The Letter

She felt even more despondent and decided that she no longer had any kind of appetite for food but did have a growing thirst for some alcohol. She decided against wine and got out a bottle of whiskey. She would mix it with a cola to subdue the harsh taste but was going to count on the carbonation to get her buzz going quicker.

She pulled out the letter again while sipping the strong mixed drink.

"I should get down to the brass tacks here. Now that I know that you don't love me anymore, if indeed you ever loved me at all, what's next? For the immediate future I have moved out of the house. Since I found out today that you stay at work until six o'clock so that your Friday mornings are free to do other things, like meet your lover, I decided to have this letter delivered a little before you normally leave your office. This will allow me more time to gather my clothes that I will need in the next week or so. Sometime this week, while you are at work, I will have a discreet moving company come to the house for anything else that I want. Just so that you will not need to be there to watch what is taken, I will provide a complete list of what I feel is justifiably mine. The company I chose has a very good reputation for doing moves like this one.

The only furniture I want to have is the recliner in the living room. It is comfortable for me and you never sit in it anyway. I just hope that you and Michelle never consummated your love on it. Oh, well, if I find out that you did I will just have it burned.

Most of what I want is my clothes that I cannot get at this time. I will have taken my toiletries, soap, and shampoo. You don't want them anyhow as they do have a masculine scent. Yes I am being petty when I state that Michelle probably wouldn't like you having a masculine scent either.

My tools will be gathered and taken to a storage unit. Since you will have the house I will leave the gardening and lawn care equipment for you. My car is a lease so I will just turn it back in to the leasing company.

Stories told to me by other men who have gotten divorced led me to believe I need to cancel our credit cards. I looked into it and it is too much of a hassle to do that. I will just leave them for you to deal with.

Just like the credit cards you will get to make the payments on the house as well as your car. With this letter is a power of attorney for both you and my attorney. His phone number is with the paper. You can sell the house if you so desire. There probably isn't much equity built up yet since we only lived there a few years but it will appreciate in value if you stay there.

Also, I removed my name from the utilities and the cable bill so they will now come addressed to you. You also have twenty-four hours to talk to the cell phone company as my phone is now shut off and yours will be also unless you make new arrangements for paying the bill. Possibly you could become part of Michelle's plan.

As far as contact with me, please direct any comments or concerns to my attorney. His name will be on the divorce papers that will be served sometime this week. Since this divorce will be very straight-forward and since we don't have any kids, thank goodness, there should not be very much to discuss. The only physical items that I want are my tools, laptop and my recliner. You get the rest. I am not even going to dispute any money with you. I withdrew some cash from our savings account today and that should see me through until I leave. I didn't take half of the savings since the judge would probably direct that money to pay off credit cards and settle any other debts.

Since my leaving should make you happy so that you and Michelle can fully explore your new relationship I don't anticipate you wanting to contact me for any reason. I certainly cannot handle any 'It isn't what it looks like', or 'I never meant to hurt you', or anything else. A protestation of love will just make me laugh and cry at the same time.

There will be no more money available from me as I resigned my job today. You might remember that a number of months ago I told you that a company from a country far south of the border had approached us to set up a new network. Initially my bosses had turned the contract down as it seemed a little dicey as to legality for us to work in another country. Now it seems one of the federal agencies has come to us and asked us to go ahead and accept the contract.

I have been assured that going to this other country and setting up the network will not be dangerous but the team has no close family connections. The last position to be filled was the software engineer and, since I am suddenly without close family connections, I was offered the position of team leader as I can write code to make the whole system work. This team will include the hardware guys so that we will be setting up a complete new system with all the latest and fastest computers.

My passport application has been fast-tracked and I should have it by the end of the week. By next Monday I will be out of the country. With my employment ending here, I was hired by a wholly owned overseas subsidiary of my company so that my income will not be taxed. I have no idea when I will be finished with this job. If it goes well I might not return for quite a while. These jobs tend to generate new ones.

I suppose I am just boring you now and interfering with your new life with Michelle. I don't know of anything else to tell you except good-by and have a good life."

Lori reread the letter before putting it down. Her tears were starting to stain the paper and she didn't want to ruin this possibly last communication with the man she had pledged her life to. She fixed another drink and decided to down it in a few gulps. Faced with the loss of the man she loved she felt suddenly all alone. She knew she could call Michelle and Michelle would probably want to come over and make love but. . . Lori thought about her relationship with her neighbor and suddenly had the eureka moment and realized that Michelle was a distraction, a pretty distraction, but not what she really wanted. She wanted Monte and now realized what she had given up.

They had planned on children. Yes, of course she could have children with Michelle but did she want that? No, actually she didn't. She just wanted the closeness and the sex with her female lover, not a full-time relationship. The tears came harder.

Lori tried Monte's cell just in case it had not been cancelled yet. She got the message, "This phone number is no longer in service."

She tried to call Monte's parents. Surely they had heard from him. His mother was short and to the point with Lori. "Yes, I just got off the phone with Monte. He called as usual but he told us that he no longer had a job in the U.S. and that he was divorcing you. He didn't go into specifics but hinted that you no longer are in love with my son. Is that true?"

Lori broke down and cried for some minutes before she could speak clearly. "No, I do love him but I just forgot for a while and took him for granted. I had an affair with a woman and Monte found out and decided that I must love her more than him. I have been trying to get hold of him for days and I can't find him. Now he says he is leaving the country but I need to speak to him. I have to let him know how much I care for him and I don't want him going to that dangerous country. I want him home with me."

She paused. "Please let him know I love him and I still want him and I want his babies. I don't want anyone else. Michelle was a mistake. Please have him contact me."

She broke down crying again and finally hung up. The whiskey was now going down straight.

She woke the next morning still seated at the table. She had collapsed sometime in the night and her face bore the marks of the pattern of the table cloth. She looked and felt like hell. When she could see more clearly she called into work and professed an illness. And, truth be told, she was ill. She was sick at heart at what she had done.

She sat and contemplated for a while and finally typed out a text to Michelle. "Monte knows and has left me. I am trying to get him back. Please do not contact me."

Lori knew it was too little and probably way too late but she wanted to show her husband that she had come to her senses and wanted only him in her life.

This was now Tuesday and she knew from the letter that some movers were coming during the day and during this week. She arranged for the rest of the week off and intended to stay at home just in case Monte came back.

She was to be disappointed. On Thursday morning a moving van arrived. The two men had a list and the key to the house. They came up and rang the doorbell before using the key and didn't expect to find Lori home. When she answered the door they politely stated their business and gave her the list. She found that it was a complete list of items that Monte wanted to claim for his own. Peevishly she wanted to deny them anything in the hopes that Monte would then be forced to come home and confront her but her common sense told her that he would just have the movers come back another time or just not worry about his other belongings. Didn't he write that he was leaving the country?

When she queried the movers they related to her that the contents of the van would be taken to a prepaid storage unit in their facility and would be secured. Monte had arranged for the inventory to be stored for two years.

Surely he would be back before two years?

By late Friday evening Lori also had to accept the conclusion that Monte wasn't wasting time even divorcing her. She had contacted an attorney to represent her and her attorney had assured her that they could arrange a meeting with Monte but, as stated, now it looked like Monte had just walked away.

Lori didn't know what else to do but work, eat, sleep, take care of the house and then wait. Monte had to return sometime and then they could work on getting back together. So she waited. And she waited.

Here is my ending to the story. I made the break deliberate so that any one who wishes could write their own ending. Please just acknowledge the original story in your ending.

Epilog

She became platonic friends with Michelle. Yes, it was hard. After having such a close and intimate relationship and now trying hard to be chaste for her husband it was hard. Many nights she laid on her marital and also sin-stained bed and masturbated until her pussy was dry and sore and her clit couldn't take any more abuse.

Michelle tried to be supportive but she wanted Lori again. She tried other women but found them to be less than Lori. Even if she had to keep sharing with Monte she was willing to do so. After an evening of just being out as friends Michelle would have to call one of her other lovers and have very nasty hot sex, not the loving kind she wanted with Lori.

Time went on. Lori continued her job at the office products company. There was no word from Monte. She would occasionally, weekly actually, contact Monte's parents and inquire if there was any word but they claimed to not know anything and professed to be concerned.

After the two year period post marital breakup the storage company contacted Lori and wanted to know what to do with Monte's personal belongings as the money for storage had run out. It wasn't much of an expense so Lori paid for the unit for four or five months before finally having the items brought back to her house and put in one of the extra bedrooms. She certainly didn't use the space or need the expense. Her dream of having Monte's babies was long gone.

Ominously Lori finally received a registered parcel that informed her that her marriage to Monte was annulled. She was shocked and went to her lawyer and sought a professional opinion. He was surprised but when he checked into it there didn't seem to be any paper trail but all appropriate agencies had been notified of the annulment. He could only speculate on how that was accomplished but the best explanation was that some government agency was responsible.

When she then contacted Millie Monroe, Monte's mother, the old woman seemed confused as to who Lori was and treated her as though she might be a telemarketer and asked her to not call again.

Lori finally gave up then. Michelle had moved on to a new lover and seemed happy. She and her lover did offer to have a threesome with Lori if she so desired but Lori really wanted someone to be part of her life fully, someone like Monte.

Lori dated some but never seemed to click with anyone. This continued until about the fifth anniversary of Monte leaving. Lori was putting gasoline into her car, something that Monte had always taken care of, when she noticed a man getting fuel at a far island. There was something about the way he held himself. From the back he seemed so familiar.

Could it be? Had he come back? Should she? Of course she should. After all she was his wife, a piece of paper not withstanding. She almost flew towards the far set of pumps but slowed just before rounding the corner to face him.

She stopped abruptly. It was Monte but it wasn't. This man was far more mature looking and very serious in his demeanor. He also had a long scar down his face from his right eye to his chin and he had an eyepatch over the right eye.

"Monte?" The man didn't look up. Lori almost started to cry. "Please, Monte, it's me, Lori."

She reached out to touch him when he suddenly looked up. There was a look of sadness in his eyes. This was the face of someone who had suffered.

Just then a woman came up to the island. "Del, I got you a soda. Are you ready?"

The man Lori knew to be Monte looked over at the petite but beautiful woman and his whole face changed as he smiled. "Yes, dear, we are all fueled and ready to go."

Lori wanted to talk to him but then a back window rolled down and a small voice called out. "Mommy, did you get something for me?"

The petite woman came to the side of the car next to Monte, reached up and gave him a kiss before handing a bottle of soda into the window to the small child inside. Of course Monte had to bend down so that he could receive the kiss. She was a lot smaller than him.

The tears were coming hard down Lori's face but she tried again. "Monte, please can we talk for a minute?"

The man turned his good eye towards Lori. "I am sorry but I do not know you or this Monte person. My name is Del Minster and we are late. We have a lot of miles to drive before getting home."

The man Lori knew as Monte nodded a goodbye and went around the car and was soon belted in and driving off leaving Lori standing alone and crying. Her shoulders were slumped and she knew that she was totally alone now.

What happened to Monte? Where had he gone and what had he endured? This story is complete from my point of view. I purposely just made it from Lori's perspective except for the text of the letter. But someone might want to explore Monte's story. Feel free to do so. Thanks for reading.