Damaged Beyond Repair?

© JoshFrom53.

Dear reader.

Welcome to my fantasies.

All restrictions apply. Everybody and everything engaging in any sexual activity is eighteen years and never younger. This story bears no relation to the real world at all.

All likeness to persons, institutions and companies in the story are completely incidental.

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Upon reading one might think that this story belongs in the Loving Wives category.

I beg to differ. It's a story about stupidity, stubbornness and anger and belongs in Romance.

It's slow and long without much explicit sex. That said: I still hope you enjoy this, but I had to get this out of my system.

Will a.k.a. Turning502019, a big thank you for your help and editing this story.

====

Friday afternoon.

Bart Verbeke had one of his rare, free weekends that started at the end of a morning shift on Thursday 2.30 PM until Monday 6 AM with the start of another hectic working period. This time 7 consecutive shifts, 3 morning and 4 evening shifts.

Bart was an average man in all aspects. Ambitions, but he didn't let them rule them. A well-paid job, even without the inconvenience pay based on his duty roster.

He had simple tastes. He liked reading, classical music, running, walking and swimming. He could play the guitar and, as he told only to his few friends, tried to write poetry and put it to music.

=====

He lived alone, by choice. At 44 years old and a failed marriage after three years and two disastrous relationships he just stopped trying to find a companion.

His marriage failed because his ex-wife couldn't cope with the irregular shifts and the, sometimes, long stretches of work. She was a fun-loving outgoing creature, almost the opposite end of the spectrum where Bart felt comfortable.

When she told him that she wanted a divorce and why, Bart felt that his mind submerged itself in an electrified ice bath and even more humiliating for him was that his ex-wife told him that it was all his fault.

Bart couldn't cope with the heartache that came with it, walked away and disappeared.

=====

Bart had a few friends of the male and the female kind and some running mates. But all said and done he lived a rather solitary life. He hardly entertained guests, but when he did, he was an excellent host.

His pride and joy, and his main hobby was his RV. Some ten years ago he had, by pure chance, acquired a military ambulance based on a Unimog all-wheel drive chassis. Its turbo charged diesel engine had only 200 hp but it got him everywhere. He rebuilt the ambulance into an RV. Now he was able to stay away from civilization for an extended period when he started out fully loaded with 350 liters of diesel fuel, 200 liters fresh water, a gray water tank of 100 liters for the shower and to flush the toilet.

Solar panels, kerosene burners and what not. His main investment this year was a state of the art sat nav and satellite phone. In the end, he was a boy who liked his toys.

Bart was single and because of that he worked a lot of overtime to fill the gaps in the duty roster and he always demanded that he was compensated, at least partly, in free time. Therefore, he could afford to roam the continent for six solid weeks. His employer never objected as Bart always asked for a holiday in the low season.

=====

Before he entered his house he checked the mailbox, picked up its contents and went inside.

Once inside he dumped the stack of paper on the table in his little hallway and himself in his chair in the living room. Then he heaved a deep contented sigh and asked himself aloud, "Now, dinner, what would I like? Going out? And afterwards maybe a concert?"

He remembered that he had already prepared an oven-dish a few days ago, just for this moment. Bart went into the utility kitchen and found the dish in the freezer. On his way back he picked up his mail. With the dish in the oven and himself back in his chair with a cup of tea he scanned his mail. A few bills and a lot of paper from companies who wanted him to spend his money on their junk. A magazine and an envelope.

Bart opened the envelope and out came an invitation from an old friend and colleague of his. It said,

Dear Bart.

We know that it is on short notice.

We're happy to tell you that on September 3rd we have been together for 25 years.

To celebrate and share that happiness we have arranged a barbecue and other festivities.

We would appreciate your presence.

With love Martin and Carlos.

An RSVP card was included.

How nice,

he thought.

Suddenly my vacation starts with a party. So, it seems that I'll have to leave a day later than planned. I only hope that this time they haven't found an eligible female again.

====

On the Friday two weeks later, Bart had picked up his repurposed military Unimog ambulance from storage, carefully parked it in front of his house and he was busy installing a camera system like the ones installed in cars. When he finally had figured it out, he had an all-around camera view.

Satisfied he started checking the rest. He had easily enough diesel to get into the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and top up cheaply there. Water will come tomorrow, just as clothes, food and other necessities.

Bart went inside for the last part of preparation of his trip. As usual he wanted to pay a visit to his friends in Alagón near Zaragoza. For the rest he wanted to see the Sierra Nevada and its regional nature preserve.

He started planning. Roughly, Luxembourg, Besançon, Arignac, Andorra, Tarragona, Alagón and via Jaén to his final destination. About 5000 kilometers vice versa and he had six blissful weeks to accomplish it.

The next evening, he was glad he and his friends had agreed that he would leave the party early because he wanted to cross the border before sunrise the next day.

Happily, he knocked on the door, knowing that he had a perfect present for the two. Two tickets for Tina, The Musical. Another friend of his was glad he took them out of his hands because his girlfriend broke off the engagement.

=====

Linda Albers moved, three months ago, with her two sons into the house next to Bart's friends Martin and Carlos. That first day in her house she found herself amidst the carnage moving a house can bring.

She just tried to find herself in the disorder, deliberating whether she would have a cup of tea first, or make a start with some of the boxes when there was a knock on her front door. Martin and his husband Carlos offered her their help and dinner. Since then, they had become good friends, so Linda gladly accepted the invitation for the barbeque though she would arrive late due to earlier appointments.

Now, minutes after nine o'clock, just before dark set in, she entered the garden and was warmly greeted by Martin and Carlos. Carlos pushed a drink in her hands and ushered her into the house.

Linda heard a few people laughing and looked at the group wondering what the merriment was all about.

Suddenly her heart thundered in her ribcage, her breathing stopped momentarily and the blood drained from her face when she recognized the man causing the merriment.

He was older of course. He looked much older than he should. Lines around his eyes, hollow cheeks, a little gray on his temples, but he looked lean and fit. "Bart!" She whispered to herself.

Bart was telling some people anecdotes about his travels with his Unimog. The vehicle was just plain ugly and lots of people were reacting to that. He once won a wager with someone who was convinced that he wouldn't get from the camping site next to the river up to the road above. But the all-wheel drive, ugly former ambulance, had traversed the steep slope with ease.

He looked at the clock and started to say his goodbyes.

Linda observed the man she divorced about twenty years ago. He was looking better in the light, lean, wiry muscled arms, no belly hanging over his belt and he moved effortlessly.

She noticed that he was saying goodbye and a lot of people, men and women, were smiling and hugging, or kissing him. She thought,

He must be popular, to be treated like this.

Just before Bart wanted to say his farewells he noticed the new arrival. Not recognizing Linda, he admired the beautiful woman for a few seconds and then dismissed her from his mind.

Half an hour later he was talking to his hosts and accepting the thanks for the tickets when he heard a voice behind him, "Bart Verbeke are you avoiding me?"

Bart turned around and replied, "Not that I'm aware of. Have we met?"

Linda, shocked, asked, "Surely you remember me, don't you?"

Bart suddenly blushed hotly and said softly "Linda Albers? My word, no I didn't recognize you. You became even more beautiful than you already were, but what did you do with your hair?"

Linda now understood. When they were married, she had long dirty blonde hair, now she wore it short and colored it darker, much darker. She filled out a bit too. Luckily in the right places and she worked out devotedly to keep herself in shape. She wasn't like that when they were married, she was more filled out and not all was in the right places.

She blushed at the compliment and said hopefully, "Are you leaving so soon? I'd like to hear how you are and what you are doing. I'd really like to talk to you."

Bart was so shocked to see his ex-wife and her asking how he fared that all anger and frustration originating from that time, all of which he had kept bottled up for so long, escaped and he gave her, almost verbally the lines back with which she announced her decision to divorce him,

"Well, nothing really changed, I still work a lot and I wouldn't want you, least of all people, to be bored with my life. As I said, it hasn't changed so it's still not very exciting. Now have a nice evening."

With that out of his system he walked to his bicycle, leaving a flummoxed Linda and flabbergasted hosts behind. Carlos, in his funny accent said "Did I really hear Bart being rude to a lady just now? I can't believe my ears. "

"Bart wasn't rude, he was honest and it is all my fault." Linda's voice was just loud enough to be heard over the music.

Martin asked worriedly, "Obviously, you two know each other and have a history together. Where from? What happened?

"I've never seen Bart act like that. He is always the gentleman personified and apart from being long-term colleagues we've been friends for over fifteen years."

Linda took a deep and shuddering breath, answering, "Bart was my husband before I was so stupid to throw him to the side."

The two men looked at her as if she had turned into a turd.

Finally, Martin stammered disbelievingly, "What? Are you telling us that Bart has been married? To you? He never told us that he ever had been married. We always viewed him as the eternal bachelor. Why, for Pete's sake, did he let you go? It's obvious that you still have feelings for him."

Linda looked at Martin, anguish in her eyes and said, "You've got it all wrong. I threw him away. And for all the wrong reasons. When I finally came to my senses he was gone, and I couldn't find him anywhere. "

Carlos didn't understand and asked, "As long as I remember Bart has been working for Heavy Aircargo Transports. How come you couldn't find him anymore?"

"It's not a story I'm proud of and not for this evening. I'll try to talk to him tomorrow if you can give me the... "

Martin interrupted with sadness in his eyes, "I'm not sure that we can do that for obvious reasons but if we did, you'd find yourself in front of a closed door and dark house. Bart is going on vacation and won't be back for the next six weeks."

"Six weeks!" Linda nearly cried. "Bart can afford to go on vacation for six weeks. How?"

"Tomorrow, Martin replied, ''Tomorrow you tell your story and we decide whether we will mediate between the two of you. Anyhow, we tell you why Bart can afford 6 weeks and some more leave of absence. Deal?"

Linda was at a loss off words. She only nodded.

Martin said, "Now mingle, meet the people and have fun however difficult it may seem now. Tomorrow we'll talk."

Despite her mind being occupied by the sudden discovery that Bart was a good friend of her dear neighbors, she had a good time and when she said, very late in the evening, her goodbyes she was admonished to come Sunday for lunch.

=====

Lunch consisted of leftovers from the barbeque, strong coffee and a bottle of champagne. "To ease the nerves." Carlos told her.

When lunch was over Martin said to her, "I did some research and found out why you couldn't find Bart and how he went up in smoke twenty years ago."

They made themselves comfortable and Martin started.

"At that time, H.A.T needed cargo planners with expertise in logistics and customs regulations for a vast and very lucrative contract with a fashion house housed in Zaragoza.

Bart was one of those planners and he already was licensed and approved to clear cargo with Customs. We call that a customs declarant.

The planners needed to work on site at the airport which was near the textile factory and that was something most planners only wanted to do for a short time due to the fact they had to work long hours. The work was very stressful, and the living quarters were spartan, to say the least. There were no volunteers to be found anymore until Bart put his name in the bag.

He was in Zaragoza for well over two and a half years and literally worked non-stop. He worked there for over 900 consecutive days, 14 hours a day on average. He refused to return, telling management that he had nothing to return to, so why bother. The management, pragmatic as they are, had their man in place and after three months stopped looking for people to replace Bart."

Linda gasped and started to tear up, but Martin went on. "Just before Bart started in ZAZ the company offered these planners an extra bonus per flight if the plane departed on the scheduled time. That also applied to the trucks, running for H.A.T, serving the European market. Bart was ruthless in his approach to streamline the operation and had it running like clockwork within two months after arriving.

"Bart was only recalled when the contract ended."

Martin poured the three of them another glass of champagne before he picked up where he left.

"That's why you couldn't find him. He was in hiding. When back at the main office, they almost lost him as an employee and not only because other airlines had noticed his achievements.

"Initially someone in Accountancy from H.A.T decided not to pay the full bonus because it amounted to such a huge sum of money. She stated that no one could, nor should be allowed to work for such long hours.

"Bart had foreseen this. What they did not account for was that Bart had kept a log and demanded from IT for all his logged data. When he logged onto the system and logged out of it together with an affidavit that between those loggings there was constant activity on his account. He had saved all his receipts for his travel expenses and they were time stamped. On top of that the Spanish employees at that time, and I couldn't find out why, held Bart in very high regard and all were willing to give evidence.

"H.A.T had to pay up and with that money he bought his house. Cheap, because it was almost decrepit. You should see it now. His little palace. But... They almost lost their best planner. It took a lot of groveling to keep him aboard. Him going to the competition could be a disaster too. He knew firsthand all the procedures. He knew our clientele.

"That's where our paths crossed for the first time. I was the one who was ordered to do the groveling."

Linda was still shocked about the way Bart disappeared after their divorce. Martin and Carlos waited patiently till she absorbed all of it.

"Now you'd like to know why Bart and I are divorced?

"The short answer is that I was at that time the stupidest woman on this planet."

Carlos raised an eyebrow to encourage Linda to go on.

She did, "We married young, very young. Bart was 21 and I was 22. Bart just had started at H.A.T and his duty-roster was grueling. Seven morningshifts, seven evening, and seven-night shifts and lots of studying to do. One real weekend off per month.

"I think you both are aware that Bart isn't a party animal. He never was, but I certainly was one. So, when he was working his ass off on the weekends, I was partying. Some five friends kept me company during those times.

"After a while my friends were trying to find me a lover for the weekends, but I didn't give in to that. When we were married for two years, they started to denigrate Bart. Boring, always working, must be bad in bed too because he was too tired.

"What they didn't see were the romantic breakfasts in bed when he had late, or night shifts. Or the unexpected dinners when he worked morning shifts. That the house was always spotless and the flowers always fresh. All the little gifts under my pillow, the beautifully worded love letters and poems, or the occasional present hidden in my shoe.

"worse: I stopped seeing it too. I became entitled. They worked on me for a year and they got their wish. In our last squabble I told Bart that he was boring, did not love me enough to go out and have fun with me and that he was a mediocre lover, implying that I knew better lovers and set out to destroy our marriage.

"A few days after that rant I handed him the divorce papers and went on a weekend long binge.

"When I came home that Sunday afternoon Bart was gone. His wedding band was on the signed documents as for the rest, only his clothes and toiletries were missing. I, as stupid as I was, didn't think much of it and expected him to beg me to take him back.

"Till today I still don't understand what I was thinking. I served him with divorce papers, he signed them, and I expected us to go on with our lives together?

"The message that I was really on my own, only sunk in when Bart's salary was not in the bank account at the end of the month and I had already squandered mine. Suddenly I had to ask my parents for support.

"When I arrived at my parents the first question, they asked was why I was visiting alone because Bart always came with me. They really loved that man very much.

"I laconically told them that I divorced him because he was boring and always working and he didn't take good care of my needs.

"My parents looked at me as if I had grown two heads and asked me from which planet I came, certainly not one from this solar system. When I was alone with my mother, she tore into me in a way I never had experienced, recalling everything I told her about his romantic dinners, breakfast in bed and the presents, while my father was trying to reach Bart.

"When my mother calmed down a bit, she told me that they would give me a one-time loan to get through the month. After that I had to fend for myself.

"The confrontation with my sister was even worse. She was beyond furious. She called me entitled, shallow, braindead, a two-bit floozy and refused to talk to me for months.

"After she was done berating me, I missed out a lot of quality time with my little nephews.

"Trying to ease my conscience, I partied hard for three months. After that the novelty had worn off and the thrill was gone. My friends weren't the good friends I thought they were and soon I was not interesting enough anymore because they had achieved their goal and again, I was alone on the weekends.

"I had enough time to think carefully about my actions and treatment of Bart. That's when regret and remorse set in. That was also the moment that I seriously started to look for him.

"His parents treated me as if I had leprosy. They blamed me for being unable to see their son for such long periods of time and they just threw me out of their house and lives. They wanted nothing to do with me anymore.