Thoroughbred

Finding a hotel in Cheyenne was no problem. It was late September and the tourist season was already winding down. He decided on a Towne Place suites by Marriott. That allowed him some time to find a nice townhouse or condo, while still having the ability to cook his own meals. It also had a fitness room so he could continue his training. He would have to see about changing his Planet Fitness membership to Cheyenne. He may have to just cancel his membership and start a new one.

That brought to mind that he would have to get a new bank account and have work change his automatic deposit. Of course, he would have to change is driver's license too. He would have to start making a list.

Monday he started working through his list. The DMV was pretty much what he expected, grab a number and wait. Fortunately it didn't take as long as he thought it would, they were pretty efficient. Setting up a new bank account was also easier than he thought. They were even able to give him a debit card that same day. He would wait until he got his checks before making arrangements to close his accounts in California.

By 2:00 he had everything done on his list. He decided to swing by his new work location and introduce himself to his new boss. His boss was extremely helpful, even giving him suggestions of what areas of town to avoid and where to look for good housing. After about a half hour of sitting and talking to him he thought to himself that they would get along great. Wyoming looked like it would be a great change in his life, maybe even a permanent location.

Weeks went by, Kurt getting acclimated to his new job and Audra kept trying to find him, but with no luck. It was then that Audra decided she needed to take drastic measures. She picked up the phone and called Kurt's parents. She was sure that he would have given them all the details of her blatant adultery. They were church going people. She was sure that if they spoke to her at all, that she would be getting an ear full.

"Hello Carol, it's Audra." She said hesitantly.

"Carol? What's with the formality? You know you can call me Mom."

Audra was confused, would Kurt have gone a month without calling and telling his parents?

"Sorry, Mom. How have you been?".

"Good. So how do you like Wyoming?"

"So that is where he is." Audra thought.

"It's okay." Audra said, then she took a chance and said, "What has Kurt said about it?"

"Oh, you know Kurt, He doesn't say a whole lot. He said he's glad to be out of California though. I was surprised that you didn't fight him on that."

"Well, we did have a discussion."

"I think you will learn to like the Midwest. Give it a chance."

"Okay, thanks Mom I have to go now, but I'll keep in touch."

Audra hung up.

She was confused. He left her without saying a word, but seems to be covering it up with his parents. Was there still hope? If he didn't tell his parents the details then he must be willing to work on their relationship. How could they do that if he wouldn't answer her calls? Well, at least now she knew where he was.

She decided to buy a tracfone and call Kurt from it, maybe now that some time has passed he will be willing to talk to her. She went right to a store and purchased one. "He has to answer." She said to herself. She dialed his number.

"Welcome to Verizon Wireless, the number you have dialed has been changed, disconnected, or is no longer in service. Please check the number and dial again."

She looked at the phone to insure she had called the right number. Yep, it was Kurt's number, or at least it used to be.

"Shit, he must have gotten a new number."

Now what was she going to do? She couldn't call her mother-in-law back and ask her for the new number. Well, she knew he was in Wyoming, and was transferred through work, so she would start there. She looked up Northrop Grumman's website and the searched the state of Wyoming. They have a branch in Cheyenne. Great, the capital, how would she find him among 100,000 people? Then she thought about hiring a private detective to find him. What would that do, she still needed to talk to him,

She decided to make arrangements to take a week off and find him herself.

Kurt

At work Kurt was getting along great was starting to fell like a part of a team. It was late October and the HR Dept. was putting the word out that Benefits open enrollment needed to be done soon. As Kurt reviewed all his benefits he noticed that instead of a single plan, he was on a family plan. "There must be some sort of mistake?" Kurt thought to himself. He immediately made the changes to the single plan for the next year and inquired about possibly getting a refund. HR checked into it and told him that he had approved the plan last fall and that they could do nothing about it as that is what he had chosen. Kurt was puzzled and absentmindedly rubbed his left palm. He looked down at his hand as he rubbed. In his palm, under his skin, was a circle of hard tissue about the size of a nickle. He thought to himself, "I should get my hand checked."

Audra

Three weeks after speaking with Kurt's Mom Audra was sitting outside his work waiting to see his car drive out of the parking lot. At 5:30 she spotted it and followed him. He drove to the Planet Fitness and went in.

Did she want to go in there and confront him? What if he ignored her again and just left before she could follow him? Then she would lose the ability to find out where he lived. She also couldn't sit down with him, like a normal husband and wife, and talk to him. No, better to wait.

So, after about an hour, Kurt walked out to his car and Audra followed him as he drove to the hotel where he was staying.

She was angry that he had abandoned her, and also apprehensive about how she should approach the situation. How should she do this, just go knock on his Door? Say "Hi" and "Can we talk?"

She sat in her car going through every scenario. He could get violent, but that was not Kurt. He could scream and yell, she would deserve that, and actually it would be better than what he had done at home. Would he pull the silent treatment and just not talk to her? They needed to talk this out. She had made a huge mistake. She knew it even while it was happening, but the fact that Kurt had not listened to her, but rather had to go riding so he could show up Chet, had really annoyed her. He just couldn't play nice, rather potentially putting her job status in jeopardy. By the time it dawned on her that she was making the big mistake she was already in bed with Chet. By that time the damage had already been done.

She finally got up enough courage to walk up to his door and rang the doorbell. She could hear Kurt inside as he approached the door. She could tell he was looking at her through the peephole. After about 10 seconds he walked away from the door. She started knocking and started pleading with Kurt to open up and talk to her. There was still no response. She was angry now! She started pounding on the door, ringing the doorbell, and yelling for Kurt to open up.

The neighbors form the next unit opened their door and looked at her. She stopped. "What are you doing?" They asked in an accusing tone.

"I'm trying to get my husband to open the door and talk to me!" She exclaimed.

"Husband? Kurt lives there. He's not married. I think you have the wrong room."

"He is too my husband!! We've been married for the last 3 years."

The wife of the couple said very matter-of-factly. "We've had him over for supper a couple times and he was quite adamant that he was not married. He dated a girl in college for a while, but that didn't work out. I don't know what kind of shit you're trying to pull, but if you don't leave we will call the cops!!"

Audra stood there in shock. He was telling everyone he was single, "How could he?" She thought.

Kurt

Inside the apartment Kurt had just gotten home, threw his gym clothes in the washer, and threw on some sweats to relax in. Then this doorbell rang. He walked over and looked through then peephole. "That's odd." He said to himself, there was nobody there.

A few minutes later he heard his neighbor talking on the front walk. It sounded a little bit like an argument. They were a nice couple and he hoped that they worked it out.

As he stood there he absentmindedly rubbed the palm of his hand, feeling the circle under the skin.

Audra

"Cops aren't going to help this situation." Audra said to herself, so she headed back to her car. She had to figure out some way to get Kurt to talk with her.

Sitting in her car she thought about their time together. How, if she wasn't such a klutz, they would have never gotten together. She thought about them dating and how it took 3 months before they made love. Audra had been eager long before that, but Kurt enjoyed spending time and getting to know each other. That first time was so passionate and loving. He had touched her in ways that no one had ever done, both physically and emotionally. She knew that he was 'the one'.

Why the fuck did she do what she had done? She knew Kurt and his Midwestern values would never allow that. Chet was so charismatic and powerful. It was like she had no control. At least that is what she was telling herself, even though she knew it wasn't true. She knew it was wrong. She knew, deep down, that it would destroy their marriage, but Chet was so convincing, and he had something to prove after Kurt had shown his superior riding skills. Damn it Kurt, why did you have to provoke him?

She knew she was pushing the blame off herself on to Kurt. She also knew that, although she had said, "You don't own me." that wasn't the way either one of them thought. They were one, and yes he owned her just like she owned him. They were each other's most prized possession.

She started crying again. After about 10 minutes she started the car and drove to another hotel. It was a restless night. She had dreams, no nightmares. of Kurt disowning her, telling her he never really loved her, she was just a fine piece of ass.

In the morning she decided to go to his work and speak to him there.

Kurt

It was about 10:00 when he received a call from the receptionist telling him that there was someone in the lobby to see him. "I wonder who that could be?" He wondered to himself.

When he approached the receptionist she said, "That woman asked for you" as she pointed to the furniture in the lobby. He looked and there was no one there. He chuckled and said, "Funny, you got me Chloe. Pick on the new guy, make him feel like he is part of the team now." Then he turned and walked back to his desk, rubbing his palm as he did.

Chloe looked puzzled as Kurt walked away. The woman had gotten up and approached the reception desk as Kurt had been talking. She was standing 5 feet from him when he turned and walked away. Audra stood there in shock. Kurt had totally ignored her, not even acknowledging her presence in the same room, in front of another person. Chloe apologized to the woman as she was telling here that she was his wife, but they had had a huge argument.

Chloe, not sure what to do, called the HR person. As he came out to the lobby he was covertly checking out the beautiful woman in the lobby. He hated that he couldn't give her a good once over. Being in HR meant he had to set the right example. He wondered how many of the women here he would have been able to date if he hadn't have had to be a "proper" HR person.

"Hello, I'm Mr. Miller. What can I do for you miss?"

"I want to speak with my husband, but he won't talk to me."

Confused, he looked at the receptionist.

"She is here to see Kurt Bryant, but when he came out he totally ignored her and walked away."

Now he was really confused. Kurt had just recently spoken to him about his benefits. How he had been charged for family benefits when in actuality he was single. "Ah... Kurt has told me specifically that he is single. In fact, he changed his benefits to reflect that. Did you recently get divorced?"

"No, we had an argument and he transferred here."

"I don't know what to say."

"Call L.A., they'll tell you. Speak to his old boss, Mr. Haven." She said.

"Even if that's true, it appears he doesn't want to talk to you."

"Talk to him for me, please." She pleaded.

"Let me talk to him." He said.

When he had talked to him, Kurt was adamant that he was not now, nor was he ever married,

He went back to the woman in the lobby and told her what Kurt had said. The woman insisted that she was his wife. She showed him her driver's license. She indeed had the same last name as Kurt, and had an address in L.A. She was so insistent, so he decided to call the L.A. office.

Mr. Haven did tell him that Kurt was married, or at least was when he worked there. Audra had, in fact, come in and spoken to him after he had transferred. He described Audra to him and she matched the woman that was in the lobby, also Kurt's previous address did match what was on the woman's driver's license.

"Miss, leave your number with Chloe and I will try to get to the bottom of this. Are you staying in town?" He asked her, and then thought, 'A woman that looks like her must be a bitch, or done something really bad to want to get rid of her.'

Mr Miller checked some more info and was baffled when he again spoke with Kurt about his marital status. He was a good judge of character and could read body language well enough to believe that Kurt was telling the truth, at least he thought he was.

That is when he decided to call a psychologist friend of his. Northrop Grumman is a military contractor and, insuring that the employees were mentally stable was extremely important. He had an opening the following day, so Mr. Miller made arrangements for Kurt to visit him. He then called Audra.

"Mrs. Bryant, something isn't quite adding up here. I have spoken to your husband and he is quite adamant that he has no wife."

"Well I can assure you that I am."

"I believe you. Everything I've checked on points to that. I've made an appointment with a psychologist for Kurt tomorrow afternoon. Let me ask you, has he had any head trauma recently?"

"I don't know of any, but it's been weeks since I've seen him last."

"Well, the psychologist should be able to help."

Kurt

Kurt was sitting in Dr. Afton's office when the doctor asked, "So Kurt, as you know, your employer has asked for an evaluation. I'm sure it has something to do with regulations pertaining to the government."

"Okay" said Kurt, confused as to why he was here.

"Tell me about yourself. Give me a brief autobiography."

Kurt spent the next 15 minutes telling him about his life with the doctor asking clarification questions every once in a while. At the end the doctor asked. "Tell me about your relationship with your mother."

Kurt spoke of growing up in Nebraska and feeling nothing but love from his mother. They had a close relationship.

"How about girlfriends?"

Kurt spoke about dating and how he had a girlfriend in 11th grade, but she wanted to date other guys before she went to college, so they had broken up. Of course he was hurt, but his senior year was full of dating other girls, so he reasoned it was actually for the best.

In college there was one particular girl that he dated. In fact, he dated her for 2 1/2 years. They had talked about marriage after graduation. That relationship ended poorly. She started dating a football player behind his back. He got wind of it from a friend and confronted her. Needless to say, they broke up and never married.

After college, he had been concentrating on his career so, although he dated a few times there was no time for a serious relationship.

"So, what are your thoughts about being married?" The doctor questioned.

"I am not opposed to it, but I don't think it will happen. I'm approaching 30 and while I may want to get married I don't know if I could trust someone enough. Besides, I'm already pretty set in my ways."

After a few more questions and answers, the doctor excused him. He then called Mr. Miller.

"I've checked out his background." Mr. Miller said. "He definitely is married. How do you explain this?"

"Something big must have happened for him to have selective amnesia. Are we sure he wasn't in an accident?"

"What do you mean selective amnesia?"

"As a defense mechanism our brains block out certain events. Accident victims can't remember events leading up to, during, and for a period after the accident. That way the memory of the traumatic event is gone. It is probably there in their subconscious, but unless something specific can be introduced, the memory is unattainable by the patient."

"Let me talk to his wife and try to determine if there was a traumatic event that could have triggered this." Mr Miller said.

Audra

He called Audra and explained that the doctor's determination was selective amnesia. "What happened right before he transferred here?"

Audra was quiet. He could tell that it was something big and that she didn't want to discuss it.

"Perhaps it would be better if I spoke with you in person about this. Sometimes having a shoulder to cry on helps." Besides, he thought, he wouldn't mind spending time with this gorgeous woman.

They met at a restaurant near work. He explained to her what the doctor had said. Then he asked, "What happened that could make him forget being married to such a lovely woman?"

She was being evasive as she told him that they had a huge argument about a week or so before he left for Wyoming.

"It must have been something traumatic to cause this amnesia."

Then she broke down. "I cheated on him with my boss." She finally admitted.

Just then Audra heard Kurt's voice. She heard it across the sparsely filled dining room. She turned and saw him speaking to the hostess. "I have a to go order."

"Your name?"

"Kurt Bryant."

"I'll go check on it, Mr. Bryant." She said as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Audra, seeing her chance to talk to him, got up and rushed up to him.

"Kurt! Oh honey, I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

He stood there ignoring her, not even looking in her direction.

"Kurt" She said and grabbed his arm.

It was as if his arm was limp. She tugged on it and his arm moved, but his body had no reaction. She stood right in front of him, and yet he ignored her. She started screaming at him and stomping her feet. The hostess came back with Kurt's food and spoke to Audra.

"Miss, what is your problem?"

"This is my husband, and he won't talk to me."

The whole time while this was happening Kurt stood there emotionless. He noticed his food and asked, "Is that my food?"

The hostess stammered and said, "Uh... Oh, yeah,"

"I've already paid for it."

Audra was still holding on to one arm and he grabbed the food with the other hand.

"Thank you." He said to the hostess and turned to leave. He was actually pulling Audra along with the arm she clung to. He made his way to his car, set the food on the roof, hit the remote to unlock the car, and opened the car door right into Audra.

All the while Audra was pleading with Kurt to say something to her, anything!

When the door hit her, she lost her grip on his arm and he grabbed his food and got inside his car and locked the door.

She started banging on the window, but Kurt just started the car up and put it in drive.

Audra had to back up quickly or she would have had her foot run over. As Kurt pulled away, she slumped to the ground.

This whole time, Mr. Miller had been watching the transaction. He couldn't believe it. He went over to Audra and helped her up and walked her back into the restaurant. They talked about what had just transpired. They both were amazed at his total lack of acknowledgment of her.

"I am going to have the psychologist speak to him again. May I ask you to send me photos of you and Kurt together?"