Second Chances

I listened and watched my mother's expressions come over her face. Chasity and Michael had been caught buck naked under the sheets. Their recorded voices expressed their shock. Both looked like deer's that had got caught at night by headlights. There was no way anyone who saw it would be able to say what they had been doing was completely innocent.

She sent her own cellphone a copy right away before putting it down.

"Chasity is dead in the water," Mom said. "I love the total shock on her face when she got served with the civil suit."

"Julie and I blocked her phone number tonight," I said. "Because I was warned they would be served tonight.

Mom went and got her and dad cells so I could show her how to do theirs, by doing it.

It has been a long time since my mother, and I had shared tea in the middle of the night. It brought back a lot of sweet memories for both of us.

---------

I went in and told the receptionist to block all incoming calls from my wife as I did not want to talk to her.

At eleven she came in said, "Look she's been calling here every twenty minutes. How can we put a stop to it?"

"I said what's your cellphone number," I asked?

She gave it to me, I said, "I'm sending you via text a video clip the next time she asks to speak to me ask for her cellphone number. If she gives it to you send her a copy of it and let her know in a text that Julie and I received it last night."

That was the last of I saw her for the rest of the day.

Just as she was leaving for the rest of the day she said, "I did what you asked. Once she received it, I got no more calls. It got my curiosity up, so I looked at it. If your daughter or you need anything just holler, Okay!"

I nodded my head in an affirmative manner.

Thanks, boss," She said. "I deleted it and have told no one."

While my mother was cooking supper before Julie went in to help her, I told my daughter about what happened at work.

"I got a text message from a strange number," Julie said. "It was from mom asking me to call her. It didn't take long for me to realize it was most likely Michael's."

"I figure it will be around eight o'clock tonight when we get called by your brothers," I said. "Your mother will call them. They will most likely have gone to the house and found us gone."

"If they do there going to be shocked," Julie said. "I left a short note for mom saying I guess you will be having your lover Michael move in since his wife has kicked him out."

It struck me as funny because I knew Chasity would not have told our sons anything that would force her to admit what she had done.

"Dad lets have some fun, and turn our cellphones off," Julie said. "That way my brothers will have to contact mom to find out what's going on."

So that's what we did. For my daughter and me, it was a peaceful night for others it was not. We learned later that my sons did indeed go over to our former home. As soon as they came through the front door, they discovered my favorite chair gone. That resulted in the whole house being searched. It became quickly apparent that Julie and I had moved out.

It wasn't until they came into the kitchen that they found their sister's note. When they called Julie and me. Their call automatically went to our answering service. That just agitated the situation in their eyes even more. They confronted their mother via the cellphone who claimed she had no knowledge about what that note meant. She also told them she couldn't understand why we had moved out.

They called all over town looking for us but to no avail. In final desperation, they called their Uncle Charles who told them that after what their mother had done for the second time, perhaps his brother did not want to be found. So, Jason and Justin told their uncle about the note and what it said.

"All I can say for sure is that Michael is your mother's boss and they have been sharing a hotel room in New York together for over a week," Charles said. "You're old enough to draw your own conclusions from that."

The boys were so devastated to hear that, that they forgot to wonder how and why their Uncle Charles knew.

My sons in their search for Julie and I had spread the news about my wife's, and I break up better and faster than gossip could.

--------

It was towards the end of the next working day that my receptionist forwarded a call to me from my oldest son Jake. After greetings, he got down to business.

"What is going on Dad," He asked? "Where, are Julie and you now living?"

"Nothing considering that we know, for the most part, that we live in a world where what was wrong is now right, and what was right is now wrong," I replied.

"Dad let's not get religious here," He said. "Just tell me the facts."

"Check your text messages for what I just sent," I said. "It will give you the answer to your question. Send it to Jason and if you want to talk come to my dad's place after supper."

With that said I hung up the phone, sent the video in a text and sent one to Julie to inform her what I had done. It wasn't ten minutes later that Jake texted back; 'Shit! Be at Grandfathers at eight.'

My parents left my children and me alone so we could have a serious talk about our current family situation. Julie and I listened to what they thought I should do going forward. The boys did not see what their mother was doing as a serious problem and that I should get over it. We all make mistakes dad look at how many times you forgave us as we were growing up. That pissed their little sister off.

"You two might be my brothers but your both frigging idiots," Julie said with anger. "It wasn't a frigging accident that happened. Mother and Michael had it all planned. The hotel room had been booked for Mr. and Mrs. Michael Truscott for about a week before they left."

As I listened to her speak while watching my son's faces. It was a look that I will never forget.

"We watched Mom drive away from our house that Sunday. She left knowing she was going to have the affair," Julie continued. "She had him pick her up and seemed excited about what was she was getting involved in. Dad had offered to drive her to the airport. But no, she wanted to rub our noses in it with him. We were most likely the thing they laughed about on their way to New York. She had no clue that we knew and did not know that we were seeing past their charade."

"Julie asked me why I didn't stop her, and I said she would have lied and denied it," I said. "Your mother's action made it clear she was walking out of the marriage. This was no accident. It was all planned out and deliberate."

"Dad and I have known for about two weeks before she left," Julie said. "Michaels wife had let us know. That's why we had the video within an hour of them being served."

"Boys you best realize that your mother just didn't do it to me," I said. "She did it to all of us. Tomorrow I see the doctor in order to get an STD test done."

Every one of my children looked at me through their stunning eyes.

"I do that because I can't be sure she hasn't had other lovers on the side," I said. "Maybe this is the first one where she has been caught. Over the last few years, she has gone on quite a few business trips. Because of her conduct, I have to wonder if they had been the same type of situation."

"Dad you can't be serious," Jason said. "There no way that my mother has had other lovers."

"Based on what we have learned can you all say that we will get the truth to those questions from your mother," I said in reply? "Her truth doesn't matter the facts do. If I don't have an STD, then we know that what you believe might be true."

When I got no answer from the three of my children I said, "Time for me to go get a cup of coffee."

My mother and father were out in the kitchen. They had heard the whole conversation.

"Clint you're approaching it right, "My dad said. "I would not have thought about the possibility of others. Being a lawyer in a firm that sues in part the medical industry and drug companies it does raise the possibility that she has slept with others. She's always flying off somewhere because they always have mediation before they go to court."

"Even if she had separate rooms on those trips," I said. "All it takes is a phone call from one room to another. Since it's easy in our society for one truth's to be another's lies, I can't afford to trust anything she has said these last few years."

At that moment my cellphone went off. It was Louise so I said I had to take this call in private. So, I went out on the outside porch.

"Hi, Louise good to hear from you," I said. "What's up."

"I talked to Michael; it didn't go well. He can't understand why I am going for a divorce," She said. "He figures I should forgive him and go on as we have always done. I told him my daughters are now old enough that I don't need you in their lives. That's when the reality hit him that there was no love left in me for him. He had killed it because of his lying ways. Chasity, he says is a basket case, when she's not working. She's trying to figure out how she can explain what they did all away. It looks like they will be coming home Thursday afternoon because a settlement has been agreed to."

"Julie my daughter and I blocked her number," I explained. "I told the receptionist not to accept calls from her. It got so bad that she had to ask me to get them to stop. I gave the receptionist a copy of the video you sent and told her that she should forward it to Chasity. That stopped the phone calls. My wife now knows that we all know what was going on. It must have hurt her hard to realize that she could no longer control the situation."

"I told Michael that his personal belongings would be stored in the garage until he picked them up," Louise said. "Then I told him I had already changed the locks on our house. I just wanted to see how you're handling it."

"I just finished a long talk with my three children having to explain that this may of being just her latest affair and as a result, I was getting myself medically checked out," I said. "When they asked why I thought that was necessary. I said do you think your mother will honestly admit that there were others. I guess I'm taking it one day at a time. Julie and I have moved out."

We talked for a few minutes more before saying good night.

When I came back into the house, they were all in the kitchen. All five of them looked at me as if they were waiting for me to say something.

"I've taken tomorrow off of work," I said. "I have a lawyers appointment set up for nine o'clock. Since the two lovers may be flying home on Thursday, I would like to have them served when the get off of the plane."

I think that's when my boys finally saw the seriousness of the situation had sunk in because they got tears in their eyes.

That's when my dad said, "Jake and Jason, Michael was not the first man she's been caught with by your father, but it will be the last. He's more of a man than I am because I would have killed the first son of the bitch."

"That's bullshit," Jason said. "Mother said she has never had an affair before and until we said we had the video she had denied that she was having one now."

"You idiots," My mom said. "Why do you think your dad has never spoken to your Uncle Charles until this week. They finally made peace because of it on Sunday night."

The boys were stunned and look at their sister.

"Uncle Charles admitted it," She said. "He said that our dad did not deserve this, but he did. When I told dad that Uncle Charles and dad made peace."

Emotions were raw, for all concerned. I got up and put the kettle on. All three of my children were dealing with the consequences of their mother's conduct in their own way. As their father, all I could do was be there for them.

I knew this situation was going to change their lives going forward even though they may never see it. How the dealt with it would define forever what kind of person they would be in life. The boys decided they best go home and prepare for the workday tomorrow. By the time they were gone the kettle was ready. I made my mom and me a cup of hot tea.

Since it was almost eleven Julie headed up to bed. It left me and my parents a chance to talk.

"They're going to be watching you," My mother said. "How you handle it going forward will give them their guidance."

"I know Mom. That's why I am going to try to be calm about it," I said. "To do that I have to let the lawyers handle it. I can't go back in time and reverse what has happened. Other than killing her the rest is really out of my hands."

"For some that would be the ultimate solution," My dad said honestly.

"Your right! But in my eyes, Chasity is not worth going to jail over," I said. "Neither was Charles."

My dad looked at me with pride in his eyes as he said, "You're a better man than I am, son. Your mother and I must have raised your right."

-----------

The lady lawyer I went to see listened as I revealed the events that led me to her office. I found it interesting that she took notes. When I gave the name of the firm, they worked for her eyes lit up.

"Mr. Clint Walker, did you know I used to work for them," She asked. "They have a moral's policy that's written in their human resources manual of which I still have a copy."

I guess she saw my interest because she said, "We can sue the firm on top of the two of them. We may not get much more than legal costs the way the state court judges are viewing things, but it will create major problems for both of them."

"Brenda Ferguson let's do it," I said. "As far as I know their coming back from New York and will be back here at four fifteen on the first incoming flight from St Louis for the afternoon on Thursday."

After leaving a deposit on her bill she said, "I'm looking forward to this. When they let me go, they said I didn't have the guts to go for the kill, they're about to learn the hard way how wrong they were."

I left her office with the thought that David was taking on Goliath. The firm that my wife worked for was the biggest in the county and had four divisions in it.

Our family doctor was devastated to hear why I wanted to be tested for all sexually transmitted diseases. He had been our doctor all through the years our kids were growing up. He would have never expected this, but he thought it was best to be sure.

What I did not know was that my oldest son Jake had called his mother after he left his grandparent's place to let her know what was going on. When he told his mother that I was having tests done to make sure I was clean she had asked why. He plainly told her that between Uncle Charles and Michael Truscott none of the family could honestly swear there weren't more lovers she was with when she was not at home.

She went to say something, but Jake told her not to bother because she'd been caught in too many lies. Let things cool down for a while mother before you explain anything he said because right now we will all take it as more lies.

-----------

The firm my wife worked for got served while the lovers were in transit. My lawyer was asking for ten million dollars. She also made it clear in the suit that the termination of the senior and junior partner would be viewed as an admittance of guilt.

The moment the two lovers got off the plane the server served them. It was noted by a third party that they were not a happy couple and that my wife had to take a taxi home.

The doctor called me in for a shot, it turned out I did have a mild STD. Since it had to be reported to the county health Chasity would be called in and forced to reveal all her sexual partners.

My suit hit the airwaves on the six o'clock news both Chasity and Michael conduct had become public knowledge. Brenda Ferguson was starting to play the game quite effectively I thought.

Julie had called me in response to my text while she was going from class to class and I broke the news about what the doctor had said. She called her brothers and let them know that their mother must have had more lovers explaining why.

I was sitting with my parents and my daughter as they ate. I had declined because I had a dinner date. My always curious daughter asked me if it was with the same person as last week. When I said yes affirmatively. She smiled and winked. As I was leaving to head out, she texted me. It said dad's got a girlfriend. It pleased me with all we were going through she still could find some humor.

Louise Truscott had a big smile on her face when she saw me enter Red Lobsters. This time I had dressed casually, so had she.

"You don't do things in a small way," Louise said with a giggle. "My dad says you're a rock star and is loving it. If that doesn't take Michael down a peg or two nothing will."

"The lawyer I hired used to work for them and is using me to get even with them, with my permission," I said. "She has a copy of the human resources manual that allows us to sue them for not enforcing its policies."

"I would love to be a fly on the wall at their place of work tomorrow," Louise said. "It will not be a good day for them."

The hostess then escorted us to our table. We both order an alcoholic drink, Louise then handed me an envelope.

"Inside is the notarized statement of five of Michael's underlings," She said. "All were employees at the time. Their statement makes it appear that they were coerced into submitting to his sexual needs."

"Ouch my lawyer's case just got strengthened a lot," I said. "To be honest when she suggested this course, she thought because of the judge's view on things these days we would lucky to win enough to pay her legal fees. I think this will go a long way to establish a long term pattern of behavior."

We both got off our divorces and began to develop a friendship. I found myself actually enjoying the time we were spending together. It was almost midnight when I got back to my parent's place.

I was sitting in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil to make myself a cup of tea before going to bed. It was giving me time to reflect on everything that had taken place since Chasity had gone on her trip.

I was pouring the hot water into my cup when my daughter said. "Dad, make one for me please."

I looked at my daughter and I knew she had been crying so I replied, "It's okay to cry, it's a part of healing. I'm surprised that you have lasted this long."

She ran into my arms and let go. I just held her until she started to calm down.

By the time we had drunk our cup of tea, she had calmed down. She asked me how my dinner date with Louise had gone. I said, to be honest, we spent the time just getting to know each other but it looks like it's going to become a good friendship. Julie asked a few questions about her and I answered them as best as I could.

-------

I dropped off the statements for my lawyer during my lunch hour on Friday. When she called me later that afternoon she told me she'd been busy getting more notarized statements about another senior partner in the firm and asked if it would be okay if she took it on as a class action for all the females in this case. It would mean refiling and asking for a far greater amount. I told her to go ahead. Before saying goodbye, she informed me that she had learned from a friend that for Chasity and Michael it had been a very painful day. Even though they had brought back a huge settlement and made millions for the firm that hadn't been mentioned.

The staff I worked with was being super supportive, so were the other people in upper management.

I went to the bank and withdrew a thousand in cash on the way home. Once I got there, I gave mom a hug and slid the money into her apron. Yes, she caught me and gave me a look that only a mother can give her son.