What a Fool Believes

The idea for this story came to me from the song of the same name by the Doobie Brothers. I read the lyrics, and this is what came to me.

I must thank my team. Harddaysknight is my mentor and gives me critical review. My readers and editors are Hale1, SBrooks103x, Cagivagurl, Stev2244 and GeorgeAnderson. I thank you all.

A word about comments. If you are a cuckold or someone who admires cuckolding stories, you should move along now, you're going to be disappointed. If you read this and complain I'll just delete the comment. If you are one of the "I woulda murdered everyone" sort, you should click the "back" button on your browser now. Randi has no interest in "justice," violent revenge or any of that shit. If you read it and complain, I'll just delete the comment. Anyone who doesn't know this by now must be new to the site. Diss my editors, make personal attacks, and out you go. Harry goes out, regardless. Everyone else, I hope you enjoy. Randi.

I never learned to hit the curveball. Even when I was playing baseball in college, I tried to sit on a pitch and only swing at the fastballs. You can tell the difference in the way the seams rotate. I was pretty well known as a fastball hitter. There went my professional aspirations. I did get a good education, though.

That stood me in good stead, since I would probably have washed out in a couple of years of pro ball, anyway. A good education keeps paying off. It certainly had for me. Twenty-five years after graduating and after fifteen years of working in the field, I had my dream job. I was a tenured professor with an endowed chair in the engineering school at a major university in Texas, I was consulting on major public construction projects and I was heading one of the NIST manufacturing laboratories.

Tessa and I bought our fantasy home in that gated community we had always dreamed about and life was throwing me fastballs right down the middle. I was hitting them out of the park. Our oldest daughter, Torrie, was a junior, going to the same school where I was teaching and studying structural engineering, just like her old man. I had life in a stranglehold and the lights were going out. Then came the curveball.

I didn't recognize it, at first. I hadn't even realized the ball was in play. It came in the form of a call from Torrie. "Dad, what's going on?" she asked.

"Um, nothing much," I said. "Just surfing the internet. What's up with you, love-bug?"

"I went by the house to borrow your floor jack," she said. "There was a moving truck there. I went in and Mom was there, directing the movers. She said she was moving out, the two of you were having problems and needed some time apart. Why didn't you say something?"

I was dumbfounded. "Ha, ha, good one, there, Torrie," I finally managed to get out.

"Dad, this isn't a joke," she said. "What's going on?"

Jesus Christ! "I have no idea," I said. "Are you sure, Baby? This isn't a joke?"

"Dad, I'm right here watching! You need to get over here. I don't know what's going on and Mom won't tell me. Did you do something?"

That was a hell of a question. I had probably "done" many "somethings," but I had no idea about any "something" that would have caused Tessa to leave. I wasn't the perfect husband, I was well aware of all my flaws, but then, she wasn't the perfect wife. No one is perfect. I certainly wasn't a cheater, I wasn't a criminal, I didn't eat myself to 300 pounds, and so far as I was aware, I didn't have a terrible body odor.

I arranged for my graduate assistants to take my classes and broke the speed limit all the way home. There was the moving truck, backed up in the driveway just like Torrie had said. She met me outside. "She won't tell me anything," she said. "You really don't have a clue?"

"No, sweetheart, I don't. She hasn't said a word to me about any trouble, at all."

"Well, Dad, if you haven't been cheating on her or been abusive or some shit, I've got your back, okay?"

"I promise I haven't been doing anything remotely like that," I told her. I sighed. "Let's go see if she'll talk. Are you sure you want to be here?"

"Of course," she said. "Dad, Imma record this on my phone. Talitha will want to know what happened." Talitha was her younger sister, and our baby.

I gave Torrie a quick hug and we went in to beard the lion, so to speak.

Tessa was in the living room, directing the movers, who were in the process of loading the hideous living-room suite she just couldn't live without.

"Tess, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm leaving you, Dax," she said. "I don't want to argue with you about it. You won't change my mind, it will just make you mad, that will make me mad and nothing will be accomplished."

"Well, that's a nice speech, Mom," Torrie said. "I hate to tell you, but I'm already mad. No, I guess I don't hate to tell you. Unless you want to permanently piss me off, I suggest you attempt to make both of us understand what the FUCK you think you're doing!"

Damn, she was mad! Torrie was the sweetest girl on the planet, but as I'd learned through the years, she had quite a temper if she thought she'd been wronged. She almost never cursed. I could tell the same thought passed through Tessa's mind. She gave the movers an instruction or two and took Torrie's arm.

"Let's go out on the deck," she said.

Torrie jerked her arm away, but we followed Tessa out on the deck. She closed the sliding door and seemed to be gathering her thoughts.

"I've met someone." She finally got it out. "You don't know him. He moved here from New Mexico about six months ago and he's a real estate developer. I'm going to be with him. I couldn't just cheat, so I'm leaving. I've already filed the divorce papers, Dax."

"Well, that's a surprise," I said. "You couldn't 'just cheat,' huh? So, you met like yesterday, fell in love at first sight and knew immediately you were destined for each other. That about right?"

Torrie snorted. "Right. That's how it always happens. Mom, how stupid do you think we are?"

"I don't think..."

Torrie cut her off. "You're a real estate agent, Mom. You don't have to account for your time. How many sleazy little dates, lunches, showings, have you been doing with Romeo, anyway?"

"It isn't..."

It was my turn. "Yes, it is. You don't just accidently decide you're dumping your husband and hooking up with your 'meant to be.' How did you know you were 'meant to be'?"

"Okay, have it your way," she said. "You can make it into something cheap if you want."

"No need to 'make' it anything," Torrie said. "It is cheap. I get that you're stabbing Dad in the back and that's between you and him. How do you imagine this playing out with me? Or Talitha, for that matter."

"I love you both, honey. That isn't going to change," Tessa hastened to assure her. "I still love you, Dax, it's just..." She couldn't quite get it out.

"That's how you claim to feel about me," Torrie said. "How do you think I'm going to feel about you? How do you think Talitha is going to feel?"

"I know you're upset," Tessa began. "You're going to have to accept that nothing about our relationship is going to change, Torrie. You're going to love Charles once you get to know him."

"I'm not going to get to know him," Torrie spat. "I want nothing to do with some douche-canoe who moves in on a married woman. I'm going to tell Talitha, too. Something has already changed about our relationship. Every shred of respect I ever had for you is gone. I am going to be seeing very little of you. If you ever bring that piece of shit around me, Imma spit on him."

"Torrie, I know..."

"You don't know shit," Torrie hissed. "I've never been so disappointed in someone in my life. You've fucked everything up. God, I hate you, Mom."

Tessa looked at me helplessly. "Dax..."

"Don't look at me," I told her. "This is on you."

I think the magnitude of what she'd done started to sink in as she looked from one of us to the other. Torrie hooked her arm in mine. "Come on, Dad. I don't want to be around Skankenstein, here. Let's go get Talitha."

Tessa made a little wail of dismay at the evil name her daughter had given her, but I was being marched down the deck steps by my very pissed-off daughter. She practically dragged me out to her car and put me in, even opening my door for me. I felt sort of like I was moving in slow motion. Talk about shock! I was a clueless idiot, I guess. Torrie got in, started the car and looked over at me. "Dad, you're going to be okay," she said. "I know you are floundering here, but I'm going to make it my mission in life for the foreseeable future to make sure the man in my life I love the most is going to get through this and be happy. Now, seatbelt, it's the law."

I buckled up, and it was a good thing. Torrie always drove like a bat out of hell, and she was putting some extra venom in it. When she got her undergrad degree, we asked her what she wanted as a graduation present. She wanted a car, and a specific one: a 2017 Audi R8 V10-Plus Spyder. We could afford it and she deserved it. She had worked her little butt off and graduated second in her class, been accepted into the graduate school and we were very proud of her.

As always when I rode with her, I was holding on to anything I could. "Jesus, baby," I complained. "You're going to kill me, and you won't have to worry about that 'foreseeable future' thing."

She laughed, as she always did, and didn't slow down a bit. It was about ten miles to the apartment she shared with Talitha, and I know it didn't take us ten minutes to get there.

The girls were polar opposites. Not in looks, they were nearly twins in that regard, but in personality. I had always been amazed that two kids with the same parents, raised in the same house, could be so different. Torrie was hard-charging, always out front, always talking and she just sparkled with energy. Talitha was quiet, so loving, extremely cuddly, and the only time you ever saw her display the same sort of energy Torrie did was in sports. She played softball, and she was a dynamo on the field.

They both looked like their mother, but with my skin and height. Torrie was an ash blonde, beautiful straight hair hanging down to her butt, and Talitha was a strawberry blonde, silky waves just below her jawline. They were gorgeous, olive skin contrasting with their hair and blue eyes. I knew I was biased, but my opinion had been confirmed by the boys that had been swirling around them all their lives. They dated, but so far, they hadn't seemed interested in any particular man to the exclusion of others.

Talitha was home, and she squealed when she saw me, sliding over on the sofa and patting it for me to sit beside her. "Hi, Dad! Whatcha doin'?" She wrapped me up and snuggled into my side, while Torrie took up an identical position on the other side.

"Hi, sweetheart." I kissed the cheek she offered me. "It's been a hell of a day."

"Oh?" Those huge blue pools looked up at me. "Sup?"

"You aren't going to believe it," Torrie said. "I'm sorry, Sis, but you know how I went to get Dad's jack?"

Talitha nodded. "Well, when I got there, Mom was home and there was a moving truck parked in the driveway. She told me she was leaving Dad and moving out."

"What?" Talitha was stunned, I could tell. "You're joking, right?"

I squeezed her up. "I'm afraid not, baby."

"What did you do?" she asked.

My feelings were a little hurt. That's what Torrie had asked me. Why would they assume I had done something?

"He didn't do shit," Torrie was quick to say. "This is all Mom. She 'met someone,' some Charles dude she just 'knows we're going to love'."

"What... how... are you sure? Could you have misunder..."

Torrie cut her off. "I knew you'd say that. I recorded it." She got out her phone and played the audio for Talitha. Again, there was a polar opposite reaction. Talitha began to cry, and before the drama played out, she was sobbing her little heart out. Torrie moved over on the other side of her and we made a Talitha sandwich, holding her and petting her while she wept out her broken heart. I felt tears trickling down my own cheeks, and Torrie was wiping at her eyes, too.

"What... What are you going to do, Dad?" Talitha finally managed.

"I have no idea," I said. "What can I do? She's moving out. I can't make her stay. I'm not sure I would want to if I could, at this point."

"Talitha, what are you going to do?" Torrie asked.

"I'm going to talk to Mom," she said. "I know you guys heard it straight from her mouth. Imma need to hear it for myself. I know the recording doesn't lie. I just... I... if she tells me what she told you guys, I'm going to be so pissed off at her. I already am. I'm also going to be like terminally sad."

I squeezed her again, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. "I know, baby doll. I'm still sort of in shock here."

"Well, I'm not," Torrie said. "Dad, you needa talk to an attorney, protect yourself."

"Jesus, Torrie, just listen to yourself," Talitha said. "'Protect himself?' This is Mom we're talking about."

"So, 'Mom,' the woman we've known all our lives, suddenly decided she needs to trade up from Dad, hooks up with some sleazy dude, and you think she's not capable of doing all sorts of other sketchy shit?" Torrie said.

"I... I see what you mean," Talitha said. "It... It seems like all Twilight Zone, Torrie."

"I know, Sis. It is, but we needa deal with it."

"Is she still at home?" Talitha asked.

"As far as I know," I said. "I have no idea how long she'll be there, though."

Talitha got up. "Imma go over there and talk to her," she said. "Meet you guys for dinner?"

We set the place and time, she grabbed her bag and was gone. Torrie scooted over against me and I put my arm around her. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, each lost in our own thoughts.

"Dad, do you know any attorneys?" she asked.

I came out of my reverie. "Umm... yeah, I guess I do. I don't know any who do stuff like this, though."

"Call one of them you know and trust, ask them for a referral," she said.

I couldn't believe it had come to that. A few hours earlier, I had been fat, dumb and happy. Now I was talking about calling a divorce lawyer. This was the mother of curveballs, and it had a wicked hook.

I did know a bunch of very high-powered attorneys, some of them were colleagues at the university, and I even knew some government lawyer types. Torrie and I brainstormed, came up with a name and he did have a few names he recommended, one in particular. Her name was Amanda Sloan, and I talked to someone in her office, made an appointment and got a list of things I needed to do and bring to the appointment.

I needed to go home to collect all the things I would need for my appointment the next day, so Torrie took me home. She packed bags for both herself and Talitha, and informed me that they would be staying with me for the "foreseeable future." I protested that they didn't need to do that, but she was adamant. I knew better than to argue with her once her mind was made up.

I needed to get all the financial information together, and she helped me. I was working on investment accounts and gave her the log-in information for our banking.

"Umm... Dad, you're not going to believe this," she said.

"Hmm? What, sweetheart?"

"You have fifty dollars in checking and 1000 in your money-market account," she said. "Is that enough to keep you from going under the minimum?"

"What? Yes, I think that's the minimum," I said. "We should have way more than that, though."

"I guess Mom has been making some really nasty moves," she said. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll have to move some money around, open some different accounts, I guess. I have money in the credit union she doesn't have access to, and I'll probably use that. It's pretty cold blooded, though, Torrie."

"Right? I think that's like, illegal, Dad. I don't think that's going to work out very well for her. You'll have to ask your lawyer."

We met Talitha for dinner and she was pretty shaken up about her talk with her mother. "I had to hear it from her," she said. "I'm sorry, and I knew you guys were telling me the truth, but some things you just gotta hear for yourself. You aren't mad at me, are you?"

"No, baby, I understand," I told her. Torrie hugged her.

"I prolly wouldn't have believed it either, if I hadn't been there," she said. "What are you gonna do, Talley?"

"Mom has this fantasy about getting you and me together so we can meet 'Charles'," she said. "We're gonna 'love' him. I told her not only was I not gonna be meeting Chucky-boy, but that I wasn't much interested in seeing her, either. She lied to you guys, though."

"About what?" Torrie asked.

"She's been... cheating. I made her tell me. I told her if she lied to me, I'd find out and never speak to her again. She's been banging the guy. I'm sorry, Dad, but I don't want anything to do with her."

"Don't be sorry on my account," I said. "Damn, well, I guess we know now. I don't want anything to do with her either."

That wasn't entirely true. I was definitely not okay, and my emotions were all over the place: grief, sorrow, perplexity, you name it, but the overriding thing was anger. I was pissed off beyond belief, and everything else took a back seat to that. I caught a break in my attorney. Torrie and Talitha took me to see her and waited for me.

Amanda Sloan was an intense no-nonsense woman of few words. She scared me to death, or she would have if she wasn't on my side, and she was. In two days, she had divorce paperwork filed, a restraining order on our finances and a court order for Tessa to return every cent she'd taken. Neither of us could transfer or spend any money or move assets, other than normal daily expenses. That got me a call from Tessa.

"Why are you being difficult, Dax?"

"In what way am I being difficult?" I asked.

"You... I don't want to talk over the phone," she said. "I'm coming over."

She seemed a little shocked to see Torrey and Talitha there. "Girls, why are you here?" she asked. "I wanted to talk to your father alone."

"We're living here," Talitha said.

"We don't want Dad to be alone," Torrie informed her. "Don't worry, we won't stay now that you're here."

They grabbed their bags and left without another word to Tessa, who looked as if she wanted to say something, but thought better of it.

"You said you wanted to talk," I reminded her. "What was it you wanted to say?"

She sat across the bar from me with a sigh. "Dax, I don't want this to be any harder than it needs to be. I still love you; I just need to be with Charles. We can be friends; we have daughters who need both their parents."

"I have nothing to do with your relationship with the girls," I told her. "You're going to have to work that out. Friends? I don't think so, Tessa. I don't have friends who treat me like you have. Hell, I don't even have enemies like you."

"Why did you get that court order?" she asked. "I was just taking money to get me settled in and take care of moving expenses."

"Well, half of that was mine," I told her. "Maybe more than half, but we'll let that go. You have a job, Tessa, you make good money."

"Yes, but you have accounts with the state credit union with your job," she said.

"Yes, and you have never put a dime into it," I told her. "As long as we were together, everything was ours. Now, I have to think about yours and mine. We'll let the courts work it out. I thought you said Chucky-boy was a high roller."

She grimaced. "Stop being childish, Dax. His name is Charles."

"Do you imagine I give a fuck what you think?" I asked. "I'll call him, and you, anything I want. Is this all you wanted to say?"

"No, it isn't. I want to talk about the girls. What did you say to them?"