unexpected ending, but it happens. a year apart would be a long time to be seperated, people do change daily, it adds up after a year. i liked your approach to her cheating, forgiveness starts at home. she had to forgive herself before she could expect forgiveness from her husband. his desertion of his children was wrong, you handled that well also. it was just a downright good read. a fan always.
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Anonymous12/04/05
Some problems with this one
If he had stayed around for that year "for the sake of the girls", odds are it would have actually been worse for their daughters than his absence.
Children brought up in a stressed household where the parents are distinctly at odds with each other do not benefit from the experience. All too often it leads to problems later on in life. Explaining an absence is easier than explaining why Mummy and Daddy hate each other.
There is also her neat amnesia - when she was cheating, she was thinking of herself only and not the needs of her husband or family. She had to have known what the possible implications of her actions were (especially to her children) but she did it anyway.
Then she has the nerve to deride Sam for doing something that was similar in nature (but not necessarily a bad thing). I was surprised that Sam didn't call her on this. Not that it makes what he did any less a selfish act, but it does mean that any attempt by her to use his selfishness as a reason for her to leave him (as opposed to him leaving her) as pure hypocrisy.
As for the ultimate outcome, it was good. Or at least, plausible and not a heart-break. Some couples just can't get back together after an experience like that.
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Anonymous12/04/05
sad but true.
a year apart is hard for a couple with kids and betral to recover from. usually they have to rebuild within a few months, or it is divorce.
and they weren't going to. she resented he wasn't there while she was hospitalized and more, and was in his face about it within 24hrs. (even though she would have disrespected him and his "job" if he had stayed!)
she had changed and paid, but had no more remorse left, and she felt there was no restitution needed for what happened any more.
he still thought he deserved a meaningful apology (which he wasn't getting) and restitution.
there is no hope. it was catch 22 for both of them.
Thank God Sam got out!
He came back to a woman who had forgiven herself and didn’t care to even explain her self or what she had found out to him. She still only sees things her way, what is good for her. She will always put herself first over anything. She only found blame for him leaving as he had to because when he left she was of one mind in that “Gee I’m sorry but I was drunk and it won’t happen again” like she was saying “See I’ve changed!” and we will move on from there.
She hadn’t changed and after a year she still is putting what she wants first. He is still not that important. She was and is a very hardhearted person who never once put herself in his shoes to see what it really feels like to be so betrayed. She will always make excuses for the rest of her life and expect everyone to except that, Gee, she made a mistake; I’m better now so lets move on like nothing happened. She couldn’t sit down and start off with an explanation of what had transpired while he was gone and then explain how she felt his leaving was to sever and she thought he should have stayed to help them get things straitened out. She just got indignant right off the bat that his immediate acceptance of everything wasn’t there and how dare he not just move back in and let it go. After all she said she was sorry. “How dare He”
She told her Mom:
"I would do anything to keep Sam. He didn't give me a chance and he didn't try to fight for us. He just left me. He may have been right about my cheating but he didn't give me a chance to explain."
"Explain what? That you slept with another man and that you were going to do it again? Let me ask you what you could say to make it right?" She looked directly at me as she said this. The look on her face was the one I used to see when I had done something wrong and she was about to lay into me.
"I don't know of any reason in the world that you can say gave you the right to betray your man. If you have one, let me hear it right now!"
"I didn't say it was right, I just wanted to say why I did it." She must listen.
"If it's wrong to do, it makes no difference why you did it." She was relentless.
"But, I had too much to drink and he was trying to seduce me. That's why it happened."
"That's bull and you know it. A married woman doesn't get drunk with another man and she doesn't put herself in another man's hands when she can't think straight. You did both, so I don't want to hear that as an excuse."
Thank God he got out and found a person who wants to share a marriage not run one her way. God the girls are in for a hard life when they grow up if they follow their Mom’s way of living.
Nice writing you do a very good job.
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Anonymous12/04/05
Have to agree with the comments
It seems as if she owed him an explanation, instead of just introspection. She apologized, but was defensive. She didn't seem to want to help him through his anger. Sure they tried marriage counselling, but it seems as if she apologized in words only, but not truly repentant. Men's egos can't take that. I wonder if she had asked his forgiveness, if they could have worked this out. That's what he wanted and she could not give that to him.
These were two people too self-absorbed in what was best for them. Not what was best for their relationship.
My husband and I have had many problems at times in our 17 years of marriage, but we realize that we have to make it work. It's not just about being married to someone who makes you happy. It's about being married to someone you want to be happy. If you both seek to make the other happy and truly care for them, you can get through any issue.
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Anonymous12/04/05
two mistakes
first ,when he caught them,he should have kick both of there asses good.second,that would been his road to recovery and shame her enough she would think twice about cheating.she still was a prideful woman this whole thing was her doing and she want him to just let it go as nothing had happen.this is real life shit you have wrote and his reaction is how real people react to trama.you don't destory a man mentally and he recover over night, because the wife say i'm sorry.it takes time to put his mind back together.
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Anonymous12/04/05
A very good read
I did not expect the ending but I could see it being a "real" ending. Your writing was great and thanks.
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Anonymous12/04/05
Better, but problematic
While I am glad that Sam got away from that shrew, I am unhappy about her attitude.
She is upset with her husband for putting her in a situation that she created? Tough. She doesn't like that he's still angry? Again, tough. He should have never given her that year.
I guess my thinking is warped but it all seemed to make sense to me. He gets points for trying but her "accept it or else" attitude makes it almost impossible. He ended it well for the girls sake. Seems like real life to me. I liked it.
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Anonymous12/04/05
Man!! That bitch had some nerve!!!!!
I would have fought like hell for my girls and made every effort to omit the whore from seeing them or only as little as possible. Once a whore and a cheat always a whore and cheat! I didn't like the ending!!
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Anonymous12/04/05
You were right
In my opinion you destroyed the entire story, I give it a minus "0". She came off as an arrogant bitch that thought it was his fault because she forgave herself.In reality, she never got over thinking he wasn't good enough, and was too big a bitch/whore to admit it. You dropped a bunch of points in the writing department. You should have left this one alone, it sucks!
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Anonymous12/04/05
Self respect
Sam was s selfish fool.
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Anonymous12/04/05
Well Done
I enjoyed this. It was realistic and it vividly illustrated the consequences of infidelity. Many times there are no happy endings. Very well done. Thanks for an excellent story.
I have to say that some of us would like a different ending to feel good about a happy family back together again, but this is so much like real life it was good writing. The last paragraphs said it all how She really stills looks at life. She should get her money back from the therapists she has seen in the past.
Outtake #1:
“Sam married a lovely woman with a son of her own and they seemed to be quite compatible. She was pretty, but mousy, and didn't work. She preferred to be a stay at home mom.”
She still thinks only a professional woman is of any real value and this mousey wife is not much. She doesn’t say what mousey means to her, but I figure, Mousey Wife, would rather be at home with her son and maybe a part time job if required so she and her husband could have more of a life together with their children. Hey, Mousey may be hell on wheels in the kitchen and boudoir. God I hope the girls get some value from their step-mom.
Outtake #2:
“I was dating an older man, Jeffrey, who was quite well off and he and I traveled together as often as we could. Jeff owned a home in the country with a stable and three horses, so Melissa and Jennie were in 7th heaven.”
Here she picking a professional man with money and prestige who is older and I’m sure more inclined to do as she wishes to keep the hot younger woman. She would of course never be caught dead with a tradesman, or clerk, or anyone who wasn’t top draw as that’s what she deserved, just ask her. God forbid her Jeffery ever get sick, she will have to find someone to take her to all the important parties and functions she so well deserves. Look out Jeffrey.
I should have given you a 100% on your story on my first comment, as it gave so many people the option to reply to you about a story obviously well read and that is a kick to find so many people are interested to give you feed back.
You are a good writer and I hope you write what you want and take what most of us say as having fun in what we see in your stories. Thanks for the story
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Anonymous12/04/05
Thanks For Provoking Considerations +/-
The purpose of your clear, flowing, word pictures was not to alienate readers but to postulate the circumstance from your viewpoint then clearly show what can or perhaps normally happens when one partner selfishly chooses to disrespect the marriage commitments agreed upon.
The rest we can debate to our conclusion and nervous satisfaction but the game conditions were set by the author and were very lifelike in basic premise.
While it is varily impossible to trust one who has repeatedly disrespected the marital pact - love can push an effort to try to overcome the frustrations each feels of themselves and the other. When time and basic considerations force them to acknowledge that it can never be the same or an acceptable close to scenario - the wheels come off as no compromise on either parties part can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Author Author Author - a very talented and entertaining piece. Also very deep that some would say is appropriate reading for married people who wish to stay that way. You are appreciated. With Very High Regard
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Anonymous12/04/05
Eniding sucked
This cold hearted whore thinks of no one but herself. The only mistake sam made was leaving his two daughter's with a whore like their mother. He should have divorced her and taken custody of his girls. Can you believe this whore's attitude since sam came back. She didn't change one damn bit, it was still about her and only her and if sam didn't like it then fuck him. Can you believe the apology, i cheated, i'm sorry, lets move on. The she has the nerve to say to him how selfish he was for leaving and not even thinking them. If the whore would of have though of him and her daughter's in the first place, she probably wouldn't have cheated,probably. I liked what her mother told her, what excuse or explanation can you give to make it sound ok that you cheated. Why the fuck do shrinks always shift some of the blame to the husband when the wife cheats. Better luck next time.
The Celt has nailed it. Too bad, I guess, but this ending is the way life works. Perhaps the wife was a bit harsh with the husband when he came back from his trip around the world, but that's the way people are. It had been a year. She had gone through all of the heartaches and psychiatry and stuff, and she was moving on. He continued to wallow in the affair.
Reality is a couple trying to stay together after an affair like this but instead drifting further and further apart. Suddenly they wake up one morning to find they have nothing left to give each other.
Many of us like reconcilliation stories: get back together after much breast pounding and angst. Many of us like revenge stories: throw the bitch out and drain her of her blood.
But the way it often works is this way: not with a bang but with a whimper. Two people try to make it work, but the erosion of the marriage is irreversible.
That's the facts, jack.
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Anonymous12/04/05
Bad Story!
Bad ending! To err is human, but to accept the mistakes is divine. Both of them felt like some egocentric humans, who thought about nothing but themselves - as if they had no responsibiltiy towards each other or thier kids. People make mistakes, but learn from them and then they try to make up. But it is sheer arrogance to know the mistake and then do not do anythingt to make it up! Sorry..but a bad story!
She has exonerated herself from responsibility. Despite what you are having her think, that is what she has done. She, the shrink and her father have now laid the largest part of the blame on the husband. At that point she guaranteed the marriage was ended.
I understand thecelt's thinking, but he has the wife completely closed to accepting her husband is still hurting. To her, this is old news, she has understood and accepted she did wrong. Not a biggie though, she did it because of her husband's actions so her fault was minor.
I see this as hard on the girls, but it wasn't the man's fault. She never noticed he had changed to please her. After all, he was responsible for her fucking around in the first place, it wasn't really her. And she had no culpability for his needing to distance himself from what she had done to him.
After all, she only did it because of his faults.
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Anonymous12/04/05
It's Not Just A Story By The Scoring Here
Great depth and talented work Author - You are appreciated!
Now then!!! How many times has it aggressively or defensively been said "It's Just A Story" Get over It !!!
Each author or writer here trys to cause an emotion - an interest - an arousal - respect - disrespect - humiliation - sickness - pain - caring - loving - etc. for those who want that brand.
Some are succesfull to their purpose as intended - others unintentionally don't even understand what they are causing or don't care and some cause the wrong, different or unintended reaction.
As you can see here - all these things affect the comment scoring [which may not be the way they 1st scored the story at it's conclusion] but they are generally reflective of each other.
Again as you see here - content affects scoring regardless of talent and effort and editing and thats the way we humans work. It's ok in the sceme of life - the story and the scoring shapes thought, reasoning and behavior. We bend or plow on to our mission right or wrong. Regardless - emotion is a very strong affectant to acceptance or rejection - ie scoring in the comment area.
Respectfully or respectively writers provoke these considerations and the attendant emotions result whether a writer intends it or not.
Most of all but not with small difficulty writers must write to their intention not the masses if they disagree with them. A change understood and accepted is healthy otherwise it is hollow and rots outward.
You Valued Author - please stay true to your lifelike path as varied as it can be in emmulation of life's travails and the battles of communication, understanding and compromise.
Yes. Strange but true. If I juxtapose one of ‘thebullets's’ comments and one of ‘the Troubador's’ comments you get “this ending is the way life works. Perhaps the wife was a bit harsh with the husband..., but that's the way people are.” “She has exonerated herself from responsibility.”
Without being a misogynist, I think many women are prone to be harsh towards their husbands, who are, after all, disobedient children who need to be scolded and bullied at times so they behave themselves. Or behave as the wives would prefer. Whichever.
I’ve met some women who appear to be understanding sweethearts who would be worth marrying and enjoying life with and I’ve met others who would prompt me to turn around and bring ‘em home within five minutes on the first date. And yet, each kind gets married.
I thought it was a terrific ending as one of the several realistic possibilities. I really appreciate the fact that you as the original author finished the story.
Very good ending imo but not for the reasons bullet has.
I did agree with the wife that you cant have a reconciliation with one person being a second class citizen. Who would even want a marriage like that? She was right on the money in this regard.
What I dont agree with is that it was the husbands fault. Yes he did run away but that isnt worse than belittling your spouse for your whole marriage and fucking around when it suits you. Even when she was saying she understood it was her fault originally, she still seemed to be trying to blame the husband. She was overly aggressive and argumentative right from the start. She had a year to deal with the problems that she caused but kept berating the husband for not deciding in an hour and a half. Yes, he had put off dealing with things for a year and that wasnt the best course of action but its not something you would throw away a marriage over if they really loved someone, especially when the problems were caused by her in the first place.
Instead of actually wanting to work on things, it seemed like she just wanted to sweep everything under the rug. 'I said I was sorry so you have to decide in an hour and then everything goes back to the way it was before you caught me and we can never talk about it again.'
I dont see it as a falling out where both sides are equally culpable at all. It was a realistic ending but mostly because the wife wasnt a very nice person imo. She was hung up on money the same way wives in many of the stories get hung up on muscles and big dicks. The husband was never going to be enough for her because he would never be part of the money is everything crowd.
Even at the very end she making disparaging remarks about the new wife and bragging on her rich sugar daddy. I really dont see the story as the breakup of a fine marriage becuase both parties made mistakes. I see it as a realistic portrayal of the base character of the woman who would act like the wife in the first 2 parts of the story. Instead of making her all sweetness and light and trying to make her into a perfect woman who somehow behaved badly through no fault of her own (repeatedly), he showed that she was always a shallow individual and that she wasnt going to change at this late stage of the game.
Part of the problem is just that they werent compatible but I dont think the author is trying to say it was both there fault. She was shallow, vain and status obsessed. It lead to her cheating and her character didnt change after she was caught.
Even if Im totally off base in my reading of the story, I still think it was great ending to a good series.
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Anonymous12/04/05
I Agree with peggytwitty and others!!
Hey I agree completely with peggytwitty and others.
They sum up everything I felt…but…I believe the author completely disregarded and therefore distorted the previous three great chapters…
The author regrettably forgot what he wrote and what he had Kristen say and think in the previous chapters that this chapter actually stuck out very poorly. The only character trying to make a cohesive connection to the previous three chapters was Sam. The Kristen in this chapter was so completely different and unremorseful that I didn’t even recognize her. But I guess the author wanted to go in a completely different direction.
It is apparent that the Kristen in the previous chapters was still trying to grow up. She had to decide which Kristen she wanted to be…through therapy etc…she decided…she fully became the Kristen that had the affairs, had the career and indirectly decided that since Sam didn’t fight for her and the girls…so ‘fuck him”. She was more comfortable with men of “respect” like her lovers and her father. She can appreciate Sam and maybe love him…but she cannot respect him….he was always “mousy” to her…what she saw in him was a dweeb …a proud dweeb ….Her lovers were “in the bigger picture” how she saw herself e.g.: like her current lover Jeff…Sam didn’t stand a chance… their getting together was Kristen’s way of trying to change Sam into her lovers’. And that my friends is where the author put himself in the corner…by forgetting how he wanted to develop Kristen in the first place…the author, I think was unaware that he developed Sam’s character into Kristen. What Kristen said about Sam and the failing of their get together is proof. When she said, “Sam had become more independent and more attuned to his own needs and almost introspective”. I choked… come on….doesn’t that sound more like Kristen from the previous three chapters. What Kristen is now saying is that I don’t love myself and Sam has turned into me. What would have salvage the marriage was if Kristen changed a little into “Sam”. But she didn’t.
Sam never belittled Kristen, yet Kristen states, “I don't know what he was doing over there, but it certainly didn't do much for his mental acuity.” See.. Kristen even after a year still thinks Sam is a dumb dweeb. And how about when she says “Time away had made my petty affairs far more important in our life than they actually were.” Whoa …since when did those affairs become “petty”? If she changed a bit to be like Sam…she would have realized the affairs were not petty…. See what I mean Mr. Author…. you changed Sam into Kristen…and Kristen doesn’t like herself…but you forgot to changed Kristen into a bit like Sam…
Finally, the author should have included Sam’s POV to state that Kristen always had a “father complex” and that it was not unusual for her to date an older man or a man of “substance”… “ a man of “respect”…and the reason for not marrying Jeff is simple….it’s her nature ….she does not love Jeff…she just respected him and what he represented… like her previous lovers….it would be like marrying her father..I believe if Kristen was not married to Sam…she would have had a long term affair with Rudy or her other lover with no misgivings regardless if her lovers were married or not e.g. Rudy. Kristen realized it far too late that her true love was always Sam or the Sam that she had destroyed…but she decided to grow up the other way…by being true to her latent nature…a selfish nature. And the type of lover she attracts wants her solely as a trophy…because Kristen thinks she’s a fine “damn” trophy to have. Unfortunately, Sam doesn’t want a trophy.
Regardless her “mousy” attack was unnecessary but it would have been nice if Sam and his new wife had two more kids…..and Kristen saw how fatherly he was to the newborns…something she “stole” away from their daughters because of her selfishness…
Finally, the author has Kristen say “I guess there was nothing lacking in my life and, in my own way, I had made a commitment to Jeff, which I intended to honour.”….if I read this right, she is saying….I’ll keep on doing what I like, and in my own way, I’ll honour my commitment to Jeff very much like I honoured my commitment to Sam.
‘nuff said
Andy
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Anonymous12/04/05
It has been a year later,
it was time to move on. They BOTH were not perfect, but there are no devils here. All she said was divorce me or lets try to get back together. He agreed. It did not work out, but all this rang true. It would also ring true if the husband never got past this, never reconnected with his kids and just played the the hurt spouse. The author took this the first way. Some one else will write it the other way. Just as long as there are great story tellers out there, we all win.
thanks, energystar
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Anonymous12/04/05
You left me wondering.
I have no idea if you meant to portray Kristen as self centered and self deceptive as she has been seen to be by myself and from the comments I've read from others. I think Average-Joe has nailed my thoughts on her personalty so no need to go over that again. I started to be bothered by her in chapter 3 when she decided that Sam's job made him happy so it was ok. I would have liked to have seen someone point out to her that maybe Sam's job wasn't just ok that maybe teaching members of our military something that may help them come home to they're familys just may be more important then a PR rep making sure her companys logo is going to be on a theater groups programs, advertisements, and such. That a bit of pride in what he's doing might be in order. But I don't think it would have done anything to change her outlook. She came across as someone with a deep need to see herself as a better person the those around her. Her break down came when she could no longer keep from seeing how wrong what she did was.
I have to assume even though he has given no hint that Thecelt knew how Kristen was going to be seen so he gets a big 5 from me and I wish I could give it more.
Sorry Celt, I rarely put my harsh disapproval in the public comments, but this time I am, mainly because of the loads of extra drivel added by others commentators here also.
I find myself agreeing quite a lot with the comments of Troubador, peggytwity and Average Joe.
I don’t disagree with your ending – they needed to divorce, but not through the process you described.
One of your main blunders was the dramatic change in Kristen from the previous chapters to this one.
Also, I got so mad with the attitude expressed by you through Kristen I almost didn’t bother to read past her ridiculous ultimatum to Sam the night she supposedly tried to ‘rescue’ their marriage.
The amateur psychobabble was not at all credible either. Why is it that in these stories the ‘failed’ character always gets to realise it was someone else’s fault they did wrong? Real therapists don’t work this way. Unless the person faces up to their own failings and takes responsibility for them, they will never improve – as this story showed, though I doubt you intentionally planned it that way.
I read the story as you showing us how much Kristen had grown and how well she ‘got over’ her “petty affairs” as she described them. I usually tend to tilt towards the woman’s POV, but all you gave us in this story was a shallow, conceited, self centred, unlovable, first class bitch. Her mother was a breath of fresh air and was really sensible – strange she and her daughter could be such opposites.
Everything that happened was someone else’s fault: Kristen cheated on Sam because she thought his job was no good, but that was Daddy’s fault – not hers.
She says Sam ‘ran away’. Better that it was all his fault, because then she didn’t have to consider her part in the process. Maybe if we looked in the story we just might find some little error on her part that caused Sam’s departure????
Then that nasty Sam refused to crawl back to her, grovelling as she expected – bad, bad Sam!
Did she bother to tell the girls at any stage that she did something really terrible and daddy had to leave for a while? AS IF!!
Then she decides she has gotten past her ‘petty affairs’ and Sam better do the same within the next few minutes or ship out. As soon as she threatened him with divorce for ‘abandonment’ he should have been off like a shot – that surely showed him the real Kristen, but he never realised it in time.
All she has now is a shallow life, devoid of real love, ruled only by appearances and money - a life she richly deserves.
If I could believe you set out to show us the pointless life of a self absorbed bitch and how sadly she ended up, the story is absolutely brilliant, but you didn’t, did you?
What a story! Folks will be commenting on this one for weeks to come.
He screwed up being incommunicado for the year. A weekly letter or e-mail or phone call would have allowed them to keep the lines of communication open and start to work through the issues. Might have had the same outcome. He should have figured out a better way to get his revenge. He should not have abandoned his kids. His assumption that they'd be better with her may not have been correct. Although, in fairness to him, if there were no kids, I would have just left and never come back. IRL with similar sitation, I obtained custody and then left (and never came back).
She screwed up by not being a bit more remorseful upon his return - the anger didn't help. If she had been able to give him a time frame to make his decisions rather than threatening him with the immediate divorce, they might have had a better chance. Again, they needed some line of communication - lunch twice a week, or something.
Thank you for a very entertaining yet realistic story. You did a few of things in this tale that have separated it from many of the others I’ve read: you gave the wife the first person voice, you had the wife divulge a reason for her affairs and you provide a platform for development that made the characters that much more believable at the end.
The overwhelming majority of the stories on this site are told from the husband’s perspective. Hearing the wife’s voice, regardless of her views, is ALWAYS a pleasant change.
Very rarely do I read of a wife explaining WHY she engaged in her adulterous behavior, or if a reason is given it is often of the form “it just happened” or “I was drunk” or “he flattered me and I was feeling old before his advances”, etc, etc. You provided us with a very plausible explanation for her straying. That reason she gave was one of the more insightful ones given.
You also ‘aged’ the characters brilliantly. They were two different people after the year of separation. The damage done to her husband was too great to save the marriage. But, his leaving his family was truly a cowardly act and I can understand how his wife Kristen would be angry at his abandonment. Her position in that instance was correct in my opinion.
However, of the two, Kristen was the one who appears to have been damaged more in the long run. Her comment about Sam’s new wife being ‘pretty but mousey’ was a left handed compliment. It was indicative of jealously in my opinion.
The fact the Kristen did not change jobs also told me the relationship was doomed as did the fact the she held herself too prideful to ask for forgiveness, which she never did. She said she was sorry, she never asked to be forgiven. Kristen mentions forgiveness but NEVER asks for it. That omission was very telling for me. Finally, Kristen moves in with an older more financially secure man, but does not marry; yet she speaks of her commitment. This woman has issues.
At the end of chapter 4 I was initially sad for this couple. However, upon further reflection I’m happy for Sam and their children. As for Kristen, she’s still in denial.
by
Anonymous12/05/05
I LOVE THE ENDING but...
why did Kristen come off like such a bitch!
I loved the ending due to its realism and hard hitting implications. Several stories on this site have the husband runs off after discovering an affair, he shows up years later and after some crying/love making everyone get back together again. At least in your story that there are consequences for these type of actions. If Sam had said to Kristen "call me when you figure what rules do you want this marriage to follow" then his departure would have been more reasonable. A man should never abandon his family!
However, her attitude was incredible. She caused the whole mess and then try to shift the blame for the martial trouble on him. She was more concerned about her status in the marriage and his departure than trying to atone for her behavior. The sad truth is that while she recognized the reasons for her affairs (lack of respect for Sam's work} she fell out of love with him over the past year.
The way she treated him was almost clinical - he should get over her infidelity and make up for leaving his family never mind his feelings. The fact that she was willing to sign the divorce papers indicated that she wanted a resolution more than a settlement.
The potrayal of Sam's year away seems extremely unrealistic. No loving father would stay out of touch with his kids for a year. He would not assume that everything would be OK and once he heard about her breakdown he would return immediately.
Having stated the above about her attitude, it should be noted that Kristen's response was realistic. She had a nervous breakdown, her husband had left her, her therapy pointed to the reasons for her infidelity and she has had to live day to day as a single parent taking care of two daughters. Of course, she would resent him traveling the world while she was stuck with the kids, work and the shame of what she had done.
Sam on the other hand was emotionally stuck where he was when he left with deep trust issues about her. He still loved her but soon realized that she did not love him. She still resented the fact that after they made love he left her (she thought that surely this act would make everything ok)! She also hated him a little bit for making her see her ugly side (she valued him for his work not as a husband and father). The one cheap shot was leveled on Sam's second "mousey, stay at home" wife implying that compatiblity was the issue.
Ironically, she ended with someone who had an important job she could respect so with this fresh start she will be happier. Divorce was the only answer for this couple.
You wrote a powerful, realistic ending to this story. I look forward to your next submission.
SleeplessinMD
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Anonymous12/05/05
She loved herself more
This was quite realistic IMO. She showed no empathy to Sam for the hurt she caused. Had she truly loved Sam, She should have met him at the Airport alone and pleaded with him to forgive her, that she was truly remorseful of the betrayal she had committed.
Our men and women in the Armed Forces are often separted from family for a year of or more.
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Anonymous12/05/05
Well
The only real losers are the daughters. The husband and the wife got what they deserved.
Boyd
by
Anonymous12/05/05
Divorce...
In any divorce, children are the ones that will suffer the most. If I where her, I would have divorced Sam for abandoment while he was pussy footing around for a year. Sam is nothing but an old horn dog that wanted a submissive wife, and when she would not become that, he felt his male ego fading into the sunset. In fact it faded so much that he was intimiated by his wife and then both of them decided on a divorce. I applaude the author for the stance she made and for making it clear to him that she would not put up with his whimpering and to crap or get off the pot.
I'm going to agree with "the Troubador" and his comments below. Not because I don't he's a good writer, cause he is (or she if I'm wrong (^_^), but because we usually don't give out the same style of comments.
Having watched 6 buds go through divorces I have to say, what you described almost happens too a "T". And thats scarey. But what you showed her doing in chapter 4 was usually what I have observed "Pre Therapy" not "Post Therapy". It almost appears that therapy made her worse not better.
But I agree with him here that the wife did a total 180 and started blaming the husband. At the end of part 3 you had the wife seemly willing to do whatever it took to get the husband back. But in part 4 you switched gears. Suddenly it was the wife who was trying to fix everything and the husband that was in the wrong because he left it up to her. And the part of her wanting to change the Divorce decree to "Abandonment" was an intresting touch.
This was one of those stories that didn't quite hit either side of the fence. It wasn't a reconcillation story. It wasn't a revenge story. It was "Close" to real life. But the only thing that broke it for me was that it wasn't quite like real life in the fact that you had her go to therapy and "See" what she and her father did wrong. But then you had her lay the whole blame on the husband, even to go as far as say that if he never left then they would have been able to work it out. The blame she was showing was something I could have seen in her "Before" therapy, not after. Basicly she was saying that her sleeping with various men and taking a chance on giving some disease to her husband wasn't nearly as bad as him moving out and not speaking to her to let her decide if thats what she wanted to do with her life.
After therapy, and if she was truely remorseful, she would have climbed a mountain to prove how sorry she was. Whatever it took to make her husband see it too. But instead she reverted to "I have my pride and you have too big an ego" stance. But she was doing the same thing. She was the person who cheated, but was letting her ego get in the way of trying to prove she was sorry. Funny you had her working harder to cheat and cover it up, than you had her trying to working it out with her husband when he first came back. Oh well.
I have to admit I wasn't sure where this story was going till about 3/4 of the way through, but it ended with the wife blaming the husband, the husband blaming the wife, two happy kids, and a therapist who made alot of money and didn't fix anything because the wife in story 4, who wasn't anything like the wife in story 2 and 3, developed a huge ego and decided to shift the blame.
Intresting story, but is slightly different.
by
Anonymous12/05/05
Perhaps it is more like real life.......
however, I have a great deal of trouble with the final chapter. It doesn't appear that she has actually learned anything. She is still looking elsewhere for blame and rationalization. Would this character actually have gone through the therapy and self awareness if he hadn't left for a year? To fly so completely off the hammer because he wouldn't kiss her when he came back continues to show she is a selfish and self absorbed person. That is shown so clearly in the concluding section where she still trivializes her affairs and minor occurances. They probably ended up in the way they should have in the first place and that may be where the "real life" acutally happens. Even though they want to try and prove their love for each other, in actuality, they are not truly compatible people. I found it both interesting and disturbing that they both put their children up front in fault they found with each other. Did she think of them when she had her trysts, his "abandonment" for a year.
I do have to say, that agreeing with the characterizatons and plot or not, I enjoyed reading the story very much. Thank you for sharing it.
The only point that most of the commentors seem to agree upon is that the divorce was probably inevitable. Another point made by several commentors was the fact that she admitted to her mistakes but any apology made was so slight as to be insignificant. Nor was there much of an offer to make ammends. Sam got raked over the coals for his taking off. Not one of the commentors seem to recall that the unit he taught was about to be disbanded, and he was largely going to be out of a job. When your wife and father-in-law spend years putting you down because you're playing at work and that you should get a "decent, respectible, job," and suddenly you find yourself about to be unemployed, what would you do? If you're Sam, knowing how she'd belittled him before, he probably cringed when he thought of what her words and actions would be when he started drawing unemployment checks. Sam did about the only thing he could do. He got a job where he could. The fact that his new boss insisted that he travel to get himself qualified was not of Sam's doing, although it would give him a chance to work at a "decent, respectable, job," and at the same time sort out his feelings (hopefully). Unfortunately Sam seems to have failed miserably at that task. Author, congratulations. you made us think. Thank You. Ronnie W.
What you started the first chapters with were scenes to establish and exemplfy your thread the "Rules of Marriage", which were then utterly broken by ONE of the partners. He left to allow her to deal with herself and the challenge of those rules, and probably to allow her to suffer some penance, and to emasculate himself from the obvious urge for revenge, retribution, or to hate this betraying bitch and turf her cheating arse out straight away.
Instead of doing everything in her power to fight for what may have remained of his love of her, she goes and finds a psychotic to convince her that there's blame all round, and Sam's somehow at fault for needing to depart. Then she chides him for leaving for what in his mind is a threshold break apart - that either ends the marriage or amplifies the love. Having her somehow displaying the upper hand of propriety in hanging around, working and looking after the kids is taking that point past the reality of why it was so, and if she felt so righteous and damnwell slighted, why didn't she divorce him? Plot lost here, mate.
After the plotline of Ch 1-3, the swerve you took was implausible and ill-conceived, and quite frankly broke down the established character traits.
"petty affairs"? GIVE US ABREAK!!!!
Now put that whiskey away and write us another version.
Cheers
Okay, I've read the 37 comments to date and there seems to be one element thecelt communicated in the story that I haven't heard anyone talk about, or at least not this particular aspect of it...
It's apparent to me that Kirsten's response to Sam in the beginning of Chapter 4 has more to do with protecting herself emotionally than anything else (not arrogance, selfishness, or shallowness as some have suggested). Keep in mind that this is a woman who went through a breakdown severe enough that she required hospitalization...(I know, I know, she cheated so she brought in on herself, she deserves whatever she got and then some, she's a bitch and a whore, yada yada yada...)
She'd already gone through the remorse/grief and emotional devastation associated with her mistake and pulled herself together enough to take care of their kids and get some help. She'd come out on the other end, and yes had gained enough understanding to forgive herself.
I believe she was open to and looking forward to working with Sam to put their lives back together. It seems to me that when she saw some pretty clear signs that Sam was still focusing on his pain and her guilt that her motivation in armoring herself from having to be the begging, remorseful supplicant had more to do with avoiding another descent into that emotional hell than anything else. Who can blame her? (For those of you who only want to see her suffer eternally...this story wasn't about that....check out Plain Old Bob's latest story - Another Slut Wife: Angie 2...you'll really like it...[spoiler - alert] the wronged husband kills his wife and her boyfriend.)
Aside from the very real damage done to his children by being incommunicado for a year (which I do think makes Kristen's affairs seem "petty" by comparison), one of the biggest obstacles to the couple's reconciliation is that Sam was not there to see Kristen's personal disintegration, which could have gone a long way toward helping him resolve his own pain.
Emotionally, Sam was on hold while he was away building his new career, so when he got back he was ready to start a process that Kristen had already been through. thecelt alludes to mistakes Sam made while away that we never get to explore (I'd take a wild guess that he fucked around a bit). Regardless, by being away, Sam missed the chance to get what he needed to see to start healing...Kirsten suffering the remorse and guilt she actually experienced.
In the end, both spouses perpetrated egregious errors that hurt the other and their kids. That would be a big hill to climb for any couple to put a marriage back together. I'm glad to see at the end that everybody seemed to come out ok.
In my earlier comment I mentioned a story by another author and messed up the author and title. For all you revenge enthusiasts out there the author is Just Plain Bob and the story was Becoming a Slut Wife: AngieCh. 02
I think your story was great. As many have said in their comments the ending could have been different for me. But it is your ending and we must live with your decision.
I would like to comment on a few issues from the story.
1) Sam left for a year. This is a long time yes, but many people are separated for a year or more at a time. Military, prison, etc. It makes it hard, but not impossible to maintain the feelings for a relationship to continue. Was he wrong? Who knows if he had stayed if it would have made it any different.
2) Her attitude. I agree with many that her attitude went from one of wanting to do anything she could to save her marriage to one of here I am, take me or leave me. I saw it all in two words "petty affair." No affair is petty. End of story. I knew they would never make it with that attitude.
Now, does that mean she should end up being his door mat for the rest of her life? Of course not. She had complained that he left and didn't give her a chance to explain or make it right. Conversely, she gave him her ultimatums immediately without giving him a chance to understand and forgive. Two errors no doubt. But spelled the end of a marriage.
3) Several people indicated that her attitudes had not changed about what was of value in life. She demeans his new wife, "mousy", "stay at home mom", as if these are less than worthy traits. Secondly her success in life was to be with an older wealthy man, implying his success.
I wonder if her new "successful man" loved her like her old "not living up to his potential man" had loved her BEFORE she cheated on him? This we will not ever know.
I know this, the anger and vindictiveness I tend to show in my stories directed at the cheating wives stems from the huge disappointment, sadness and sense of loss that ocurrs when senseless acts of infidelity destroy happy marriages.
In this story, her disrespect for him allowed her cheating to surface. The tragedy is that they didn't recognize that disrespect and deal with it before it destroyed them. That would have been the perfect story for their lives, but of course not too interesting for here. *S*
Thanks for the good read and the thought provoking ideas.
Hopefully one of these days you will hit an ending that I love!
Good story overall. As always, there are two people at fault in EVERY divorce; nobody is simon-pure.
Kirsten had an affair. Bad, but shouldn't be unforgivable. But from Sam's perspective, it WAS inforgivable; he abandoned his family. Which is the worse offense? And then to bug out and string her along with the (impossible) pretense of "perhaps we'll get back together when I return" makes me believe that the worse offense is Sam's.
There MUST be some possibility of forgiveness; without it, even the smallest transgressions will build up into a divorce. Without forgiveness - or at least the POSSIBILITY of forgiveness - there's no point in remorse. Sam was clearly not in the mood to forgive Kirsten, even though she had repented of her offense(s) and resolved to not repeat them. Sam WASN'T AROUND to see - or even to hear about - Kirsten's repentance and turnaround. And she had had a YEAR to grow to become a better person. It appears from the story that she had done so.
Sam, on the other hand, had secluded himself in a "time warp" and had made NO headway in growing through his pain. Which isn't to belittle his pain - but one must either grow or die, and Sam was dying inside.
In retrospect, Kirsten should have divorced Sam for abandonment when he left; or if Sam had already decided that Kirsten's offense was unforgiveable, Sam should have divorced her then.
by
Anonymous12/05/05
Wow! Great Story! Thanks!
Others have said it better than me. In a nutshell, she can only blame others for her mistakes. The one thing he did wrong was fail to notify the asshole's wife when he caught them. That was a serious mistake on his part. Leaving, etc.- nothing wrong there with his actions.
It's clear that the wife's new boyfriend will dump her before too long in favor of "Trophy WIFE" and she'll finally get what she deserves--nothing. She's an impetuous, spoiled loser--not fit to raise kids. Yeah that was a second failure on Sam's part--not demanding custody of the children. She's had a nervous breakdown--obviously unfit to raise kids. I think that was just a ploy to make her parents feel responsible in some way.
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Anonymous12/06/05
She got off lucky!
The author did a great job with the story. It had my attention, however the other idiot & this wife got off way to easy. Simply, she barely got what she deserved but that is indeed how life goes sometimes. Keep up the great work!
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Anonymous12/06/05
Second Time Cheat.
She admitted nothing.She just satisfied herself only.
Kristen finally got what she REALLY wanted all this time, a rich husband. She never 'respected' Sam so it was OK to cheat. She didn't respect him because she made more money than him. Not only that but he didn't do what she did for a living so his work was not respected either. What a crock.
She found out why she cheated and then she came to grips with it. Once Sam came back she apologized and basicially told him if he couldn't accept that she wasn't going to grovel tough noggies.
She didn't love Sam. She never loved Sam. She just wanted someone to screw and keep her bed warm. I'm glad Sam left and found a good woman. HE deserved it and she got off lucky. Like all cheating sluts seem to in these stories.
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Anonymous12/10/05
no problem w/ ending but character building
or the lack thereof,,,
now I'm dating jeff, an older man, quite well off. the girls are in 7th heaven; sam and jeff get along fine.
i learned my lessons and will never cheat again.
this is complete nonsense!
and the way she as well as the author describe sam: he spends a whole year working, making a lot of money, which she and her dad want (not him; he's happy with his old job), but NEVER spends more hour reflecting on what he wants to do, upon returning?
so when she asks him what he wants, he says, "I don't expect you do say these thing so resolutely,,, I expect you on you knees; you obviously are not on your knees. I don't know waht I am thinking; but I need time to think"!
WTF!
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Anonymous12/19/05
Realistic
Finally a cheating wife story with a realistic ending that doesn't reqire one or the other to be devasted.I believe most men would not be able to forgive cheating but most also would not want the wife destroyed if only because of the children.
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Anonymous12/26/05
Interesting Shift
Based on the end of Part 3, this "conclusion" was out of kilter. At a personal level, I didn't like it. I am less troubled with his "new job" and the year away than other comentators. He is clearly in a field which requires hands on training of soldiers and you go to them, not the other way around. Her family pushed him away.
I would like ot have seen some recognition on both of their parts of the damage caused to each other and especially a measure of the "warmth" which I saw developing in her character at the end of Part 3 extend into Part 4. At this point, a reconcilliation should have been the conclusion.
That said, your stories are always well written and enjoyble. Keep writing. Thanks
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Anonymous12/30/05
Good writing and a good story
just didn't like the guy leaving for a year to get his head on straight and to punish her, but he punished the children as well and they had nothing to do with them getting married or the affair. Can understand the year apart, part, but not the seperation from the children.
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Anonymous12/31/05
respect?
She didn't learn a damn thing. She never respected Sam before the affairs, and she still didn't respect him after he returned. And the author didn't respect his readers either.
English
good story,
unexpected ending, but it happens. a year apart would be a long time to be seperated, people do change daily, it adds up after a year. i liked your approach to her cheating, forgiveness starts at home. she had to forgive herself before she could expect forgiveness from her husband. his desertion of his children was wrong, you handled that well also. it was just a downright good read. a fan always.
Some problems with this one
If he had stayed around for that year "for the sake of the girls", odds are it would have actually been worse for their daughters than his absence.
Children brought up in a stressed household where the parents are distinctly at odds with each other do not benefit from the experience. All too often it leads to problems later on in life. Explaining an absence is easier than explaining why Mummy and Daddy hate each other.
There is also her neat amnesia - when she was cheating, she was thinking of herself only and not the needs of her husband or family. She had to have known what the possible implications of her actions were (especially to her children) but she did it anyway.
Then she has the nerve to deride Sam for doing something that was similar in nature (but not necessarily a bad thing). I was surprised that Sam didn't call her on this. Not that it makes what he did any less a selfish act, but it does mean that any attempt by her to use his selfishness as a reason for her to leave him (as opposed to him leaving her) as pure hypocrisy.
As for the ultimate outcome, it was good. Or at least, plausible and not a heart-break. Some couples just can't get back together after an experience like that.
sad but true.
a year apart is hard for a couple with kids and betral to recover from. usually they have to rebuild within a few months, or it is divorce.
and they weren't going to. she resented he wasn't there while she was hospitalized and more, and was in his face about it within 24hrs. (even though she would have disrespected him and his "job" if he had stayed!)
she had changed and paid, but had no more remorse left, and she felt there was no restitution needed for what happened any more.
he still thought he deserved a meaningful apology (which he wasn't getting) and restitution.
there is no hope. it was catch 22 for both of them.
Thank God Sam got out!
Thank God Sam got out!
He came back to a woman who had forgiven herself and didn’t care to even explain her self or what she had found out to him. She still only sees things her way, what is good for her. She will always put herself first over anything. She only found blame for him leaving as he had to because when he left she was of one mind in that “Gee I’m sorry but I was drunk and it won’t happen again” like she was saying “See I’ve changed!” and we will move on from there.
She hadn’t changed and after a year she still is putting what she wants first. He is still not that important. She was and is a very hardhearted person who never once put herself in his shoes to see what it really feels like to be so betrayed. She will always make excuses for the rest of her life and expect everyone to except that, Gee, she made a mistake; I’m better now so lets move on like nothing happened. She couldn’t sit down and start off with an explanation of what had transpired while he was gone and then explain how she felt his leaving was to sever and she thought he should have stayed to help them get things straitened out. She just got indignant right off the bat that his immediate acceptance of everything wasn’t there and how dare he not just move back in and let it go. After all she said she was sorry. “How dare He”
She told her Mom:
"I would do anything to keep Sam. He didn't give me a chance and he didn't try to fight for us. He just left me. He may have been right about my cheating but he didn't give me a chance to explain."
"Explain what? That you slept with another man and that you were going to do it again? Let me ask you what you could say to make it right?" She looked directly at me as she said this. The look on her face was the one I used to see when I had done something wrong and she was about to lay into me.
"I don't know of any reason in the world that you can say gave you the right to betray your man. If you have one, let me hear it right now!"
"I didn't say it was right, I just wanted to say why I did it." She must listen.
"If it's wrong to do, it makes no difference why you did it." She was relentless.
"But, I had too much to drink and he was trying to seduce me. That's why it happened."
"That's bull and you know it. A married woman doesn't get drunk with another man and she doesn't put herself in another man's hands when she can't think straight. You did both, so I don't want to hear that as an excuse."
Thank God he got out and found a person who wants to share a marriage not run one her way. God the girls are in for a hard life when they grow up if they follow their Mom’s way of living.
Nice writing you do a very good job.
Have to agree with the comments
It seems as if she owed him an explanation, instead of just introspection. She apologized, but was defensive. She didn't seem to want to help him through his anger. Sure they tried marriage counselling, but it seems as if she apologized in words only, but not truly repentant. Men's egos can't take that. I wonder if she had asked his forgiveness, if they could have worked this out. That's what he wanted and she could not give that to him.
These were two people too self-absorbed in what was best for them. Not what was best for their relationship.
My husband and I have had many problems at times in our 17 years of marriage, but we realize that we have to make it work. It's not just about being married to someone who makes you happy. It's about being married to someone you want to be happy. If you both seek to make the other happy and truly care for them, you can get through any issue.
two mistakes
first ,when he caught them,he should have kick both of there asses good.second,that would been his road to recovery and shame her enough she would think twice about cheating.she still was a prideful woman this whole thing was her doing and she want him to just let it go as nothing had happen.this is real life shit you have wrote and his reaction is how real people react to trama.you don't destory a man mentally and he recover over night, because the wife say i'm sorry.it takes time to put his mind back together.
A very good read
I did not expect the ending but I could see it being a "real" ending. Your writing was great and thanks.
Better, but problematic
While I am glad that Sam got away from that shrew, I am unhappy about her attitude.
She is upset with her husband for putting her in a situation that she created? Tough. She doesn't like that he's still angry? Again, tough. He should have never given her that year.
The writing, though, was exemplary. Keep it up!
Good Read
I guess my thinking is warped but it all seemed to make sense to me. He gets points for trying but her "accept it or else" attitude makes it almost impossible. He ended it well for the girls sake. Seems like real life to me. I liked it.
Man!! That bitch had some nerve!!!!!
I would have fought like hell for my girls and made every effort to omit the whore from seeing them or only as little as possible. Once a whore and a cheat always a whore and cheat! I didn't like the ending!!
You were right
In my opinion you destroyed the entire story, I give it a minus "0". She came off as an arrogant bitch that thought it was his fault because she forgave herself.In reality, she never got over thinking he wasn't good enough, and was too big a bitch/whore to admit it. You dropped a bunch of points in the writing department. You should have left this one alone, it sucks!
Self respect
Sam was s selfish fool.
Well Done
I enjoyed this. It was realistic and it vividly illustrated the consequences of infidelity. Many times there are no happy endings. Very well done. Thanks for an excellent story.
Hey! Everybody calm down it’s just a story.
I have to say that some of us would like a different ending to feel good about a happy family back together again, but this is so much like real life it was good writing. The last paragraphs said it all how She really stills looks at life. She should get her money back from the therapists she has seen in the past.
Outtake #1:
“Sam married a lovely woman with a son of her own and they seemed to be quite compatible. She was pretty, but mousy, and didn't work. She preferred to be a stay at home mom.”
She still thinks only a professional woman is of any real value and this mousey wife is not much. She doesn’t say what mousey means to her, but I figure, Mousey Wife, would rather be at home with her son and maybe a part time job if required so she and her husband could have more of a life together with their children. Hey, Mousey may be hell on wheels in the kitchen and boudoir. God I hope the girls get some value from their step-mom.
Outtake #2:
“I was dating an older man, Jeffrey, who was quite well off and he and I traveled together as often as we could. Jeff owned a home in the country with a stable and three horses, so Melissa and Jennie were in 7th heaven.”
Here she picking a professional man with money and prestige who is older and I’m sure more inclined to do as she wishes to keep the hot younger woman. She would of course never be caught dead with a tradesman, or clerk, or anyone who wasn’t top draw as that’s what she deserved, just ask her. God forbid her Jeffery ever get sick, she will have to find someone to take her to all the important parties and functions she so well deserves. Look out Jeffrey.
I should have given you a 100% on your story on my first comment, as it gave so many people the option to reply to you about a story obviously well read and that is a kick to find so many people are interested to give you feed back.
You are a good writer and I hope you write what you want and take what most of us say as having fun in what we see in your stories. Thanks for the story
Thanks For Provoking Considerations +/-
The purpose of your clear, flowing, word pictures was not to alienate readers but to postulate the circumstance from your viewpoint then clearly show what can or perhaps normally happens when one partner selfishly chooses to disrespect the marriage commitments agreed upon.
The rest we can debate to our conclusion and nervous satisfaction but the game conditions were set by the author and were very lifelike in basic premise.
While it is varily impossible to trust one who has repeatedly disrespected the marital pact - love can push an effort to try to overcome the frustrations each feels of themselves and the other. When time and basic considerations force them to acknowledge that it can never be the same or an acceptable close to scenario - the wheels come off as no compromise on either parties part can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Author Author Author - a very talented and entertaining piece. Also very deep that some would say is appropriate reading for married people who wish to stay that way. You are appreciated. With Very High Regard
Eniding sucked
This cold hearted whore thinks of no one but herself. The only mistake sam made was leaving his two daughter's with a whore like their mother. He should have divorced her and taken custody of his girls. Can you believe this whore's attitude since sam came back. She didn't change one damn bit, it was still about her and only her and if sam didn't like it then fuck him. Can you believe the apology, i cheated, i'm sorry, lets move on. The she has the nerve to say to him how selfish he was for leaving and not even thinking them. If the whore would of have though of him and her daughter's in the first place, she probably wouldn't have cheated,probably. I liked what her mother told her, what excuse or explanation can you give to make it sound ok that you cheated. Why the fuck do shrinks always shift some of the blame to the husband when the wife cheats. Better luck next time.
Reality bites!
The Celt has nailed it. Too bad, I guess, but this ending is the way life works. Perhaps the wife was a bit harsh with the husband when he came back from his trip around the world, but that's the way people are. It had been a year. She had gone through all of the heartaches and psychiatry and stuff, and she was moving on. He continued to wallow in the affair.
Reality is a couple trying to stay together after an affair like this but instead drifting further and further apart. Suddenly they wake up one morning to find they have nothing left to give each other.
Many of us like reconcilliation stories: get back together after much breast pounding and angst. Many of us like revenge stories: throw the bitch out and drain her of her blood.
But the way it often works is this way: not with a bang but with a whimper. Two people try to make it work, but the erosion of the marriage is irreversible.
That's the facts, jack.
Bad Story!
Bad ending! To err is human, but to accept the mistakes is divine. Both of them felt like some egocentric humans, who thought about nothing but themselves - as if they had no responsibiltiy towards each other or thier kids. People make mistakes, but learn from them and then they try to make up. But it is sheer arrogance to know the mistake and then do not do anythingt to make it up! Sorry..but a bad story!
thebullet has got it!
He's saved me writing anything thing here.
DC
Interesting how the wife's attitude has changed
She has exonerated herself from responsibility. Despite what you are having her think, that is what she has done. She, the shrink and her father have now laid the largest part of the blame on the husband. At that point she guaranteed the marriage was ended.
I understand thecelt's thinking, but he has the wife completely closed to accepting her husband is still hurting. To her, this is old news, she has understood and accepted she did wrong. Not a biggie though, she did it because of her husband's actions so her fault was minor.
I see this as hard on the girls, but it wasn't the man's fault. She never noticed he had changed to please her. After all, he was responsible for her fucking around in the first place, it wasn't really her. And she had no culpability for his needing to distance himself from what she had done to him.
After all, she only did it because of his faults.
It's Not Just A Story By The Scoring Here
Great depth and talented work Author - You are appreciated!
Now then!!! How many times has it aggressively or defensively been said "It's Just A Story" Get over It !!!
Each author or writer here trys to cause an emotion - an interest - an arousal - respect - disrespect - humiliation - sickness - pain - caring - loving - etc. for those who want that brand.
Some are succesfull to their purpose as intended - others unintentionally don't even understand what they are causing or don't care and some cause the wrong, different or unintended reaction.
As you can see here - all these things affect the comment scoring [which may not be the way they 1st scored the story at it's conclusion] but they are generally reflective of each other.
Again as you see here - content affects scoring regardless of talent and effort and editing and thats the way we humans work. It's ok in the sceme of life - the story and the scoring shapes thought, reasoning and behavior. We bend or plow on to our mission right or wrong. Regardless - emotion is a very strong affectant to acceptance or rejection - ie scoring in the comment area.
Respectfully or respectively writers provoke these considerations and the attendant emotions result whether a writer intends it or not.
Most of all but not with small difficulty writers must write to their intention not the masses if they disagree with them. A change understood and accepted is healthy otherwise it is hollow and rots outward.
You Valued Author - please stay true to your lifelike path as varied as it can be in emmulation of life's travails and the battles of communication, understanding and compromise.
Thanks again - With Very High regard
That's the way people are.
Yes. Strange but true. If I juxtapose one of ‘thebullets's’ comments and one of ‘the Troubador's’ comments you get “this ending is the way life works. Perhaps the wife was a bit harsh with the husband..., but that's the way people are.” “She has exonerated herself from responsibility.”
Without being a misogynist, I think many women are prone to be harsh towards their husbands, who are, after all, disobedient children who need to be scolded and bullied at times so they behave themselves. Or behave as the wives would prefer. Whichever.
I’ve met some women who appear to be understanding sweethearts who would be worth marrying and enjoying life with and I’ve met others who would prompt me to turn around and bring ‘em home within five minutes on the first date. And yet, each kind gets married.
I thought it was a terrific ending as one of the several realistic possibilities. I really appreciate the fact that you as the original author finished the story.
Thank you thecelt.
Phil
Bullet misses the mark again :)
Very good ending imo but not for the reasons bullet has.
I did agree with the wife that you cant have a reconciliation with one person being a second class citizen. Who would even want a marriage like that? She was right on the money in this regard.
What I dont agree with is that it was the husbands fault. Yes he did run away but that isnt worse than belittling your spouse for your whole marriage and fucking around when it suits you. Even when she was saying she understood it was her fault originally, she still seemed to be trying to blame the husband. She was overly aggressive and argumentative right from the start. She had a year to deal with the problems that she caused but kept berating the husband for not deciding in an hour and a half. Yes, he had put off dealing with things for a year and that wasnt the best course of action but its not something you would throw away a marriage over if they really loved someone, especially when the problems were caused by her in the first place.
Instead of actually wanting to work on things, it seemed like she just wanted to sweep everything under the rug. 'I said I was sorry so you have to decide in an hour and then everything goes back to the way it was before you caught me and we can never talk about it again.'
I dont see it as a falling out where both sides are equally culpable at all. It was a realistic ending but mostly because the wife wasnt a very nice person imo. She was hung up on money the same way wives in many of the stories get hung up on muscles and big dicks. The husband was never going to be enough for her because he would never be part of the money is everything crowd.
Even at the very end she making disparaging remarks about the new wife and bragging on her rich sugar daddy. I really dont see the story as the breakup of a fine marriage becuase both parties made mistakes. I see it as a realistic portrayal of the base character of the woman who would act like the wife in the first 2 parts of the story. Instead of making her all sweetness and light and trying to make her into a perfect woman who somehow behaved badly through no fault of her own (repeatedly), he showed that she was always a shallow individual and that she wasnt going to change at this late stage of the game.
Part of the problem is just that they werent compatible but I dont think the author is trying to say it was both there fault. She was shallow, vain and status obsessed. It lead to her cheating and her character didnt change after she was caught.
Even if Im totally off base in my reading of the story, I still think it was great ending to a good series.
I Agree with peggytwitty and others!!
Hey I agree completely with peggytwitty and others.
They sum up everything I felt…but…I believe the author completely disregarded and therefore distorted the previous three great chapters…
The author regrettably forgot what he wrote and what he had Kristen say and think in the previous chapters that this chapter actually stuck out very poorly. The only character trying to make a cohesive connection to the previous three chapters was Sam. The Kristen in this chapter was so completely different and unremorseful that I didn’t even recognize her. But I guess the author wanted to go in a completely different direction.
It is apparent that the Kristen in the previous chapters was still trying to grow up. She had to decide which Kristen she wanted to be…through therapy etc…she decided…she fully became the Kristen that had the affairs, had the career and indirectly decided that since Sam didn’t fight for her and the girls…so ‘fuck him”. She was more comfortable with men of “respect” like her lovers and her father. She can appreciate Sam and maybe love him…but she cannot respect him….he was always “mousy” to her…what she saw in him was a dweeb …a proud dweeb ….Her lovers were “in the bigger picture” how she saw herself e.g.: like her current lover Jeff…Sam didn’t stand a chance… their getting together was Kristen’s way of trying to change Sam into her lovers’. And that my friends is where the author put himself in the corner…by forgetting how he wanted to develop Kristen in the first place…the author, I think was unaware that he developed Sam’s character into Kristen. What Kristen said about Sam and the failing of their get together is proof. When she said, “Sam had become more independent and more attuned to his own needs and almost introspective”. I choked… come on….doesn’t that sound more like Kristen from the previous three chapters. What Kristen is now saying is that I don’t love myself and Sam has turned into me. What would have salvage the marriage was if Kristen changed a little into “Sam”. But she didn’t.
Sam never belittled Kristen, yet Kristen states, “I don't know what he was doing over there, but it certainly didn't do much for his mental acuity.” See.. Kristen even after a year still thinks Sam is a dumb dweeb. And how about when she says “Time away had made my petty affairs far more important in our life than they actually were.” Whoa …since when did those affairs become “petty”? If she changed a bit to be like Sam…she would have realized the affairs were not petty…. See what I mean Mr. Author…. you changed Sam into Kristen…and Kristen doesn’t like herself…but you forgot to changed Kristen into a bit like Sam…
Finally, the author should have included Sam’s POV to state that Kristen always had a “father complex” and that it was not unusual for her to date an older man or a man of “substance”… “ a man of “respect”…and the reason for not marrying Jeff is simple….it’s her nature ….she does not love Jeff…she just respected him and what he represented… like her previous lovers….it would be like marrying her father..I believe if Kristen was not married to Sam…she would have had a long term affair with Rudy or her other lover with no misgivings regardless if her lovers were married or not e.g. Rudy. Kristen realized it far too late that her true love was always Sam or the Sam that she had destroyed…but she decided to grow up the other way…by being true to her latent nature…a selfish nature. And the type of lover she attracts wants her solely as a trophy…because Kristen thinks she’s a fine “damn” trophy to have. Unfortunately, Sam doesn’t want a trophy.
Regardless her “mousy” attack was unnecessary but it would have been nice if Sam and his new wife had two more kids…..and Kristen saw how fatherly he was to the newborns…something she “stole” away from their daughters because of her selfishness…
Finally, the author has Kristen say “I guess there was nothing lacking in my life and, in my own way, I had made a commitment to Jeff, which I intended to honour.”….if I read this right, she is saying….I’ll keep on doing what I like, and in my own way, I’ll honour my commitment to Jeff very much like I honoured my commitment to Sam.
‘nuff said
Andy
It has been a year later,
it was time to move on. They BOTH were not perfect, but there are no devils here. All she said was divorce me or lets try to get back together. He agreed. It did not work out, but all this rang true. It would also ring true if the husband never got past this, never reconnected with his kids and just played the the hurt spouse. The author took this the first way. Some one else will write it the other way. Just as long as there are great story tellers out there, we all win.
thanks, energystar
You left me wondering.
I have no idea if you meant to portray Kristen as self centered and self deceptive as she has been seen to be by myself and from the comments I've read from others. I think Average-Joe has nailed my thoughts on her personalty so no need to go over that again. I started to be bothered by her in chapter 3 when she decided that Sam's job made him happy so it was ok. I would have liked to have seen someone point out to her that maybe Sam's job wasn't just ok that maybe teaching members of our military something that may help them come home to they're familys just may be more important then a PR rep making sure her companys logo is going to be on a theater groups programs, advertisements, and such. That a bit of pride in what he's doing might be in order. But I don't think it would have done anything to change her outlook. She came across as someone with a deep need to see herself as a better person the those around her. Her break down came when she could no longer keep from seeing how wrong what she did was.
I have to assume even though he has given no hint that Thecelt knew how Kristen was going to be seen so he gets a big 5 from me and I wish I could give it more.
Metzov
Oh dear!
Sorry Celt, I rarely put my harsh disapproval in the public comments, but this time I am, mainly because of the loads of extra drivel added by others commentators here also.
I find myself agreeing quite a lot with the comments of Troubador, peggytwity and Average Joe.
I don’t disagree with your ending – they needed to divorce, but not through the process you described.
One of your main blunders was the dramatic change in Kristen from the previous chapters to this one.
Also, I got so mad with the attitude expressed by you through Kristen I almost didn’t bother to read past her ridiculous ultimatum to Sam the night she supposedly tried to ‘rescue’ their marriage.
The amateur psychobabble was not at all credible either. Why is it that in these stories the ‘failed’ character always gets to realise it was someone else’s fault they did wrong? Real therapists don’t work this way. Unless the person faces up to their own failings and takes responsibility for them, they will never improve – as this story showed, though I doubt you intentionally planned it that way.
I read the story as you showing us how much Kristen had grown and how well she ‘got over’ her “petty affairs” as she described them. I usually tend to tilt towards the woman’s POV, but all you gave us in this story was a shallow, conceited, self centred, unlovable, first class bitch. Her mother was a breath of fresh air and was really sensible – strange she and her daughter could be such opposites.
Everything that happened was someone else’s fault: Kristen cheated on Sam because she thought his job was no good, but that was Daddy’s fault – not hers.
She says Sam ‘ran away’. Better that it was all his fault, because then she didn’t have to consider her part in the process. Maybe if we looked in the story we just might find some little error on her part that caused Sam’s departure????
Then that nasty Sam refused to crawl back to her, grovelling as she expected – bad, bad Sam!
Did she bother to tell the girls at any stage that she did something really terrible and daddy had to leave for a while? AS IF!!
Then she decides she has gotten past her ‘petty affairs’ and Sam better do the same within the next few minutes or ship out. As soon as she threatened him with divorce for ‘abandonment’ he should have been off like a shot – that surely showed him the real Kristen, but he never realised it in time.
All she has now is a shallow life, devoid of real love, ruled only by appearances and money - a life she richly deserves.
If I could believe you set out to show us the pointless life of a self absorbed bitch and how sadly she ended up, the story is absolutely brilliant, but you didn’t, did you?
Bullet is correct
What a story! Folks will be commenting on this one for weeks to come.
He screwed up being incommunicado for the year. A weekly letter or e-mail or phone call would have allowed them to keep the lines of communication open and start to work through the issues. Might have had the same outcome. He should have figured out a better way to get his revenge. He should not have abandoned his kids. His assumption that they'd be better with her may not have been correct. Although, in fairness to him, if there were no kids, I would have just left and never come back. IRL with similar sitation, I obtained custody and then left (and never came back).
She screwed up by not being a bit more remorseful upon his return - the anger didn't help. If she had been able to give him a time frame to make his decisions rather than threatening him with the immediate divorce, they might have had a better chance. Again, they needed some line of communication - lunch twice a week, or something.
Sad story, but well written.
Very well done...indeed
Thank you for a very entertaining yet realistic story. You did a few of things in this tale that have separated it from many of the others I’ve read: you gave the wife the first person voice, you had the wife divulge a reason for her affairs and you provide a platform for development that made the characters that much more believable at the end.
The overwhelming majority of the stories on this site are told from the husband’s perspective. Hearing the wife’s voice, regardless of her views, is ALWAYS a pleasant change.
Very rarely do I read of a wife explaining WHY she engaged in her adulterous behavior, or if a reason is given it is often of the form “it just happened” or “I was drunk” or “he flattered me and I was feeling old before his advances”, etc, etc. You provided us with a very plausible explanation for her straying. That reason she gave was one of the more insightful ones given.
You also ‘aged’ the characters brilliantly. They were two different people after the year of separation. The damage done to her husband was too great to save the marriage. But, his leaving his family was truly a cowardly act and I can understand how his wife Kristen would be angry at his abandonment. Her position in that instance was correct in my opinion.
However, of the two, Kristen was the one who appears to have been damaged more in the long run. Her comment about Sam’s new wife being ‘pretty but mousey’ was a left handed compliment. It was indicative of jealously in my opinion.
The fact the Kristen did not change jobs also told me the relationship was doomed as did the fact the she held herself too prideful to ask for forgiveness, which she never did. She said she was sorry, she never asked to be forgiven. Kristen mentions forgiveness but NEVER asks for it. That omission was very telling for me. Finally, Kristen moves in with an older more financially secure man, but does not marry; yet she speaks of her commitment. This woman has issues.
At the end of chapter 4 I was initially sad for this couple. However, upon further reflection I’m happy for Sam and their children. As for Kristen, she’s still in denial.
I LOVE THE ENDING but...
why did Kristen come off like such a bitch!
I loved the ending due to its realism and hard hitting implications. Several stories on this site have the husband runs off after discovering an affair, he shows up years later and after some crying/love making everyone get back together again. At least in your story that there are consequences for these type of actions. If Sam had said to Kristen "call me when you figure what rules do you want this marriage to follow" then his departure would have been more reasonable. A man should never abandon his family!
However, her attitude was incredible. She caused the whole mess and then try to shift the blame for the martial trouble on him. She was more concerned about her status in the marriage and his departure than trying to atone for her behavior. The sad truth is that while she recognized the reasons for her affairs (lack of respect for Sam's work} she fell out of love with him over the past year.
The way she treated him was almost clinical - he should get over her infidelity and make up for leaving his family never mind his feelings. The fact that she was willing to sign the divorce papers indicated that she wanted a resolution more than a settlement.
The potrayal of Sam's year away seems extremely unrealistic. No loving father would stay out of touch with his kids for a year. He would not assume that everything would be OK and once he heard about her breakdown he would return immediately.
Having stated the above about her attitude, it should be noted that Kristen's response was realistic. She had a nervous breakdown, her husband had left her, her therapy pointed to the reasons for her infidelity and she has had to live day to day as a single parent taking care of two daughters. Of course, she would resent him traveling the world while she was stuck with the kids, work and the shame of what she had done.
Sam on the other hand was emotionally stuck where he was when he left with deep trust issues about her. He still loved her but soon realized that she did not love him. She still resented the fact that after they made love he left her (she thought that surely this act would make everything ok)! She also hated him a little bit for making her see her ugly side (she valued him for his work not as a husband and father). The one cheap shot was leveled on Sam's second "mousey, stay at home" wife implying that compatiblity was the issue.
Ironically, she ended with someone who had an important job she could respect so with this fresh start she will be happier. Divorce was the only answer for this couple.
You wrote a powerful, realistic ending to this story. I look forward to your next submission.
SleeplessinMD
She loved herself more
This was quite realistic IMO. She showed no empathy to Sam for the hurt she caused. Had she truly loved Sam, She should have met him at the Airport alone and pleaded with him to forgive her, that she was truly remorseful of the betrayal she had committed.
Our men and women in the Armed Forces are often separted from family for a year of or more.
Well
The only real losers are the daughters. The husband and the wife got what they deserved.
Boyd
Divorce...
In any divorce, children are the ones that will suffer the most. If I where her, I would have divorced Sam for abandoment while he was pussy footing around for a year. Sam is nothing but an old horn dog that wanted a submissive wife, and when she would not become that, he felt his male ego fading into the sunset. In fact it faded so much that he was intimiated by his wife and then both of them decided on a divorce. I applaude the author for the stance she made and for making it clear to him that she would not put up with his whimpering and to crap or get off the pot.
You know for the first time ever............
I'm going to agree with "the Troubador" and his comments below. Not because I don't he's a good writer, cause he is (or she if I'm wrong (^_^), but because we usually don't give out the same style of comments.
Having watched 6 buds go through divorces I have to say, what you described almost happens too a "T". And thats scarey. But what you showed her doing in chapter 4 was usually what I have observed "Pre Therapy" not "Post Therapy". It almost appears that therapy made her worse not better.
But I agree with him here that the wife did a total 180 and started blaming the husband. At the end of part 3 you had the wife seemly willing to do whatever it took to get the husband back. But in part 4 you switched gears. Suddenly it was the wife who was trying to fix everything and the husband that was in the wrong because he left it up to her. And the part of her wanting to change the Divorce decree to "Abandonment" was an intresting touch.
This was one of those stories that didn't quite hit either side of the fence. It wasn't a reconcillation story. It wasn't a revenge story. It was "Close" to real life. But the only thing that broke it for me was that it wasn't quite like real life in the fact that you had her go to therapy and "See" what she and her father did wrong. But then you had her lay the whole blame on the husband, even to go as far as say that if he never left then they would have been able to work it out. The blame she was showing was something I could have seen in her "Before" therapy, not after. Basicly she was saying that her sleeping with various men and taking a chance on giving some disease to her husband wasn't nearly as bad as him moving out and not speaking to her to let her decide if thats what she wanted to do with her life.
After therapy, and if she was truely remorseful, she would have climbed a mountain to prove how sorry she was. Whatever it took to make her husband see it too. But instead she reverted to "I have my pride and you have too big an ego" stance. But she was doing the same thing. She was the person who cheated, but was letting her ego get in the way of trying to prove she was sorry. Funny you had her working harder to cheat and cover it up, than you had her trying to working it out with her husband when he first came back. Oh well.
I have to admit I wasn't sure where this story was going till about 3/4 of the way through, but it ended with the wife blaming the husband, the husband blaming the wife, two happy kids, and a therapist who made alot of money and didn't fix anything because the wife in story 4, who wasn't anything like the wife in story 2 and 3, developed a huge ego and decided to shift the blame.
Intresting story, but is slightly different.
Perhaps it is more like real life.......
however, I have a great deal of trouble with the final chapter. It doesn't appear that she has actually learned anything. She is still looking elsewhere for blame and rationalization. Would this character actually have gone through the therapy and self awareness if he hadn't left for a year? To fly so completely off the hammer because he wouldn't kiss her when he came back continues to show she is a selfish and self absorbed person. That is shown so clearly in the concluding section where she still trivializes her affairs and minor occurances. They probably ended up in the way they should have in the first place and that may be where the "real life" acutally happens. Even though they want to try and prove their love for each other, in actuality, they are not truly compatible people. I found it both interesting and disturbing that they both put their children up front in fault they found with each other. Did she think of them when she had her trysts, his "abandonment" for a year.
I do have to say, that agreeing with the characterizatons and plot or not, I enjoyed reading the story very much. Thank you for sharing it.
My, ch. 4 certainly stirred up the hornets
The only point that most of the commentors seem to agree upon is that the divorce was probably inevitable. Another point made by several commentors was the fact that she admitted to her mistakes but any apology made was so slight as to be insignificant. Nor was there much of an offer to make ammends. Sam got raked over the coals for his taking off. Not one of the commentors seem to recall that the unit he taught was about to be disbanded, and he was largely going to be out of a job. When your wife and father-in-law spend years putting you down because you're playing at work and that you should get a "decent, respectible, job," and suddenly you find yourself about to be unemployed, what would you do? If you're Sam, knowing how she'd belittled him before, he probably cringed when he thought of what her words and actions would be when he started drawing unemployment checks. Sam did about the only thing he could do. He got a job where he could. The fact that his new boss insisted that he travel to get himself qualified was not of Sam's doing, although it would give him a chance to work at a "decent, respectable, job," and at the same time sort out his feelings (hopefully). Unfortunately Sam seems to have failed miserably at that task. Author, congratulations. you made us think. Thank You. Ronnie W.
I agree totally with Kanga!!!
What you started the first chapters with were scenes to establish and exemplfy your thread the "Rules of Marriage", which were then utterly broken by ONE of the partners. He left to allow her to deal with herself and the challenge of those rules, and probably to allow her to suffer some penance, and to emasculate himself from the obvious urge for revenge, retribution, or to hate this betraying bitch and turf her cheating arse out straight away.
Instead of doing everything in her power to fight for what may have remained of his love of her, she goes and finds a psychotic to convince her that there's blame all round, and Sam's somehow at fault for needing to depart. Then she chides him for leaving for what in his mind is a threshold break apart - that either ends the marriage or amplifies the love. Having her somehow displaying the upper hand of propriety in hanging around, working and looking after the kids is taking that point past the reality of why it was so, and if she felt so righteous and damnwell slighted, why didn't she divorce him? Plot lost here, mate.
After the plotline of Ch 1-3, the swerve you took was implausible and ill-conceived, and quite frankly broke down the established character traits.
"petty affairs"? GIVE US ABREAK!!!!
Now put that whiskey away and write us another version.
Cheers
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger...
Okay, I've read the 37 comments to date and there seems to be one element thecelt communicated in the story that I haven't heard anyone talk about, or at least not this particular aspect of it...
It's apparent to me that Kirsten's response to Sam in the beginning of Chapter 4 has more to do with protecting herself emotionally than anything else (not arrogance, selfishness, or shallowness as some have suggested). Keep in mind that this is a woman who went through a breakdown severe enough that she required hospitalization...(I know, I know, she cheated so she brought in on herself, she deserves whatever she got and then some, she's a bitch and a whore, yada yada yada...)
She'd already gone through the remorse/grief and emotional devastation associated with her mistake and pulled herself together enough to take care of their kids and get some help. She'd come out on the other end, and yes had gained enough understanding to forgive herself.
I believe she was open to and looking forward to working with Sam to put their lives back together. It seems to me that when she saw some pretty clear signs that Sam was still focusing on his pain and her guilt that her motivation in armoring herself from having to be the begging, remorseful supplicant had more to do with avoiding another descent into that emotional hell than anything else. Who can blame her? (For those of you who only want to see her suffer eternally...this story wasn't about that....check out Plain Old Bob's latest story - Another Slut Wife: Angie 2...you'll really like it...[spoiler - alert] the wronged husband kills his wife and her boyfriend.)
Aside from the very real damage done to his children by being incommunicado for a year (which I do think makes Kristen's affairs seem "petty" by comparison), one of the biggest obstacles to the couple's reconciliation is that Sam was not there to see Kristen's personal disintegration, which could have gone a long way toward helping him resolve his own pain.
Emotionally, Sam was on hold while he was away building his new career, so when he got back he was ready to start a process that Kristen had already been through. thecelt alludes to mistakes Sam made while away that we never get to explore (I'd take a wild guess that he fucked around a bit). Regardless, by being away, Sam missed the chance to get what he needed to see to start healing...Kirsten suffering the remorse and guilt she actually experienced.
In the end, both spouses perpetrated egregious errors that hurt the other and their kids. That would be a big hill to climb for any couple to put a marriage back together. I'm glad to see at the end that everybody seemed to come out ok.
MrHands
Oops -
In my earlier comment I mentioned a story by another author and messed up the author and title. For all you revenge enthusiasts out there the author is Just Plain Bob and the story was Becoming a Slut Wife: AngieCh. 02
mea culpa
Good Story Celt
I think your story was great. As many have said in their comments the ending could have been different for me. But it is your ending and we must live with your decision.
I would like to comment on a few issues from the story.
1) Sam left for a year. This is a long time yes, but many people are separated for a year or more at a time. Military, prison, etc. It makes it hard, but not impossible to maintain the feelings for a relationship to continue. Was he wrong? Who knows if he had stayed if it would have made it any different.
2) Her attitude. I agree with many that her attitude went from one of wanting to do anything she could to save her marriage to one of here I am, take me or leave me. I saw it all in two words "petty affair." No affair is petty. End of story. I knew they would never make it with that attitude.
Now, does that mean she should end up being his door mat for the rest of her life? Of course not. She had complained that he left and didn't give her a chance to explain or make it right. Conversely, she gave him her ultimatums immediately without giving him a chance to understand and forgive. Two errors no doubt. But spelled the end of a marriage.
3) Several people indicated that her attitudes had not changed about what was of value in life. She demeans his new wife, "mousy", "stay at home mom", as if these are less than worthy traits. Secondly her success in life was to be with an older wealthy man, implying his success.
I wonder if her new "successful man" loved her like her old "not living up to his potential man" had loved her BEFORE she cheated on him? This we will not ever know.
I know this, the anger and vindictiveness I tend to show in my stories directed at the cheating wives stems from the huge disappointment, sadness and sense of loss that ocurrs when senseless acts of infidelity destroy happy marriages.
In this story, her disrespect for him allowed her cheating to surface. The tragedy is that they didn't recognize that disrespect and deal with it before it destroyed them. That would have been the perfect story for their lives, but of course not too interesting for here. *S*
Thanks for the good read and the thought provoking ideas.
Hopefully one of these days you will hit an ending that I love!
Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Charleybear
There has to be a _chance_....
Good story overall. As always, there are two people at fault in EVERY divorce; nobody is simon-pure.
Kirsten had an affair. Bad, but shouldn't be unforgivable. But from Sam's perspective, it WAS inforgivable; he abandoned his family. Which is the worse offense? And then to bug out and string her along with the (impossible) pretense of "perhaps we'll get back together when I return" makes me believe that the worse offense is Sam's.
There MUST be some possibility of forgiveness; without it, even the smallest transgressions will build up into a divorce. Without forgiveness - or at least the POSSIBILITY of forgiveness - there's no point in remorse. Sam was clearly not in the mood to forgive Kirsten, even though she had repented of her offense(s) and resolved to not repeat them. Sam WASN'T AROUND to see - or even to hear about - Kirsten's repentance and turnaround. And she had had a YEAR to grow to become a better person. It appears from the story that she had done so.
Sam, on the other hand, had secluded himself in a "time warp" and had made NO headway in growing through his pain. Which isn't to belittle his pain - but one must either grow or die, and Sam was dying inside.
In retrospect, Kirsten should have divorced Sam for abandonment when he left; or if Sam had already decided that Kirsten's offense was unforgiveable, Sam should have divorced her then.
Wow! Great Story! Thanks!
Others have said it better than me. In a nutshell, she can only blame others for her mistakes. The one thing he did wrong was fail to notify the asshole's wife when he caught them. That was a serious mistake on his part. Leaving, etc.- nothing wrong there with his actions.
It's clear that the wife's new boyfriend will dump her before too long in favor of "Trophy WIFE" and she'll finally get what she deserves--nothing. She's an impetuous, spoiled loser--not fit to raise kids. Yeah that was a second failure on Sam's part--not demanding custody of the children. She's had a nervous breakdown--obviously unfit to raise kids. I think that was just a ploy to make her parents feel responsible in some way.
She got off lucky!
The author did a great job with the story. It had my attention, however the other idiot & this wife got off way to easy. Simply, she barely got what she deserved but that is indeed how life goes sometimes. Keep up the great work!
Second Time Cheat.
She admitted nothing.She just satisfied herself only.
Kristen Got What She REALLY Wanted
Kristen finally got what she REALLY wanted all this time, a rich husband. She never 'respected' Sam so it was OK to cheat. She didn't respect him because she made more money than him. Not only that but he didn't do what she did for a living so his work was not respected either. What a crock.
She found out why she cheated and then she came to grips with it. Once Sam came back she apologized and basicially told him if he couldn't accept that she wasn't going to grovel tough noggies.
She didn't love Sam. She never loved Sam. She just wanted someone to screw and keep her bed warm. I'm glad Sam left and found a good woman. HE deserved it and she got off lucky. Like all cheating sluts seem to in these stories.
no problem w/ ending but character building
or the lack thereof,,,
now I'm dating jeff, an older man, quite well off. the girls are in 7th heaven; sam and jeff get along fine.
i learned my lessons and will never cheat again.
this is complete nonsense!
and the way she as well as the author describe sam: he spends a whole year working, making a lot of money, which she and her dad want (not him; he's happy with his old job), but NEVER spends more hour reflecting on what he wants to do, upon returning?
so when she asks him what he wants, he says, "I don't expect you do say these thing so resolutely,,, I expect you on you knees; you obviously are not on your knees. I don't know waht I am thinking; but I need time to think"!
WTF!
Realistic
Finally a cheating wife story with a realistic ending that doesn't reqire one or the other to be devasted.I believe most men would not be able to forgive cheating but most also would not want the wife destroyed if only because of the children.
Interesting Shift
Based on the end of Part 3, this "conclusion" was out of kilter. At a personal level, I didn't like it. I am less troubled with his "new job" and the year away than other comentators. He is clearly in a field which requires hands on training of soldiers and you go to them, not the other way around. Her family pushed him away.
I would like ot have seen some recognition on both of their parts of the damage caused to each other and especially a measure of the "warmth" which I saw developing in her character at the end of Part 3 extend into Part 4. At this point, a reconcilliation should have been the conclusion.
That said, your stories are always well written and enjoyble. Keep writing. Thanks
Good writing and a good story
just didn't like the guy leaving for a year to get his head on straight and to punish her, but he punished the children as well and they had nothing to do with them getting married or the affair. Can understand the year apart, part, but not the seperation from the children.
respect?
She didn't learn a damn thing. She never respected Sam before the affairs, and she still didn't respect him after he returned. And the author didn't respect his readers either.
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