This is the follow-on reconciliation story to the Loving Wives story 'I choose you sweetheart'. It will make more sense if you read that first.
In my view there can be reconciliation, but the miscreant must suffer pain, physical or psychological and be remorseful. That is why this is in the Rom category. If you don't like reconciliation stories, I suggest you stop now.
My usual warnings about fiction and fantasy are still valid.
It had been Eighteen months since that weekend, and we had been divorced for nearly a year and I was moving on. Well, trying to, I had gone out with a few women and had been intimate with a couple, but nothing seemed to last. There was no spark. I wasn't that bothered, I was thirty years old, reasonably fit, had my own house, a good job and I'm told by others I'm not an ugly bastard so there was time yet to find 'the one'.
I thought I had found 'the one', but she did something to prove she wasn't.
I was annoyed with myself. If I was moving on, why was I so bothered when I heard my ex-wife, Cheryl, laughing in the bar of the hotel I was in.
When I arrived at the Red Lion for my company's Christmas party Friday evening, I noticed on the board by the entrance that the bank my ex-wife worked for was also having a Christmas party at that hotel, but in a different room. But there was only one bar.
It had been my intention to hang around the bar, chat with some mates, buy a few beers for people who had helped me throughout the year. But with Cheryl's work colleagues there, some of whom knew me, one in particular. I decided that was probably not a good idea. I found myself in a quiet corner in the function room in which we were having the party. I was between girlfriends at the moment, so a group of us just gathered in the corner and chatted. I occasionally danced with some of the women from the company. But I spent most of my time chatting with workmates, especially Phil. He was a shop floor supervisor and we had been working on a few projects together over the last year. We got on well and went out for a few beers now and again, he is a good lad.
It was my turn to go to the bar and that was when I heard my ex-wife's laughter. Try as I might, I could not stop myself turning and looking at her. I was in a quiet corner of the bar, and I had already attracted the barman's attention, and he was getting my drinks. I was trying not to be seen by my ex-wife and our mutual friend Dee.
Cheryl was standing with a group of young men, Dee was with her. I had learned from Dee they had become friends again. I was surprised at that because it was Dee's boyfriend that Cheryl had cheated on me with. Dee and I got together a lot in the aftermath of the cheating and fairly regularly now, just as friends, no benefits. She had been keeping an eye on me to see how I was doing after the divorce. To be honest I was making sure she was all right as well. Her boyfriend cheating on her with Cheryl, losing her boyfriend and initially her best friend hit her hard too. We both drank a lot back then. She had supported me greatly after the event, I owed her several favours.
I did wonder what made Dee forgive Cheryl, she had told me she had a greater understanding of what happened and so she had forgiven Cheryl, they would probably never be best friends like they used to be, but she was forgiven.
I saw Dee stroke Cheryl's arm and point across to me, she looked stunning, she placed her drink down and headed towards me. She wasn't walking in a straight line and she had that slight lopsided smile on her face when she had drunk a little too much. I did not think she was very sober. I was bracing myself, but I wasn't sure what for. We had parted reasonably amicably, she had even helped me get a good rate on a mortgage so I could buy her half of the house, but we had hardly spoken in the last eighteen months.
What she did when she got to me confused me, she threw her arms around my neck and whispered in my ear. "I'm glad to see you, I love you." I could smell the drink on her breath, this was unlike her, she wasn't a big drinker. I saw the three young chaps she was with saunter across to us. Dee followed. Cheryl disengaged herself from my neck and stood beside me. She slid her arm through mine, she leaned on me. She was getting too familiar. I wanted to pull away, but that would have been rude. I try not to be rude, sometimes I succeed, this was one of those times. I was feeling quite nervous.
Dee introduced the lads. "This is Jeff, Mike and Pete, they are trainees at the bank, we are their trainers."
I took an instant dislike to Jeff, he was tall, brash, blonde and arrogant. I don't think he was sober either. Looking at Cheryl he said. "Who is this old man then?"
Cheryl replied tersely. "We've talked about this, don't be rude." She seemed to have sobered up a little. "This is my ex-husband."
At that point Jeffrey poked me on the chest and said. "So, this is the cucky boy then?"
That was his first and last mistake.
My anger came very quickly these days. I shrugged Cheryl off, reached forward with both hands and grabbed hold of the lapels of Jeffry's jacket and pulled.
As I pulled him rapidly towards me, I raised my knee and lowered my forehead. My knee came into contact with his bollocks and my forehead smashed into his nose. I heard a crunching sound and felt something warm splash on my face. He grunted. I let go and he fell to the floor. It took all of about four seconds and the crowd around the bar were so wrapped up trying to get the barman's attention no one seemed to notice a man falling down. Peter just stood there, his mouth wide open. With my hand I wiped the blood from my face and grabbed his shirt front with my bloody hand and pulled him closer and said to him. "Where did you get that fucking story from?" I growled at him.
He spluttered. "We sort of worked it out, there were rumours about Cheryl and some bloke called Gerald. We guessed they had an affair. You and Cheryl got divorced. Gerald got beaten up and moved away. We sort of put two and two together. It seemed logical."
"Well, you didn't come up with four, how about other alternatives, maybe it was me that cheated and Cheryl divorced me, perhaps I'm bi and I cheated with Gerald and Cheryl discovered I was having an affair with him and she got him beat up, or perhaps let's just keep it simple, because generally the simplest reason is the right one. We grew apart and divorced each other." I ignored the fact about Gerald getting beaten up and moving away.
Actually, they had come up with four, I just did not want it getting around that Cheryl had cheated on me and Gerald had cheated on Dee. As far as I know, apart from Cheryl's parents only her, Dee, me and Gerald knew about it, and I wanted it to stay that way for everybody's sake. Well maybe not Gerald's.
I looked around, the bar, it was very busy and I think the altercation was missed, the barman gave me a funny look and gently shook his head.
Mike helped Jeffrey to his feet and from somewhere a handkerchief appeared that he was holding to his nose. The whole thing had taken less than about 45 seconds. Dee stepped towards Jeffrey. "You've been told about your attitude before. You should treat everybody as a customer or a prospective customer. Everybody knows this is our bank's Christmas party. There is a sign at the front door. Most people can work out that you work for our bank. You have not shown us in a good light. I am not sure if management has seen what has happened, but they will find out first thing Monday morning. I suggest you leave, all three of you."
A garbled noise came from Jeffrey which sounded like. "He head butted me in the nose and kicked me in the bollocks."
Dee replied. "Then you shouldn't have insulted him and poked him in the chest. From what Cheryl and I saw he was just defending himself. There are three of you and one of him. I suggest you just leave."
