Rob, Harry, Suellen and Mellissa
written by:
Just Plain Bob

Harry had been my best friend for so long that it was hard for me to sometimes remember how far back we went. I'm pretty sure that it was around the second grade, but it might have been the first. He lived three doors down from me and we started walking to school together in the morning and then home again after school. We played together after school and on the weekends and as we grew older the bonds became tighter.

When we were thirteen the Ellsworth brothers took his bike and I went with him to get it back. I got a black eye out of the deal, but I broke Burt Ellsworth nose and we did get Harry's bike back. When we were fourteen I got it a fight with Ronnie Liss over something I said to his sister and I was cleaning his clock until his cousin Sam jumped in to help him. Harry waded in and took care of Sammy while I finished with Ronnie. Harry had my back and I had his.

When we started dating we double dated a lot and we even swapped dates a time or two. We went out for football and Harry was a pretty good quarterback and as the center I made it my mission to keep tacklers off of him and I did it with some degree of success. We also went out for basketball and during one game a guy blindsided me while I was taking a jump shot and Harry was on him before I hit the floor. The two were thrown out of the game, but it was another case of Harry having my back.

We went to college together and it was there that he met Mary Ellen Baker and fell ass end over tea kettle in love with her. They dated, became close, he proposed, she accepted and three months at a party later Harry caught her when she sneaked off to a bedroom and was fucking another guy. I was the one who took him, got him drunk and convinced him that she was a worthless piece of shit and in general helped him through the bad time. He was there for me when my mom and dad were killed by a drunk driver and he was my best man when I married Suellen Foster.

For over twenty years Harry had been my best friend and confidant. Given that I could only wonder at how my best friend could do what he did.

++++++++++++++++++++

I met Suellen in my sophomore year at State. It was the first day of the term and my first class of the day was Managerial Economics. I walked into room 116 at Thornton Hall and found an empty seat. I sat down and then looked at the girl sitting next to me and my heart did flip flops. She was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She looked at me and smiled and I was lost.

I had never seen her before and I knew nothing about her. A quick look at her left hand showed no ring, but that didn't mean that she didn't have a boyfriend and in fact, as good as she looked, it was a damned good bet that she did have one. The British Army has a unit, the SAS, and the unit motto is "He who dares wins" and I had adopted that as my creed. At the end of the class I turned to her and said:

"You may already have a boyfriend, but on the slim chance that you don't my name is Rob Foreman and I would like to apply for the position."

She laughed and said, "My next class isn't until eleven so between now and then I will be conducting interviews at the cafeteria in the Student Union. There are quite a few applicants and the interview schedule is pretty tight, but I may be able to squeeze you in" and she got up and left. I had another class in ten minutes, but a man has to have his priorities straight so I ditched the class and hurried to catch up with the gorgeous redhead.

"So tell me Mr. Foreman just why do you think you qualify for the position?"

"I'm dependable, hard working, fairly intelligent and have a pretty decent sense of humor. I'm physically fit and have been told that I'm reasonably attractive, but I will concede that I may have been lied to about that. But I think the biggest thing I can bring to the table is that a beautiful green-eyed redhead can totally own me and make me her willing slave. I'm told that some women like that in a man."

"Well it all looks good on paper, but I will need to do an in the field evaluation. The only opening I have is tonight."

"I can do tonight. I will have to cancel half a dozen things, but I can do tonight."

I picked her up at six-thirty and we had dinner at Geogio's and then I took her to see a movie. When I took her home and walked her to her door she said:

"As field evaluations go you did reasonably well. I think that I may just take a chance on you, but you need to know up front that you will be on probation and can be let go at any time."

"How long is the probation period?"

"It is indefinite. If you can accept that then the position is yours."

We kissed on the third date, steamed up the windows of my car on the fourth, fifth and sixth. I had her over to my apartment and fixed us dinner on the seventh and then we made out on the couch for hours. We both knew where we were headed and on the eighth I made the move. She said:

"I'm not a virgin Rob."

"Neither am I."

"I didn't expect it to happen this soon so I'm not ready. I'm not on the pill and I don't have my diaphragm with me and please don't insult my intelligence by telling me that you will pull out."

"I can wait. In fact I'll wait until we are married if you want."

"No need to go that far. Marriage is not in my immediate plans. Besides, don't I have to be asked first? And even then isn't a "yes" required?"

"We have only been seeing each other for a month, but it has been long enough for me to decide that I've found the one I want."

"Take it slow Rob; I'm in no great hurry."

On the ninth date I asked Suellen what she wanted to do and she said:

"Go to your apartment."

"I wasn't expecting that so the refrigerator is empty."

"As long as your bedroom isn't as cold as your fridge we will be okay."

++++++++++++++++++

That set the tone for our relationship. Almost every date after that ended up in the bedroom at my apartment and the more time I spent with Suellen the more I was sure that I had found my life partner.

Unfortunately Suellen didn't feel the same way. She said that I was "her man" but she wasn't ready to commit to the long term. We went to Cabo for spring break and I spent half of my time there poised to fight all the assholes that hovered around Suellen when she was on the beach in her bikini. In fact I did punch out one guy who got a little too carried away. When I objected to his putting his hands on her and he said, "Back off little man. The lady needs to see what a real man can do for her" I lost it. It was a good thing I was pulled off the asshole because the way I was going I probably would have killed him. I almost got in a tiff with Suellen over it when she said in a sarcastic tone of voice:

"My hero. Did it not occur to you that I'm a big girl now and I can take care of myself?"

"Hey" I responded, "You want some strange asshole to run his hands all over you just tell me and I'll go the fuck away and leave you alone, but I'm not about to stand around while some asshole messes with the girl I am with. I will not have everybody who is watching thinking that I'm a fucking wimp."

Suellen saw that she had touched a nerve and she quickly turned lovey-dovey on me. The rest of the break passed without incident. Suellen drew plenty of admiring glances, but the guys gave her a wide berth when I was around.

++++++++++++++++

Things ran along nicely until summer vacation. Suellen told me that she was going back to Texas to spend the summer with her family. I knew she was from out of state, but somehow had overlooked the fact that she would leave when the term was over. We would be apart for over two months and I wasn't very happy about it, but there wasn't anything that I could do. I told her that I would probably come down and visit her and she told me to call well in advance.

"My mom was talking about us making a trip to visit my Aunt Mae and I wouldn't want you showing up and me being in Oregon."

I called her once or twice a week for the first month and then I made the phone call that changed things and not for the better. Every other time I called Suellen had been the one to answer the phone. Then I made a call that was answered by her mother. Apparently to her mother on the phone I sounded like someone she knew.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is Suellen there?"

"No she isn't Harvey. She and Jake went to the lake for the weekend. I think he is going to propose. You want to leave a message?"

"No thanks; I'll call back next week."

"Okay Harvey; say hello to your mom and dad for me."

I wondered if when Jake proposed Suellen would give him the same song and dance she gave me about not being ready for a long term relationship. I stewed over that phone call until Monday and then I called again.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is Suellen there?"

"Oh hi Harvey. No she isn't. She and Jake are off somewhere and I don't expect her back until Sunday or Monday. How are your parents?"

"Fine. They said to say hi."

"You want to leave a message?"

"No thanks. I'll call back later."

Except I didn't. I put Suellen out of my mind and got on with my life.

Three weeks went by and then I got a call from Suellen.

"You haven't called."

"Didn't want to interfere."

"Interfere with what?"

"I expected that you would be busy making plans for the wedding and I didn't want to intrude."

"Plans for the wedding? What are you talking about?"

"I did call Suellen. I called twice. Do you know a guy called Harvey?"

"Yes."

"Well apparently I sound a lot like him on the phone; at least I did to your mother. When I asked if you were home she told me no, that you and Jake had gone to the lake for the weekend and that Jake was going to propose. I called a couple of days later on a Monday and she apparently thought it was Harvey again and when I asked for you she told me that you and Jake had gone off somewhere and she didn't expect you back for a week or so. I wish you and Jake the best. Have good life. Bye."

A minute after I hung up the phone rang again and again it was Suellen. When I heard her voice I disconnected the call and left the phone off the hook.

++++++++++++++++++

A few words about me here. When my mom and dad were killed by the drunk driver I came into quite a bit of money. Dad had a two hundred fifty thousand dollar life insurance policy the policy had a double indemnity clause in case of accidental death. He also had a fifty thousand dollar policy at work as part of his benefit package and my mom had a thirty-five thousand dollar policy where she worked. Add to that the drunk driver was on the job and driving a company vehicle when he hit my parents and the settlement I received from his company after attorney fee was in the mid six figures. That is why I was able to have my own apartment while in college and drive a new car. I did not need to work, but I wanted to. The money I had was set aside for the future and I fully intended to work following graduation.

I had gotten a job as a summer intern at an insurance company and following my phone conversation with Suellen I buried myself in the job. I bought an answering machine to screen my phone calls. I kept myself busy during the day with the job and spent the evenings shooting pool and playing darts with Harry and some other friends. It was Harry's turn now to tell me what a bitch Suelllen was and how I was better off with her gone from my life. Harry was more than happy to do it because he had never liked Suellen. Maybe it was because she made no secret of the fact that she thought he was an obnoxious idiot.

I wasn't ready for it when I got home from work on Friday after having a few beers with Harry to find Suellen sitting on my doorstep.

"What are you doing here?"

"You won't answer your phone so how else am I going to talk to you?"

"Did you not consider that since you couldn't get in touch with me that I didn't want to talk to you?"

"Doesn't matter if you want to talk to me or not; I want to talk to you. Bad enough to haul my butt up here three weeks before classes start."

"I don't understand why."

"Because we have something special Rob and I don't want to lose it."

"That doesn't make sense Suellen. If you thought we had something special what the hell were you doing going on romantic weekends with another guy."

"I wouldn't call it a romantic weekend."

"Not what your mother told me. She seemed pretty happy that you and good old Jake went off to spend the weekend at the lake so good old Jake could propose."

"He did propose and I said no."

"That doesn't take away from the fact that you did go off to spend the weekend with him."

"I felt that I owed it to him."

"You owed it to him?"

"Please try to understand Rob. Jake was my boyfriend all through high school and it was more or less expected that we would get married when we graduated, but I wanted college, but Jake didn't. His future was already set. He would be working for his father and eventually he would take over running his family's ranch. Jake has been home patiently waiting for me to finish so I would come home and marry him, but I met you and Jake was history. I needed to let him know that and I needed to do it gently. When he asked me to go to the lake with him I figured that it would be the perfect opportunity to end things. We were able to part friends."

"What about the week you were gone with him?"

"I wasn't with just him. There were five of us. His dad sold a hundred head of cattle and we moved them to Kansas City."

"Did you have sex with him while you were there?"

"Can we go inside and talk about this? I don't need your neighbors listening in."

I unlocked the door and she followed me in. She took a seat on the couch and I said:

"The question was di...:"

"I know, I know; did I sleep with him. The answer is yes. All it was was saying goodbye and thanks for all the good years we had."

"So why are you here Suellen? What are you expecting?"

"I'm not expecting anything, but I am hoping that you will say that you understand."

"And this Jake is totally history? No more visits with him when you go home to visit?"

"It is over Rob."

I sat there looking at her in silence and then she said, "Let's go to bed Rob; I'll show you just how much I've missed you and how much you mean to me."

She started to get up but stopped when I said, "Can't do that Suellen. Have you ever heard the expression that when you have sex with someone you are having sex with everyone that someone had sex with? I don't know this Jake and I have no idea of what or who he might have been doing while you were up here. I won't sleep with you until you can show me a complete bill of health from your doctor."

Her face turned ugly and she snapped, "That was a rotten thing to say to me. I never knew you were a bastard" and she got up to leave. As she was heading for the door I said:

"You never knew because until now you never put me in a position where I needed to be one. Don't forget Suellen; you are the one who opened your legs for another man. I had nothing to do with it."

The door slammed and I went into the kitchen and fixed myself a bite to eat.

+++++++++++++++++++++

The next day at work I was asked to take an out of town trip to work on a project and I said I'd do it. We were gone two weeks and when I got home my answering machine had fourteen messages from Suellen asking me to call her. I thought about it and then decided not to. It was over between us and all that would come out of talking to her is that I would end up depressed.

However I wasn't given any choice in the matter. The second day that I was home there was a knock on the door and when I opened it I found Suellen standing there.

"May I come in?"

I stepped aside and she walked in. I closed the door and turned to find her standing there. She had a piece of paper in her hand and she handed it to me.

"When I left here Rob I was as mad as a wet hen. I told myself I would go and get the damned tests and then come back and hand the report to you and tell you to wipe your ass with it. Then I was going to spit in your face and walk out."

"I think I hear a "but" in there."

"When I got the results I was told that I had a mild case of gonorrhea. I guess Jake didn't spend all of his time just waiting for me. I'm on antibiotics and it should be cleared up in a couple of weeks. I'm sorry Rob. I never meant to screw things up so badly."

She stepped by me and was reaching for the door handle, but before she could turn the knob I made a snap decision that would end up having far reaching consequences as far as my life was concerned.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to get out of here before I start crying."

"Don't go."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Five weeks later Suellen moved in with me and we lived as man and wife until we graduated and then we made it official. The only bad part of our relationship was Suellen's animosity toward Harry and nothing I said or did ever got her to change her attitude. It came to a head with our wedding. Suellen was adamant that Harry not be a member of the wedding party and I was just as adamant that Harry was going to be my best man. I finally laid it out for her.

"Harry has been a part of my life for almost twenty years. He is my best friend and he will be a part of my life for the next twenty or however many more years I have. Get used to it; it is not going to change."

She wasn't happy, but I think she knew if she pushed it any harder that the wedding would end up being cancelled.

The next eight years were good ones. We both got jobs in our chosen professions, settled into married. We both decided early on that we didn't want to have kids so I had myself snipped so we wouldn't have to mess with birth control pills, diaphragms or condoms. We both put our energies into our jobs and began the corporate ladder climb.

We bought a house and had an in ground pool installed. We had a lot of friends and we made a lot more and we entertained a lot. Our love life was great. We would hear that things would slack off as we grew older and became more and more used to each other, but that didn't happen to us. We were still making love four and five times a week even in our eighth year of marriage.

Life was everything that I could have wished for.

++++++++++++++++

I doubt that I will ever forget the date. It was Tuesday the eighth of June and the day before my birthday.

I had dropped my car off at the dealer because of a factory recall and Suellen had followed me to the dealership, picked me up and dropped me off at work. Two hours into the day Hal called me into his office and asked me to fly to St. Louis and get a contract signed. He said that it would just be a quick overnight and I'd be home in time to celebrate my birthday.

I called Suellen and had her meet me for lunch and then drive me home so I could pack a bag for the overnight trip and then she drove me to the airport. As she dropped me off she said:

"You better make sure that you get back tomorrow. I have a special present for you."

I kissed her goodbye and headed inside to begin the stupid ritual of taking off my shoes, emptying my pockets and shuffling through the line. Twenty minutes before my flight was due to be called I got a call from Hal.

"Never mind going to St. Louis. Albertson just called and he has to come to town tomorrow for an emergency meeting and he will sign the contract while he is here. Take tomorrow off and enjoy your birthday."

I decided not to bother Suellen and caught the airport shuttle to the downtown Hilton and then took a cab from there home. I was in the basement working on a custom computer desk that I was making when I heard the garage door opener start to run. I looked at my watch and was surprised to see how late it was. I had planned on having dinner ready when Suellen got home, but somehow time had gotten away from me.

I grabbed a rag and cleaned my hands and then headed for the stairs. I heard Suellen laughing as she came through the connecting door to the garage and then I heard:

"Are you sure this is all right?"

"Don't worry. I took him to the airport myself."

"I can't help it. I still think we should have used a motel."

"What? And pass up a chance to do this on my own bed? Come on baby; you know you want to do me on my own bed."

I stood there frozen on the bottom step. I was too stunned to move. It couldn't be! It just couldn't be! I shook it off and then started up the steps and then stopped. What was I going to do? Suddenly a calm came over me. This was quite obviously not their first time so there was no need to hurry up the steps and break things up. I already knew more than enough to know what the outcome was going to be so there was no hurry. Besides, I'd like to see the looks on their faces when I walked in on them. I'd give them some time to get into it before I made my appearance.

I gave them five minutes and then I went up the stairs. I could hear them as I approached the bedroom.

"That's it baby, push it hard; push it hard and deep. God you feel so good in me."

"Better than your hubby?"

"Oh God yes baby, much better. You fill me up so much better."

"I can't get over how tight you are. He must have a dick the size of a pencil."

"Forget him baby; fuck me. Fuck me and make me cum."

Neither one of them saw me come through the door, but when I said, "He won't forget me. He will remember me for the rest of his worthless fucking life" both turned to look in my direction and I saw fear on both of their faces. I moved quickly to the bed and pulled Harry off of my wife and then I proceeded to stomp the living shit out of him while Suellen screamed and tried to cover up.

Harry was unconscious on the floor and I was kicking him in the ribs and balls when Suellen grabbed me and tried to pull me away.

"Stop it! Stop it Rob. You're killing him."

I lashed out and hit her with a backhand across the face and she stumbled back, tripped and fell to the floor as I gave Harry a couple more kicks. I bent and grabbed his ankles and pulled him from the room and down the stairs. I had the satisfaction of seeing his head bang on each step as I drug him down the stairs. When I got him to the front door I opened it and pulled him out to the center of the lawn and then I left him there and went back into the house. I locked all the doors so he couldn't get into the house and then I spotted Suellen's purse sitting on the table. I got her car keys out and hit the little red "panic" button on the keyless entry device and the horn on her car started blaring. It was in the garage, but it was still plenty loud enough that it would eventually draw attention. I wondered what the neighbors would do when they saw a naked man lying on my front lawn.

I headed up the stairs to take care of Suellen. She had pulled on some sweats and was sitting on the side of the bed sniffling when I walked into the bedroom.

"Don't say a fucking word you whore; not one fucking word. All you have to do is listen and do what I tell you. Pack what you need for a few days and then get your worthless cheating ass out of this house. I will pack the rest of your shit and put it in the garage and you can come and get it the day after tomorrow. I'll give you thirty minutes to pack and get out. If you are still here thirty-one minutes from now I will physically remove you." I looked at my watch and said, "Time is running. Better get a move on."

I went downstairs and looked out the front window. Harry was curled up in the fetal position with both hands over his crotch and there were two of my neighbors standing on the sidewalk looking at him. I went to the kitchen, got a beer and then sat down and started to make a list of what I was going to have to do. I'd just finished my beer when the front doorbell rang. I got up to go see who it was and as I passed the front window I saw a police car sitting outside with the lights flashing. I pushed the button to silence Suellen's car horn and then I opened the door. There were to cops standing there. I did not unlock the screen door and ask them in.

"Sir, what can you tell us about the naked man in your yard?"

"What? A naked man in my yard?"

I looked out, but I didn't see Harry so I said, "I don't see a naked man in my yard."

"We have him in the back of the squad car. Are you saying that you know nothing about how a naked man came to be in your yard?"

"No idea officer. You might ask the people three doors down. They throw some pretty wild parties. He might be one of theirs."

"Sir, it is a crime to impede an investigation. Are you positive that you know nothing about this?"

"Well now that I think about it he just might be the man I caught in bed with my wife."

"And what did you do to him?"

"Why nothing of course. He panicked when I walked in on them and he ran, tripped and fell down the stairs and then he ran outside. I assumed that he jumped in his car and left. I had no idea that he had collapsed in my yard. I was too busy with my wife to pay him any attention."

"And how is your wife?"

"She is an emotional wreck as you might imagine."

"Did you do any thing physical to her?"

"Of course not."

"We would like to come inside and verify that she is all right."

"I'm sorry, but unless you have a warrant I'm not letting you in the house."

"Sir, I must insist."

"Insist away, but you are not coming in without a warrant. If you want to see how she is go sit in your car." I looked at my watch. "I gave her half an hour to pack a bag and get out. She has five minutes to go. You can check her out when she leaves the house."

"You realize that it makes us wonder why you don't want us in your house."

"I'll tell you why. I don't trust you. In this day and age the man always gets fucked over by the courts and the cops where something involving a woman is concerned. I'm not going to give you people the least little bit of leeway. Now I need to get upstairs and make sure that she isn't trying to pack something she shouldn't."

I closed the door on them. I hollered up the steps:

"Times up Suellen."

She appeared at the top of the stairs with two suitcases and I went back into the kitchen and got myself another beer. Suellen came into the room and started to set the suitcase down and I said:

"Don't! Just get the fuck out."

"We need to talk Rob."

"No we don't Suellen. I heard enough while you were in the bedroom playing and old pencil dick doesn't want to hear another fucking word out of you."

She teared up, but picked up her suitcases and went out into the garage. I heard the garage door open and I walked into the living room and watched her back down the drive. The cops got out of their car and stopped her and I turned and went upstairs and ripped the sheets off the bed and put clean ones on it. When I next looked outside Suellen and the police were gone.

Suellen tried several times a week to call me, but I wouldn't take her calls and she finally gave up. She didn't fight the divorce.

Harry must have felt that he had his beating coming because he never pressed charges. He did make sure that he stayed out of my way. Twice I saw him at a bar and he got up and left as soon as he saw me.

About a month before the divorce was final Hal asked me if I would be willing to relocate to Kansas City to run our office there and I said yes. I was in Kansas City the day my divorce became final and I went out and tied one on. My head hurt in the morning, but I felt that it was worth it.

++++++++++++++++++++

The next three years skated by and then I got a call from Hal. He was going to retire and he wanted to know if I would come back and take his job. Vice President of Operations? Damned straight I'd take his job.

So there I was, three years after the meltdown of my marriage, back in the town where Suellen and Harry still lived. I would have thought that they would have gotten together after the divorce was final, but I guess that they never had. I heard that Harry was married and I heard that Suellen had stayed single. The word was that she dated from time to time, but never got serious with anybody.

I eased into my new job and when I was settled in I went looking for a place to live. I knew that in my new position I would entertain a lot so I was looking for a suitable place. I found a four bedroom on two acres with an in ground swimming pool and a tennis court and by paying cash I got it for a pretty damned good price.

I reconnected with friends and started hitting the places I used to frequent. Occasionally I saw Harry at one of them and as soon as he saw me he would leave. I'd been back just a hair short of two months and I was sitting in Haggard's ye Olde Bar and Grille. Not a misprint. That was the name of the place. The sign actually read "ye Olde Bar and Grille. Anyway, I was sitting at the bar nursing a Pabst Blue Ribbon and watching the ball game on the TV when a fine looking dark haired beauty took the bar stool next to mine, extended her hand and said:

"I'm Mellissa."

I took her hand and as I shook it I gave her my name and asked her if I could buy her a drink. She accepted and after taking her first sip of it she said:

"May I ask you a question?"

"I suppose, but I reserve the right not to answer."

She gazed at me intently for a moment and then she asked, "Why is my husband so afraid of you?"

"Not knowing who your husband is makes answering that question a bit difficult."

"Harry Wilson."

I took a closer look at her and said, "I'd heard that Harry had gotten married. I see that he did rather well for himself."

"Thank you for the compliment, but are you going to answer the question?"

"What makes you think that your husband is afraid of me?"

"Whenever you show up and we are there he suddenly has to get up and leave. If we are invited somewhere he won't go if he thinks you might be there and a couple of times I've even heard him ask if you were going to be there."

"I don't know that he is afraid of me; it may just be a case of his not having the balls to face me or it could be that he is just too embarrassed to be around me."

"The question is still why?"

"How long have you been married to him?"

"A year and a half."

"How long did you know him before you married him?"

"About six months."

"And in all that time you haven't heard about Harry and me?"

"Just that you have known each other for a long time."

I thought about it for a couple of seconds. I sure didn't owe Harry anything and I didn't know his wife at all so I didn't feel any need to hide things from her so I told her the whole story."

"That's kind of a cliché isn't it? I mean the wife and best friend thing."

"It is a cliché when you hear about it or read about it, but not when you live it."

"That's true I suppose, but back to my question. When you and Harry wind up in the same room you aren't going to go after him?"

"No. I've put the asshole behind me."

"What did you do to your wife?"

"Kicked her out and divorced her."

"Why didn't you beat on her? She was as much to blame as Harry."

"Well she did get a bruise when I backhanded her as she tried to pull me off Harry, but beating on women is just not something I can do."

"Did she ever tell you why?"

"No and I never asked. The why never mattered; only the doing mattered."

By then her drink was empty and I asked her if she would like another.

"Better not. If I sit here much longer I might give the impression that I'm trying to pick you up."

"To whom? I didn't see Harry here when I came in."

"Harry isn't here. I'm here with a bunch of girls I work with and they all have dirty minds. I wouldn't doubt that a couple of them all ready see the two of us bedding down."

"Well, for the record, if I were out looking tonight you would be what I was looking for. I'm partial to dark-haired beauties."

"And the fact that I'm Harry's wife wouldn't even enter into it, would it."

I had not had that thought at all, but when she said it I realized that what I would really love to do to get back at Harry was to use his wife as he had used mine and right then I decided that I was going to do my best to seduce Mellissa and then let Harry find out. As the first step in that seduction I did an "Aw shucks, who, me?" I looked Mellissa right in the eye and said:

"I would never stoop so low as to use a woman to get some petty revenge. When I go after a woman it is because I want that woman and not for any other reason. That said, you would still be at the top of the list. Nice meeting you Mellissa."

She left and went back to her friends and I had another drink before leaving and as I drove home I started making plans.

++++++++++++++++

The first thing I needed was information. The next morning I got out the Yellow Pages and picked out a detective agency. I called and made an appointment and that afternoon I gave them a check and turned them loose to find out everything there was to know about Mellissa Wilson.

Three weeks later I was sitting at my desk reading the report. A few things jumped out at me right away. She belonged to a gym and worked out three days a week after work and before she went home and she stopped at "ye Olde Bar and Grille about once a week with the girls she worked with. There was more about where she shopped and had her hair done and stuff like that, but none of that stuff would do me much good. There was a limit on how many times I could "accidently" bump into her at the store without her figuring things out. But the gym and "ye Olde Bar and Grille" showed promise.

I kept the detectives on Mellissa and concentrated on what I had to work with at the present time. First there was the gym. It wouldn't hurt me any to join and get myself back into shape while I worked on my plan to get back at Harry. I didn't want to run into Mellissa too soon or she might get the right idea as to why I was there. I joined and started going in every morning at five when it opened.

Meanwhile I started stopping in at "ye Olde" three or four times a week. That wouldn't seem strange to Mellissa because that is where she came up to me in the first place. She only came in occasionally with the girls she worked with, but I wanted to establish that I was a regular if she ever looked into it.

The second week after I started stopping she came in with four other girls. After she had been there about half an hour she noticed me sitting at the bar and came up to say hi. She looked around and then said:

"Pickings seem to be pretty slim tonight. Can I call on you if necessary?"

"Necessary to what?"

"We girls stop here to have a few drinks and relax after a hard day at the office. We like to dance and I don't see much in the way of dance partners here tonight. Can I call on you if necessary?"

"I'm not sure that would be such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because of my relationship with your husband."

"That is between you and him."

"He might not think that way."

"Too bad. I'm not asking you to go to bed with me; just a dance or two if none of the other guys here want to."

"Too bad. I just might agree to that first part."

"Don't be a pig."

I laughed and said, "You are the one who opened the door on that."

"You know what I meant."

"Yes, unfortunately I do."

"So, can I call on you if necessary?"

"No thanks. I have to watch myself real close when I'm around dark haired beauties. Maybe if I'm still here when the need arises I might dance with one of the girls you came in with."

She gave me a look I couldn't read and went back to her table. I finished my drink, had one more and then I left and went home.

+++++++++++++

I waited two weeks and then I made sure that I was in the gym working out when Mellissa got off work and came in. I was halfway through my set on the leg press when she walked up to me.

"This is getting to be too much of a coincidence. First the bar and now here."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm starting to think you have set your sights on me."

"Well I did mention that I had an affinity for dark haired beauties and I did say that you would be at the top of the list if it wasn't for who you are married to, but you are an untouchable as far as I'm concerned."

"I'm not sure that I believe you. You seem to show up where I'm at a lot lately."

"No, you seem to show up a lot where I am. If you check with the bartender at Haggard's you will find out that I stop in there almost every night when I get off work and as far as this gym is concerned I didn't even know that you worked out here. I'm usually here every morning at five when they open the doors and I do my workout and take a shower before going to work. I'm only here this afternoon because I couldn't make it this morning. You are a good looking woman Mellissa, but don't flatter yourself. As long as you are married to Harry I'm not the least little bit interested in you."

I could almost read her mind when I said that. The look on her face said that she didn't believe me and I would have bet that the thoughts in her head right at that moment were "Oh yeah? We might just have to see about that."

Two days later when I walked up to the door of the gym at five in the morning I saw Mellissa standing there with her gym bag. I put on a half assed smile and gave a little chuckle and she said:

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"I seem to remember a recent conversation about who seems to show up at a lot of places."

"Is that what you think? That I'm here because you said that you were always here at this time?"

I just looked at her and shrugged.

"It just so happens that I have something to do after work tonight and so I won't be able to come in. I decided to do my workout this morning instead."

"If you say so."

Before she could reply Nancy was unlocking the door to let us in. I didn't look directly at Mellissa while I worked out, but I kept track of her out of the corner of my eye and she rarely took her eyes off of me. I didn't think she really had an interest in me. I think it was probably more of a "How can he say he isn't interested in me" attitude. I'd spiked her pride and she had to prove me wrong. Or maybe I was wrong. Maybe she was just there to satisfy herself that I hadn't been lying to her when I said that I was there every morning. That brought up the question of why it was important for her to know that.

It wasn't going the way I thought my seduction of her would go, but I wasn't about to press forward with my plan if she was going to keep on going the way she was going. I might have been wrong, but I was beginning to think that Mellissa had an agenda. I decided to sit back and see what she was up to. I could always return to my plan.

+++++++++++++++

Things kicked up a notch the next morning when Mellissa showed up at the gym the next morning at five.

"I didn't know it was so un-crowded and quiet in the morning."

I didn't say anything; just gave a sort of half-assed smile that said I didn't believe her. Again, as I had the previous day, I kept her in the corner of my eye and she always seemed to be watching me. I had no idea what she was up to, but she was up to something. She was interested in me for some reason and further proof of that, at least to me, was the fact that not only did she move from her regular afternoons to the mornings, but she also went from her three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to all five days.

Four days after starting to work out in the mornings Mellissa asked me to spot for her while she did some work in the free weight area. It was the first time she had spoken to me since my seeing her at the gym door on the second day, I said I would and as she was working out she said:

"Why are you afraid of me?"

"What makes you think I'm afraid of you?"

"You stay away from me and you don't talk to me."

"I stay away from you because I have no interest in you and I don't talk to you because I have nothing to say to you."

"No interest in me? None at all?"

"Don't play games with me Mellissa. You know how attractive you are, but you also know that you are off limits to me."

"Why? Are you afraid of Harry?"

"The day I'll be afraid of Harry is the day whale shit turns into gold and deep sea diving for whale shit becomes the national pastime."

She gave me a look that I couldn't read and then asked me to add twenty pounds to the bar.

++++++++++++++++

It was two months after I made the decision to go after Mellissa and a week after I pulled back until I could figure out what she was doing when fate took a hand in it. When Mellissa stopped at "ye Olde" it was usually on a Tuesday or Thursday evening, but I never knew which it would be so I made sure to be there both nights.

It was a Thursday night and for some reason the bar was busier than usual. When I got there the place was packed and I had to take a table instead of a seat at the bar. Mellissa and three of her friends came in about twenty minutes after I did and when they walked in there wasn't an empty seat in the house except for the other chairs at my table. Mellissa spotted me and naturally headed straight for me

"Hi Rob. Hey, the place is packed and you have some empty seats. Can we join you?"

I was tempted to say no, that I had some people coming, but of course I didn't. I was being offered a chance to tweak her nose and so I had to take it. She introduced me to Robin, Karen and Bea and I got up and went looking for an extra chair, found one and came back. Five sitting at a table for four can be a little crowded. Mellissa was on my left and her leg was touching mine. I could have moved it a little, but I didn't and it didn't seem to make her uncomfortable.

Music was playing and Robin, a cute little redhead, was looking at the dance floor, squirming on her seat and her fingers were keeping time with the song so I asked her to dance. We stayed out for two numbers and then I asked Bea. I did two numbers with her and then the band took a break. As soon as I sat down Mellissa's leg pressed into mine and I knew it was deliberate because when I sat down I kept my leg away from hers.

I made conversation with the girls, concentrating on Mellissa's three friends and when the band came back and the music started Mellissa was keeping time with her foot which had her leg moving against mine. I looked at her and her facial expression was saying "I want to dance. Ask me to dance" so naturally I asked Karen. Halfway through the number Karen said:

"What's with you and Mellissa?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"Something is there. You are ignoring her and she doesn't want you to."

"She's married."

"Bullshit! All four of us are married, but that hasn't stopped you from dancing with Robin, Bea and me. Dance with her. It won't kill you and you might just get lucky."

"Oh?"

"Trust me on this one honey. Play your cards right and you will be home free."

"Not happily married?"

"Don't know, but her husband is an asshole."

"An asshole?"

"At the last company Christmas party he tried to get something going with Robin and when she shot him down he tried me. He's an asshole and it wouldn't hurt Mellissa to spend some time with a nice guy."

"Aren't you overlooking something?"

"What?"

"Wouldn't going after a married woman take away my nice guy status and put me in the asshole category?"

"Well, maybe, I guess, but you would be a nice asshole."

"Maybe I'd rather lose my nice guy status with you."

"Sorry, but my hubby isn't a dirt bag so I'll do my best to keep him. That means that I have to be a good girl."

The number ended and I walked her back to the table and we got there just as the next song started. Before I could sit down Karen said, "Your turn Melly" and Mellissa was off of her chair like a shot and took my hand. I looked at Karen and she gave me an evil grin. As she moved into my arms Mellissa said:

"If Karen hadn't done that would you have asked me to dance?"

"No."

"Why not? What's wrong with me?"

"You know damned well why Mellissa."

"No I don't. Tell me."

"You are a fine looking woman Mellissa and I am attracted, but you are married to that dickhead Harry."

"So?"

"So I have to keep you at arms length."

She just looked at me and then said, "I still don't understand."

"Eventually Mellissa I would end up making a move on you and you would think that the only reason I was doing it was to get back at your dirt bag husband for what he did to me and you would laugh it off. I would be humiliated because I'd been shot down and then Harry would get a good laugh at my expense when you told him about it."

"I guess you are half right."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that one of the two things you just mentioned is right and one of them is wrong."

"You've lost me."

"You are right in that I would tell Harry, but you are wrong in that I would shoot you down."

The music stopped and I stepped back and looked at her.

"You think I don't know that Harry is an asshole? I have good friends Rob and I know all about what he pulled at the last company party because my friends let me know immediately. That made me take a closer look at him and I found out that he was cheating on me with at least two other women."

Just then the music started again and she moved back into my arms.

"When I found that out I decided that I would get even with him. After I found out about the relationship between the two of you I decided that you were the one I wanted to get even with him with. I just didn't know how to manage it since you kept avoiding me."

"You are serious?"

"I am. I still have some strong feelings for him and I'm hoping I can go to him and say, "Now we are even. You want to make this marriage work or not."

"And you really think that will work?"

"I don't really know, but at least I will have had the satisfaction of letting him know that he didn't get away with anything."

"When do you want to start?"

"How about five minutes ago?"

I saw a huge smile on Karen's face as Mellissa and I left "ye Olde" together. Just as I got to the door I looked back at the table and all three women - Karen, Bea and Robin - gave me a ‘thumbs up.'

Harry was an idiot! Unless Mellissa was putting on an act for my benefit and the way she was that night wasn't the way she usually behaved in bed he was out fucking around on one of the finest pieces of ass that I had ever had. She sucked cock like her life depended on doing a good job. She was so active that she almost bucked me off of her twice. She asked me to take her ass and she screamed and begged me to make her cum. And cum I did. Four times that night and she sucked me hard again after each one of them.

. When she finally called it quits because she had to get home I watched her dress and then said:

"Now I suppose you will go home and spill the beans."

"Don't be silly. Assuming that he was already cheating on me when he made his moves on Karen and Robin I have months and months and months of catching up to do. Unless of course you don't want to help me for months and months and months."

"When you put it that way I have to ask myself how many months and months and months he played with my ex so I guess I have some catching up to do also."

+++++++++++++++

Mellissa and I played together for just a little over five months. We got together on the average of twice a week and there was one week when Harry was out of town that I stayed all night with his wife in his house and on his bed for four nights running. On three of those nights I had the pleasure of fucking his wife while she took his nightly phone call.

The time finally came when she said she was ready to confront Harry. I asked her if she was sure and suggested we give it a little more time say maybe another fifteen or twenty years.

"I've already gone three months longer than I meant to, but if I'm going to have any chance at getting my marriage back it is time to bite the bullet and face him. I'm not going to tell him how long it has been going on, just that I've used you to get even with him."

"What happens if he doesn't take it well?"

"Then like I said in the beginning; I'll at least have had the satisfaction of knowing that he knows he didn't get away with anything."

"Keep me up to date, okay?"

"Okay. We have time for one last hurrah if you want."

"I want."

It's funny how perverse life can be. I wanted to seduce Harry's wife and then rub his nose in it to get back at him for what he did to me and then damned if I didn't fall in love with her and then have to watch her go back to him and to try and get her marriage back.

That was on a Tuesday and Thursday Mellissa called me. "I confronted him with things last night and he went crazy on me. Called me every name he could think of, said he wasn't going to live with a whore and he stomped out of the house. His bad. He left so he won't be coming back. The locksmith is here changing the locks as we speak."

"I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you Melly."

"Sorry enough to comfort me?"

"In a heartbeat."

"Thanks Rob, I needed to hear that, but I'm going to behave myself at least until the divorce is over and done with."

"I have something for you."

"What?"

When we first started this I put some private detectives on Harry. He has been seeing two different women and I've got audio and video and reports that you can use in your divorce. All he has on you is what you told him and you can always say that it wasn't true and that you just told him that to rile him after you found out about his cheating on you. Just tell me where you want it sent."

"To my office at work. I don't want to chance him getting it if it comes to the house. And thank you baby; I really appreciate it."

+++++++++++++

I didn't have long to wait before finding out how Harry felt about his wife's confession. He came into "ye Olde" Thursday night and stormed up to me.

"You bastard! Kicking my ass and ruining our friendship wasn't enough for you. You just had to go after my wife. Well fuck you asshole."

And he swung at me.

I'd kicked Harry's ass once before and he had to know that I could do it again so his assertion that I had ruined our friendship and then his attack caught me completely off guard and he got in two shots before I got my shit together. In a way it was good that he got those two shots in because everyone saw it and they were all telling the cops that Harry had attacked me and that I had only been defending myself when I mopped the floor with him.

The cops asked me if I wanted to press charges and I told them no. I told them I'd rather have him out of jail so we could do it again as many times as he wanted until I ended up crippling him. When the police left I called Mellissa and filled her in and told her that Harry was on his way to the ER at County General.

"What do you expect me to do" she asked, "Send flowers?"

"Just thought you should know."

"He walked out lover. I offered to talk it out and then try and put things back together, but all he did was call me an unfaithful whore and walk so we are history. The locks have been changed and he won't be getting back in here without a court order. I'd love to run over to your place and have you comfort me, but now that we are on the divorce trail I've got to behave and act as pure as the driven snow. Don't forget me lover. Maybe when the divorce is final you can help me celebrate."

"Count on it."

I still stopped in at "ye Olde" and I saw Robin, Bea and Karen, but Mellissa stopped coming in with them. Karen told me that she had stopped coming because she expected Harry would have her watched to try and get something on her to use to counter her claims in the divorce.

"She's afraid that if she even dances with a guy Harry will try to blow it all out of proportion. She feels she can sit at home, read books and watch TV for the six months it will take to get rid of him."

+++++++++++++++++++

I had just finished a business dinner at La Flammbe and George and Tom had gone. I was sitting at the table shuffling through some papers when Henri, the Maitre de, approached me and asked me if I could see my way clear to move to the bar and told me that the drinks would be on the house if I did. I looked and saw the line waiting for a table so I gathered my paperwork and apologized for not seeing for myself that I needed to leave.

I took a seat at the bar intending to have one drink and then head on home. I wasn't paying attention when someone took the seat next to me, but then a voice I recognized said:

"Buy a girl a drink?"

I turned and saw Suellen sitting there. She looked good, but then she always had. I sat there looking at her not knowing what to say and she said:

"I gambled that there is enough water under the bridge by now that I can get away with approaching you."

I waved the bartender over and pointed at Suellen and then at my nearly empty glass. He took her order and moved away.

"How have you been Rob?"

"Not bad. I have my ups and downs. You?"

"About the same although I have a lot more downs than ups."

"Your career going that bad?"

"The career is going fine,"

There was a long silence and then she said, "I miss you."

I'm sure that my face clouded up or maybe there was a quick flash of anger; whatever it was Suellen saw it and put out a hand to touch me.

"Please Rob; you never gave me a chance to explain."

I just sat there and looked at her

"I'm not looking for forgiveness Rob. God knows I don't think you could ever do that, but it has been killing me all these years that you have been thinking that I couldn't have loved you if I was doing what I was doing. You never let me explain. I loved you Rob. I've always loved you. I still love you. I can't get over losing you. I see you around town and it hurts to know that I'm not with you. Jesus does it ever hurt."

"What's to explain Suellen? What I saw was self explanatory."

"No it wasn't Rob. There was a lot more to it than you thought and I needed to explain it to you. You wouldn't have taken me back after the explanation and I wouldn't have expected you to, but I needed to let you know how it happened and that it was nothing that you did that caused it. I needed to let you know that it wasn't because I didn't love you anymore."

She stopped for a moment and then said, "No, that isn't totally true. The part about nothing you did. I guess it is what you did that played a part in it."

"Something that I did caused it?"

"In a way."

"This I just have to hear."

"Can we go some place a little more private? I can't help but feel that everyone sitting around us is listening."

I glanced at my watch. "ye Olde" should be quiet and un-crowded at six-thirty on a Monday so I told her I would meet her there. As soon as we sat down I went right at it.

"All right Suellen, tell me how I caused it."

"I didn't say that you caused it just that something you did played a major part."

"Go on."

"You remember how I didn't even want Harry to be part of our wedding and you told me that Harry was a part of your life and always would be and that I had better get used to it?"

"I remember."

"Harry was - still is - a piece of shit. Girls talk Rob and I knew all about Harry's penchant for screwing the wives and girlfriends of guys he knew. You never saw it or if you did you never took notice of it because he was this super best friend of yours since you were in the crib together. He even tried to hustle me after you proposed. I didn't bother to tell you because I wasn't all that sure that you wouldn't side with Harry when he denied it. You remember Brian Feldman?"

I nodded a yes.

"Brian was a super nice guy and I liked him. Brian was in London on business the week of our wedding and Harry was screwing his wife the whole time he was gone. I despised Harry and I made no secret of it, but he was your best friend so I was told to learn to live with it. Harry knew that I hated him and he knew why and every time he was at the house, which seemed like all the time, when your back was to us he would smirk at me, lick his lips, stick out his tongue and wiggle it suggestively.

"What happened probably wouldn't have happened if you had said, "My wife doesn't like him. Maybe I shouldn't have him over to the house so much" or maybe "My wife doesn't like him so maybe I should spend a little less time with him." What you did Rob was bring him in constant contact with me and I made no secret of the fact that I couldn't stand him when he was around. He knew it and it pissed him off."

"I never knew why you didn't like him and of course after I caught the two of you I thought you had probably been doing him all along and were using your visible dislike for camouflage to keep me from suspecting."

"Oh no Rob, my dislike for him was total."

"That being the case how did the two of you end up on my bed?"

"He raped me."

"Oh come on Suellen. I was already in the house when you came in that day. You don't laugh with your rapist. You don't tell your rapist that he feels good in you."

"That was then Rob. The rape took place six month earlier. You were on that six day trip to Denver. Your second day gone Harry came to the house. He had been drinking. I told him that you weren't there and he told me that he didn't come to see you. His exact words were:

"I didn't come to see him bitch. I came to see you Little Miss My Shit Don't Stink. Always looking down your nose at me. Well cunt, that stops tonight" and then he raped me."

"If he raped you why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because you might not have believed me. When he was done I told him that he had better start running because you would kill him when I told you what he had done. He laughed at me. He said he would tell you that I was lying. He would admit he screwed me, but only after I came after him. He would tell you the only reason he screwed me was to show you what a piece of trash I was. He story was that I had tried to seduce him so I could run to you and tell you that he raped me and that I did it so you would finally get rid of him as a friend. I told him that you would never believe a bullshit story like that and he laughed and said:

"Sure he will; especially after I play him this."

"He took a cassette recorder out of his shirt pocket and played the tape. I laughed at him and told him he was even dumber than I'd always thought. If he played you the tape it would prove that he raped me. He told me that you wouldn't hear that part of the tape because he would edit it. What you would hear he said, "Is this" and he played a part of the tape where I was screaming at him to fuck me harder. I honestly didn't remember doing it, but somewhere along the line my mind and body betrayed me and I must have gotten into it. I sounded like an absolute slut. The he said:

"I play him this and who is he going to believe; the guy who has had his back for the last twenty years or a piece of pussy he has only known for a couple and who he knows doesn't like me."

"Then he took me again. He took me four times that night and the operative word there is "took." After the first two times I stopped fighting him. My five one one hundred and ten pound body had no chance against his six two two hundred and twenty pounds and all four times even though I started out calling him all kinds of mother fucker and son of a bitch I ended up begging for it to be harder and faster.

"He left and I spent hours in the tub trying to make myself feel clean, but I had a problem. I liked it. I liked being taken. It was a turn on being forced and having no say in the matter. I actually got myself off with my fingers as I sat in the tub and thought about what had happened.

"He came back the next night and I didn't even bother to protest when he pushed me down on the floor just inside the front door. I just let him take me and while he was doing it I had orgasms like you wouldn't believe. Not because he was a skillful lover because he wasn't, but because I was getting off on the being taken part. Then things took on a life of their own. The ‘taking' morphed into getting off because your super good buddy was fucking your wife then it slid into being a kick doing Harry behind your back and it was the cheating itself that was getting me off.

"I know it sounds trite Rob, but it was only sex. I never stopped disliking Harry, but it was a major kick fucking him. I don't understand it; I can't explain it, but it was there.

"The trash talk you heard before coming into the room? That's all it was, trash talk. You played sports with Harry so I know you must have showered with him a time or two and you have probably seen his dick. He isn't even as big as you and you know it so you know all that pencil-dicked crap was just bullshit trash talk; garbage to keep the excitement level up. Again Rob, it was only sex. There was no love involved. There wasn't even any ‘like' involved. I still loved you. It is my curse that I still do. Thank you for hearing me out and letting me finally get it off my chest."

She got up and walked away.

+++++++++++++++++++

Over the next day or so I thought about what Suellen had told me. In the days after the meltdown of our marriage if she had told me those things I would not have believed a word of it, but now knowing Harry for the ass wipe that he was I was more prone to believe some of the things she said. I could see Harry doing some of the things Suellen said he did.

I also knew how wound up Suellen got when she got into the sex act so I could somewhat picture a rape where she got into it. And there had been nights when we made love that we went after each other like animals in heat and trash talk had been a part of it. I spent some time thinking about what Suellen had told me and two days later I gave her a call.

"Have dinner with me?"

The next morning I said, "That was certainly intense."

"I had a lot stored up."

"Stored up?"

"That's the first sex I've had since we split up."

"You're kidding me."

"No I'm not. I was a basket case when you left me. It was over a year before I even went out on a date. I just never found anyone who ‘clicked' for lack of a better word. A couple of times I got close, but then I started thinking of you and went back into an emotional meltdown. It is kind of hard for a guy to build a relationship with a girl who breaks down and cries just when he thinks he is home free."

I got up and started to get dressed.

"Do you have to go?"

"I have a job."

"Call in sick."

"I can't. I'm the boss. Can't be setting a bad example."

"I'm sorry; I just can't help it. I never expected to ever see you again and now that you are here I'm afraid to let you go."

"I don't think you need to worry about that. If you don't have anything better to do I'll pick you up tonight at six."

"Oh My God! Yes! Tonight. At six. Oh thank you God, thank you, thank you, thank you."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Over the next four months Suellen and I were rarely apart and we were making love four and five times a week. Finally the time and situation were right and one night after Suellen had done her level best to fuck my eyes out I asked her to marry me."

"Do you really mean it Rob?

"I do."

"How soon can we find a Justice of the Peace?"

"Not so fast Suellen. I want to do this right. It will be a church wedding. It will give all of our friends and relatives a chance to see that we have really put things back together and have dedicated ourselves to each other."

"My parents can't afford to give me a wedding Rob."

"They won't have to Suellen. I'll pay for everything. I believe it will be well worth it to have everyone there to see it."

"I don't know what to say Rob. I don't deserve it."

"Of course you do Suellen, of course you do."

+++++++++++++++++

She was a vision as she came down the aisle on the arm of her father. I knew that there wasn't a male in the church who didn't look at her and want her for his own. I looked into her beaming face as the preacher worked his way through the ceremony and when he said;

"Do you Suellen, take Robert, to be your husband, to have and hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

I saw her eyes glisten as she said "I do." I felt her hand tighten in mine when he asked:

"Do you Robert, take Suellen, to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

I looked deeply into her eyes and smiled as I said,

"No, I don't think so. She cheated on me once and with the man who was, at least until then, my best friend and you know what they say; once a cheater always a cheater."

I turned and walked away. As I approached the last row of seats Mellissa stood up, offered me her hand and I took it, and then the two of us walked out into the sunlight together.