Costco Retribution

I guess I dropped the ball somewhere along the line. We had been married eighteen years, and things were not going well. My wife was a cold, miserable bitch, and my two kids were not much better. I tried, I really did, but nothing seemed to help. Not all of us get to be Engineers, Lawyers, or Doctors. Some of us just end up with normal blue-collar jobs, making normal blue-collar wages.

With just a high school diploma, I felt I was doing pretty well. I was a parts puller for Esterly Pneumatic. We manufactured pumps for irrigation systems and other similar applications. I knew my job and I did it well. The salary was good, but not great, though it did include family medical. We had a nice little three-bedroom house, in a good neighborhood. It still had ten years to go on the mortgage, but it was ours. We both drove fairly new, paid-for cars.

I grew up on a small farm in Schuylkill County. When I was sixteen my family moved to Reading. My parents still own the farm and use it on weekends and during the holidays. My two brothers are both in the service. I met my wife Teresa when I started Reading Senior High School. It was love at first sight. Yes, I was a bit naive.

After several entry-level jobs I ended up at Esterly and felt that I found a home. I liked the job and worked hard to prove myself. Teresa worked at one of the local malls, up until she got pregnant. I was a fanatic about budgeting, so having a baby did not create any great financial problems for us. Our daughter Karen came first and then Perry a year later. I got clipped.

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Everything was great; Norman Rockwell great, until about four years ago. Teresa got a job as a contract secretary, for one of the largest car dealers in town. After about a year she was making more money than I was and had a company car to boot. Of course, this also included her working longer hours and on weekends. The more money she made the snarkier she got. It started with snide little comments and after a while, she just began making derogatory remarks directly to my face. To make things even worse, she was doing it in front of the kids. After a short time, the kids became as rotten as she was. They avoided me every chance they got and when they were around they were not pleasant to be with. It only took a year or two for everything to go to hell.

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For some reason, I thought that if I got a dog, things would get better. I was hoping that it perk the kids up a bit. Of course it had to be a repro dog, I couldn't see spending money on some kind of fancy dog. I ended up with a Great Dane/Chow mix. He was ugly as sin but lovable.

The kids hated him. He needed a name. They weren't interested. I suggested 'Cisco' and Perry said 'Costco' would be more like it.

He tried; he really tried. Costco followed the kids everywhere. He tried to sleep with them, but they both kicked him out of their beds. They refused to walk him, feed him, or clean up after him. After about six months he just gave up and became my dog. I was happy with the dog but disappointed with the kids. Not only did they ignore him, they were actually mean to him, in so many different ways. I hated to leave him alone with them when I went to work.

As my family life deteriorated, my personality and habits also started to change. Although Teresa and I still shared a bed, I no longer instigated sex. Occasionally Teresa would be feeling a bit horny and start something. I never turned her down, but there was no enthusiasm on my part. Costco slept on the floor aside from my side of the bed.

I skipped breakfast at home in the mornings. I was soon a Waffle House regular. I just had fast food for lunch, usually. Some days a couple of guys would go out for a sit-down lunch, but not too often. I also started to work later and by the time I got home, Teresa and the kids had already eaten. She usually left me something to warm up. It only took a few months to perfect this routine.

On the weekends, I did all of the required house and yard work. There was no way that my son, Perry, would even consider helping. I stopped even asking, and there was no way that I could possibly demand him to help. Teresa would put an immediate stop to that. With the yard work done, Costco and I would leave for the farm. I always went alone. The wife and kids detested the farm. It was fall, so all the fruit trees and bushes had to be trimmed. I had no trouble finding plenty of stuff to do. Some weekends, my dad, and maybe mom, would also show up to work and just relax.

During the week I spent my evenings watching TV and surfing on my computer. The kids were always out of the house or maybe sulking about in their rooms. When Teresa was not into her Kindle, she was out with her girlfriends or shopping or whatever. I didn't care as long as she didn't embarrass me. Of course that is exactly what happened.

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It was a Monday morning when everything started to go to hell.

"Morning, John! How come we didn't see you Saturday night at the Crab Shack?" Grady Bumpus was one of the project engineers at Esterly. He handed me a pic-sheet.

"I was pruning the apple trees up at the farm. Why did you expect to see me?"

"Teresa was there and we just assumed that you were someplace around."

"Was she alone?"

"No! It looked as if she was with a few people from her work. Maybe it was a company function of sorts. It is a bit pricey."

"Yeah! That must be it. I can't afford places like that."

"Well, Teresa looked good. Didn't look like she was dressed for work."

As Grady walked away my assistant, Bernie leaned over. "Boss she goes there a lot. My sister is a waitress at the Crab Shack. Teresa goes there several times a month with her boss, Tony DeMarco."

"How long has this been going on?"

"I don't know. Couple of months I guess."

Tony DeMarco ran Berkshire Motors. He was Teresa's immediate boss. They sold Range Rovers, Audi and Jaguars. I didn't like some of the things that I was hearing, but I should have been prepared for it.

As Bernie was leaving work, I stopped him. "Can you find out if they are going anywhere else, other than the Crab Shack, I mean? Maybe your sister would know?" He just nodded.

My simple inquiry blossomed into something that I was not expecting.

It seems that my wife and DeMarco were regulars at the Purple Onion Piano Bar, The Star Bright Dance Hall, and the Airport Holiday Inn.

Now I was Mad! Before I was indifferent, but now I was mad. She wasn't even trying to hide it.

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Who could blame her? I was a lousy husband. However it was not my fault. I tried! I tried for years. Flowers, candy, gifts, dinners out, and vacations. Nothing worked. I stopped trying.

For some reason or other, things got worse at work. I was catching little comments and snickers from some of the floor guys and a couple of the engineers. I picked up the words 'cuck' and 'loser' quite a few times. Most of the guys didn't say anything, but I got a lot of odd looks and smirks that I never noticed before. Hell, maybe it was in my imagination, but I don't think so. I started letting Bernie work the job desk and I spent more time than normal doing backroom inventory checks. I was late for work a few times and then I started to leave earlier than I normally did. It was noticed.

I started sleeping on the couch in the den. That was noticed of course, by my wife. She commented on it one time and then dropped it. There was less yard work to do this time of year, so Costco and I started going up to the farm on Fridays. After a while, I started to take Fridays off at work and spent the whole weekend away. I had plenty of vacation time accumulated. Bernie appreciated the time to work the front desk.

I was becoming very bitter. I tried to do my best to be a husband and a father. It looks like I came up short. I knew it was my fault and I knew that I should have done better. Slowly the sadness was turning to hate and anger. I had not done anything wrong. I found myself becoming a victim. I changed my political affiliation.

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It was a snowy Thursday night. I was home and the kids were home, but no Teresa. The snow was pretty heavy, and even under the circumstances, I was a bit worried. Just after nine o'clock, the phone rang.

"John, It's Teresa. I just wanted to let you know that because of the weather, I won't be able to get home tonight. Just don't call the police or do anything stupid. I will be fine."

"What does that mean? Where are you and what are you doing?"

"We are at the Philadelphia Conference Center for the New Car Expo. The snow is too heavy to drive home. Especially on the Schuylkill Expressway. We are going to stay overnight at the Radisson. Don't worry the company is going to pick up the tab. I should be back tomorrow."

"Hold up a moment. Who is this 'we' you are talking about?"

"Geeze John! It's Tony of course. Who did you think I would be down here with? Now just relax. We will be back tomorrow afternoon sometime. Take care of the kids." I think she laughed when she said that. She disconnected.

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I drove a Jeep Wrangler. I had four-wheel drive, snow tires, and a tank of gas. I grabbed a 'DeMarco Motors baseball cap out of the coat closet that Teresa used to wear at the company outings and hit the road. The kids would be fine. They didn't even know that I was home, let alone, that I left. Yes, the Schuylkill Expressway was a mess, but I did make it. When I arrived I filled up the gas and picked up a FedX overnight express envelope at a jiffy store. There was plenty of parking at the Radisson underground lot.

"I have an emergency delivery for Mister Anthony DeMarco of DeMarco Motors." I waved the Fedx Envelope very quickly and made sure the desk clerk saw my company cap. He held out his hand and I just shook my head. "Has to be hand delivered." With great hesitancy, he signed and said "Three twenty two"

DeMarco opened the door and I immediately rushed forward and hit him square on the left jaw full force. The pain in my hand was incredible. Before I could do anything else he was all over me. He was six inches taller than I was and outweighed me by at least forty pounds. I remember hearing Teresa yelling at him to stop and that was about all I remembered.

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It was dark when I woke up. I could tell that I was in a hospital room by the smell and the background noises. It only took me a few seconds to put everything together. I lost my temper. I attack a man bigger than me, and I got the crap beaten out of me. I decided to think about all that later. Right now I had to take a leak.

That was never going to happen. I had so many tubes and wires hanging from different parts of my body that I quickly concluded that I was not supposed to get out of bed. I found a button by the bed rail and a few minutes later Nurse Ratchet arrived.

"I need to pee!"

"Go right ahead. You are hooked up to a catheter. You have been attached for over two days. I will notify one of the duty doctors that you are awake. He will need to talk with you. Don't go anywhere." She was snickering a bit as she walked out the door. Not being nasty, just amused by her own humor.

Doctor Cobb Alexander was a big guy. "Mister Conrad. I am glad to see that you have decided to join us. You have luckily been out of commission for the last thirty hours or so. We kept you under sedation so that you would have a better chance to start healing. Unfortunately, you have quite a few problems that had to be addressed; some minor and some major. Any questions?"

"Can I get some water?" It was difficult to talk with my jaw wired shut. Nurse Ratchet was right on it.

"To start with, you have three cracked ribs and multiple bruises on your torso. It appears that you have been beaten rather severely about the body." He flipped the page over on his clipboard.

"You have lost three teeth, and your jaw has been fractured. Your nose is broken. We are not sure at this point, but it looks as if you will lose the sight in your left eye. We will know for certain in a few more days." He paused so that I could absorb what he had said and let out a small sigh. "And sometime during all of this you managed to break your right hand."

I was cognizant enough to understand what he was saying, and at the same time drowsy from painkillers. I sort of drifted off before he was done. The next thing I knew it was morning.

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"Geeze! John. It's about time you woke up. We've been sitting here over an hour." I recognized her voice immediately. I glanced over and saw Teresa with Karen and Perry. The kids didn't even bother to look up from their cell phones. I sort of nodded my head when I looked at them. I didn't feel like trying to speak. I was wondering if I could fake falling asleep.

"The snow is pretty much cleaned from the roads, but it was still a long drive to get down here. We are not going to be able to do this regularly, John. You either have to get out or get transferred to a facility closer to home. I can't be pulling the kids out of school either."

I still didn't feel like saying anything. I was wondering if my parents or brother knew that I was here.

"John! John! Do you have anything to say? We didn't come all this way just to have you lay there like a dummy." I smiled the best that I could and nodded my head. I could sort of speak; not well, but good enough to get my point across if necessary. I decided not to let Teresa know that.

Everything was silent for a few minutes. It seemed longer. Finally Teresa opened up again. "Kids! Say something to your father. We didn't come all this way for nothing."

Karen stopped playing with her phone and looked up. "Get well, Dad. Hurry home. The sidewalk needs to be shoveled." Perry didn't even bother to look up; "Yeah! Me too!" he said.

I was overwhelmed with all of the compassion and remorse.

We sat quietly for about ten more minutes. Finally, Teresa got up and gathered her things. "Come on, kids. We'll try and get back down to see you Saturday if it doesn't snow or anything. I hope that you will be a little more responsive by then." I smiled and waved with my good left hand as they left.

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Things improved greatly over the next few days. The catheter came out as did most of the tubes and wires. I was able to use the toilet by myself. Doc Alexander seemed to think that that was a big milestone. My broken jaw was not as bad as they first thought. They reset my nose. Unfortunately, I lost ninety percent of my vision in my left eye. One of the nurses did bring in an eye patch and they all seemed to have a little fun with me wearing it. They even had a dentist on staff. Boy, was I glad that I had good medical coverage?

I charged my phone and had one of the nurses call my parents. Teresa had never contacted them and they had no idea that anything had happened. My parents and brother were there the next day. I had my brother pick up the Jeep and bring it to the Hospital Parking Garage. Mom and Dad were going to get the farmhouse set up so that I could do my rehabilitation there. Mom offered to stay with me as long as needed.

Teresa and the kids never came back to the hospital.

I had a whole lot of accrued vacation time and also a generous amount of sick leave available. That would be a big help.

Four days later I was on the road to Schuylkill County and the farmhouse. I was wondering if I should notify the DMV that I was now blind in one eye. Maybe later.

I asked Dad to get Costco and bring him to the farm.

"I am sorry John, but I can't do that."

"What do you mean? Just get him and his stuff and bring him up. I am sure that Teresa and the kids won't mind."

"John! I don't know how to tell you this, but there had been some problems and The vet had to put Costco down."

"What the hell are you talking about? He was in perfect health. Why would they have to put him down?" Dad seemed reluctant to continue and Mom left the room.

"John, his injuries were too severe. The vet said that it would be cruel to try and fix him up and expensive as hell. Teresa was forced to make the decision."

"What the hell happened? Did he get hit by a car or something?"

"John! I know you are not supposed to drink while you are under medication, but do you want a beer?"

"No! Damn it. What the hell happened to my dog."

"I'll try and make this short. Tony DeMarco moved into your house about a week after your 'accident'. Costco and Tony did not get along. Tony took a belt to him one day for something or other and Costco didn't like it. He bit Tony. He bit him bad, and then Tony beat the shit out of him. Teresa at least had the good sense to take Costco to the vet, but it was too late. I picked Costco up from the vet and buried him on the hill behind the farmhouse. I'll show you where tomorrow."

I drank two beers.

Mom stayed with me for about a week. She just wanted to make sure that I could function for myself. As my ribs healed, I started to jog a little bit every day. It hurt at first.

Teresa never called. She knew where I was, but never visited or brought the kids to see me. My therapy workouts slowly turned into body-building exercises. Mom and Dad brought all of my clothes and personal belongings to the farm. Teresa did not object and actually helped load them.

I lost my job and I now had no income. I still had access to all of our family banking accounts. I was amazed that Teresa had not emptied them out. The utilities and mortgage were all on auto-pay and there was enough in the accounts to cover everything for several months yet. I assumed that Tony was taking care of all of her other expenses, plus she still had her own income which she kept separate anyhow.

Jogging and working out made me bitter. As I improved, I started taking care of things around the farm. I missed Costco. Amazingly, I did not miss any of my family.

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Vengeance became important to me. I didn't want vengeance for what he did to me, I wanted it for what he did to Costco.

I had my Jeep, but I very seldom used it. If I had to get something for the farm in town I took the farm truck. It was an old F100 stick shift with a winch mounted on the bed and a plow on the front. If I had to make some trips back to Reading, I used the Jeep.

The first place that I hit was the military surplus store. I couldn't decide which taser I wanted, so I bought both of them. I also got a pack of large zip ties and a roll of duct tape. I bought a retractable baton, but I don't know why, because I had no idea how to use it.

That was the easy part.

I ended up spending almost two weeks stalking Tony DeMarco before I was able to determine where the best place would be to pick him up. Like most people, he was a creature of habit. Thursday night he met at the Mountville Tavern with some old high school buddies. Who the hell hangs out with high school friends twenty years after graduation? Anyhow, I was able to park the farm truck close to his Black Range Rover; the one with the flat tire.

Two hours later Tony came out and found his flat tire. There is no way that I could have gotten his massive body in the back of that truck without the winch. I had to zap him twice with the taser. I decided to use the zip ties and the duct tape, just to be safe. With the canvas tarp on top of him, I headed back to the farm. Costco was waiting.

Things don't always work out as planned. I had no idea how long the effects of the taser would keep Tony docile. I was sure that the zip ties and duct tape would be enough just in case. But I was worried.