Red and Sally

For the next day or so, things were pretty quiet. It was the afternoon of the second day, Friday, that I got the chance to tap the phone. I fumbled and jumbled it at first, but I eventually got it right. Now, whatever she was planning, if it included someone else, I would most likely be privy to it. Well, not me exactly, but Henry, Granger's friend. Of course her cell phone wasn't covered, but I would try to get hold of it from time to time to see what calls were in the log unless she had been smart enough to delete them.

Monday, I returned to work, and that kept me occupied during the day. But, I did wonder what I would eventually find out from the bug I'd planted.

At first there was nothing on the phone except routine calls. The remote recording device that Henry had had me plant was state of the art. He'd evidently done work for the local PD in times gone by. He was in demand even now, in spite of the fact that he was in his seventies, because of his expertise in electronic surveillance.

Sally and I were talking again—civilly. I saw no reason to be an asshole too. There was the remote possibility that the leopard had changed its spots. We even had sex on two occasions during the next few weeks, obviously breaking my vow to never touch her sorry ass again. It, the sex, was not planned, it just happened, and it was good. It always was with Sally. And, did I mention that I was one horny bastard, wimpy or not! Freud would have approved my satisfying the demands of my id.

We were sitting at the kitchen table when she finally made her play. "Red?"

"Yes, Sally?" I said.

"Red, you been home a month now and we really haven't talked. Could we? I mean would it be okay with you?" she said.

I hadn't been exactly faithful to her during the period. I'd been in fairly constant platonic contact with Carie, my caring whore. She and I had had established a rapport; and, I needed what she could give me. We hadn't had sex since that time with Granger, but we'd had lunch a half dozen times. She'd meet me at the shop, and we'd adjourn to the nearest Denny's or IHOP. Like I said, we'd established a rapport. She was good for me.

I answered Sally. "I guess we have to talk at some point, Sally. I know it's been kinda tense these past weeks. So I suppose maybe now would be a good time."

As I said, we were sitting at the dinette table. Each of us had a cup of tea in front of us. Neither was speaking. Not at first. It was the thunderous silence of literary genre at its most profound.

"Go ahead, Sally, it's your show," I said.

"Red, first of all I want to apologize again for everything," she said. My actions were unconscionable and unforgivable, my words too. That said, I am still asking for your forgiveness, if not now, whenever you're ready."

"You apologize, Sally, but how do I know you won't fuck him or somebody else again. I mean if I can't satisfy you, and I know you think I can't. Why would you want to stay with me except for the living I can provide? How can you explain your words on the phone that day? I mean was I only ever just a meal ticket to you?" I said.

"Oh my God! No, Red. I don't know why I said that. Or wait, maybe I do. It's true that you are the one who takes care of me. You are the one who makes me feel secure. You are the one who feeds me and clothes me. So yes, you are my 'meal ticket' if you like. But that is hardly all there is too our marriage. No, Redeker, it is a whole lot more to me and to us than that," she said.

"And the other thing?" I said.

"He means nothing to me, Red. He didn't then and he doesn't now. I have to believe that you know that," she said.

That day on the phone, you were already setting up another fuck session with him. You saying you wouldn't be doing that now?" I said.

"That is exactly what I'm saying, my husband, never again. Never!" she said.

"So, if I decide to forgive and forget, you're saying I'm not going to find out you've been putting out for him or somebody else down the line?" I said.

"No!" she said so vehemently that I almost fell off my chair. She giggled when she saw my momentary distress. "I mean no, absolutely not. Never, never will I betray you again, Redeker."

I listened and wondered. Yes, I know, those who have not been in love like me could easily think me the densest of the dense. And, maybe they'd be right, but a man's needs, feelings, hopes, dreams die hard and in a sea of tears. Maybe I was grasping at the unreachable star, but it was my heart that was broken into pieces not someone else's, and I was not asking for sympathy. I was thinking of giving her a chance.

I extended my hand. She took it. I pulled her to me. She knelt on the floor in front of me. I held her face in my two hands.

"Sally, I want to believe you. I do. I don't know if I can. I don't know if I can forgive you, at least at the moment. And learning to satisfy you...? Plus, I have even less hope that I can learn to trust you again. But for the life of me, I do love you so. Even with all of the bad that's gone on here; it doesn't alter those feelings. I am going to try it one more time," I said. My heart was very nearly coming apart inside of me. I was shaking with fear and uncertainty.

"Oh my God," she screamed, as she launched herself into my arms. We kissed and hugged, and for a little while all of the bad seemed far away. We were new again and in love, at least I thought we were.

After a little bit, I held her at arm's length. I had a little more to say. "Sally, I need to say one more thing, and you need to believe me. You really need to believe me, Sally. Sally, if I am wrong. If you betray me..." I paused and looked her in the eyes. "I am telling you now. The very titans on Mount Olympus will not be able to stay my vengeance. Are you hearing me, Sally? Am I clear? Do you believe me? I cannot go through what I've been going through again, not again."

"Yes, my darling. Oh yes," she said. I knew that at that moment she was telling the truth. The question now was would she be able to withstand the temptations that surely would beset her at some other time, some other place. I was dubious, hopeful, but dubious. But, I was going to try; and, I was going to do my level best to see to it that she did too. Proactive didn't even begin to describe my determination.

I would meet with Granger and Henry the next day. I wanted them to back off, but only on Sally's end. I needed them to find what they could on the asshole. I fully intended to arrange for him to have a new one. I was going proactive big time.

******

"So you got whatever you need, Henry," I said, looking straight at the man.

"This guy really got under your skin, didn't he?" said Henry. "Yes, I've got more than enough. If he's even been seen spitting on the sidewalk I'll have his ass up so tight he'll have to devise a new way to take a shit."

"Redeker, nobody's said it, but somebody's got to," said Granger. "Sally's just as guilty as the asshole. Keep that in mind while you shaft the bugger."

I looked over at him. I took a sip of the booze, my third round. "I know, Granger. Believe me I know. What I'm going to do about that, I don't know. If she never fucks up again, she's probably going to have herself a get out of jail free card. But, if she betrays me again, George Armstrong Custer at the Little Big Horn will have had a better day than she's going to have here."

The other two joined me in hoisting their glasses and we tilted each other like Knights Templar crossing swords in brotherhood before the last battle.

******

The next several weeks were pretty much ideal. I worked, came home, had sex, and generally lived the life of husband and father. So again, life at home was comfortable, predictable, and happy—maybe relieved would be a better way of looking at things. Too, I was still in contact with Carrie, she was my rock, and she wasn't pushing it; but I had the sense that she knew something that I didn't. Oh the mind of woman, I thought.

I got a call from Granger on a Monday afternoon. I met him at the Scoundrel after work. Henry was with him.

"I think we've got him," said Henry. "He's been playing around with several women, not just your wife, Red; and mostly they're rich, the women that is. They actually, some of them, been paying him for sex; and they, the women, again some of them, have been writing him off as a business expense. He on the other hand has not been reporting these monies—mostly cash and large cash at that—as income. I have several friends at the IRS and they are very interested in his new Bentley and him of course. A Bentley, I hasten to add, that he paid cash for. The guy's got balls, and a big head. Thinks he's mister God's gift to the female of the species. Uh, and evidently the women think he is too."

I rubbed my hands together in glee. "Let's nail the bastard," I said.

My drinking buddies looked at each other with a strange expression on their faces. "There's more," said Granger. There was a long pause. Granger and Henry both looked away.

My heart sank. "She's doing it again isn't she," I said, my tone soft and sad.

"Red, I'm sorry," said Granger. "I know how much you've been hoping for a better outcome." He pushed a manila envelope he'd been holding under the table toward me. "Pictures."

"Do I want to look?" I said.

"No. Give them to your lawyer, and let that be enough," he said.

I nodded. I didn't know if I would look at the pictures. But, I couldn't look at them right then. "Thanks," I said. "I don't know what I would have done without friends like you."

"Red, a question, kinda off the subject. Are you still seeing Carie? I tried to call her for a date, but she said that she was leaving the business. Said she had a guy she was interested in. I asked if it might be you, but she was coy about it. Wanna update me?" he said, looking askance at me.

"It's just casual at the moment," I said. "But the way things look I might be considering something more permanent down the line. But, right now..."

"Yeah, I know. Let's deal with the current problem first," He said. I nodded.

"Red, we'll stay on this. I guarantee you the asshole isn't gonna be havin' as much fun as he thinks he is, not close," said Henry.

"Nor her either," I said. "She just got done burning her get out of jail free card." Granger nodded. Henry took a drink, but it was clear they both agreed with my obvious decision to make her pay too, and pay she would—literally.

******

I returned to the house that had, but a few hours before, been my home, our home. Now, a tomb would have felt more inviting to me. It was mid afternoon. I had taken off work to meet with my confederates. Sally would not be expecting me at the house. She was sitting out back on the patio. She was nursing a drink and relaxing. It was not time to tip her off to the cataclysm that was about to engulf her and her lover. I felt a strange calm.

I joined her on the patio after grabbing a beer on the way out. I decided to relax too. Within a very few days such scenes with my wife of twenty-five years would be no more. It was sad, but I didn't feel sad. I felt—I didn't know what I felt—maybe indifferent.

"Hi", she said, as I plopped down on the chaise lounge next to hers. "You're home early."

"Yeah, I was fagged out, and took a couple of hours of comp time," I said, lying in my teeth. I was surprised how easy it was to lie to her. She'd made me that way by lying to me without apparent remorse. I hoped that in my case it didn't become a habit. I leaned back, took a sip of the golden elixir and thought of—Carie. I smiled. Now, I was feeling good. It made no sense, but I suddenly felt very good.

"So what was your day like?" I asked. I wondered if she had been fucking him today.

"Okay, I did some laundry and a bit of house cleaning. Nothing special. I came out her just to relax," she said. I said nothing. After a while I got up and she followed me into the house. The evening was a carbon copy of many before it. Tomorrow, I would be taking care of a number of things. First on the list was a trip to my lawyer's, Carl Feldman. He was a Lion on the Serengeti Plains of business negotiations, and he would be so in divorce negotiations too.

******

I arrived at Carl's a bit early. But he saw me and waved me right in. He and I had met at the Scoundrel years before and often bought each other rounds. Just random drinking buddies, but there was a connection there. He liked me and I liked him. One of the attractions between us was the fact that we were both USC fans—go Trojans!

"So it's a divorce is it?" he said, opening the conversation.

"Yeah, she shagging some guy and it looks like nothing is going to stop her. I caught her once already. I've had a friend gather massive evidence against her." I pushed the envelope that Granger had pushed across a different table to me.

He opened the envelope and looked at the pictures. "Jesus, you must have gone nuts looking at these," he said.

"Haven't seen them," I said.

He studied me. "Smart," he said. "Unless you get off on this kind of stuff, it's better that you never do." I just nodded.

"I know generally what they are; and that's already more than enough for me," I said.

We talked for a little while and he laid out for me the things I needed to do to maximize my position in a no fault state like California. Credit cards, the bank, car title (mine), life insurance, all of it. The bank was my first stop.

I cleaned out ninety percent of our collective accounts leaving only enough to pay the next months bills. I was going to abandon the house: too many memories; she could have it and the mortgage; she'd get a little out of it if she sold it, but she sure as hell wasn't going to get rich. Everything else was handled the same day.

I would need to call and inform Janie, but that would wait until I had my betrayer served. Carl assured me that it would be three days hence, on Friday. When I called our daughter, I wouldn't embellish her mother's crimes, but I was going to call a spade a spade. I was not going to be the bad guy.

One final act had to happen. I was going to quit my job at the shop. I wanted to make sure that no alimony would be paid. I had enough cash to carry me for quite a while. And, if I had to, I'd leave the state, even the country. Mexico was a possibility. But, I didn't think I'd have to go that far. Anyway, if I was broke, my betrayer would get nothing. Her asshole coconspirator could take care of her—after he got out of jail—well, she could hope.

Friday dawned dreary and rainy. But, for me it was the beginning of a new phase in my life. I made a lunch date with Carie Anders. I needed to talk to her. We met at the Crystal.

"Hi," she said, taking the seat opposite me that the Maître'd proffered her.

"You sounded funny on the phone and not funny haha either," she said.

"I don't doubt it," I said. I looked meaningfully at my watch. "Right about now my wife is being served with the papers."

"Served? Oh my God served! You mean with divorce papers." She was clearly excited. Inside, so was I. But, I wasn't callous enough to let it show.

"Yeah, she's continued to cheat on me, and I found out about it earlier this week. You and I..."

"Yes, I know, Red. We've been treading water. I'm going to say something that I hope you won't take wrong. I am going to ask you to just hear me out, and then if you have something to say, you can. Okay?" she said.

"Yes. Go ahead," I said. I was glad she'd taken the initiative. I was still trying to figure out how I was going to handle our relationship now. It was certainly going to be entering a new phase at the very least.

"Red, my career these past six years has not been something you'd want to be sharing with all of your friends and relatives. Your married daughter comes to mind for one. That said...

"I'm a whore, Red. And, frankly, I'm a good one and proud of it. I've never subscribed to the puritanical crap that prostitution was somehow evil. Personally I don't believe that God, if there is one, would be that petty. But that's just me, others may differ.

"I don't know how you want to deal with that or me, I mean long term, but I have no expectations. I just like being around you. You make me feel safe; I need that sometimes, and I hope we continue. But, like I say, I have no expectations," she said, finally. She had finished with a flourish, and now she folded her hands in front of her and waited for me to say something.

"Carie, I love you. As for your history, I'm sure you were the best at it. As for what others think, you can't know how little that matters to me. If you want to keep it a secret, fine. If you want me to hire a skywriter to announce it to the whole damn community, I'll sign my name to it in the clouds. As for Janie, she's gonna find out and she's gonna find out from us. I hope she can handle it, and frankly, I think she can and will."

"Wha..." She had clearly lost it when I announced that I loved her. "What did you say?"

"I said, dear heart, that I love you, and that your history as a first class whore is a matter of pride to me too, and yes I know that sounds peculiar as hell. I hope I'm not being too vague here." I was smiling like a possum, and she was doing her best imitation of a weeping willow.

She pulled back from me and looked me straight in the eyes. "Redeker, I swear by all I hold dear that I will never betray you—never! And of course I am through with the business."

"I know," I said. She—we—embraced for a long time. She was licking and kissing my ears and neck. God how this woman could turn me on. But now it was time to get serious.

"Carie, one thing, the divorce is going to take a little time to become final. We will need to be careful until it's finally settled. I don't want to hand the other side any ammunition." I looked at her hoping she was understanding me.

"Of course," she said. "But that doesn't mean no lunches or anything for six months does it?"

"No. We can still see each other, just not..."

"I can live with that," she said. "It'll be worth it.

"Redeker? I know what you'd say if I asked you. And, I know you'll probably say you don't care; but I am going to have myself tested. I want you to know—well, you know, be confident—right?"

My cell phone rang. I killed it, and it rang again. I didn't even have to look to know who it was and what it was about. The battle was about to be joined.

******

It was around 3:00PM that I got a call I did answer. It was the one I had been neglecting at my end and fearing to get from the other end. My daughter was on the line. What would I say to her? I'd been going over scenarios in my head, but now it was the McCoy, and it worried me.

Her mother had called her of course. Evidently she, her mother, had cried crocodile tears, and Janie had commiserated with her. Now it was my turn.


"Hello, baby," I said. The call lasted for twenty minutes. I didn't call her mother any names. The closest I got was just to say that she had found someone else, and it was over between us. I knew Janie could probably tell, if only from the tone of my voice, that there was more to it than that, but she didn't press the issue. We ended with her telling me that she'd be flying out that night. I knew what she was going to try and do, but her mother and I were quits; my wife of twenty-five years could not be trusted. We were done.

I finally took a call from Sally. I'd decided to have it out with her after I'd talked to Janie, and now I'd heard from Janie. I agreed to meet her at the Scoundrel.

******

I was early, not anxious, but early. I didn't want to be there. Maudlin scenes did not appeal to me, but there was no getting' around this one. We'd been married too long, and when Janie arrived I wanted to be able to tell her that I had listened, not sympathetically—I wouldn't pretend that, but I will have listened, and I'd be able to say so.