Poetic Justice

Later, I would call it Dave's 'I wish' speech. It went something like this.

"I wish you hadn't exposed our kids to public ridicule from their school mates that saw the newscasts."

I realised I hadn't even considered the effect of my actions on my family. So much for my vow to be less selfish and self-centred.

"I wish you'd said you were sorry for having an affair, rather than threatening to take my kids away from me."

"I wish you hadn't sided with John against me when I caught you."

"I wish you'd given me a reason I could trust you again, even a half-arsed one... Something I could have built on rather than just say you had no reason. If you didn't have a reason, what's to stop you doing it again?"

"I wish I didn't have to do this."

With the latter, he handed over an envelope which I instinctively knew held a divorce petition. I'd made a couple of bad calls and been caught. I'd been badly led by a very selfish man during the aftermath. I'd made an amazingly bad error of judgement going to a restaurant with that same selfish prick. I was too proud, arrogant, and overconfident of Dave's reactions to just throw myself on his mercy. Looking back on it all, he never reacted with anything but predictability.

EPILOGUE

John's wife, Jenny, made out like a bandit during the divorce. Hell really doth have no fury like a woman scorned. She was awarded custody of their children with crippling child support. Whether she poisoned his relationship with his kids or whether they came to their own decisions, what little visitations he had were uncomfortable. It was almost a relief when she moved to the other side of the country with her new beau. He hasn't had sex since then, with a married woman or single. He's too scared to approach them until he gets his erectile dysfunction sorted.

Wendy's decisions were much tougher. Dave charged her with being an unfit mother. His first thrust was the evidence from the assault case that was now public record. A story of her going out with her lover, self-medicating to get into the mood, then taking on all comers while drunk and stoned, in a public carpark, wove itself from all the evidence. If she did anything like that as a sole parent then, not only was it a poor example to her children but could leave them at risk while she was out of it. What if she invited predators into her house when the children were there? The question of what would have happened to her if the police hadn't come along, loomed large in everyone's thoughts.

The second reason was more personally damaging for Wendy. Dave had obviously not been idle. He had statements from many of their mutual acquaintances to say he was a much better father than she was a mother. There were affidavits to say that at social functions, she basically abandoned the children to Dave's care while she lorded it up. It was clear her husband didn't intend fighting fair. This stunned Wendy, until one of her few remaining sources of information, a former friend, let her in on the collective logic of her former social circle.

They'd been considered the perfect couple, and everyone drew strength from their happiness. She'd been the cause of bringing all that crashing to reality. She'd broken all their dreams, if you like.

In the end, her mother, who she still had a strained relationship with, gave her the advice that tipped the balance of her internal debate. Giving Dave primary custody would be the least controversial approach and thus make the healing time in all her relationships that much shorter. If she opposed Dave's settlement proposal and won, it would offend everyone's sense of justice. He'd committed no crime and would lose the things most precious to him. She'd shattered multiple dreams and would come out of it smiling.

The day after this last conversation, a much wiser Wendy signed the divorce proposal as written by Dave's lawyer. Her hope? That Dave's relationship with Susan was transitory, and she could win him back. After all, she was still the best-looking piece of ass around. She may have lost confidence in her judgement, but that was a fact she could take to the bank.

To compound that former statement, she decided to let the kids forgive her in their own time. Thus, when they wanted to stay with Dave when it was her time to get them, she didn't object. Too late, she realised that by the time they were ready to forgive her, they'd already bonded with Susan. From that day on she was 'Mum Wendy'.

Her next error in judgement was looking for male company from amongst acquaintances of their former social group. The idea was that word would get back to Dave, triggering his jealousy instinct. She never did see any evidence it made the slightest bit of difference to him. Things came to a head, when she cornered her estranged husband at a neighbourhood party. Wrapped around some muscled but vacant hulk, one wine too many under her belt, she sidled up to Dave and Susan.

"Take a good look, David. Look at what Paul here is taking to bed tonight and what you are."

Dave did as instructed, then drove the last nail into the coffin of Wendy's dreams.

"Yup. I'll be with the one that's beautiful on the inside and the outside. Going out with one that was beautiful only on the outside didn't work out so well for me."

Susan looked up at her partner with loving eyes, then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled back. Wendy turned away in embarrassment, which brought several eyewitnesses of the event into view. All of a sudden, she realised how transparent her action had been. They looked on, shaking their heads in condemnation.

She fled. Paul tried to persuade her to come back to his place. Wendy looked at him with unblinkered eyes and realised he was a reflection of her life at the moment. Transient fun, but utterly shallow. Realising over the next few days that she'd lost her love, her children, her status, and the respect of everyone she knew, including herself, she left town to start a new life.

THE END

NOW LIGHTEN THE FUCK UP!

The other day, the missus asked me, "When you're on a boy's only trip away, do you think about me?"

Apparently, "Only to stop myself coming too quickly" wasn't the right answer.

*******

Got this text from my brother yesterday. It read. "Can I stay at your house for a while? My missus kicked me out after she caught me measuring my cock."

Always accommodating, but a little curious, I replied, "Sounds a bit unfair. BTW, how long was it?"

"Just long enough to reach the back of her sister's throat," came the reply.