Cassie 11

Cassie

This is a notion that came to me in a dream. Just saying. Also, I've never asked anyone to write an ending for my stories. (At least I don't remember doing it). But I couldn't decide on how to finish it. I love happy endings, as you may know, but I was torn. So feel free. You have my permission. (I know this may hurt, but I'm curious.) This is "Loving Wives", so God knows what will happen if anything. Thank you. Now, on to the story.

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His phone rang and he looked around, trying to remember where he had put it. Oh, yeah, in his pocket. He answered it and was rewarded with his brother-in-law's voice.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bill, how's it going?"

"Hey, Tony, not bad. How's it with you?"

"Pretty good," he answered.

"What can I do for ya?" Bill answered.

"What are you doing tomorrow, bud?"

Now tomorrow was Sunday. He had a full plate, so he was wondering what was on Tony's mind.

"Well, Cassie is out of town, on business, so I'm taking the kids to Mass tomorrow morning, then bribing them with Denny's for breakfast. Then, if your parents aren't 'otherwise involved' (GROAN!) I'm gonna swing by and bother Gram and Gramps."

"EWW, gross," said Tony. Ever since his younger sister had moved out, his parents had gotten quite 'frisky' around the house.

"I didn't need to think of that, Bill. The reason I called is a couple of guys were gonna pick up some beer and come watch the Giants get beat by whoever they're playing. I figured I'd invite you because you're the only die-hard Giants fan we know, so that way we could have a good time", he chuckled.

He smiled. "Thanks, pal, but I'm on Dad duty this weekend an..... 'Hey, Marie, stop that. Don't do that to your little brother. No, don't put Mike in the dog's food dish.' I gotta go, Tony, but thanks, anyway, FOR NOTHING!" he chuckled. A large dog started barking as he hung up the phone.

"Daddy, can we call mommy?"

He looked at his watch. It was a little after three.

"No, sweetie," he said to his oldest, Marie.

"It's a little after two there and Mommy is probably still working. We'll call her later this evening, after pizza."

A chorus of 'YAYS!' were heard

Now it shifts, to Cassie Simmons, sitting in a bar in El Paso, Texas.

It is Saturday afternoon. She had been working in El Paso since Thursday morning, having arrived the previous night. Her meeting had wrapped about an hour ago, and she was feeling good about the outcome. She wanted this assignment to cement her bid for a junior partnership in the law firm in Houston, where she was an associate. She told her boss she could handle this herself, solo, and she made her case. He told her if the client was pleased, it would almost assuredly lock up her promotion. She was fixated on this promotion, knew she deserved it, and would do almost anything to get it. She knew this assignment was not as difficult as it appeared, and she knew just what to do to land this client. Nothing shady, or unprofessional. Just her brain. But it was what she wanted. She deserved this. And she was going to reward herself. She had booked the return flight for Sunday afternoon, so the rest of the weekend was hers. Yes, she deserved this.

But she was sitting here in a sort of fog. She couldn't focus on anything, just staring at the Mai-Tai in front of her on the bar. It was her favorite drink. Bill always ordered it for her when they went out. It reminded her of her aerospace engineer husband, their three kids, and their dog. It also brought up the 'vision' she had just had of a phone call between her husband, and her brother. But she had never made a phone call. Nor was she aware of one. What was going on? The fog lifted a little, there was background noise, some soft, distant music. An attractive woman was sitting close to her, holding her left hand.

"Cassie? CASSIE!! Listen to me."

Cassie shook her head and turned to stare at the very attractive, slightly Asian-looking beauty.

"Who are you? How do you know my name??"

"I know a lot about you, Cassie. I know Bill is a man, and you are a woman. I know Bill is a father, a good one, and you are a mother, a good one. I know Bill is an excellent aerospace engineer, and you are a very competent lawyer. I know your husband supports your bid for a partnership, even how he worked two other jobs after graduating to help pay for your law degree, and he just turned down a promotion to head the new Mars expedition, because it would have meant moving to California. You didn't know that, did you?? He knew how much you loved your job, and what living here in Texas meant to you. He supported you. I know he is a good and faithful husband. I know you were a good and faithful wife. Now?? Are you now?? I also happen to know you got the promotion." She stared at the woman.

"BUT will it be worth it??"

The cloud cleared some more, and Cassie looked down at the powder blue dress she was wearing. Bill's favorite dress. It showed a little more cleavage than she normally would show when going out, and the tops of her 36-C breasts were prominent, complete with little beads of sweat. The dress ended about four inches above her knees and her legs were showcased in slate gray stockings, ending in 3 1/2 blue high heels. But where were her rings? Her wedding and engagement rings were not on her finger, and on her right hand, her 'mother's ring', with the three birthstones of her children, was missing.

'My rings! Where are my rings??'

As the cloud lifted almost completely, the bartender placed another Mai-Tai in front of her.

"I didn't order this!" she exclaimed. He gestured to her right.

"Compliments of the gentleman." He motioned to the shifty-looking individual sitting on her right side, gently caressing her upper arm. She shuddered and grabbed her purse, opening it frantically.

"STOP THAT! THIS IS WRONG!" she said while rummaging frantically in her purse.

"Oh, come on, beautiful, you know you want to do this. Let's go someplace quieter and talk about it."

"NO! I'm married, and I...."

"Hey, so am I. But it's just the one time, and no one will ever know."

"BUT I WILL!" she quailed as she grabbed her rings from the bottom of her purse. As she did so, her hand brushed the screen on her cell phone. The screen lit up and she glanced at it peeking out of her purse. There was her screen saver- the photo of her, her three children, her husband making funny faces, and her dog, licking her cheek as she howled in laughter. They had taken it on her last birthday, two months ago.

'OH, MY GOD, WHAT WAS I THINKING?', she thought.

The attractive woman on her left stroked the back of her hand.

"I don't know, Cassie. What were you thinking? What were you going to do?? The decision is still up in the air. It's on you. What is it Bill always jokes? 'It's a command decision, toots. I only make tactical decisions.' So what's it going to be??"

Cassie Blanched. She grabbed her rings, put them on, grabbed her phone, and brought up the apps page as she grabbed her phone while she threw a twenty on the counter by the second drink and stood on her sexy heels. She glared at the guy sitting there with a pissed look on his face.

She raced to the doorway to the lobby, thumbing the app on her phone.

"Southwest Airlines Reservations, Pamela speaking. How can I help you?"

"My name is Cassie Simmons. I have a reservation on flight 324 tomorrow evening. Can I cancel and get it changed to the first available flight today, please?? It's an emergency, and I need to....." as she raced to her room to pack. She would travel dressed this way and surprise her husband. He will want to know why. She would struggle with the explanation, but she had to tell him. She would quit her job. It wasn't that important. Her best friend Angela had talked about starting a small law firm. It sounded pretty good right now.

Karma smiled, picked up the twenty-dollar bill, and put it in the tip jar.

"Hey, that was supposed to cover the drink! Are you going to make it up to me, good-looking??" he smirked as he slid over next to her.

She stared at him. The thoughts that formed in his mind made him puke on the floor.

"Hey!" yelled the bartender. "Shit!"

Karma smiled.

'Smart girl,' she thought.

No jokes. It's been a tough week in the real world. So be good to one another. The Bears thank you.

Good Night.