Tom Granger

"I want to apologize to you, Tom, for being such a thoughtless bitch and to you too, Ellen, for putting my own pleasures ahead of my best friend. I have been such a shitty person to both of you. For the last 3 months I've been seeing somebody, a counselor, to help me deal with all of this, the drugs too."

I didn't know what to say at that point. The two girls were hugging and crying and I felt and looked like shit so I excused myself and went upstairs to take a shower and brush the crap taste out of my mouth. When I came back down both of them had showered and fixed breakfast. I took a plate of eggs and toast and went out and sat by my garden in the morning sun.

Last night I thought I had a cheating whore for a wife and that my marriage was shit. This morning I had a wife who made a lot of mistakes and her friend who was owning up to her many flaws. I don't know if Jennifer's explanation really settled anything or not. It seemed trite and senseless but then I don't know women as well as I would like. I do know the last 24 hours were not something I want to repeat any time soon.

Ellen and Jennifer joined me out next to the garden and we watched Virginia beans grow for a while. I wondered if the Granger household would suffer any new revelations as my memory returned.

Epilog

Dickey Snyder didn't fare so well in life. He took a beating at the hands of a couple bikers who took away his ability to ever fuck another man's wife again. He was deposited on the sidewalk in front of the Mousetrap in a bloody heap. Several bones were broken and it's rumored that he will never walk without a limp again. His attackers were never identified

Shortly after the scumbag was released from the hospital he was arrested on Emmett Street with a trunk of Meth, a bag of nearly 500 ecstasy tablets and several vials of the date drug GHB. He got 10-20 years in state prison for possession with intent to distribute. Bill always keeps his word.

Somehow Ellen and I got back to that place we were at early in our marriage and we were able to heal and put the past behind us. We've even given some thought to adopting a baby. Will it happen? Who knows? I know there were a few inconsistencies in the stories but the gist of them were reasonable. If I had come down the stairs and found Ellen fucking that creep in the manner that Jennifer was, this would have been a whole other outcome.

Jennifer? She continued in therapy and addressed the demons in her life. She hasn't touched drugs in a long while and has actually settled down and is dating a guy who we think is probably really good for her. I don't see any wedding bells in the immediate future but Ellen insists they are on the way. We are still overly polite toward each other and I don't think I'll ever want to be close to her but there is peace now. I think I can live with that.

MFH