Ruined - a Relationship in Ruin

This inspiration for this story came from a novel I recently finished. The premise of the story will follow the author's premise for a very short time but he never developed the direction I will take the story. His entire treatment of the subject was done in a couple of pages. I guess he isn't the same type of personality as me where I like to explore these cheating topics more fully.

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Rick Miller is my name. I am 38 years old and I currently have a girlfriend, Tina. I have been in a relationship with her for about three years and I love her. We have discussed marriage many times and mutually agreed that we would be better off not getting married. Frankly, I had been married before and it had ended badly. I won't go into the details right now but perhaps some of the circumstances will be revealed later. Tina had also been married before and that too ended in a bad way. I guess we both feel like we don't want to ruin a good thing by getting married. I guess we are both a little afraid that if we get married we will repeat the bad events of the past. Anyway, we aren't married and don't plan on changing that any time soon.

I had a date with Tina to take her to a fancy reception at the nicest hotel in the city. She was going to receive an award from the Chamber of Commerce for KC's upcoming business people. You see Tina owns a jazz club in Kansas City by the name of Bocca Club. It was at the Bocca Club that I first met Tina.

I had been gone from KC for a while and when I came back I wanted to play some jazz. I had played some in New Orleans under the name of Rick Thriller and I really liked jamming with other jazz artists and enthusiasts. I went to a club called the Jarrod's Jazz Club and was jamming with other jazz musicians a couple of times a week. I play the tenor sax and have to admit I play it pretty darn good.

One night this hot lady from the audience walks up to me after the set. She says, "Hey Thriller, I'm Christina Bocca from the Bocca Club. My friends call me Tina so Thriller since I want to be your friend why don't you call me Tina." With that a huge smile crossed her face. I am sure a smile crossed my face too because who wouldn't want to be friends with such a hot lady.

She continued, "Thriller, why don't you drop over to the Bocca Club some night and thrill some of my customers? I love your playing and know my customers will love you too." What could I say? All I of was able to stutter out was, "Sure Tina, I think I would like to be your friend and I will drop in some night soon and play with you." She blushed at that comment and I immediately realized what I had said and again stuttered out, "I am sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I meant I would love to play with some of your musicians. Please forgive me for embarrassing you."

By this time she was grinning and said, "Thriller, I am not offended, in fact, I am quite pleased with the attention. Do make your visit soon, okay?"

With that she turned and walked out of the club. I didn't wait too long to visit her club. In fact I went there the next night and sat in with four other guys and gals and played for a couple of hours. For the next two weeks I pretty much split my time between Jarrod's and Bocca, but once Tina and I were an item I went to Jarrod and said, "Old buddy, you know that girl beats boy every time right?" He grinned at me and said, "Rick, I knew you were toast the first time I saw you talking to Tina. You would have to be crazy to not want to be with her. Every guy in town has been after that lady since she opened up here and she comes after you. You are the man. Go and Thriller." Tina and I have been together ever since.

Well anyway, back to the reception, I don't go much for that fancy shit but she was getting an award and I usually tried to do anything in my power to please her so I agreed to take her. I thought maybe I could stop at a little bar before I had to pick her up and knock back a couple of quick drinks to loosen me up for the night. I had plenty of time so I popped into the Squad Room. It was a laid back place that catered to a wide range of customers. There were guys in suits, ladies in fancy dresses, bikers with their biker babes, a couple of perpetual drunks and a lot of ordinary working class guys and gals. A normal place as far as I was concerned.

While I was sitting there a little bit of a ruckus was started off to my left and before I knew it there were five or six guys going at it pretty good. I turned on my bar stool and was watching the action when one of the guys was shoved backwards and he plowed into me spilling my beer all over my shirt and pants. I slid backwards and my arm knocked my shot off the bar. I was not steaming but I was a bit pissed off so I gave him a huge shove to get him away from me. With my good luck it was just at that moment that the cops showed up and all of the guys fighting were dragged out of the place and taken downtown. I had the misfortune to be included so I got dragged downtown too. I couldn't believe this shit and was protesting constantly that I wasn't part of the brawl but there was one young cop who had seen me shove the guy and told his sergeant that I was involved.

I was put in a holding cell and told to shut up. Well of course you have already figured out that I sat in that cell overnight and missed my date with Tina. In the morning the cops questioned everyone involved and they all said basically the same thing, "We have no idea who that guy is, as far as we know he was just sitting at the bar." Well they let me out around 1:00 p.m. without any charges being filed which was of course would have been great except I missed my date with Tina and I knew she would be pissed. I figured once I explained what happened everything would be okay. Little did I know what was about to happen.

I took a cab from "the slammer" back to the Squad Room and picked up my car. I drove home and grabbed a bite to eat and hopped into the shower. I dressed in some jeans and sport shirt and sat down in my den and called Tina. I figured I would be getting an ass chewing so I wanted to be comfortable while that happened. I thought after she got it out of her system I would be able to explain what happened and all would be forgiven.

Well I wasn't wrong about the ass chewing. She let me have it with both barrels and a few words that I wasn't sure had been coined yet. When she slowed down I tried to interject my story but she wasn't having any of it. Actually I think I cranked her up a bit higher than she had been at the beginning. There was nothing to do but sit and take it. Then she said something that made the hair on my arms stand up. She said, "Well Rick you weren't the only fish in the sea last night. When you didn't show up when you were supposed to pick me up I called your cell phone and it went to voice mail. I texted you and got no response. I waited an hour and still got no response. I knew you weren't too happy about going to the reception so I knew you were blowing me off. I called my very good friend Perry to see if he was free and he was more than happy to take me to the reception."

She continued, "I was really pissed Rick and it didn't get any better when I arrived at the reception an hour and a half late. I missed out on some of the special events I had been looking forward to. I barely made it there in time to receive my own reward. A few minutes later and I would have even missed out on that too. I bought a killer dress for this reception and had my hair and nails done. I was a knockout and I wanted you to be proud of me. Instead you blew me off you asshole and to be honest with you, Perry was an awesome date and he thought I was a knockout. He drooled over me all night."

This time when she slowed down I started to explain again that it wasn't my fault and I was sorry but she wasn't having any of it. I asked her if I could come over and sit down with her and talk it through and her response was a laugh. "Rick, I won't be here. Perry and I have a date tonight. He is taking me to dinner."

I rushed out and headed for the club Tina owned hoping to get a chance to talk to her face to face. When I arrived at the club, the bartender, a hot little number named Jessica told me that Tina and Perry had already left. Well needless to say I was not a happy man but what could I do.

Because she is a club owner and normally stays up well into the wee hours of the morning I knew Tina would probably sleep until around two in the afternoon the next day. At 3:00 pm I called her again and told her that I would be coming to the club to talk to her. She said to not bother because she had another date with Perry. Well I wasn't going to miss the chance to talk to her this time so I went over early and sure enough I caught her before she left.

When she walked out of her office with this very good friend Perry I started to walk up to her. Perry put his hand on my chest and said, "Hold on there buddy, I am not sure that the lady wants to talk to you. Tina, do you want to talk to him?"

At that moment Tina shook her head "no". I had pretty much had enough so I looked back to Perry and in a calm but steely voice I said, "Pal, I am going to count backwards from 5 and if your hand isn't off my chest when I reach zero you are going to be wearing a cast."

Perry, the dumb shit, decided to put on his macho show for Tina and Jessica so he grinned and held his hand on my chest while I counted. Tina blurted out, "No Rick" when I reached zero. She stopped me in my tracks and finally realizing that I didn't want any more of this trouble (already having spent one night in jail) I simply said, "Perry if you ever touch me again I will break your hand, your arm and maybe even your fucking neck."

With that I turned and walked out the door. Tina called after me, "Rick, I will call you tomorrow."

I replied bluntly, "Good luck with that" as the doors closed behind me.

I stopped at the Squad Room, rapidly becoming my favorite watering hole, and had a couple of drinks then headed home. Around 10:00 pm I decided to go over to Tina's and have a talk. I walked up to her dark home and rang the bell. I had a key but had never used it before and wasn't about to use it now either. No one answered the door so I walked back to my car and parked a little down the street to wait.

It was midnight when Perry finally brought Tina home. I figured he would drop her off and leave and then I would go back and ring the bell so I could talk to her. Instead, Tina stood up on her toes and gave him what looked to be a pretty intense kiss. Then she invited him in.

I drove home in a daze and immediately started packing up the things that Tina had left at my house. I packed some clothes, night gowns, under things and various toiletries and makeup into a couple of garbage bags. I sat and composed a letter to Tina and then I went to bed. The next morning I was up around 7:00 am and by 11:00 am I had everything in place to move forward with my life.

I drove to Tina's house and dropped the bags off on her front porch and headed out of town. I wasn't sure where I was going but I knew I was headed east.

Tina

When I woke up around noon I fixed myself a cup of coffee and walked out to the front porch to get the paper and mail. There on my porch were two garbage bags with a note attached to one. I quickly dragged the bags into the house and took the note to my kitchen table to read.

Dear Tina, I know that we have never discussed being exclusive in our dating. I guess that gives you the right to date anyone you choose. I have been exclusive since the first time I saw you three years ago and I thought you were too. I never thought we had to say the word exclusive, I thought we just were. Obviously I was mistaken and your ideas weren't the same as mine on the subject. My mistake. As I said, you can date anyone you choose but I also can feel about that any way I choose. I am now wondering how many other dates you have had. Again, it is your right so I just have to live with it but not like it at all.

I also know that I disappointed you by not being there to take you to the reception. I know it was a special night for you and I never would have ruined it for you on purpose. As I tried to explain it really wasn't what you thought it was. I stopped for a drink at the Squad Room and got arrested for something I didn't do. I was in jail overnight without the opportunity to make any calls. In the morning they finally started to question some of the guys who were involved and every one of them said I had been an innocent bystander. They finally let me out of there around noon and I went home and cleaned up then ate a little lunch and you know the rest. Check it out. You will see I am telling the truth. But, either way you decided to get a different date for the night and in fact ended up with dates three nights in a row. It's funny that in knowing you for three years I have never been introduced to this very good friend Perry. That in itself raises a lot of questions. Who is this Perry and just how can he be a very good friend and I not know him? Are there any other very good friends out there? How many other dates were there? You can't argue that every one of those questions is legitimate.

Anyway, after you refused to talk to me at the club I was very hurt and angry so I went out for a couple of drinks and then went home. Around 10:00 pm I thought you should be home and I wanted so much to come and talk to you about us. When I rang your bell and no one answered I figured I would wait. I really needed to talk to you. I am so much in love with you and what you were doing hurt me a lot. I didn't start out intending to spy on you but by midnight when you actually did get home I was not in very good condition. By then, yes, I guess I was spying on you but I just wanted to talk. I just needed to talk.

Tina, I loved you more than anything or anyone in my life. I thought you loved me as much as I loved you. I guess I was mistaken about that too because I saw you kiss Perry and invite him in after your date. I guess that was another mistake on my part. If you really loved me like I loved you I couldn't see any way you would have invited Perry in. Why did you do this to me? Why did you do this to us?

Anyway, I can tell that I am rambling on so I will just close this letter and tell you that I am leaving to take a small vacation. I figured you might need some of your things while I am gone so I packed them up into these bags and dropped them off for you. I am sorry if I wrinkled any of your clothes.

I hope everything works out for you, Rick

By the time I finished reading the letter I was in a cold sweat and I screamed out, "What in the hell have I done." I immediately grabbed my phone and called Rick. To my surprise I heard a phone ringing in one of the garbage bags but before I got to it I got this message. "This is Rick Miller. I am sorry but I will not be using this phone any longer. If this is an urgent business matter, call my attorney Blake Barden at his offices. He has total power of attorney to handle all of my affairs. If it is an urgent personal matter, call my friend Barry and leave a message."

I immediately called Barry to see if he could tell me where Rick had gone. I desperately needed to talk to Rick and explain things to him. I couldn't wait another minute to set things straight with him. I did love him as much as he loved me.

When I got Barry I explained that Rick had left for a small vacation. His immediate reaction was, "Aw shit" then he told me he was at work and couldn't talk but I should go over and talk to Shelly his wife. She was apparently home and he said he would call her and let her know that I was on my way over there.

When she answered the door the first words out of Shelly's mouth were, "Tina, what in the hell did you do?"

That had me in shock instantly and I started to cry. Shelly put her arms around me and said, "Please Tina, come in and tell me what this is all about."

I gave her Rick's letter and she took a couple of minutes to read it through. She yelled out, "Son of A Bitch" in frustration. The same reaction out of both of them had me very worried.

"Tina," Shelly started, "There are a few things you need to know before we go any further. As you know after Rick got out of the army he met and married a woman by the name of Amy. He was in college at the time and one day came home early from a class to find Amy fucking another guy. He let her know that he was there and what he had seen but he then turned and walked out of the apartment and out of her life. He left her a note that he is taking 'a small vacation'.

"Rick immediately dropped out of school and requested to go back on active duty and went to Iraq for two consecutive tours of duty. His 'small vacation' turned out to be for two years. No one knew where he went for the entire two years. Not a word to anyone in two years Tina. When Rick finally came home we found out where he had been and what had happened. He came home with a silver star and two purple hearts. The injuries he sustained qualified him for the second Purple Heart and were such that the Army no longer felt that he should be on active duty. Actually, they released him only after extensive counseling because they suspected that he had no regard for his own life. They felt he took chances because he really didn't care if he lived or died. They just didn't want him putting himself and others at risk any longer. He has fully recovered physically of course but the scars on his body still are there as you know. He has also gotten a good grip on his life and there is no longer any fear that he doesn't want to live. Just like the scars are still on his body though, the scars on his heart from what Amy did are still there too.

"After he got back from Iraq and had recovered from his injuries he met Angela. Needless to say he was very hesitant to get into another relationship and it took a long time before he was willing to trust his heart to another woman but in time he did. It took two years but he finally decided to ask her to marry him. She said yes.

"One day Rick had a meeting with his broker to go over some of his investment information. They decide to go out for drinks after their meeting and the bar they went to had some tables and more private booths. While they were sitting at the bar Rick could see reflections in the mirror behind the bar and he saw someone who looked familiar so he turned around in his seat and there was Angela snuggled up to a guy in one of the back booths. They were kissing and Rick could see the guy's hands fondling her breasts. He could only imagine what might have been happening below the table. He called out to her 'Hey Angela' and when she looked over at him he waved to her. He could see the shocked look on her face and heard her scream out his name as he walked out of the bar. After that he left a voice mail for her on her home phone that he was taking 'a small vacation'. Rick left and didn't return for three years that time. Just like when he left Amy, no one knew where he went or what was going on. Angela left scars on his heart on top of the scars Amy had caused.

"Rick finally came home and we discovered he had made a mark in the music world as a jazz sax player. He always was an awesome sax player but that was locally. We never had a clue he could make it big other places, but he did. The whole time he was away he was playing in jazz clubs using the name, "Rick Thriller". We should have figured that out sooner because in high school he was known as "Rick the Thriller Miller" because he was one exciting guy. Everything he did he did well. When he finally did come home he continued to play in local clubs as you know under that same name.

"So, now you know the background and you can see how bad this is. Damn it Tina, I am sure this is killing Rick and it is also going to kill Barry. He is Rick's best friend and almost went crazy when he didn't know where Rick was during the two times he was gone. He missed him like you would miss a brother and his heart was partly empty too. I love Rick too and missed him a lot. It made our lives less complete to not have him here and now he has gone off on another small vacation as he puts it. I just don't know what we will do Tina and I sure don't understand why you did what you did. Like Rick, I thought you loved him."