The Contract Ch. 06

This is my sixth installment on my first submission. I would like to thank Redwing2655, LKHooker, and MarionRed for their editing help. I hope you enjoy.

***** Saturday 10/28/2006 *****

Hello, my name is Paul Beckson. I found out that my wife Tonya was having an affair ten days ago. My wife had also given me Chlamydia. Last week, my marriage was annulled, and I have been trying to rebuild my life. I am living in an old airstream travel trailer on a ten acre farm that I inherited, and building a workshop to start a private craft business in art glass.

Unknown to most people, I have about a fifteen week paid leave of absence from my work, to get my life back in order. I can also use my vacation leave, but I have to complete the first level yellow belt in Jujitsu during that time, in order to keep my job. I have a black belt in Kempo, and I also train and compete in Kendo (Sword fighting). Getting a Yellow belt should be a snap, unless you piss off your instructor, like I did.

I went to my morning Kendo practice, and found that I was still stiff. I usually use the indoor soaking pool after a workout, but today, I decided to go to the outdoor bath and use the fluminarium channel. The Himaki hot spring has a large output of heated spring water. The nearby creek is diverted into a channel, and enough heated spring water is added to heat the combined water to 105 degrees. You enter the channel of water, or flume, and can soak as the water flows by you. One can lean into the heated running water, and have it loosen stiff muscles.

There were more women on the "communal" side of the bath today, so I assumed that there wasn't enough water to keep both sides working. The bath is clothing optional, and there is a women's side and a communal side. The men have to use the communal side, and women, for modesty reasons, usually use the women's side. It's late October, and my guess is that the creek water is so cold, that only one fluminarium could be supported.

Most patrons who use the bath are nude, but carry a towel. The towel is used to cover ones privates until they are in the water. The towel is usually folded up and placed on top of the head, or wrapped around the hair. Even though I am in a place with many other naked people, I rarely see any frontal nudity.

As I looked around, I thought about the two pieces of paper that my boss Richard gave me. I was working at Morton Packaging, until I got into a scuffle in the parking lot, and hit a guy. Now I have to get a yellow belt in a soft martial art so that I can prove that I can defend myself without hitting anyone. Even though I was technically fired, many people thought I had behaved gallantly by defending a woman who was being sexually harassed.

Each paper had a name and number of a woman who wanted me to call them. I recognized Becky from customer support, but I could not put a face on Motoko. I wondered if she could be looking at me right now. We could be naked in this outdoor bath, and looking at each other. I was a little leery about being set up by Richard on two blind dates, but I decided to give it a chance. I was now off the antibiotics for Chlamydia, and I could consider myself clean.

Thanks to two women, Mary and Sherri, I had learned a bit about making love to a woman. I was willing to try out my new lovemaking skills, but I also didn't want to catch anything. I decided my first rule was no one-night stands, I had to know the woman first. I was not sure if I wanted to be dating exclusively, but that seemed like a good second rule. A third rule I thought of was to only date women with the intension of marriage. I though about my initial idea, which was to try out the skills that I had learned form Mary and Sherri, and all three rules seemed to conflict with the original intent. I could date a few times, practice a few times, and then adhere to the rules.

I had pondered enough about the two numbers, and I decided to act. I went to the locker room and got dressed. I pulled out the two numbers, and I decided to call the one I knew first, Becky. Becky said "yes", but for lunch and a movie tomorrow. I called Motoko next, and she said that she would be happy to go out to dinner with me, tonight. We agreed on Italian.

The dinner went well, and I let Motoko do most of the talking. She was an area associate in sales, and knew that I had landed the McGreggor account for Morton. She told me about watching the fight in the parking lot, and how brave she thought I was to stand up to those disgusting men. I gave recount of the fight from my perspective for her, but I insisted that she give her description to me. It was nothing like what my lawyer, Carol Bernstein, had described to me when we watched the video. It was clear that Motoko felt that I had done a great service to all the women who worked at Morton Packaging.

Once I got her started, she talked briefly about almost any topic, and then would ask my opinion. I have heard that the most powerful pick up line in the world is "Tell me about yourself," and it appears to be true. Honest attention does more to move a woman's heart then any amount of flattery. Motoko kept the conversation active, by pausing and asking me questions, too. I wouldn't go into my annulment, and told her it was too soon to talk about it. I didn't want to open freshly healed wounds, and she understood. I also figured out that she probably knew that I had received a bonus check, so I had the impression that Motoko might be a gold digger.

We talked about a second date, and Motoko suggested Japanese. When I balked at the idea of eating raw fish, Motoko argued that sushi wasn't the only type of Japanese food. She insisted on cooking a traditional Japanese meal called Tonkatsu, a pork dish somewhat like chicken fried steak, with a plum sauce.

I drove her home, and she invited me in. I refused, but I did offer a kiss goodnight. I embraced her and held her for a moment before lowering my head. As we kissed, I ran my hand from the small of her back up to the nape of her neck, and stroked tenderly as I gently pressed my lips against hers. After a minute I broke off the kiss, and held her close. As I walked back to my car, I could swear I heard a squeal from behind the door.

***** Sunday 10/29/2006 *****

I walked around on the slab, and tried to imagine the workshop. I now had a 30-foot-by-50-foot base of concrete that would be cured enough to erect the walls in four days. I would at least get to see the workshop shell go up before I left for the Northwest.

I kept myself busy in the morning with a tiller. I turned a section of soil to make a garden. I also walked about on the lower floodplain and noticed a lot of low branches. I had let the farm go natural, and now that I was going to live here, I needed to start taking care of the trees.

***** *****

I now remember why I was always leary about going out on a blind date. Becky chattered nonstop. It wasn't like Motoko, who tried to keep an exchange of information going. This was a woman who loved to hear herself! What was worse, we agreed on a movie at the Megaplex 3 that was 40 miles away. I listened to Becky chat as I drove to the restaurant, and then listened while we ate lunch. She did keep quiet during the movie, but we were almost halfway back home, and my patience was growing weak. Trying to change the subject seemed to just revitalize her. When I gave her a new topic to talk about, she would get excited, and have a wonderful story about what had happened to her.

I wanted a break, just for a little while. Maybe if I kept quiet, she might talk herself out. I just needed to get this date over with. I needed something to break up the incessant drabble coming out of her mouth, and then my cell phone rang.

I picked up the phone, and felt a quandary. It would be rude of me to interrupt her talking to answer the phone, but the call might be important. I looked at the caller, and figured out that I was trapped. I decided to take the lesser of two evils this time. I pulled over, motioned to Becky to give me a moment, and I answered the phone.

"Hello Tonya, what can I help you with?"

"Paul, can you come over for a little bit."

"Tonya, it's Sunday evening, can't this wait?"

"Well, I though you might want your dresser."

"Is that it? You want me to come over on a Sunday night and pick up my dresser?"

"Well, yes."

"And ..."

"Well, if it's not too much trouble, the toilet is leaking again."

"We're not married anymore, Tonya. You need to call a plumber and pay him to fix it."

"Well, Paul, it's just that it's Sunday evening, and it's very hard to find a plumber on a Sunday evening. Can you come over, please? You can pick up your dresser if you wish."

I let a deep sign. "OK, I'll come over, and I'll stop the leak," and hung up. At least it gave me an excuse to end the date quickly.

Damn! I was thinking that this was over! I was no longer married to Tonya, but I still had to deal with her crap. I should have let the phone go to voice mail. I pulled back on the road, and got Becky dropped off, and went back to the farm to pick up tools, and change clothes.

***** ******

The toilet tank was leaking. The rubber washers at the bottom of the tank had shifted again, and water was dribbling onto the floor. I turned off the cutoff valve and flushed the water out of the tank. I started loosening the bolts holding the tank on, and then pulled the tank off. I examined the washers, and found that one of them had been cut. I felt around of the tank, and found a chip in the porcelain. I could get another washer, but it would eventually get cut too.

"The tank has a chip in it. It's going to have to be replaced. I can get a new one tomorrow at Henning's Building Supply. You will have to use the other bathroom tonight."

I mopped up the floor, and went over to the dresser. It was still in good shape, and didn't match the rest of the bedroom furniture. What I saw was the deceit that Tonya had shown to me by stocking the house with new furniture just prior to divorcing me. The dresser was just another throwaway item to her, just like our marriage.

We took out the drawers, and carried them to the detached garage. We then hauled the empty carcass of the dresser into the garage. The dresser wouldn't fit into my car, so I figured that I would have to call Mary and Sherri, and see if they would help me out again.

I was ticked at Tonya for having me come out, and I didn't want a repeat of this. I was glad that I would be leaving on Friday, and would be out of town for 16 days. Tonya needed to be able to handle such emergencies on her own. A simple twist of the cut off valve and a flush would have been enough to stop water damage to the home. I thought Tonya was more self reliant than this.

I found that I was getting myself worked up, and decided to go for a drive. It was a crisp autumn night, and I lowered all the windows, and felt the breeze hit me. There's not much open on a Sunday night in the Ozarks, but I knew of a great pizza place that stayed open late this time of year, just to cater to Sunday night football fans. It was the Dallas Cowboys against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. Both had average records, but I just needed somewhere to escape.

I kept looking at the bar across the street, and thinking about how I caved into Tonya. I was not allowing her to release her guilt by listening to her explanations. I was still cutting her off every time she wanted to explain her actions, because she kept returning to her tried and true defensive position. She had been a lot more open when we first married, when she was performing modern dance. I finished half of the pizza, closed the box, and sipped my beer.

She was still living her truth, and was not able to face what she did to me. If I was ever to have a meaningful conversation with her, she would need to feel some of the pain that I felt. I need to give her a jolt. I got an idea, and finished my beer. I put the pizza in the car, and walked across the street to ask some questions.

***** Monday 10/29/2006 *****

I went to Henning's Building Supply, and got supplies. I rented their truck to get everything home. I also went to the farm supply store and got a new chainsaw and a chipper shredder. I used the Henning's Building Supply rental truck to get those home too. I dropped off the toilet and stuff at Tonya's, and moved the dresser home. I returned the rental truck to Henning's Building Supply, and picked up my car. I went to Tonya's and fixed the toilet, along with my special project.

***** *****

Ran saw some of her "informants" come into the cultural center. She helped the two customers in the pharmacy, and told the other worker that she was going to take her dinner break. Ran quickly ate, and went into the women's locker room and disrobed. A few seconds later, she was in the indoor bath and listening to the chatter.

This time she didn't hear what she wanted. Motoko was chatting up how she had found the perfect man. She couldn't believe that Tonya had run around, and dumped him. Ran thought she would have more time.

She decided that she would have to do a little bit more than examine his shoulder.

***** *****

I was dreading jujitsu, and I was not disappointed. Mr. Sato had a new torture for me, flexibility training. I was bent into a pretzel. After the class, I did manage to help the other white belts clean up the practice hall. I went to the locker room, and needed another warm soak.

This time, Ben was already in the soaking pool before me. When I talked to Tonya, she confirmed Ben's story, he had cut her off completely. I knew that Tonya had been unfaithful to me with Ben, but it was Tonya who betrayed me. We were both punishing Tonya, and that made me feel better about Ben.

I lathered up, rinsed and got into the soaking pool. It was full of man talk.

"Yo."

"Dude."

After our conversation, we both relaxed.

"Ben, expect a call from Tonya, she'll be pissed at me."

"I cut her off, didn't I tell you that?"

"Yeah, just expect the call."

The outside door opened, and a shadowed figure entered the screened area. The indoor men's bath was also communal, but women rarely entered.

Ran spoke, "Is Mr. Beckson here?"

"Yes, I am here."

"Please compose yourself. I am to inspect your left shoulder, Mr. Beckson."

Ran waited in the screened off area, as I got out of the soaking pool and wrapped a towel around my waist. I went over to one of the shower stools and sat down. The screen was backlit, and Ran Himaki's clothes were clearly visible. The two other men that were bathing decided to get out, probably due to modesty. Ben and I were the only ones left in the bathing area. I gave the "all clear" to Miss Himaki.

"You may enter now."

Ran came over and placed a stool behind mine, and sat down. Ran tested my arm and shoulder for flexibility. She then used finger pressure techniques to examine my shoulders, and relieve a knot of muscle in my left shoulder. She then returned to testing flexibility.

"I will have a special tea mixture that will help your muscles relax, and give you extra flexibility. Please take it easy tomorrow, and do not strain yourself, Mr. Beckson."

"OK."

"May I wash your back for you?"

I nodded. Ran took my shower kit and lathered up my washcloth. She then scrubbed my back, and rinsed it off.

"You may reenter the bath after I have left. Good Evening, Mr. Beckson."

Ran stood up and left.

After Ran left, I stood up and returned to the soaking pool with Ben. Ben just stared off.

"Dude, that's a fox! Are you going to tap that ass?"

"That's Ran Himaki you are talking about, that's the owner's only daughter. "

"Dude, that's still a fox! Are you going to marry her, and THEN tap that ass?"

"Look, she was just following orders."

"No, you're wrong! She was coming on to you. She washed your back."

I smiled. "She did, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

I relaxed a bit, and then heard my cell phone ring from the locker room. That had to be Tonya. By the time I got into the locker room, it would go over to voice mail. I decided to get up and get dressed. I wondered if Tonya would call again.

"I'd better get up. I think Tonya made it home."

Ben got out and followed.

As we dressed, the phone rang again.

"Hello."

"You son of a bitch, why did you do that for?"

"I thought you wanted me to fix the toilet, and I did Tonya."

"I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about the stripper pole you installed."

"Oh, the piece of exercise equipment I installed. That a gift from me to you."

Ben was curious, and listened in to my part of the conversation.

"You bastard! Do you know how humiliating this is?"

"Let me see, would it be more humiliating if the entire student body saw it, like they saw me being served?"

"That's different. I didn't call you a slut."

"And I haven't called you a slut either, I called you a dancer."

"Paul Beckson, I am never going to call you again! Ever!" She hung up on me.

I closed me phone. "Well, THAT went well."

Ben was puzzled. "What did you do?"

"I installed a stripper pole in her bedroom."

Ben started laughing. Ben's phone started ringing. Ben handed me his phone.

"Hello, this is Ben's phone. Ben doesn't want to talk to you Tonya. So please leave no message at the beep. BEEEEEEP!"

I hung up. We laughed.

"OK, Dude, you got me interested. Tonya fed me her line of the truth. Will you tell me your side of the story?"

I did. I told him about meeting her for the first time in a drawing class, and drawing her nude. I talked about marrying her, and about wanting her to teach AFTER our children were all in school. And I talked about how she ignored me, and went ahead and started teaching.

"You know, Paul. I have cut her off, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"If she ever apologies, and tells you she should have started a family, just as you asked her to do, tell me."

"I let you know when hell freezes over, too. It's probably going to happen on the same day."

I paused and thought about what Ben was asking me to do. "Are you going after her?"

"I doubt it, but I might. I screwed up when I mixed business with pleasure. I have some old friends that want me to go back in business with them. I'm being pressured, and I am not sure what I want."

***** *****

Ran was upset. Usually men would leave when she would enter the bath. After all, she was the owner's daughter! This other guy wouldn't leave, and just sat in the soaking pool and watched.

She had to keep up the image that was expected of her by her father. The only gesture she could give Paul was a simple one, she washed his back. She had hoped that Paul understood her intent. She wanted to soft play this, so that she could read whether or not Paul was interested in her.

She had a lot of work to do, because her marriage would be arranged by her parents. Her husband may not be her choice. Her father had shown interest in the man, so he had a chance. Ran could tip the scales one way or the other, but she would have to accept her father's decision on whom her husband would be.

***** Tuesday 10/30/2006 *****

As much as I wanted to be near the workshop, I knew that I was in the way. I spent the afternoon chopping things up for a garden. I raked leaves and fed them through the shredder. I then spread the shredded leaves about an inch thick in the garden and tilled them in. I then took my chainsaw and started loping limbs off trees and mulching them up. Once again, I spread out the mulched limbs, and tilled the garden a second time. I went back and found more limbs and mulched them up again. I spread the mulch on top, and left it. Everything would rot, and I would be able to start a garden next year. I was killing time, but it did feel good to be outdoors and working on something.