Welcomed to the Garden

"Just like everybody else? Hardly," I rasped.

It was her turn to blush.

"Hailey Stanwick," she said, thrusting her hand out toward me. "I'm Jenna, the goalie,'s mom."

I felt it instantly when I took her hand in mine for a quick shake. It was almost like a zap of static electricity.

"Oh," she gushed quietly.

"Yeah," I responded just as quietly.

There was an explosion of sound from our bleachers. Glenn had scored to take a 1-0 lead. My new friend and I both missed it.

We sat together and talked for the rest of the game. She told me that MJ had asked her to introduce herself to her lonesome, backward father, knowing I was hardly even looking in the direction of other women since my divorce almost a year ago.

I wondered if MJ told her that my ex left me for a woman.

Hailey had been divorced for five years from an abusive husband. Jenna the goalie was a junior, and her only child. Hailey worked in the human resources department of an electronics factory in town.

Glenn won the game, 3-1. We both rose to leave the bleachers. I mumbled that I enjoyed meeting her. She gave me a bright smile and her green eyes peered into mine for what seemed an eternity before she leaned forward and gave me a soft peck on my cheek. I blushed again while she walked over to her daughter.

"Umm... Dad. Remember me?" MJ smarted at me from in front of the bleachers. "Time to go, Dad."

"So, that seemed to work out nice. Did you two notice that we won?" she said. "And, by the way, you're welcome."

"Oh yeah, THANK YOU, baby. She's fantastic!" I enthused.

"So, did you get her number?" MJ asked, then watched as my spirit crumbled.

"God, Dad, you're pathetic!" she said as we headed to the car.

"MJ, I'm way out of practice here. I haven't dated in forever. When I got married, I wrongly assumed I would never have to date again. You know, that 'til death do you part thing," I said.

"Oh, you mean the part that Mom conveniently forgot?"

Did I mention that she got a lot of her attitude from me?

On the ride home, MJ texted Jenna and got her mom's cell number for me.

"Offer to drive to our next game at Hooper," she said. "God, do I have to do everything for you?" she explained.

I drove Hailey to the Hooper game, and we again sat side by side at the game. I noticed several of the other mothers stealing glancing at us from time to time. After the game, we stopped at an Arby's.

"I know how to treat a lady to the finer things in life," I proclaimed as I carried our tray of food over to a table.

"I'm a simple woman, Max. This works for me. As long as you don't get rough with me, we'll get along just fine. I've been there, done that, don't need a repeat," she said.

"I get it completely. I'm the father of a daughter. Any guy ever puts his hands on her..."

"You'd really like my father," she said. "After he found out Jack was abusing me, he went and visited him at his place of work... and promptly kicked the shit out of him. Gladly spent a night in jail until the president of the company my ex works for got him released and refused to press charges... the same for my ex.

"I think the president told my ex he got what he deserved, and if he wanted to keep his job he wouldn't file charges and would start seeing a counselor."

"I like it. That president guy sounds like a good man, too," I said.

For all of this woman's physical gifts, what really attracted me to her was the way we seemed to hit it off. I have to admit, I doubted I would ever have that again after I split with Astrid.

Speaking of Astrid, she showed up at MJ's next home game, by herself. I was already on the bleachers with Hailey when Astrid hesitantly took a seat in the first row on the other end.

"Isn't that..." Hailey started to ask.

"Yes," I interrupted, then looked out across the field.

My eyes found MJ just as the game was about to start. She noticed her mother on the bleachers and smiled. It hurt my heart for a second, until I remembered that my problem with Astrid was not MJ's problem, and that she would always need her mother as well as me.

I knew that Hailey was uncomfortable. I put my arm around her and slid her closer to me. I softly kissed her cheek.

"Past tense, babe. There's no do-overs in my world. I may be slow, but I move forward," I said.

"We get along for MJ's sake only. I don't think I've seen her more than a handful of times in the last year."

Call me petty, but I didn't go over and greet my ex. At the end of the game, Hailey and I waited a distance away as MJ first ran up to her mother and gave her a sweaty hug. I chuckled when Astrid at first recoiled when MJ wrapped her up, then she made the effort to relax. The only time Astrid didn't mind a sweaty body against hers was when we were in the middle of lovemaking or I was eating her pussy.

After a couple of minutes, Astrid moved off, giving me a quick glare, and MJ came over to Hailey, Jenna and me. She started to apologize, but I stopped her.

"Not necessary, baby. We're all good."

I knew very little of Astrid's life. I had asked my daughter not to discuss her mother's life with me, and she respected that for the most part. She'd occasionally make a quick comment, nothing more. That worked for me.

Just after the end of the soccer season, however, she did give me the news that Astrid and Shellane were getting married just before Christmas. MJ was going to be her mother's best person/maid of honor. I told MJ to give the happy couple my best wishes.

"Best wishes? That's it? She was your wife for 15 years, Dad. Don't you think you should call her yourself and sincerely congratulate her. Maybe send her a gift?" my daughter related.

"We've been over this before, MJ," I said. "Just because she's getting married doesn't change how I feel about her and what she did. The day I found out she was cheating on me was the end of me being Joe Nice Guy. She and Shellane can both rot in hell together for all I care."

I know I lost points with my daughter that day. I wasn't proud of how I felt, but I also wasn't going to apologize for it. Astrid blew up my world. There was no way I was going to congratulate her for marrying the person with which she did that deed.

Hailey was incredibly patient with me. I was still operating on my antiquated thoughts on dating. We had gone out on about 12 dates and had gotten pretty close emotionally, but sexually, not so close. I was hesitant. Physically, I knew Astrid inside and out—literally, but Hailey was a whole new ballgame. I knew I was overthinking things, but...

We had gone out to a good Hungarian restaurant, then went back to her house to watch a movie on Netflix. Her daughter was staying over with a friend for the night, and during the meal, Hailey had amped up her flirting and touching to a new level with me. I had a feeling I knew where this evening was going, but Hailey still beat me to the punch. She asked me to find the movie on Netflix while she went into the kitchen to pour each of us a glass of wine. When she came back into the room with the wine, she was wearing only a frilly black bra and matching bikini panties. She smiled demurely as she handed me my glass and sat down snuggled in tight.

"Mmm," she purred. "I hope you don't think I'm too forward, but you're killing me here, Max. Time to step up. I know you have feelings for me, and I do for you, too. Now show me!"

We never watched the movie. I wrapped her up in a passionate kiss on the sofa, and 10 minutes later when she led me to her bedroom, our clothes were littered on the living room floor.

We kissed for a few minutes more before I started my journey south with my lips, tongue and fingers. I marveled at her large, full breasts, licking her long, dark pink nipples while she writhed on the bed. I then placed my index finger inside her wet pussy, slowly rubbing her "G" spot before adding a second and then third finger to the game.

I waited until she started to lift her hips off the bed and yell unintelligibly before I ran my thumb over her engorged clitoris, causing her to shriek at a high level that would have hurt a dog's ears and her body to go into an inflamed spasm for about a minute.

I hadn't had sex since I split with Astrid. Yeah, I know, pretty lame, so I knew I wouldn't last long the first go-round with Hailey, but I sure wanted to get my money's worth, so to speak. Her going off like a Roman candle sent me into a frenzy, I have to admit, and I licked, sucked and fingered her to five more screaming orgasms before I crawled back up her body, slid my hard cock up and down her opening and then slowly worked my way inside. She was hot, wet and tight, and I only went 10 minutes before I came with a roar.

It was obvious to me at that point that she hadn't had too many partners since her own divorce, and she was definitely ready for more. While I was trying to clear the fog in my brain and get my breathing under control, she moved down the bed and engulfed my spent soldier. Several minutes later, he was again saluting. This time she crawled up my body, impaled herself on my hard cock and put her hands on my chest. She started out rocking back and forth, then switched to bouncing up and down. I was able to last a lot longer this time, and while I played with her boobs, Hailey bounced herself to three more orgasms before I couldn't hold back any longer and filled her with a large load of cum. She collapsed on my chest, and I wrapped my arms tightly around her.

"Goddamn, woman, that was intense!" I whispered in her ear.

"What are you doing for the next 50 years?" she said with a giggle.

Hailey and I were married about two years after we started dating. She is truly my soulmate. I thank my daughter continually for not only pushing me, but for actually finding the woman I will spend the rest of my life loving. Best gift ever.

Hailey was right, too. I did like her father, even if he threatened my life the first time I met him. After her experience with her first husband, her father wasn't taking any chances there would be a repeat, so the first chance he had to get me alone the first time we met he explained to me that I would be gelded if I so much as thought about putting my hands on his daughter in a way that wasn't acceptable.

"I've got a daughter myself. Not only do I get it, I like it!" I said.

We got along famously after that. To this day, he is my favorite fishing buddy.

I wasn't expecting MJ to be home from college for spring break for another day, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got home from work and her car was parked out in front of the house Hailey and I had bought three years earlier. I knew Hailey would be home any minute. I only wished Jenna could have joined us, but she didn't have the extra vacation days off from her job.

I burst into the house with a raucous yell, expecting MJ to jump into my arms as we usually greeted each other after several months apart. What I got instead was the sight of my 20-year-old daughter half-lying on the kitchen table, bawling like a toddler who has just skinned a knee.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" I asked quietly as I stroked her head.

She cried for about another minute before she finally lifted her head.

"I don't want to be a narc, Dad, but you've always taught me to do the right thing, and this is the right thing," she sniffled. "This is going to kill Shellane."

"That doesn't sound good. Tell me your dumbass mother did it again," I said sadly.

"Yeah," she croaked. "I stopped at Mom's before I came home. I have a key, so I just walked in the house. I knew Shellane wasn't home yet, so I was shocked when I heard two people apparently having sex in their bedroom. I had to know, Dad, I had to know, so I walked upstairs and opened the door; it wasn't locked. I don't know who the other woman is, but I know what I saw.

"I know she's my mom, but I love Shellane, too. I can't not say something, Dad. That would be... wrong. I can't pretend I didn't see that and disrespect Shell. She's been nothing but good to me."

I wasn't surprised when I got the phone call. Why is it never that woman's fault when she can't keep her legs closed?

"You bastard!" she screeched. "You made her tell Shell, didn't you, you fucking jealous Boy Scout?"

"How is it my fault that you're a cheating slut?" I growled. "I never told our daughter what to do about catching you in bed with some girl barely older than herself. Don't blame me because she knows the difference between right and wrong."

Two weeks later, my boss and I were in the bar of his favorite high-end restaurant, having a couple of drinks after work. We were on our second drink when I took a casual look around and noticed her sitting by herself at the far end of the bar, looking like she had been crying and completely forlorn. Despite the circumstances, she was still a beautiful woman. I hadn't seen her in several years.

My boss knew of my previous marital difficulties, so I only needed to give him a quick explanation, and then headed over to Shellane. Up close, I could tell she was at least half in the bag, and it was just 6:15.

"No thank you, I don't need you to buy me a drink. Please leave me alone," she said when I walked up beside her.

She hadn't even looked at me, just assumed I was trying to pick her up. I guess when you look as beautiful as she did, guys hitting on you was a fact of life. I remained at her side, silent, until she finally looked at me. She visibly flinched, and her eyes filled with tears again.

"Perfect. Come over to gloat, I suppose. Well... ah... I guess I deserve it. Go ahead," she whined.

I'd like to think I was a better man than that, but circumstances proved me only half-right. She helped to destroy my marriage, crushed my soul and ripped my heart out. I would never forget; therefore I knew I could never forgive.

"Come on, Shellane. She threw away a 15-year marriage to cheat with you. You had to know she was more than capable of doing that to you," I snarked.

"I guess I never believed that old saying of 'once a cheater, always a cheater.' Hmm. Guess that's why it's an old saying," she said.

"At least you got 15 years out of her. I only got a little more than five..."

"It's probably gets easier the more you do it," I answered.

She looked guilty.

"You know, Max, I really liked you as a friend. Like I told you, I didn't mean it to happen. It just did."

"And there's your answer as well," I said. "Like I told you years ago, you knew she was married. Only a scummer chases a married woman. Doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman doing the chasing. Think about it, now that the shoe is on the other foot."

She burst into tears, obviously not for the first time since she had been sitting at the bar. The bartender came over with a box of Kleenex and wanted to know if we needed another drink. Shellane thanked him for the Kleenex, and I asked for a couple of cups of coffee.

We drank two cups of coffee, then I walked her to my car and drove her home. She struggled getting out of my car, so I walked her to her door, took the key from her hand, opened the door, then guided her to her sofa.

"Wait, Max, you know I don't do guys..." she started to say.

"I'm way happily married, Shell. Just because Astrid didn't keep her vows doesn't mean I won't keep mine. Beauty isn't everything, babe. Just maybe you'll learn something from this."

I laid her down on the sofa, put a sofa pillow under her head and covered her with an afghan draped over the back of the sofa.

"Hey, sweets," I said to my wife when she picked up my call. "Have I got a story for you when I get home. Yeah, be there in 15."

Epilogue:

Hailey and I had a great time at our grandson Matthew's fifth birthday party a couple of days ago. MJ, her husband, Ed, and her two kids, the aforementioned Matthew and 7-year-old Nicki, live about an hour away from our house.

My stepdaughter, Jenna, an up-and-coming accountant who lives in the same city as her stepsister, her husband, Alvin, and their two children also were at the party, as was Shellane. Even though I was dubious about it, MJ had kept up her friendship with her mother's ex-wife, telling me it was the right thing for her to do, and I could stuff it if I didn't like it. I thought about it for a few days and realized that she could be friends with whoever she liked, and I didn't have to interact with Shellane if I didn't want to.

With enough time, we eventually worked out a sort of a friendship. My grandkids love their Auntie Shell, so I won't deny them that.

The one person missing from the festivities was Grandma Astrid, who as usual, was probably too caught up in her own life to attend. The grandkids don't understand why Grandma Astrid doesn't come around very often, but neither Shellane nor I really miss our ex-wife.

Astrid moved in with the young girl she was caught by MJ having sex with and divorced Shellane. About a year later, MJ found out she was living with a completely different young woman, and a year after that she was in a different apartment with two other younger women, although MJ wasn't sure if she was just living with the pair or sleeping with the pair. MJ and Ed have also said they've seen her around town occasionally with a man as well. MJ is both embarrassed with and angry at her mother. Can't say I blame her.