Good things come in small packages
Wife flirts with fellow jockey
My horse just reached the front as he turned into the stretch. I had one hundred bucks on his nose, and he was at excellent Odds. His nose was about one inch ahead of the second horse as he crossed the finish line. I had won twelve hundred bucks on that race. Since I did not have any other horses I liked for the day, I left the track.
I worked part-time as a computer programmer but made money at the track. No one knew how well I did, including my wife, Mary.
She would be working late on a vital project tonight and would not get home until eight or nine o'clock. I decided to call her at work and take her out for dinner and dancing. She answered her cell phone and sadly declined my offer for dinner.
I decided to stop at a tavern for a hamburger and beer. There was my wife's yellow car. She had told me she would be at work all day. I entered the side door. I rang her phone and stepped inside. I heard it ringing in a booth on the side of the room. I sat in the booth behind it. She was annoyed and asked me why I called. I told her it was a mistake and hung up.
I listened to the conversation in her booth. She said Gary, "Shorty called by mistake."
I am short. Five foot, four inches, but she never has called me Shorty to my face.
Gary said, "That's not going to interfere with us."
Mary replied," Hell no, I have been looking forward to your fat cock all week.".
Gary replied," Doesn't Shorty do it for you?"
"Yes, he is a great lover. I crave variety. He is very generous. Our safe is full of expensive jewels he gave me. I have a fling every so often. I am cautious so he doesn't find out. I would be crushed if he found out He is a great husband,
I left the bar. I went to the bank. I took one-half of the checking and savings accounts. I closed our joint credit cards. Next, I went home and packed up. She owned the house. I took my clothes and computer. I opened the safe and took all the jewelry I had given her. I left a note with my ring on top.
Dear Mary,
Goodbye. I hope you enjoyed Gary and your other lovers. You will never see Shorty again.
I always loved you and tried to be good to you. Now all I can say is, "Fuck you slut."
Shorty
George (The cuck) Morris
I was in California. I left, driving east toward New York.
Mary
When I arrived home, I realized George's car wasn't there. The house was empty. On the kitchen table was a note. When I read it, I was horrified. I thought even if George caught me, he would stay. How did he know I called him Shorty? How did he know about Gary? How could I get in touch with him? I knew I dug a hole I wouldn't get out of. I was anxious and depressed. I lost a terrific husband. We had planned on several children. He was a potential great father.
George
Whenever I felt tired, I would stop at a Motel for the night. When I reached New Jersey, I drove to the Monmouth Park track and found a motel as close as possible. I bought a Racing Form and checked out the next day's card. The activity would keep me busy and free me from my depression.
Mary had done a job on me. I couldn't get her out of my head. Nothing I did should cause her infidelity.
That night, I worked hard on the next day's card at Monmouth. I found one attractive race. The fifth had a horse that couldn't lose. He came in second.
While I was there, I mingled with the crowd. Race fans are typically a friendly group. From my conversations, I learned that the jockeys and the trainers often stopped at a local bar at the end of the day. The trainers would get jockeys to ride their mounts in workouts. The jocks would try to induce the trainers to hire them.
I stopped at the bar. The trainers and the jocks were at tables having conversations. I stayed for a while and then left. For the next few weeks, I would stop at the bar every day. One night, a doll walked in the door. She was very short, as short as the jocks. Her hair was a beautiful black. Her face was a young Liz Taylor. I soon found out she was also a jockey named Elizabeth Toreo. She mainly rode for just one trainer, Joe Farley. I checked her record. She was reasonably good. Trainers did not like female jocks, so she depended on Farley for most of her work. She was hit on regularly, but she never responded positively. She would only stay for one drink and then leave.
One night, I purposely walked into her. She spilled her drink on my clothes. She apologized, and we got into a conversation. I told her I was looking to become a claiming horse owner. I needed a trainer to help me get started. She introduced me to Farley. He asked me to stop by his office and talk to him.
She said, "I am going to dinner. Let me know how you do with Joe."
I responded," I am going to dinner also. Can I join you?"
She hesitated and then replied, "Why not?"
We went to a diner close by. I told her I was separated from my wife. I explained the reasons. She listened without commenting. She and I talked for two hours. We both left and went home.
The next day, I talked to Joe. I said I would like to claim horses in the ten thousand dollar bracket. I had a computer program that would give me a read on the horse's form. Joe then looked at the horses' connections and told me his thoughts. I will provide him with my first two choices next week. I also told him I wanted Elizabeth Torio to ride my horses.
Meanwhile, Liz and I met at the bar every night and then went to dinner. She was my bright spot every day. The track was closed on Mondays, so I asked Liz to go to the shore with me. Our first stop was Long Branch. We had hot dogs at the "Wind Mill. " They were delicious. They are fatter than the typical dog. Liz had never tasted them and loved them. We walked the boardwalk and talked. It seemed we both enjoyed talking to one another. She was a staunch Catholic. She would not have sex until she was married. I did not have a problem with her position. I would love to have Liz; her company was terrific, so I suffered silently. We would kiss and neck, but only for a short while.
I had promised myself I would never marry again after my last debacle. When I was with Liz, remembering that promise was getting harder and harder. I was crazy for her immediately. She did seem to share the crazy part, but I was not sure she was as attracted to me.
I again met with Joe to discuss my two horse picks for claiming. Both he liked. We put a claim in on a nag called Tomahawk. Her form, according to my figures, was excellent. Joe told me the connections were honest and doubted they would ever put a damaged horse in a race.
The track scheduled Tomahawk to run in a 10k claimer next week. Joe filled out the paperwork, and we filed it in the claiming box the day before the race.
Here's how it works. The horse runs in the race. The current owner gets any prize money the horse wins in the race. After the race, the claimer owns the horse. If the horse dies in that race, he still owns it.
Joe, Liz, and I watched the race I had claimed Tomahawk in. He was a closer. He got jammed in the stretch behind three horses and came in fourth. Jamming gave the horse greater odds. The jamming wasn't disappointing. Closers often got crowded. People were discouraged from betting on closers.
I knew that Liz was good with closers. The jockey is the key to closers winning. They have to make crucial decisions during the race. They decide whether to be close to the rail or outside at different points in the race. They also control the speed of the horse. They decide when the time is to pour on the gas. Even good jockeys make mistakes. The trainer guides them, but they must respond to the race conditions once the race starts.
Joe would decide what race to pick for Tomahawk's next start.
Mary
After George's note, I fell into a deep depression. I did not know any way to locate him. I kept hoping he would return so I could at least talk to him. I went to counseling, which did help with my depression. The counselor was not very optimistic about George returning. She suggested I prepare for that conclusion.
I returned to the dating game. It was not as fun or exciting as I remember it. The sex was usually unsatisfactory. I would give George anything to return.
George
Elizabeth and I continued dating. We also spent much of our time discussing horses. It was never dull. We went to local plays and occasionally a Broadway show. I never danced with Mary because she was so much taller than me. People would stare. With Liz, it felt appropriate. Both Liz and I started dancing quite often and enjoyed ourselves. I decided to take lessons. I had claimed a few more horses and was making money. I taught Elisabeth how I used the computer to select the horses I bet on. I also always bet on my claiming horses when they were running.
We were doing quite well. I did not believe I would ever want to get married again, but that changed. I wanted to spend our life together. I decided a conversation with Liz about our future was due.