Damned if You Do; Damned if You

Damned if You Do; Damned if You Don't!

by Denham Forrest, The wanderer.

A story by The Wanderer writing as Denham Forrest. Literotica's systems would not accept the full title of this story.

Copyright© 2009 by Denham Forrest, The Wanderer

Damned if You Do; Damned if You Don't!

Late on a summers evening, a middle-aged man is standing on his house rear patio alone; a glass of Scotch in one hand and a half smoked cigar in the other. Deep in thought he's apparently contemplating the stars.

He's been there some considerable time when a young woman, of about eighteen years old, appears around the side of the house and crosses the patio to join him. He doesn't look at the young woman, he senses who she is. Possibly out of embarrassment, he continues to stare up at the sky.

"Hi Becky, sorry about that; everyone gone now, have they?"

"Yeah almost everyone. Gran and granddad stayed for a while but they have gone home now. Mark's in the kitchen with Pearl, clearing up. Mum's up stairs crying her heart out, she's terribly upset."

"Is anyone with her; she shouldn't be alone right now!"

"Jill is; I couldn't stand to see her like that."

"It's to be expected, after twenty two years of marriage."

"How could you do it? Tonight of all nights; did you really have to do it like that, at the anniversary party, in front of the family and everyone."

"I had no choice really Becky. They all need to know about the baby sometime."

"Bastard."

"Oh come on Becky, it isn't the baby's fault. These things happen in lots of families."

"I wasn't talking about the baby I was talking about him!"

"Ah yeah, well, I'll agree with you there."

"You've never really liked him have you?"

The man nodded slightly.

"I've always known that there was something odd about your apparent friendship with him, but I've never been able to put my finger on it."

"He always has been a bastard, Becky. Look what he did when I was dating your mother."

"What did he do?"

"Oh you don't know, no one has ever told you?"

"No they haven't, should I have known?"

"I don't know, perhaps the right opportunity never came up. But your gran and grandfather knew all right."

"I suppose that's why they didn't look too surprised when you dropped the bombshell on us this evening."

"Neither were a lot of other people. It's been what you might call common knowledge with some folks for some time now. Maybe they weren't sure of the details, but they knew what was going on. I chose to bring it to a head when I had lots of people around to back me up."

"But you've known for a long time."

"Becky to my shame, I knew when your mother was still carrying you in her womb."

A shocked expression came over the young woman's face. But it very soon turned into a quizzical look.

"Oh my god! But didn't you say she was only twenty-five."

"This particular one Becky. Your father's had one mistress or another most of the time he's been married to your mother."

"Never! And mother didn't know?"

"She might have suspected kiddo. But if she did, she didn't share her suspicions to me."

The young woman went quiet for a while; churning the information the man she'd always known as uncle Bill had given her, over in her mind.

"Uncle Bill, I don't understand. If you've known all along about these mistresses you claim my father's had; why say something about this particular one now?

"Well you see Becky, this one is a little different. She is the first of your father's mistresses that has ever become pregnant, that I know about anyway. And I'm pretty sure that she's not the dumb little tart, your father thought he was taking up with!"

"So what does that mean?"

"That this one, is not going to let your father get away easily. Having become with child, I do believe she's always been planning for the long haul. You, Mark and Jill are all grown up now, and about to fly the coop. Mark already has really, with young Pearl. I'm pretty sure that Frank had already decided months ago that it was about time he traded your mother in for a new younger model."

"Oh my god!"

"Frank's been spending fewer and fewer nights at home in the last year or so, hasn't he Becky; surely you've noticed that? I very much suspect that once the baby is born, his piece on the side will become his full time mate. She would have pressured him into moving in full time anyway."

"You know this for sure?"

"I have it on good authority Becky. I would not have torn your ... happy home apart had I not! What I did this evening was give your mother a heads up to what Frank was planning. Put her in the driving seat, so to speak. She now has the opportunity to keep her eyes on the family bank accounts and financial situation, before Frank's had a chance to move a lot of cash around."

"You think he'd leave her destitute?"

"No not really, the courts wouldn't let him get away with that. After all, he's always insisted that you mother hasn't had a job; better to control her I suspect. But he'd make sure that as much money as he can arrange will disappear from the calculations."

"I know you've always been our family ... mother's friend, but if you've known about my father's affairs in the past, why now did you suddenly choose to drop the bloody bomb on us? Why have you never said anything in the past?"

"Because being the bearer of bad tidings does not usually engage one with whom you pass those tidings too."

"You are talking in riddles Uncle Bill."

"Okay, how about the old adage "shoot the messenger who brings bad news!" does that mean anything to you young lady."

"Not really, am I dumb or something, Uncle Bill?"

"No I am, for letting your mother get away in the first place."

"Oh my god, you have feelings for mother and you think she'll hold it against you that you told everyone about my father's tart?"

"Get out Bill! Get out of my house; I never want to see you again! Does that ring any bells, Becky?"

"Oh but mother was upset, she'll get over it."

Bill looked at the young woman again.

"Okay I understand. You were the messenger and she shot you down."

"I probably deserved it in a way."

"Why, you just told me you were trying to give mother a heads up?"

"Maybe I should have done that, a very long time ago Becky?"

"Yeah well, why didn't you?"

"Sour grapes Becky."

"Uncle Bill!"

"Okay. What would have happened if I'd told your mother about Frank's shenanigans? He'd have denied everything, accused me of having a bad attack of sour grapes and Marsha would have believed him. God your father can talk the hind legs off a donkey when he's got a mind too. Jesus if it weren't for the baby he'd have denied everything today. And what's more, your mother would have most likely swallowed every word. That's why I chose a time and place when there were others present who were aware of his antics.

"I'd have been consigned to the realms of the no longer friends and I doubt I'd have ever seen your mother again. Frank would definitely have chosen to move the family as far away from this street as he could anyway."

Becky stared up at Bill's face for a long while without speaking. Then she made a decision, her uncle had mentioned something else she hadn't been aware of and then glossed over it.

"Uncle Bill, you said that at one time you and my mother dated each other!"

"We did for a while?"

"So what happened?"

"There was a little bit of unpleasantness overseas and I went out there to work on some reconstruction contracts. When I returned to the UK, your mother was married to Frank."

"You loved her didn't you?"

Bill pulled a small leather covered box from his pocket. Becky vaguely remembered seeing him absentmindedly fiddle with that box many times, when she was younger. He opened it within Becky's sight for the first time and showed her its contents.

"I was going to ask your mother to marry me when I was offered the contract. The danger money I got for working in a virtual war zone would have set us up nicely.

Bill took a deep breath.

"But I chickened out at the last minute. Several guys were killed just before I was due to fly out there and your mother said something about not being able to sleep at night because of the worry. I figured I'd pop the question when I'd safely returned home."

"And my dad beat you to it?"

"Better than beat me to the starting gate Becky, they were married and your mother was pregnant with Jill."

"You still love mother don't you, and that's why you've never married, isn't it?"

"Sometimes you can be perceptive Becky. Now it's getting rather late, I think you'd better get home to your mother; you know she needs you! If she ever needs anything that I can assist with; you can tell her I'll do whatever I can!""

Becky stretched up and kissed the man she'd always called uncle on the cheek, then turned and quietly disappeared around the side of the house.

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Several weeks were to pass before Bill saw or heard from anyone in Becky's family.

Well that's if you ignored the altercation between him and Frank in the Rose and Crown one evening. Frank came off the worse in that encounter, but when the police arrived, suddenly there were no witnesses as to what had actually happened. Frank was arrested and held overnight for being drunk and disorderly. No charges were brought over the incident.

Then Bill came home from the office one evening and as he got out of his car, he felt the sensation we've all had at onetime or another, that someone was watching him.

Looking across the street, he saw that Becky and Jill were standing in their mother's lounge watching him through the window.

Bill waved cheerily, Becky waved back with equal enthusiasm. However, Bill noted that Jill only just raised her hand a little, as if not sure whether she should acknowledge him or not.

Shrugging to himself, Bill went into his house and threw his coat and briefcase on the sofa. Then he filled a glass with ice and poured a good helping of whisky over it.

"Shit, I must find something to do with my evenings besides drink." He said out loud to the empty room.

Nearly always in the past, one of Frank and Marsha's children would have been there with anything from a flat tire on a bicycle, to some homework they needed help with. Latterly, uncle Bill had often been roped in to help keep young Mark's old wreck of a car on the road as well. Becky and Jill's cars had never been as much of a problem, because they drove them with a little more consideration of the vehicles age.

Bill had just settled himself in a chair on the rear patio and was about to light his evening cigar when the telephone rang. Placing the unlit cigar on the table he mumbled, "Shit!" and struggled to his feet again.

"Bill Mathews!" he said harshly into the mouthpiece.

"Bill. It's Marsha. I hope this isn't a bad time, but I need to apologise."

A smile came over Bill's face. Good, she's forgiven me, he thought.

"Oh Christ Marsha, there's really no need for an apology. God I knew you'd be upset and, as Frank had done a runner ... well, there weren't really anyone else you could have had a go at, was there?"

"No Bill, you don't understand. I didn't want to apologise about the night of the party. Well, I do, but that's not what I'm calling you about today!"

"Sorry Marsha, you've lost me. What else could you possibly want to apologise for?"

"Ah ... well ... you see Bill. I don't know how to tell you this, I'm so ashamed."

"Marsha, you are talking a hell of a lot, and yet saying very little."

"Well, it's Jill, Bill. There's something that I should have told you about a very long time ago..."

Bill didn't hear the rest of Marsha's words; young Jill appearing on his rear patio had taken his attention. Jill was standing there mournfully looking back at him with tears streaming down her face.

"You're forgiven Marsha," he said into the handset after some thought, "But there's going to be one hell of a penance to pay girl!"

"Penance?" Marsha's voice repeated nervously.

"Yes, we'll start with you joining my daughter and me for dinner this evening, and then see where we go from there, shall we? Oh, you'd better bring Becky along or she'll get all out of shape with her favourite uncle.

Life Goes On

This Denham Forrest, The Wanderer story, is posted on this site with the authors knowledge and consent. RG