Opposite's Attract

No sex in this story! I want to give a big thank you to my editors, LadyCibelle and Techsan, for making my stories a much better read.

Here I was at the Corner Café having my dinner. I've been coming here to eat for the last six months. My wife of seven years and I have filed for divorce and it should be final today. For six of the seven years our marriage was great, or at least it was for me.

I sat there eating the ham loaf special while thinking about my past and how we met and ended up where we were today.

We met at a wedding. I was a friend of the groom and she was one of the bridesmaids. At the reception we were introduced and spent a good part of the evening together. She was a beautiful gal. For me it was darn near love at first sight.

I should tell you that we were complete opposites. They say opposites attract and I do believe it. It's both a good and bad thing. I'll try and explain; everything in our relationship was new. She always wanted to do things that I never did. She in turn did things with me that she had never done. I don't mean sexual things, even though that was part of it, but, doing things and going places.

I love sports. So I had a tendency to watch a lot of sports on television. Josie - that's my wife's name but I call her Jo - prefers going out to clubs and dinner.

She works in an office, and I work in a factory.

She loves to dress up. Jeans are my clothes of choice.

She's outgoing and talks a lot. I am rather quite and reserved.

She likes mixed drinks; I prefer beer.

I wanted to start a family but Jo wanted to wait a few years. Something about messing up her body.

I can go on and on about our differences but I think you get the general idea. As I mentioned earlier, this wasn't a bad thing as long as we both tried to put everything into our marriage. It was a give and take proposition. I actually enjoyed going out once in awhile with Jo. She was a beautiful and sophisticated woman. Since she had the brains in the family, I pretty much let her take charge. By that I mean, she handled the bills, bought the furniture, all what I call the girly things. I bought my one lazy boy chair and the TV. Everything else I left up to her.

Now don't misunderstand me here. I let her get all the stuff she wanted. As I mentioned, us being opposites, I really didn't care what kind of furniture we had or what color the rooms were painted. I just let her get what she wanted and we were both happier because of it.

We did do the work on the house together. We painted the rooms together and probably had fun doing it. I took care of the outside, shoveling snow or cutting the grass, depending on the season. She planted her flowers; I wasn't into that.

She preferred dining out, as she called it. I preferred staying home and having a grilled steak and potatoes. This was one of the sorer spots between us. There were a lot of days when I got home first and started cooking something up. I guess you could say I was the cook in our household. Of course that meant we would eat out more on the weekends.

You might wonder if I like to cook, why I was eating out most every night at the café. I guess it's the loneliness. At least here at the café, there were other people around.

If you're wondering what led to the divorce. Jo was having an affair with one of the men at her office. To the best of my knowledge, it began about a year ago. It was odd how I originally found out. I have a cell phone which I very rarely use. One day I was going to call home and tell Jo that I could pick up something for us to eat. When I turned my phone on it told me I had a message. I pushed the buttons and listened to the message.

"Your wife is having an affair. She will be at the Green Grove Motel on Saturday."

I checked and it said 'Unknown caller.' I wasn't sure what to think. We had gotten into a couple of arguments lately about our differences and she told me how I didn't want to do anything. I was like an old man who didn't want to have any fun anymore. We went to bed mad at each other which at the time started to be more frequent. I should have picked up on a problem back then, but I thought our marriage was strong.

The message was left on Tuesday, and it was Friday when I heard the message. It meant that if the message was true, Jo would make an excuse to go out the next evening. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I just come out and confront her? Maybe I should follow her to the motel and confront her there.

I decided to take the high road and when I got home I told her to get ready, that we were going out for dinner. She looked so surprised at me.

"What brought this on?" she asked me.

"Well, you said I was like an old fart and I decided to wine and dine you tonight, and who knows. I might get lucky."

She looked surprised but didn't really say anything. We headed out to the dinner/nightspot that she always liked. It was across the road from the Green Grove Motel. When we pulled up, I saw her glance across the street but couldn't really make anything out of it.

We had dinner and she had her mixed drinks and I had my beer. It was like old times for us. As we were dancing I put my hand on her butt.

"Kevin, what are you doing? People can see where your hand is and what you're doing."

"I'm wooing my wife. I haven't been doing this enough lately."

We were sitting back at our table and I told her we needed to get our marriage back on track. I explained that I knew we had different likes and dislikes but we were always able to work through them. I told her that I thought it was time to start a family. It was hard to read her reactions but I knew something was going on in the back of her mind. I didn't know if she was thinking about what I was telling her or something else.

We danced some more and had a couple of more drinks. She was quiet during the ride home, which was odd in itself. When we got home, we got ready for bed. Her mind was still thinking but she wasn't talking.

"Jo, is there a problem? You've hardly said anything all night. Is there something you want to tell me?" I tried to give her every opportunity to talk to me.

"No," she said, "there's nothing wrong. I forgot to mention to you that a couple of the girls from the office asked me to go out with them tomorrow night."

"Are you going to go or do you want to take in a movie with me and then we'll come home and make love? Maybe even start on that family," I smiled.

She looked nervous. I gave her every opportunity possible to talk to me.

"I promised the girls; maybe I'll call them tomorrow and talk to them. We'll talk about it tomorrow, right now I'm tired. I need to get some sleep."

We got into bed and I tried cuddling up to her.

"Kevin, not tonight, I'm really tired."

Well, I guess I got my answer. I would wait to see what tomorrow would bring. I tried my best and would have to see if she would follow through with her plans. I knew one thing for sure; if she went through with this, our marriage was over.

----------------------------

Jo's family was pretty nice to me. Even though they always thought that Jo was too good for me, they went along with her decision to marry me. I guess most parents want their daughter to marry a doctor, lawyer, or business person. I was a high school graduate and worked in the factory. I worked hard and brought in about the same amount of money as Jo. Financially we were on equal terms. The people we usually associated with seemed to be her problem. I treated everyone the same. I always told Jo that a suit doesn't make the person; the personality and moral structure does.

Jo's older brother was a banker. He really didn't make a whole lot more money than me but I guess it was the prestige of his position.

Jo had a sister who was two years younger than her. She was kind of my gal pal. If I wasn't married to Jo I wouldn't need to think twice about going out with Billie. Yes, her name is Billie. She was the sort of black sheep in the family. She liked sports, beer and pizza. She wasn't into the real girly things even though the few times I saw her dressed up she was a knock out.

She would kid with me and always told me that when I got tired of Jo that she would be waiting for me. I always laughed but Jo and her parents didn't think it was funny. I never took Billie seriously even though I really cared for her. It was kind of funny how much she looked like Jo, only she dressed down and kept a tom boy haircut. She dated some but never seemed to get serious about anyone.

I keep getting off track here. Back to the affair. We didn't make love that night after our big dinner and dancing. It made me believe that the phone call I received was real. Jo got up the next morning and was on the telephone. She walked into the other room to talk. When she came back, she said she decided that since she told her girlfriends that she would go with them that she wanted to keep her word.

I looked at her and was just about to tell her about the phone call message I received, but I needed to catch her at the motel. If she would deny it, she might do it again so I thought up a plan to be there that night. I told her I was going out with the guys and would probably be home late and not to wait up for me. We were going to the sports bar and watch some sports on TV.

She almost seemed relieved. I put up a good front but inside I was hurting bad. If she followed through and had an affair, I knew our marriage would be over.

I remember reading a story where a man thought his wife was having an affair and he made a bunch of phone calls and had people going to the room. I remember how that made me laugh and thought it was funny at the time. I decided to do a little of that, just to interrupt their affair. I didn't even know who the guy was yet. I wasn't sure what I was going to do about it when I found out. I wasn't a wimp and knew I'd have to confront the bastard.

Jo went into the bathroom and I took the telephone and hit *69. In our area it would bring up the last call. The phone rang and a man answered the phone.

"Is this Jim?" I asked.

"No," you have the wrong number," the voice said.

"Is this 327-4432?" I asked

"Yes, it is, but I'm not Jim. I'm Paul, Paul Reaburn. There's no Jim at this number," the voice said.

"Sorry to bother you, I must have written down the wrong number," I said.

"No problem, we all make mistakes," he laughed.

He had no idea the mistake he just made telling me who he was. I now remember meeting him at a few of the functions. He had a cute little wife but always hung around mine at the different company events. I never thought much about it but now looking back I guess I took too much for granted.

When a marriage fails it usually takes two to tango. Very rarely is it all one person's fault. In this case I do believe Jo has to take the brunt of the fault. I sat back in my chair wondering where I didn't do enough. Should I still try and confront her? Maybe I was still all wet and this was just a bad dream.

Throughout the day I made different plans as to how I was going to deal with this. I went to the motel and found out there was a reservation for Mr. and Mrs. Paul Reaburn. I mentioned to the clerk that they were friends of mine and were on their anniversary. I left a bouquet of flowers and an envelope with a letter to Jo in it. I asked the clerk to deliver it to them sometime after nine that evening.

I called three pizza parlors and asked them all to deliver a pizza to Room #136 that evening after nine also. I called from the motel lobby so it would show up on the caller ID. I wasn't sure what else to do so I headed home. Jo was taking a shower and getting ready to go out. She had some really sexy clothes set out to wear. When she got out of the shower I asked her one last time if she wanted to cancel her plans and I'd cancel mine and we could be together.

"What's your problem? I'm just going out with the girls. I should be home by one o'clock or so. Enjoy your night out with the boys," she said.

I knew that was it. I went and cleaned up and when I got out of the shower Jo had already left. I guess she didn't want to face me. Probably a little remorse.

I was really feeling low and I'm not sure I was even thinking straight. I took my hand gun and put it in my glove compartment. I don't know why I took it with me but I did. I headed over to the Green Grove Motel. I saw a car parked along the side of the building next to Room #136 but it wasn't Jo's. It made me feel a little better till I saw Jo's car parked across the street at the same restaurant we ate at yesterday. I figured they parked his car at the motel and drove hers over to the restaurant. I parked on the other side of the motel where I had a good view of the restaurant. At about 8:45pm I saw a smiling Jo and her boyfriend get into her car and head on over to the motel. She parked her car along side of his on the side of the building.

At nine the first pizza guy showed up. He knocked on the door and this guy Paul opened the door. I could see him arguing with the pizza guy. He finally shoved some money at the guy and took the pizza. It would have been funny if it was someone else's wife. It wasn't five minutes before the other two pizza deliveries were there. Again, Paul opened the door and was pissed and slammed the door shut on the two pizza delivery guys.

It was about fifteen minutes later when the motel clerk delivered the flowers and the message. Paul opened the door and yelled at the clerk but it looked like he soon apologized for his yelling and I saw Jo at the door accepting the flowers and envelope. I could see her looking out the door to see if she could notice anything. I was surprised to see that she was still dressed. I guess all the deliveries stopped them from getting started.

The message read: "Dear Jo, I gave you every opportunity to cancel this date. You chose your friend over me. I suggest you find somewhere else to stay tonight and come back with your dad tomorrow and we'll figure out our divorce procedure."

For some reason I didn't feel I got even enough. I reached into my glove box and took out my gun just as my passenger door opened up. It was Billie. It must have been her that left me the message.

"Don't do it, Kevin. They're not worth it. Don't ruin the rest of your life because of them."

"My life is ruined. I'm a wimp that couldn't even hold onto his own wife."

"It's not true! You're the nicest guy I've ever met and my sister's a complete idiot for throwing her life away for a fling with an old boyfriend."

"What do you mean fling, old boyfriend?" I asked. "Why did you tell me to begin with? She's your sister after all?"

"Yes, she's my sister and I still love her, but what she is doing to you is wrong and I can't stand by and watch her hurt you like this. I care too much for you to see you hurt this way. I wish it wasn't true but it is."

"Who is this Paul fellow anyway? Did you say he was an old boyfriend or something? We never talked about our past relationships so of course I never knew about him."

"She dated Paul when she was in college. It was one of those on-again/off-again relationships. After she left college and came home and started working, she met you. Paul lived in Akron and was transferred down here about two years ago. He's married with a couple of kids. I guess they started seeing each other at work and now of course this."

"How did you find out about this meeting? Surely Jo didn't come up and tell you?"

"I stopped by her office last week and she was on the phone making a motel reservation. She was startled when I walked in but acted like it was part of her job. When she got up to talk to her secretary, I glanced down at her blotter and saw the name of the motel and the name Paul written there. I'm smart enough to put two and two together and so I called you. I was hoping you would put a stop to it."

I explained to Billie everything I tried to get Jo to not go without telling her I knew what she was planning but that Jo still picked Paul over me.

"Kevin, put your gun away. To go in and face them would not solve anything. About the best you will do is get a little satisfaction and then locked up."

"I can't stand by and just let it happen."

"Why don't you call my dad and tell him that Jo needs a place to spend the night and then call Mrs. Reaburn and tell her that her husband needs a ride home."

"I don't understand what you're saying. Why do they need rides?"

"While the pizza guys you called were trying to deliver pizzas, I was letting the air out of the tires on both vehicles. I was only able to do two tires on each car, but that means they just can't change a tire and drive away." Billie smiled at me.

I first called the police and told them I saw a couple of boys messing with the cars at the motel and that if they hurried they could probably catch them. Luckily Billie had bought a disposable phone so no one would know where the call originated from. Next, I called Jo's dad.

"Mr. Patterson, this is Kevin, your soon to be ex-son-in-law."

"What are you talking about, Kevin? It's a little late to be making crank calls. Are you drunk?"

"No, Sir, I'm stone cold sober. Your wonderful daughter is in a motel room at the Green Grove Motel with her latest boyfriend. I don't want to see her at my house tonight. You might want to take her home with you. You can bring her by tomorrow to decide what further course of action we may take. Good night, Sir."

I didn't wait for him to say anything. I figured he would probably show up at the motel. Next, I called Mrs. Reaburn.

"Mrs. Reaburn, you don't know me but your husband asked me to call you and tell you he is having car problems. He is in the Green Grove Motel on the West Pike. He's in Room #136 with a close friend."

I hung up quickly again. Our disposable cell phone kept ringing. It had to be either Mr. Patterson, the police or Mrs. Reaburn calling us back. I opened up the cell phone and removed the battery so it would stop ringing. I drove Billie back over to her car and thanked her for telling me the truth and gave her a big hug.

"Kevin, I won't be around during all this divorce stuff. I can't be seen with you during this time. I will contact you when it's all over. Please don't tell anyone how you found out all this information. I still have to live with these people. They are my family after all."

She leaned over and kissed me. With tears in her eyes she got out of my car and into her own. I could see the police had arrived and were knocking on the door of Room #136. I drove my car home and sat down and started drinking a beer when the phone rang.

I answered it; it was Jo. "Kevin, what did you do? Paul's wife is here with her kids and is in hysterics. Dad is here to take me home with him and the police are looking for vandals. Our tires are flat."

"Jo, listen, you cheat on me and have an affair with an old boyfriend. All you can say when you call me is, 'What did I do?' I didn't do anything but try to win back my wife yesterday and she chose another. You have the audacity to call me and ask me what I did. As I told you in the letter; you can stop here tomorrow and we'll sort out who gets what."

"How did you find out? Who told you about Paul?"

I just hung up the phone and drank my beer. I'm sure glad Billie was there to stop me from doing anything overly foolish. I sure hope she meant it when she said, "Maybe we can get together after this divorce is final."

I doubt if anyone in her family would want anything to do with me. I guess time will tell.

-------------------

Around noon the next day, Jo, her mom and dad and even Billie were at my door. Mr. Patterson started right in on me.

"Kevin, you don't have any kind of proof against Josie. If you think you can take everything from her, you're sadly mistaken."