Revenge by Misadventure

"I need a job. Your mother is wonderful, but I need to get out and at least try to be productive again. Between the insurance and selling the house, I've got about four hundred thousand, so I need to go house hunting. "

I was overjoyed she was going to stay down here. I told her how happy I was and she gave me a rare smile. "I'd have moved down here when you offered. John was the stubborn one. I don't think I could have faced another winter there, especially alone."

My company hired her on my recommendation. We didn't work together, but we did eat lunch together three or four times a week. It turns out she was very good at the job she got, improving our efficiency in that department by 4%, and while that doesn't sound like much, the owners were estactic.

She made friends, and found a small apartment. "It's all I need for right now. I think I'd like to live on the lake, so maybe we could go see some properties after I'm settled in. I'd like your opinion."

I saw her once, at one of the clubs, at a girls' night out. She was laughing and on the dance floor almost constantly, but I noted she never slow danced with anyone, and never accepted drinks.

She and John had been joined at the hip from the time she was fifteen, so I imagine the club scene and her dating skills were a little rusty. We talked about it the next Monday during lunch. "I saw you Saturday. You still got your moves, girl."

Adele blushed before grinning. "Why didn't you come over? I'd have loved to dance with you."

"I was in the pool room, in the darts tournament. Did pretty good until this Brit showed up. I don't know if they invented the game, but they sure know how to throw. Besides, I didn't want old memories overshadowing new."

Her face was somber. "I did have a good time, but when I got home I felt guilty."

"You shouldn't. It's been almost a year since we lost him, and you had a lot of good years. I'd kill to have a woman love me like you loved him, but he's gone, and you're still here, still young, and you deserve happiness. He was probably laughing his ass off, watching."

"Why haven't you found someone else? You're not repulsive, have a good job and a house on the lake, I figured some local would have snapped you up any minute."

"I came close a couple of times, but they didn't work out. I have to believe she's out there somewhere, but she's doing a pretty good job of hiding right now."

"I wouldn't worry much. As soon as you stop looking you'll find her. She was probably right under your nose the whole time."

"If she is the military needs to hire her immediately, as a camoflage expert."

We talked of other things, and then went back to work.

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Winter came again, and Adele thought she found her second Mr. Right. He was personable, always ready with a joke, and pretty good looking, according to Mom. Something about him set my teeth on edge, but she seemed happy and I marked it up to misplaced loyalty to my old friend.

They started dating in the fall, and by February he was living in her apartment, and she confided to Mom she was expecting a ring soon. I wasn't thrilled with the news, but if she was happy, then I was glad for her. Then the cracks started appearing. He lost his job and was in no hurry to find another. After all, Adele had plenty of money for both of them. At first it was gas money while he searched for work, then she put him on her phone plan and paid that bill. If they wanted to go out, it was always on her dime.

She was down one day at work, and I asked her why. The story came out, then she dropped the bombshell. "He says we can't have lunch together any more. Said it didn't look good for a woman in a committed relationship to spend so much time with another man."

I took a deep breath and made sure I didn't blurt out what I was thinking, but I was pretty sharp. "We've been friends for fifteen years, long before he came on the scene. If you want to give that friendship up I have no choice but to go along, but I have to tell you it would suck. I've kept my nose out of your relationship but I need to tell you this. The guy's a loser, Adele. Tell him if he doesn't want you going out to lunch with friends he should do something, like maybe get a job and pay his own bills, then take any extra money and spend it on you. Maybe take you to lunch himself a few times a week, on his dime. I'm sorry honey, but the gloves are off, and truth be told I can't stand him. You're a fool if you marry him, and if you do don't expect to see me at the wedding. Good luck, you're gonna need it."

I got up and left in the middle of the meal, and the last thing I saw was her sitting at the table, bright red, with her mouth hanging open. The next couple of times she called me for lunch I made sure I was too busy to go. She looked like she was going to cry every time she saw me at work.

Then it happened. We were experiencing one of our rare snowstorms, and I was sitting in front of my fireplace, alternating looking at the flames or the snow coming down outside, when a car pulled into my drive. I idly wondered who would be out in this storm, there was easily three inches on the ground, and Southerners weren't known for their snow driving expertise. I made it a point to stay off the roads, not because I didn't know how to drive in conditions like this, but because ninety per cent of my neighbors didn't.

I'd laugh my ass off after a snowfall, seeing all the vehicles in the ditch. Sometimes I'd grab the tow strap, put my truck in four wheel drive, and ride around pulling people out. I wouldn't take money, but I never turned down cookies or a cake from grateful wives.

I opened my door to see Adele getting out of the car, but instead of rushing in out of the storm, she was moving slow. I pulled her into the house, shocked when she raised her head. Her left eye was swollen shut, and was already turning purple. She was walking slow because she had a tremendous bruise on her ribs that was making it hard to breathe.

I got her sat down by the fire, taking her soaked trainers and sweater off, and wrapping her in blankets, and giving her a towel for her hair. Then I cuddled her until she calmed down.

"What happened?"

"I finally got fed up and told Trey to leave. I gave him an ultimatum, get a job and start contributing, or we were over. I told him I wanted kids, but not one that was 34 years old. It started when he found a truck he just had to have, and he wanted me to make a five thousand dollar downpayment and put it in my name. He was really pissed when I told him no, if he wanted it, earn the money to buy it. Things went downhill from there.

He stormed off, and came back three hours later driving the truck, telling me I needed to get my ass down to the dealership in the morning to give them the check and fill out the paperwork. When I told him not no, but hell no, he went apeshit."

"I bet if your Yankee honey asked, you'd do it for him!"

"Absolutely, but it wouldn't matter. In the first place Al has too much pride to pull a stunt like that, and he's always had a job, going back to when he was fifteen years old. He'd die of embarrassment before he'd ask a girlfriend something like that."

She cried for a second before calming down. "That's when he punched me in the ribs. I went down, but came up with that brass lamp you always thought was so ugly. He got my eye before I hit him as hard as I could in his tiny balls. He was on the floor moaning when I left."

I immediately called one of my fishing buddies, who happened to be a cop, and told him what happened. "She needs to file a complaint. We're running our four wheel drive vehicles right now, and the storm's got them with their hands full, but first thing tomorrow she needs to come in, if she can, and do the paperwork. I'm going to tell them you did a phone report because of the storm, and to keep an eye out for him. She's gonna stay with you, right?"

"She's not going anywhere."

"Good. I doubt he'll try to come after her in this weather, but keep an eye out. It might be a good idea to take a couple of pictures and send them to us, while the marks are fresh."

"Surely he's not that stupid. Thanks, Hank, we'll be in as soon as the roads clear. I'll send the pictures in a few minutes."

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It turns out he was that stupid, and all the alcohol he'd consumed lowered his IQ even farther. Like I said, I live right on the lake, and my backyard slants towards it. He came roaring in, driving the new truck, and clipped my truck because he couldn't get stopped. That sent him into a spin, sliding towards the water, and by the time he got stopped the rear end was in the lake, and it didn't matter how hard he gunned it, it wasn't moving.

I didn't believe in guns, which amused my new friends no end, and right them I was thinking I should have listened to them. He came staggering up the hill, slipping, sliding, and falling down three times before he made it to the door. Addie had called the cops,and they told us not to answer the door, so we ignored his screaming and pounding. Then he got smart and walked into my open garage and pounded on that door, screaming about what he was going to do to both of us.

We would have let him rant, but he got smart and pulled a hammer out of my tool box and started smashing in the door. I didn't have a baseball bat or anything like that, but I had a pair of brand new Ugly Sticks, a type of rod noted for it's strength and flexibility. I grabbed one up and Adele yanked the door open. I swung with all I had, and it put a pretty good whelp on his cheek. He screamed and dropped the hammer, covering his face, when Adele laid it across his legs. His scream sounded primal, and he staggered back into the garage, followed by both of us. He was curled up in a ball and moaning as we went to town on him. I don't know when we would have stopped, but a cop got there.

He took in the damage to my truck, the other truck in the water, and came in with his gun drawn. The hammer was on the floor, the dents were on the door, and he yelled for us to stop. I did, throwing the rod down, but Addie got about three good licks in before she dropped hers. The deputy had him in handcuffs in no time, as he lay on the floor.

He gave the guy a look of disgust. "Dude, are you crying? What a pussy! I'd say grow a set but the woman in there would probably beat them off of you. Sir, you are under arrest for tresspassing, damaging personal property, attempted breaking and entering, assault on a female, general assault, and whatever else I can come up with between here and the jail. Your life just turned to shit. Now don't say a goddamned thing between here and the jail, to protect your rights. You understand?"

He left him lying in the cold garage while he took our statements, then I had to help pick him up to get him into the back of the SUV.

I got Adele into the shower to warm up, leaving her one of my tees and a thick robe. She slept with me that night, for security. Still, it felt mighty fine to have her snuggled up to me. I woke before her the next morning to see Mom in our kitchen, grinning like crazy. The grin went away when I told her what happened. "Put some coffee on, and start breakfast. I've got some major mothering to do."

They didn't come out until breakfast was done, and I was surprised that Adele ate as much as she did. They had scraped most of the roads by the afternoon, and Mom took her home in my truck, to gather a few things. She was going to stay with her for a while, until she felt safe.

They came home with glum looks. Mom gave me the news. "He trashed the apartment, broke up the furniture, and threw most of her clothes out in the snow. We sorted what was salvagable, and both our washers and dryers are going to be going for a while. She reported it to the apartment managers, telling them who did it. They're looking at charging him for the damage to the walls and kitchen sinks, but it looks like Adele's security deposit won't be refunded at the end of the lease."

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The attack happened on Friday, so asshole didn't get in front of a judge until Monday, and when he did he almost fainted when they read the charges. The car dealership he'd gotten the truck from was after him, because over the course of the two days it took for a wrecker to come out, it had slipped all the way under the water, totally ruining the engine and the value of the truck. Even if they fixed it, it would have to be sold under a salvage title and most banks wouldn't loan money on a salvage title. The truck was three years old and valued at $34,000.

The trespassing charge was upgraded to felony tresspass, a much more serious charge. The damage to my truck came to six thousand, and because the truck he was driving had dealer tags on it, the dealership was forced to pay for the repairs, which they immediately added to their suit. The damage to the apartment came to 4,000 for structural repairs, and her furniture and personal belongings were priced at three grand.

Then there were the assault charges, assault on a female being a really serious thing in this state. Add to that the two attempted assault charges, the attempted breaking and entering, and he was up the creek without even a boat, let along paddle. His bail was set at $200,000, something he had no way of raising, even the 10% a bail bondsman would require.

The judge asked him why he was covered in purple stripes, and when he found out the reason he almost didn't hold in his laughter. "Fishing rods? Boy, your face looks like it went through a grinder. I hope they fade over time."

A lot didn't. When he went to trial five months later, there were still marks on his face and arms, and a lot more on his body that the clothes hid. He couldn't afford a lawyer, and his public defender told him his best option was to make a plea deal. The DA lumped everything serious together and dropped some of the lesser charges, but he'll have to do four years before he's eligible for a parole hearing. When everyone involved hit him with civil suits, there were a lot of judgements against him. When he gets out, he'll be about $120,000 in debt.

No one involved figured they'd never see a dime unless he won a lottery or inherited a bunch of money, but it would keep him from getting anything that requires payments for at least seven years.

Adele had to go into therapy over her fear. It took almost a year before she was anything close to back to normal, and she bought a gun, went through safety courses and conceal carry classes, and goes armed just about everywhere. She even bought special pocketbooks that allowed her to shoot without removing the weapon.

Mom kept her for six months, and she spent a lot of time with me, sleeping in the guest room. That usually lasted until about midnight before she would slip into bed and snuggle. It always made me happy and sad at the same time.

It got a little awkward one night when I had the woman I was seeing over and Adele showed up unannounced. By then she had her own key so she just unlocked the door and walked in. Banty ( a nickname she got from being so small, like a Bantam chicken) and I were in the preliminaries of what I hoped was going to be a very nice night. I had her top off and her arms pinned at her side, biting gently on her tiny breast. I could get the whole boob in my mouth if I sucked hard enough, something I practiced dilligently. She was screaming and threatening to do bad things to me, but that reduced to a coo once I got her in my mouth.

Adele yelled something to me as she came in, took one look at us, turned around,and ran out. I had to close the door behind her. Banty was giving me the evil eye, wanting to know why that bitch had a key to my house.

She calmed down when I told her the story of my long relationship with Adele, all the way back to grade school, and how her husband had been my best friend. I finished with the incident that led to her having a key, so she would always have a safe place to go. She giggled.

"My hero! Who knew a fishing rod could be such a vicious weapon?"

"If her ex didn't, he does now. The cops told me some of the whelps we raised were permanent. For the rest of his life, inside prison and out, every time he thinks about doing something foolish I hope they hurt."

"Call her and tell her to get her ass back here. I wanna meet your sister."

It took an hour to coax her back to the house. Banty met her at the door with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, and whispered in her ear. "He might be a little grumpy. You coming back derailed all his plans. Well, I hear delayed gratification makes it sweeter. A lesson he'll have to learn."

Addie flamed red before giggling, and when they came in arm and arm, I knew I was in for a long night. They were still giggling, sharing secrets, starting on their third bottle of wine, when I gave up and went to bed.

I was up bright and early, so I put on a pot of coffee, then woke Banty with a big kiss and a smack on the ass. "Get up, lazybones. Breakfast will be ready in thirty."

She moaned and tried to hide her head, and I snatched the comforter off the bed, admiring that tight little body in her tiny panties and camisole. She snarled, but I grabbed her up and gave her another kiss, then pointed to the three ibuprofen and the glass of water on her nightstand.

She swallowed the pills and drank the water. "Give me an hour before breakfast. I'm going to go get your other girlfriend up. I hope she feels as bad as I do."

I piddled around, drank the coffee, then set another pot. I heard the shower start and a few moans. The they strutted into the kitchen. Banty was in a new camisole panty combo, and as far as I could tell all Addie had on was one of my tee shirts. They giggled at the look on my face and teased me without mercy while they ate breakfast.

"We're going out on the boat this afternoon. Get it ready." Then they threw on shorts and tees, jumped into Addie's car, and took off. A little while later I saw the car in my mother's driveway, and I idly wondered if they would leave poor Hiram alone. He'd moved in a few months back and just last week I noted Mom's new ring. It was a rock. Hiram was pretty successful, and was prone to spoil Mom if she'd let him.

They came in laughing a couple of hours later. "Mom's getting married!"

I grinned at Adele. "What gave it away? The fact that her left hand practically drags the ground from the weight of the rock on her finger? The really good mood she's been in lately? Can't get anything by you girls, huh?"

They rolled their eyes, and started talking about wedding plans. Mom and Hiram came down and announced they were coming along, so we cast off with high hopes and a cooler full of wine and beer. Hiram drank as much as I'd ever seen him do, and we talked.

"Nervous?"

"Absolutely. Your mother is a lot of woman and I hope I can make her happy in the furure."

"Too late for that, you've already succeeded in making her as happy as I've seen her since before Dad passed. I can hear her now, sighing and looking at me with big eyes."

"You know, it's just a shame your poor mother is getting married before you do. It looks like I'll have to depend on Lisa and Jerry for grandchildren." They were Hiram's children from his first marriage.

He grinned. "Yeah, well, she's already highjacked Lisa's two. She spent most of yesterday baking with them and teaching them to call her Grandma, smiling every time they said it. That being said, there's two fine women up front. Either one would make an excellent daughter-in-law. Think about it."

"Damn, you too? I'm doomed."

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