Snatched

I retorted sarcastically, "Don't sell yourself short, Cindy. You've already proven that you can! But please answer my question first. Why, Cindy?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Perhaps it's a symptom of my inadequacy, but I believe it does...."

"Don't you think I've asked myself why a thousand times? The closest thing I have to an answer is that I was strangling in the noose of sameness. Jack offered me an exciting adventure, a lifeline to something new and yes, lascivious. It appealed to me on levels I had never considered before. The overarching goal was for the four of us to freely engage in partner swapping. We tried implementing his initial plan the night of the tango fiasco. Since that failed miserably, Jack formed his alternate elaborate strategy to make it happen. I told him you would resist but he was certain that you could be brought aboard by pushing the right buttons in sequence. Donna failed, Esmeralda failed, and I failed. I'm so sorry, Micah. I was wrong. If I could go back in time..."

"Alright, Cindy, I get it. You were bored and fell for his seductive plan. Don't forget; I saw every orgasm you had with him."

"No you didn't," she said flatly. "We had sex dozens of other times off camera. You only saw the highlights, what he wanted you to see."

As Alexander Hamilton once said, 'Those who stand for nothing fall for everything.' We have things to do. What is it that you asked to see me about?" I flustered.

She looked down at the table and made her urgent plea. "Even though I now see that we won't remain married, I was hoping that we could remain friends, the three of us," she offered as she looked toward Donna.

Donna's rejoinder was swift, "I did not set our friendship aside lightly, Cindy. I threw it away with great force."

She did not respond to Donna's quip but continued with her entreaty, "As you both know, I'm pregnant with Jack's baby. I'll give birth while I'm in prison. I was hoping..., no, I'm begging you, both of you to take our child and keep it safe until I get out. It will only be for a few months. I swear I'll make it up to you somehow, anything you want in return," she pleaded.

Donna looked at me as we exchanged knowing glances. "I'm sorry, Cindy. I say this with the weight of my whole heart. It's not that we're insensitive to the needs of an innocent infant. We don't feel as though we owe you or Jack any favors considering how you became pregnant in the first place, cavorting with who I once believed was my best friend, hoping that I would raise another man's child as my own. You might try Jack's relatives since it's his progeny or perhaps your sister. Oh, that's right. She disowned you after learning that you used her daughter as drowning bait in a failed effort to humiliate me that day on the lake. If Jack's relatives refuse to take your bastard child, then, of course, there's always adoption or the foster care system. I believe Jack urged you to ask this of me, of us, to try to endear us to the child in hopes of maintaining some semblance of a relationship with you for support and encouragement after you've paid your debt to society. However, you now have the relationship with us that you earned, nonexistent. Donna and I both wish to never hear from you again, Cindy."

While sobbing, she handed me a USB flash drive. As she cried, she blubbered, "I know I've lost you, Micah. It won't cost you anything to listen to this." We left the bawling woman to deal with her troubles.

Donna's curiosity overtook her as we drove away from the courthouse. She asked me for the thumb drive, so I fished it out of my pocket and handed it to her. She popped it into the spare USB port on the car sound system. There was only one file on it. The song, Nothing Compares To You by Sinead O'Connor began playing. I was not influenced. I considered it her swan song.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the outskirts of town, I slid into a booth in the back of a Mexican bar/restaurant. I had never visited the establishment before and likely never would again. A well-dressed Hispanic man in a very expensive-looking suit slid into the bench seat across from me.

"It's good to see you again, my friend," Miguel Lazcano began. "I wouldn't recommend the food here but their Tequila is the best. Are we square now?" He sought.

I shook the man's hand in respect and thanks. "Miguel, we are more than square."

"It was nothing. When you called in my chit, I was happy to oblige. Your request for a gay Mexican biker club was a nice touch. Had someone taken my wife as he had yours, he would have been separated from his head long ago. The fifty grand bonus you added to inflame their enthusiasm for their two captives encouraged them to go all out."

"It couldn't have gone better, Miguel. My wife lived through and felt the same pain and anguish that I did when she was deceiving me. Jack and Anthony learned valuable skills that will come in handy while they're in prison. Jack's wife divorced him, he lost his job, he'll serve considerable time in prison and my attorney took most of his reserve funds. To me, such revenge is sweeter than him losing his head. He will have years to contemplate the consequences of his actions."

"Ah, yes, his wife. Congratulations on your engagement to the former Mrs. Calisher. Please forgive me for not attending your wedding. It's best that no one associate you and me together. But I do have a parting gift. As it turns out, the bikers have posted some of the video recordings online that were made with Jack and Anthony on numerous gay websites. There's quite a lot of material for them to work with. Here's a packet of fifty thousand dollars in cash. Consider it a finder's fee for suggesting the talented actors. The bikers will make far more than that as time goes by."

"This is unexpected, Miguel. Be sure to thank your partners on my behalf. Donna and I will put it to good use. But won't that support Jack's accusation and help him identify the bikers that held them?"

"Ahhhh, way ahead of you my friend. Not only did the bikers have both men sign notarized permission waivers to use and publicly post the recordings, Jack and Anthony are also each five percent stakeholders in the business entity that is receiving income from their posted videos. Small monthly deposits are being made to their bank accounts. This will nullify any legal claims they may have about kidnapping or coercion. You know, Micah. I could use a good legal eagle like you. You would be handsomely paid for your services to me and my associates." Miguel offered.

"As tempting and generous as your offer is, sir, as compensation for me not suing my own law firm for Jack's dastardly actions against my family and inclusion of his paralegal as an accomplice in crime, they have offered me his title and position as partner of the firm in charge of our new West Coast office. Donna and I will be moving there shortly to assume the coveted role. I may still take on a pro-bono case now and again but I believe it will be a rewarding career move."

"I wish you well, Micah. My son again sends his thanks for your altruistic work. I've shielded him from further exposure and he is running one of my legitimate businesses for me and doing quite well."

"I'm glad for you both. Please send him my best wishes for his future."

~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~

In our divorce settlement, Cindy was still entitled to half the value of our combined net worth. I put all our furniture in storage for her. I wanted to be rid of any reminders of our past together. The house was sold and her half was put into her account. Her sister held her car for her until she was released from prison. We had made it clear to Cindy never to contact either of us again. Donna later heard through some friends back East that Cindy had taken up waitressing at a steak house after serving her time. I did wonder now and again how well she was managing as a single mother. With her impressive chest, I imagine that she'd snare a benefactor in no time. But it won't be me.

After my divorce from Cindy was finalized, three months later, Donna and I took part in elaborate nuptials and celebrated our newlywed status on our honeymoon in Maui. During that time, all of our belongings were being moved across the country to our new home in California. I was advised to stay out of the way and let her do her thing. Donna was a force of nature when she was in her element. Her impeccable taste worked to my advantage as she decorated our new home in 'our' style. I loved that woman more and more every day. My new favorite 'old' song was the Classics IV singing 'Every Day With You, Girl'. My favored song to play for Donna was Coldplay's 'Yellow'.

As the years passed, our love rewarded us with three lovely children, two girls and a boy. They were the light of our lives. I had never been happier in my life. No, perhaps Donna didn't possess Cindy's disproportionate breasts. What she brought to our union was so much better. We were convinced that we both traded up in the most fulfilling ways. I guess she and I never lost our best friends after all.

The End.

= = = = = = =

Author's note: The Sherri Papini kidnapping hoax is a real case. Feel free to look it up. I was unaware of it when I wrote the bulk of this story, but accidentally ran across it when researching the penalty for perpetrating such a hoax. My apologies to all bilingual readers. Please forgive my ignorant attempt to utilize bits of Spanish slang for crude effect in the story.