All Comments on 'Shadows of the Past'

Never a good day to write in present tense. Once I figured that out I skipped to the end and gave you a two.

Got to say, you are one of my favorite authors and you did yourself proud with this one. I measure a story by how it draws me into the characters and storyline. This one pulled me in quickly and completely. Thank you.

1. Did Cheryl stay with the suit?

2. Did the two geeks find someone steady?

This was missing to complete the story.

You don't have to detail it just we eventually found new partners and our young one play together.

Well written. A tad depressing. Wait. A TON depressing. One husband with a dead wife, the other with a cheating wife. No way to tie a ribbon on those facts and make things all happy, happy, joy, joy. I would like to have known what happened to the cheating wife and her boy toy after the beating. That might have made things a little brighter.

Brilliant, just Brilliant

Really great and touching

A mature, well written story. Thanks for sharing it.

Phenomenal. That, along with 'Fishing With the Daughter', are my favorites. I want to say that the 'mugging' and the pissing on Harris cheapened the story, but truthfully, I think those events had the same palliative effect that the bacon and beer did. A bit of salve for the wounded soul. Well done. A real treat. Thank you.

Just too depressing... A widower and a cuckold getting shit on by life.

The ambush on the lawyer was a nice surprise, but what happened to Cheryl after he beat up her boyfriend? It would've been nice to know what the consequences were. Had she actually fallen for the rich asshole that seduced her and got stuck nursemaiding his broken ass? Or did she leave the lawyer and move on with someone else?

As there was no dialogue with Cheryl before or afterwards, it wasn't as satisfying as it could've been.

Hah! I liked this little tale of yours. I had my doubts at first, but being the good author u are u turned in a top story.

Well worth the 5/5 l gave it.

interesting, it was so simple it should have been boring but wasnt at least not to me. it did leave me wanting a bit more maybe some regret and emotional pain from the wife. wasnt her story though, idk maybe more of a happy romantic detailed ending, maybe i was just enjoying it too much to want it to end. lol ty for the read

A well nuanced tale of loss, grief and moving on. In all your submissions I particularly like your writing style. This tale would definitely not please the stroke fans on LW. But I found it enlightening and entertaining. You just can't ask anymore than that. Cheers!!

_ _ Your introduction states '... just a story about two wives who moved on...'

_ _ Onto where did the murdered wife move? Although this story is well written into page two, you only receive one star.

I found the story a bit dreary, the story had a tone of misery. It was painted in grey, no whites no blacks and definitely no colors. There was no feeling, no pain, no real happyness. It was almost like the author was too afraid to feel anything, take the cowards way out, and just paint in grey. There were 3 times it almost broke out of that mold. The first was when he was reminiscing about his wife that died. The second was when the neighbor was reminiscing about his wife. The 3rd was when he beat the crap out of the lawyer, it came close, but it really didn't do much for the story. It was almost like he was stating that every lawyer should experience this. And it kinda felt blah again, like misery had taken over despite the poor attempt at feeling.

We get enough misery on the news everyday with the COVID-19 deaths ever increasing. You would think you would help us by lifting our spirits with a great story. We will keep looking.

The revenge on the suit was almost unnecessary; it seemed like it was added just as a bit of red meat for the audience. In the real world, men make many plots of revenge that they can never carry out. But in both cases, the revenge was carried out not by the actual victim, but by a third party. Craig and the narrator perhaps got some schadenfreude out of the deals, but that’s it.

One brilliant part of the story is that both started dating again, but that was all we were told. No younger, hotter chicks, just two men trying to make their ways through life. This story felt real.

If the main guy really was a friend of Craig, he would have at least alerted him to the POSSIBILITY that Cheryl was cheating on him. Based on what he had observed. Craig was obviously in complete denial or else the idiot would have done something. Anything. Oh not some macho thing but got friends to report on what his slut wife was doing on these "Girls Nights". Plus, yes, Craig WAS a nice, loving, trusting, BORING AF husband. Yes, his wife obviously wanted more and Craig just couldn't see it. Plus, he was weak and spineless in NOT standing up to his wife. He was a doormat or, at least, his slut wife turned him into one.

Seasons as a metaphore for relationships. Reminds me of the song February by Dar Williams. I hesitated even writing that damned word on this site for obvious reasons. Anyway, it's a sad song about the end of a relationship. It pairs well with the story.

I was really conflicted on whether to score this 4* or 5*. Clearly, your piece is very well written and does a decent job of enveloping the reader in the malaise the two men are feeling. My problem is when I was done reading it I wasn't sure where I had been exactly. You shorted the emotional changes the men would have gone through as they found new partners, so I had to conclude I wasn't led anywhere - 4*

Very realistic in my opinion. However, I don't get why so many authors write that women feel so drawn to lawyers. An Engineer is no slouch! Lots of education and you have to stay sharp. Lawyers, yes there is education and passing a bar, but not all are multimillionaires. I know quite a few that are still paying off the college debt doing house closings and other odds and ends.

I agree I would like to have heard more about the ex and if she has since moved on to partner # 2 at the firm.

Quite rare in LW. Well done.

A dark, realistic, and good. 5*

A great story of friendship and helping each other through tough times.

Whenever a wife says "nothing," you know it's something!

/

"assessing blame" - I think he probably means "assigning" blame, to him!

/

No TRO, and they'll have the cops on him just for going to her office?

/

Of course she was prepared in advance!

/

I'm with others who want to know what happened to Cheryl afterwards. Did she stay with Lover Boy? Did she dump him? Did others stay away from her, fearing the same result?

I didn't find this story depressive, I found it real. A well thought out story that offers sadness and a rebirth of human spirit. Like the crocuses and daffodils that somehow manage to survive a rough winter and bring renewed feelings in spring.

I always enjoy reading a story that chooses to face the hardship of loss, rather than fill itself with the accoutrements of a bruised male ego’s fantasy (secret black ops pasts, endless public adoration, easily-bested antagonists, stupid and simpering female characters, etc).

There’s a lot more bravery in looking at these things honestly than there is in retreating into Die Hard pipe dreams. Well done.

Your stories get better and better. 5*

for the warning, i skipped it as you suggested.

Well written. Writing well in the present tense takes skill. You also have some very insightful remarks into human character.

For years I read stories here and never bothered with a grade or a comment. In the last year or so, I started giving a grade on some. I think I might have given a 5 before. Maybe.

I gave this a 5. It was sad and depressing. But it was real. The mugging? Possible. Not that meaningful to the story. At least not for me.

The essence of the story that grabs this reader and shakes so hard is the excellent way the author communicates the husbands' need for meaning in their relationships with their wives. A man will sacrifice so much to have a relationship, a marriage, that he feels is worth investing in. He'll even lie to himself that she loves him so long as she provides him enough of a fig leaf to allow himself that belief. He'll compromise more than he ever thought possible to maintain that feeling. Realizing the loss on that investment is gut-wrenching.

This story got me in the gut.

The wimp had a man friend. I think he sold have grown his ball a marriage earlier.

...but it could be better without so much density of non-essentials.

What happened to Chery and her boyfriend?

3***.

. . . enjoy your stuff. Well written and thoughtful. Thanks very much for your fine contributions.

Just a well written, and tight, exploration of some of the emotional and psychological characteristics of loneliness brought on by the destruction of marriage....whether by death or divorce.

It's always thought provoking to me, that men are brought with chivalry in mind and to protect and not harm a woman. But now a woman uses that against a man and the "Justice" system still follows that concept even when supposed gender equality should completely dismiss such archaic concepts. But women still depend on this to get extra every time

Creative and well written. 5*

A strong story whose arc moves from despair to hope in a realistic way. This can be truly useful balm for the aggrieved. It brought back memories of the sweet smell of spring after my own cheating wife left me many years ago. Open windows and warm breezes helped bring me to life again and begin the journey to a dramatically better life.

The wife who lived was not worth marrying, she was only in it for the money.

Always look forward to your stories!

Bravo! I have to give it to you, this is a very good short story. I would give you a Ten out of five if I could. I know it will be an all-time favourite for me & I am looking forward to re-reading it again in a few months time.

Well done! Thanks for a fantastic read, looking forward to your next posting.

There were some brilliant moments in this.

Thanks for sharing.

Hooked

Well done! Despite what some other commenters have said, the story is quite complete as-is and would only be diminished if you spoon-fed readers an epilogue.

technically good story, but emotionally unfulfilling

There was no payback resolution. It never related her future anguish or ass kicked, and her lover was unaffected much.

I know in real life these two would continue life unhurt and likely go on to successfully live a good life.

BTB in stories are much more enjoyable knowing their lives were negatively impacted.

Just my opinion but it is as I have said a world belonging to the author.

First, I want to say that I enjoyed the story, and thought it was mostly very good. But one aspect made me think of a conversation I had with a relative who politically is pretty far left regarding the recent protests, and prejudice in general.

At one point in the conversation I told her that a decent person doesn't automatically decide to discriminate against a person based on race, color of their skin, sexual orientation etc. So, a decent white male a hundred years ago didn't hold a black person's skin color against them, and assume barred any other evidence, that they were up to no good. The same, of course, regarding Jews, homosexuals, and put in any minority here. And today, a decent black person, or a young white person shouldn't automatically assume because a person is a white male, is well-off, is automatically a predator, a bad person, or someone who is corrupt and uncaring about society in general.

That the people on the far-right and far-left are essentially the same kind of people, it's just that they believe different set of groups don't deserve their benefit of the doubt, and find justification to discriminate wholesale against certain groups.

The reason I thought about that was because of the treatment of the well-off lawyer lover. In the LW world a well-off, handsome, well-educated, and socially capable man automatically equates to predator and a bad guy. Add that person to be an attorney and no more needs to be said.

That trope is so well-grounded in the LW world that Just-Words didn't feel the need to even make the connection that the lover is actually the one that pursued the wife. We don't know if Cheryl (I think that was the neighbor's wife's name) was the one that pursued him. We don't know if she was telling him that she was separated from her husband (a lot of couples separate and still live together prior to actually filing divorce for financial reasons), or that he was abusive, or that she had been ready to leave him for a long time. We don't know if she had told him that she and her husband had an open relationship (another well-used trope in LW). We don't know if they fell in love working together eight hours a day, even though the lawyer tried to do his best to resist it. We don't know anything of their relationship, who instigated it, how much the lover was hesitant or not, etc.

But he is well-off, he is a lawyer, he is able to give her a lifestyle that her husband couldn't so it's justified to beat him up without any further information needed of his culpability.

I'm not making this point as a swipe at Just-Words. Like I said I really liked the story outside of this one aspect. I thought it was a good story, well-told. He is merely employing a well established bad guy trope, and it's so well-established that he didn't feel the need to provide further evidence of the culpability of the "bad guy." Just like in Hollywood movies it used to be (hopefully it's in the past) if they presented a black character it was likely he was a drug pusher, robber, easily could murder, etc, and the audience wasn't surprised that a person could act that way, or had any humanity outside of that.

We all have prejudices. Just a couple of days ago I walked by these three white males, in their early 20's (and I'm white btw), and based on their look I was automatically thinking "white trash", they looked really dumb, etc, etc. Some people, like my wife, are truly non-judgmental (and I hate them because they make me look really bad in relation to them- fuck another prejudice!!!). The rest of us have to be cognizant of our prejudices and self-aware enough to give people benefit of the doubt unless we have enough information to inform the kind of person that person truly is.

I know some will think well he took up with a married woman, so automatically he is a bad guy deserving of a beating. Let's not forget some of our greatest presidents have been known to have fucked around on their wives (and some of our worst presidents too, but won't name any names). There are LW stories where the wife goes through the "change" and is no longer sexually interested, the same readers comment that the husband is justified to find a lover outside of the marriage since the wife no longer wants to have sex with him. So, apparently there are some justifications for extramarital sex. In this story we have no clue how it came about; however, there are a lot of assumptions of guilt and deserving of a severe punishment based on the wealth of the lover, his profession, and his sociability.

My issue is not necessarily the punishment itself. It's the lack of the need to justify it based on who the man was, and not necessarily the actions he took. Black automatically a criminal, homosexual automatically sexualy deviant who would molest your children, fat automatically dumb and uneducated, rich automatically corrupt, etc. etc.

I thought it was engaging and well written.

Just wondering what happened to the cheating bitch after lover boy lawyer got his gonads handed to him? Needed an ending.

Really good. I liked that he limited his revenge to a level that the cops would hardly bother with investigating. Too bad the exwife never got any grief for becoming a whore.

Not much to be done with the dead drunk driver, but hearing something about the effects of The Bastard Barrister’s injuries woulda provided some closure. Maybe just call from a truck stop phone and ask the receptionist how BB was doing? With gloves and a surgical mask on ... and a missing tag. Cameras are everywhere. At least watch him limp into the office in his cast the next week.

5*

Interesting story!

5

No emotions at all

Great story, and but it just felt incomplete. Craig's wife treated him like a dog for months and than just up and left him. He most definitely was given a truck load of pain. People have been driven to suicide over such depression. Other than her parents being angry with her, what did she suffer......nothing. She needs some pain!

Depth, covered all the emotions. Yes the lawyer beating was needed. Substitute for harris and to help a friend. I would of liked to seen more suffering by the suit, but you cant have everything. 5.

5*

I was personally fulfilled emotionally. Of course substitute retribution is different, but better than none at all.

Love the ham radio balloon project. Our club is prepping one for spring 2021 - going for long distance - possible around d the world!

Great story and great writing. It felt a little empty at the end but that may just be me.

Im sure a few were expecting cages, cream pies etc etc. Thanks for letting them down.

...I like how he got to take the pain of his own wifes death by a drunk driver out on the suit. 5 stars. Thanx...

Loklie

Thank you that was very good. Not many writers can pull off a present tense story but this worked well. There was absolutely no need for any input from the cheating wife, this was as explained a story of two men whose wives had moved on. Well done JW.

Very good story and similar to real life.

It’s like a hallmark movie, maybe not the best piece of fiction out there but sure did brighten my day a little!

I find the comments as fascinating as the stories and this one has 5* written all over it for both writings. The story does have the unrealistic situation where two next door neighbors having lost wives at the same time, but that aside we see how two young men handle difficult situations alone and together. I found the camaraderie they established as satisfying as the outcome of the story. Men don't usually have this kind of connection, but this seemed to make sense and it worked. I found the release on the part of the narrator that came from beating up "the suit" to be an interesting part of the result of the story. I wouldn't have thought that a "geek" would have thought of that and would have the courage to carry it out, but it made sense. It was a sad story indeed, but the bright outlook that we were left with was gratifying and encouraging. I liked it!

I really like your work and read all of your stories that show up in LW.

However, I would like to polish this gem a little. I learned in high school grammar that "but" was considered a negative word and that the phrase "I couldn't help but smile." was therefore, a double negative and to be avoided. The recommended construction was "I couldn't help smiling."

Maybe you should have had the protagonist plan his attack on the lawyer for a time when he was sure that his friend would have an alibi. Then again, he's an engineer. I'm sure that he considered that issue and planned for it. You just failed to mention that in the story.

I liked that Henry got some retribution for his friend, and perhaps for himself as well. Unless some injuries were permanent, it should have been repeated. On a certain level, he’s worse than Cheryl. Justice has to be served.

The way Cheryl was written, if it wasn’t that particular suit, it would have been another. Better off w/o her.

A lot of feeling and insight in a tight package, plus a little mayhem for good measure.

Dark but well written and thought out. 5*

Very well done character study, with some truly fine writing, complete as it stands. Why should we give a rip about Cheryl or the suit?

GA

I generally like your stories but this one not so much

once it was clear she was dumping him just move on . Why try to call her ?

I’ll take it in this instance. Well written as usual for this writer.

Nothing like a good baseball bat beat down of the scum bag - let his slut take care of him!

I passed this billboard just as I finished reading your story. Its a recruiting advertisement for the Marines.

I thought it was a piquant juxtaposition following a story about weak men who seem to find their conflicts are mostly external, the terms of the battle dictated by outside forces.

"Yeah. I've asked repeatedly. I've asked every way I can think to ask. I've been direct, indirect, logical, subtle, and nothing works. She just says that nothing's bothering her and to leave her along."

I suspect the man Cheryl has decided to trade up to is not as passive or indecisive as the husband she has come to disrespect and grow weary of. The husband is not a bad person. He is probably a very good person, maybe too good for Cheryl, but he's not strong enough to be Cheryl's husband. So Cheryl let him go to find the right woman for him. Brava to Cheryl. The poor bastard got what he married. Maybe he'll be more discerning with the second wife.

And there should be a second wife. He's a good guy for the right woman. Let's hope he can defeat his internal enemy so that he has the gumption to find the right woman.

Cheryl on the other hand may find many men wanting to fuck her, for a while. But she will have to improve her character and ethics if she wants a permanent relationship. Otherwise she's going to find herself getting exactly the same treatment she has given her first husband. Maybe that is what it will take to correct her lack of compassion and honesty. She has her own internal battle coming. She too will get what she deserves.

A thought provoking story. Thanks for the effort.

Well written but sad

I'm surprised that many commenters want to know how Cheryl ended up. I disagree! The story is about Craig, not Cheryl. We know why Cheryl cheated, but I don't need to know what happened to her. She becomes superfluous to Craig's story.

Taking revenge for a friend is an unusual variation on a theme.

But very boring

Another great story from an author I never get enough of reading. A solid story.of two men, good friends, healing together from the trauma of losing a wife. Different stories, but it still helped them heal together. The mugging of the lawyer ended up being very beneficial to both men and helped their healing. No one cares about what happened to Cheryl, as she is gone and forgotten quickly. Lue is the only one who worries about the cheating wives in these stories. Again, A great effort and a solid *5 from me.

...seem to forget that Craig said (and we have to assume the truth of this) Cheryl did the “just sat with me quietly for hours while I was working OT on the GM chip” part. That doesn’t sound like a shallow or unloving woman. It sounds like the daughter of decent caring parents.

Now, how to integrate that with the Cheryl that eventually evolved?

5-stars & Favorite

"a well-off, handsome, well-educated, and socially capable man automatically equates to predator and a bad guy." - No, not "automatically," only when he IS a predator and a bad guy. I'm sure there were many other handsome, etc. lawyers in the firm who were perfect gentlemen.

/

I do enjoy reading them and some leave me scratching my head. Some are better written than my stories...

For the record, I have a lawyer in my family and I'm not trying to beat on the profession. However, they have a shark-like reputation that I have never seen in action and I was playing off that.

I didn't follow Cheryl's life because that wasn't the point of the story. LW seems to want formulas and you need to touch this base and that. In real life, you seldom get revenge. This was about two people trying to heal and Cheryl was nothing more than the source of pain. Frankly, I didn't care what happened to her and maybe that's her true fate (to become unimportant).

I like the twist on a usual theme, excellent story from a favorite author. I look forward to the next.

Big question did his junk ever work again or was Cheryl no longer getting any (hope)? Some how the lawyer needed to discover that this is the price you pay for messing up a marriage. But Cheryl was NOT worth spit nor jail time - .

/

As a fellow HAM T-Hunter/RDF'er I chased many a balloon to help in their recovery. I chased the very first Magellan GPS telemetry equipped balloon, 1991.

/

Since being an EE/TE/QE myself, it was a fun and painful story that stirred many memories of fellow Engineers of my yester-years. A few who took the short cut from life due to these type of life depressions. Geeks are very focused determined people that are overly binary.

/

6*, Hooyah, many Salutes....

But a bit sad,this is a story written in muted tones,dull and quiet,with a tiny dose of the brighter things. The story is a slice in time so of course people are curious about what happens, including Cheryl, and maybe see the background.

@johnadp is right about prejudices and stereotypes, though I would argue that 100 yrs ago most whites weren't prejudiced against blacks,Jews,gays, that simply wouldn't be true, those prejudices were widespread. Lot more overt back then, bit even today it exists if at a much more hidden level, lots of hidden prejudices the person themselves is not aware of.

I don't think that the discrimination is against well educated people, though it is interesting john protests the stereotype about the high power lawyer and has no problem w the geek engineer stereotype. With lawyers you have to look at the type of lawyer we are talking about. A legal aid attorney or one working for a non profit would not work w this story because they are not driven by visions of wealth and power. A suit at a top lawfirm,one who likely is a partner, is also likely someone who in doing that were aggressive, win at all costs people, who takes what they want, and that isn't prejudice, to get there,like in investment banking, you need that kind of determination and ruthlessness. Could the wife have lied to the lawyer,told him they were seperated? Of course, but that doesn't fit the story. She apparently before this was a supportive spouse, then suddenly that changes. Her anger and bad behavior is driven by guilt. If she was the woman looking to move up and fooled the lawyer she wouldn't feel guilt,she would seduce him ,feel she deserved it,and would simply walk away with no sign of problem. Add a high powered lawyer and the way she behaves,he seduces her ( she obviously is to blame too) knowing she was married, he likely reinforced how much he could give her w gifts, dinners,etc, and her anger towards hubby is her creating justification while feeling guilty as hell .

Could it have been a love story? Possibly but doesn't fit. If she fell in love w the lawyer working long hours it would have ended differently, she would not be nasty w the hubby, she would go to him and tell him she fell in love with someone else. She sneaks off bc she knows she was deducted, that she allowed herself to be taken and couldn't face him ( if she really was a total bitch,would have no trouble facing him). Falling in love with someone else rather than lusting for position would not generate that kind of guilt.

And again it isn't just lawyers,entrepreneurs, investment bankers, athletes all have similar traits. While of course people have affairs that are not rich And famous, a legal aid attorney can cheat,the reason and the mentality is different likely.

Personally would love to see a slice of life later to find out what happens to the characters. Of course the ultimate revenge would be Cheryl finds out lover boy dumps her when the next conquest comes along ,but more to see the two men be happy, might be a real ending, but in this shitty time of Covid and political stupidity, would be nice to have something positive to read:)

The revenge might have been done better,what is the use of being a geek if you can't figure out something better,maybe an emf pulse gun aimed at the guys garage that wipes out the electronics in his cherished car, how about hacking his accounts and finding out his ties to a dirty money laundering ring?

"he took up with a married woman, so automatically he is a bad guy deserving of a beating."

Well yeah, basically. Breaking up any relationship is a really shitty thing to do.

As for why the suit is inferred to be a bad guy...

Cheryl started off as a loving, supportive wife. The author mentions her spending hours helping her husband when he was stressed with work. Then this happens:

"These past months all she could talk about were how brilliant and rich the lawyers she worked for were. They wear expensive suits and drive expensive cars. She seems to think they exude power, devour the weak, and shit out bits and pieces of the little people"

So she admires evil materialistic assholes, and shortly afterwards starts losing respect for her husband, cuts him off in the bedroom, and checks out of the marriage.

It's painfully obvious what happened:

1) rich lawyer targets naive wife

2) begins seduction with lavish gifts and wealthy lifestyle

3) disrespects husband to undermine her marriage

4) seduces Cheryl and starts physical affair

5) she leaves husband in spiteful and cruel way

Cheryl was a good person before the affair. We find out that her parents are horrified at what she's done and the bitch she's become. This kind of personality shift doesn't happen in isolation... Cheryl turned into a cunt because she was seduced by an evil asshole.

TLDR: the suit deserved the beating.

Very slow and plodding with not much of a payback. I do like that the protagonist took his revenge on the philandering lawyer because he was cheated out of his personal revenge on thedrunk driver who killed his wife. Revenge through transference! 4 solid stars.

I still haven't figured out the purpose of the story. It is written well, but that's about it.

My only complaint is that the suit didn't have both hands crushed along with an ankle. And maybe the loss of some teeth.

Henry is an empty gun looking for a target that doesn't exist anymore. Craig not only gives him a target he also provides him with the ammunition and Henry does what engineers do, he solves a problem or creates a sense of balance in their shared universe. I kept thinking there would be a line of dialog in this where Craig said to Henry (Since Cheryl exists totally off stage in this) would be Craig relating to Henry a conversation with Cheryl where he told her how much he valued what she did for him when he was overwhelmed with work. You don't get a sense of how hard he tried to find her once she left him emotionally just that it wasn't enough for her. I think it also was elegant that the slow descent into apathy and eventually revulsion also played out off camera, no holiday party dances with bosses, no whispered phone coversations, no secret luggage in the car trunk for Craig to discover. Pretty much all told through these two men, brothers in the type of work they do filling sad hours with something constructive. And while it is LW formula it's told in snippets and snapshots of what we experiance through Henry's ears and eyes making it a different type of story. Now if Just_Words wanted to they could write the same story through the eyes of Craig as he interacts with Cheryl and that also would make for a great good story, just not a great one like this is. Good Stuff!

Yes, we are told that Cheryl was a very supportive wife, but we are also told by the MC that his perception of Cheryl was that she always aspired for the "more, the better." His perception of Cheryl was very different than Cheryl's husband perception of her. So, there were certainly hints that she may have pursued the attorney. With her having the characteristic of someone who always wanted to move up in the world, why couldn't she have seen for herself, without any prodding by the lover, "how brilliant and rich the lawyers she worked for were. They wear expensive suits and drive expensive cars. She seems to think they exude power, devour the weak, and shit out bits and pieces of the little people."

My point was that beating up a person badly, that you never met, you better be pretty sure how culpable they were. The MC makes a lot of assumptions about the lawyer's culpability based on the group he belonged to (rich, aggressive profession, well-dressed and put together, etc). In fact, Njlauren reconfirmed that group bias and threw in entrepreneurs, professional athletes, etc, in there having a certain personality type that may be predatory towards women or feel entitled to pursue a married woman.

Two of my family members are attorneys, and so are two of my closest friends. They are very successful attorneys, and each of them make at least high six figures, and two of them seven figures. I have also dealt with a lot of high powered attorneys because of the businesses I have owned. And I was an entrepreneur most of my adult life, and amongst my friends are some very successful entrepreneurs. So, maybe why I took that stereotype more personally. I can tell you that the family members that are attorneys and the two close friends are some of the most ethical people I know.

But my point wasn't so much about arguing if the lawyer deserved the beating or not. It was more general worldview than that. I actually relate to the lawyer's world. That's the world I live in, so that's probably why I was more sensitive to the automatic generalization and stereotyping that he was cast in. I'm not a minority, and I'm not disadvantaged, but people will assume certain things about me because of the group I'm in. And that's true of every group. And that was my point. That maybe the lawyer was fully culpable or greatly culpable, but the MC didn't feel the need to ascertain the level of the lawyer's culpability, because he automatically made certain assumptions about him based on the group he belonged in. We naturally do that based on people's race, social standing, the way they look and dress, the cars they drive, etc, etc. Just like making assumptions about a black person, or a Jewish person, or a homosexual based on the group they belong in takes away from their individual humanity, it does the same if it's a well-off white person, with a certain profession. I'm not saying poor me, look at my plight! I'm just saying making assumptions of an individual based on the group you think they belong to, is the same animal, just redirected so more comfortable in today's society. And like I said, I do it as well, so I'm not saying look how enlightened I am. Just that I, and perhaps others, need to be more mindful of it.

And Njlauren, as far as my overlooking the nerds' stereotyping, I didn't see anything negative the story depicted about nerds. Saying beautiful women are attractive, is not negative, and would not lead to prejudice against beautiful women. Saying beautiful women are shallow, bitchy, and backstabbing gold diggers can.

Well done.

A realistic story about loss.

Well crafted and detailed.

But the scene is a bit limited.

We're told of other characters

but not introduced to them.

Such an introduction could easily

have changed this story from good

to great.

4 out of 5 from me.

Thank you for your imaginative story.

So many comments applauding the actions of taking revenge against the lawyer in my opinion haven't been well thought through.

Over the years however I have come to realise blaming and taking revenge on anyone other than the spouse who chooses to stray outside of their marriage is pointless. He or she was the one to make a commitment to you. Sure, it is reprehensible for someone to romantically peruse a married person but it is up to those in committed relationships to either rebuff others advance’s or end their marriage before moving on. They should do this out of dignity and respect not only for their spouse but also for themselves.

Over the years I too am to blame for doing the same thing. Yes, I’ve beat the fuck out of some cunt I thought thoroughly deserved it when I found out they were fucking my wife. I was wrong! They owed me nothing, they were not the irresponsible, she was, they weren’t disloyal, she was, they weren’t liars she was. While I blamed them for taking something from me that was mine, I was wrong they were not taking it she was giving it. Any and all revenge had to lay at her feet. In my view the revenge taken out against the neighbours’ boyfriend would only be worth while if he could never have sex again thus diminishing her enjoyment. Otherwise it is a pointless exercise.

Another great story from a favorite author

Very entertaining read. Thanks for sharing.

Very good story. Glad the lawyer got a beating. But, he fucked up not making sure his friend had an iron clad alibi, that could have been real bad for his friend.

I really enjoyed this. You are a pretty good writer, thanks!

Decent story,pity there was no pay back for Cheryl,only one of her lovers.

Very well written - BUT, what happened to Cheryl and her asswipe lover?-- after he got "mugged"? Would have been nice to hear about it! 3*s, and all for the writing, which was great.

Ahh, yes. Friendship. What a lovely story of two men, handling their loss together, with the help of good neighbors.

I don't agree with the sexism, though. If you can justify hitting a man, then you can justify hitting a woman just as easily. If Mr. Slick deserved a baseball bat to the prick, then Mrs. Slimy surely deserved a baseball bat to the cunt. More so, I would say, because she was the one who was responsible for protecting her marriage, or at least ending it before starting a new relationship. Not that I condone violence of this sort, mind you.

Sure, I do understand the natural human tendency to have more sympathy for females than males, just as I understand the natural tendency to respect male leadership more than female. But it is wrong. Natural and instinctive, but morally wrong.

Unlike at least one other reader, I don't find myself wondering what happened to the wayward spouse, nor to the lawyer. Not in the least. They simply aren't important, and the story isn't about them at all. Not even the violence against the lawyer was about him, but about resolving the main character's own loss.

It is completely a story about friendship and dealing with loss, and that story was beautifully resolved. Great work!

I don’t care how the payback came as long as it did. But it would have been nice to hear her reaction to the loss to lovers junk..

Regarding your comment "...I do understand the natural human tendency to have more sympathy for females than males..." I don't think it's sympathy. I think it's more a matter of self-respect. Men should not stoop to that level just as many of the wives in these stories should not threaten their husband to take away his children in a divorce. It's done, but there is a cost.

Decent story,would have liked to know if Craig's ex stayed with her lover after the beating,did she dump him and move on?.

There seems to be much consternation about dealing with women when it comes to betrayal most foul. Even the most angry writers open themselves to viscous attacks if the woman is hurt. This of course is bullshit. It is the result of 50 million years if acknowledging that women as the baby factory, have a prominent place in the determination of our survival. Why? No fault divorce is the clearest example of a man's place in the world. Either be a worker bee or an arrogant asswhole. The average white man has been domesticated to a point that he apologizes ahead of time for any thoughts of retribution."I would never hurt a woman" he asserts. This despite modern society with the complicity of the law, oddly mostly men, has designed a maze whose sole purpose is to control the male. The arrogance of women is astounding. Demanding protection after they have shared every contract moral or legal. I have yet to read a story of a husband as free as these women. Rather the man must be forced by the most egregious behaviors, cuckolding, disrespect. Now he is confronted with the elimination of his culture and race as women have turned to the men not controlled by more. The Donald Trumps. The dictators. The Black rappers and athletes. All helped by the white man's laws which those others neither respect or follow. His story offers one small feeble response to make us feel good. Better to have the nerd have his day in court, hire a shark and destroy those who wreaked havoc on his life in the bright light of the day starting with the innate deceit of the woman whose has been shielded from consequences.