Return to the Land

Roger stayed in Miami the whole week as planned hoping to find out something about Cynthia. He phoned her parents and all the friends whose phone numbers he had over and over hoping they had heard from her. Some of Cynthia's friends were evasive, even abrupt when he talked to them. Many did not even answer their phones. He had no luck finding her. Most of the people he phoned said they did not know they had even left town.

Finally, the Thursday morning before he was to return home Roger called her parents once more to report he still knew nothing. That morning he was surprised when her parents seemed upset with his call. The first morning they had been as frantic as he had been. The calls he made after his first report of her going missing they had seemed strained and he decided they were worried enough they weren't themselves. One of her friends laughed when he called her to ask about Cynthia. She then said, "Well, that sounds like Cynthia." She then just hung up her phone.

Roger packed both bags and returned to New York. He was surprised when he packed Cynthia's bag to find she had brought almost no cosmetics and only some of her older clothes and swimwear. The day he returned to work he looked like hell. He was totally ineffective. His boss asked him what the problem was and when he told him he laughed. All he would say was "Welcome to the club boy."

After he got back to New York he once again checked with all of Cynthia's friends he could find. Some of them looked like or said they were sorry but none of them seemed too worried about Cynthia. Many of them would not look him in the face when he talked to them and many looked guilty when he saw them in person. He even called her employer and was told they were sorry but they couldn't tell him anything about Cynthia. This statement bothered him. He was never passed on from the operator. It was almost as if they were expecting his call and told to run interference. When he tried to dial her desk directly he got a voice mail message that "Ms. Vanderbilt is away from her desk right now. Please leave a message after the beep." He left a message but his call was never returned.

Finally Roger decided to watch Cynthia's office. The third evening he stood outside watching the door his heart broke. He felt himself burn with the heat of his rage. Cynthia came out the door walking with a tall, well-built blond man. Her arms were wrapped around his left arm and she was gazing rapturously up into his eyes as they walked. When they stopped to hail a cab she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a deep kiss. Roger recognized him as the man she had been dancing with their first night in Miami.

Now he knew. Cynthia had moved on just like the other high maintenance city bitches had done. Roger rapidly walked up to Cynthia and her new man. He grabbed her arm and twisted her toward him. He was not exceedingly violent but he was not gentle with her either. Roger glared at Cynthia and said, "You cheating little Bitch. I knew something was wrong but you should have at least had the courtesy to end our engagement face to face instead of just walking out and leaving me to worry for over a week."

Roger grabbed her hand and removed his engagement ring against Cynthia's resistance. She began screaming and trying to close her fist to keep the ring. Cynthia said, "You asshole. I got fed up with your damn whining and complaining. Why wouldn't I move on to a man more in tune with my lifestyle? Now get your hands off me. That's my ring and I intend to keep it. You gave it to me and I have no intention of giving it back to you."

Cynthia's new beau had recovered by this time and pushed Roger away from her. Roger turned to him and said, "Back off asshole. You may be taller than me but I'll tear you apart if you don't quit fucking with me. I ought to beat you to a pulp anyway for what you did. The man backed away a step and watched Roger as he finished taking the ring from Cynthia. He looked at her and her new fellow and said, "I knew when I first saw you that no sane man should get involved with you but I just couldn't help myself. I guess I got what I deserved."

Roger turned and slowly walked back to the parking garage and his car. All the way he kicked himself mentally because in the back of his mind he had always known Cynthia was like that. He had seen her selfishness, how self centered she was, all through their courtship and engagement but had refused to believe it. He now knew beyond a shadow of doubt that he was just a passing fancy, a fling for another conceited party girl.

He was angry. He hired a PI to follow her and get information for him. She had already moved into the house of her new lover. Somehow they got pictures of them making love. Roger boxed up Cynthia's belongings that had been left in his home. While he was boxing them he noticed there did not seem to be as much as he thought there should be. None of what he found could be considered important to her. Only old clothes, no important personal items or business papers were left in his house. He then knew she had came home while he worried over her and taken what she wanted from his house leaving her old outdated items just as she had at the resort.

Roger felt his anger building once again as he considered Cynthia's actions. He was fed up with his job and the assholes he worked with. He was sick of New York and all that lived and worked the Big Apple. He decided to quit his job, sell his Condo and move back to his childhood home. It would not be the same with all his family dead and gone but he still had friends there.

He still had a score to settle with Cynthia and her new man before he left but other than that, he had nothing holding him in New York any longer. Hell, he had even made enough money he could live pretty well when he got back home. Roger decided to tell Cynthia's friends and parents what she had done to him. Hopefully he could make enough of a scandal that her reputation would be tarnished. Maybe he could prevent what happened to him from happening to another man. Then when his condominium sold he would quit his job and leave.

Much to Roger's surprise when he began looking up her friends and family to tell them what Cynthia had done they laughed at him! Almost every one of her acquaintances admitted they already knew how she dumped him. Haley, one of her female friends that was nicer to Roger than most apologize to him for not telling him when he had first called. She said, "Roger I am sorry this happened to you and I can imagine how you hurt but let it drop. This is just typical Cynthia. You're not the first man she dumped like that. One time she went to France with a man, stayed the whole week with him then cut out. This is her normal way of ending a relationship when she decides she has gotten everything from it she can. She usually finds a new man, moves in with him and then just walks away from her old boyfriend without telling him anything. Many times she does it on a trip like she did you. That seems to be her preferred way of ending a relationship. I think she gets a kick out of seeing or knowing how her ex's come apart thinking she has actually been hurt or kidnapped. Most of the dumped men stay gone the entire time like you did trying to find her. That gives her time to get what she wants from their apartment, move and begin to hide her tracks."

"We all know better than to spill the beans on her because she can be so vindictive. One time one of her friends at work told the man she was dumping she had left him before Cynthia finished moving the personal items she wanted from his apartment. Cynthia worked for months until she manufactured a reason for her employer to fire the tattletale. We are all afraid to rat her out. I am sorry but I just couldn't take a chance and tell you. My advice to you is to drop it and move on. She has friends all over and she can make life very difficult for you if you cause her trouble. She has a regular stable of men in powerful places that she makes love to regularly. These men jump to help her when she asks so she won't cut them off or rat them out to their wives. Right now she is happy and content knowing what she did to you and knowing how you suffered. Don't piss her off or she'll get vindictive on you. If she can't hurt you to her satisfaction she will get some of her powerful lovers to do it for her."

Roger was shocked when he heard that and said, "You're kidding! It seemed like it was...I can't believe Cynthia would do something like that. I admit I was beginning to suspect what she was doing was more than nights out with her girlfriends but I just can't believe she had lovers all during our engagement."

"Believe it Romeo. I can't give you proof but all of her friends have seen her with other men during all her dating and engagements. Cynthia is out for Cynthia and anything that will make things better for her is OK. She never dates or has sex with a man unless she thinks she has something to gain. Her goal is to regain the wealth her family had in the past and she is well on her way to it. I know from talking to her that you spent a lot of money on her giving her jewelry, expensive clothes, trips and so forth. During the time she lived with you she didn't spend hardly anything of her own salary. She bragged that you set up a joint account with her so she could pay household bills and so forth. Didn't you ever wonder why so much of that money disappeared? I bet it didn't get spent lover."

Roger felt ill. He thought about what Haley said and knew she was right. He always had to put more money into the account. When he complained Cynthia had just blew him off and said things were more expensive now. He was glad now he didn't put all his salary into that account or she might have spent or taken it all.

Roger decided it was a waste of time continuing to inform her family and friends what Cynthia had done. It was obvious that everyone already knew what Cynthia had done and didn't really care. Roger hired a PI firm to follow Cynthia. He had her followed for a month and he requested information on the men and women she made love with during that period. He obtained a used computer and began sending e-mails with pictures of Cynthia and her lovers to everyone he knew who knew her. He always used a public WIFI connection so the message could not be traced to him. He sent pictures of her nude and in compromising positions. When possible he sent pictures and explanations to the wife or girlfriend of her lovers. If he didn't have their e-mail addresses he used snail mail.

Roger began hearing of marital and relationship troubles in many families who knew Cynthia. Now she was becoming the favorite gossip subject with those who knew her or knew of her. Many of her friends were avoiding her trying not to get splattered with the shit storm she had raised. By now it had already been almost six months and Cynthia was getting bored with the man that had replaced him. She was once again shopping for a new man. Roger caught her and took pictures of her doing inappropriate things, petting and once even having sex with another man in public. These pictures were sent to his list of people. He made sure copies of the pictures were given to her new lover. It seems he became very angry with Cynthia. In fact, he hit her and ended up in Jail over that! Roger thought that was poetic justice.

Cynthia's life began to unravel. Every time she was seen with another man more than once or twice he got a synopsis of her past actions. Many of them dumped her outright. Others just used her for sex then when she began hinting about moving in with them they dumped her. Cynthia was furious that someone would smear her like that but she could not find out who was doing it. She and her family even hired a PI but had no luck. Finally she lost her job because Roger had caught her having sex with two of her superiors and one of her subordinates on company time. Even worse, she was doing it in company offices or at company functions. She had to move back into her parent's home. Roger decided he had done enough to Cynthia. He sent her one final package with copies of most of the pictures and notices he had sent to others. The note on top said it all. "You have fucked over countless men and made their lives miserable as you used them to make yourself feel better or to better your position. Now you not only know what it feels like to some extent but you have been reduced to living off your parents once more. Hope you have a nice life Bitch!"

Getting even with the man who had stolen Cynthia from him was much easier. Roger felt like he really didn't need to do much to him because he had been used just as Roger and many others had. Had Cynthia not been wearing his engagement ring at the time Roger might have given the man a bye. He followed him into a bar one night and after he was half drunk Roger walked up to his table and sat down uninvited. Roger held his hand out to shake. He said, "You may not remember me but I owe you a lot for what you did for me. I want to thank you."

The man took his hand and said, "I don't think I even know you. What do you think I have done to help you?"

Roger laughed and said, "Hell fella. You moved in on me and stole my fiancée Cynthia Vanderbilt six weeks before my wedding. I can't thank you enough for taking that cheating lying bitch of a slut off my hands before I made a serious error and married her. Too bad you didn't last as long as I did though. She was one of the best pieces of ass I ever had."

Recognition flashed across his face and the young man rose from his chair with a roar. He hit Roger causing him to fall from his chair. Before the other patrons, his friends or the bouncers could get to him Roger stood and hit him three times. Well, his first punch was a kick to the gonads but then Roger drove his knee into his face as he bent forward clutching himself. As the young man began to fall Roger hit him as hard as he could in the face. He heard his jaw break. The man was lying on the floor moaning and clutching himself when Roger bent down toward him. He said, "I'm sorry old chap. All I wanted to do was thank you for taking that skank off my hands. I'm glad she is gone but you really do need to remember this if you ever decide to fuck another engaged or married woman. If you hadn't hit me first I would have never have been this hard on you though. Hope you've learned your lesson."

Roger walked out of the building before the bouncer could restrain him and before the police arrived. The next morning he read about an altercation at a hot local nightclub. Apparently a Jarrod Dinwitty was accosted and badly beaten by an unknown assailant who had escaped. Roger kept waiting on a visit by the police but one never came. He felt good, sad about his break up but glad he didn't land in jail.

A few weeks later his condo sold. That same day he gave his notice and quit his job. Two weeks later Roger loaded what little he was taking with him into his vehicle and left heading back to his home in the Missouri Ozarks. He was the last of his immediate family and he wanted out of the city. He had not been back to the family farm in almost ten years but that was his destination and he was looking forward to getting there. He had no intention of ever leaving his hometown for more than a vacation ever again.

The farm had been in his family since 1882 and it had passed to him when his parents had both died several years ago. He was an only child and so he added the value of their small estate to the amount he had already saved from his job. He had not been like most of the other high profile MBA's working on Wall Street. Instead of buying into conspicuous consumption, immediate gratification, he had banked and invested a large percentage of his salary and bonuses. That, too, had been a bone of contention between him and his three lost loves. They wanted to spend everything they and he made to live the good life. Conspicuous consumption was the password to their hearts. When you ran out of money, borrow, borrow, borrow. The good part about the way he saved his money was that after selling his condo and paying all his bills he now had somewhat over $3.75 million in investments, excluding the value of his small farm. He could return home and become a hermit if he so chose and live off the interest.

Roger's only concession to extravagance was the purchase of a nice SuperCrew F250 Powerstroke 4X4. Of course this had been another bone of contention with Cynthia. She complained about him owning a truck because it wasn't cool. She had refused to be seen with him in it. She said for the same money he could have purchased a good car—a Beemer or Mercedes, maybe even a Lexus. When he had bought it she was appalled that a dirty old truck cost almost $60,000. He had almost sold it numerous times because of the problems driving and parking it in the city. Now he was glad he had kept it. He loaded all the possessions he wanted to keep into it and a small utility trailer and took off for home. He told no one where he was going when he left his job and told no one in his old hometown he was coming.

Except for a small thirty-acre field near the riverbank Roger's land had lain fallow ever since his grandparents had died ten years ago. He had a local farmer that watched over the place and used it for pasture as his compensation. The old house had burned down about five years previously. Now the only building that was left was an almost new pole barn.

It was well after dark the night Roger pulled into his ancestral land, his new home. He drove under the cover of the barn and turned off his truck. He pulled enough out of the back to make a bed and went to sleep. Over the next few days Roger relaxed alongside the river that flowed through his farm and tried to decide what to do with his life. He finally decided to just exist, manage his investments and see what came up. With that in mind he knew he needed a warmer place to sleep in the winter and, if the summer was like they usually were he needed a cool place for the summer.

Roger decided to pour cement on the floor of the barn and build a small living area in one end of it. He would have a garage and shop in the other end. He could hook to the old well and septic system from the house that had burned. He didn't need much and decided to do most of the work himself. It would keep him busy and be fun also.

One of Roger's first tasks was to purchase a 60 horsepower tractor and loader so he could clean up the place. After he had that task completed he went to town and purchased lumber and pipes so he could get the drains and water lines situated. When that was done he completed forms for the cement floor then had the local Redi Mix company come out and pour his floor. He did hire a local cement contractor to help smooth the concrete floor so it would be level.

Roger was lucky. There were no zoning laws and building codes he had to worry about in the country. He had all the knowledge necessary to do his own work. When he was young he worked with his parents and grandparents doing repair work and light building. His father had operated a small building contracting firm and Roger had worked there in the summers so he knew enough to wire, plumb and build his small home. The barn was tall enough he could make the living area two story. Upstairs he put two bedrooms, a bathroom and small sitting room. Downstairs he had a large living room, kitchen and dining room along with the master suite and bathroom. He built a utility room and small office as a single story extension behind the kitchen in the garage end of the barn.

As the weeks passed Roger felt himself relax. He also felt himself become more and more physically fit as he worked and used muscles he did not use working in the city. From time to time Roger would go into one of the local towns, either Prineville, the nearest small town and the county seat or Steelville, a slightly larger town. He would buy his groceries, eat a meal out occasionally at the local café and of course purchase his building materials. He even rewarded himself with some canoe trips down the local river. He fished and watched the city slickers make fools of themselves. Being a red blooded male he also admired the scantily clad females playing in and along the river.