Turnabout

The main characters in this story are probably caricatures of people in mid-sized towns in the American Midwest; this town I'll call "Normal" to protect the guilty. However, caricatures are normally based upon realistic perceptions, even if oversimplifications or not entirely accurate. Anyway these caricatures were real life.

First there was the Carver High School girl who was both head cheerleader and star athlete, and the most popular girl in school, Ashley Prentice. Ashley is the daughter Merilee and Owen Prentice one of the richest couples in town.

Merilee was the chairman of most of the high visibility charities in town but not because she was a charitable person; it was for the status that it gave her.

Owen owned more than 50% of Normal Trust, by far the largest and most prestigious bank in town, and all or parts of a number of retail businesses on Main Street.

Ashley and Merilee were the best looking women in their age groups in Normal and Carver County -- and also in many surrounding towns.

Ashley's two years older brother Storm (his nickname, he hated his real name of Reginald) was different than the other members of the family. He kept a low profile, played football like every other able-bodied male teenager did at Carver High School, but had no interest in fame, fortune, or pretense. He got out of town for college, and stayed out, ultimately becoming an attorney in a big city.

While Ashley was loved by her parents, they never taught her humility, empathy, or grace -- qualities that they were also lacking in. This led Ashley to be much less than kind to many of her classmates -- kids not in the popular group. One such kid was Billy Thompson.

Billy was a fairly innocuous kid. He wasn't particularly good looking, he was on the short and slight side for boys his age, and he wasn't "able-bodied" enough to play High School football. For this reason he was often bullied by boys at Carver High. His main tormenter was the senior quarterback for the football team, Jack Austin. Billy took the bullying without complaint.

While Billy's parents weren't poor they didn't have much disposable income so his material things were sometimes lacking. What Billy did have, however, much to his ultimate dismay, was a crush on Ashley. Billy and Ashley were in the same class in school, juniors at the time this story starts. While Billy's crush wasn't unusual since many boys in Ashley's age range did, he wasn't subtle enough to hide it.

As a result of Billy's crush on Ashley he was teased unmercifully by his male classmates who weren't already bullying him, scorned by many of his female classmates, and pranked by many who didn't tease or scorn him. Despite his situation, by working a part time job he saved enough money to get tickets to the Junior Prom and even rent a luxury car, and asked Ashley to go with him, far enough in advance that no one else could possibly have, not even the aforesaid football star Jack Austin.

Ashley was appalled that someone of Billy's status had the nerve to ask her -- which at least he did over the phone since he probably would have wet his pants if he did so in person. This gave her time to think without displaying the scornful look on her face that would have been evident if he asked in person. She decided that Billy needed to be put in his place so after a pregnant pause she started questioning him in a flirtatious manner and after some evil fun told him "Yes, but I'm a little worried Billy that you don't have enough money to get me the appropriate corsage, Tierra, or other items that I need."

With his spirts buoyed Billy assured her that he could by working longer at his part-time job, so he had her confirm that she would go with him. "We need to keep this our little secret, however," she whispered over the phone, "otherwise my status-seeking mother might get involved. Also, we can only talk about this over the phone, not in person at school."

Since Ashley's "Yes" was beyond his wildest dreams Billy was willing to agree to all conditions.

So began the most ruthless long-lasting prank in Carver High School history. Ashley clued in her close female friends on the condition of absolute secrecy and set about every week or so telling Billy what she needed for the Junior Prom. It included a Tierra -- the first one of which she rejected because it wasn't sparkly enough -- a pashmina, a pair of ugly shoes that she never had any intention of wearing but just gave to the local Goodwill, various bottles of perfume, and a piece of jewelry. Billy spent all of the money he made, and was in his bank account as gifts from his grandparents, but he knew that it would all be worth it especially since whenever he saw Ashley in the hallways at school she smiled at him -- although she never talked to him live.

Ashley also told her haughty mother about the evil prank. Instead of discouraging her daughter like a good parent would Merilee only laughed and agreed to perform her part of the hoax.

The big day finally arrived as Billy pulled up to the Prentice mansion in his rented Lincoln with the exact corsage that Ashley had told him that she wanted. When he got to the door, however, Ashley didn't answer but rather her mother Merilee did.

"Uh,,,hello...uh...Mrs. Prentice," Billy stammered, not only because he was nervous about the entire night but also because Merilee was -- as earlier indicated -- a very good looking woman and her low cut evening gown did little to hide the voluptuousness of her prodigious mammary glands, "is Ashley ready?"

"Ready for what," was Merilee's terse, coarse, reply.

"Uh...to go to the junior prom," he responded barely above a whisper.

"She left with Jack Austin a half hour ago; why would you think that she'd go with you?" Merilee snickered.

Billy suddenly realized that he had been pranked worse than anyone in the history of Carver High had, and started lightly crying.

"Get your big boy pants on and take this as one of life's lessons," Merilee caustically continued, "but I assume that you have no use now for that corsage and it will look really great with my dress when Mr. Prentice and I go to the Leukemia Charity Ball tonight," Merilee concluded holding out her hand.

Completely defeated and trying to hold back his tears Billy handed over the corsage and then the door was closed in his face, without even a thank you from Merilee.

Billy drove his rented Lincoln to a remote spot in town and broke down crying. After a couple of hours of self-pity he finally got himself together enough to drive home. His concerned mother asked him what was wrong when she saw him come home early, and in distress, but he merely said "I don't want to talk about it," and went to his room. Sleep didn't come quickly, but finally his emotional exhaustion took over and he fell into a deep, if troubled, sleep.

The next Monday at school everyone who had heard of the cruel prank on Billy was either laughing or shaking their heads about it. Fortunately there was only two weeks left in the school year so he retreated into his shell and rode them out without interacting with anyone, suffering the laughter that came his way -- especially from Jack Austin -- the best that he could. That summer he turned 18 and since there was no way that he was going to submit himself to a year of humiliation in what would have been his senior year he dropped out of school and joined the Marines.

Normally one has to have a High School Diploma to join the Armed Forces; however, the local Marine recruiter was way short of his quota and filled out the "Education" portion of the application for Billy, attesting to the fact that he was presented with Billy's GED. Billy was in boot camp before the end of the summer.

************

Roughly six years after Billy enlisted Ashley had returned to Normal and was engaged to Jack Austin. At the college that Ashley attended there were way too many good-looking women for her ego, so a return to Normal, where she was definitely extraordinary, resulted rather than moving to a big city like Storm had.

The intervening six years had been kind to Merilee and Owen. Owen was even richer than before. Due to an exercise regime in the fitness studio that Owen started in Normal, a small amount of cosmetic surgery, and weekly spa treatments, at 50 years old Merilee looked better than ever.

Then a bizarre incident occurred in low-crime Normal. As Merilee was leaving Owen's office in the bank after they had gone out for lunch two thugs, with hand guns and masks, entered Normal Trust and advised everyone that it was a stickup. One of the thugs held a gun on a female teller while she filled up a sack the robber had provided while the other grabbed Merilee around the neck, held her tight to him, and said "You're coming with us MILF; we're gonna have some fun with you."

Merilee was justifiably scared shitless for about ten seconds when suddenly she saw the gun hand of the thug who was holding her pulled downwardly, heard him scream in pain as at least his thumb was apparently broken when the gun was ripped from his hand, and shortly thereafter she heard a thunderous roar.

The sound was a bullet screaming out of the gun from the now gun-less thug's hand and hitting the thug at the teller's station in the middle of the forehead. Shortly thereafter -- not realizing how it had happened, Merilee saw the thug who had been holding her unconscious on the floor.

When she regained her bearings she heard a baritone male voice yell toward the tellers "Call 911." She looked to the sound of the voice and saw a muscular man, about six feet tall, with a pleasant short beard and mustache, and penetrating eyes holding the first thug's gun in his right hand, pointing at the floor.

Merilee quickly realized that this guy was the one who killed one robber and immobilized the other and likely saved either her life or from being raped. "Thank you so much," she gushed to the muscular man as tears filled her eyes. The muscular man didn't react but merely emptied the bullets from the gun and placed it down on the floor and walked to the front door, apparently waiting for the police to arrive.

The first squad car was there in three minutes, and many others arrived soon thereafter as well as two ambulances. The muscular man met the first policemen at the front, flashed them some sort of ID or credential, and when detectives arrived they sat in chairs in a vacant bank officer's room and talked with the muscular man.

All of the chaos finally calmed down in about an hour, although the bank closed for the day and CSIs were still bustling around. The detectives left with a DVD from the bank's security cameras which apparently captured the entire event, one gunman was taken to the morgue, and the other apparently to the hospital handcuffed to a gunnery and under guard.

Owen and Merilee had been huddled together most of this time. When everything was calm Owen asked the detective who was last to leave "Who was the guy that foiled the robbery and saved my wife; I never got a chance to thank him."

"His name is William Thompson," the detective replied.

"Where's he from?" Merilee asked, "I don't think that I've ever seen him before."

"He says he was born and raised here and has recently mustered out of the Marines and has a job at the electronics plant just outside town and is temporarily living with his parents over on Appleton Street."

Merilee suddenly got a weird look on her face. "You mean Billy Thompson? He doesn't look anything like I remember."

"I know that his name is William Thompson but I don't know if his nickname is Billy; he didn't call himself that. But now that I think back, didn't about five or six years ago someone pull an awful prank at Carver High on a kid named Billy Thompson?"

Both Owen and Merilee looked sick. "I can't remember; thank you so much detective, I'll be in touch," Owen replied.

Of course the only topic of conversation in town, and local social media, the next several days was the aborted robbery at the bank. The local newspaper devoted the entire front page in the next day's edition to the event despite the inability of the reporter or editor to get ahold of William Thompson. All the information they had was what the detective had told Owen and Merilee -- he had grown up in Normal, had just left the Marines, and was now back in town although his parents denied that he was living with them.

In fact William Thompson was the former Billy Thompson. He had grown three inches and put on twenty five pounds of muscle since he left Normal after his junior year, complements of a growth spurt, his life in the Marines where he received a silver star, and his dedication to physical fitness.

Many people tried unsuccessfully to contact him. No record could be found of him owning or renting a house or apartment in Carver County where Normal was located and the electronics plant where he worked would only acknowledge that he was an employee there, but he worked in a secure facility of the plant without public access and his employer would only make him available if he agreed -- which he didn't.

Owen and Merilee -- in consultation with Ashley who they had told all about it (although by then the bank's video of the incident was all over social media and even had played on one of the TV stations accessible to Normal residents from a city only sixty miles away). Merilee, and to a lesser extent Ashley, was having a crisis of conscience. This was actually quite unusual for Merilee -- almost unique in her life. However, the gunman's words to her when he had his arm around her throat just wouldn't leave her, and was reinforced by what the thug had admitted to when he plead guilty to possibly avoid the death penalty because of his cohort's death during the felony. She became obsessively focused on thanking William Thompson and apologizing for what was done to him six years earlier.

With perseverance that was remarkable even considering her always persistent personality after two months Merilee was finally able to talk to William's parents and get a commitment from him through them that he would meet with her. She wanted to set up an awards dinner for the entire Normal community where the most worthwhile civic achievements of the year would be recognized, with William obviously receiving the highest award.

On a Saturday morning Merilee drove out to a remote part of Carver County where William had purchased a fully winterized and modern cabin under the name of an LLC that he was the sole member of, hence the inability to locate a property in his name in the County. Merilee was dressed nicely but demurely. William was in front of the cabin, shirtless, chopping wood when she arrived. Without his shirt on his muscular torso was even more impressive than in the bank. A slight shudder passed through her.

When Merilee exited the car William stopped chopping and put on a tight T-shirt. Merilee didn't have her normal confidence when approaching him. He had no greeting for her, smile, or any other indication of warmness.

"Thank you for seeing me, William," she hesitantly said, forcing her own smile.

His only reply was "Let's go inside."

When he smartly walked into his cabin and didn't hold the door for her she knew that this could turn out to be an unpleasant meeting.

When she got inside she was impressed with the hominess of the décor and how light everything was, in no small part due to a skylight on a South facing part of the roof. "Can I get you something to drink?" William asked without emotion.

Given her nerves despite the fact that it was before noon, Merilee said "Would you happen to have white wine?"

"I have Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand," he replied, shocking the shit out of her since that was her favorite white wine and hard to come by in Normal.

"That would be great," she replied.

She noticed that William only got a can of seltzer for himself.

Merilee engaged William in some small talk about when he had come to town, what he did in the Marines, where he had gone in the world, etc.. Nervous this entire time she kept drinking wine since he re-filled her glass every time that it was close to empty.

While William's answers weren't particularly friendly and succinct they did provide a significant amount of information including that he actually saw combat early on but eventually became an electronic warfare specialist when his talent for electronics was serendipitously discovered.

After about a half hour of chit-chat -- and three full-pour glasses of wine -- Merilee got to the point. "William, I want to thank you for saving me at the bank. I don't know if you heard what that thug said to me when he grabbed me."

"I heard it," William deadpanned.

"I have no doubt that he would have followed through with what he said," Merilee winced.

"That's why I did what I did; I didn't care if some money was stolen but kidnapping and rape were an entirely different situation; I couldn't stand by, even if it was you," he deadpanned.

The words "kidnap" and "rape" really hit Merilee hard; she had thought of them many times since the incident but hearing someone else say them shook her to the core, enough for her to gulp down her fourth glass of wine. Also the words "even though it was you," hit even harder.

"Did you recognize me?" she inquired.

"Of course; you're hard to forget, Mrs. Prentice, not only because you're so good looking but also because you were about the meanest person ever to me in my life -- aside from your bitch daughter Ashley and her boyfriend Jack -- so your visage is kind of burned into my memory."

Well, it was out there; no pleasantly trying to avoid the subject now. As she contemplated a reply Merilee stared into William's eyes. They were the most intense and hypnotic that she had ever seen in her life; his physical transformation of the 17 year old innocuous kid that came to her door six years ago given his service in the Marines and maturation was understandable; but why had she never noticed those eyes before? maybe because there were tears in them at the time; maybe those had changed too.

"I...I...really don't know what to say," she stammered breaking his stare. "I don't think that Ashley and I could have been crueler to you. It's something that I have always regretted."

"But when did you regret it? After I saved your ass? certainly not before because I never got an apology from you."

Merilee realized that he was probably right. She hadn't thought much about that night except when he had rescued her. Merilee babbled some more apologies, mostly met with terse replies, or just stares by William. After she belted down her fifth glass -- now having consumed the entire bottle -- she said "Is there any way that I can make it up to you?"

"Yes, but you won't go along with it," he stiffly replied.

"Try me," she replied vowing to meet his stare.

William stood up, removed his shirt, dropped his pants displaying a very angry and proud phallus, and challenged "Take off your clothes."

Merilee's mind seemed unable to process the situation; she wasn't sure exactly why. She knew that contributing factors were the consumption of a bottle of wine, William's eerie stare, and the impressive phallus saluting her; but reasoned that it was probably the guilt that she had felt since the day of her rescue. She had treated him like shit and he saved her ass -- and maybe her life -- and so far had all but completely refused her thanks. She might have sat there for a long time were it not for the fact that after stepping out of his pants and kicking off his crocs he approached her and held out his hand. When she accepted it he gently pulled her off her chair, lifted her into his arms, and carried her into his bedroom, only twenty feet away.

William stood Merilee up next to his bed and started slowly removing her clothes. Her head was spinning as first her blouse, then bra, then skirt, hit the bedroom floor. The normally confident and loquacious woman was now anything but. When William knelt down and pulled down her panties and stuck his tongue on her engorged clitoris she almost climaxed right then. What she did do was moan and put her hands on his head.