleased. I still pressed on.

"Your Honour," I said. "My counsel was about to show you a DVD which I thought contained a pornographic video of my wife. I now know that the person in the video was not my wife and I will not put her through the indignity of having to watch it again. I jumped to a conclusion and reacted very badly. I never gave my wife a chance to explain and when she refused to leave, I lost my temper. My actions have lost me everything I held dear - my wife, my children and my life. I am truly sorry for all that I have done, sir. I would give my right arm to wipe away the last four months but I know that can't happen. I can only throw myself on the mercy of the court."

Since there was now no need for any prosecution case the next item was a victim statement from Julie. She entered the witness box.

"Your honour," she said. "My husband had always been a kind and caring man, which makes his treatment of me all the more disturbing. I am now frightened to be in the same room with him and it has made me apprehensive about being alone with any man. However, in his rush to take all the blame for this assault he has neglected to tell you that I kept the existence of my twin sister from him. It was my sister he saw in the video. Sir, we have two small children who need to see their daddy. They and I ask you to spare him a custodial sentence."

I have to admit, that was a surprise. Julie was actually asking for mercy for me. I could not see what I had done to deserve it and tears welled up in my eyes. The judge asked my counsel if there was anything he wanted to say before sentence was passed. He pointed out my previous good character, my military service and the necessity for me to continue to run my business in order to pay child support. The judge listened to all of this and retired for fifteen minutes. When he returned, I was once more escorted to the dock. The judge looked at me.

"Mr Maitland," he said. "You have admitted to an unprovoked attack on a defenceless woman, causing her actual bodily harm. This is a very serious offence, which demands a custodial sentence. However, you have shown great remorse and have tried to spare the victim any further distress. I have taken into account your previous good character and your service record. I have also listened to the victim statement from your wife and her plea for clemency. It is the sentence of this court that you should go to prison for six months."

On hearing the length of the prison term, Julie gasped. However, the judge was not finished.

"This sentence is to be suspended for two years," he said. "Do you understand this sentence as I have given it to you?"

My barrister whispered, "Keep your nose clean for two years and you are a free man. Get into trouble again and you will serve the six months."

"Yes, your honour, I understand," I said.

"Good. Now go from this court and I expect not to see you here again."

I got rid of the barrister as quickly as possible and hurried out, hoping to catch Julie. I was just in time. As I left she was walking away from me down the corridor. I ran after her and called her name. She stopped and turned around.

"I just want to thank you for what you did in there," I said to her. "I know you must hate me and I certainly have no right to expect help from you. I think that, but for you, I would be on my way to prison now. So, thank you."

"I don't hate you, Greg," she said. "I hate what you did and I doubt that I will ever be able to forget it. I never wanted you to go to prison. You must know that the way you reacted was not normal. You need help, Greg, and the sooner you get it the better it will be for everyone."

The first thing I did on leaving the court was to phone Clare. I told her that I was free and so I would not need her to take control. She told me that she needed to talk to me, so I arranged to go over to her place that evening. When I strode into work Eric and Tom, my two tyre fitters, gave me a cheer. It was certainly good to be free and know that there was nothing else hanging over me.

Clare had agreed to give me dinner that night and I found that she was not a bad cook. I had wondered whether the reason she wanted me to come over had more to do with her sexual appetite than business, but I was soon disillusioned. She pulled out my company books and started asking me questions about whether anything came in that didn't go through the books and about the money I had been taking out.

"Now here is the problem," she said. "For the last five years you say you have been taking two thousand pounds out of the business every month. In effect that has been your salary."

I confirmed that was indeed the case.

"The problem is that the company only makes an average of twelve hundred pounds profit per month, according to these books. This made me ask why you haven't gone broke by now, so I trawled through your bank statements. Up until your break up your balance has been slowly improving. Since your wife left it has taken a nose dive and you are already starting to use your overdraft facility."

I was totally mystified. I listened to Clare, as she revealed all.

"If we look carefully through each monthly statement we find a credit transfer every month to the tune of one thousand pounds," she explained.

Now I was really puzzled. "So," I said, "who has been giving me a grand a month?"

"The funds were transferred from the account of Ms Julie Maitland, your ex-wife."

"But why would she do that?" I asked.

"To protect that massive male ego of yours," she suggested. "I am man, provide for my family, and always pay my way. She was trying to make you think that you really were an equal partner when it came to providing for the family, hiding how much greater her contribution was than yours. I hate to say this Greg, you are a good bloke and a great lover, but you really fucked up big time losing that girl."

"You think I don't know that?" I asked. "No offence, Clare, but on the mornings I have woken up in your bed I would have given my eye teeth for it to have been her lying there next to me."

We ended the recriminations and put our minds to what needed to be done. There were only two possibilities - increase the income or cut costs. The biggest cost was staff and if I went back on the shop floor we could afford to lose one of the fitters. The first option would take time, time that I did not have. The second would be as painful for me as it would be for the guy losing his job.

Clare broke out the wine and we sat sipping and talking through my problems. I told her that I was supposed to be out of the house by the weekend but still hadn't found a place to stay and that I still had to work out visiting arrangements for seeing the kids.

"Well," she said, "I can't help with the second part but as far as finding somewhere to live, you can have my spare room for a while, just till you get on your feet."

I must have given her an odd look because she answered a question I hadn't asked.

"No, not as my live in lover, just as a lodger." Then she grinned. "Though a bit of loving wouldn't go amiss. Now how about a little down payment on the rent?"

Sleeping with Clare was always one of two things. Either I was fucking her as hard as she wanted or I was making love to Julie. At least that is the way it felt in my head. That night I did both and for Julie I was the gentlest, most caring lover she had ever experienced. At least I hoped so. Clare was right. I had fucked up big time. I might never get back to where I once was, either with Julie or with my kids, but I had to try.

During that week I moved my belongings out of the house. There was not much. I took only things that were solely mine, everything else I left for Julie. Also I cleaned the house from top to bottom. If there is one thing a Royal Marine knows, it is how to be clean and tidy. By Friday night the house was spotless. That afternoon I stopped by the florists for a couple of bouquets and placed them in vases - one in the main room, the other in Julie's bedroom. I put all the keys in an envelope and dropped them round to Julie's parents. I knew they wouldn't want to see me, so I just put them through the door.