A Family Lost a Family Gained

It was finally my retirement day although I was young to retire. After a small celebration at work, I was home and I never had to go to work again. I was disappointed that my wife Kathy hadn't showed up for the celebration, just another insult on top of months of insults. Six months ago Kathy was supporting my decision to retire and I just assumed she would retire with me. Three months ago she announced that she never had plans to retire. I'm not sure we had a serious conversation since then.

On the kitchen table was an article from the New York Times discussing silver separations, senior citizens getting divorced after decades of marriage. I had read the article before, my favorite line, which Kathy highlighted, was from a woman who said, "Only god knows how many good years I have left and I don't want to spend them waking up next to him."

Underneath the article was Kathy's engagement and wedding rings along with a set of divorce papers. Her proposal was fair, she had the primary house and our vacation home in Florida appraised and she would buy out my share of the primary house less her share of the Florida home. It looked fair and I signed off, packed my shit into my jeep and headed to Florida.

I tried selling the engagement ring and wedding ring, they would give me $50 for the wedding ring and nothing for the engagement ring since it was a cheap fake. I tried a couple of other jewelers and got the same remarks. I paid five grand for that ring.

On the way there were a couple of texts from my two daughters, a freshman and a junior in college, wanting to know if I was okay. I wondered how long they knew and I chose to ignore their texts.

Six months later I was flying back to Philly for a couple of doctor's appointments, I had planned to go out to dinner with my daughters the first night and my best friend Frank the second day. I was surprised when Kathy invited me for lunch the day I landed.

She was already seated when I entered the restaurant, I quickly noticed the wedding ring on her finger.

"I saw the wedding ring, congratulations Sarah. When did you get married and who is the lucky guy?"

"I could never tell when you were sincere or just trying to be nice Jack, I got married as soon as the divorce was final to Frank. That's part of the reason I'm here. I've been suffering from severe depression, mostly because I was cheating on you for the last few years of our marriage with Frank. My counselor said I could never heal unless I confessed."

"Well I am sorry you were suffering from depression and offer my congratulations to Frank." I gave her my best smile.

"You're going to dinner with him tomorrow, you can congratulate him then. This depression is affecting a lot of areas of my life plus there's a lot of other shit going on."

"We can pray that your confession helps relieve your depression Kathy. By the way, did the girls know about your affair with Frank."

"Yes they caught us while they were still in high school, a water main break sent them home early."

"I hope they weren't too upset."

"There was a rough patch for a few weeks and then they got over it. I'm surprised you are handling this so well, I expected some anger or I don't know."

"Come on Kathy, our marriage had been dead for years, maybe I was too stupid to recognize it but as the saying goes, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change."

We chit chatted for a bit about my life in Florida. As we exited the restaurant, I gave her a hug goodbye. I handed her the engagement ring as we parted:

"I took this to three different jewelers in Florida, they all said it was fake and not worth anything, I paid five grand for this engagement ring."

"Maybe you got hustled Jack?"

"That might be possible but remember we had it appraised for insurance purposes and by then the value had increased to six grand. I don't know what happened to the engagement ring I gave you but this isn't it."

Kathy was staring at me as I turned and walked away.

I was always surprised at how dumb Kathy was, did she really think I was okay with her little shit show. She never had any ability to read me. I had made reservations with a nice restaurant for dinner with Kathy's girls for tonight. They were no longer my girls. I cancelled the reservation and the upcoming tuition payments I had scheduled. I also blocked their numbers.

Frank was going to be a little more difficult to handle. I wanted retribution but wasn't sure how. While sitting in the doctor's office and having my new knee examined I struggled to come up with something. And then it dawned on me, he used to be married to Jesse, I couldn't think of anything better. Instead of meeting Frank the following night, I called his ex and invited her out to dinner instead. She warmly accepted.

I always admired Frank's ex-wife Jesse and was surprised that he left her for Kathy. That was a giant step down as far as I was concerned.

Jesse greeted me with a warm hug as we entered the restaurant. After we settled into our seats, her smile went away.

"Why are you here Jack, are you trying to get some payback on Frank by trying to seduce his ex-wife."

"Frank is married to Kathy, that's all the payback I need. To be honest, I only learned yesterday that Kathy and Frank had an affair that lasted years. Kathy was suffering depression from her affair so she confessed her sins yesterday which was supposed to help her heal. You and I always got along well and I was curious on how you were doing."

"I didn't know it was years. The bastard left me penniless with all his gambling debts. I regret not telling you when I found out about his affair with Kathy. I don't know why but I assumed she was going to tell you when I threw Frank out, that must have been almost a year ago."

"I guess I'm the classic clueless husband. We weren't getting along but most marriages go through cycles. She had divorce papers waiting for me when I got home from my retirement party with her engagement and wedding rings. I later learned that the engagement ring was a fake and worthless."

"Like every piece of jewelry I ever owned, replaced with fakes so he could pay off his gambling debts along with the kids college funds. I thought he quit gambling but he only got better at hiding it. I'm living in crummy two bedroom apartment while he's living in your old house."

"I'm sorry about that, not happy that he's in my old house. I really think they deserve each other though."

"But how are you doing Jack, how's retirement treating you?"

"My stress levels have dropped dramatically, maybe the job, maybe Kathy, maybe both. I joined a few bicycle clubs that keep me busy and the opportunity to meet new people."

"Any significant others?"

"No, I haven't really been looking and that was before I knew Kathy had been cheating on me. What about you Jesse?"

"I don't have time for anyone else, I'm too busy trying to get out of debt. Even though he was responsible for the debt, it was accrued during the marriage so I had to eat half. Bankruptcy took care of most of that but the girl's tuition still has to be paid."

"Did I tell you that my girls knew all about Kathy's affair with Frank since they were in high school. Kathy said they were sent home from school because of a watermain break and caught them."

"I remember that watermain break, I had just started teaching in the high school. God, that must have been seven or eight years ago. Shit, I didn't know he had been fucking around on me that long, I guess I'm the classic clueless wife."

"But did your girls know and betray you?"

"Not that I know of, they seemed pretty surprised to find out, but they were always close with your girls. I'm going to do some detective work. My youngest has always been easy to play and she's living at home and commuting to school. I'll let you know what I find out. When are you leaving?"

"I have an early flight out tomorrow."

"Coming back?"

"I don't see any reason to, you are always invited down if you want to get away."

"Are you still trying to get some payback on Frank by trying to seduce his ex-wife."

"Still no, when we bought the condo, we had all these plans about retiring there, spending holidays there so we bought a three bedroom unit in a resort community, way more than a retired bachelor needs."

Sadly it was time to go but I had the waitress take a picture of us and with Jesse's permission posted it on Facebook.

"Keep your chin up Jack, we both got shortchanged with our ex-spouses and I'll think about Florida. Maybe Christmas break unless you have other plans."

A couple of weeks later I received an old fashioned letter from Jesse:

"I tried tricking my youngest to find out if she knew about her father's affair. I told her your daughters said my girls knew. She was adamant that she didn't and that your slut daughters were lying. I'm going to believe her."

I texted her back saying I was happy for her, the betrayal of my daughters hurt more than anything else. I've stopped paying their tuition, there's a shit storm raging at my old house.

Kathy surprised me when I found her in front of the condo a few weeks later.

"Why are you here Kathy?"

"I'm here to beg you to pay for the girl's tuition."

"They showed no loyalty to me, I owe them none."

"Jack, they are going to have to drop out."

"Not my problem Kathy, mortgage the house, raid your 401k, I don't care but they will never get another penny from me."

"You're just being childish and your fragile male ego is hurt. You're fucking over your daughters."

"Your daughters not mine. This conversation is over, go home to Frank and all of his gambling problems. You two deserve each other."

"Jack, please don't do this, I'm the one who fucked up."

"And they left me to be a cuckold for almost a decade. We're done here Kathy."

She was screaming something as I turned and went into the condo. Two hours later I went out to check the mail and she was still sitting in the car.

I knocked on the window on my way back. "What are you doing Kathy?"

"My flight home doesn't leave until tomorrow, I have nowhere to go until then. I don't have any money for a hotel. Can I use your bathroom."

"Of course Kathy, you can spend the night if you need to and I was just getting ready to make dinner, are you hungry?"

"Yes to spending the night and dinner Jack and thank you." She grabbed an overnight bag and headed into the condo. I was behind Kathy as she headed up the steps and was surprised at how much weight she lost.

"Are you doing okay Jack," she asked over dinner.

"Keeping busy, there's a lot to do down here. I spend most of my time on my bike mostly with a couple of clubs I joined."

"You're looking good, the tan serves you well."

Based on my conversations with Jesse, Kathy's life with Jack had been one financial disaster after another. I didn't want to get sucked into some sob story so I talked about biking to fill the silence.

Kathy's flight didn't leave until three so I took her out for breakfast, "I know you don't want to hear it Jack, but I fucked up with Frank. He bled me dry."

"He did the same to Jesse, including replacing her jewelry with fakes. Poor Jesse, by the time she realized the depth of his problem she already had two kids and decided to stay with him. She ended up declaring bankruptcy and can't pay for her girls' college either. I'm not sure how many others he screwed over but I'm sure there are many"

"Kathy, I should tell you I knew all about Frank's gambling problem, it wasn't a problem when he married Jesse or at least I didn't think it was. The second time he asked for a loan I dragged him into a gambler's anonymous meeting to get some help. It didn't take too long for him to ask for a third loan which I refused, he hadn't repaid the prior two loans so he already owed me $10,000. I'm surprised you never noticed that our relationship froze over after that. We never got together after that except for our godchildren's birthdays. My relationship with Frank was never the same after I told him no."

"If either you or your daughters would have come to me ten years ago when you started your affair, I could have warned you. Maybe that's why he wanted an affair with you in the first place, for retaliation for telling him no more loans. Either way, I feel no responsibility for helping you or your daughters."

"You know we're fucked right?"

"Kathy, you fucked yourself. I hope the sex was worth the tens of thousands he cheated you out of. I'm surprised he hasn't hit on your daughters. He wasn't always a slime ball but as the gambling addiction took over, all of his morals evaporated. One time he told me he was already going to hell so everything was now on the table."

"I'll talk to our daughters Jack, despite what you feel they will always be our daughters. I threw Frank out when I realized how fucked I was, he moved back in with Jesse. And yes I saw the picture of you and Jesse on Facebook, so think of this as favor maybe."

Kathy left and went back to Philly. When I got back to my condo I realized that Jesse had not texted me for a couple of weeks. I sent her a simple text asking how things were going, she said she still planned on coming down for Christmas break.

I wanted to ask her if she was bringing Frank but I didn't.

Kathy called me a week after we got home. "I asked our oldest if Frank ever hit on her, she said no but I think she was lying. If you even think about saying I taught them how to lie I'll come down there and kill you."

Two weeks later, Kathy sent me a recording. It started with her and our oldest, the youngest joined in later. Sometimes they were talking over each other but to the best of my ability, this is what they said.

Kathy: "I know you were lying to me about Frank. I want the truth."

Jenny (our oldest): To quote that famous movie line, you can't handle the truth which is why I'm going to tell you. I can't count the number of times I heard your screaming orgasms when Frank fucked you, calling you a slut and a whore. You screamed when dad fucked you but he was off limits and he never called you nasty things. I started fucking as soon as I was 18 but none of the boys my age made me scream. I wanted Frank and he was always checking me out anyway. Sometimes he would hang around after your afternoon romps and I started my seduction, walking around in panties and a thin top, making sure my nipples were visible.

One day, he came up behind me and started playing with my tits, his hard cock pressed between my ass cheeks. When he slid his hands into the front of my panties, he found my very wet pussy. Frank asked me if I wanted what my mother was getting and I said yes. He said prove it and pushed me to my knees. I didn't realize her was naked and took his cock into my mouth. He asked if I liked the way my mother tasted. I moaned something, I don't remember what. Then he took me into my room and fucked the daylights out of me. I came, I screamed, I passed out and woke up with his come all over my face.

After dad moved out he fucked me almost daily while you were at work and I was home from school. The man was a fucking machine. I was screaming as he was fucking me one day, and Kelly (my youngest) came into the room. She quickly agreed to join us. Kelly and I had our first threesome. I thought it was the first time Frank fucked her as she licked his cum out of my cunt. Kelly is a freaky bitch and in love with Frank's cum, no matter what hole it's in. Frank fucked the two of us daily until we had to go back to school.

Kelly: What the fuck Jenny, why are you telling mom that. I'm going to slap the shit out of you.

There were sounds of a struggle, some slaps and ouches.

Kathy: Knock it off both of you

That was followed by some additional struggles and the girls complaining that their mother hurt them.

Kathy: Knock it off Kelly, is what Jenny said true?

Kelly: I missed the beginning but Frank had been fucking me since I was 18. He was in the shower after one of your fuck fests and I joined him in the shower. He fucked me good, so much better than my boyfriend. It was so hard to act excited with my boyfriend after that with his three pumps and a squirt. I was trying to get him to join me and Frank for a session so he could learn something. He loved me telling him how good Frank fucked me, how many times I came.

Jenny: I was doing something similar with my boyfriend. He would listen to Frank fucking me over our phones, he would listen to Frank calling me a slut and me praising Frank's cock. After Frank was done, he would sneak up to my room and lick Frank's cum out of my cunt. Unless Kelly was home, then I would save it for my sister, the cum addict.

Kelly: My boyfriend wanted to watch me lick Franks' cum out of Jenny's cunt. When I told him we let Frank fuck our asses he finally agreed to come watch. I think he wanted to lick Frank's cum out of my cunt but I haven't been able to get him to actually do it.

Jenny: We both loved Frank's cock. I would do anything for it, I'd be on my hands and knees begging him to fuck me. First it was my ass, I came when he worked two fingers into my ass and then it was his cock. After he had my ass, he wanted me to fuck one of his friends. Of course I agreed and I agreed to letting them double team me.

Kelly: He liked making both of us beg, remember when we agreed to do that bachelor party Jenny. Mom, Jenny and I started kissing each other, playing with each other's pussies and tits as we stripped. We were definitely willing but those guys would have raped us if we weren't. My cunt, ass and mouth were sore for a week and there must have been a gallon of cum leaking out of me.

Jenny: My boyfriend was in heaven licking all that cum out of my ass and cunt. His little pecker was so hard. He came as soon as I put my mouth on his cock and then we snowballed his cum.

Jenny: So tell us mom, we heard you scream when dad fucked you, was he better than Frank. I mean there was none of that nasty talk or none that we heard. So who was better?

Kelly: I want to know who's cock was bigger. Frank has got be twice the size of my boyfriend and if dad is bigger, I would gladly trade my "daddy's little princess" crown to "daddy's little slut."

Jenny: We both want to know, we were thinking of going to Florida and fucking him dry, maybe he would change his mind about college. So who is bigger?

The recording ended there but it sounded like the girls were still telling Kathy how much they loved fucking. I cursed that day I introduced Frank to Kathy and the day he became Jenny's godfather. Of course, that wasn't the same Frank, that was my best friend who always had my back.

It was only two days later that Jesse called me and said, Kathy had murdered her daughters, shot and killed Frank that night and then turned the gun on herself. Jesse said I needed to get back to Philadelphia as quick as possible. I was in shock as I made the travel arrangements.

I was afraid to drive, took a shuttle to the airport in Florida and Jesse picked me up the airport in Philly. In the car I played the recording Kathy sent me.

"Kathy sent me that too Jack, but a longer one where the girls tell Kathy how Frank was whoring them out to his loan sharks to help pay off his gambling debts. I won't play it for you because you will never be able to unhear the way they bragged to Kathy all the details of what they did for Frank. It was almost like they were trying to torture her."

"Could it be worse than what I already heard?"

"Believe me, as a mother of two daughters what I heard horrified me. It's one thing to find out your daughters were very promiscuous but learning they were prostitutes killed me and they weren't my girls."

Jesse took me to the morgue so I could identify the bodies. The girls were easy, Kathy had shot each one three times in the chest. Kathy blew her own face off, she had a birthmark on her right thigh that made identifying her possible. Then I was tasked with funeral arrangements. The press were picking up rumors that my girls were prostitutes, their stepfather was their pimp and when mom found out, she killed them all. A pretty accurate rumor, supposedly Kelly's boyfriend was the source. Instead of the public spectacle, I had all three cremated with no ceremony.