You should read Apples 1 & 2 before this final chapter of the story. Any sexual activity in this fictitious tale is between consenting adults. Had to finish this one pretty quickly, hope I caught most edits. For those who are looking for more of a BTB story, save yourself the time and save me from reading your comments. Every once and a while things work out.
"Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die."
Anne Lamott
It had been four months since Sally Reynolds-Patterson had been confronted by her father and then her husband Jim. She had called her dad, trying to force him to attend his granddaughter's 4th birthday party alongside his cheating ex-wife Martha Taylor. (Martha went back to her maiden name immediately after the divorce just over two years ago.) When daddy refused, he also hinted he was aware of her flirtatious and physical relationship with a man named Josh from her daughter's pre-school.
When Sally hung up the phone, Jim confronted her. In no uncertain terms he gave her the option to come clean or face the consequences of her actions. To her credit she chose wisely, realizing how close she had come to destroying her life and the lives of those she claimed to hold dear.
Marriage counseling had been significant. Sally also went to see a separate counselor for her own baggage. She and Jim were well along the pathway to healing the hurt she caused. She never knew why, but the man who had been actively seducing her suddenly broke off all contact. He pulled his son out of the pre-school and enrolled him somewhere else. Apparently, his wife left him and took him to the cleaners in the divorce. Only the depth of Josh's family's pockets kept him out of the poor house.
Martha Taylor was 51 years-old and still stunning. At 5'7" her shoulder length auburn hair and deep blue eyes captured almost any man's attention. However, most men didn't stop at the face. As they allowed their eyes to wander, they were treated to a shapely 35c-27-35 body that sat atop "legs that wouldn't quit." Along with her looks came a sharp mind. She taught English Literature at the local state university and was well liked by students and faculty.
Her reputation had taken a pretty good hit when it was discovered she was cheating on her husband. Mike Reynolds was a good looking, highly respected and successful businessman. Martha had, what she thought was a secret fling with a young teaching assistant. She believed she deserved it and hubby would be none the wiser. She was wrong on both counts.
Mike offered her the opportunity to confess and repent of her ways. He promised he'd give their marriage a fair chance to survive although he was deeply wounded by her actions. She decided a good offense was the best defense and attacked him as old fashioned and uncaring of her true needs. She was genuinely shocked when, three days later she was served with divorce papers. She was even more stunned when several of her female colleagues asked her for Mike's contact information since he would soon be back on the market. One of them was another young teaching assistant, Erin Burgess a gorgeous 31-year-old from this History Department. "What a slut," Martha thought, oblivious to the notion of the pot calling the kettle black.
Two years after the divorce Mike still refused to be around her and worse, her paramour, young William, had kicked her to the curb. He had become an Associate Professor, and oddly, had similar notions of fidelity to those held by her ex-husband. Martha had begun a fling with a local restaurant owner, Miles Keller, who had a reputation as a ladies' man. He also had a couple of STDs which he failed to mention. Martha was soon infected. She'd wrongly assumed William would be understanding. Martha had also misjudged Miles who immediately blocked her calls and texts. Apparently being book smart doesn't make one immune to a lack of self-awareness or common sense.
To top it off, at her moment of crisis, Martha's daughter turned on her. Up to that point Sally had staunchly stood by her mother's freedom to choose how to live her life and with whom she would share her body. Then suddenly out of the blue, Sally recanted her position, informing her mother that she'd been wrong. She explained that Martha's attitude had rubbed off on her and almost capsized her marriage. Sally and her son-in-law Jim didn't exclude Martha from their lives. They allowed her to see her 4-year-old granddaughter Emily at least once a week. But they severely cut back on their time with her, making it clear that if she spouted her nonsensical views to their daughter, she'd be shut out.
So, it was on an early fall afternoon Martha found herself alone in a very small one-bedroom apartment with nothing to do, and no friends with which to entertain herself. For the first time in a long time she took the opportunity to reflect. She had been declared free of any lingering infections from the STDs by her doctor two week earlier, yet the idea of being sexually active with any man right now repulsed her.
However, the longer she sat and thought, the more she realized she wasn't repelled by the notion of sex. She thoroughly enjoyed sex. What was beginning to dawn on her was the fact that she was feeling disgusted by her actions of giving herself away to men who were not her husband. Martha was realizing fidelity to one you claimed to love should be one of the most erotic experiences of your life. She remembered that the emotional connection she felt when Mike ravaged her sexually was just as important as his physical touch.
"And damn, did that man know how to touch," she found herself musing. There were times when Mike made sweet love to her, often holding her afterwards whispering how much he loved her as she drifted off to sleep. At other times he attacked her and gave her the good fucking she needed. She realized he didn't intuitively know which she needed when. She began to understand he was reading her. She would come home sassy or a bit on edge and it was in those moments he'd toss her over his shoulder and carry her to their marriage bed, or the ottoman in the living room, or bend her over the kitchen table. It came to her that she was subconsciously telling her husband what she needed, and he met her right where she was."
"He wasn't perfect," she continued to muse, "But he was caring. Yes, we'd fight from time to time, and he could occasionally be aloof, but nobody's perfect. He was a man, to be sure, and he'd been her man, until she pissed it all away because she allowed herself to be seduced by young William. 'Little Billy, as Mike called him with contempt, had proven he couldn't measure up to Mike, but she also had to admit, she earned his disdain as well. She'd cheated on him with Miles, just for the thrill and now she was alone.
There's something to be said for self-reflection that leads to self-revelation. The best lessons in life are the lessons of self-discovery. Maybe because you don't give yourself anywhere to run or hide. When you're willing to sit alone with the truth for some amount of time, clarity can lead you to a new and better pathway. Martha Taylor had just taken the first steps on that journey.
The next day she invited her daughter to coffee. She asked her to come alone, without Emily which caught Sally off-guard. Like any other grandmother in the universe Martha loved seeing her "little Em" so asking Jim to keep her while they talked was beyond rare. Ironically, Jim, who adored his father-in-law had called Mike. They took Emily to her favorite park while the ladies met.
Mother and daughter sat on the patio of their favorite local barista "The Bean Counter" sipping their drinks. Once they had dispensed with the chit chat, they got down to it.
"What's up Martha?" Sally could always tell when her mom was uneasy and calling her by her first name usually made her smile and put her at ease.
"Cute honey, can we please talk seriously for a few minutes?"
Sally smiled, "Of course mom, you just look like something heavy is on you, so I wanted to help you take a deep breath and dive in."
"Thank you. I've been thinking long and hard about my life and choices. You and Jim calling me up short a few months ago hurt but didn't jolt me enough to force me into self-reflection. I just thought your father had somehow won you over to his way of thinking. Upon taking serious time considering who I've become, I realized that I don't like what I see looking back at me in the mirror."
Sally was leaning forward listening carefully without responding.
Martha continued, "For whatever reason, I'm still not completely sure why, I felt I had the right to sleep with 'Little Billy' and Mike should just accept it. I convinced myself that if he truly loved me, he'd let me have some fun without any serious rebuke. Deep down, I knew he wasn't that kind of man, but that just made me angry and more determined to have my way. I should have spoken with him about my temptation and feelings. I should have given him the chance to walk with me through the issues, but I didn't. I just shut him out and went on my merry way."
"When it blew up in my face, I quickly blamed him. I never thought about how it hurt him, I fixated on my wants, my rights, and my whims. I realize now I was immature and acting like a spoiled brat. The universe doesn't revolve around me, and as a wife, I had responsibilities I ignored. I took vows before God, my family, and friends but I tossed those aside. I was petulant and childish. Once or twice, I had the fleeting thought I should admit my errors and beg for his forgiveness, but my pride never let me... No, that's not right. That makes me sound like a victim. I chose to be stubborn and proud instead of keeping my promises to your father and our marriage.
"Worse, I somehow convinced you I was right, and he was wrong. I got you in my corner, not out of love or care, but out of selfishness. I wanted to bully him into letting me have my way. In the process, I destroyed my marriage, hurt an amazing man more deeply than anyone should ever be hurt, and almost upended your relationship with Jim."
"I'm still processing, and have a long way to go, but Sally, I am beginning by asking for your forgiveness. I wronged you and Jim. I'll ask for his as well when I talk to him, but this morning, I needed to look you in the eye, tell you what a fool I've been and ask you to forgive your idiot mother."
The words were barely out of Martha's mouth when Sally came across the table, spilling her coffee as she hugged her mother so hard, she almost cracked one of her ribs! She held her for a long moment, to the point other patrons were beginning to stare. She didn't care. They both began to cry.
"Of course, I forgive you mom," Sally stated emphatically, finally releasing the death grip and wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm sure we'll need to talk more and work through the hurt in our relationship, but I'm so glad to hear your words!" They sat back down and continued to talk.
Two hours later Sally glanced at her phone. "Shit! It's almost lunch time and I told Jim I'd be back before noon." She quickly texted him and told him she'd be home in twenty minutes. He texted back telling her everything on the home front was fine and he'd see her soon.
As they were leaving Sally asked, "Mom, what about dad?"
