The Polack

The proceeds of the sale will be used up by the time she gets around to actually getting a divorce finalized. Also, I will be making next to nothing in consulting and a few sales commissions.

Anna, you are fully capable of handling the day to day operations. I will be available to call if you have a question, but let me tell you, I trust you and trust your judgement."

A smile had returned to her face when I had explained the new ownership, but when she heard about Jenna and George, she looked like she was ready to shoot someone. This was a woman that I truly admired and respected.

I continued, "I have one more task for you to do, then I will get out of your hair. I need you to order a new sign and letterhead. We are changing the name of the business. That will further set in George and Jenna's minds that the business has been sold to someone else. The new business name will be 'Bezradny Auto'." I spelled the name out for her so I knew she had it right.

She looked at me with a quizzical look on her face. I said, "Someday I'll tell you why I picked that name. Suffice it to say that it tells the whole story."

She still looked puzzled, but trusted me enough to follow my instructions. With that I left, saying a few words to everyone as I walked out. I hopped in my car, an Audi, and headed up the road toward Albuquerque.

I was about 2 hours into my drive when I got a phone call. Caller ID told me it was Jenna. I hadn't expected her to call until this evening. That had been the way it had been many times before when I had left. I would be gone for a day or two, she would call, we'd talk and I'd come back. Things would change, for a while, and then we'd get back to our old selves again. Some time later we'd have another blow up and the cycle would start all over again.

I decided to answer the call, waiting to hear what bullshit she had to spew this time.

"Hello," I said through the car's handsfree mic.

"Kurt, what's going on?" She said somewhat tentatively.

"Nothing, just driving to Albuquerque."

"Why are you driving there?" She asked.

"To pick up a car." I said with no emotion.

"So, what I heard must be wrong then." She said.

So, George must have called her. Figures, call your lover to find out what's going on with her husband.

"I don't know," I said. "What have you heard?"

"George called me and said you sold the business."

"Why would he call you?" I asked, putting her on the spot.

She recovered well, "He's your best friend. He wondered if I knew what was going on."

Best friend, what a joke. I was a joke to him, stupid Polack is helpless and clueless to see what is going on behind his back with his cunt of a wife.

I said to Jenna, "It appears that my "family" was embarrassed that I was a "used car salesman", so, yes I sold the business. Now you don't have to wear that stigma anymore."

"Uh ... shouldn't we have talked about that first?" She said. I'm sure she was worried about how we were going to afford to live now.

"It's my company, I owned it before we were married, I can sell it whenever I want. I just hope the new owner treats my "former" employees right."

"So, did you get a good price for it?" Again, she was worried about how this would affect her standard of living.

"I wasn't concerned with that. I just knew that I needed to change my job. I'll start looking around after I take a few weeks off to relax."

"What about the mortgage?" She asked.

"Oh, I used the proceeds to pay off the house. You don't need to worry about that. We just need to pay the utilities and the taxes now.

"What about food? What about gas? What about insurance?" She said, almost in hysterics.

"Oh, I guess I am a stupid Polack. I didn't even think about them. Do you think you could take on more hours at your job?"

She was flustered now. "When are you coming home?"

Here it was, the moment of truth. "I'm not." I said in a matter of fact way.

"What?!!"

"I told you the other night that I was leaving. You told me not to come back, so I'm not. Don't worry, I'll find a way to pay all the utilities, so the lights won't get turned off."

"You can't do that, Kurt. You have to come back." I could hear the desperation in her voice.

"No, I really don't." I said in a deadpan voice.

"Kurt, don't do this." She cried.

"I already have." I said.

"What about your daughter?" She asked, trying to pull at my heartstrings.

"You mean Carrie, the girl that is ashamed of her last name and also that her old man is, or was, a used car salesman?"

"Kurt, she's just being a 13 year old girl. You can't take that personally."

"Well, it really doesn't matter anymore. I won't be coming back so neither one of you will be embarrassed by me."

With that I hung up and turned my phone off. Let her stew on that. I knew right now she was trying to call me back and would get irate that I wasn't picking up.

I calmed down from my phone call and tried to enjoy the leisurely drive up to Albuquerque. I could only assume that her next call was to her lover to try to get more information and to let him know what I had said.

When I had gotten to my destination, I turned my phone back on and saw that I had 5 messages. I listened to them all; 3 from Jenna, 1 from George, and 1 from Anna. I called Anna right away.

"Hey Anna, sorry, I had my phone turned off. I was getting unwanted calls."

"Yeah, I know. Your wife and George have been calling me to find out where you're at. I told them that you don't own the place anymore, so you don't check in anymore. I hope that was alright."

"Perfect!" I said. "If they give you too much trouble, tell them you're calling the cops about harassing phone calls."

"I like that," she said. "Kurt, you may feel like you don't have a family or friends anymore, but believe me, you do. We are your family, always will be."

"Thank you, Anna, you knew just what to say. I hope your husband knows how lucky he is."

"Believe me, he knows. He tells me all the time."

"Don't ever lose that. Don't ever take each other for granted."

"Don't intend to." She said.

I hung up and thought about whether I should call my cheating cunt of a wife or the backstabbing asshole. No, let them stew.

I got out of the Audi and walked into the car lot office. The owner was there waiting for me. "I've got that Audi I told you about. Do you want to see if we can make a trade?"

"Let's take a look." He said.

He was impressed by the condition of the vehicle, both inside and out, as well as under the hood. He looked at me and said, "I could sell this in a week. Are you sure you want to do the trade? I think I'm getting the better end of the deal."

"You can reciprocate sometime in the future. I'm not here to make a buck, I'm here to get a sportscar."

A half hour later I was back on the road, with the top down, enjoying the ride. Now I just needed to decide where to go. North sounded good, so I headed to Santa Fe.

For the next two weeks I traveled throughout North New Mexico, Arizona, Southern Utah and Colorado. I wanted to be close in case Anna needed me to come back. I called her a couple times and when it was evident she had it handled I decided to venture west.

Of course, I kept getting phone calls. At first they had an annoyed tone, then an apologetic tone, and finally an all out bitch fest tone. I listened, but didn't care. When I got the call about the credit card having been cancelled, I just laughed. When George called and told me I was a terrible person to just run out on Jenna and Carrie, I had to laugh even more.

I did get one phone call from my lawyer. Jenna had called and was threatening to file for abandonment if I didn't get ahold of her and come back. I called him back.

"Hey, it's Kurt. So, you've been getting threatening phone calls from my "wife"?" I said.

"Yeah, I wouldn't sweat it though. If you're still paying the utilities on the house, she will have a hard time proving that."

"I can do you one better." I said. "I've got a recording of me telling her I'm leaving and her telling me to not come back."

"That's awesome. Send me a copy of that." He said. "If she gives me any trouble, I'll give that to her lawyer. Let her lawyer try to force the issue."

"Thanks, I'll call you in a week to see what's going on."

I traveled all over the southwest. The Miata wasn't the most comfortable ride, but it sure was fun. I got a lot of looks from a lot of people, even some titty flashes from some bored horny middle aged women. I didn't pursue that though, I was still married after all, for what it's worth.

I traveled to Reno and then Lake Tahoe, out to the coast, into Napa Valley and down Highway 1, zigging and zagging along the shoreline. I cut over to Yosemite and then down to San Diego, across through Death Valley, and to Vegas and then to Phoenix.

Through all of this I took my time. I would stop at car lots and talk to the owners and just shoot the shit. Some of them were envious that a guy in his late 30's could just take off and travel around.

After about 3 months, and 8000 miles, I decided to head back to Silver City. I pulled in to Bezradny Auto and was met by my whole team. In fact, there were a few new faces. They all welcomed me back. As I walked into Anna's office (formerly my office) she looked up. When she saw me, her smile grew huge and she got up, came around her desk, and gave me a huge hug.

We talked for a while and then I asked, "Do you think I could take everyone over to Wrangler's to have a meal and drinks? Could you close up shop at 5:00?" It was 3:00 at the moment and I had a few errands to run.

"Sure, I'll insist on it. The whole crew will be there."

I said goodbye and told them all I'd see them in 2 hours. They were in good spirits.

I visited my lawyer, he had informed me earlier in my travels that Jenna tried to go the abandonment route so she could get all my assets, but he was able to thwart her efforts. We talked about what to do going forward.

At 5:00 I met the crew at Wrangler's. We had a great meal and it was good to catch up with them all. After about an hour and a half they started to leave to head home. Finally, it was just Anna and I. She looked at me and said. "You know, Kurt, you may think your helpless, vulnerable, and clueless, but you're wrong. You just trusted the one's you loved."

I looked at her, "So, you figured it out, huh."

"Yeah, it took me a while, but you had said the new name told the whole story. It kept needling me until I figured it out. You may be "The Polack", but all those jokes could never describe the real you. The jokes are an insult to you and your heritage."

"Thank you, Anna. You are truly the main reason I came back. I had to see how you were doing filling my shoes. I'm happy to say that you didn't fill my shoes, but rather made a pair of your own."

"I had a great mentor." She said appreciatively.

We hugged and she went home to her husband, he truly was a lucky man. I went back to the apartment that I hadn't been back to in 3 months. It was stale and needed a good airing out. I opened the windows and let the cool evening air fill the rooms.

I grabbed a beer and sat out on the deck overlooking the pool. There were a few people swimming, and a family playing. I thought back to Jenna and I. We had such high hopes and dreams when we got married. Now they were all gone.

I looked at the clock on the wall, it was about 8:30. I thought to myself, "I guess it's about time for the showdown." I got up, jumped into my Miata, and drove to "my" house. I guess technically it was still mine. I had bought it before Jenna and I were married and my name was the only one on the deed.

I was disappointed when I pulled into the driveway. The yard had not been kept up, in fact, it looked like the landscaping hadn't even been touched. The lights were on so I figured Jenna was home. I walked up to the door and knocked. The door opened a minute later and Carrie was standing there. Her eyes got big and she said, "Dad?"

"Hello Carrie, is your mother home?"

She stammered and then yelled, "MOM"

I heard Jenna yell from the kitchen in a stressed out, shrill voice. "What is it now!"

She kept looking at me and said, loudly in response, "Dad"

Jenna came around the corner, saw me and shouted, "Where the hell have you been!!"

I decided to answer her shouting with a calm even voice, "Traveling"

Just then George came out of the bedroom area in just his boxers.

"Oh," I said, "The whole family is here; Mom, Dad, and child."

"What the hell are you talking about!" Spit back Jenna.

"I assume George has moved in to take my place, after all it is rightfully his."

Jenna looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

Carrie said, "He lost his apartment after you fired him, and Mom needed a "man" to help pay the bills and take care of the other duties around here, since you just left." The vitriol in her voice was palpable.

"Well, young lady, you seem to be misinformed." She hated when I corrected her. "George was never my employee, at his insistence, so I couldn't have fired him. As for the bills, all the utilities are auto paid as well as the car insurance."

"What about the groceries and gas in the car!" Jenna shouted.

"You had a job, did you lose it? I know before it was just your "mad money", but it was enough to buy groceries and gas while I was gone."

"So, you think you're going to come back and just move right back in?" She asked.

"No, I'll wait until you and your lover can find a place." It was obvious that they were sleeping together in my house and Carrie seemed to be okay with it.

"I'm not moving out of my house." Jenna said.

"Correction, this is my house. It was mine before we got married and my name is the only one on the deed." I replied.

"Well, you left, so now it's mine."

"The law doesn't work that way. Since I have been paying the utilities and the taxes, I am still rightful owner and although I was gone for a short period of time, I still own it!

Don't worry, I'll give you two lovebirds until the end of next month to find a place, just make sure you take your daughter with you!"

"What do you mean 'your daughter'. She's our daughter."

"Truer words could not be spoken." I said with a grin on my face.

Jenna looked puzzled. Then I said to Carrie, "Carrie, I know you hate being known as a Polack, so I've got good news for you. I am not your real father, George is."

The silence in the room was deafening.

After a minute Jenna said meekly, "What?"

"Yes Jenna, it appears your little Wedding Day indiscretion resulted in a baby, just not mine. Good news though, Carrie, now you can take your real Daddy's last name and be Carrie Kerry. Hmmm, I wonder if maybe Mom didn't insist on the name Carrie as homage to her lover?"

I looked at Jenna and she looked at George, he was white as a ghost.

"What, George, you don't want to be a Daddy? Well too bad!! Step up to the responsibility. Look at it this way, though, it's only for about 4 more years, oh, and then college."

Jenna and George said, almost in unison. "I don't believe it."

I threw the DNA report at them. "See for yourself."

They grabbed it, looked at it, and then both fainted.

"Carrie, tell the lovebirds that your Mom will be served divorce papers sometime next week along with an eviction notice."

I turned and walked away.

All the time I had been gone I wondered if the affair had been going on all through the marriage. In fact, I wondered if she was ever faithful to me.

We had met when she came in to buy a car. George was working on a car and we both thought she would be a great one to date. She chose me, or did she?

I truly was bezradny - clueless, helpless, vulnerable.

The whole time George was laughing at me behind my back as well as making Polish jokes in front of my face.

I drove back to the apartment and grabbed a beer, or four.

In the morning I went to my lawyer and had him start the paperwork. Sure, I knew that I would have to sell the house and split the proceeds, but as a barely employed man I wouldn't be expected to pay alimony or child support, especially with another man already taking my place. Well, that's what I hoped at least.

I had loved Jenna, and George too. The betrayal was unbelievable. It would take me a long time to trust anyone, either male or female. Maybe I should get counseling.

As the divorce process progressed, I went back to work at the car lot, but just as a salesman. I made a point to let all of the staff know that I was no longer the boss and that I only needed one sale a week to pay my rent and buy groceries. In fact, I insisted on only one. When it came to the support required from the court, I wanted to have no money available at the end of the month, besides my own meager living expenses, that is.

Jenna got a lawyer, I don't know how she could afford it, maybe he was doing it on contingency. Boy was he going to be surprised. They looked at my bank accounts and saw that I had spent the "sale" proceeds and they even looked at the sale but didn't find anything improper about it. They didn't dig deep enough.

I heard from my fellow salespeople that, while I was gone, George had been in almost every day for the first 2 weeks talking to Anna about getting some work. She had no problem telling him "No" every time. He finally gave up. He was now regretting that he never got his ASE certification because the only work he could find was at a Valvoline Quick Oil Change making $13 per hour. I sure hoped Jenna went to fulltime or else they were going to have a hard time making ends meet.

I contacted a Realtor and informed Jenna that I was putting the house up for sale in anticipation of splitting all our assets 50/50. She had already been served the eviction notice so she would have to be out before the house sold and closed anyways.

One night I got a knock on my door. Of course, it was Jenna.

I opened the door, I looked at her and asked, "What do you want?"

"Kurt, can we talk?"

"I don't think that is a good idea, we're in litigation against each other."

"Come on, Kurt, it's just me, no lawyers. Can't we sit down and have a civil conversation?"

"Yeah, I guess, but let's go out to Denny's" I said, 'so there are witnesses.' I thought to myself. I didn't trust her enough to be alone with her.

We sat in a booth at Denny's and after a couple of minutes of "pleasantries" I asked, "Why, Jenna?"

She looked at me, hesitated and said, "I guess the easy answer is that I liked both of you and I couldn't make up my mind."

"So, were you dating both of us at the same time?"

She looked down at the table and said, "Yes, but George told me not to say anything to you because he knew it would destroy your personal and working relationship with him."

"So, when I asked you to marry me why did you say yes?"

"Because I loved you."

"What about George?" I asked.

"I loved him too, but I knew he would never be husband material. When you asked me, he and I discussed it and we quit our relationship. I wanted to focus on us, and getting ready for our wedding."

"So, on our Wedding Day you letting him fuck you was saying, 'I'm marrying him but you're still my man.'"

She started crying, "It wasn't like that."

"So, what was it, Jenna?"

She hesitated and then said, "I didn't want to lose him, and he didn't want to lose me."

"Well, now you two have each other, and your child. Nice job with her name, by the way. I didn't even catch it until I had time to think during the 3 months on the road."

"I didn't know Carrie wasn't yours, really I didn't." Then she looked at me and said, "Kurt, I wanted to come talk to you tonight to tell you that I still love you."

"That's nice to hear you say, Jenna, but I don't think you know what love is. I loved you beyond anything or anyone else, obviously you can't say the same thing. I loved you, but I can honestly say that I don't love you anymore. I did, with all my heart, but now I only hold you in contempt."