The Evisceration

The assault ended with Dad telling Dave that myself and the girls would be staying with him for a few days so that he, Dave, would get an idea of how lonely life would be if he didn't toe-the-line. We would return on Tuesday evening, so I could prepare for our annual masquerade party. Daddy assumed Dave would pretend everything was normal by then and not spoil such a huge event that was designed to showcase our happy family.

As a parting shot, Daddy promised Dave he would back me to the hilt financially, while making sure his lawyers hamstrung Dave financially, restricting his access to quality legal advice. Dad pulled no punches. Whatever became of my relationship with my husband, Dad's was gone forever. When I left, Dave looked utterly defeated. If it wasn't crippling my conscience so much, I might have been happy. I hugged him, in his chair, from behind and whispered, "We'll be alright, darling", but got no reaction at all.

Away from the prying ears of his lawyer, Daddy tore strips off me about my affair. I think he was letting off steam for what he'd just done to a man he'd always respected. He warned me if Dave ever collected any evidence of impropriety on my part, the game would be over. I assured him I was too smart for that.

********

WHEN THE GIRLS and I returned to the family home on Tuesday night, it was to a warm greeting for the girls, but an icy-cold reception for me. I knew it would be an uncomfortable homecoming and I'd actually considered delaying it, but two factors forced my hand. The first was that Daddy was leaving on his annual fishing trip the following day. Every year, he and three friends hired a shack in the middle of the bush and went totally off-grid for a week. The second was the need to get the house ready for the party on Saturday night.

Dave hardly acknowledged my presence. After the girls were in their beds, I apologised for my affair. Dave just stood and moved to the guest room on the ground floor where he'd obviously been sleeping. Through the closed and locked door, I reassured him.

I fully intended dropping Allen immediately, but after several phone calls from him in the previous two days, I realised that with his emotional attachment to me, he posed a slight threat to my career as well. He, unlike Dave, didn't have to prove anything. Just the accusation would be damaging, therefore, I decided to keep seeing him in the short term but end it as soon as I could guarantee safety. Continuing to sleep with him while acting the bitch so he wouldn't enjoy my company seemed the best course of action. I tried to explain this to Dave through the locked door, along with my intention to be late home the following Monday due to the necessity of seeing Allen, but with no answer and no facial clues I have no idea how successful I was.

I didn't have time to dwell on that, though. I had a house to prepare for a party.

The party. Ever since moving into our mini-mansion eight years prior, we'd hosted a masquerade party. It was held on no special day and was designed purely to butter up the movers and shakers in the community. That and showcase what a happy, healthy family I had. Dad never attended as he didn't want me to be seen as being in his shadow.

I'm happy and proud to say that, with advice from some professionals, the event had morphed into one of the must-be-seen-at events of the social calendar. There was a DJ and dance floor, the house was decorated, and the booze flowed.

Much thought went into the guest list. Every single attendee could help my career in some way. It was such an important event that ensuring Dave's full participation and cooperation would be my primary focus over the following couple of days.

To cut a long story short, I did get his grudging acknowledgement that he would attend and participate. What a relief that was. The interaction stopped there, however. He pretty much ignored me the rest of the time. I couldn't dwell on the tension too much, though. With no help from Dave, organising the party was a fulltime job.

*********

I SUPPOSE I was exhausted by Saturday night from a full-on week of being in crisis mode. That's why I drank too much. I had two wines to loosen me up before Allen came around. Of course, he had to be there. He was my publicist, after all. It was hard work keeping him and Dave apart, or so I thought.

My memories of greeting all the guests at the front door are clear. As the hostess, I wanted to stand out. Sure, it was a masquerade ball, but everyone should be in no doubt who the hostess was. Over fifty movers and shakers attended. Most of the members of my school board, the local bishop, local politicians and influential members of the party. There were even two judges.

With all guests ensconced, serving the food commenced. I remember mingling as everyone lined up to get their forkfuls of professionally spit-roasted pig. I rarely relaxed at these things, they were far too important. This year was particularly stressful due to the need to keep Dave and Allen apart.

What finally eased the tension was Dave offering me a glass of punch about two and a half hours in. His whispered words of having added a dash of vodka to relax me, warmed my heart. I took that as an olive branch, so accepted, then drank it. The latter reluctantly, though. I was already over my self-imposed, cheap drunk limit, but I was so glad of Dave's gesture that I downed it immediately. Shortly after that, things got hazy and the next memory I have is waking, in my bed, the next day, with a wicked hangover.

As soon as I was able with a pounding head, I found Dave and sought reassurance that I hadn't embarrassed myself. He told me I'd mingled until about an hour before the party broke up, then he'd seen me asleep on our bed. Everyone was merry and too preoccupied to miss my absence. In his words, I'd done nothing out of character. Relaxed at the news, I tried to find my cell phone to network a little and apologise for missing church. It was nowhere to be found and we'd long since surrendered our landline. To ease my pounding head, I stayed in bed for the rest of the day and dozed.

As a consequence of sleeping so much, I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by 5:00 a.m. the next day. I rose, sorely in need of coffee. The light was on in the kitchen and Dave was sitting at the table. He made not a move when I entered and kissed him on the top of the head. Below is what I remember of our conversation. He hasn't spoken to me face-to-face since then.

"What are you doing up so early?" I asked.

He just looked at me a little incredulously.

"Since I confirmed that the woman I love wholeheartedly, and who I thought loved me, was stabbing me in the back, I have hardly slept a wink."

In hindsight, I know I should probably have acted in a conciliatory manner to that statement; instead I snapped. I guess it was the accumulation of days and nights of feeling guilty on top of being pissed off from a lack of memory of the party and a wasted day in bed.

"Isn't it you that's always saying that if you can't do something about a problem, don't sweat it. Dad explained how the future was going to go. Accept it and get on with life."

Dave was absolutely rigid in the chair. His next words came out as a hiss. His eyes blazed and bored into mine.

"What? Accept the life of a cuckold?"

He stopped speaking, obviously struggling to maintain control. I thought I'd ease his mind some.

"Just for the moment, dear. It'll be over before you know it. That reminds me, remember I'll be home late tonight; I'm seeing Allen."

Dave leapt to his feet so fast his chair toppled backwards and hit the floor with a loud slam. In the split second that followed, the silence seemed quieter for the contrast. Dave stood with his arms at his side, and, as I watched, began clenching and unclenching his fists. Each movement made a rustling sound as his fists moved against the fabric of his trousers. If I wasn't so sure of Daddy's precautions, I may have been genuinely worried. Dave had gone beyond a hiss and was practically spitting.

"Do you really think I'll settle for the life of a humiliated man? A man with no pride and no choices? Do you? I know your dad lives his life by the motto, Cuis testiculos habes habeas cardia et cerebellum, 'If you have someone by the balls, their hearts and minds will soon follow,' but not this little black duck, I'm not now, nor ever will be, built that way."

With that he stormed out for his morning run. I sat there and thought about what he'd said. Was there an angle I'd missed? Did he have any choice but to toe-the-line? I didn't think so. I shrugged and started a serious search for my phone. I eventually found it, but it was as flat as a tack, so I put it on the charger. I prepared Sarah's school lunch as a gesture of reconciliation to Dave, then prepared for work. The kids were awake before he came home, so we didn't have a chance to talk again. I left. If I'd known what was going to happen that day and all the days from then until now, I'd have at least hugged Dave's kids.

*********

DAVE

"If the end result wasn't the destruction of my marriage and a major hiatus in your, my children's lives, that Monday would have been very satisfying. You've heard what your mum did to me and it's important that you understand what I did next and why I did it.

"There was no doubt in my mind that I was the major influence in your lives and with the decision made to terminate the marriage, you'd be better off with me. I always knew your birth mother was an ambitious, self-centred person, but, up until then, I'd been proud of her achievements and made allowances for her shortcomings as a wife and mother. That all ended with her affair. Her stated intention of keeping it going confirmed to me how egocentric she'd become. The trouble was the courts couldn't be relied on to agree with me. I consulted several solicitors and each and every one of them agreed my chances were less than even of getting primary custody. They all said, though, that if I could get Martha to abandon the family home, then the odds would swing heavily in my favour. I realised I had to do something so horrific she would run.

"Ironically, it was Martha's father and solicitor that handed me the solution. They did such a good job of telling me what alleys they'd blocked that I didn't even think of escape. They thought they'd left me one avenue that was palatable, but it wasn't to me. Being basically law-abiding citizens, they didn't even consider the path I chose as a possibility."

"So, what did you do, Dad?"

"I'll get to that. I'll describe the phone calls I got from your birth mother that day. The first was a little after 9:00 a.m."

THEN 9:06 a.m.

"Dave speaking"

"Dave, it's me. Allen's company boss just rang me. He told me that because of what I did to Allen at the party on Saturday, his company would no longer represent me. If word of that gets out, it could damage my chances of getting preselection. What happened? What did I allegedly do to Allen? They wouldn't tell me."

"There's nothing alleged about it, dear. You kneed him in the balls in front of about thirty witnesses. I've got it all on film from the security cameras if you want to watch it."

"I didn't..."

"Sorry, dear, I have to go."

THEN 10:23 a.m.

"Dave speaking."

"Dave, what aren't you telling me? The secretary of the diocese just rang. I've been asked to resign from all the church committees I'm on. I mean, not just give up the chairmanships, but get off the committees altogether. They wouldn't say why. What happened Saturday night? What did I do after I drank too much?"

"I imagine that the bishop told his people to distance you from his church ASAP because he caught that guy with his fingers in your panties on Saturday. You know? In our downstairs bathroom."

"What? Why..."

"Sorry. dear, I have to go."

THEN 10:42 a.m.

"Oh, Dave. I just checked the messages on my phone. Half the people I know rang to tell me what a bitch I am and asking how I could do that to you. Do what to you, Dave? What are they talking about?"

"I'm not sure, dear. Maybe they're talking about you dirty dancing, or, should I say, practically fucking that guy on the dance floor. They were a little embarrassed for me when they saw that. Or maybe it's because when they asked me why I wasn't stopping you, I told them you'd demanded the right to screw other men and threatened to break me and our family if I objected publicly."

"You didn't?"

"I most certainly did. You and your dad thought you'd left me with only one option—to go along with your sick and sordid little plan. I found another viable way, and all it cost me was a little public humiliation. Okay, after tomorrow's newspaper comes out, a lot of humiliation."

"But, Dave, when I asked you on Sunday if I'd behaved myself during the times I had no memory of, you said yes."

"I think you heard what you wanted to hear, dear. What I actually said was you did nothing out of character and I'll stick to that. I'm led to believe that all sluts behave that way."

"I...I...I don't know how I could have lost control like that. Can you call the bishop and other people to tell them that it wasn't really me? That I lose control if I drink too much."

"Why would I do that for you, dear?"

"Because you're my husband and husband's go in to bat for their wives."

"Like you went in to bat for me, when your dad and his attack dog described how they would eviscerate me if I didn't let you screw other men?"

"Look, Dave. You know it wasn't like that. I made a mistake and was acting as quickly as I could to extricate myself from the consequences. I only slept with Allen and I was only going to do that one or two more times. Three at the most.

"Look, Dave. Is there any way you could get home, so we can talk? I've just got to hang around for another hour. The head of the school board is on his way to talk to me."

"Yes, and I know what she wants to talk about. She and most of the board were there on Saturday night, remember? I don't fancy your chances. She went through that messy divorce a couple of years ago, didn't she? When she caught her husband cheating on her? Besides, I am at home. I've just finished an interview with the local newspaper and television network. I even gave them footage from the security cameras. Now, if there's nothing else, dear. I have to do some more thinking on whether there is any aspect of your life that I haven't totally destroyed yet."

*********

A RESTAURANT IN THE PRESENT DAY. DAVE WRAPS UP HIS STORY.

"There was only silence on the line after that. I went to work, then picked up you girls. When we got home, there was evidence that your mother had returned, packed some clothes, and headed off in a hurry. She'd even left the front door swinging open.

"She went into hiding a couple of states away, with another sister. She was too embarrassed to show her face in public for months. By the time she re-surfaced, the judge ruled that she'd abandoned the family home and awarded custody to me."

"Didn't her father do anything to help her?"

"No, nothing to speak of. When he re-appeared after his fishing trip, he did ring to threaten me, but only the once. Reading between the lines, I gather his boss told him to either distance himself from his own child or resign. He chose the latter and retired. Whether he couldn't afford the lawyers, or they advised him it was a lost cause, I'll never know, but we never heard from his legal team again. I'm a little ashamed to say this, but he was still begging to see his grandchildren when he died of a heart attack about a year after all this went down."

"Your birth mother begged me to bring you girls to where she was hiding a few times, but by then I'd met Maria, the only mum you remember, and didn't want to confuse you. I hear she got into some bad company after that and I kind of lost track of her. I could try to find her contact details if you would like to look her up."

Neither young adult seemed overly interested in that offer.

"And that, girls, is why you shouldn't drink."

All eyes turned to the actress.

"Um, girls. With what your dad has just told us, I think I know what happened and why he invited me here today. You see, he once promised to tell me the whole story. Truth be told, I'm amazed this hasn't been dug up by the paparazzi before now. Before I continue, please promise you won't repeat a word I say."

After waiting for confirmatory nods all round, she continued.

"I'd never even considered being an actress before your dad suggested it. Like many orphans, I really struggled financially in college. I took to doing some high-end escort work. My friend got me into it. Before you turn your nose up at me, I mean escort in the old-fashioned sense. All I did was accompany guys out on dates. It might be the company dinner or just some lonely businessman in town for the day, looking for companionship. I'm sure some of the girls went further than that for a price, but the agency I was with never encouraged it. Anyway, I didn't need to. With my looks, and, I'm told, my bubbly personality, I was well sought after as a companion.

"Anyway, one day my representatives brokered a meeting between myself and a guy that introduced himself as Mr. X., your father. We met once, and he said I'd do. I always wanted to know why he picked me."

She looked at Dave expectantly.

"Because I trawled through all the escort websites until I found someone who could pass as my ex-wife at a masquerade party."

"Of course. Well, I was going to say no but for the amount of money your dad was offering, I ended up taking the risk. I wouldn't have, but your dad said I could bring my boyfriend along as well."

The actress paused to take a sip of her drink, checking her planned words for threats to her career.

"Your dad told me to be near a certain address at 9:00 p.m. When he called, Kent and I walked from our car to the back gate where your dad let us in. He handed me a dress and a mask."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I want everyone to get the full story. The party was well under way and just about everyone was very merry. Um, that may have been helped by my spiking the punch bowl with two bottles of vodka. It was comical watching HER trying to act the good hostess but always standing between me and her boyfriend. I saw her drinking steadily and timed when I gave her the doctored drink pretty well, I reckon. I crushed up three of her own sleeping pills and slipped them into a glass of punch. I even told her about the vodka. It took her about ten minutes, but when I saw her stumbling, I gently led her to our bedroom. She was fast asleep in minutes, so I removed her dress and mask. The final touch was for you to use the same perfume she always wore."

The actress nodded as if this made perfect sense, then took up her tale again.

"I slipped on the dress. It wasn't a perfect fit, but no one seemed to notice. I applied a little of the perfume and the mask. I expected to be led to the party on your father's arm and for Kent to amuse himself, but it was way weirder than that. After a few simple instructions, your dad told Kent and I to have fun, make like we were a couple but to avoid talking to anyone.

"The last was a little difficult but we decided to hit the dance floor to discourage conversation. Suffice it to say, Kent and I danced very close and the dirty prick had his hands all over my ass. I kept glancing around and most people were looking at us very uncomfortably then looking toward your dad. He didn't seem to pay us any attention. There was one guy that kept trying to cut in on Kent, but your dad had warned us not to let him.

"After about five dances, I went to the loo and Kent, the randy prick, followed me in. After I'd done my business, he lifted me so my ass was on the vanity then kissed me and lifted my dress, and, well, I can't believe I'm admitting to this, especially to you girls, but he stimulated me with his fingers. I'm sure he was going to go much further than that, but just then a guy barged into the room, obviously desperate for a leak. He went bright red when he saw us and ran away."