The Trojan Lasagna Ch. 03 - Dessert

Knowing Rosalie was emotionally wounded, I tried to be diplomatic with my words. "Rosalie, when we were together, you were always important to me. So were Etta and Jayden. Our time together was wonderful, but that window closed when you went back to Robert. I'll be honest, you look really great, and if Robert can't make you feel special, then he's a fucking moron."

"Do you think I really look good?"

"Speaking objectively, yes! You look stunning, truly. You deserve a good man, but that can't be me. When we broke up, you went your way, and I went mine. I'm happily married with a child of my own. I found my happiness, and I hope you find yours. I hope you understand."

She looked into her wine glass, as if contemplating things for a moment, then looked me in the eye and said, "I do, Josh, thank you. I want you to know, if I could go back and do it again, I wouldn't let you go."

She held up her glass, said, "Cheers," then drained it.

"Cheers," I responded, and did the same. We started eating, and it was delicious.

"Rosalie, this is really good," I told her. I tried to lift another forkful to my mouth, but somehow my grip was unsteady and I dropped it. I'd only had a couple of glasses of wine, but I felt woozy, like I was really drunk.

I heard Rosalie ask, "Josh, are you all right?"

I shivered at a sudden cold flash, then, feeling nauseated, pushed my chair back to go to the bathroom. I tried to respond but all that came out was something like, "Imma not fel goo." When I tried to stand up, my legs gave way and I ended up face down on the carpet, right before the lights went out.

I recalled waking up intermittently, in a bedroom with a naked Rosalie astride me, her tits bouncing as she rode my stiff cock. Seeing my eyes open, she laughed and said, "You were always better than my husband, a kiss or two would get you hard. Robert needs a damned construction crane to get it up for me." Then things went dark again.

~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up, everything hurt except for my eyes, which were still closed. I was in no hurry to open them because I was sure that would also hurt. When I felt something cold on my left wrist, I realized I was not in my own bed, and opened them anyway. I was not wrong, the rays of sunlight that flooded them hurt like a son of a bitch. Slamming my eyelids shut, I tried opening the left one just a tad, peeping to see where I was.

I discovered I was in a hospital bed, then saw the cold piece of metal on my wrist was a handcuff bracelet. I tugged it slightly, and saw I had been handcuffed to the bed railing! My wife Donna and I had done some light bondage stuff a time or two using terrycloth belts from our bathrobes, but never anything as hardcore as this!

Then I heard a man's voice. "Ah, the drunken bastard is awake. Open your eyes, shithead!"

Feeling like I had no choice, I gazed up into the scowling face of a uniformed Fairburn Police Department patrolman. His nametag read "D. Foley". Oh, shit. "Foley" was Rosalie's married name. Looking more closely at the guy's face, I could see a resemblance between Rosalie's estranged husband Robert and this guy. Officer D. Foley, all 6'2" of him, quickly made it clear why I was handcuffed.

"You assaulted my sister-in-law and tried to rape her, you drunken bastard, but we got you." This was nuts! The last thing I remember was passing out at dinner... then as my head began clearing, I recalled being naked with Rosalie! Before I could say a word in denial, Officer Foley slapped me, hard enough that my ears began to ring.

"Wait until I get you into my squad car, you sick prick," he threatened. "I'm gonna take care of you good and proper. I'll shove my nightstick up your ass, then Taser the shit out of you and say you tried to escape!"

Oh, shit. Gathering what few rational thoughts I had remaining, I asked, "Am I under arrest? I want to talk to a lawyer."

Apparently Officer Foley thought me asking for a lawyer was inappropriate, as he punched me in the face. Now my lip was split, and I felt blood beginning to trickle out of my nostrils. My bladder released, but I realized I didn't wet the bed; someone had stuck a tube up my dick. Swell. My brain struggled a moment for the word. Oh, yeah, a catheter. As if I wasn't humiliated enough already.

"You're not under arrest yet, you little bastard. We're waiting for the lab results so we know what drugs you're on. Once the doc gives me that information, I'm hauling your ass downtown into a holding cell. We can hold you for a minimum of 48 hours before we have to charge you. A pretty little boy like you will get a lot of attention from your fellow prisoners."

So now I was handcuffed and in the custody of an angry sadist motivated by family ties to beat me up before handing me off to the county prisoners to fuck me in my skinny ass. Great. Feeling helpless, my emotions were about to do a reverse one and a half somersault dive straight into an Olympic-sized pool of despair.

Then I heard a rather stern voice snap, "Officer Foley, what have you done to my patient?"

A really pissed-off dude in a lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck stepped into the room. Knowing at least one person was sticking up for me lifted my spirits considerably. Then a man in a suit walked in right behind him. "Jesus, Foley, you abused a suspect while he's handcuffed and in a hospital bed? Have you lost your fucking mind?"

Formerly verbose Officer D. Foley was suddenly acting like a Benedictine monk who'd taken a vow of silence.

The angry doctor filled in the void: "Uncuff this man immediately. He's so full of Rohypnol it's a wonder his heart kept beating. There's no way he could have committed a violent act in the last 48 hours."

The man in the suit barked, "Uncuff him, Foley."

"But Lieutenant..." Whoops, Brother Foley just broke his vow.

"Maybe you didn't understand what I just said, Officer. Your impeccable witness lied. This guy's been dosed with enough Rohypnol that it damn near killed him! Uncuff him, NOW!"

Obeying his instructions, the patrolman uncuffed me. He said nothing, but glared and gave me the old stink-eye as a parting shot. Then he and his boss left. The doctor summoned a nurse, who came in and tended to my face.

Then I heard a familiar voice. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Lazarus. I have to say, you look like shit, bro."

I looked up to see my older brother Terry and Donna's older sister Dorothy. There was also an older man with a permanent scowl on his face that I didn't recognize.

After my blow-out with my parents at my brother's wedding, I'd changed him to my emergency contact. The hospital must have called him. "Terry, man, it's good to see a familiar face. I may look like shit from the outside, but trust me, inside it feels ten times worse. I just got a beating from Rosalie's cop brother-in-law, and couldn't even cover up because I was handcuffed."

The scowling man spoke up, introducing himself. "Mr. Lujack, I'm Edmund Lasker, a defense attorney with the firm of Reynolds and Franklin. Ms. Winston has engaged me to represent you. Will you accept me as your legal representative?"

"Sure, I guess that will be fine. I have no clue what I'm being accused of, though other than the cop that beat me claims I raped Rosalie. I didn't, though. We were having dinner and she roofied me!"

"Yes, I'm aware of that. We have the police report that Mrs. Foley filed, and it seems rather specious. She claims you sexually assaulted her while your wife was out of town. A physical exam found traces of your semen present in her vagina, but she bore no wounds or marks to corroborate her allegations."

"The doctor said I almost died from all the Rohypnol she gave me! I think she roofied me and then did what she wanted. The lieutenant said they're not charging me, so can I go home? I don't know who's taking care of her, but Addy will need me."

That's when Dorothy finally spoke up. "Josh, you've been unconscious for a couple of days. I'm afraid you can't go home quite yet. Right after Rosalie called the police, she called Donna in Chicago. My sister came right home and stupidly believed her. The next day she got a temporary 90-day restraining order restricting you from being within 500 feet of her house, and forbidding any contacting with her, Rosalie, and Addy. If there's anything you need from the house, let me know and I'll get it from you."

The despair I'd managed to hold off earlier came roaring back. I declared to nobody in particular, "But I didn't DO anything!"

Lasker responded, "We'll get the TRO removed once we establish that you're innocent. In the meantime, I'll have the litigation team initiate a lawsuit against the Fairburn Police, the City of Fairburn, and this hospital for brutality and gross negligence."

"The doctor who was just here saw the tail-end of it. There was also a police lieutenant, he was the one who told the officer to take off my handcuffs." There was a small hand mirror on the stand next to my bed, and I picked it up to get a look at myself. Terry had been sugar-coating it, I looked worse than shit! Two black eyes, a split lip, swollen nose, and bruises on my face where Foley had slapped me. Horrified by my own appearance, I shuddered.

I told Terry, "Crap! I look worse than that guy in the Phantom of the Opera! How will I explain this to my boss when I start my job at Halway Brothers?"

Terry grimaced. "Yeah, Josh, about that. Donna called me and asked me to tell you there was a message from Halway Brothers on the answering machine. After talking to Donna, Rosalie apparently called and told them you'd been arrested for assault, and directed them the Fairburn Police for confirmation. They spoke to the officer who took the report on you, who said you'd been arrested and were about to be charged.."

"Don't tell me -- it was Officer Foley, Rosalie's brother-in-law."

"The very same. After receiving the confirmation, an HR rep from Halway Brothers called and left the message that your job offer had been rescinded."

The lawyer piped up, "I'll have our labor attorney file a wrongful discharge suit against Halway Brothers as well."

Without thinking, I put my face in my hands, pulling them away immediately because my face had already taken a pounding today, and it hurt!

"Damn it, Terry," I moaned, "my wife believes I'm a rapist, I can't go home, I can't see my kid, I'm peeing into a tube and I lost my new job that I haven't even started yet! What else could go wrong?"

My brother shrugged, and patted my shoulder. "You'll get you through this, buddy, if you let us help for once."

Dorothy walked back into the hospital room, after stepping out for a moment. "I just talked to the doctor on duty; he said if you felt up to it, he'd release you on the condition that you'll have someone look after you for the next two days in case of any aftereffects from the Rohypnol. A nurse will be coming in to remove your catheter.

"Dorothy, where am I supposed to go? I'm not in any shape to drive to my apartment in Indianapolis. All our cars are still at home, and I can't go back there."

"I'll take care of your car," Terry told me, "I'll drop it off at Dorothy's, and Janine can pick me up."

I was confused, and looked at Dorothy. "Sorry, handsome," she said, grinning, "you're stuck with me. You need looking after, and I'm just the woman to do it!"

At this point, I really couldn't argue. I was physically busted up and unemployed. There was no way I could afford an extended hotel stay, living in my car held no appeal. I'd danced with Dorothy at my wedding, and although 7 years older than Donna, like my wife, she was tall and regal, not to mention easy on the eyes. Besides, I reasoned that staying with my Donna's sister beat the hell out of getting fucked in the ass while locked up in the county jail.

And that was how I ended up staying at my hot sister-in-law's house in Stony Lake, the next town up the road from Fairburn.

~~~~~~~~~~

Stony Lake Indiana, November 1988

For the next few days, I felt like crap. My arm and legs were working now, although my lip was still split and the bruises on my wrists and face had turned a dark purple. Despite there being no charges filed against me I hadn't heard a thing from Donna. Except for meals, I stayed in my room. Thankfully, Dorothy had a good collection of classic authors -- Melville, Hugo, Dumas, Dickens, and so on -- that occupied my mind.

One night, I was laying on my back in bed, half asleep, when I felt someone slip under the covers of my bed. I felt a hand caressing my chest, and soft lips pressing into mine. Turning towards her, I ran my hand down her side, feeling the curve of her hip. Her foot touched mine; realizing these were long legs against mine, I wondered if Donna had finally come for me.

She was wearing a long nightgown, and cupping a hand over her left breast, I began kissing her neck.

"Donna, I've missed you so much," I murmured.

The soft lips pressed against mine one more time, her tongue tickling my lips. Then she I heard a voice that was definitely not Donna's.

"I wish I was Donna. I've envied her since your wedding, you know. You've been such a good husband to her."

It was then I realized it was Dorothy, not Donna, next to me. Under normal circumstances, I would have thrown the sheets aside, springing to my feet in moral outrage. But I hadn't been with my wife for a long time, so my body was advising I hear her out.

In addition to the Winston family beauty, Dorothy, like Donna, was incredibly desirable and smelled really good. With my emotions residing in the pain dumpster, sleeping with my sister-in-law would definitely have provided some relief.

Despite my aching erection, I had to stop myself, and told her, "I'm sorry, Dorothy, I can't do this."

Nestling her face into my neck, she sighed, "I guess I should have known I was too old."

I responded by kissing the top of her head. "That's bullshit, Dorothy, and you damned well know it. You may be in your 50s, but you've got me as hard as a stone pillar."

Gently squeezing her breast for emphasis (as well as my own pleasure), I reassured her, "It's taking every bit of my self-control not to tear that nightgown off and fuck you until you beg me to stop."

Dorothy nodded her head and whispered, "It's Donna, isn't it?"

Internally, I breathed a sigh of relief that she understood. "We're still married. Donna may have hurt me terribly, but she didn't cheat on me. I can't cheat on her. I'm torn between taking her back and ending things with her."

Taking her chin in my hand, I lifted Dorothy's face up and gave her a long, soft kiss. "Besides, if we did this and Donna found out, it would ruin the relationship between the two of you. My family's already broken, I don't want to be the guy that breaks yours."

Watching her walk out of my bedroom, I began to question my own values. Why even have morals? I'd always been a loyal boyfriend, a devoted husband and good father, only to end up beaten, betrayed and holding the shit end of the stick. Mark Twain once wrote, "Be good, and you will be lonesome," and I was now living proof of that.

~~~~~~~~~~

After a week, I'd recovered physically. I asked Dorothy if she could go to the house and pick up some more of my clothes and my toiletries. When she came back, she filled me in on the news. None of it was good.

After Officer Foley was taken off the case, a Detective Mallery was put in charge. She was a new hire at the FPD, and was quite thorough. After reading the initial domestic violence report, she met with Rosalie to go over the details, which changed several times in the course of their discussion.

Since the medical report revealed I'd been drugged with Rohypnol which was illegal in the US, Detective Mallery got a search warrant for our house. During the search they found a partially empty bottle of Rohypnol hidden in Rosalie's bedroom, along with a bag containing 43 ecstasy pills.

Rosalie was arrested for possession of Rohypnol, possession of ecstasy, and suspicion of assault. Donna, meanwhile, not only had to endure the humiliation of having her house searched, but was grilled by Child Protective Services to determine if our daughter was in any danger.

Addy wasn't taken away, but details of the search -- including the drugs - were published in Fairburn's newspaper the Blade. According to Dorothy, most of the small-town residents were treating my wife like a pariah, shunning her wherever she went.

Rosalie's arrest for drug possession was enough for Robert to be granted exclusive custody of Etta and Jayden. He took it a step further and got a temporary restraining order, keeping his estranged wife away from his house and their kids while her case was adjudicated.

Dorothy did bring one piece of good news: realizing Officer Foley had screwed up badly by abetting a suspect in a drug and assault case, the Fairburn's City Attorney had sent a fax to Edmund Lasker offering a confidential no-fault settlement of $200,000.

Lasker had countered, stating I'd sign off for $750,000, and was waiting for their response. Once this was settled, my plan was to file a civil suit against Officer D. Foley and take him for all he was worth.

The hospital's attorney disavowed that they were in any way responsible for the actions of Officer Foley, but offered a no-fault settlement of $50,000 from the hospital in return for my signing a confidentiality agreement. Given their doctor had entered the room in time to save me from a horrible beating, I told Lasker to accept it. It was the city that I wanted to make bleed.

In addition to the news about Rosalie's problems and the settlement offers, Dorothy sat me down and told me, "My sister's a real mess, Josh. She needs your support." Then, she added "Addy needs her father." That last bit was a low blow, and I was pissed. When I glared at her, I think Dorothy realized in trying to use my daughter to guilt me, she'd stepped over the line.

By now, I'd become quite bitter about being falsely accused and the restraining order, never having the chance to explain myself because of my being unconscious. On the scale of ice cubes to icebergs, my resentment could now sink the damned Titanic.

While I was appreciative of what Dorothy had done for me, letting me stay in her guest room to heal and all, her remark about Addy made me lose my temper and I snapped.

"Really Dorothy? Don't even drag our baby into this mess, Addy had nothing to do with it. It was all Donna! She threw me out and blocked me from seeing my daughter, and didn't think twice about it. If you're expecting me to be sympathetic, you're talking to the wrong fucking guy. At this point, do you really expect me to give a shit? She hasn't even rescinded the restraining order!"

Dorothy made a vain attempt to calm me down. "Now, Josh, you certainly have a right to be angry, but with the police search and posting bail for Rosalie, Donna hasn't had time to get it rescinded." This just doubled down on my bitterness.

"What you're telling me is, I'm no longer a priority to my own goddam wife. I'm just an inconvenience, and her lying daughter comes first. Fine." I walked into the guest room, and started packing my suitcase.

An hour later, I was back behind the wheel of my old Ford Galaxie, headed for my apartment in Indianapolis. The apartment that I'd signed a year lease for, to live while working at my new job, the job I lost because of Rosalie's lies. That apartment. Shit!

~~~~~~~~~~

Indianapolis, Indiana, December 1988

Rosalie was initially charged with sexual assault and possession of Rohypnol, but I had no desire to testify at her trial, as it would mean having to sit in a courtroom with her and Donna for hours. I wanted to put this behind me, I asked the county prosecutor to drop the assault charge.