Early Release
This is my first attempt at writing any type of fiction. This is not really a BTB story, more of a KGTB (Karma Gets the Bitch) story. All characters are over 18 years of age. I'd like to thank kenjisato for his help in editing this story.
********
It was an Early Release Day. We had shortened classes and had an early dismissal. Here, we were sitting in the school library listening to the newest mumbo-jumbo that was supposed to increase test scores in math and language arts. My science classes would, once again, be taking a hit because the new plan would be to cut half an hour weekly from my classes to give more time in the two 'tested' curriculums.
This was a meeting that was scheduled to be really long and we had been asked to be prepared to stay until about six PM. Yeah, school administrators are both stupid and assholes. No teacher was going to be fully invested in a meeting that lasted more than three hours past the end of the school day on a Friday. Why in hell would the administration schedule this type of workshop?!? We were supposed to be meeting on suggested changes to next year's bell schedule.
The last-minute change had been requested by Area Superintendent George Bullock. I had never liked him. About a year ago, his brother had taken a job at the same bank where my wife worked and was now her new boss. I wouldn't have known about the connection, except that Sharon had been complaining about him being an egotistical asshole and bragging about how he and his brother both held prestigious positions. At least, she complained about him until about a month ago.
Shortly after the meeting started, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I ignored it because we were actually supposed to have them turned off and it was a number that looked familiar, but with no name attached. Whoever it was, tried several times and stopped. I almost answered, but I was pretty sure I had a name attached to all my important numbers. I had been getting those annoying 'we want to buy your house' calls. I just ignored it.
Turning off phones was unusual, because most of the teachers were parents and should be expected to be able to be reached by their kids. I found out later that it was a request of the same asshole, Mr. Bullock, that scheduled this workshop last minute.
About five minutes later, my phone started buzzing again. I risked a peek at the number. It was Cindy Wallace, one of my wife's coworkers and best friend. They didn't work in the same department. Sharon was an executive assistant for Benson Bullock, and Cindy worked in the loan department. It was a fairly large building and they usually only saw each other at lunch and as they were leaving. They went to high school and college together, and had remained strong friends. Wondering why Cindy would be calling me, I told my coworkers I had to go to the restroom and walked out into the hallway.
"Tom! You need to call Sharon. Leave the workshop right now and call her! Do it!" And she hung up.
Damn! Did I forget something? I knew it wasn't our anniversary; I couldn't forget that-- it was the day after my birthday. I used to say it was the best birthday present ever! In eight years of marriage, I can honestly say I had never forgotten an anniversary. Had I forgotten an appointment, or something? No, I would always put reminders in my phone as soon as I scheduled anything, or if Sharon told me she had scheduled something. I would get notifications at least one day before, if not more.
I walked to the end of the hallway and out the door because the signal in the building was terrible. Sharon's phone rang and rang, and went to voicemail. I left a message to call me back, adding, "I Love You!" I tried again. Still no response. I tried about five times and gave up, then called Cindy back.
"Tom, did you get a hold of her?"
"No. I left a message and tried four more times, but no response."
"Tom, this is really important. I need you to meet me at Bean's & Things (a local coffee house) as soon as you can. Can you leave school now?"
I started to get a really bad feeling. "Yeah. I'm leaving now."
I went out to the staff parking lot and was heading out before I realized I hadn't told anyone I was leaving. Fuck it! This was too important.
That was when my phone started ringing. I was driving, so I didn't look at the number, I just hit the CarSync button to answer. I was sure it was Sharon calling me back about the message I had left. I was surprised to hear the voice of George Bullock. He was furious, wanting to know where I was. I told him I was feeling sick and was headed home. He demanded that I turn around and get back to school right now. I didn't know why I did it, but I lied.
"Sure, Mr. Bullock. I'll turn around at the next exit. I'm on the Beltline and there is an exit ahead. I'll warn you, though, I'll have to hit the john as soon as I get there and it might not be pleasant. I'll use one further away from the library. I don't want to affect anyone that has to take a break during the meeting. I'll be back in the meeting as soon as I can."
Apparently that satisfied him because he grumbled, "Get back here and get back in the meeting."
Of course, I had no intention of getting back to the meeting because at that moment I was pulling up to Bean's & Things. I walked in and was getting ready to order a large black coffee when I heard my name from the back corner. I walked over and saw two large coffees on the table.
"Sharon always said you preferred black and you're going to need a large for this conversation."
I didn't like the sound of that at all. As I sat down, I asked, "What is this about, Cindy? I tried calling Sharon again right before coming inside and got voicemail again."
Cindy reached over and put her hand on top of mine. "Tom, I want you to know I had no advance warning. Sharon told me what she was doing right before she left at lunchtime. Please don't hate me for being the bearer of bad news. I will let you know, I'm going to give you the truth, not the lie she asked me to share with you."
With that, I knew my wife had left me. I didn't know the specifics, but I knew she had done something. For the past few days, she had been a lot less responsive in the bedroom. She had been texting while watching TV at night, which she normally didn't do, but I didn't think too much about it-- 'til then.
At first, I didn't realize I was sobbing uncontrollably, or that Cindy was kneeling beside me, trying to soothe me. After a few minutes, I was able to get myself together. I had to hear what Cindy knew. She got back up, gave a few stern stares to people that were watching us, and sat back down.
*********
Sharon and I had met in college; we were in education classes together our sophomore year. Sharon was a very plain girl when I first met her. We became friends and even study buddies, but nothing more than that. I was having to work a lot to help pay for my schooling. My parents were both teachers and it's true that teachers don't make a lot of money. I didn't have time for a social life, and to be honest, I really didn't care at the time. That was until I showed up one evening to study for a math exam.
Sharon had come from a fairly rich family, but also a very conservative one. She never dressed to show off her looks. She had long brown hair that she wore straight, and by long, it hung just past her ass; she always had to pull it to the side when she sat down. I always thought it was cute.
What met me at the door was not cute-- not by a long shot. Apparently, her friend Cindy had convinced her to do a makeover. Sharon had warned me that she might look different when I got to her dorm room. I found out later that Sharon had told Cindy that she was interested in me, but that I had never shown the first indication that I was interested. That night, I lied and told her that I didn't think she was interested in me as anything other than a friend, and I didn't want to ruin that. Honestly, she just wasn't on my radar. We were just friends and she was just plain.
Not that night! She had her hair cut to just below the shoulders, curled to frame her face. Normally, she wore a headband, to hold back her hair so it just fell down her back. She was also wearing makeup, which I had never seen her do before. And her baggy clothes had been replaced by a tight, pink cashmere sweater X and tight blue jeans.
I didn't know how long I stood there with my mouth open, but she was pleased enough with my reaction to just stand still, long enough for my mouth to start to dry up. OK. She wasn't still. She was twisting back and forth at the waist, and I was mesmerized by tits I never knew she had; while they weren't enormous, I found out later they were 36Cs. I had always been more drawn to eyes and legs, but, right then, I couldn't stop staring.
When I lifted my eyes to look into hers, I noticed that she had the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen. I felt like an idiot for not noticing them before. I did say I was an eyes and leg man. Why I had never noticed before, I'd never know. Needless to say, I didn't get much studying done that night. Neither did Sharon, but we both passed the exam the next day, anyway. I was sure my grade was due to the fact that Sharon told me that if I scored higher than her, she would treat me to a movie the next weekend. I don't remember what her reward would have been, but I'd never regret staying up all night to study after I left her dorm.
Sharon ended up changing majors to get a finance degree, but teaching was what I really wanted to do. We no longer had many classes together, but we started a sharing lot of time together anyway. We dated through the rest of college and ended up getting married shortly after graduation. I got a teaching job in the same city where she started working at a bank. She started her job shortly after graduation, but I had to wait a little while to see if any teaching jobs would open up over the summer.
After we married, we found a house south of Raleigh. It was a little bit of a drive for both of us, but our jobs were close to each other, so we carpooled. Every once in a while, one of us would have an appointment or something like the workshop, so our second car was just an old Toyota Corolla. Nothing to look at, but reliable. I didn't mind staying a little later at school to grade papers, but it was a little bit more difficult for her to have to get to work so early since school started a lot earlier than her banker's hours. In the long run, it actually helped her advance in her job to get a better paying position, because the bosses all thought that she was just a dedicated employee. She never let them know otherwise.
