Shame, Shame, Shame!

I looked like hell when I got to the restaurant. I ended up walking the three miles. No one would stop for me and I got splashed with mud a couple of times. I walked in and stood by the desk waiting for the hostess to seat me. She seemed to be really busy, even though the restaurant wasn't. She leaned on her desk and doodled in some sort of notebook, while I stood there patiently waiting. Nothing like this had ever happened to me in that restaurant before. They were known for their great service.

I got to see some of that service a few moments later when a couple arrived. The hostess was so sweet to them that it baffled me. When the woman asked why I hadn't been seated yet, when I'd arrived before them, the Hostess just smiled and said, "Shame, shame, shame," as If that explained it all. As she walked away with the couple to show them to their table, I noticed my parents sitting at a table in the back.

"Fuck you, little bitch," I mouthed silently at the hostess. "It's a shame, shame, shame that you have a fucking job." I walked over to my parents' table and hugged them both as I sat down.

"Oh there's the birthday girl," said my dad. He got up and hugged me tightly. "Where's my manufacturing director?" he asked.

"Uh, he's driving over himself," I mumbled. "He had to pack his stuff after the concert, but he'll be here."

And five minutes later he was. The hostess walked him over and pulled out his chair for him. She got him a menu and put his bib on for him. It wouldn't have surprised me if she'd gotten on her knees and blown him right there in the restaurant. I was tempted to ask if she didn't have any more customers to hover over when she just stood there behind his chair. Luckily another group came in but she promised to come back.

Danny stood up and shook my Dad's hand. Then he walked around the table and hugged my mom. "I'm going to miss you," he said to her.

My dad, who didn't miss much, arched his eyebrows. "Okay, let's order," he said.

Danny reached inside of his jacket and pulled out a long jewelry box. "We may as well do this first," he said handing it to me.

I opened the box and saw a beautiful diamond necklace and a bunch of tightly folded papers. I knew the papers were the arrangements for our trip, but the necklace was so beautiful that I had to look at it.

"I really hate doing this but under the circumstances I don't have a choice," said Danny to my Dad. "It'll be easier for you this way, Sir." Danny handed my dad a set of papers too.

I watched as my dad opened his papers. I decided to open mine and see where we were going on our trip.

"No," I screamed. "You said we'd talk after dinner. Danny, we have to talk about this. Everyone is supposed to have a second chance. I'm sorry. I don't want a divorce."

At the same time that I started screaming, my dad threw the papers on the table and started himself. "What the hell is this about?" he yelled. "Is someone offering you more money? I'll match it."

"Dad, this has nothing to do with money," said Danny. "I don't want to resign, but I just figured that with the divorce, it would be better for you. Betty is your daughter after all. It's unfair to put you in the middle."

"What divorce?" asked my dad.

"I filed for a divorce," said Danny. My mom looked at him in shock. Just then everything changed. The door to the restaurant slammed open and Greg stomped in.

"Why Danny?" he screamed. "Why couldn't you keep this between us? We've been friends for our whole lives. Why couldn't you come to me like a man? Why did you have to sneak around and make all of your shitty little plans behind my back?"

Greg's entire face was swollen up. He was slurring his words. At least three of his front teeth were missing and he was still bleeding from his mouth. He was so angry that his eyes were flashing.

"You mean the way you snuck around with Betty behind my back?" asked Danny calmly. Danny even seemed to be smiling.

"Betty, you cheated on Danny?" asked my mom in shock. "But, Betty, he loves you and he's so good to you."

"Because of you, Amanda is divorcing me," screamed Greg. "I'm locked out of my own God damned house and I can't even see my kids. You've ruined my life."

"I ruined YOUR life?" laughed Danny. "If you hadn't been screwing my very soon to be ex-wife, none of this would have happened. You ruined your own life. And if Amanda IS divorcing you, it all works out for you."

"I'm kicking Betty to the curb too. So the two of you can be together," said Danny.

"Are you crazy?" asked Greg. "She's a fucking whore. I don't want to be with her. I've been fucking her off and on since before you met her. Amanda is the only woman I've ever loved and you ruined it. We have three kids, Danny."

"They're better off without you, Greg," said Danny. "Did you think about her or your kids while you were doing Betty? Of course you didn't. You're a piece of shit and the two of you deserve each other."

Greg was so enraged that he dove at Danny. Danny moved and Greg ended up sprawled across our table. Greg got to his feet and staggered over to Danny. He took a wild swing at Danny who stepped back, and another. Danny punched him in the stomach so hard that Greg folded around Danny's fist. Then Danny punched him in the mouth and laid him out on the floor.

"Once upon a time, we were friends," said Danny. "Never again. From now on, anyone who's your friend isn't mine. Shame, shame, shame!"

Danny started to walk away but my dad stopped him. "Okay, you two are getting a divorce," said my dad. "That's personal. Right now, we need to discuss business. I feel bad about what my daughter did to you, son. But my business needs you more than it needs her. She doesn't work for my company. I'll see you at work Monday morning."

As Danny walked out of the restaurant, I got up and ran after him. He got into that car of his and drove away. I've seen him get into that car and drive away from me literally hundreds of times. But this time it was different. It felt as if he had taken my heart away with him. I sank to my knees and just started crying.

* * * * * *

Greg

I woke up in a holding cell. I looked around the cell and discovered that I was alone. My face hurt badly and one of my eyes was swollen shut. But more than the pain in my face, my heart hurt. Not my physical heart, of course. I was thinking about the metaphysical heart that represented my soul. If it was possible for something that probably didn't exist to feel as though there was a gaping hole in it, then that was what I had. Actually mine had two holes in it, and I wasn't sure which one of them hurt most.

I had been with a lot of women over the course of my life. My friends were nothing like me. While they concentrated on their careers and sports and music during college, I had dabbled in those same pursuits. But while I wasn't with them, I tried other things. I tried BDSM. I tried the whole swinger scene too. While each of them was dating and scheming on trying to make it with a college girl, I was screwing everything that wasn't nailed down. I never told my friends about it because they would never have understood. They were all so normal when it came to sex. They had all of these dreams of finding their special women and living perfect lives. But to me all women were just whores. Some were harder to get than others, but under the circumstances, all of them could be had. I met Betty years before Danny did. She was one of the freakiest bitches I ever met.

Betty would literally try anything with anybody. It was wonder that she didn't have any diseases. I once saw her on a night when she couldn't get into the swingers club, so she fucked a bunch of homeless guys in the park. I didn't like to get attached to women in those days so we fucked a few times, okay a lot of times, but there were never any emotions attached to it. She had a nice body but so did a lot of other women. We lost track of each other after a while. I never missed her. She and I had never actually dated. Everyone who knew her knew the kind of girl she was. I didn't want to be associated with her. It would bring too much trouble. I didn't see myself walking around with a woman that anyone could fuck. There'd be problems then with guys looking at me and laughing because they'd screwed my woman. Besides, once again, I had no feelings for her. There were better looking women all over the campus.

On the other hand, my friends, Danny and Mike especially, were my family. We'd grown up together, we went to school together and we graduated together. The strangest thing happened though, in our last two years at school. During the summer between our second and third years at college, I met Amanda while on summer vacation. Her family had just moved to town and I was hooked. I didn't know what it was about her. I'd had every type of woman and she wasn't any type of raving beauty, but there was just something about her.

When it came to sex, she was awful. She acted like her pussy was gold plated. She barely ever gave me any, but she had me hooked. By the summer before my senior year, she was pregnant and we got married and I couldn't have been happier.

When we went back to school for our last year, Danny somehow met Betty and they both fell head over heels for each other. Betty and I pretended that we didn't know each other. The thing that amazed me the most though, was that she really did love Danny as much as she claimed. She completely stopped doing everything she used to do. She was totally faithful to him. We'd talked about it a couple of times and I told her that if she ever hurt him or cheated on him, I'd make her life a living hell.

They eventually got married and they were really happy. Life with Danny caused Betty to blossom. She changed from being just another tall, skinny blonde with barely any tits to a really nice looking woman. She carried herself really well and after a few years of marriage, she went back to school and became a teacher. She and Danny were the happiest couple I knew. And after Jordan was born they were the perfect family. I have to admit that though I loved Amanda, after our three kids were born she just never seemed to lose the baby weight. I found myself looking at Betty and wishing that I'd ended up with her instead of Amanda. All of the people around school who knew what a whore she used to be didn't live in our small town. Here at home she was just another wife and mother.

About that time I'd started to take stock of my life and noticed that I was always, always second to Danny in almost everything we did. Just once I wanted to beat him at something. So I started talking to Betty about the old days. Then I started putting pressure on her. I can still remember the day she cried her eyes out and refused me. She'd been sure that I was going to tell him about our past, but I didn't. As badly as I wanted to fuck her, I couldn't do anything that would cause Danny any pain. I told her that I'd only been testing her faithfulness to my best friend.

It took a few years after that, but all of the stars aligned and once while Danny was out of town on business with her Dad, the two of us got drunk and ended up fucking. It opened up something in both of us. We were both in love with spouses who didn't share our need for kinky, unbridled sexual expression. There was again no love involved. I had no desire to be with her or to leave Amanda for her, and she claims that she doesn't even like me. But she needs what I give her as much as she needs Danny's romantic lovemaking. She always told me that Danny filled her heart and her soul, I just occasionally scratched an itch.

Over the years we'd begun to take things for granted. That was probably why we got caught. And now because of something that was as natural to us as Danny's need to wash his car every other day, my life and happiness were in jeopardy.

I guess that on some level, I had regrets. Mostly I suppose I regret being caught. But I also regret being humiliated. Shit, I may as well tell the truth. I was pissed that the guys had played the show so successfully without me. I was also upset that my wife had thrown me out of our house. It was times like those that let me know what was really important in life. I was prepared to do anything I had to do to get my wife and friends back.

"Alright, buddy. You can go," said the fat cop who acted as the jailer.

"Where?" I asked. "I can't go home my wife...."

"Look, Dude, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here," he said. "If you're looking for some place to go, I'd start with the Dentist," he laughed. I checked into a hotel and made an appointment to see my Dentist early Monday. Then I remembered the meeting with my boss and schedule it for Monday afternoon.

When I woke up that next morning, I decided that the best thing to do would be to go and apologize to the guys. I was sure that Danny wouldn't be at the bowling alley. He'd be heartbroken and disconsolate. But I could start with the guys. If I got them to forgive me and got them on my side, they could help me with Danny. If Danny forgave me, I was sure that would help with getting Amanda back.

With that in mind I showed up at the bowling alley early. I waited for my team nervously. They all walked in together. I was shocked to see Danny there. The four of them talked as if nothing had happened. As they passed me, not one of them made eye contact. They signed in, played their games and went on their way. I tried to speak to them several times and they ignored me. I went back to my hotel room. The next day I showed up on the golf course and got the same treatment.

Monday I went to work and went to the meeting with my boss. He fired me. He said that my carrying on with a married woman brought the company's public profile down and they had to let me go. When I looked at him, I realized that he'd known about Betty and me since before Friday. He'd been about to fire me then but had decided to let me stew over the weekend.

I knew immediately that I was being fired because of what I'd done with Betty. I was also sure that Danny had something to do with it. My now former best friend was systematically taking my life apart. And I had to admit that I deserved it. Danny wasn't a perfect person. He had his faults. But he'd always been a perfect friend. He had always had my back whenever I needed him throughout our lives. One of the things I hated most about Danny was that he was happy with what he had. The man seemingly had no ambition.

In fact, when we were younger and really serious about the band, it had been Danny who'd convinced us all to go to college first before trying our hands at going to California to become rock stars. He'd been right of course, because we played mostly Heavy Metal and right when we would have gone to California, music changed. Metal bands couldn't get arrested. All anyone wanted to hear was alternative rock and EMO. We would have starved and came home with our tails between our legs.

The only things that Danny really wanted were his Mustang and Betty. I always laughed about how much he loved her. At first whenever I'd get pissed at him or jealous of him, I'd think to myself, "If he only knew what kind of slut she used to be?"

Lately it had been worse. We're in our mid thirties now, and this is a time in life where we're not old yet, but we're not young anymore either. It's a time where a man tends to look at his life and take stock of what he has and where he wants to be. I guess I had looked at my life and found that I'd fallen short. But Danny of course was so happy he glowed. And that happiness showed. People liked Danny. They tolerated me. Even if you looked at our little group, Danny and Mike were clearly the focal points. If we were the Supremes, Danny and Mike would be Diana. I wanted to be Diana.

And it was more than that. Even among ourselves, Danny was just happy with his God damned life. We all know how guys talk. But we could go to a movie or watch a football game on TV and invariably they'd show some hot gorgeous woman on the screen. As guys, we would naturally have to comment on her. But Danny could always be counted on for a comment like, "She's pretty, but she's just not Betty. I wouldn't know what to do with her."

What was even more stupid was when we'd see movies or TV shows about women who did slutty things, no matter how beautiful the women were, Danny could always be counted on to say something like, "I could never be with a woman who would do something like that." Sometimes it was all I could do to avoid bursting out laughing and then coming clean about the fact that his perfect angel used to give blowjobs to bums in public.

I hated Danny. But at the same time, I'd have killed anyone who looked at him funny. When Danny was displeased with me, it hurt me so badly. But when he praised something I'd done or said, it lifted me to the heavens. Far too late I realized that I loved the idiot. Danny was the closest thing I had in the world to a brother and I had betrayed him in the worst possible way. The poor bastard only cared about two things, that God damned car and his wife. And I had ruined his relationship with her. And knowing what a boy scout Danny was, he'd never forgive her. He'd probably spend the rest of his life lonely and alone. I had ruined the poor man's life without meaning to. What had been pure recreational sex for me and Betty had ruined two marriages. When you threw in the four children we had between us, eight people were hurt. And when you considered just the guys in the band, five families and nineteen people were affected. And it was all because of Betty and I being selfish.

* * * * * *

Betty

Monday morning I awoke and quickly dressed. I was already late and I was acting on automatic. The fact that I was in my parents' home instead of my own wasn't lost on me. After being there all weekend, I just needed to get out of there. My parents had been very nice to me, considering the situation. But the looks of suppressed anger and disappointment in their eyes, was painful. My mother tried to hide her disappointment in me and also the pity I sometimes saw on her face. My father on the other hand was simply angry at me. He tired really hard to hide it, but I couldn't blame him.

Men are different from us. They take pride in things that we never understand. And much the same way that Danny loved his Mustang, my father felt about his business. He'd started and built it up from nothing into a growing and successful company. Danny's expertise in manufacturing and quality control was a very big part of that success. I had a feeling that if Danny didn't show up for work this morning, my father would have my ass. He'd kick me out in the street or come very close to doing so. I was his daughter, but that company was his heart. And with no sons to leave it to, all of his hopes for the family continuing to own and run it rested on Danny and my son Jordan someday. Jordan was far to young to even consider right now, and we didn't have any idea of what Jordan would want to do with himself.

The weekend had been the most horrible three days of my life. I found myself wishing that it had all been a dream. But waking up in my parents' house brought home the fact that it was all true.

After the horror of both the concert and then the dinner with my parents on Friday night, I'd awakened Saturday morning and reached for Danny only to find out that what I'd truly hoped had been a bad dream was real. I had immediately called him, both on his cell phone and the house phone. He hadn't answered either of them. I left messages on both hoping that maybe he was out running in the woods near our home as he usually did. When a couple of hours had passed without hearing from him, I called again and again. I then decided that he was too angry at me to speak to me. So I decided to go to the house to speak to him in person. When I drove up in my mother's car he barely batted an eyelash. He was washing his car as if nothing was going on.