Wearing the Boss's Anklet: A Sequel

"No, I don't want to see that," she said.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to see this evidence of yours," George said.

"I don't mind, but I don't think it's something you really want to see," I said.

"That's alright," he said. "I'm a big boy. I've seen it all."

"Suit yourself," I said, pulling out my phone. I brought up the video and George watched a couple minutes of it, with Linda watching over his shoulder. We could all hear Terri and Paul trashing me as they rutted like animals. George stopped the video and shook his head as he handed the phone back to me. Linda was shocked at what she saw and heard and left the room in tears.

"Do yourself a favor and sign the papers, Terri," George said. "I'm very... disappointed in you right now." He turned to me before speaking again. "I'm really very sorry, Joe. I thought we had raised her better than this." He shook my hand and walked out of the room. I turned back to Terri.

"Just one question," I said. "Why?" She shrugged her shoulders as she looked up at me.

"Like I said before. It was just fun. That's all," she said.

"Fun and games, huh?"

"Yeah," she said dismissively. "And in case you were wondering, yes, he's bigger than you. A lot bigger."

"And that's why you've kept right on fucking him? Yeah, I know. Your mother told me you've been wearing your anklet to work," I said.

"Look, Joe, I didn't mean to hurt you," she said. "I know you want a divorce, but can't we at least be friends?" I shook my head.

"No," I told her. "I can't be friends with someone who deliberately lies to me and fucks me over behind my back. And before you ask, no, I don't love you any more. Right now, I don't even like you very much."

"You know I could fight this," she said. "I could ask for counseling, demand support from you."

"You could, but you'd only be wasting time and money," I said. "The divorce is going to happen whether you want it or not. Sign the papers now and be done with it. Then you can have all the fun and games you want with Paul or anyone else." I pulled a pen out of my pocket and handed it to her. She looked at the pen for a few moments, then took it from me and signed the papers.

She handed the pen and the papers back to me. I took them and held out my hand. She looked at me, confused.

"Your rings," I said. With tears in her eyes, she pulled them off and handed them to me. I slid them in my pocket. "Thank you. I'll get this to my attorney and cut you a check for your half of the bank balance. Goodbye, Terri. Merry Christmas."

I could hear her sobs from the driveway where I had parked my car. At that moment, I really didn't care if she was unhappy. I got in my car and drove home. Merry fucking Christmas, indeed.

Epilogue:

Sam filed the signed papers and I was a free man in 90 days. I never heard from Terri after that Christmas morning, but her parents told me she was still working at the coffee shop, and Linda told me she wore her anklet every day to work.

Two of the three husbands I spoke to also filed for divorce, naming Paul in their filings. The third husband forgave his wife after she quit her job at the coffee shop and started going to counseling. I wondered if I could have done the same with Terri, but realized that even if I could forgive her, I would never be able to forget. And I would always wonder what she was doing when she wasn't with me.

As Sam had warned, the alienation of affection lawsuit didn't go very far. Nevertheless, word of what he had done spread throughout the local community and he lost a lot of business as well as his reputation.

One morning, I read an article that said he had been confronted by a group of angry husbands outside a bar. After a short but rather intense confrontation, he was taken to a local hospital with multiple broken bones and a concussion. After asking around, I learned that he had also lost one testicle. Oh, well...

As for me, I went about my work and met a delightful divorcée named Julie. She's a year younger than me, and like me, had dumped her husband after she caught him cheating on her. We've been dating for a while, and things are looking good. We're both a bit skittish about jumping into marriage right now, so we're taking things one day at a time. I can live with that.

...

The end.